Vance had been a decent choice for our 2028 candidate but he is quickly stumbling to the sidelines; his economics, socialistic ways. No thanks.
I understand that munition manufacturers need “orders placed” to continue building. But they too bear some of the responsibility in ensuring necessary levels of inventory. If we’ve blown through half our stash with Iran how the hell would we have survived a confrontation with China or Russia? We’d be decimated! What is the Defense Department doing besides sitting on their hands and whipping our men and women back into shape? The “leakers” need to be brought up on treason charges.
The whereabouts of our ships should not be for public knowledge which in turn alerts our enemies.
The munitions inventory, or the lack thereof, should not be made public knowledge which in turn informs our enemies.
Why does it take so dang long to build an interceptor missile? Why does it take so long to build defensive drones? And why so costly? I forgot the Unions!
Y’all should take lessons from WWII history and how we all pulled together in producing whatever materials were needed in order to fight that war, coming out the winners and making our enemies eat 💩
Thanks to Trump and perseverance we might come out of this insane chaos.
The more I hear about Vance and some of his ideas the more I am concerned with a Vance Presidency. I can find things to admire about Vance, but his economic ideas are not among them.
As to the “ownership” of Venezuelan oil- find a way to divest while maintaining some level of control. I don’t like government ownership- it smacks of socialist Britain after the war.
I have liked how Trump has been doggedly pursuing leakers lately, it seems. Yet they continue to happen and cause real damage. If you don't pursue and imprison leakers, you will get more of them. This should be a high priority. Right now we cannot keep secrets, it seems.
Erick this is your job, and you do it very well, but I just don’t know how you can do this every day five days a week and stay sane.
This stuff is so depressing.
To know that we have people inside the nucleus of our national defense system telling the world that our munitions are low….. it’s too much to think about…. It’s overwhelming.
"A future president should sell the warrants, divest the Intel shares, hand back the golden share, and get the Treasury and the Pentagon out of the equity business." I'm certain this will happen, just like the Republicans overturned Obamacare. Oh, wait....
As you say, the generals handled their role appropriately. As for overall credit for things like the Venezuelan oil deal and the Iranian squeeze, I have to suspect the Archivist in chief might should receive much of the credit for where we are today.
When we voted for Trump, we knew he had no political ideology. He is smart, experienced and well educated, but has no personal moral compass. Overall, not a grownup, and as such he allows into his orbit people who have axes to grind, worse morals than his own and ideologies that most Americans would find really screwy.
I continue to read regularly how awful the economies are in all of our enemies nations, and trending down. In most cases, those problems began before Trump though they have exacerbated during his second term. Clearly the Trump administration took out the problem in Venezuela and has stayed for pecuniary reasons. I hope we are also working to lead its citizens to democracy. That would shore up the oil deal and contribute to stability in the region.
Combine their economies with their birth rates and our enemies may have to take their eyes off us soon. I hope we are encouraging that. Isolationism is not the answer.
Me too! I'm not sure Vance is electable and Tucker Carlson as a running mate would be worse that Kamala Harris. Carl Rove always says when it comes to political candidates, "First, they must be electable!"
Leakers should be treated like treasonous and jailed. That may flow the leaks. It’s shameful that our news media don’t mind undermining our country’s safety for a story. One day all they will have is what the CCP will give to them.
