U.S. Presidency #47

[jimk]

I've always had very mixed feelings about DJT, voted for and against him over the years. I hope he gets a regime change in Iran. I'd hoped there would have been resolution in Ukraine by this point. He's not the first US president to get caught up in the quagmire of Middle East affairs.

He creates so much disruption on the domestic front. You never know what's coming out of his mouth. One day I'm for something he says, the next day I'm against something he says. I suppose I'm even more conflicted about what comes from the other political party. It's probably counterproductive to hash out every issue here. I don't believe disagreements over national politics should ruin personal friendships. Having been a USG employee for nearly 40 years I felt compelled to stand somewhat aside from politics and not take it or individual leaders too seriously. Just take care of your own role/job in a responsible and fair way. The bureaucracy will always prevail in the long run

 

[Tony Crocker]

I hope he gets a regime change in Iran.

I do too. But the intelligence community told him the odds of that were "farcical." They have also told every administration since Carter that any attempt by the US to force regime change in Iran would be met by a closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Have you read the Maggie Haberman account of Netanyahu's pitch in mid-February to start the war? Of all the people in the room, only Trump and Hegseth were for it.

been a USG employee for nearly 40 years ......... Just take care of your own role/job in a responsible and fair way.

How's that working out these days for your former colleagues? Weren't you in DOD, now run with something less than competence by the aforementioned Pete Hegseth?

The bureaucracy will always prevail in the long run

That was certainly true in the first term, and since jimk saw that up close, it probably informed his view that a second term might not be such a big deal. Trump 2.0 is attacking that premise in a much more forceful way than in the first term; still I wouldn't bet against the bureaucracy reasserting itself after 2028.

I vote for president largely based upon foreign policy, because the president has so much control over it, with few of the checks and balances vs. domestic issues. How long will it take to correct the damage and get foreigners to trust the US as per 1945-2016? The 2016 election could be written off as an aberration. But nearly everyone overseas is aghast (see sbooker, far from a flaming liberal) that we put DJT back in office after January 6.

The Democrats meanwhile ............... promote a clearly overaged person as a presidential candidate and follow that by choosing his replacement without a primary.

+10 to that. But then we elect someone with obvious mental health issues who takes office at an older age than when Biden did? With regard to foreign policy, the one saving grace of Trump 1.0 was that he was outspokenly averse to foreign wars. That inhibition has evidently degraded in his advancing years. [/soapbox]

 

[jasoncapecod]

Using history as a guide, there has never been a regime change by using air power alone aside from a nuclear weapon so unless he puts boots on the ground, Iran will never ever surrender.

 

[Harvey]

They have also told every administration since Carter that any attempt by the US to force regime change in Iran would be met by a closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Have you read the Maggie Haberman account of Netanyahu's pitch in mid-February to start the war? Of all the people in the room, only Trump and Hegseth were for it.

I could put my garbage cans conveniently on the porch.

But before I do I want to understand why everyone keeps their garbage can in the garage.

A thoughful person understands and evaluates conventional wisdom before going against it.

I miss the old days when a politician got run out of town because a woman, who wasn't his wife, sat on his lap.

 

[takeahike46er]

Hopefully the powers that be in Canada understand that we'll be working hard to repair all this after Trump is gone.

IMO, this is true regardless of who the next president is, R or D.

You’d think so. I’m sure they understand this is the doings of a rogue administration that is throwing their weight around globally.

To quote Mark Carney, “Hope isn't a plan, and nostalgia is not a strategy”.

There’s a growing sense that the US has changed for good and that our countries’ values are no longer aligned.

I miss the old days when a politician got run out of town because a woman, who wasn't his wife, sat on his lap.

That’s still the present in Canada

 

[Sbooker]

Is there a point where even the hard core MAGA people are offended?

 

[jasoncapecod]

View attachment 53227
Is there a point where even the hard core MAGA people are offended?

What a f’n stupid bastard. He really posted this?
They need to flip this around like they did the nutritional pyramid

 

[Harvey]

LOL what's the criteria for who was included?

Aside from the ordering... where's Bush?

Why would MAGA be offended? They let a lot of other shit go.

source: ai slop

 

[jasoncapecod]

Aside from the ordering... where's Bush?

what about a guy called Truman ? Maybe Regan or JFK...just saying

 

[jamesdeluxe]

source: ai slop

Hah!

I try to always note if the source for my posts is AI, although it's easy enough to spot from the formatting unless you redo it.

 

[Tony Crocker]

All presidents after FDR and before Carter are missing, along with Reagan and the Bushes.

 

[ChrisC]

The US is the only country that has threaten Canada's sovereignty and kept insulting and trolling us.

