The Official "Making America Great Again" Thread

[CID1990]

The Russians are gangsters - they always have been. They are OG

But our interests as nations dovetail in many areas - and they ARE natural allies. You don't have to like your allies.

Describe how the Russians "ARE natural allies." I don't buy it for a second. Ever since Stalin hosed FDR at Yalta, the Russians have been ruthless adversaries. Gorbachev notwithstanding. Common interests, maybe.

When I refer to allies, What I mean is amity based on common interests - not what you would think of when referring to Canada or the UK.

In reality, "there are no allies... only interests."

We already have areas where we cooperate closely with the Russians, and in these areas we don't screw with each other. The space program is one of those.

There IS a way to cooperate with them in areas of mutual interest, while reserving the right to criticize them and even sanction them when they act like brutes (see Ukraine and Georgia).

Before relations ever improve, we MUST stop NATO expansion.

Our dear President, a on and off critic of NATO, just signed off on something that is precisely the problem- he signed off on the addition of Montenegro. This has no other purpose than to poke Russia in the eye, with zero strategic gain for us

We are now treaty bound to go to war over a country that has a military that is smaller than The Citadel Corps of Cadets.

It is 1912 all over again


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[GannonFan]

We are now treaty bound to go to war over a country that has a military that is smaller than The Citadel Corps of Cadets.

That's a tough pillow fight to call there - The Citadel vs. Montenegro.

[CID1990]

We are now treaty bound to go to war over a country that has a military that is smaller than The Citadel Corps of Cadets.

That's a tough pillow fight to call there - The Citadel vs. Montenegro.

We would whip their asses.


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[Ivytalk]

Interesting WaPoo article about Trump administration's failure to fill hundreds of positions, particularly those requiring Senate confirmation. Reasons given range from bureaucratic inefficiency to political distractions to Republican fears of career suicide to fears of having to "lawyer up." Virtually every GOP source is anonymous, except for Eliot Cohen and Elliott Abrams (who are too senior to give a shit).

[Skjellyfetti]

Yeah, even more interesting are the positions that DON'T require Senate confirmation, imo.

Dubke resigned almost 3 weeks ago. Granted, they seem to be just as dysfunctional without a Communications Director as they are with one... but, they also can't find anyone worth a shit that wants that job.

[Aho Old Guy]

We are now treaty bound to go to war over a country that has a military that is smaller than The Citadel Corps of Cadets.

That's a tough pillow fight to call there -
The Bell-Hops V. NATO-tenegro.

Fixed it fer yoo.

I would prefer that the less-populous members of NATO focus on local civil defense and logistics. Send in the French Spec-Ops, 2nd Marine SOTG, et. al., and let them do the heavy lifting. Just keep the lights on, the drunks off, and the trains running, please.

And, if I had to defend humanity from slobbering Pootie Menace or conquering Alien Over-Lords, I could work out of Montenegro -- especially with some big-boy NATO Toys. It's not like NATO is unfamiliar with the territory, or that things have gotten ugly in the Balkans over the last 50 years.

These states need to be incorporated politically and economically into The New & Improved World Order. Resistance is futile. How's that GDP doing in Russia, Vlad?

[CAA Flagship]

The blonde on the right. I wanna MAGA with her.

http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/06/21/d ... l-election

[CID1990]

That's a tough pillow fight to call there -
The Bell-Hops V. NATO-tenegro.

Fixed it fer yoo.

I would prefer that the less-populous members of NATO focus on local civil defense and logistics. Send in the French Spec-Ops, 2nd Marine SOTG, et. al., and let them do the heavy lifting. Just keep the lights on, the drunks off, and the trains running, please.

And, if I had to defend humanity from slobbering Pootie Menace or conquering Alien Over-Lords, I could work out of Montenegro -- especially with some big-boy NATO Toys. It's not like NATO is unfamiliar with the territory, or that things have gotten ugly in the Balkans over the last 50 years.

These states need to be incorporated politically and economically into The New & Improved World Order. Resistance is futile. How's that GDP doing in Russia, Vlad?

I have a simpler idea that involves less hoop-jumping

Stop inviting former Iron Curtain basket cases to NATO

[UNI88]

Fixed it fer yoo.

I would prefer that the less-populous members of NATO focus on local civil defense and logistics. Send in the French Spec-Ops, 2nd Marine SOTG, et. al., and let them do the heavy lifting. Just keep the lights on, the drunks off, and the trains running, please.

