Politics

[Red Leg]

Meanwhile back at the war, this is another of these short clips that contains a lot of information. This is a night attack by a team of Ukrainian Naval Special Operators against a Russian observation post. The Ukrainians are equipped with night vision (you can see the helmet mounted devices at the end of the clip) and the Russians clearly or not. The Ukrainians are also using thermal equipped grenade dropping drones as their close air support. I can not tell from the clip, but I suspect the rifles are equipped with thermals along with the clearly visible suppressors.

The US has owned the night since Desert Storm and along with the UK has spent considerable time training UA elements in effective use of both night vision and thermal imagery. In a night battle, an opponent without it is little more than prey.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1abdodz

 

[Altitude sickness]

On the border

Democrats say they are ready to deal but the deal is that they’re willing to cut the number of automatic asylum seekers/ illegal immigrants at the border to 5000 per day.
that equals 1.825 million per year

In comparison

Fiscal Year 2023 Naturalization Statistics. USCIS welcomed 878,500 new citizens in fiscal year 2023 during naturalization ceremonies held across the United States and around the world. Naturalizations in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 made up nearly a quarter (24%) of all naturalizations over the past decade.Jan 12, 2024

 

[Randy F]

Statement from President Joe Biden on Decision to Pause Pending Approvals of Liquefied Natural Gas Exports | The White House

In every corner of the country and the world, people are suffering the devastating toll of climate change. Historic hurricanes and floods wiping out

www.whitehouse.gov

"While MAGA Republicans willfully deny the urgency of the climate crisis, condemning the American people to a dangerous future, my Administration will not be complacent. We will not cede to special interests."


Apparently I have a different definition as to what "special interests" are.

 

[Wheels]

Strong economic news in the US continues. GDP up 3+% for 2023 and stock market hitting new highs. Inflation continues to drop (except for primers). Unemployment continues to be low. All this bodes well for Biden. Trump, now almost certainly the Republican nominee, continues to divide the Republican party instead of trying to unite it.

Congress and the Biden administration are supposedly negotiating an immigration and border policy solution. The conservative Republicans are throwing up roadblocks, some ligit and others simply to not give Biden and the US and overall improvement on the border, which would give Biden a victory or at least a talking point for re-election.

Add this all up, the upcoming presidential election is not a sure win for Trump.

Yes, the GDP numbers look good and the media will tell us they are great, but the growth came from $1.3T of additional debt that the government flooded into the system. GDP is based on spending, and the government spent and added jobs. If you control for government spending, the economy actually shrank.

For those of us with assets, we probably all had a great year with asset values increasing due to the additional money pumped into the economy. For the average American living paycheck to paycheck, they are not feeling any benefit regardless what the statisticians say.

 

[Wheels]

Yes, the GDP numbers look good and the media will tell us they are great, but the growth came from $1.3T of additional debt that the government flooded into the system. GDP is based on spending, and the government spent and added jobs. If you control for government spending, the economy actually shrank.

For those of us with assets, we probably all had a great year with asset values increasing due to the additional money pumped into the economy. For the average American living paycheck to paycheck, they are not feeling any benefit regardless what the statisticians say.

Oddly enough, this just popped from a guy at the Heritage Foundation saying much the same.

$2.7 Trillion Buys "Spectacular" GDP

Biden's GDP approaches Soviet levels

www.profstonge.com

 

[Doubleplay]

Yes, the GDP numbers look good and the media will tell us they are great, but the growth came from $1.3T of additional debt that the government flooded into the system. GDP is based on spending, and the government spent and added jobs. If you control for government spending, the economy actually shrank.

For those of us with assets, we probably all had a great year with asset values increasing due to the additional money pumped into the economy. For the average American living paycheck to paycheck, they are not feeling any benefit regardless what the statisticians say.

True, but honestly capitalism means everyone for himself.
So in theory everyone with assets should be happy.

 

[Altitude sickness]

RandyF

While MAGA Republicans willfully deny the urgency of the climate crisis, condemning the American people to a dangerous future, my Administration will not be complacent. We will not cede to special interests."

I wish I could have heard him say that I need a good laugh.

His sentence should’ve ended with

“because they are watching my bank account now “

 

[Mekaniks]

Working class people know better than believe the government B.S. Layoffs are widespread across industries now. I’ve worked in the electric utility industry my whole life and have never seen involuntary severances and we are cutting now along with another large neighboring utility.
If you look at the jobs report that the government is siting over 200,000 added the very same report shows 60% added were government jobs and healthcare. The same report shows if you use the household survey technique that the jobs count is in excess of 680,000 jobs lost.
No-one I know believe they are better off.

Send them to Alaska!!!