It’s hard to disagree with the President’s actions being socialistic. I don’t mind bc being repaid for the sacrifices we make, but owning private business stakes is pushing the envelope. Our country is “eat up” with socialism. Just take SS and Medicare. They are straight out of the socialist play book, though SS is more of a Ponzi scheme, but even that is a type of socialism. I don’t mind it at all, except that it opens Pandora’s box to the real socialists. And, that is a real problem bc that, nationalizing private businesses is always an undercurrent of the Dems goals. I don’t t mind Trump going it bc I understand why. But, if he does it then the ones a don’t trust will do it and I know their goal. I don’t know the answer, but make it a loan they have to pay back and when they do the contract is over. Otherwise, it’s probably going to turn out badly in the long run. SS is always broke bc there is No Investing. They have to take money from people currently working to pay others. Kinda like a Wealth Tax? No one’s Pension or retirement could work that way. But, think about what would happen if SS was allowed to invest in the Stock Market. The government would control it with that kind of money. People complain about pension funds manipulating the market, SS is the world’s largest pension fund. That’s what socialism does. Like in the movie The Terminator when Kyle Reese was trying to explain to the police psychologist what s terminator is, he said "It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead!" That’s all it does!
So if the government (taxpayers) are buying into private companies ( without taxpayers consent) when should we expect our dividend checks? And if the strait of Hormuz is 2/3 open, why aren’t gas prices falling? They shot up like a rocket when this war first started.
It looks like that amount of traffic getting through the strait is somewhere between 5 and 15% of the pre-war amount as the risk of attack is too high and insurers won't cover the risk. To me that doesn't constitute "open"
IF (big If) Trump is able to get Iran to surrender unconditionally using economic pressure, without risking more military lives, this will be an historic event.
The time is quickly approaching for the American people to either make changes to the way they vote or continue along the current path and take the country to a place the majority does not want to go. Socialism is a failed form of government. Socialists promise everything will be taken care of until they take power. As the socialist economy fails the leaders take care of themselves to the detriment of the populace.
A continuation of electing immoral unethical leaders who care only for their position within the government has brought us to the position we are in. It]s too late for the mid-terms with the primaries completed and candidates chosen but coming out of the mid-terms will be more of the same for at least 2 more years. Time to stop being lazy and voting for a letter rather than a good character.
If a person is a registered Republican or Democrat that person needs to vote in the primaries. If they leave it up to the typical 20-25% to nominate their candidate. Maybe then the qualifications ty of the candidates will improve some anyway.
If I am reading this properly, we are dabbling in colonialism and more than dabbling in socialism. After WWII we went out of our way to end British and French colonialism at great personal sacrifice. Now we are promoting them, with kleptocracy sure to follow. And you're right to give Trump "credit' for it.
There is nothing wrong with colonialism. Colonialism brought great progress to India, South Africa, Rhodesia, China, the Philippines, North America, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and Kenya. BUT FOR colonialism, this would be a far different, poorer, and more violent world.
So you want to return to colonialism. Is it along the Vance line of thought where we dominate the Americas, Russia dominates Europe and portions of western Asia while China controls the remainder of Asia and the south Pacific? Or do you have something else in mind?
Seriously question the good colonialism brought to South Africa, Rhodesia no longer exists. Colonialism brought communism to China. I'm sure there are many in the other countries you mentioned who would not agree that colonialism brought too much benefit to their countries.
Colonialism, like unionism, socialism and communism have run their course and the world will be a better place ridding itself of these isms.
I did not advocate a return to colonialism. But colonialism has become a Leftist pejorative that distorts history.
Moreover, I am not advocating anything concerning the Vice-President. I am speaking only for myself.
I do want the United States to dominate the Western Hemisphere. I am a strong proponent of The Monroe Doctrine.
It is only realistic to believe that China and Russia will have some areas of influence in Asia and Europe, respectively. But I also believe in projecting U.S. power and influence in the Pacific, along with Japan, Taiwan, and Australia. One of the dumbest things the U.S. did was to pull out of the Philippines. As for Europe, Russia will only dominate it if Western European nations continue to act like petulant children, refusing to spend their own monies for their own defenses. A strong Europe (NOT a strong NATO) would be a deterrent to any Russian aggression.
South Africa and Rhodesia were thriving countries under British rule. South Africa and Rhodesia continued as thriving countries under Boer and Ian Smith, respectively. These countries' downfall only came about by the incompetent Leftist rule by the native majorities.
