Politics

let me then ask you this do you think the rest of the world trusts trump?

The fact that you still take 100% of Trump's rhetoric seriously and literally at this point in time cracks me up! His unpredictability in regard to what is rhetoric and what is a viable threat is a deliberate tactic, by the way, that is obviously effective... Sorry you are not appreciating and enjoying it as much as I am...

The trust of others is irrelevant and pretty much unnecessary in his negotiating style... The pesky little fact that Trump and all the other world leaders know is that they will continue to align with the U.S. and do business with us because they have to... We are still the dominant superpower in the world with the most powerful military, the largest economy, and most import consumer buying power...

I've said it here and in other threads many times that they all hate us until they need us, and then they love us again... That remains true regardless of who resides in the WH... It is for these precise reasons Canadians can sleep soundly at night with a military of only 68,000... You're welcome by the way...
 
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Along with what @mdwest just said.

China won’t start negotiations until Trump removes all tariffs. Now China just happens to be in Switzerland when Bessent is in Switzerland so they will start talking about making a deal. Now we get niceties from the Chinese Embassy.

Personally I don’t see a deal with China made for quite awhile. ie: Bessent says stop all fentanyl and the chemicals that make up fentanyl for six months. Let’s see if it really stops then we can start getting serious.

 
The fact that you still take 100% of Trump's rhetoric seriously and literally at this point in time cracks me up! His unpredictability in regard to what is rhetoric and what is a viable threat is a deliberate tactic, by the way, that is obviously effective... Sorry you are not appreciating and enjoying it as much as I am...

The trust of others is irrelevant and pretty much unnecessary in his negotiating style... The pesky little fact that Trump and all the other world leaders know is that they will continue to align with the U.S. and do business with us because they have to... We are still the dominant superpower in the world with the most powerful military, the largest economy, and most import consumer buying power...

I've said it here and in other threads many times that they all hate us until they need us, and that remains true regardless of who resides in the WH... It is for these precise reasons Canadians can sleep soundly at night with a military of only 68,000... You're welcome by the way...

Game Theory calls it Strategic Confusion. Bessent calls it Strategic Confusion or Strategic Chaos. Trump probably doesn’t know the terms but he has been negotiating this way for over 50 years and knows it works. The EU, Trudeau government, etc has either not figured it out or want to play to their constituents. Carney is smart. He understands what is going on even if he doesn’t like it and knows he is now stuck with getting a deal done. Canada is now way ahead of the EU which can’t come to an agreement on how to start negotiations.
 
Im not sure thats correct..

In his mind, I don't think he believes he has anything to learn from it.. he believes his strategies and tactics work.. and he doesn't care who he offends or pisses off or humiliates along the way..

It took more than 2 months for the US and Ukraine to try to figure out how to reconcile things after Trump had his blow up with Zelenskky.. Trump very clearly (and very intentionally) went out of his way to humiliate Zelenskky both during their now famed meeting and for the next several weeks after...

Now that things are resolved (somewhat) with the signing of the mineral deal between the US and Ukraine.. what did Trump do during his meeting with Carney?

He made fun of Zelenskky and the fact that he humiliated him in the same room that Carney was sitting in just a few months prior..

Trump got what he wanted once it was all said and done.. that's all that matters to him.. He wont lose any sleep at night knowing any world leader (Carney or anyone else) was humiliated or felt like they weren't treated properly.. if anything he'll keep doing it.. because its got a track record of positive results (look at how he's run his campaigns... Lyin Ted.. Little Marco.. etc.. two guys he went out of his way to belittle over and over again.. that are now among his strongest advocates.. Look at how he runs his businesses.. he has a 50 year history of publicly firing, publicly calling out, publicly attacking, etc executives within his own firms.. and publicly humiliating his business opponents.. Look how he ran his last cabinet.. how he dealt with Mattis and others.. he has ZERO problem with people hating him.. as long as he keeps getting the results he desires he will continue with the same tactics and strategies.. which is what amazes me.. his tactics and strategies haven't changed in decades upon decades.. you'd think the other side would figure this out and come up with a better solution.. but they don't.. everyone else (whether we're talking about domestic politics, international politics, business, or anything else) keep playing Trumps game, by Trumps rules..
That could have been boiled down to "the man is driven by a strong ego wrapped in Stars & Stripes".
 
