Political Posts

[changegonnacome]

29 minutes ago, Sweet said:

if Trump was a pedo I’m fairly sure we’d know.  Releasing may sound good on the campaign trail, but publishing in this way arguably stymies actual prosecutions.

 

Agree......but also lets agree the idea that there was incremental slam dunk prosecutions just sitting inside the Epstein files is also nonsense including Trump and others wish lists (Clinton, Gates etc.).....the simplest explanation is the one I gave above.....

 

- there are/we're embarrassing things in there about Trump (we see that now).....

- he wanted to stop their release to stop the embarrassment.......

- Trump completely overestimated his ability to control the GOP and the Epstein narrative which made him look guilty of something

- that arrogant misjudgment has blown up in his face

 

Edited December 24, 2025 by changegonnacome

[Sweet]

1 minute ago, changegonnacome said:

 

Agree......but also lets agree the idea that there was incremental slam dunk prosecutions just sitting inside the Epstein files is also nonsense Trump and others.....the simplest explanation is the one I gave above.....

 

- there are/we're embarrassing things in there about Trump (we see that now).....

- he wanted to stop their release to stop the embarrassment.......

- Trump completely overestimated his ability to control the GOP and the Epstein narrative which made him look guilty of something

- it has blown up in his face

I also think it’s embarrassing for him.  Trump is all about the brand.

[changegonnacome]

4 minutes ago, Sweet said:

I also think it’s embarrassing for him.  Trump is all about the brand.

 

Yep - what he's guilty off re:Epstein is arrogance and misjudgment.....the arrogance to think he could say he would release them and then not.....and the misjudgment to think that it would go away cause he could bully the GOP into making it go away......very poor politics by the President 

 

Edited December 24, 2025 by changegonnacome

[Sweet]

4 minutes ago, changegonnacome said:

 

Yep - what he's guilty off re:Epstein is arrogance and misjudgment.....the arrogance to think he could say he would release them and then not.....and the misjudgment to think that it would go away cause he could bully the GOP into making it go away......very poor politics by the President 

 

Bound to happen when part of your campaign is just vibing on stage and feeding your audience what you think they want to hear.

[changegonnacome]

12 minutes ago, Sweet said:

Bound to happen when part of your campaign is just vibing on stage and feeding your audience what you think they want to hear.

 

His genius is taking the core Republican vote (which lets be clear is not a winning WH coalition) and stacking on top of it voters that just aren't usually that engaged or even vote in elections.....its the incrementalism he brings that makes him a GOP god cause without him I dont think they get to the White House during the 47 & 49 terms.....the cost is that incremental group are a ragtag group (conspiracists, crypto peeps, Epstein-ists, Q, actual racists, white supremcists).....Trump riffs for 3hrs at rallys cause he's actually speaking to about 200 hundred different sub-groups who need a bone tossed to them......

 

Anyway Trump 'works' during a Presidential campaign for the reason above (plus exceptionally weak Democratic opponents).....but the Trump train falls apart when he's not on the ballot like at the midterms......his incremental voters dont show up and the dumb stuff he does WHILE President (Rob Reiner tweet) turn off core Republican voters and are fuel to the fire for the Democratic base who are all fired up by Epstein/Reiner/USAID/ICE and are going to come out in droves in 26.....not sure GOP have a better alternative, cause if they had they would have stabbed Trump in the back already....and in his defense he got them the WH, Senate, House in 2025...and that is a win with a capital W.

 

 

Edited December 24, 2025 by changegonnacome

[Gregmal]

18 minutes ago, changegonnacome said:

but also lets agree the idea that there was incremental slam dunk prosecutions just sitting inside the Epstein files is also nonsense including Trump and others wish lists (Clinton, Gates etc.).....the simplest explanation is the one I gave above.....

Yup. That’s the laughable aspect that really shines with some of these weirdos. Thinking they and their whatever you wanna call it background are “cracking the case” or whatever even though this has all been reviewed by the highest level law enforcement and legal eagles….

 

For instance, you wanna guess the combined hourly rate of the legal team that’s gonna be responding to a Clinton inquiry? How about Leon Black? Those avenues have certainly already been explored and evaluated; but fear not, some chronic masturbator on Reddit who’s now obsessed with child porn is gonna bring him down!

