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NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Political Discussion Thread

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Looks like trouble in paradise.

I am rereading The Creature from Jekyll Island and while there is a bunch of hoopla regarding Musk's involvement in the federal government, this is not the first time the ultra wealthy have gotten way too deep to protect their own interests. When it happened in the early 1900's it screwed the nation and continues to even today. Musk's involvement will continue to have repercussions for years to come.
 
michaelskis said:
repercussions for years
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“Do you think Clinton’s repeal of Glass Steagall was a Love Letter to the idea of a ‘rising tide lifts all boats’?”

“Heck no, it was a Message In a Bottle to the Starve the Beast right-wingers that feed MAGA today!”

IMG_8644.jpeg


“BWAH HA HA HA!!”
 
Wannaplan? said:
“Do you think Clinton’s repeal of Glass Steagall was a Love Letter to the idea of a ‘rising tide lifts all boats’?”

“Heck no, it was a Message In a Bottle to the Starve the Beast right-wingers that feed MAGA today!”

View attachment 64756

“BWAH HA HA HA!!”
Click to expand...

The repeal of Glass Steagall was like changing out cans of gasoline next to a forest fire with cans of diesel fuel. Was it a step in the right direction, I would say so in that it increased diversification of the finance industry, but it also removed some of the safeguards. It allows for increased bank risk knowing that the tax payers (FDIC) will cover losses.
 
michaelskis said:
Was it a step in the right direction, I would say so in that it increased diversification of the finance industry, but it also
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“Do you think MAGA cares about increased diversification of the finance industry?”

“Heck no! They still get Quantitative Easing confused with QAnon!

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‘

“BWAH HA HA HA!!”
 
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Ok, kind of political, but not. It is one thing to have a firm handshake, but it is a jerk move to squeeze someone's hand to the point that it leaves this level of a print. But then again... look at the people in the photo.
 
This back and forth between Trump and the Federal Reserve is crazy. It is like two thieves who are fighting over who is going to rob you.

Trump claims that wages have increased more since he took office than at any period of history. What they are not saying is that those wage increases have barely been keeping up with inflation. Smaller increases with previous administrations in periods of deflation have actually increased the buying power. Trump wants to lower the interest rates because he wants the political credit for making credit cheaper, although the recognizes that we are at a tipping point with the federal debt. He is not interested in lowering it, he just wants to see if they can get interest rates low enough to keep up with the interest payments.

The flip side is if you look at the buying power of the dollar over 25 years, it is a bit of a wake up call. Generally, things that cost $100 in 2000 would cost $187 today. If you think about that for a moment, if you buried money in a jar in your back yard, the spending power of it is almost half what it was just 25 years ago.
 
With the US bombing Iranian nuke sites, do you think this will progress into a full war with the US?

Wife asked me knowing that we have a kid who will be of draft age in 18 months.
 
michaelskis said:
With the US bombing Iranian nuke sites, do you think this will progress into a full war with the US?

Wife asked me knowing that we have a kid who will be of draft age in 18 months.
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No. The key reason is that I'm seriously skeptical of Congress, even GOP/MAGA controlled, declaring war. What Trump has already done is questionable in its consistency with Constitutional authority.

And I also don't think you'll see a draft in this country unless there is an actual invasion or attack on U.S. military installations that decimates active duty personnel. Right now there's about 1.3M active duty. The U.S. also has a large reservist program in the neighborhood of 750K ready to serve. Post-Vietnam, this country is allergic to conscription.

Also, Ukraine is a good case study on the future of war. Ukraine is showing how technology has changed it from being a numbers game.
 
Senate parliamentarian in the news

Some of the Headlines -
Senate parliamentarian deals another blow to GOP megabill
What's This Garbage? The Senate Parliamentarian Just Took a Hatchet to Trump's Reconciliation Bill
Senate parliamentarian rejects GOP attempt to authorize states to conduct immigration enforcement
Senate Parliamentarian Rejects Eight More Parts of Big Beautiful Bill
Senate parliamentarian rejects GOP's attempt to limit courts' contempt powers
GOP Provision That Makes Trump A King Breaks Senate Rules, Says Parliamentarian
 
michaelskis said:
With the US bombing Iranian nuke sites, do you think this will progress into a full war with the US?