Colonialism did NOT bring communism to China. Communism did not surface in China except as a power challenge to Chiang Kai Shek's Nationalist government.
I do not care what some backwater revolutionaries in "the other countries" I mentioned think about colonialism. My assessment is based on objective historical facts. It is not arguable that Western values and culture are superior to the pagan values and culture that were present in North America, India, Africa, and South America. The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice, while the Spanish practiced Catholicism. The rule of law came to the Indian subcontinent under British rule. Hong Kong and Singapore became thriving, prosperous Pacific enclaves under British Rule. And, on and on and on.
Colonialism still has a place in the world today. Not as large a place as before, but still a place. Would Puerto Rico be better off as an independent nation? Nope. How about Guam, American Samoa or the U.S. Virgin Islands? No. The Rock of Gibralter does quite well as a British outpost. And if Vietnam were still a French colony, it would not be suffering under communist rule.
I'd say you are distorting history as well. In Africa, European powers colonized to exploit resources with little regard to the native populations.
Being realistic about Russia and China having some areas of influence has not been the policy of the US since the communist takeovers of the countries. US policy has been to contain and oppose expansion of communism around the globe. As the premier global power we will be ill advised to back off on those policies.
When the French and France's Vietnamese allies abandoned Vietnam under Japanese attack, sat out the war and then expected to return as conquering heroes they effectively turned Vietnam to communism. If the US did NOT conduct the war and abandon Vietnam because of losing the publicity battle in the US, the communist may have been stopped in their tracks.
Trump needs to stop the socialism with American characteristics.
Vance had been a decent choice for our 2028 candidate but he is quickly stumbling to the sidelines; his economics, socialistic ways. No thanks.
I understand that munition manufacturers need “orders placed” to continue building. But they too bear some of the responsibility in ensuring necessary levels of inventory. If we’ve blown through half our stash with Iran how the hell would we have survived a confrontation with China or Russia? We’d be decimated! What is the Defense Department doing besides sitting on their hands and whipping our men and women back into shape? The “leakers” need to be brought up on treason charges.
The whereabouts of our ships should not be for public knowledge which in turn alerts our enemies.
The munitions inventory, or the lack thereof, should not be made public knowledge which in turn informs our enemies.
Why does it take so dang long to build an interceptor missile? Why does it take so long to build defensive drones? And why so costly? I forgot the Unions!
Y’all should take lessons from WWII history and how we all pulled together in producing whatever materials were needed in order to fight that war, coming out the winners and making our enemies eat 💩
Thanks to Trump and perseverance we might come out of this insane chaos.
The more I hear about Vance and some of his ideas the more I am concerned with a Vance Presidency. I can find things to admire about Vance, but his economic ideas are not among them.
As to the “ownership” of Venezuelan oil- find a way to divest while maintaining some level of control. I don’t like government ownership- it smacks of socialist Britain after the war.
I have liked how Trump has been doggedly pursuing leakers lately, it seems. Yet they continue to happen and cause real damage. If you don't pursue and imprison leakers, you will get more of them. This should be a high priority. Right now we cannot keep secrets, it seems.
Erick this is your job, and you do it very well, but I just don’t know how you can do this every day five days a week and stay sane.
This stuff is so depressing.
To know that we have people inside the nucleus of our national defense system telling the world that our munitions are low….. it’s too much to think about…. It’s overwhelming.
It must be Monday morning.
Trust Exxon not Trump.
Have an election in Venezuela first before any long term deals on its most imporant asset are concluded.
It is wrong.
"A future president should sell the warrants, divest the Intel shares, hand back the golden share, and get the Treasury and the Pentagon out of the equity business." I'm certain this will happen, just like the Republicans overturned Obamacare. Oh, wait....
As you say, the generals handled their role appropriately. As for overall credit for things like the Venezuelan oil deal and the Iranian squeeze, I have to suspect the Archivist in chief might should receive much of the credit for where we are today.