And, if I had to defend humanity from slobbering Pootie Menace or conquering Alien Over-Lords, I could work out of Montenegro -- especially with some big-boy NATO Toys. It's not like NATO is unfamiliar with the territory, or that things have gotten ugly in the Balkans over the last 50 years.

These states need to be incorporated politically and economically into The New & Improved World Order. Resistance is futile. How's that GDP doing in Russia, Vlad?

I have a simpler idea that involves less hoop-jumping

Stop inviting former Iron Curtain basket cases to NATO

So in other words we need to stop tripping on our own dick.

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[CID1990]

I have a simpler idea that involves less hoop-jumping

Stop inviting former Iron Curtain basket cases to NATO

So in other words we need to stop tripping on our own dick.

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We arent tripping on it- that implied it is accidental

we are deliberately beating it with a farriers hammer


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[houndawg]

The Russians are gangsters - they always have been. They are OG

But our interests as nations dovetail in many areas - and they ARE natural allies. You don't have to like your allies.

Describe how the Russians "ARE natural allies." I don't buy it for a second. Ever since Stalin hosed FDR at Yalta, the Russians have been ruthless adversaries. Gorbachev notwithstanding. Common interests, maybe.

Hosed? FDR got Stalin's folks to do a lot of killing and dying for us. Stringing them along with just enough to keep fighting was some masterful statecraft.

[kalm]

AAAWWWWW...they're coaching him up!

Trump struggles to stay calm on Russia, one morning call at a time

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has a new morning ritual. Around 6:30 a.m. on many days – before all the network news shows have come on the air – he gets on the phone with a member of his outside legal team to chew over all things Russia.

The calls – detailed by three senior White House officials – are part strategy consultation and part presidential venting session, during which Trump’s lawyers and public-relations gurus take turns reviewing the latest headlines with him. They also devise their plan for battling his avowed enemies: the special counsel leading the Russia investigation; the “fake news” media chronicling it; and, in some instances, the president’s own Justice Department overseeing the probe.

His advisers have encouraged the calls – which the early-to-rise Trump takes from his private quarters in the White House residence – in hopes that he can compartmentalize the widening Russia investigation. By the time the president arrives for work in the Oval Office, the thinking goes, he will no longer be consumed by the Russia probe that he complains hangs over his presidency like a darkening cloud.

It rarely works, however. Asked whether the tactic was effective, one top White House adviser paused for several seconds and then just laughed.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/j ... e-morning/

[∞∞∞]

Genuinely curious, but is America great again yet? Or getting there?

I live inside the beltway bubble, or "the Swamp," so we're financially indifferent who's in office since the money finds its way home, just to new agencies or Contractors depending on the Administration. But where DC's proximity doesn't matter, what's the feeling?

[93henfan]

Genuinely curious, but is America great again yet? Or getting there?

I live inside the beltway bubble, or "the Swamp," so we're financially indifferent who's in office since the money finds its way home, just to new agencies or Contractors depending on the Administration. But where DC's proximity doesn't matter, what's the feeling?

This is Chizzang's shtick. Stop stealing.

As far as 401(k)'s go, which is probably a big indicator to votes in Presidential elections, America is much greater.

The Dow was 17,888 on Nov 4, 2016. Today it's at 21,400 and climbing. NASDAQ is up 24% since Trump was elected.

[Ibanez]

Genuinely curious, but is America great again yet? Or getting there?

I live inside the beltway bubble, or "the Swamp," so we're financially indifferent who's in office since the money finds its way home, just to new agencies or Contractors depending on the Administration. But where DC's proximity doesn't matter, what's the feeling?

Do you know what this means?

[∞∞∞]

Genuinely curious, but is America great again yet? Or getting there?

I live inside the beltway bubble, or "the Swamp," so we're financially indifferent who's in office since the money finds its way home, just to new agencies or Contractors depending on the Administration. But where DC's proximity doesn't matter, what's the feeling?

This is Chizzang's shtick. Stop stealing.

As far as 401(k)'s go, which is probably a big indicator to votes in Presidential elections, America is much greater.

The Dow was 17,888 on Nov 4, 2016. Today it's at 21,400 and climbing. NASDAQ is up 24% since Trump was elected.

