Quick point of order: it's not liberals to avoid on the Democrat side but Progressives - this is a fight of liberalism vs illiberalism, and it's important to not elevate the leftist illiberals where possible
Ballsy thread today Steve; you may well suffer the fate of Illan Omar with apple cider vinegar sprayed on. Setting off those on the right is dangerous and worse yet, you'll get smeared as staging the event to draw clicks.
All "kidding" aside, the perilous position this country in can be laid at the feet of one man. He has created an impossible setting where normalcy, decency and humanity are all treated as a throw-away. One has to ask...how did we get here?
I truly long for the days where the president of the United States doesn't consume all of the oxygen in the room, day after day. Yup, i'll take sleepy old Joe over the constant drumbeat of craziness we currently are trapped in.
Doom loop with no escape. Pretty pathetic when anyone is that needy eh?
I wish it could be laid at the feet of one man, but in reality it's a group effort. Trump couldn't do what he does without the willingness/cowardice of the GOP.
That is the worst idea ever. Kick out every Republican just to get Trump (who will be history in three years) knowing they will be replaced with liars such as Abigail Spanberger and communists such as Mamdani. We are stuck with low info voters. The courts have ruled that literacy tests and civics tests and term limits are unconstitutional.
So far birthright citizenship remains the law and there is no longer meaningful assimilation among immigrants. The USA in becoming more un-American every year. One Chinese billionaire has fathered more than100 citizens.
If you believe that all Democrats are like the worst versions of that party, then explain to me why would any Republican resign or decline to run again? It cannot be all about Trump because of what I think you know are obvious reasons. We must preserve freedom for both parties’ elected legislators. If there is no choice except Trump enablers or far leftist progressives, then we are truly well checkmated. I don’t think we are. Let’s free the remaining Republicans to vote sanely. Let’s restore bipartisan efforts and negotiation.
Sorry, but I do not seem to find many democrats who are not like Spanberger and Newsom and Jefferies or even worse like Mamdani, AOC, Bernie Sanders, Pressley and Crockett.
President Trump is trying to make much needed changes in national policy which is a difficult thing to do perfectly in a way that everyone accepts. Leftist agitators and anarchists have managed to panic a lot of citizens into thinking he is evil incarnate.
Most of the Trump hate arises from enforcing immigration laws that were ignored by Biden's handlers and (YES!) ENABLERS who were not often called out by authors on this site.
If you had advocated voting out all incumbents in every election, it would make more sense and would not be the worst idea ever. Just think, in seven years all of the current politicians that are hated by someone could be gone. Of course, there would be the question of whether the replacements would be any better.
I linked to several in the post. Also, you don’t live in a district where it matters. And, you’re not looking hard enough. There’s several Democrats I actually like: Sen. John Fetterman, Rep, Seth Moulton being 2 of them.
I just watched Seth Moulton ranting about people like me who want to see the laws enforced despite opposition from violent people like Pretti. He claimed that we are Nazis. I have experienced violence from labor unions. I know what violence is and have never engaged in violence. I would never vote for anyone like Moulton who shows no inclination toward bipartisanship.
I just cannot take your complaints about communists seriously when Trump is acting like a communist right now.
Nor do I think you understand what assimilation means in the context of the USA - which is a two-way street. Immigrants adopt some of American culture, and American culture adopts some of the immigrants' culture too (typically cuisine/music/art). That's how it's always been.
You will have to show me how Trump is acting like a communist.
From Meriam-Webster online. I do not see any mention of a two ways street regarding assimilation.
"What is the difference between acculturation, assimilation, and amalgamation?
Acculturation is one of several forms of culture contact, and has a couple of closely related terms, including assimilation and amalgamation. Although all three of these words refer to changes due to contact between different cultures, there are notable differences between them. Acculturation is often tied to political conquest or expansion, and is applied to the process of change in beliefs or traditional practices that occurs when the cultural system of one group displaces that of another. Assimilation refers to the process through which individuals and groups of differing heritages acquire the basic habits, attitudes, and mode of life of an embracing culture. Amalgamation refers to a blending of cultures, rather than one group eliminating another (acculturation) or one group mixing itself into another (assimilation)."
