Antagonist in Chief

[AnalogPackrat]

It's not worth answering? Then why do you respond?

What you wrote is the same gobbledygook I hear from politicians, without anything concrete. What would you cut? Military spending? Education? Health care? Policing?

Or, to put it another way, which departments should be cut?

You try to make it seemingly simple, but only leave the impression you haven't a clue what you're going on about.

I've been in dozens of downsizing projects, some for our govt. It's always the same: some doofus suggests cutting budgets. A committee is appointed to find out where to cut. Nobody agrees about budget cuts and in the end, more money is spent.

That's not to say I don't believe there are budget cuts possible. It's just not as simple as you paint it.

And you think I've not had any experience with downsizing? I saw more layoffs than I can remember. I was at companies that were purchased and large layoffs followed. One startup where I worked had a 30% RIF six weeks after I started (I was kept). Of course it isn't easy, simple, or even necessarily "fair" from the perspective of those who lose their job. But it is often necessary.

I told you that in my opinion there's excess fat all over the government. Many companies have a policy of laying off the bottom 5 or 10% (based on performance reviews) every year or two. That helps weed out the people who don't pull their weight. Or do you believe the size of any organization is always better if it is larger?

You know little about our government. Why are you so concerned with the affairs of the USA? Maybe you could work on fairness for your farmers, feeding your people, and providing a stable energy supply in your own country/region instead.

 

[pucho812]

speaking of the border, I grew up on our southern border. I spent over half my life living down there in Texas. I can tell you what is what as I saw it all first hand. Back in the 1970's and through1990's it was way different than it was now. Both sides of the political spectrum wanted to secure the boarder. Back then anyone crossing illegally was classified as either Mexican or OTM(other then Mexican). Back then we didn't have the craziness that it is now. It started to turn in the late 1980's when people like mark Kilroy were kidnapped and murdered. That's when the cartels started to make moves for territory. The town in Mexico across the border used to be safe, a couple of years ago in the wee hours of the morning 2 rival cartels, the local police on the Mexican side, the federales and Mexican army all had a shoot out at the border crossing. It was a sight to behold. It lasted about an hour and started off with 2 rival cartels shooting at each other on the street. The local police went it to try and break it up and were out numbered and out gunned. Calling for backup the federales(the Mexican equivalent to the FBI) picked up the chatter on the radio and went in to help. when the 4 groups of people were all firing away, the radio chatter got picked up by the Mexican army who sent a tank in and without firing cleared everyone out. They all left. No one hurt. Shop windows broken, merchandise broken, damage everywhere but not one person shot or injured in the event. The people crossing now days run every letter of country of origin, it's no longer M or OTM. My folks have caught some before as they cross through their farm. Decades ago, it would be a quick conversation and whoever trespassing would leave without issue, now days you don't know what they are carrying in terms of weapons and what their intent is. Now days you just call the border patrol and don't make contact. decades ago it was people looking for a better life and thinking we had it. decades ago they would tell you in Spanish north is (points in a direction), that they are heading to San Antonio or Houston, not knowing it's over 300 miles in a dry desert like climate. Now days it's best not to ask for safety reasons. Now days they may be carrying a weapon and willing to use it. We have had the occasional person in need of medical assistance. For example a month back in the apex of summer heat, a lady was found on their place near a horse water trough. She was in dire need of medical help and of course the phone call was made.
Having seen it you feel for these people. Knowing people who became citizens, after fleeing the likes of Castro it Really puts it in perspective. We definitely need to rework the system and we also need to enforce the laws we have. We can't have a free for all.

 

[cyrano]

You know little about our government. Why are you so concerned with the affairs of the USA?

Because they affect me every day.

40 years ago, I investigated Westland New Post. Last week, I got confirmation it was a US operation. Not CIA, as I figured, but DEA. Many people died. I almost died.
The same goes for the Gladio network. That one didn't kill anyone, afaict. It was made public before it could start a war.

All because of paranoia. Fear of anything that even remotely smells like socialism or communism. The same fear I smell from the Taliban, cornered between the West and worse islamic extremists.

Maybe you could work on fairness for your farmers, feeding your people, and providing a stable energy supply in your own country/region instead.

And that's exactly what I'm doing. It would be a hell of a lot easier if it wasn't sabotaged by US "interests" from time to time.

Only, I don't see it as "my people". Just people. Half of the people I work with, weren't born here. They're only here now because the USA and its allies Saudi-Arabia and Israel devastated their home countries.

 

[hodad]

So much GOP handwringing about vote fraud, and yet one GOP candidate is alleged to have tampered with voting machines. But he's Republican, so it's okay, right?

Trump-backed GOP candidate for Michigan AG under criminal investigation for possibly tampering with voting machines, docs say | CNN Politics

 

[hodad]

no but they were called to action by sitting members of congress and former presidents.