[dwy000]

47 minutes ago, Sweet said:

Whatever you want, but I don’t think there is some kind of conspiracy here.  Again, if Trump was a pedo I’m fairly sure we’d know.  Releasing may sound good on the campaign trail, but publishing in this way arguably stymies actual prosecutions.

I'd argue that if there's no conspiracy and Trump is innocent the best way to prove that is to release everything.  Fighting tooth and nail to prevent it not only goes against the explicit campaign promise but it also goes against like 80% of the public (including Republicans) while making Trump look even more guilty for fighting it. 

 

Its too late to put the toothpaste back in the tube and do this under the radar. And isnt that what everyone is complaining happened over the past 10 years with no result?

[changegonnacome]

1 minute ago, Gregmal said:

Those avenues have certainly already been explored and evaluated

 

You bet every other "case" in the Epstein files is undoubtedly weak sauce.....and that includes Trump, Clinton etc.

[dwy000]

2 minutes ago, Gregmal said:

Yup. That’s the laughable aspect that really shines with some of these weirdos. Thinking they and their whatever you wanna call it background are “cracking the case” or whatever even though this has all been reviewed by the highest level law enforcement and legal eagles….

 

For instance, you wanna guess the combined hourly rate of the legal team that’s gonna be responding to a Clinton inquiry? How about Leon Black? Those avenues have certainly already been explored and evaluated; but fear not, some chronic masturbator on Reddit who’s now obsessed with child porn is gonna bring him down!

Have they been explored?  You literally were just talking about how previous administrations didnt do anything.  Now youre suggesting they thoroughly went thru everything. 

 

Either way, the only way to get thru it is to fully release everything. Its too late to go back now.  And the complete incompetence of the administration now has made it even worse.  Remember Mike Johnson saying Trump was in there as an undercover informant for the government?  

[changegonnacome]

11 minutes ago, dwy000 said:

Trump is innocent

 

I suspect there are things he isnt proud off from his Epstein friendship days (financial and behavior related) - he'd prefer the whole name and period of his life would go away. What he's guilty off is the hubris to think he could MAKE it go away..... perversely his response to the Epstein files release chorus has meant that period of his life is under more scrutiny than it has ever been.

 

The 'Streisand effect' on steroids and an own goal IMO.

 

Edited December 24, 2025 by changegonnacome

[dwy000]

14 minutes ago, changegonnacome said:

 

I suspect there are things he isnt proud off from his Epstein friendship days (financial and behavior related) - he'd prefer the whole name and period of his life would go away. What he's guilty off is the hubris to think he could MAKE it go away..... perversely his response to the Epstein files release chorus has meant that period of his life is under more scrutiny than it has ever been.

 

The 'Streisand effect' on steroids and an own goal IMO.

 

Every single thing done has made him look guiltier and guiltier. 

 

This story was largely off the radar screen until Trump made it grow by saying he'd release the files.  Then made it 10x bigger and worse.by reversing course.  Then Bondi made it worse with the whole stunt of having influencers holding up the books 6 months ago.  Then made it worse by saying the files were on her desk.  Then made it worse by delaying the vote as long as legally possible.  Then made it worse by dripping it out day after day.  Then made it worse by redacting stuff that shouldnt have been redacted.  Then made it worse by lying and saying he'd never been on Epsteins plane.  It just goes on and on.  If you want to blame anyone for making this a bigger story than it otherwise would have been its Trump.

Edited December 24, 2025 by dwy000

[changegonnacome]

12 minutes ago, dwy000 said:

If you want to blame anyone for making this a bigger story than it otherwise would have been its Trump.

 

Amen. Political own goal. I'm sure competent advisors, chiefs of staff, DOJ AG's in his first term would have helped him come up with the 'right' strategy re: Epstein.....this Epstein mess is what happens when you surround yourself with a bunch of C and D players cause you wanted/needed blind loyalty instead of competency.

 

I mean can one imagine a Bill Barr headed DOJ signing off on the DOJ putting binders together and having a bunch of influencers holding up the 'new' Epstein files outside the WH 6 months ago? Not a chance. It was as dumb as it sounds.

[73 Reds]

1 hour ago, Gregmal said:

Yup. That’s the laughable aspect that really shines with some of these weirdos. Thinking they and their whatever you wanna call it background are “cracking the case” or whatever even though this has all been reviewed by the highest level law enforcement and legal eagles….

 

For instance, you wanna guess the combined hourly rate of the legal team that’s gonna be responding to a Clinton inquiry? How about Leon Black? Those avenues have certainly already been explored and evaluated; but fear not, some chronic masturbator on Reddit who’s now obsessed with child porn is gonna bring him down!