Seizing stakes in private companies, which IIRC is up to 11 different companies. For examples:
1. Direct Government Equity Stakes
Under the second Trump administration, the U.S. government has shifted from providing subsidies to taking direct ownership positions in strategic industries:
Intel ($INTC): Acquired a 9.9% equity stake (worth roughly $8.9 billion) by converting federal grants into ownership shares.
MP Materials ($MP): The Department of Defense took a 15% stake ($400 million) to secure domestic rare earth production.
Lithium Americas ($LAC): Secured a 5% stake as part of a restructured loan agreement for lithium mining.
Trilogy Metals ($TMQ): The Pentagon acquired a 10% stake in this mining company to secure minerals like copper and zinc.
2. "Golden Shares" and Veto Power
The administration has introduced the "golden share" concept—a tool commonly used in state-controlled economies—to exert authority without total ownership.
U.S. Steel: In exchange for approving the Nippon Steel acquisition, the government received a "golden share" that grants the president veto power over relocating facilities, closing plants, or sourcing materials.
3. Revenue Sharing and "Shakedowns"
The government has begun demanding a direct cut of corporate profits as a condition for regulatory approval, a practice critics compare to extortion:
Nvidia & AMD: Required to remit 15% to 25% of revenue from specific chip sales to China back to the U.S. Treasury as a condition for receiving export licenses.
TikTok: The administration reportedly sought a multibillion-dollar payment to the federal government as part of the deal to sell TikTok's U.S. operations.
4. Personnel Interference
Critics point to the administration's interference in corporate leadership as evidence of an authoritarian shift:
Intel: Trump publicly demanded the resignation of Intel’s CEO, signaling that corporate autonomy may be conditional on political alignment.
Public Humiliation: The president has personally called out executives at major firms like Goldman Sachs, Apple, and JPMorgan to pressure them into following administration goals.
Those definitions are interesting, but ultimately I think what we have in the US has historically been amalgamation - at least as it pertains to immigration. For example:
Assimilation: The process where a minority group or individual adopts the language, customs, behaviors, and attitudes of a dominant culture, often losing their original cultural identity in the process. It is a process of becoming similar.
Amalgamation: The biological or cultural blending of two or more distinct groups to create a new, unique, and shared culture or group identity. It is often described as a "melting pot" where a new compound is formed, rather than one group just absorbing into another.
Amalgamation as a Step: Some perspectives suggest that amalgamation (intermarriage and biological mixing) is the final stage of assimilation, making the groups indistinguishable.
Different Goals: Assimilation often involves a one-way shift (minority adopts majority), while amalgamation suggests a two-way blending.
Contextual Overlap: While assimilation can occur without significant intermarriage, intense social interaction often leads to both cultural adoption and biological mixing (amalgamation).
I do not call collateral for subsidizing private companies "seizing". The companies and their shareholders could have declined the offers and accepted bankruptcy and loss of all assets. I would call bailing out Chrysler and GM without some collateral and management oversight "stupid".
The US *did* take a stake in GM and Chrysler during the Carpocalypse bailout, and sold that stake after they recovered. That is not what is happening with the 11 companies above. It's blatantly anti-competitive because it incentivizes the US to ensure those particular companies succeed at the expense of US-based competitors. In some cases - like Intel - there was no choice given, and these stakes were not taken from bankruptcy bailouts.
I stand corrected on GM and Chrysler. The Feds did take a stake and lost only about $17 billion when they sold the stock.
The current situation is that the Trump administration took a stake in critical industry corporations they considered most likely to succeed in meeting national security needs. Not totally unlike up-front payments to defense contractors.
Quick point of order: it's not liberals to avoid on the Democrat side but Progressives - this is a fight of liberalism vs illiberalism, and it's important to not elevate the leftist illiberals where possible
Ballsy thread today Steve; you may well suffer the fate of Illan Omar with apple cider vinegar sprayed on. Setting off those on the right is dangerous and worse yet, you'll get smeared as staging the event to draw clicks.
All "kidding" aside, the perilous position this country in can be laid at the feet of one man. He has created an impossible setting where normalcy, decency and humanity are all treated as a throw-away. One has to ask...how did we get here?
I truly long for the days where the president of the United States doesn't consume all of the oxygen in the room, day after day. Yup, i'll take sleepy old Joe over the constant drumbeat of craziness we currently are trapped in.