...from way back in the thread, this was said in reference to BLM protests. I'm not entirely sure if pucho is referencing real comments or not, but there were certainly no calls to riot or commit violent acts.

But now..........what is South Carolina's sweetheart Lindsey O. Graham going on about?

Sen. Lindsey Graham predicts ‘riots’ if Trump is prosecuted

(I even linked to a conservative newspaper so you can't blame the liberal media.)

Oh yeah, he "predicted," didn't "call for"--so you could view it as a veiled threat, or tacit permission for fringe right wingers to riot. "Stand back and stand by."

 

[AnalogPackrat]

So much GOP handwringing about vote fraud, and yet one GOP candidate is alleged to have tampered with voting machines. But he's Republican, so it's okay, right?

Trump-backed GOP candidate for Michigan AG under criminal investigation for possibly tampering with voting machines, docs say | CNN Politics

If found guilty jail him, disbar him, and prevent him from holding public office. The same goes for anyone else caught doing anything similar. But until convicted he's presumed innocent.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

...from way back in the thread, this was said in reference to BLM protests. I'm not entirely sure if pucho is referencing real comments or not, but there were certainly no calls to riot or commit violent acts.

Your memory has failed you.

But now..........what is South Carolina's sweetheart Lindsey O. Graham going on about?

Sen. Lindsey Graham predicts ‘riots’ if Trump is prosecuted

(I even linked to a conservative newspaper so you can't blame the liberal media.)

Oh yeah, he "predicted," didn't "call for"--so you could view it as a veiled threat, or tacit permission for fringe right wingers to riot. "Stand back and stand by."

You're unhinged. How does a prediction compare to, oh things Schumer said on the steps of the Supreme Court building re:"reaping the whirlwind?" There are plenty of other examples over the past few years if you'll remove your blinders.

 

[JohnRoberts]

#1 covid vaccine approval was delayed to deny Trump a win just before the vote.

The Politico story that Silver linked to quotes several public health experts who criticized Pfizer for going too fast in seeking FDA authorization of its vaccine.

The pharmaceutical giant was under intense pressure by the Trump administration and its allies to announce the success of its vaccine at clinical trials before Nov. 3, 2020.

Six days after the election, Pfizer announced that its COVID vaccine was 90% effective.

I recall thinking that the timing of the delayed approval until after the vote was pretty suspicious back then.

#2

A senior FBI official in the bureau’s Washington field office has abruptly resigned after coming under congressional scrutiny for suspected political bias in handling the investigation of Hunter Biden’s laptop computer.

The Washington Times learned that Timothy Thibault, an assistant special agent in charge, was forced to leave his post. The information came from two former FBI officials familiar with the situation.

There are more whistleblowers coming forward.

#3 Mark Zuckerberg shared on Joe Rogan podcast that they were approached by FBI and influenced to censor news about Hunter's laptop. Facebook famously blocked the NY Post story before the vote.

#4 two people have recently been prosecuted for "stealing and selling" Ashley Biden's diary. Apparently they tried to sell it to Trump before the 2020 vote and he declined, so they sold it to veritas. Project Veritas is a target of the left for their past investigations.
========

Evidence of more campaign dirty tricks are trickling out, I expect more comprehensive investigations after Nov. including questioning the 50 intelligence professions who declared the Hunter Laptop as likely Russian disinfo.

JR

 

[Recording Engineer]

Say all you’re expectations (a result of your political leanings) are all correct… Campaign dirty tricks from both sides… So what’s different or new with these compared any other time from either side? It’s built into the system by design.

 

[pucho812]

Say all you’re expectations (a result of your political leanings) are all correct… Campaign dirty tricks from both sides… So what’s different or new with these compared any other time from either side? It’s built into the system by design.

Never in my lifetime has it been so obvious that the law has been ignored purely because it would have major effect on a candidate they support.

 

[Recording Engineer]

Which candidate specifically? If it’s Trump, he’s not even a candidate yet. Regardless, be it him or otherwise, what makes the person THAT different from the endless candidates in your lifetime to warrant such an change? Also, what laws specifically are we talking about?

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Say all you’re expectations (a result of your political leanings) are all correct… Campaign dirty tricks from both sides… So what’s different or new with these compared any other time from either side? It’s built into the system by design.

As with Pucho, what has gone on the past six or so years in the US is far beyond anything in my lifetime of 56 years. And I remember hearing Nixon's resignation speech live on the radio when I was 8.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Say all you’re expectations (a result of your political leanings) are all correct…

OK

Campaign dirty tricks from both sides…

There have been small ball dirty tricks by both sides for as long as I have been paying attention. Usually opposition research works to find embarrassing facts, not making them up from whole cloth.

So what’s different or new with these compared any other time from either side?

These seem qualitatively different from anytime before in my memory. Using government force to influence elections is wrong, and very illegal.

It’s built into the system by design.

