cubsfan

@flesh Sorry dude - you found your hater. And of course, there is no accountability from the opposite side as Greg said - because they are always right. Nice work @DooDiligence

Absolutely - stick to the issues and the 4 or 5 things that you feel are really important! The rest is all noise. Successful negotiations is about results.

I have NO idea where you are going with this. Who cares what the cabinent thinks. It's non of their business. Musk works at the direction and solely for the President. All that matters is that Musk is in charge, he works directly for the President and will be fired only by the President. What exactly is your point?

+1 - a well though out and reasoned post in all of your points. My background is the same - 15 years negotiating contracts with nice people and many people like Trump. Much bravado and unrealistic first volleys. So what do you do as the other side? You keep your cool, you try to move the ball, you keep defending your terms, above all you keep talking! You do this ESPECIALLY in the early stages! The time to cut off negotiation is when you are essentially at your limit - and both sides need to reassess if there are deal terms to be made. Elapsed time is very important. But to NOT negotiate is the way to blow your deal up forever. IF there is a deal to be made - you eventually come to something where NOBODY got everything they want. Negotiating with many major corporations is much like negotiating with a country. Committees and multiple individuals involved. The first volleys are always win/lose - meaning, if your stupid enough to cave - they get everything and you lose. So many corporate buyers and purchasing departments live by "Art of the Deal". IF you don't understand what's happening - you'll never stay engaged enough (talking) to get to a "fair deal". Often, the fair deal is one that neither side loves.

Ha, ha - who hates the President more than The NY Times - no one!

Well, it's no surprise as Thomas Friedman strongly endorsed Kamala Harris, a total bozo. He says Trump wants to be President for life, just like Putin and President Xi. He repeatedly calls Trump a chump and stupid. Friedman thinks he could run the US economy much better than Trump. He calls Republicans sycophants. I'll take my chances with the economy with Scott Bessant. Tom is pretty damn radical. All this well before this article.

@Viking The only thing you might be missing - the American people have voted for change they felt is long overdue - for a government that has failed them. Trump is that change agent - and he is doing everything they voted for. Much of the noise down here is that citizens almost can't believe the speed with which he is delivering on his promises. I would only wish the same for Canadians - that you actually get what you vote for...

+1 - I wish I was as eloquent as you. But you cut right to the chase. We will take care of our country FIRST, and you can take care of your own FIRST. You would do the same for your own family.

You just hear what you want to hear. You want to believe he is blackmailing Ukraine and threatening military force against his close allies. So believe it already.

Great post.

You're very confused @cwericb Trump is a nationalist (America First - remember?). He's elected to fix what others were not willing to fix. (Republicans & Democrats alike) Get out of foreign wars. Secure the country and the borders. Get Americans back to work. Attack the horrible deficit. Pretty darn simple.

I share some of your concerns. The $37T deficit will weigh on this country for quite some time. Hence, the urgency to do something about it. Cutting government spending will impact the economy and perhaps, the US stock market - so yeah, stay out. We are in for a painful period here, but certainly very happy we are not digging the hole deeper. There is a price to be paid for mass deportations - I doubt it helps the housing market or the rental market in the short/intermediate term. But young families (citizens) have been getting killed by rents and housing prices. I will be very interested to see how the bond market treats us over the next year or so. Buckle up.

You guys just kill me. You can't make up your minds. First Trump is an isolationist, then Trump is an expansionist. Then he's withdrawing military support, now he's using military force. What a fricking joke. Europe has all the cards to do what they like with Ukraine - but refuse to, because you want a continuation of war. Trump comes in to try and negotiate peace - and all of a sudden he's blackmailing Ukraine?? You can't make this shit up. Obviously you want a continuation of war in Ukraine - so buckle up with Zelensky and go conquer Russia. There is no reason for Europe or Ukraine to put up with "blackmail" by the USA.

You are right on.

This is beyond silly: - threatening Canada? - threatening Greenland? - Blackmailing Ukraine? You have quite the imagination.

When a country goes off the rails as much as the USA has the last few years, strong medicine and leadership is required. Spending our way into oblivion has been the mantra of the last 20 years. With the new President - it stops here. Too make the strong medicine worse, a nationalist that loves the country and puts the country first is hard for allies & enemies to take. I'll wish for Canada something far better than Justin. Good luck with that.

^^^ Bingo!!! The Republicans have been just as guilty! Non-partisan issue. That's why the populist defeated the encumbent Republican Party. Citizens are sick of both parties doing absolutely nothing.

I certainly understands how he negotiates. Most importantly, I understand why he was voted in.

I have never disputed that. Such is the nature of negotiation and compromise. No one is happy.

Of course this is a very serious concern and everyone should worry. Reagan had the philosophy - Trust but verify. So yeah, you can't believe a word Putin says - absolutely. So you DON'T trust him.

It's a great philosophy when you are dealing with corruption and unaccountable bureaucracy. And exactly why this adminstration was voted in.

That's a wonderful clip. All I learned is that European leadership has finally woken up, which was necessary 2 years ago when the war started to look like a stalemate. Much of this carnage may have been avoided - at a huge cost to Ukraine. But facing reality 2 years latter has been extremely costly. Nice clip

Yeah, say what you like - quite a few have changed my mind on issues - @changegonnacome @Ulti@Sweet@Dinar@Xerxes for example. I try to be very critical about what I write, as well as what I read. I'll put you down as dubious.

Read and weep brothers: 72% OF VOTERS SUPPORT THE EXISTENCE OF A U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCY FOCUSED ON EFFICIENCY INITIATIVES In his first month in office, President Donald Trump’s approval rating is at 52%, with voters most satisfied with his job on immigration, reducing the cost of the government, and returning America to its values. “People are taking a generally positive wait-and-see attitude for Trump but have really reassessed their attitudes toward Biden, Harris, and the Democrats, taking a much harsher, more negative attitude,” said Mark Penn, Co-Director of the Harvard CAPS / Harris poll. 72% of voters say they want Ukraine to negotiate a settlement with Russia instead of winning the war. 67% of voters say the current level of U.S. federal government debt is unsustainable. 83% of voters favor reducing government expenditures over increasing taxes, and 77% say a full examination of all government expenditures is necessary. 70% of voters say government expenditures are filled with waste, fraud, and inefficiency (Democrats: 58%; Republicans: 78%; Independents: 75%), and 69% support the goal of cutting $1 trillion of government expenditures. 60% of voters think DOGE is helping make major cuts in government expenditures. Tough message from American citizens regarding current US President's policies. Hate the President all you want - they LOVE his policies. Oh, well. https://harvardharrispoll.com/press-release-february-2025/

Indeed - results are what matter, not methods. The country is solidly behind the President.