Doom loop with no escape. Pretty pathetic when anyone is that needy eh?
I wish it could be laid at the feet of one man, but in reality it's a group effort. Trump couldn't do what he does without the willingness/cowardice of the GOP.
That is the worst idea ever. Kick out every Republican just to get Trump (who will be history in three years) knowing they will be replaced with liars such as Abigail Spanberger and communists such as Mamdani. We are stuck with low info voters. The courts have ruled that literacy tests and civics tests and term limits are unconstitutional.
So far birthright citizenship remains the law and there is no longer meaningful assimilation among immigrants. The USA in becoming more un-American every year. One Chinese billionaire has fathered more than100 citizens.
If you believe that all Democrats are like the worst versions of that party, then explain to me why would any Republican resign or decline to run again? It cannot be all about Trump because of what I think you know are obvious reasons. We must preserve freedom for both parties’ elected legislators. If there is no choice except Trump enablers or far leftist progressives, then we are truly well checkmated. I don’t think we are. Let’s free the remaining Republicans to vote sanely. Let’s restore bipartisan efforts and negotiation.
Sorry, but I do not seem to find many democrats who are not like Spanberger and Newsom and Jefferies or even worse like Mamdani, AOC, Bernie Sanders, Pressley and Crockett.
President Trump is trying to make much needed changes in national policy which is a difficult thing to do perfectly in a way that everyone accepts. Leftist agitators and anarchists have managed to panic a lot of citizens into thinking he is evil incarnate.
Most of the Trump hate arises from enforcing immigration laws that were ignored by Biden's handlers and (YES!) ENABLERS who were not often called out by authors on this site.
If you had advocated voting out all incumbents in every election, it would make more sense and would not be the worst idea ever. Just think, in seven years all of the current politicians that are hated by someone could be gone. Of course, there would be the question of whether the replacements would be any better.
I linked to several in the post. Also, you don’t live in a district where it matters. And, you’re not looking hard enough. There’s several Democrats I actually like: Sen. John Fetterman, Rep, Seth Moulton being 2 of them.
I just watched Seth Moulton ranting about people like me who want to see the laws enforced despite opposition from violent people like Pretti. He claimed that we are Nazis. I have experienced violence from labor unions. I know what violence is and have never engaged in violence. I would never vote for anyone like Moulton who shows no inclination toward bipartisanship.
I just cannot take your complaints about communists seriously when Trump is acting like a communist right now.
Nor do I think you understand what assimilation means in the context of the USA - which is a two-way street. Immigrants adopt some of American culture, and American culture adopts some of the immigrants' culture too (typically cuisine/music/art). That's how it's always been.
I'm currently enjoying a sushi lunch special at my regular pancake joint.
Two-way assimilation RULES.
Do they make okonomiyaki?
Had a chat and okonomiyaki is on the roadmap.
Not yet, but I'll ask the new chef/owner.
Following up my rolls with a breakfast quesadilla.
You will have to show me how Trump is acting like a communist.
From Meriam-Webster online. I do not see any mention of a two ways street regarding assimilation.
"What is the difference between acculturation, assimilation, and amalgamation?
Acculturation is one of several forms of culture contact, and has a couple of closely related terms, including assimilation and amalgamation. Although all three of these words refer to changes due to contact between different cultures, there are notable differences between them. Acculturation is often tied to political conquest or expansion, and is applied to the process of change in beliefs or traditional practices that occurs when the cultural system of one group displaces that of another. Assimilation refers to the process through which individuals and groups of differing heritages acquire the basic habits, attitudes, and mode of life of an embracing culture. Amalgamation refers to a blending of cultures, rather than one group eliminating another (acculturation) or one group mixing itself into another (assimilation)."
Seizing stakes in private companies, which IIRC is up to 11 different companies. For examples:
1. Direct Government Equity Stakes
Under the second Trump administration, the U.S. government has shifted from providing subsidies to taking direct ownership positions in strategic industries:
Intel ($INTC): Acquired a 9.9% equity stake (worth roughly $8.9 billion) by converting federal grants into ownership shares.
MP Materials ($MP): The Department of Defense took a 15% stake ($400 million) to secure domestic rare earth production.