Were it possible to have less than -0- interest in any one thing, Epstein and his files would be it.  OTOH, the psychology of those who do is fascinating.

[bargainman]

This topic started with a favorable comparison to US States.

 

However, if you look at GDP per capital, Canada ranks near the lowest, only higher than Mississippi.  (At least the article on visual capitalist Indicated this was the case in 2023)

 

I'm curious of my Canadian compatriots believe that any of the changes made by the new government is going to improve this?  I don't have the data at the moment to corroborate this, but if I remember correctly, over the last several years Canadian productivity has not increased/kept pace with that in the US.  In addition, it seems like the government/public sector has grown in size relative to the private.  One only needs to look at the Canada post situation to see how this could be a bad thing for productivity.

 

I am definitely rooting for Canada but it seems like it will continue to be an uphill climb.  Thoughts?

[Xerxes]

On 12/19/2025 at 2:30 PM, Spekulatius said:

I am not sure about Paris, but I am currently in Europe (several cities in France and Germany) and it feels relatively normal.

 

Christmas markets everywhere. I don’t see any change to 10 years ago.

 

They did put in metal posts to prevent suicide drivers in public  places pretty much everywhere . There was one Trier and one in Berlin in Christmas markets , I have been too, but not when those incidents happened. People are undeterred.

 

 

 

[Parsad]

2 hours ago, bargainman said:

This topic started with a favorable comparison to US States.

 

However, if you look at GDP per capital, Canada ranks near the lowest, only higher than Mississippi.  (At least the article on visual capitalist Indicated this was the case in 2023)

 

I'm curious of my Canadian compatriots believe that any of the changes made by the new government is going to improve this?  I don't have the data at the moment to corroborate this, but if I remember correctly, over the last several years Canadian productivity has not increased/kept pace with that in the US.  In addition, it seems like the government/public sector has grown in size relative to the private.  One only needs to look at the Canada post situation to see how this could be a bad thing for productivity.

 

I am definitely rooting for Canada but it seems like it will continue to be an uphill climb.  Thoughts?

 

It will take time, but it is happening. 

 

• Carney is cutting government jobs compared to Trudeau. 
• He's supporting large scale infrastructure projects including several large scale LNG pipelines and a new pipeline from the oilsands to Northern BC ports...again something Trudeau avoided. 
• He's working on deregulation for projects, mining, tax, etc. 
• He's put in centrists in many positions, including the new Ambassador to the U.S. 
• Carney has reduced unskilled immigration dramatically and cut foreign students studying in Canada by 75%! 
• He's pouring money into national defense, border security and modernizing Canada's air force and navy. 
• Carney is broadening relationships and trade with the rest of the world due to the struggles with the current U.S. administration. 
• Lastly, many of the areas that the U.S. is cutting funding means massive opportunity for Canada to poach talent, researchers and grow those areas as a global leader. 

Cheers!

[Parsad]

8 hours ago, Spekulatius said:

It’s possible but I think people too often assume 3d chess is being played by guys who can’t even play checkers well.

 

+1!  LOL!  Cheers!

[Mephistopheles]

So did Epstein kill himself?

[Parsad]

11 minutes ago, Mephistopheles said:

So did Epstein kill himself?

 

Didn't the Whitehouse prove that he did?  Kind of like they proved the pee-pee tapes never existed...Trump never grabbed pussy...Trump paid all his taxes...and he was never friends with Epstein!  I think DEI had something to do with Epstein's death...or maybe the Covid vaccine.  Cheers!

[Mephistopheles]

9 hours ago, Parsad said:

 

or maybe the Covid vaccine.  Cheers!

lol!!  

[John Hjorth]

I was in doubt if this was PC, so It had to go here :

 

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7409684880483094528/

 

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

Please be aware of Danes named Christian - they are in in general troublemakers! [John, the troublemaker][]

[SharperDingaan]

Sadly, peak Trump has pretty much already occurred. An Orange Boy screw up used to be good for 2,000 points on the Dow ... now? maybe it is 600 at best, on a good day 

 

Whatever one's view, 'we the people' elected him, and with no guard rails; one can disagree with the man, or just make use of the disruption he creates. The reality was that most people believed the US needed a thorough shake up, and few offered to do it better than Orange Boy. As always, the ever reliable restraints are stupidity and incompetence ... new boss, new bells & whistles .. but really? ... same as the old boss 

 

Without Orange Boy, would NATO/EU be where it is today, and within 1 year? Probably not.

