LC

Just some more news from our totally legitimate administration: Elon Musk’s DOGE Uses Police to Seize Independent Nonprofit https://newrepublic.com/post/192854/elon-musk-doge-police-independent-nonprofit-usip Steve Bannon circumventing Constitution / Presidential term limits: https://www.news10.com/video/steve-bannon-trump-will-run-and-win-again-in-2028-cuomo/10551016/

If Trump is so concerned that Europe is not committing enough - he should put tariffs on European good and services, not Canadian and Mexican ones. And he could support NATO membership for Ukraine to further push for European military contributions for their defense.

Meanwhile, Putin treats Trump like a lap-dog: Russian President Vladimir Putin has revealed his real intentions in Ukraine by bombing civilian energy infrastructure after telling Donald Trump that Moscow would stop such attacks, said Finnish President Alexander Stubb. https://www.politico.eu/article/vladimi-putin-ceasefire-finnish-president-alexander-stubb-helsinki-energy-ukraine/ "Art of the deal"

Agreed. It has long term complications as long-term capital is invested, but inefficiently. If tariffs get lifted, those long term investments (factories etc.) will go to shite.

Oh so now the issue is cost. Well that’s not what I was responding to, so let’s try keeping the goalposts all in one place.

Let me be the first to break it to you: There is this asshole guy in Russia named Vladimir Putin who is invading a sovereign country and killing its citizens. That is wrong.

These "bureaucrats" exist because laws exist which enable them. Laws which were created and passed by Congress, and signed by the then-President. Two of the three branches of our gov't approved the existence of these "bureaucrats" If you want to remove them, follow the process. Congress can revise laws, or Trump can beg Congress for permission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_reorganization_authority Otherwise we have a dictator, who gets to ignore Congress and the judiciary. Not what our country was founded on. In fact, the exact opposite. So to anyone who doesn't like one of the fundamental principles of our gov't...well they got flights from JFK to Putingrad every day. Maybe AF1 will give you a lift if you agree to schlep Melania's purse filled with White House silverware

I think it's due to checks and balances being eroded - complicit congress, crooked supreme court. Difficult to distribute political power, when economic power has become more and more concentrated.

“Never play chess with a pigeon. The pigeon just knocks all the pieces over. Then shits all over the board. Then struts around like it won.”

More like if the girl you're dating suddenly develops a drug addiction, begins sleeping with her dealer, steals your stuff to buy more drugs, etc. etc....so you cut off contact and start dating a normal human being.

Don't want to wait till at least the 2 year mark? Otherwise - glad the experience worked out for you!

Sounds like the type of strongman leader/ loyalty tests done in third world dictatorships.

I can’t believe I’m about to post an Instagram video, but here’s a conservative hero explaining it: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHB8SmEI94Z/?igsh=MWd4OWh4ZXJ0bDV2OA==

The impact of 1930s politics and the war in italy was pretty disperse - partly as you point out due to Italy's inconsistent government over the centuries. Here is a good medium-length read that tries to summarize: https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/a-tale-of-two-famiglie-resistance-and-atrocities-during-the-italian-resistance/ There is a great website that has video interviews from old partisans, it's in Italian unfortunately but if you speak the language the stories are pretty good: https://www.noipartigiani.it/

I have kind of abstained from using AI for deep research. I'd rather spend the time myself (and learn something) versus relying on AI. Especially with accuracy rates in the 60s...and goes lower for more difficult/indirect the questions are.

Many Italians and Germans left Italy/Germany for US/CA to escape. I don't know German history as well as Italian so I won't speak to that - but many Italians, particularly in the south, fought tooth-and-nail against Mussolini (and later Nazi Germany). And these were poor and working class people who you would imagine as prone to populism. Many viewed the fascist party as an usurper of the Kingdom of Italy.

It was explored way back in the days of Adam Smith.

@Ulti- thank you!

Do you mind if I ask for a recommendation - Where do you buy from?

I have found if you simply flip the chart upside down, it becomes a lot more comforting

Orwell was an Engishman, just about every literate Brit I've met has read or at least heard of 1984

I too joined what seems like the entire COBF board and bought some Fairfax today

Yes and here is the historical trend for a reasonable representative selection of countries (US being #3 line from the bottom). Info retrieved from the IMF: https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/exp@FPP/USA/FRA/JPN/GBR/SWE/ESP/ITA/ZAF/IND

I reject the premise - frankly it's not clear to me that government spending has grown "too much". Below map shows gov't spending as a % of GDP. The only halfway developed countries with less gov't spending are...Mexico and India. We are on par with Trump's favorites: Russia and China. And we do that with a military budget dwarfing everyone else - defending the free world (or at least, we did) I mean, what is the alteriative suggestion? That we regress towards the model of Africa and spend 10% of GDP?

I reject the premise - frankly it's not clear to me that government spending has grown "too much". The only halfway developed countries with less gov't spending are...Mexico and India. We are on par with Trump's favorites: Russia and China. And we do that with a military budget dwarfing everyone else - defending the free world (or at least, we did) I mean, what is the alteriative suggestion? That we regress towards the model of Africa and spend 10% of GDP?