Lithium Americas ($LAC): Secured a 5% stake as part of a restructured loan agreement for lithium mining.
Trilogy Metals ($TMQ): The Pentagon acquired a 10% stake in this mining company to secure minerals like copper and zinc.
2. "Golden Shares" and Veto Power
The administration has introduced the "golden share" concept—a tool commonly used in state-controlled economies—to exert authority without total ownership.
U.S. Steel: In exchange for approving the Nippon Steel acquisition, the government received a "golden share" that grants the president veto power over relocating facilities, closing plants, or sourcing materials.
3. Revenue Sharing and "Shakedowns"
The government has begun demanding a direct cut of corporate profits as a condition for regulatory approval, a practice critics compare to extortion:
Nvidia & AMD: Required to remit 15% to 25% of revenue from specific chip sales to China back to the U.S. Treasury as a condition for receiving export licenses.
TikTok: The administration reportedly sought a multibillion-dollar payment to the federal government as part of the deal to sell TikTok's U.S. operations.
4. Personnel Interference
Critics point to the administration's interference in corporate leadership as evidence of an authoritarian shift:
Intel: Trump publicly demanded the resignation of Intel’s CEO, signaling that corporate autonomy may be conditional on political alignment.
Public Humiliation: The president has personally called out executives at major firms like Goldman Sachs, Apple, and JPMorgan to pressure them into following administration goals.
Those definitions are interesting, but ultimately I think what we have in the US has historically been amalgamation - at least as it pertains to immigration. For example:
Assimilation: The process where a minority group or individual adopts the language, customs, behaviors, and attitudes of a dominant culture, often losing their original cultural identity in the process. It is a process of becoming similar.
Amalgamation: The biological or cultural blending of two or more distinct groups to create a new, unique, and shared culture or group identity. It is often described as a "melting pot" where a new compound is formed, rather than one group just absorbing into another.
Amalgamation as a Step: Some perspectives suggest that amalgamation (intermarriage and biological mixing) is the final stage of assimilation, making the groups indistinguishable.
Different Goals: Assimilation often involves a one-way shift (minority adopts majority), while amalgamation suggests a two-way blending.
Contextual Overlap: While assimilation can occur without significant intermarriage, intense social interaction often leads to both cultural adoption and biological mixing (amalgamation).
I do not call collateral for subsidizing private companies "seizing". The companies and their shareholders could have declined the offers and accepted bankruptcy and loss of all assets. I would call bailing out Chrysler and GM without some collateral and management oversight "stupid".
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-now-holds-stakes-023008085.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAG2vv7yqyTE9-_oSKiCAlpjXVeMLio3MFW_gbNeHm35JgCVDWFfPFSvlkU4SFrl05h6FSRYwTt6UYLXguEm1pDq7PbbcCzBK9b0CZuoze9lrc31NBJ6mjwKa_zctRr6jrb2GNUeCJE6SLX7omJoMNl2lHthukQVTf0F1ixI8FBHG
The US *did* take a stake in GM and Chrysler during the Carpocalypse bailout, and sold that stake after they recovered. That is not what is happening with the 11 companies above. It's blatantly anti-competitive because it incentivizes the US to ensure those particular companies succeed at the expense of US-based competitors. In some cases - like Intel - there was no choice given, and these stakes were not taken from bankruptcy bailouts.
I stand corrected on GM and Chrysler. The Feds did take a stake and lost only about $17 billion when they sold the stock.
The current situation is that the Trump administration took a stake in critical industry corporations they considered most likely to succeed in meeting national security needs. Not totally unlike up-front payments to defense contractors.
A lot of wishful thinking here. I’m just a low information voter though so how did I get here?
Not wishful, but it is painful. It doesn't matter how you got here. Move forward, keep calm, and do the right thing.
Thanks Steve. Your efforts are appreciated.
Completely unrelated: have you checked out the new two-part Mel Brooks documentary on HBO Max?
I don't have HBO Max. NetFlix, Prime, Disney+ and AppleTV+ are enough for me. Kids watch CrunchyRoll.
Ah, fair nuff. We have it from a combo package with Disney+ and Hulu, and our kids liked some stuff that was only there (old Scooby Doo for example).