Politics

[cwpayton]

90% of toilet paper used in the US is made in the US. The other 10% can be brought in on truck and rail. So toilet paper will not be impacted by the sea lanes. But of course hoarding could be a problem.

I’m more concerned about coffee. I can live without toilet paper, coffee not so much.

Even though my niece owns a coffee bean import and roasting company. I prefer my type. and just bought a large stash.

what would be your type , I've tried a lot. Folgers black rifle ,premium saula, ect, I cant seem to find 1 suit able, best yet is draft mule coffee, a small company out of Boise Id,

 

[Red Leg]

Around 30 years ago Congress required all government agencies to be able to pass an "unqualified audit". To date, the Department of Defense is the only agency that has never passed an audit. This with internal auditors. One can only imagine the results of a Big 4 audit. Yes DOD is the largest agency, scattered throughout the world. It would be a monumental undertaking. The general public would have much more faith in the system if DOD could pass a GAAP audit at the same level as most business, organizations, states and other government agencies have to pass.

Even this past year DOD can't account for $1B of military aid to Ukraine. I'm not saying it is graft but it is certainly poor management by DOD at best.

More than $1B in US military aid to Ukraine not properly tracked by Pentagon, DOD audit finds

More than $1 billion in military weapons and equipment that the United States has provided Ukraine to fight invading Russian forces cannot be accounted for and is not being fully tracked, according to a Pentagon audit released Thursday.

www.stripes.com

Regarding Ukraine which it looks like your post was dealing with, I don't know if there is any corruption within the military aid. Last I saw which was a year or so ago, military aid was around half of all aid going from America to Ukraine. USAID and NGO's funded by DOS, CIA, etc is full of problems. I have witnessed graft twice on a small scale regarding US taxpayer money given to a strategically insignificant African country. The $1 billion aid package Joe Biden held up to get Victor Shokin fired for investigating Burisma who was paying $50,000/mth to Hunter Biden plus other monies that haven't been divulged yet is an example. Ukraine was the second most corrupt country in Europe, even behind Russia before the invasion. Is there any reason to think this changed with the advent of billions of extra dollars flowing through the coffers. It is interesting that the Ferrari, Lamborghini and other luxury dealers in Romania and Bulgaria can't keep cars on the showroom floor due to the demand coming out of Ukraine. That is not typical of a country in the throes of war.

For a host of reasons, I doubt that DOD will ever have a complete audit that meets that standard. My comments have to do with US military assistance efforts worldwide. Those commitments make up a large portion of all the foreign aid we provide.

With respect to the Ukraine's corruption this is a link to the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2023. Currently Ukraine is number 107th in least corrupted and Russia the 141st. In this measurement, lesser is better. Hungary is the most corrupt NATO country at 76th. The US is ranked 24th and the UK 20th. The least corrupt nation listed is Denmark. A total of 180 countries are measured. Ukraine has made considerable progress over the last decade because of its effort to achieve eventual EU membership - much of that improvement has occurred during wartime.

2023 Corruption Perceptions Index: Explore the results

How does your country measure up in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index?

www.transparency.org

 

[mdwest]

90% of toilet paper used in the US is made in the US. The other 10% can be brought in on truck and rail. So toilet paper will not be impacted by the sea lanes. But of course hoarding could be a problem.

I’m more concerned about coffee. I can live without toilet paper, coffee not so much.

Even though my niece owns a coffee bean import and roasting company. I prefer my type. and just bought a large stash.

Panic buying unfortunately has little connection to common sense...

Theres tons of coffee sitting on the shelves of my local Kroger (I just checked an hour ago)...

There is literally almost no paper towels or toilet paper on the shelves right now...


Funny how as soon as we have any sort of crisis on our hands in this country.. the very first thing people worry about is how they are going to wipe their ass in an emergency.... lol...

 

[cash_tx]

It astounds me that these people will wrap themselves in the flag and claim patriotism, when they are anything but...

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/03/tina-peters-colorado-voting-sentenced-00182388

 

[sgt_zim]

what would be your type , I've tried a lot. Folgers black rifle ,premium saula, ect, I cant seem to find 1 suit able, best yet is draft mule coffee, a small company out of Boise Id,

Community Coffee, roasted in Baton Rouge (well, technically, across the river in Port Allen). Medium and dark roast are both quite good, but they have "flavored" coffee as well. If you can't get it in the grocery near you, you can get it at Amazon.

They also have a chicory coffee, lots of people like it here abouts, not really my cuppa unless it's done as cafe au'lait.

 

[ActionBob]

Panic buying unfortunately has little connection to common sense...

Theres tons of coffee sitting on the shelves of my local Kroger (I just checked an hour ago)...

There is literally almost no paper towels or toilet paper on the shelves right now...


Funny how as soon as we have any sort of crisis on our hands in this country.. the very first thing people worry about is how they are going to wipe their ass in an emergency.... lol...

It's because we grew up under Capitalism and have been spoiled by having things like food and toilet paper readily available.

Some of us are going to have a really hard time adjusting to Socialism and no longer having such niceties

No seriously it's the women and their dainty tushes. As I was loading Gina's 2 tons of tp at Sam's club yesterday, fortunately I had it loaded in the Wagoneer and doors closed when the woman parked next to me came up with a cart load of paper towels. She commented that the tp was all gone so she got some kleenex and paper towels to at least have something. I responded that "hey, during Covid I learned that you can stand that whole pack up on its side and run a chain saw through there and viola! Toilet paper!

She didn't seem seem to be any more enthusiastic than my wife did.

Now my mom, just bring back the Sears and Roebuck catalog and she's all set

 

[cash_tx]

what would be your type , I've tried a lot. Folgers black rifle ,premium saula, ect, I cant seem to find 1 suit able, best yet is draft mule coffee, a small company out of Boise Id,

For those of you in the DFW area, there is a fantastic local coffee roaster in McKinney called 107 Roasters, formerly known as TexaKona Coffee. My personal favorite is their Swahili Six Gun, a blend of African and Hawaiian beans. For those of you who are not local, they do ship.

https://www.107roasters.com/shop

 

[WAB]

Community Coffee, roasted in Baton Rouge (well, technically, across the river in Port Allen). Medium and dark roast are both quite good, but they have "flavored" coffee as well. If you can't get it in the grocery near you, you can get it at Amazon.

They also have a chicory coffee, lots of people like it here abouts, not really my cuppa unless it's done as cafe au'lait.

If ya drink flavored coffee ya have to stick your pinkie finger out while you do so.

 

[sgt_zim]

TBH, their king cake/Mardi Gras flavor is pretty danged tasty.

 

[Tanks]

At times like these, I appreciate the Toto Neorest Toilets. Have them at every house I own as well as the office.

Edit: Strike is suspended until January.

 

[jeanes]

what would be your type , I've tried a lot. Folgers black rifle ,premium saula, ect, I cant seem to find 1 suit able, best yet is draft mule coffee, a small company out of Boise Id,

I like Independence Coffee out of Giddings, Texas. Their Jackhammer and their Jet Fuel. I also kinda like Tim Horton's. Ruta Maya is pretty good, too. I usually get whole bean because I think it stays fresher longer.

 

[Mekaniks]

Stri

At times like these, I appreciate the Toto Neorest Toilets. Have them at every house I own as well as the office.

Edit: Strike is suspended until January.

Joint Statement Regarding Master Contract
The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues. Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume.