All_Pro_Bills

I expect my attempt at satire had mixed results but I'm just fascinated by how these global power struggles are centered on the idea of "territorial conquest". I mean, to a great extent China already controls much of American society through concepts such as "elite capture". Which is simply a philosophy of aligning the goals of the CCP and with those of American elite figures. Individuals and their enterprises in politics, entertainment, business, and other areas . Mostly through monetary gain. Figures like Lebraun James have become spokespersons for the Chinese government, Hollywood, for one wouldn't dare release any unflattering movies about China, social media platforms jump when Xi says jump, and corporate America is terrified to lose any access to their large market. Why would they need to physically invade and occupy the U.S.? Their way seems so much easier, more subtle, and by aligning interests lets America's elite fight for China against our own people. A modern day version of the biblical "30 pieces of silver".

I don't have any faith in the leadership of either party and there are few up-and-comers on the bench waiting to take charge. You're right, Trump is an imbecile. But nobody voted for Trump because of his intelligence or great personality or tactful manners. People voted for, and support Trump, because they've lost faith in the system and see traditional politicians as worthless and corrupt hacks. And he's the only guy out there with the fortitude to piss in their faces. And the Democrats are dominated by a group of Octogenarians that will be dead soon enough. Lead by Biden, a mediocre lifetime politician that has done nothing notable over a 40 year span. and continues this record of under-achievement pretending to be President. Overall, there are only a few political figures on either side of the isle I hold in any regard. For America, its a short bench with not a lot of good options. That's part of the reason I'm very pessimistic on the near term future. Longer term we need strong leadership to be cultivated and take charge. But where and who is it going to be? Its been 22 years and all this is from memory but Gore's challenge was more than a re-count. In Florida votes were deemed invalid because they used a paper ballot system with punch holes that sometimes did not completely perforate the paper. The "hanging chad" issue. He sought to have those votes counted. The State, lead by I believe someone named Katheryn Harris, the State attorney general who just happened to be Bush's campaign lead in Florida ruled against that motion. It went to the Supreme Court and they ruled 5-4 against Gore. So he conceded to Bush, another imbecile. So one royal family of American politics beat another royal family of American politics to see which Prince would play King for 4 years. Its a political class thing where both parties belong and its required to be on the inside. Trump was and is not on the inside. That's why he's generally hated and despised by the insiders. And the captive media. He crashed the party, made a mess of the place, and interrupted their racket for 4 year. He beat and embarrassed a member of the permanent political class, Hillary Clinton. A vile and detestable person. Another imbecile. He had to be removed through whatever means necessary. The insiders watch out for each other and they control and manage the system. They make the rules.

If they are resourceful, they will land in Mexico and come across the Rio Grande into Texas which will result in the Biden administration considering them asylum seekers rather than an invasion force. And meet no resistance until they are flown by DHS on late night flights to various cities in the U.S.

But only to serve the interests of "The State". That what the oligarch racket is all about.

Fascist or Communist, Far right or far left, although claiming ideological differences, both employ the same tactics. Crush dissent, suppress freedom, rule through terror, censor truth, and equate the goals of the party to the goals of the State.

While I'm ready to move on to the 2022 season because what's over is over, I've got that worry in the back of my mind if they're going to top this by screwing up again in a critical situation.

I'll be reporting back to my home world I've found no evidence of intelligent life.

Like it is, is if the driver or objective of an action (like the need for fiscal accountability and open debate about defining goals and objectives) produces some hint or view expressed by war advocates that it might "help" Russia, then elected representatives and the public at-large should all keep their mouths shut and go along with the program. That's very undemocratic.

So you're good with determining what conversations and views are acceptable and which are unacceptable in America based on how those view might align in some way with perceived Russian interests?

This is where thinking moves into the realm of idiots. Useful idiots. An elected representative that exercises their Constitutional and democratic rights governing the rules, processes, and procedures of the Senate in order to question and scrutinize policy and spending decisions along with requesting the executive branch to demonstrate justification and oversight for such initiatives is NOT a traitor. Dissent and criticism are not treason. They're basic elements of the democratic process. And they're not conditional on whether or not you or I or anyone else likes it or not. Including this tool Jon Cooper. If you check he's probably on the payroll of some big defense contractor or some think tank or lobby funded by them.

If there's one thing the Washington war machine is great at its exaggerating and producing lots of melodrama associated with the threat assessments they provide to the public through the various media outlets. Which pump it up to the max. All kinds of dangers posed by all kinds of players and countries out to harm "American interests" I recall the hype around the dangers that Saddam's Iraq provided as the "world's 4th largest army". How'd that go exactly? I think that's the case here with Russia. Does the true threat posed by Russia as demonstrated by their disastrous performance in Ukraine justify all the defense spending, troops in Europe or even NATO itself? The U.S. spends over $800B and Russia about 10% of that. And as demonstrated in combat our weapons systems and military branches are superior to anything they've shown to date. It seems unimaginable that Russia which can't even handle Ukraine has any capability to muster any sizable opposition to NATO or even American forces on their own. Their weapons and tactics appear to be obsolete, their military is poorly trained and unmotivated, their chain of command, organization, and troop discipline seems non-existent, and even being right next door to Ukraine their logistics operations with troops and supplies are dysfunctional. Now I'm not downplaying the real death and suffering Russia has imposed on Ukraine and its people but that hardly equates to an existential threat to the United States. And while lots of people are pounding the table about the virtues of protecting democracy everywhere the hard truth is, moral and ethical arguments aside, that whatever the outcome here there will be no material impact to life in America thousands of miles away across the Atlantic. And Finland and Sweden joining NATO seems like piling on. Is Russia a threat to them? It seems ridiculous that Russia would have aspirations or plans of invading Europe in some kind of massive assault. The belief they could somehow succeed in occupying, controlling, and ruling over Western Europe is comical. But if you want to spend $800B plus on weapons and other systems and personnel and project power across the planet you have to justify it by identifying enemies, real, imagined, and exaggerated. It also doesn't hurt to beat the patriotic drum when necessary to garner lots of support and marginalize dissenters.

