Grateful Dead

…outta control…

... Just destroying all our civic institutions and bankrupting (morally and financially) the place. Does anyone think he won't assign himself the 10 billion dollars he's seeking - from a government that he presently "runs" - next week to 'settle the lawsuit' he brought against the IRS for leaking some of his tax data ?? Talk about conflict of interest and (non) legal shenanigans >> Straight Theft, out of our and our childrens' pockets and into his own ...
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But wait! He said he would give all the money won in that suit to charity. Is that similar to his deluxe 747 that is now getting refurbished/teched out at taxpayer expense? Because the "charity" that is receiving that particular 'gift' (ehem bribe) is his own presidential library! Next thing you know, he'll buy out that municipal golf course in DC he's eyeing and put his own shrine up on it > lots of room needed for that big plane ... and maybe another gilded ballroom. Barf
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And this (rampant, egregious corruption) is to say nothing of what other/utter destruction, per Jim and others' posts below, he has wrought in the global economic and geo-political areas over the last year >>> In total: An ineptly run gigantic train-load of toxic flaming poo hurtling down the tracks of this nation - spewing fumes, tossing cars off and spilling excrement all over 'the lot'.
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May 2 of every three good citizens everywhere VOTE this shit down/out. May all the votes be counted "fair and square" (I know, wishful thinking). And may all who are complicit in this regime's many crimes be prosecuted to the very greatest extent possible.
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End of Rant

Apparently they are calling him the country builder. And they mean their country, lol, because he has done so much for them. If he even hears or sees that I'm sure he will think it a compliment.
Cheers

China is 5000 years old. Not that long ago they were the wealthiest country on earth and in isolation. The turd is way out of his depth. The danger this time around is that American arrogance is coming up against Chinese confidence and arrogance.

Over the last 22 years I have been to China a lot. I learned a bit of Mandarin and traveled to meet and get to know academics, doctors, and average Chinese in what are called first tier cities. Think Shanghai, Beijing, and Hangzhou and in more far flung places like Chengdu and Tianjin. Back 15- 22 years ago it was not resentment-it was inferiority-and it embarrassed them. I never encountered resentment even amongst my friends in the Chinese military. To be transparent they were all medical doctors and I am a scientist. Never did I encounter animosity or resentment. What I did often encounter was deep admiration and a desire "to have by bare feet touch the free beaches of America". Back then China was open and felt more free than home. Yes I know; but nonetheless it is true. I fell in love with China. Then under Obama American policy toward China became one of containment. It was a mistake-if anyone is interested I can detail why. On the one hand the election of Obama increased already huge respect for America on the other the policy of containment stoked anger. They loved Americans and the American Idea and this was un American and anti-Chinese. This, in turn, spurned action. I was there an saw it start. For them containment was equivalent to Sputnik for Americans. The great competition began. I have not been back since right before Covid but I follow closely what is happening in science, technology, mathematics, and artificial intelligence. Inferiority has turned to confidence and that deep respect is gone. I was in Shanghai when the turd got elected the first time. The Chinese professor I was with assured me "American's are to well educated to elect him"-5 minutes later he won and I went drinking-the craft beer in China is superb. Last time I was there I lectured at Fudan University in Shanghai. My host apologized for not announcing my lecture on their Website. He said it was a policy to protect Americans. I asked from whom and he replied your government-they monitor our websites. It made me sad. A favorite memory from one of my last visits. I was walking down a road close to Fudan listening to GD at the Rochester War Memorial fall 77 with a GD tee shirt on. I looked up and a student sporting a GD tee shirt with headphones walks past me. I remember thinking the world will be OK! Did I mention I fell in love with China.

