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US Politics

Just finished up watching Congress from last night.

Blimey...those democrats really are a hateful shameful bunch.

I did enjoy the little conversation between Vance and speaker Johnson before it started 🤭
 
Stirlingsays said:
So what's the connection between 'some random country' and Britain? Hasn't Vance already denied this?

Sounds like more lefty hysteria to me.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1896891416187703687
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Of course he has. He would, wouldn't he?

No mention of British and French troops at all haha.

I've heard someone say that British and French troops have been secretly filmed eating people's pets.

Oh no, silly me, silly leftie hysteria. Typical. I think I must be communist.
 
Glazier#1 said:
Of course he has. He would, wouldn't he?

No mention of British and French troops at all haha.

I've heard someone say that British and French troops have been secretly filmed eating people's pets.

Oh no, silly me, silly leftie hysteria. Typical. I think I must be communist.
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I don't know you personally so I couldn't say....but you certainly seem emotionally affected by an interpretation of words that you would rather believe than not....seemingly just because you don't like someone.
 
Stirlingsays said:
I don't know you personally so I couldn't say....but you certainly seem emotionally affected by an interpretation of words that you would rather believe than not....seemingly just because you don't like someone.
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At no point have I said that I don't like anyone. Disagreed with, yes. A difference that a few on here might do well to dwell on.

Not emotional at all, actually; just endlessly amused, Lieutenant Gonville, sir.
 
Glazier#1 said:
At no point have I said that I don't like anyone. Disagreed with, yes. A difference that a few on here might do well to dwell on.

Not emotional at all, actually; just endlessly amused.
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Well, you are disagreeing based upon an interpretation rather than someone's actual words.

Perhaps, as an earlier comment implied, you seem bothered by people taking one side rather than a balanced perspective you should have some criticism for the one sided nature of people making these assumptions....instead of just repeating them yourself.

However, if you are amused here....actually that's a good thing. Life's too short....like Tom Cruise.
 
Stirlingsays said:
Well, you are disagreeing based upon an interpretation rather than someone's actual words.

Perhaps, as an earlier comment implied, you seem bothered by people taking one side rather than a balanced perspective you should have some criticism for the one sided nature of people making these assumptions....instead of just repeating them yourself.

However, if you are amused here....actually that's a good thing. Life's too short....like Tom Cruise.
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No, didn't just repeat them. I listened to the interview and made up my own mind. Difficult to credit but true, Lefty.

That's short for Lieutenant, by the way. Or maybe it should be adjusted to 'Looty' in deference to our American friends in recognition of the UK being the 51st State.
 
Glazier#1 said:
No, didn't just repeat them. I listened to the interview and made up my own mind. Difficult to credit but true, Lefty.

That's short for Lieutenant, by the way. Or maybe it should be adjusted to 'Looty' in deference to our American friends in recognition of the UK being the 51st State.
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A lefty making their own mind up?
That's like one of them climbing Everest.
 
eaglesdare said:

UK politics....but can you imagine if Elon musk does this. Complete outrage and meltdown from the usual suspects.
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In the fiscal year of 2024 (October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024), the federal government spent approximately $6.9 trillion.
Tax revenue over the same time period was $4.9 trillion.

So essentially America, in the last Biden year was adding two trillion to its 36 trillion debt pile.

Grok broke down these facts for me.

'Here’s a concise breakdown of major federal spending categories for FY 2024 (totaling $6.9 trillion):
  • Social Security: $1.5 trillion (21% of total) – Retirement, disability, and survivor benefits.
  • Health Programs: $1.7 trillion (24%) – Includes Medicare ($1 trillion), Medicaid ($880 billion), CHIP, and ACA subsidies.
  • Defense: $872 billion (13%) – Military operations, personnel, and equipment.
  • Interest on Debt: $900 billion (13%) – Payments on the national debt, up due to rising rates and debt levels.
  • Economic Security: $476 billion (7%) – Unemployment, food assistance, and other aid.
  • Discretionary (Other): $1.5 trillion (22%) – Education, infrastructure, research, etc.
Of the $4.9 trillion in revenue:
  • Individual Income Taxes: ~$2.4 trillion (49%).
  • Payroll Taxes: ~$1.8 trillion (37%) – Funds Social Security and Medicare.
  • Corporate Taxes: ~$450 billion (9%).
  • Other: ~$250 billion (5%) – Excise taxes, customs, etc.'

We can see why the incentive to cut waste and fraud exists for the incoming Trump government. However, in reality when people talk of cutting that two trillion overspend it's wildly optimistic and a far more realistic target would be 500 billion.....even that's not easy and I think currently Musk is at around a 100 billion in savings.

I see the US cutting defence spending by reducing US bases around the world, especially in Europe.
 
Trump is always banging on about how high his IQ is, despite refusing to actually have it tested and made public.

However the most important quality of a successful leader is not IQ. It’s EQ. Your emotional quotient. The ability to understand and manage your emotions. It delivers empathy and compassion, allows you to understand the positions of others and how to bring them with you.

Whether Trump really has a high IQ is unknown but an analysis by a psychiatrist I recently watched concluded that he has a very low EQ rating, something that any observation of him confirms. It isn’t nil, as he obviously connects with his “base”, but he can cut foreign aid without any thought about what that might mean to those benefitting from it.

It’s this lack of EQ which makes Trump, and Musk, so poorly suited to be in the positions they are in and so difficult to deal with.
 
Nor wishing to overcomplicate your figures Stirling, but when Musk talks about financial savings (ie wages), then a lot of that might be shifted into pensions payouts (for those going to early retirement), or younger ones going on Social Security because they've lost their jobs. They lose income tax revenue from all those job cuts too.
There a probably some fat earners in there who are just taking wages fraudulently, in made-up jobs, with little actual work

It's like juggling 5 balls at once, and not dropping any.

However, big savings are in Foreign Policy, as you say. Most notably by giving Europe a wake-up call and getting them to pay for their own defence.
 
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