The fact that you still take 100% of Trump's rhetoric seriously and literally at this point in time cracks me up! His unpredictability in regard to what is rhetoric and what is a viable threat is a deliberate tactic, by the way, that is obviously effective... Sorry you are not appreciating and enjoying it as much as I am...

The trust of others is irrelevant and pretty much unnecessary in his negotiating style... The pesky little fact that Trump and all the other world leaders know is that they will continue to align with the U.S. and do business with us because they have to... We are still the dominant superpower in the world with the most powerful military, the largest economy, and most import consumer buying power...

I've said it here and in other threads many times that they all hate us until they need us, and then they love us again... That remains true regardless of who resides in the WH... It is for these precise reasons Canadians can sleep soundly at night with a military of only 68,000... You're welcome by the way...
Apparently some voters did believe Trump. Why shouldn`t others believe him too?.

In regards to Trump or not the markets may react differently than what the world politicians believe. They need predictability just like any household economy.
 
"Conservative" isn't synonymous with "libertarian", "Republican", or "populist"

Churchill would be well left of US Democrats and unelectable other than in a novelty manner like Bernie.

It's just that the US spectrum is shifted so far to the right.
I don't begrudge Americans for it: The same isolationism that keeps less than half of them from owning a passport also reaches to the more educated in a different form of isolationism and general ignorance. US defaultism.

The type that now insists that running massive deficits, instituting tariffs, abandoning free trade, and just being generally boorish on the world stage is now the default "Conservative" position. :rolleyes:

Perhaps in the continental US, but the rest of the world shrugs and looks forward. You'll have to excuse me for being a conservative of the traditional stripe. Not the one that was minted in 2016 and worships a cult of personality. We'll have to agree to disagree.

I'll take a move to balanced budgets with appropriate taxation, a market solution to climate change, agreeable pro-business and pro-development policy, a deference to constitutional laws and norms, and a solid commitment to a free trade agenda in the vein of traditional European conservatism as opposed to what is passing as "Conservative" south of the 49th.

Globally, Canada will pursue closer trade and ties to the UK, EU, China, and India. We'll be better positioned for it in the 21st as China and India rise, and the US wanes.

By all means, you can have the MAGA hats and pats on the back in an echo chamber.
 
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That could have been boiled down to "the man is driven by a strong ego wrapped in Stars & Stripes".

theres no doubt that Trump is full of ego..

that said.. show me a person serving as a head of state that doesn't have a strong ego.. they all do.. doesn't matter if they are a despot ruling over some bankrupt developing country in Africa.. a liberal sitting in a prime ministers position in Europe.. or an overweight new yorker that's tasked with running the country with the worlds largest economy.. ego is a common trait among just about all national leaders..

Ramaposa is full of ego.. Starmer is full of ego.. Carney is full of ego.. no one loves Macron more than Macron does.. Xi and Putin think they always know whats best for the world, etc..etc.. and so does Trump..

With Trump you also get a full dose of NYC persona on top of it is really the only difference.. which is what most people don't like (loud, aggressive, pointed, etc)..

Wrapped in the stars and stripes I'd think most Americans would absolutely cherish.. of course Americans are going to want a leader that's driven to do what they believe is in the best interest of their country, that is patriotic, that loves his flag, etc..

I would guess that the typical Sweede, Swiss, Belgian, French, German, (or anyone else) would want the same thing from their leaders... I would guess Germans would hate the idea of Merz wrapping himself in the stars and stripes.. but would love to believe that he is wrapped in the bundesflagge..

The problem in the US is not all Americans believe that Trump is wrapped in the stars and stripes.. they instead suspect that he is wrapped in his own self interests and desires (I personally believe he is indeed wrapped in the stars and stripes.. I just don't agree with how he conducts himself of all of his ideas on how to best achieve our national interests)..