So you agree.

So the administration should have anticipated a global pandemic, safety and health issues at a major producers facility that the FDA is slow-walking to a resolution, along with the dysfunctional economic agenda of its successor to forecast a shortage of baby formula about 5 years into the future when crafting trade rules? And therefore exempted those products from the final arrangement? That seems like a weak attempt at cause and effect given the amount of time between the two events.

Until recently I've chalked it all up to incompetence or stupidity but recently have concluded it malicious intent and simply that the goals and objectives of politicians and government everywhere, and in most cases, do not align with the needs and desires of the citizens they represent.

Opposing war is unpatriotic. This message brought to you by the defense industry. Schummer and McConnell put on a good show of pretending there's some discourse or difference between the leadership of the two parties but their unwavering duty to any and all wars and massive spending reveals they all answer to the same powers. As I see more and more of these senseless wars over my lifetime I've come around to the conclusion that just because the leaders of my country have a gripe with the leaders of some other country doesn't mean me and people like me in these other countries need to kill each other. I've got no gripe with anybody. I expect they feel the same. How about this. Maybe let the leaders kill each other and leave the rest of us out of it? And save the $40 billion!

I'm happy you're fine with the current situation where a homicidal maniac and an old guy with a mind a couple cans short of a 6 pack are playing chicken and pointing 1,000s of nuclear warheads at each other while using the people and country of Ukraine as a punching bag.

Developing more efficient and effective ways of killing people. And all for only $800B a year. So yes, very happy.

As with all things Ukraine the standard 10% for "the big guy"? The rest to the bottom lines of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Textron, Boeing, etc., with a slice going to Senate campaign coffers.

Check your calendar. It's May 2022. And with mid-term election season and primaries kicking off the statute of limitations on blaming the previous administration has officially expired. Contact U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack with questions. https://www.usda.gov/our-agency/about-usda/our-secretary For some clue on why everything is getting FUBAR'd please refer to his official bio. To quote one gem. "Secretary Vilsack continues to take bold, historic action to reduce barriers to access for historically under-served communities. By working to ensure all aspects of civil rights and equity are integrated, USDA is rooting out generations of systemic racism and building systems and programs inclusive of all USDA employees and customers." What that means in terms of action to get more and safer food to Americans I haven't a clue. But the statement checks all the social score boxes in the pretend, do nothing, know nothing fantasy world this administration lives in.

So now you've got 40 gallons of free gas but no gun to carjack somebody.

Yes, Trump raised my taxes too. $11,800 in unexpected medical expenses last year that I cannot deduct because of SALT limits and itemized deductible limits of tax "reform" bill. Part of the reason why every time some ding-doong here suggests I'm some Trump cult member I imagine hitting them on the head with a big rock.

As mainly political operatives and social activists with advanced degrees in all kinds of disciplines that are worthless outside of government and academia while also never working for a commercial enterprise in any management or ownership capacity they have no idea how the economy functions. They view more government, more laws, and more regulations as the solution to all problems.

When you're dealing with health care in the context of generational poverty where infant mortality is the highest there are many more circumstances and factors to consider than access to health care. The obvious solutions all assume throwing more money at the problem will lead to improvement or resolution of the problem. In this case infant mortality rates. But viable solutions need to consider how to address the culture of poverty. The specific set of norms and customs that people operate under. There are many factors beyond financial resources such as personal behaviors, emotional, mental, and nurturing support of the mother and the home environment. A focus on the present and an inability to identify the consequences, sometimes to the unborn child of actions taken or not taken. As well as things like a lack of support systems available to the mother and what can be the hidden rules that dictate relationships and behavior inside these communities and homes. A fundamental obstacle in defining and implementing effective solutions to infant mortality and health care issues for people stuck in generational poverty is both an inability and an unwillingness to accept the fact that poor people do not think and act like middle class individuals that define solutions. So solutions that are defined with a middle class to professional perspective tend to fail. Addressing the needs of people in a manner consistent with how they operate, not how the providers operate could be more effective.

Oh its happening. The idea is to release 1M bbl/day into the market for a period of 60 days. For the purpose of adding supply and bringing down prices. So far, so good. But the problem is 1M isn't all that much on the world market. And it doesn't seem to have had much impact as we move into peak demand season for gasoline. But here's the fun part. The US DOE has put out RFP's for the purchase of 60M bbls at some point in the Fall. Or most likely after the mid-terms. At which time prices may be lower. Or they may be higher. My guess is higher. But there's more. Here's another brilliant idea. https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-NOPEC-Bill-Could-Send-Oil-Prices-To-300.html From the very same political class that has no problem with the Treasury department intervening and managing prices in all kinds of markets via the Exchange Rate Stabilization Fund or the President's Working Group on Markets. Or what people in the markets call the Plunge Protection Team. Which authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to intervene in any market at any time without notice or disclosure. This isn't a Biden creation but rather something that's been official but unspoken US government policy for a few decades. It just points out the duplicity. We can manipulate prices and markets but you can't.