150+Slope Jobs–Cooks/Camps, Rig jobs, Wireline, HVAC, NDE, Safety, Materials, Crane/Equip Ops, more…

www.alaskapipelinejobinfo.com

State: Struggling to attract Outside job seekers, Alaska’s working-age population suffers

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development is looking ahead to a potentially brighter economic picture in the state in 2024, estimating there will be over 5,000 new jobs. But, a big question remains: Will there be enough people to fill those positions?

www.alaskasnewssource.com

ConocoPhillips announces official go-ahead for huge Willow oil project in Alaska

Construction is already underway on the North Slope drilling project, which the company expects to create about 300 long-term jobs.

alaskapublic.org

 

[Doubleplay]

Yes, the GDP numbers look good and the media will tell us they are great, but the growth came from $1.3T of additional debt that the government flooded into the system. GDP is based on spending, and the government spent and added jobs. If you control for government spending, the economy actually shrank.

For those of us with assets, we probably all had a great year with asset values increasing due to the additional money pumped into the economy. For the average American living paycheck to paycheck, they are not feeling any benefit regardless what the statisticians say.

As long as we own the printing press of the world currency, debt does not matter as much as everyone thinks. Every administration will keep adding to debt.
Also capitalism means everyone on his own, so generally speaking those of us with assets should be happy.

 

[Wheels]

True, but honestly capitalism means everyone for himself.
So in theory everyone with assets should be happy.

True, and people with assets are happy. Most of our net worth's have been growing substantially over the past 20 years or so as government debt sores. ( More money chasing finite assets pushes the price up.) The problem is most people have negligible net worth's.

America was built on a middle class. That middle class has shrunk with globalism. Three years ago suppose your monthly grocery bill was $10 and now it is $13. The media says, great news inflation is down to 2%. That is not helping the family who now is paying $13.25 a month for groceries. Many American's are hurting, regardless of what the statisticians say and what the media reports. This is where you are seeing a significant growth of Trump supporters. They are not traditional Republicans and traditional Republicans aren't happy they are being pushed out of their own party. Thus, the civil war happening within the Republican Party. Those that are feeling disenfranchised (not all to finances) are looking for a leader. They haven't found it within the traditional Republican Party for 16 years, and it doesn't look like they are finding it in Haley or DeSantis now. This at a time when Democrats seem bent on driving the middle class out of their own party.

The national debt is helping the top 20% or so. The bottom 50% don't pay taxes and are net beneficiaries of the social welfare system. Much of the bottom 60-70% aren't benefiting from and in fact are hurting from a national debt that will keep rising. At some level, we as a society need to be concerned about these people. Primarily by establishing policies that will allow them to succeed in life and not suffer. A balanced budget would be a great first step but I don't see that happening with any candidate in my lifetime, at least not without first going through a cataclysmic societal event.

 

[Altitude sickness]

the middle class being squeezed and eliminated is what causes Nationalism

 

[Tundra Tiger]

@Wheels ... Not picking good sir, honestly. But that seemed like a funny Freudian Slip to me:

"as government debt sores"...

Sores indeed... the kind that just don't ever seem to heal...

 

[Scott CWO]

Was he related to Elizabeth Warren?

Obviously not!

 

[Wheels]

As long as we own the printing press of the world currency, debt does not matter as much as everyone thinks. Every administration will keep adding to debt.
Also capitalism means everyone on his own, so generally speaking those of us with assets should be happy.

Printing money causes inflation. Inflation is just a hidden form of taxation that hurts the poor the most.
At some point national debt gets repaid. Either through reimbursement (taxes) or debasement of the currency. When I was born, 1 USD had the value of 1USD. That same dollar today has the purchasing power of $.08. Like the frog in boiling water, we don't feel it due to time.

The only reason the USD is holding up so well against world currencies is because other countries have a worse monetary policy than America.

Yes, those with assets should be happy, but we learn from history that if enough pain is administered to the have nots, at some point they will become a tool for change. I'm not saying this is imminent but society in America seems to be approaching a fulcrum not seen in our lifetimes.

Capitalism allows everyone equal opportunity. Printing money is not capitalism. It is favoritism for the haves.

 

[Wheels]

@Wheels ... Not picking good sir, honestly. But that seemed like a funny Freudian Slip to me:

"as government debt sores"...

Sores indeed... the kind that just don't ever seem to heal...

It probably is a Freudian Slip. Besides, who would believe it if I said the A on my keyboard is sticky. Or I may just be illiterate! Take your pick.

 

[Scott CWO]

I would say 50% of my software engineers were of Chinese descent and 75% of Asian ethnicity. Because of our product set, they were second and third generation American citizens. But as far back as when my daughter graduated from Texas A&M in '05 the sciences graduation ceremony looked like it should have been held in Mumbai or Beijing. Not many Anglo Americans are willing to enter those sorts of fields these days. If we can just figure out a way to productize history and general studies. But, I digress.