No different than many Canadians question Carneys motivations.. anyone in Canada that's even a tiny bit right of center that I am aware of believes Carney is wrapped in Carneys personal bank accounts and could give less than a partial damn about the maple leaf flag..
 
Starting to see why Canadian conservatives feel like they’re just beating their heads against the wall? Not only do we have liberals , we’ve got French liberals ( the bloc) and more liberal than liberals ( ndp) now we’ve got liberals calling their leader a conservative :A Bang Head:

My better half knows the Mulroney girls and has been a guest with the kids at Stornoway, as both Erin and Rebecca attended the wedding.

I'm not sure we need an education in what a proper Canadian Conservative is.

But I can take a joke as well as the next guy.
I'll still drop you a line when we venture out your way this summer and give you a chance to scare me straight over a whiskey or three. ;)
 
"Conservative" isn't synonymous with "libertarian", "Republican", or "populist"

Churchill would be well left of US Democrats and unelectable other than in a novelty manner like Bernie.

It's just that the US spectrum is shifted so far to the right.
I don't begrudge Americans for it: The same isolationism that keeps less than half of them from owning a passport also reaches to the more educated in a different form of isolationism and general ignorance. US defaultism.

The type that now insists that running massive deficits, instituting tariffs, abandoning free trade, and just being generally boorish on the world stage is now the default "Conservative" position. :rolleyes:

Perhaps in the continental US, but the rest of the world shrugs and looks forward. You'll have to excuse me for being a conservative of the traditional stripe. Not the one that was minted in 2016 and worships a cult of personality. We'll have to agree to disagree.

No one claimed conservative is synonymous with libertarian, republican, or populist (you're now trying to defend your position with a red herring (a misleading or distracting argument)..

populism is not a right or a left wing ideology.. its an ideology that frame politics as a struggle between "the people" and "the elite".. so who is elite vs who is the people is what matters.. sometimes the wealthy are "the elite".. sometimes the educated are "the elite".. etc.. and sometimes the wealthy are liberal.. sometimes the educated are liberal.. and sometimes they are conservative..

libertarian and republican define specific political parties.. whose positions change over time.. so, no shit, Churchill could be seen as a liberal by some in today's political scene (it would also depend on what time period you are referring to.. Churchill began his political career as a conservative.. then switched to the liberal party.. and then returned to the conservative party in the UK at the end of his career... JFK who was seen as a radical leftist by many in the 1960's would be a little right of center these days in modern politics.. as would many former leftists in the US.. the goal posts have been moved and what is culturally acceptable in the US (as well as much of the world) has changed over a period of decades.. and will continue to change over the decades to come..

Your analysis of why less than half of Americans own a passport demonstrates your complete ignorance of Americans and American culture... perhaps you should "show your work" as you demanded others do recently..

isolationism has little to nothing to do with passports.. the US has only recently (within the last decade) started to vere toward isolationism.. and yet in 1970 less than 5% of Americans held passports.. in the 80's it was roughly 15%.. by 2000 that number had only grown to 17%.. and yet today +/- 48% of Americans hold passports (the number is increasing exponentially every year over the last 20 despite a leaning toward isolationism for +/- the last 10-12 years)..

Contrast that with "globalism" not really becoming a thing until the mid 90's.. and the US being considered to be a globalist nation and on the leading edge of globalism pretty much from the onset of the concept (right about the time you see an explosion in passports in the US).. with NAFTA, a sharp rise in multi-national corporations started in the US, political shifts by both Clinton and Bush toward globally oriented foreign policy.. and your isolationism argument loses all merit.. its nothing more than hot air from someone clearly uninformed, and completely uneducated in the topic that they want to speak to...


you did however claim that because Carney was a Goldman Sachs executive that its non sequitur (doesn't follow any logical statement or path) to believe he is anything other than a conservative..

which is fundamentally flawed.. and the sort of ridiculous statement I'd expect someone that huffs paint and still lives in their mothers basement to make... I thought you were better than that.. I suppose I could have been wrong..

its pretty clear you still havent bothered to read the definition of political conservatism from any reasonable source if you believe Carney to be a conservative of "traditional stripe"... or if you hold beliefs similar to Carneys that you are a conservative of any "traditional stripe"..