It turns out that being disconnected from reality has a real downside for US presidents.
Trump started a trade war with Chine based on the idea that China would pay ANY price to retain access to US markets. The reality was that China could easily buy and sell elsewhere, while the US desperately needed not only the rare metals it could only get from China but also access to Chinese markets for things like soy beans. Trump lost that trade war in dramatic fashion, and China discovered a new level of leverage in dealing with the US.
The war in Iran has had a similar arc. It's not entirely clear what Trump was after in joining the Israeli attacks on Iran. Regime change? A nuclear treaty similar to the JCPOA that he scuttled during his first term? "Cutting the grass"? He's never really said. But whatever it was, he expected it to happen quickly. Somehow, he expected a nation that has existed for 2600 years would capitulate to US hegemony after a few days of aerial strikes. Instead, the regime in Iran persevered and discovered a new point of leverage: it can close the Strait of Hormuz and choke the world economy using little more than a handful of drones. At this point, Trump will be lucky to get out of this without paying reparations and conceding sovereignty over the strait to the ayatollah.
As if that wasn't bad enough, the war has depleted the US stockpile of critical weapons it would need to defend Taiwan (or itself), and the Chinese know that with our limited industrial capacity, it'll take years to restock.
So, yeah, it's pretty clear that the "empire" is in decline. And Xi is going to rub Trump's nose in it. I expect him to tell Trump in very direct terms that China is about to take Taiwan and any other damn thing it wants, and the US is going to have no choice but to let them.

That quote wasn't from the Times, there was a clip on TV that happened to capture Rod Stewart saying that as I was putting those America in Decline quotes together.

I think Ronnie Wood was there with Rod and King Charles when he said that. Pretty spot on if you ask me. That was quite the piece of action King Charles put together. A very intelligent visit where he covered what needed to be covered and said what needed to be said in a very tasteful way. Hats off to the Charles.

“May I say, well done in the Americas. You were superb, absolutely superb. Put that little ratbag in his place.”

Interesting, from the New York Times:

China increasingly views Trump's America as an Empire in Decline

For decades, many Chinese viewed the United States with a mix of admiration, envy and resentment... Mr. Trump's ascent as his volatile second term shattered that image.

In January, a nationalistic Beijing think tank... published a triumphant report about Mr. Trump's first year back in office. The report argued that his tariffs, attacks on allies, anti-immigration policies and assaults on the American political establishment had inadvertently strengthened China while weakening the United States.

It's title, "Thank Trump." The report called Mr. Trump an "accelerator of American political decay," with the United States sliding toward polarization, institutional dysfunction and even "Latin American-style instability."

Now isn't that special. Are we Great yet?

Meanwhile, Europe is getting it's shit together and their support for Ukraine, what seemingly should be a natural ally to the US, is combining to pull Ukraine out of this mess and put Count Vlad into a serious corner he likely will not escape from. It sort of reminds one, what if the US, under a 1941 version of Agent Orange, said no thanks to D-Day and instead said we cannot afford it because we are have to give hundreds of billions of dollars of tax breaks and credits to our Oligarchs and Billionaires, so cannot afford to send troops to Normandy.. f-off allies, we're good. Hitler, Japan, Italy, and Stalin are your not our problem, we have billionaires that seemingly cannot afford to feed their kids.

And at the same time, in England, Sir Rod Stewart met with King Charles. His comments, priceless. "May I say, well done to the Americans? You were superb, absolutely superb. You put that little black bag in his place?"

Finally, the rest of the world respects us. Under Obama and Biden, we were the laughingstock of the world. Finally, America is Great Again! Trump Was Right About Everything All Along. And we are finally respected.

Not!

If our paths cross, I'm buying. Thankfully pints cost less than gas. ...and it just might take more than a couple pints.

Meanwhile - Wow. Just wow.. This mid census redistricting, race to bottom serves to further undermine the democratic process. It's abnormal to redistrict without a new census. This massive gerrymandering war that his orange heinie(ous) initiated is another attempt to cheat. What a fraud, what a con. Another attempt to rig the midterms, and I'd give it a 75% chance of working. Thanks, I mean no thanks crony not so Supreme Court and no thanks to the Federalist Society that through billions of dollars of dark money and constant effort over the last 30 years finally stacked the Supreme Court with idealogues. Credit given to persistence and credit given to their own form of corruption that got us to where we are.

If this plan succeeds, it is terrible. Worse yet, if it does not succeed (the 25% chance they lose the house and maybe even the Senate), then the other side will be forced to do the same. So, we will have a prolonged period of rigging the democracy, one side, then the other, then the other again.. whoever is in power will continually gerrymander than we to stealing votes. What an evil, mean-spirited way to cheat that could possibly become systematic. A downward spiral that either way, win or lose, will damage what was once the world's strongest democracy. This is a very grave period in US history brought about by a corrupt, disturbed person that should never have been voted into power.

And we did it twice (third time's a charm?).

More to say on this later. Today is Mom's day. I think I'll put some energy in that and reflect a bit. Have a great day all, no matter what finds you.