Ulti

https://warontherocks.com/2025/02/the-rise-of-the-fake-tech-workforce-state-sponsored-infiltration-of-u-s-technical-supply-chains/ This is the type of shit the the rich techno savvy Doge head should be focused on..

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/06/29/nx-s1-5021798/supreme-court-overturns-opioid-settlement-with-purdue-pharma-that-shielded-sacklerssupreme-court-overturns-sackler-settlement-delaying-funds-meant-for-communities-battling-opioids Money talks and BS walks

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/26/electric-vehicles-zero-emissions-policies/ The EV hoax … column by George Will.. couldn’t agreee more

Super sad I agree … it only takes a minute to destroy a reputation .. however with a decade of Trudeau and things like the podcast I posted earlier with Sam Cooper on the severe fentanyl crisis with organized crime in western Canada …. This is a wake-up call for all Canadian s to get their shit together… As well as us … https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2025/02/25/sba-7a-8a-loan-collections-dei-offices-eidl.html SBA approach to DOGE

https://www.fedsmith.com/2024/07/22/biden-trump-changes-federal-workforce/… Seems like both increased head counts https://www.factcheck.org/2008/02/the-budget-and-deficit-under-clinton/ https://www.newsweek.com/how-bill-clinton-shrunk-federal-government-30-years-before-doge-2032893 Again there are many ways to approach reducing the deficit and reigning in federal employees and antiquated systems… Somehow those who recommend the “ slash and burn method “ blaming shit just on the demo rats and not including the Trumpican/ Republican Party in this mess we are in , seem at the very least myopic …A balanced and rational approach is best( just my opinion)…. and I’m just curious… project 2025 has been years in the making waiting for a conservative president and to remake government… why the slash and burn approach without a rational plan in place? Maybe I’m missing something ? https://www.factcheck.org/2024/09/a-guide-to-project-2025/

So far fantastic… I’m partial to Roman history for a variety of reasons… She’s articulate with an easy writing style to comprehend….starts of with the Catalinarian conspiracy and Cicero ( which is as far as I’ve gotten , )but the books delves into all aspects of Roman life at all levels with the usage of modern day archeological knowledge. Came out in 2015 and , I think , she shows why Roman history still remains very relevant today.. Book won all sorts of accolades in 2015

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/25/how-trumps-tariffs-on-mexico-and-canada-will-sweep-across-us-states.html good article on how tariffs affect each state differently

Another example of bureaucratic incompetence combined with an agenda … this one from the progressive side… Doombergs latest The Wreckers Trump prepares to loosen Sacramento’s death grip on the national transportation sector. DOOMBERG FEB 26 ∙ PREVIEW READ IN APP “This is not the United States of California.” – Chris Spear A tow truck driver is killed approximatelyevery three weeks in the US. Among small businesses, towing company operation is one of the toughest. Despite the critical role of maintaining road and highway safety, finding qualified workers willing to do the job is, quite obviously, a significant challenge. Mix in intense competition, high startup costs, and the need to be on call 24/7, and one wonders why anyone would embark on such a commercial venture. Compounding the challenge is the ever-present regulatory state, and no state exerts its regulatory reach more persistently than California. Thanks to a congressional carve-out in the Clean Air Act, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) wields disproportionate influence over a wide range of industries. Given the size of California’s market and the several states that have pledged to follow its regulations, the transportation sector is effectively at the mercy of the progressive far left. CARB derives its powers from specific waivers granted to it by the EPA, and no waiver is ever permanently overturned. In the waning weeks of the Biden administration, whoever was in charge decided to radically alter the nation’s car and trucking fleets with a set of new ones: “The Biden administration on Wednesday approved California’s trailblazing rules that would set stricter-than-federal emissions standards, in a bid to ban gas car sales by 2035. In doing so, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted two requests from the California Air Resources Board for waivers that would allow for the implementation of two rules: the Advanced Clean Cars II regulations for light-duty vehicles and a low-nitrogen oxide regulation for heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines.” Historic indeed | Associated Press With a foresight characteristic of a central planner, CARB’s latest edicts suffer from a few flaws, notable among them being that California’s tow truck industry will soon be without access to new vehicles: “Due to the CARB’s passage of the State’s Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) regulation, towing and recovery trucks will no longer be assembled or sold in California once 2024 truck inventories are depleted. Truck manufacturers have not developed electric truck chassis that meet towing and recovery truck performance and safety requirements, and towing companies can’t purchase diesel-powered trucks built before January 2024. This catch-22 threatens small businesses, jobs, and motorists.” Although industry participants widely assume that President Trump will revoke these waivers, the history of such attempts suggests a significant political battle ahead. It also remains uncertain whether Congress will be capable of intervening, as the legislative hurdles may be higher than most suspect. Let’s pull apart the wreckage and examine how this might play out...

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/opinion/trump-putin-ukraine.html again I don’t consider Thomas Friedman to be a bleeding heart liberal/ progressive…. And had I known of his approach to Putin prior to the elections while he was campaigning/.? Who knows… Would be interesting to see these types of election results….