Perhaps less bullshit and more fact based analysis would do you well..
 
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You literally posted about dictionary definitions.
And I was speaking more generally, as in @WAB noting we have differing definitions - which is natural and fair. Merkel's party is right wing in Europe. Canada's CPC under a back bencher reform stooge in Poilievre is still further left than American Dems. The more telling point is your reaction to that observation. That Americans view left right politics through a myopic lens shouldn't be news.

And your reduction (after much bloviating and some rudimentary, and typically superficial, and dare I say American takes on Churchill) to 'mom's basement' level ad hominem is pretty ample evidence you're on a bit of a tilt. What was that the other night - come back when you sober up?

Feel free to grow and concede a point when it's taken on you.
I'm happy to learn when a point is made, as I have in this thread here and there. Some (many?) from you. I'm working my way through a book recommendation as we speak.

You've just made a bit of a fool of yourself with that one. But it happens. This is, after all, the internet.

At the end of the day, I'm not the one absolutely desperate to turn "fact based analysis" surrounding Trump to pretend he suddenly epitomizes sound, reasonable, and rational Conservative thought.

He's not.
He hasn't been.
And he won't be.

He's your guy, but he's not a Conservative.

More thought. Less emotion. Less team sport politics.
Whole point of this containment thread is expression and discussion, not consensus.
 
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Roughly a couple of hundred people on this forum know me personally.. more than a hundred have been in my home... Id venture a guess that to a man (and woman) they'd advise you that I am far from "on a bit of a tilt".. but don't take my word for it.. ask around..

I do however admit I don't suffer fools well, and will call one out every time they make ridiculous statements that are unfounded in any evidence or truth and try to declare them as they were facts..

you have a habit of doing exactly that.. so, don't be surprised when you continue to get called out when doing so..

Or.. feel free to bring evidence and facts to support your arguments.. you clearly told others to "do the work" yesterday... you could always hold yourself to the same standard..

FWIW, Im an equal opportunity caller outer.. and have on more than a few occasions raised points with people on the far right as well as those on the far left, and countless that fall somewhere in between when they present opinions as facts without any supporting evidence...

While you're clearly bitching about my responses to you.. I still haven't seen a single piece of evidence presented to support your statements... how about we start there before we decide who the fool is..

Or.. if you prefer, just keep blowing hot, unsubstantiated air.. and see how many people actually buy into your statements or care about your opinions..
 
Also recognizing that I can't be on the highest of horses commenting about decorum while having to habitually edit my posts:

My strong preference is to weigh in while on the computer.
But immediately following the election I'm just tuning in sporadically from Barbados on my phone, and it leaves much to be desired.
 
Yeah, another effort from Trump to solve a genuine problem in the most brain dead (but public and quick) way possible.

The pros: The US is in a bit of a demographic crisis, and we're not hitting replacement rates. Doing something about that ain't a bad idea if you don't want to be dealing with the problem China has now in 10-20 years.

The cons: Just giving people cash is patently stupid. It's not enough to provide for a child anyway, it's just an incentive towards no future planning, it'll mostly incentivize the part of the population that a. can't afford a kid in the first place, and b. already have them anyway. Totally pointless in every way.

As a (potentially) better approach, one of the eastern European nations, I forget which one, Hungary, maybe? Is also looking at this issue.

Their approach? Their population are reluctant to have children because they can't afford housing. A real concern for the middle class American as well. They can just about buy a house and cover a mortgage at 35 or so, but can't afford to do that and raise a child. Plus they don't want to have a kid until they own a place. Plus of course, the expendable funds to 'afford' a family are pretty tight until the mortgage is gone, by which time you're probably too old anyway.

So they're offering mortgages with very, very favorable terms (little down, very low interest) to families who plan to start a family. Still means tested, so default rates are no worse than any other mortgage, but very, very low monthly payments by comparison (think 2%APR vs 7%).

