Thought for the Day

[Stavros]

"President-elect Donald Trump on Monday promised massive hikes in tariffs on goods coming from Mexico, Canada and China starting on the first day of his administration, a policy that could sharply increase costs for American businesses and consumers.The move, Trump said, will be in retaliation for illegal immigration and “crime and drugs” coming across the border.".
Trump ups the ante on tariffs, vowing massive taxes on goods from Mexico, Canada and China on Day 1

While this may be yet more evidence that the Republican Party has rejected Free Trade, or Free Market Capitalism in favour of 'Government Everywhere', it seems to me there is a massive question that is not being asked, though I don't know how this debate actually takes place in the US:

How is the Federal Govt, or any State Govt in the US campaigning to end addiction to Fentanyl?

If so many Americans are dying from Fentanyl, and criminal gangs making millions of dollars from the trade, why not attack the fundamental problem: the use of the drug, instead of (or in addition to) the suppliers?

There is a trade in Marijuana because millions of Americans like it, and use it. The same is true of tobacco, alcohol and donuts. All can have negative long term side effects, from Diabetes to Addiction to Death.

Taxes on imports seems to me an instrument that may be more about global trade than drugs, and Trump wants to re-structure global trade so that the US wins every time -even though the US is dependent on imports for so much of its industrial output.

So not an advance anywhere, just the next US Govt going round in circles, while people's lives suffer and end. Level of policy innovation: none at all.

[Paladin]

There are some 11,000 nKorean troops in russia now fighting alongside the ruskies against Ukraine and have3 been sending missiles / rocktes to russia as well. Iranian drones are also in use by the ruskies, and houthies are reported to be making there way to russia to join the fighting. And the US hasn't done a damn thing about it.
Any thoughts on this???

[filghy2]

There are some 11,000 nKorean troops in russia now fighting alongside the ruskies against Ukraine and have3 been sending missiles / rocktes to russia as well. Iranian drones are also in use by the ruskies, and houthies are reported to be making there way to russia to join the fighting. And the US hasn't done a damn thing about it.
Any thoughts on this???

You mean apart from providing more than $100 billion in arms and other aid to Ukraine, which has been opposed by Trump and his MAGA cronies? What have the Romans ever done for us?
https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much...-going-ukraine

[Stavros]

Israel or Housing?

"Last month, the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs published a revealing report on the cost to American taxpayers of the war in Gaza. Since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza, and more recently on Lebanon, has cost the U.S. $22 billion. This is only the publicly declared number, the report describes, as efforts have been made to obscure through bureaucratic tactics the total amount of aid and the types of systems involved.
A particularly glaring example was the decision to arrange 100 separate arms deals with Israel between October 2023 and March 2024, each kept below the dollar threshold that would require reporting to Congress.".
It's time for the US to stand up to Israel

"On Wednesday, I went to a luncheon hosted by the Columbus Metropolitan Club on the topic of homelessness. The panelist posed a question to one of the panelists: what would it cost to end homelessness in America?
The panelist Bob Weiler, a real estate developer in Columbus, said the money exists, but the political will doesn’t....
there should be cheaper ways to house people than simply paying the median rent, but these figures suggest that on the high end, eliminating homelessness in the United States should cost somewhere from $11 billion to $30 billion per year.".
What would it cost to end homelessness in America? — Scioto Analysis

[KnightHawk 2.0]

Buckle Up,Buttercup: Representative Jasmine Crockett delivers a powerful breakdown of how Donald Trump's economic policies will directly affect working families and the broader economy.

[KnightHawk 2.0]

Right Wing Christian Nationalist And Insurrectionist MAGA Mike Johnson is panicking because he may lose the majority in the House Of Representatives,as Democrats surprisingly flipped seats in the house. And he knows that if he ends up losing the majority,he'll be no longer speaker.

[KnightHawk 2.0]

President Joe Biden made a major announcement this evening,that he is pardoning his son Hunter Biden in connection with two federal cases. Right Wing Media outlets like The FOX Propaganda Channel and others are going to freaking about this announcement,and if their leader Donald Trump granted one of his sons a pardon,they wouldn't have a problem with it.

[KnightHawk 2.0]

Right Wing Christian Nationalist And Insurrectionist MAGA Mike Johnson is panicking because he may lose the majority in the House Of Representatives,as Democrats surprisingly flipped seats in the house. And he knows that if he ends up losing the majority,he'll be no longer speaker.

And the dopey ass look on Mike Johnson's face is priceless,because he knows he'll be up a creek without a paddle if he loses the control of the House Of Representatives.

[KnightHawk 2.0]

The GOP shocked as Democrats House Win becomes official. On January 3rd 2025 the House Of Representatives will look very different. MAGA Mike Johnson will have a 2-3 seat majority,which will make very hard for him getting rules and legislation pass or get things done.

[MrFanti]

Where's the Pardon for Thousands of Black Men Locked Up for What Hunter Did? | Opinion
https://www.newsweek.com/wheres-pard...pinion-1994163