Demanding an American private sector company hire a citizen first, regardless of comparative skill set, is nothing more than an economic version of the equity and inclusion effort most participants in this thread decry.

The defense industry in particular, because so much of our business is US government contracts, already struggles to meet hiring and workforce goals demanded by the federal government on its contracts. A black female with a MS from Caltech can write her own ticket anywhere in that industry. The net net of having the best profiled work force rather than the most qualified is inevitably greater expense and longer development time. I remember the day one of my Directors discovered through one of these DNA kits that he was sufficiently Native American to meet a USG goal on a major bid. I bought him dinner and a really good bottle of wine the next time I was in Huntsville.

This has been going on for a long time at our universities. I saw it myself in the mid 1980s, being surrounded in classes by Iranians, Saudis, Pakistanis, etc…. Our universities have become whores for foreign students and the money they bring.

Perhaps it is well past the time that universities are forced to do what the western states are doing about hunting opportunities. More and more, western states are holding back a large percentage of limited hunting opportunities for state residents. When I started outfitting in 1991, there were no nonresident restrictions in the Colorado draws at all. There were elk units where 90% of the licenses were being drawn by nonresidents (10/90) because there were no restrictions. This was changed to 60/40, then 65/35 and for some hunts to 80/20 and 90/10.

Perhaps noncitizen enrollment should be limited at our universities. Are we not just educating some of our enemies to develop systems to be used against us?

 

[Altitude sickness]

And how about reigning in college costs. Instead of government subsidies and student loan debt.

The same Socialists that bemoan medical doctors making too much. Never discuss college salaries

 

[Scott CWO]

I see you're based in SA where I spend a lot of time because of my son's job at the US Embassy in Pretoria.
There has been many efforts to upend US dollar as the World reserve currency.
EU tried it with Euro and failed, nowadays you guys are trying with BRICKS with Russia, China, India and Brazil and failing miserably.
Offshoring will have no effect on our economy as long as we attract talent and keep innovating which we do.
It doesn't matter where Iphone is made as long as Apple is a US company and people all over the World keep buying it, same for many others.
On a different note you guys better keep an eye on your own talent because last time I looked your doctors, engineers, etc are leaving the country in droves.

Offshoring has no effect on our economy? That’s a bridge too far brother!

 

[Scott CWO]

Maybe so.... Probably due to the fact that anyone who is not a union member or from a union family only hears about organized labor from the media... To this day, conservative media outlets in general demonize unions while liberal outlets praise them.. Unfortunately, as I said previously it's not that simple. Union membership is very diverse in this country, and it's been my experience that union members like police, fire, and skilled trades lean much more conservative regardless of what their leadership endorses or dictates. Union execs are DC lobbyists which I view as a necessary evil. They have tunnel vison for union mandates regardless of the bigger picture.



I don't agree at all with your assumption that those days are long gone..

I cannot speak to how the manufacturing trades bargain with their management, but I can speak to police, fire, and the electrical unions here in Florida all of which I have close family who are members... Also speaking as a union executive board member for over 20 years as a member of the negotiating team that bargained 7 contracts in that time frame, I can assure you unequivocally that management, to this day would cut every safety and health benefit that they could in the effort to create the image that they are saving the taxpayer a penny... Don't forget that every union member who works for a local or state government is negotiating with elected officials who have no understanding, and little to no regard for the health & safety of our membership. They would gladly put a badge and a sidearm on chimps at $5/hr if they thought they could get away with it... We have had to continually fight and claw for every health and safety benefit we have earned over the years. This will never change...



Again, I can't speak to how bargaining agreements are reached between the UAW union and their management. If the union can negotiate $55/hr for their members, good for them.... They are the ones who must decide what benefits to prioritize, and the management must decide if they are willing to pay it. Then, it's up to the consumer to decide if they want to buy that product or service at that cost... Capitalism at its finest...

The problem usually occurs when the union heads and management both agree to wages and/or benefits that are unsustainable over the long haul.... That's where the body's discipline and responsibility need to come into play both during negotiations and when electing their representatives.

Unions vote for their leaders, and CEO's appoint theirs... It's the responsibility of both sides to find long term sustainability in whatever benefit package they agree to... It rarely happens in private business, but in the public sectors many of these municipal governments will take money allocated for pension benefits and then divert and spend it in the general fund... That's why Social Security is unsustainable and will go eventually go bankrupt.

I’ve been a union member. Wasn’t my cup of tea watching idiots get promoted before me because they had worked there a month longer than me. Like I said, I wasn’t talking about LE.

 

[Scott CWO]

Statement from President Joe Biden on Decision to Pause Pending Approvals of Liquefied Natural Gas Exports | The White House

In every corner of the country and the world, people are suffering the devastating toll of climate change. Historic hurricanes and floods wiping out

www.whitehouse.gov

OMG! Idiot!