The deal is simple. Take this mortgage, have a kid within (I think) 5 years, you keep the favorable terms for the 30 years. Don't, and rates revert to standard market rates, and the government then sells the security onto the market as a normal mortgage.

I think that's a much better incentive structure for the young middle class American, who is primarily the group that simply aren't reproducing. It gives them a place to raise a kid young enough that it coincides with the time in your life you might want to start a family, and gives them a little bit less housing cost pressure so they can afford to do so. If they renege, no major loss, government subsidized mortgage rates for 5 years are a cost, but you can recoup some of it with whatever profit you can make selling on the higher interest mortgage backed security on the open market.

I would keep it very, very simple:
Let's say the standard income tax rate in a given country is a flat rate 30% tax rate.
The rate of births that are needed to keep the population in check is around 2.5, let's round to 3. (half a kid is just not very useful)

First child born: your personal income tax rate drops with 2%
Second child born: your personal income tax rate drops with an additional 3% (so 5% total)
Third child born: your personal income tax rate drops with an additional 5% (so 10% total)
No further deductions after the third. However when war and pestilence rules the land, the government could just add additional advantageous rates for the fourth, fifth, etc. child depending on how many children are needed.

Advantages:
Bloody easy to implement.
It gives benefits to only those that actually contribute to society (as they pay taxes)
Therefore you incentivize precisely those with the biggest income to have the most babies. Usually these are the smart, hard working, good citizens of society.
 
Roughly a couple of hundred people on this forum know me personally.. more than a hundred have been in my home... Id venture a guess that to a man (and woman) they'd advise you that I am far from "on a bit of a tilt".. but don't take my word for it.. ask around..

I do however admit I don't suffer fools well, and will call one out every time they make ridiculous statements that are unfounded in any evidence or truth and try to declare them as they were facts..

you have a habit of doing exactly that.. so, don't be surprised when you continue to get called out when doing so..

Or.. feel free to bring evidence and facts to support your arguments.. you clearly told others to "do the work" yesterday... you could always hold yourself to the same standard..

FWIW, Im an equal opportunity caller outer.. and have on more than a few occasions raised points with people on the far right as well as those on the far left, and countless that fall somewhere in between when they present opinions as facts without any supporting evidence...

While you're clearly bitching about my responses to you.. I still haven't seen a single piece of evidence presented to support your statements... how about we start there before we decide who the fool is..

Or.. if you prefer, just keep blowing hot, unsubstantiated air.. and see how many people actually buy into your statements or care about your opinions..

One would think that of these legions of internet character references, were they of any character or particular standing, would probably agree that your comments are rude and crass. And that they demonstrate that for all the sermons about emotional responses you've been so eager to give, seems you're incapable of heeding your own advice.

Physician, heal thyself.

But please elaborate on where you would like me to "bring the facts" further, on matters almost wholly relating to opinion.

While also noting that you seem to operate and float not on fact, but on a self sustaining cloud of opinion and supposition when it comes to Trump and a few choice members of the inner circle.

Happy to elaborate to please your somewhat delicate sensibilities. And refusal to grasp an olive branch and find common ground when offered.

Please tell me what you'd have me elaborate on. Knowing based on your posts that I have more than a century of tenuous connection to draw on ala Halifax Explosion. Surely I can find something that will suffice.

Perhaps I'll ask a direct question back.
Let us know how and why you think Trump, and the actions of this administration, fit any definition of traditionally conservative. I'll be eager to see just how far and wide these particular goalposts will shift.

The only hot air being blown, and habitually so, are those that would bend every principle in their body to continue to defend Trump and his actions and claim they represent stoic conservatism somehow.

I'm just calling you out. Because like you claim, I also don't suffer fools.

You can have him as your guy. You can prefer him to Kamala. But you can't with a straight face claim he's the embodiment of conservative thought or any type of rationality and expect to be taken seriously except by those also enamoured by the cult of personality for the moment.

I suspect a good many of those hundreds you refer to are in the same boat. You're just the spokesman here claiming everything he does is 8d chess and anyone who would question it or his credentials as a Conservative political thinker is in the wrong.

With appropriate respect to you and your imagined Internet credentials, I find them wanting.