When we voted for Trump, we knew he had no political ideology. He is smart, experienced and well educated, but has no personal moral compass. Overall, not a grownup, and as such he allows into his orbit people who have axes to grind, worse morals than his own and ideologies that most Americans would find really screwy.
I continue to read regularly how awful the economies are in all of our enemies nations, and trending down. In most cases, those problems began before Trump though they have exacerbated during his second term. Clearly the Trump administration took out the problem in Venezuela and has stayed for pecuniary reasons. I hope we are also working to lead its citizens to democracy. That would shore up the oil deal and contribute to stability in the region.
Combine their economies with their birth rates and our enemies may have to take their eyes off us soon. I hope we are encouraging that. Isolationism is not the answer.
As to Vance. He’s the VP. His time is almost over. Rubio will be our next president.
Hope you are right, Joe.
Me too! I'm not sure Vance is electable and Tucker Carlson as a running mate would be worse that Kamala Harris. Carl Rove always says when it comes to political candidates, "First, they must be electable!"
Yep. Afraid that is about to be proven true yet again with Paxton in TX. Apparently the MAGAs in Texas would ra
... rather have Paxton and risk losing than Cornyn for a sure win.
Leakers should be treated like treasonous and jailed. That may flow the leaks. It’s shameful that our news media don’t mind undermining our country’s safety for a story. One day all they will have is what the CCP will give to them.
It’s hard to disagree with the President’s actions being socialistic. I don’t mind bc being repaid for the sacrifices we make, but owning private business stakes is pushing the envelope. Our country is “eat up” with socialism. Just take SS and Medicare. They are straight out of the socialist play book, though SS is more of a Ponzi scheme, but even that is a type of socialism. I don’t mind it at all, except that it opens Pandora’s box to the real socialists. And, that is a real problem bc that, nationalizing private businesses is always an undercurrent of the Dems goals. I don’t t mind Trump going it bc I understand why. But, if he does it then the ones a don’t trust will do it and I know their goal. I don’t know the answer, but make it a loan they have to pay back and when they do the contract is over. Otherwise, it’s probably going to turn out badly in the long run. SS is always broke bc there is No Investing. They have to take money from people currently working to pay others. Kinda like a Wealth Tax? No one’s Pension or retirement could work that way. But, think about what would happen if SS was allowed to invest in the Stock Market. The government would control it with that kind of money. People complain about pension funds manipulating the market, SS is the world’s largest pension fund. That’s what socialism does. Like in the movie The Terminator when Kyle Reese was trying to explain to the police psychologist what s terminator is, he said "It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead!" That’s all it does!
So if the government (taxpayers) are buying into private companies ( without taxpayers consent) when should we expect our dividend checks? And if the strait of Hormuz is 2/3 open, why aren’t gas prices falling? They shot up like a rocket when this war first started.
Patience.
Yep. As Trump would say, it should only be a couple of weeks.
"The Strait of Hormuz is open" - what are you using as the definition of "open"?
This would be good news if it were actually true.
Iranian ships cannot leave port. All other ships can. WINNING!
It looks like that amount of traffic getting through the strait is somewhere between 5 and 15% of the pre-war amount as the risk of attack is too high and insurers won't cover the risk. To me that doesn't constitute "open"
It is much higher than that. Per Admiral Cooper, CENTCOM.
IF (big If) Trump is able to get Iran to surrender unconditionally using economic pressure, without risking more military lives, this will be an historic event.
If properly equipped with wings, pigs will fly.
Patience, SP. :-)
The time is quickly approaching for the American people to either make changes to the way they vote or continue along the current path and take the country to a place the majority does not want to go. Socialism is a failed form of government. Socialists promise everything will be taken care of until they take power. As the socialist economy fails the leaders take care of themselves to the detriment of the populace.