I am thankful that our election system is very robust so we can enjoy peaceful transitions between wildly different administrations despite the shenanigans. The electoral college that the coastal elites abhor is part of that successful system that provides peaceful transitions.

I am too lazy to provide a list but the FBI and DOJ clearly injected themselves in the middle of the last two elections. I wish ex-President Trump would just move on and focus on the next vote(s), but I understand where all his anger is coming from. There are several tens of millions of angry voters concerned about this stuff.

The deep state was considered a right wing conspiracy theory until whistleblowers with evidence of their actual bad behavior surfaced.

As with Pucho, what has gone on the past six or so years in the US is far beyond anything in my lifetime of 56 years. And I remember hearing Nixon's resignation speech live on the radio when I was 8.

+1 but add another decade and a half of my paying attention...

Nixon F'g drafted me in 1970 so screw him.

JR

 

[Recording Engineer]

So, I continually ask: What makes this specific candidate, of all candidates in your lifetimes, so different to make these lifetime dicey illegal political campaign changes, that are so obvious and out front with everyone watching, that somehow has gotten all of federal law enforcement from both sides of the isle, to go along with it, worth the risk?

 

[AnalogPackrat]

So, I continually ask: What makes this specific candidate, of all candidates in your lifetimes, so different to make these lifetime dicey illegal political campaign changes, that are so obvious and out front with everyone watching, that somehow has gotten all of federal law enforcement from both sides of the isle, to go along with it, worth the risk?

"aisle" not isle. We span a continent.

Ask Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Kevin Clinesmith, Tim Thibault, James Comey and the rest. They're the ones who know.

 

[Recording Engineer]

Good catch… Though Islay Scotch is even better.

I should better hope you know, with such strong claims. Anything less is nothing more than business as usual.

 

[pucho812]

"aisle" not isle. We span a continent.

Ask Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Kevin Clinesmith, Tim Thibault, James Comey and the rest. They're the ones who know.

Lisa page was hired elsewhere, NBC News if I recall correctly. I would imagine the others as well as Lisa were taken care of, they would have gotten a huge severance package, will eventually be forgotten and will move on into high paying cushion gigs/jobs. I doubt there will be any long lasting affects from their wrong doings. It's how the world works in 2022. Consider it their 15 minutes of fame.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Good catch… Though Islay Scotch is even better.

I enjoy Ardbeg on occasion, but also Bourbon, neat. The tradition of distillation was originally brought to America by Scots-Irish who mostly settled in the southern Appalacian frontier.

I should better hope you know, with such strong claims. Anything less is nothing more than business as usual.

Why is it my obligation to know why some group has chosen extra-legal means to political ends? I don't have to know why to be able to see what's happening.

 

[Recording Engineer]

Extra legal means is exactly how both sides operate! The government itself as a whole operates that way. If a lawyer can angle an argument, that is exactly what they’ll do, and many get away with it daily!

How is this any different? Both sides can and do claim all day long, every year, every time, that this is different this time, or it’s been more and more obvious for years, I’ve seen it with my own two eyes, the country has gone down hill, yada yada. I’ve been hearing it all my life. So have you. It in itself is nothing more than tried and true political rhetoric: as it’s simply in the eyes of political leaning.

I’m simply asking to put some reasonable perspective into what you’re saying. If your answer to a possible motive is anything of all the endless political talking points, it’s nothing more than that. Tune in next week. Same bat time, same bat channel.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Extra legal means is exactly how both sides operate! The government itself as a whole operates that way. If a lawyer can angle an argument, that is exactly what they’ll do, and many get away with it daily!

I don't agree with any of that. Are you trying to say something akin to "everybody is doing it, so it's ok" or what?

How is this any different?

When is the last time a FISA court was patently abused for political ends? And at the level of a national election for President?

Both sides can and do claim all day long, every year, every time, that this is different this time, or it’s been more and more obvious for years, I’ve seen it with my own two eyes, the country has gone down hill, yada yada. I’ve been hearing it all my life. So have you. It in itself is nothing more than tried and true political rhetoric: as it’s simply in the eyes of political leaning.

There's no shortage of blowhards in politics. I see more on the left of late. But this is not "business as usual" as you seem to believe.

I’m simply asking to put some reasonable perspective into what you’re saying. If your answer to a possible motive is anything of all the endless political talking points, it’s nothing more than that. Tune in next week. Same bat time, same bat channel.

I have. As I've stated here before I have never been a member of any political party. I've voted for D, R, and various third party candidates in my life. I did not vote for W Bush. I did vote for Obama. I spent 29 years in an increasingly blue CA after having grown up in the south (which used to be dominated by more moderate Democrats). I've moved back south to a "red state" recently. Consider the possibility that my perspective is more balanced than yours. Have you voted R for any candidate at the Federal level? Have you lived in deep red and deep blue states for a significant time (decades) as an adult?