Early election coverage described Trump’s victory as a landslide. But whether you go by the Electoral College vote or the popular vote, it was anything but. The 312 Electoral College votes that Trump won are just six more than Joe Biden won in 2020, twenty less than Barack Obama won in 2012, and fifty-three less than Obama won in 2008. Trump’s Electoral College performance pales in comparison to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s landslide victory in 1936 (523 electoral votes), Lyndon Johnson’s in 1964 (486), Richard Nixon’s in 1972 (520), or Ronald Reagan’s in 1984 (525). In terms of the popular vote, more people voted for someone not named Trump for president than voted for Trump in 2024, and his margin of victory over Harris was 1.5 percentage points. That is the fifth smallest margin of victory in the thirty-two presidential races held since 1900. https://www.cfr.org/article/2024-election-numbers Again don’t think this election was a mandate and it. Would be interesting if the vote was held today with what’s going on how it would go

Agree … maybe easier to out eyeballs on them as well as they are more imbedded with their community

I don’t…. It is so unfortunate that both countries have had politicians, Trudeau, Biden and Trump…each hiding under theirwokeness and morally bankrupt in their own way…. To paraphrase an old song… where have all the centrists gone.. long time past seen haha

I’ve always, rightly or wrongly, been an admirer of teddy Roosevelt’s big stick policy …………. Big stick ideology, big stick diplomacy, big stick philosophy, or big stick policy was a political approach used by the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. The terms are derived from an aphorism which Roosevelt often said: "speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far".[1] The American press during his time, as well as many modern historians today, used the term "big stick" to describe the foreign policy positions during his administration. Roosevelt described his style of foreign policy as "the exercise of intelligent forethought and of decisive action sufficiently far in advance of any likely crisis".[2] As practiced by Roosevelt, big stick diplomacy had five components. First, it was essential to possess serious military capability that would force the adversary to pay close attention. At the time that meant a world-class navy; Roosevelt never had a large army at his disposal until the 1900s. The other qualities were to act justly toward other nations, never to bluff, to strike only when prepared to strike hard, and to be willing to allow the adversary to save face in defeat.[3] And being a bit of a history buff( currently reading SPQR by Mary Beard and Genghis Khan by Jack Weatherford) I think the jury is still out on President Trumps approach …. While I don’t see the Caligula similarities as been mentioned by some, I don’t see the Teddy similarities either… I also am an admirer of morals and scruples…. Something that is sorely lacking thruout all branches of the federal government and has been for many years…( just my opinion)

Yes they are …. And I think how the greatest generation ( which included family members) payed a very high price the right way…. I’m not so sure about this current administration our political parties and our court system… jury is still out

I think the question to this one ‘73 is at what price?

https://brklyninvestor.com/2025/02/24/brk-2024-annual-report-and-stuff/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/canadas-fentanyl-crisis-corruption-w-guest-sam-cooper/id1591470469?i=1000689972242 I would be interested to here from my Canadian brethren how accurate this story is… starts in the second half of the interview

When I heard private equity and cutting in the same sentence…. I tuned out… I’ve seen 1st hand how private equity has destroyed healthcare…. Again I’m not arguing against the need for massive cuts and upgrades thruout government…and everyone I know who works at a fed state county and local government agrees……it’s going about it as rationally, efficiently, and openly as possible…..and not letting unknowns sysadmins have access to sensitive information without a check in place and being vetted… Otherwise you run. a greater risk of a Snowdenesque event… (Just an opinion )

https://www.state.gov/priorities-and-mission-of-the-second-trump-administrations-department-of-state/?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=hero&utm_campaign=s_priorities fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?  To advance our national interest, we will build a more innovative, nimble, and focused State Department. This will require replacing some priorities, deemphasizing some issues, and eliminating some practices. sounds pretty rational

https://warontherocks.com/2025/02/from-strategy-to-action-rethinking-how-the-state-department-works-2/ Rubio acknowledges and recognizes the need to revamp streamline and maybe downsize the State Department…. Some rational thinking as to how

I respectfully disagree… I have friends both at NIH and CDC…. While I agree , as do they , that there is a tremendous amount of waste ….a more rational business approach of say, 10% budget reduction for all departments the 1st year in combination of learning where the waste is and trimming over a period of months would have been better.. Obviously smarter people can come up with better solutions… carpet bombing the federal government haphazardly just doesn’t seem rational( again just my opinion)

https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2025/02/20/usaids-cuts-affect-atlanta-based-nonprofits/ Cuts form Cater Center health initiatives among others.

Curious as to why?

Here’s the wreckage as of Feb. 14, as compiled by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. At least 11,500 Americans and 54,575 foreigners have lost their jobs. Nearly $1 billion in payments for work already done has been frozen. Nearly $500 million in food is sitting in ports, ships and warehouses. In Syria, a country struggling to recover from chaos, food and other support for nearly 900,000 people has been suspended. In West Africa, 3.4 million people in 11 countries have lost drug treatment for deadly tropical diseases. At least 328,000 HIV-positive people in 25 countries aren’t getting lifesaving drugs. U.S. security will suffer, not just needy foreigners, according to the coalition’s research. Foreign military financing for key regional partners such as Jordan and Taiwan has been frozen. Unpaid guards temporarily walked off their jobs securing the al-Hol and Roj camps in Syria that hold 10,000 Islamic State fighters and 40,000 families. A USAID counterterrorism program that had been training forces in Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Somalia and Yemen has also been halted. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/21/usaid-trump-freeze-marocco-foreign-aid/ David Ignatius falls into the George Will and Thomas Friedman… thoughtful , moderate to conservative in views and pragmatic ( just my opinion)

https://davenadig.substack.com/p/trust-in-a-black-hat-world. just another opine on how the world sees the US now