As a result of Orange Boy, Is NATO/EU more resilient today than it was a year ago? Probably yes.

 

Is the illegal drug trade better dealt with via interceptions at the border? or regime change/assassination in the major source countries? Every dictator needs cash flow .... take it away, let the markets act, and the world is a safer place. Make some drugs legal ... and it helps with draining that cash flow.

 

Nobody likes change, and nobody likes it in your face. Many might argue that much of the Trump derangement syndrome is actually adverse reaction to change. They took my grant money away! they garnisheed my wages to pay my student loan! what the hell is this! 

 

All pendulums swing, and not a bad thing. 

Don't break his fingers 

 

SD

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2025 by SharperDingaan

[Spekulatius]

48 minutes ago, SharperDingaan said:

Sadly, peak Trump has pretty much already occurred. An Orange Boy screw up used to be good for 2,000 points on the Dow ... now? maybe it is 600 at best, on a good day 

 

Whatever one's view, 'we the people' elected him, and with no guard rails; one can disagree with the man, or just make use of the disruption he creates. The reality was that most people believed the US needed a thorough shake up, and few offered to do it better than Orange Boy. As always, the ever reliable restraints are stupidity and incompetence ... new boss, new bells & whistles .. but really? ... same as the old boss 

 

Without Orange Boy, would NATO/EU be where it is today, and within 1 year? Probably not.

As a result of Orange Boy, Is NATO/EU more resilient today than it was a year ago? Probably yes.

 

Is the illegal drug trade better dealt with via interceptions at the border? or regime change/assassination in the major source countries? Every dictator needs cash flow .... take it away, let the markets act, and the world is a safer place. Make some drugs legal ... and it helps with draining that cash flow.

 

Nobody likes change, and nobody likes it in your face. Many might argue that much of the Trump derangement syndrome is actually adverse reaction to change. They took my grant money away! they garnisheed my wages to pay my student loan! what the hell is this! 

 

All pendulums swing, and not a bad thing. 

Don't break his fingers 

 

SD

 

NATO is essentially dead and will be replaced by an European  security alliance (NATO 2.0) which may include Canada as well.

 

I think the only allies are Japan and Taiwan and maybe Australia but it’s going to be transactional on both sides. If Taiwan loses their “semiconductor shield”, then they are free to grab by China.

Edited December 27, 2025 by Spekulatius

[formthirteen]

1 minute ago, Spekulatius said:

NATO is essentially dead and will be replaced by an European  security alliance (NATO 2.0) which may include Canada as well.

 

I wouldn't be so sure Europeans want to fight for each other. Ukraine was the litmus test and the result is clear:

 

Quote

    In the third year of the invasion, Russia earned EUR 242 bn from global fossil fuel exports, a 3% year-on-year-drop; EUR 104 bn from crude oil, EUR 75 bn from oil products, EUR 40 bn from gas and EUR 23 bn from coal. 
    Despite a host of sanctions, Russian revenues in the third year have dropped by a mere 8% compared to the year prior to the invasion of Ukraine. Since the invasion, Russia has earned an estimated EUR 847 bn from fossil fuels exports globally. 
    The EU paid EUR 21.9 bn for Russian fossil fuel imports in the third year of the invasion, a mere 1% year-on-year reduction in volume. The EU’s Russian imports in the third year of the invasion surpassed the EUR 18.7 bn of financial aid sent to Ukraine in 2024. 

https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/eu-imports-of-russian-fossil-fuels-in-third-year-of-invasion-surpass-financial-aid-sent-to-ukraine/

 

Sure we can argue about the future but the past is present.

[Spekulatius]

Energy imports form Russia in  the EU have dropped significantly. It is true Rurope still imports LNG from Russia but it’s not a major supplier (the USA supplies the most. Pipeline NG and coal have fallen substantially. There are still. Few holdouts like Hungary, Slovakia and Austria. I think Austria has recently ceased to buy pipeline gas from Russia as well. Hungary and Slowakia are right wing governments and I think at least Orban in Hungary may not be in office much longer.

 

Anyways, regarding defense,  Europe doesn’t have much of a choice unless every country wants to go alone. The USA has become very adversial to Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2025 by Spekulatius