Agreed, but according to statistics, most Americans don't actually put anything into 401Ks so it's not like it helps the average person. And in the end, it is questionable how much credit (or blame) a President gets for how Wall Street is doing. It's such a complicated financial system that even people in Wall Street barely understand it sometimes.

[93henfan]

This is Chizzang's shtick. Stop stealing.

As far as 401(k)'s go, which is probably a big indicator to votes in Presidential elections, America is much greater.

The Dow was 17,888 on Nov 4, 2016. Today it's at 21,400 and climbing. NASDAQ is up 24% since Trump was elected.

Agreed, but according to statistics, most Americans don't actually put anything into 401Ks so it's not like it helps the average person.

I can't fix stupid. I do participate, and my TSP is booming like a mofo right now.

So the stock market and jobs aren't your indicators of the country doing better? What are? Let us know and we'll see if we can get you data if you are too lazy to look it up yourself. I was just trying to help.

[93henfan]

And in the end, it is questionable how much credit (or blame) a President gets for how Wall Street is doing. It's such a complicated financial system that even people in Wall Street barely understand it sometimes.

To respond to your edit:

Of course. Wall Street is driven partly by emotion, and business feels that the climate for business is much better under Trump than it was under Obama. That's a no-brainer.

[Grizalltheway]

Agreed, but according to statistics, most Americans don't actually put anything into 401Ks so it's not like it helps the average person.

I can't fix stupid. I do participate, and my TSP is booming like a mofo right now.

So the stock market and jobs aren't your indicators of the country doing better? What are? Let us know and we'll see if we can get you data if you are too lazy to look it up yourself. I was just trying to help.

It was also doing fine at the end of Obama's tenure. In case you've forgotten, he inherited the worst economy and job market since the Depression. And like Skelly said, funny how all of a sudden the stock market isn't over-inflated and is the only indicator of the economy's health.

[93henfan]

I can't fix stupid. I do participate, and my TSP is booming like a mofo right now.

So the stock market and jobs aren't your indicators of the country doing better? What are? Let us know and we'll see if we can get you data if you are too lazy to look it up yourself. I was just trying to help.

It was also doing fine at the end of Obama's tenure. In case you've forgotten, he inherited the worst economy and job market since the Depression. And like Skelly said, funny how all of a sudden the stock market isn't over-inflated and is the only indicator of the economy's health.

Sticking to the talking points. Good work.

[∞∞∞]

Agreed, but according to statistics, most Americans don't actually put anything into 401Ks so it's not like it helps the average person.

I can't fix stupid. I do participate, and my TSP is booming like a mofo right now.

So the stock market and jobs aren't your indicators of the country doing better? What are? Let us know and we'll see if we can get you data if you are too lazy to look it up yourself. I was just trying to help.

I agree it's a good financial indicator, but how a society is doing isn't just based on finances. Other things that make a society complete include its human rights, social trust in public institutions, sustainability, future investments, foreign policy, military, education, etc.

I understand it's a tough evaluation to make (especially since US regions greatly differ), but I guess in the overall picture, how do things feel where you area?

[Grizalltheway]

It was also doing fine at the end of Obama's tenure. In case you've forgotten, he inherited the worst economy and job market since the Depression. And like Skelly said, funny how all of a sudden the stock market isn't over-inflated and is the only indicator of the economy's health.

Sticking to the talking points. Good work.

Excellent rebuttal.

[93henfan]

I can't fix stupid. I do participate, and my TSP is booming like a mofo right now.

So the stock market and jobs aren't your indicators of the country doing better? What are? Let us know and we'll see if we can get you data if you are too lazy to look it up yourself. I was just trying to help.

I agree it's a good financial indicator, but how a society is doing isn't just based on finances. Other things that make a society complete include its human rights, social trust in public institutions, sustainability, future investments, foreign policy, military, education, etc.

I understand it's a tough evaluation to make (especially since US regions greatly differ), but I guess in the overall picture, how do things feel where you area?

As I alluded earlier, Chizzang just made an economy post a few days ago. That sort of covered this already.

[93henfan]

Sticking to the talking points. Good work.

Excellent rebuttal.

Thanks. Send weed.

[93henfan]

What happened to Skjelly's graph he posted a few minutes ago showing a two-year flatline in the markets at the midpoint of Obama's second term until the week Trump was elected?

Don't delete shit before I can pick it apart.