But Trump is so successfully vindictive and able to distract that now we will be talking about this for a week.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I'm guessing these name changes don't show up if you load Google Maps from an IP address outside the USA. Perhaps sbooker or a Canadian user can verify this.

As for the idiotic new Canadian tariffs, evidently they are somewhat narrow in scope and a plaintiff has yet to be found willing to file suit.

 

[Sbooker]

I'm guessing these name changes don't show up if you load Google Maps from an IP address outside the USA. Perhaps sbooker or a Canadian user can verify this.

As for the idiotic new Canadian tariffs, evidently they are somewhat narrow in scope and a plaintiff has yet to be found willing to file suit.

I had no idea that the names had changed on Google maps. That’s crazy. American businesses are bowing down to a demented dictator? Land of the free?

But no - it’s still Lake Ontario when I search.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I had no idea that the names had changed on Google maps. That’s crazy. American businesses are bowing down to a demented dictator? Land of the free?

But no - it’s still Lake Ontario when I search.

Only federal agencies are required to make these changes. Apple Maps has "Gulf of America" but has not yet changed Lake Ontario.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

American businesses are bowing down to a demented dictator? Land of the free?

Everyone who didn't vote for him (and many of those who did) is just waiting out the last two years of this administration, after which a majority of Agent Orange's changes will be reversed.

 

[Patrick]

I'm guessing these name changes don't show up if you load Google Maps from an IP address outside the USA. Perhaps sbooker or a Canadian user can verify this.

Yep, it’s the US only. I know a certain user of this forum has complained to the US consulat in Toronto site had Lake Ontario on their Google location. He said he would.
Funny is that the province of Ontario is named after the Lake and not the other way around. Name predates Canada and the US by over a century,

As for the idiotic new Canadian tariffs, evidently they are somewhat narrow in scope and a plaintiff has yet to be found willing to file suit.

It’s the 3rd try; each time they find a new way to apply them. This creates huge uncertainty for businesses for planning mid to longterm.
The 1st one was because of fentanyl flowing into the US. Fentanyl from Canada represents a infinite part of the amount flowing into the US, in fact there is more fentanyl flowing into Canada from the US than the other way around.
Everyone realizes that the US and signature isn’t worth anything: Trump renegotiated NAFTA in his first term, best deal ever, now it’s a terrible deal. With almost 40 years of Free trade plus 60 years of the autopack, US-Canada economies are so integrated; now that depends is hurting us, thus the massive negotiating with new reliable partners.
Since Trump 2.0, if someone would want to sabotage the US from the inside, there wouldn’t do it any other way (Iran war, debt, breaking alliances from Canada to South Korea).

 

[Sbooker]

Everyone who didn't vote for him (and many of those who did) is just waiting out the last two years of this administration, after which a majority of Agent Orange's changes will be reversed.

Two years is a long time. It's really concerning. I (like most Americans I suppose) have the bulk of my life savings tied up in the world's biggest and most innovative economy. It'd feel a lot better if someone that at least appeared to be sane was at the helm. The current president and his administration aren't showing any intent of reigning in a huge deficit. Bond markets* are on the point of breaking. Meanwhile the guy in charge is posting AI videos about geese. It f*(king frightening.

*Can someone smarter than me explain how this is going to be unwound? Are they intending on just inflating their way out?

 

[Tony Crocker]

The current president and his administration aren't showing any intent of reigning in a huge deficit. Bond markets* are on the point of breaking.

Paul Krugman (economist and staunch Democrat all his life) is running a series of e-mails on the subject over the past few weeks. Some details are paywalled.
1) He blames the dangerous level of deficits all on the Bush 2 and Trump tax cuts. IMHO there is room for debate on some of the Obama and Biden deficits as well.
2) He sees no evidence that the US government will default and furthermore no evidence that current market has a risk premium for such an event. IIRC the spread between conventional bonds and TIPS is the evidence; inflation is more what the bond market is worried about.
3) Bond pricing is also a lot about supply and demand. Post 2008-09 financial crisis there was excess demand for safety; this artificially drove up demand for Treasuries and drove down interest rates, with an extreme hit during COVID (my 2.5% mortgage refi in Dec. 2020).
4) On the bond supply side the big tech companies for 20 years were so profitable they rarely needed to borrow. Now they are borrowing trillions to build data centers. Massive more borrowing by business as well as by governments is driving interest rates up.

 

[Skieric]

Lake Ontario on Google maps in Ontario. Has Trump realized how many countries are in the Americas. Patagonia through to the north pole. Includes 2 continents. 35 countries.