You're free to find mine wanting as well, as you obviously do, and I'm fine with it. I'm more trying to point out the foolishness of you doubling down on them and leaning on them.
 
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In a change of pace, does anyone actually know what the hell is going on between the two nuclear powers currently exchanging artillery fire?
 
lets see...

we can start with your isolationism passport commentary.. that has been clearly been demonstrated as incorrect...

what you stated was: "The same isolationism that keeps less than half of them from owning a passport"

if you believe that the reason.. lets see some evidence of it from a reputable source..

the facts are that passports didn't become necessary for international travel until just after WWII.. and that until the 80's less than 5% of Americans held passports.. and then the numbers almost tripled inside just a few years... then stayed stagnant until after 2001.. and then have grown by leaps and bounds ever since...

the facts are.. that until 9/11 much of the Western Hemisphere didn't require US Citizens to have passports to enter their countries.. US Citizens could visit Canada, Mexico, most of the Carribean, most of Central America, and a few countries in South America with nothing more than a drivers license.. so there wasn't a whole lot of motivation for US Citizens to obtain passports.. The US is a large country, with a large population, and a lot to do.. neighboring countries offer even more to do and at very low costs for American travelers and for American businessmen.. Europe and other destinations however arent nearly as attractive to American travelers.. only about 1/3 of American international travelers visit Europe each year.. Most prefer Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean..

94M+ Americans traveled abroad in 2024.. 98M+ traveled abroad in 2023.. that's just under 1/3 of the entire US population..

After 9/11 passports became necessary.. therefore there was a huge uptick in passport procurement.. otherwise we'd likely still be sitting at 15-20%...



Lets compare that to Canada..

The stats Im seeing say that roughly 50% of Canadians travel each year.. but only about 20% of those travelers will travel abroad.. and that about 15% of Canadians have never left Canada.. (the numbers arent all that far off from US numbers.. especially when you factor in US disposable / discretionary income and the ability to travel)....

So.. .is Canada also isolationist?

Or did you just say some unfounded BS about American culture that you cant substantiate?


We can move on to your next unfounded statement once this one is resolved..
 
My better half knows the Mulroney girls and has been a guest with the kids at Stornoway, as both Erin and Rebecca attended the wedding.

I'm not sure we need an education in what a proper Canadian Conservative is.

But I can take a joke as well as the next guy.
I'll still drop you a line when we venture out your way this summer and give you a chance to scare me straight over a whiskey or three. ;)
Lately it’s been rum , fisherman’s helper made in n.s
IMG_2216.jpeg

I could still find a quart of 3 of whiskey though in the name of diplomacy.
IMG_1237.jpeg

For those a little more brave pinkdeath is a local specialty it’s basically strawberries at 110 proof.
Also recognizing that I can't be on the highest of horses commenting about decorum while having to habitually edit my posts:

My strong preference is to weigh in while on the computer.
But immediately following the election I'm just tuning in sporadically from Barbados on my phone, and it leaves much to be desired.
It’s annoying to only use a phone , it’s all I use as well as I can have it home or on the boat. Investing in a computer just to argue politics seems counterintuitive to me though so I stick with a phone.
 
In a change of pace, does anyone actually know what the hell is going on between the two nuclear powers currently exchanging artillery fire?


I typically hate NPR... but this isnt a horrible article on India-Pakistan...


Ive spent a good bit of time in Pakistan, and a little bit of time in India over the years (although I haven't been to either in over a decade)... while the two governments very clearly hate and distrust each other, I honestly didn't see this happening.. they have historically been able to talk themselves off the proverbial ledge and not escalate things anytime in recent history when things have started to get ugly.. Border units in both Pakistan and India are even somewhat friendly toward each other at certain check points..
 

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Blesbok cull hunt from this morning

We have a few cancelation dates open for June and July if anyone is interested in a short notice hunt, we can add in a few hunting days for free to sweeten the deal!

17-25 June
possibly 18-25 July
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shoot me a message ASAP,
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Good day sir, how many days are you interested in? I would love to do you a personalised quotation!
 
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