A continuation of electing immoral unethical leaders who care only for their position within the government has brought us to the position we are in. It]s too late for the mid-terms with the primaries completed and candidates chosen but coming out of the mid-terms will be more of the same for at least 2 more years. Time to stop being lazy and voting for a letter rather than a good character.
Exactly. We need more independents and less partisans.
If a person is a registered Republican or Democrat that person needs to vote in the primaries. If they leave it up to the typical 20-25% to nominate their candidate. Maybe then the qualifications ty of the candidates will improve some anyway.
If I am reading this properly, we are dabbling in colonialism and more than dabbling in socialism. After WWII we went out of our way to end British and French colonialism at great personal sacrifice. Now we are promoting them, with kleptocracy sure to follow. And you're right to give Trump "credit' for it.
This ends badly.
There is nothing wrong with colonialism. Colonialism brought great progress to India, South Africa, Rhodesia, China, the Philippines, North America, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and Kenya. BUT FOR colonialism, this would be a far different, poorer, and more violent world.
So you want to return to colonialism. Is it along the Vance line of thought where we dominate the Americas, Russia dominates Europe and portions of western Asia while China controls the remainder of Asia and the south Pacific? Or do you have something else in mind?
Seriously question the good colonialism brought to South Africa, Rhodesia no longer exists. Colonialism brought communism to China. I'm sure there are many in the other countries you mentioned who would not agree that colonialism brought too much benefit to their countries.
Colonialism, like unionism, socialism and communism have run their course and the world will be a better place ridding itself of these isms.
I did not advocate a return to colonialism. But colonialism has become a Leftist pejorative that distorts history.
Moreover, I am not advocating anything concerning the Vice-President. I am speaking only for myself.
I do want the United States to dominate the Western Hemisphere. I am a strong proponent of The Monroe Doctrine.
It is only realistic to believe that China and Russia will have some areas of influence in Asia and Europe, respectively. But I also believe in projecting U.S. power and influence in the Pacific, along with Japan, Taiwan, and Australia. One of the dumbest things the U.S. did was to pull out of the Philippines. As for Europe, Russia will only dominate it if Western European nations continue to act like petulant children, refusing to spend their own monies for their own defenses. A strong Europe (NOT a strong NATO) would be a deterrent to any Russian aggression.
South Africa and Rhodesia were thriving countries under British rule. South Africa and Rhodesia continued as thriving countries under Boer and Ian Smith, respectively. These countries' downfall only came about by the incompetent Leftist rule by the native majorities.
Colonialism did NOT bring communism to China. Communism did not surface in China except as a power challenge to Chiang Kai Shek's Nationalist government.
I do not care what some backwater revolutionaries in "the other countries" I mentioned think about colonialism. My assessment is based on objective historical facts. It is not arguable that Western values and culture are superior to the pagan values and culture that were present in North America, India, Africa, and South America. The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice, while the Spanish practiced Catholicism. The rule of law came to the Indian subcontinent under British rule. Hong Kong and Singapore became thriving, prosperous Pacific enclaves under British Rule. And, on and on and on.
Colonialism still has a place in the world today. Not as large a place as before, but still a place. Would Puerto Rico be better off as an independent nation? Nope. How about Guam, American Samoa or the U.S. Virgin Islands? No. The Rock of Gibralter does quite well as a British outpost. And if Vietnam were still a French colony, it would not be suffering under communist rule.
I'd say you are distorting history as well. In Africa, European powers colonized to exploit resources with little regard to the native populations.
Being realistic about Russia and China having some areas of influence has not been the policy of the US since the communist takeovers of the countries. US policy has been to contain and oppose expansion of communism around the globe. As the premier global power we will be ill advised to back off on those policies.
When the French and France's Vietnamese allies abandoned Vietnam under Japanese attack, sat out the war and then expected to return as conquering heroes they effectively turned Vietnam to communism. If the US did NOT conduct the war and abandon Vietnam because of losing the publicity battle in the US, the communist may have been stopped in their tracks.