Wife asked me knowing that we have a kid who will be of draft age in 18 months.
Click to expand...
I don't think "full war" will happen. What I foresee happening is a prolonged low intensity 'asymmetric' war taking place. Trump wanted in and out. Iran (if the government doesn't topple) will not be so obliging. We're going to continue to be 'at war' with the Middle East for the foreseeable future whether we like it or not, thanks to actions of Netanyahu and Trump.
 
What a great time in this discussion to hold spiritual communion with the late John McCain. I for one am fearful that the bombing of Iran is a historical inflection point in our country’s relationship with mideast nations, but am hopeful that President Trump, as dumb as he is, is not a war hawk and actually believes what he did in Iran was intended to protect the American people. Neocons on the other hand, just got their biggest dopamine hit in over 15 years.

Last month, at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, a crowd member asked McCain about a Bush statement that troops could stay in Iraq for 50 years. "Maybe 100," McCain replied.

McCain defends '100 years in Iraq' statement - CNN.com

Republican presidential front-runner Sen. John McCain on Thursday defended his statement that U.S. troops could spend "maybe 100" years in Iraq -- saying he was referring to a military presence similar to what the nation already has in places like Japan, Germany and South Korea.
edition.cnn.com
 
Maister said:
I don't think "full war" will happen. What I foresee happening is a prolonged low intensity 'asymmetric' war taking place. Trump wanted in and out. Iran (if the government doesn't topple) will not be so obliging. We're going to continue to be 'at war' with the Middle East for the foreseeable future whether we like it or not, thanks to actions of Netanyahu and Trump.
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The Mideast will always be a spot of military aggression. This will not change and all nations involved will never be sitting around a campfire singing kumbaya. Trump's strikes are nothing new to the last several presidencies. Obama authorized many strikes (tomahawk, drone, bombing) hitting targets with no immediate threat to the USA. As he (Obama) reportedly told senior aides in 2011: “Turns out I’m really good at killing people. Didn’t know that was gonna be a strong suit of mine.” Many of these (from both sides of the aisle) were without congressional approval. Laws aside and how interpreted can be convoluted but the bottom line is that Dem or Rep presidents have use this type of military intervention many times. We are only armchair Generals and can only interpret what little of the picture we know.

"We're going to continue to be 'at war' with the Middle East for the foreseeable future whether we like it or not, thanks to actions of Netanyahu and Trump."

You forgot Biden, Trump v1, Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush…Mideast adversaries don't forget.
 
Valid point. The USA has been on a 5+ decade skid of Congress failing to intervene and push their war powers authority on Presidential side quests, or at least not doing so in any kind of public way. I would argue that the USA's history is fundamentally violent/warmongering, despite how we project ourselves. And Eisenhower has proven himself right in our need to be wary of military industrial complex.
 
The North Carolina House on Wednesday night unanimously passed H369, which prevents local zoning regulations from (1) imposing a minimum square foot requirement for residential structures or (2) imposing any parking minimums for any type of building. Now the bill moves to the Senate. This bill didn't have to make the crossover deadline.
 
Planit said:
The North Carolina House on Wednesday night unanimously passed H369, which prevents local zoning regulations from (1) imposing a minimum square foot requirement for residential structures or (2) imposing any parking minimums for any type of building. Now the bill moves to the Senate. This bill didn't have to make the crossover deadline.
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My state legislature a few years ago said municipalities cannot require more than 1,000 s.f. on single/two family dwellings, along with other elements that cannot be required. Preliminary plats of single/two family and townhome development are prohibited from review by the legislative body unless contained in a development agreement. Removal of parking standards could be problematic. Developers certainly want enough parking for their uses. First generation tenants may have less issues since the site will likely be planned for the use. Backfilling with a high demand use could cause issues. Owners will not want to have vacant lease space and filling with any tenant will be the goal. Elements we cannot regulate of single/two family dwellings:

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SlaveToTheGrind said:
Elements we cannot regulate of single/two family dwellings:

View attachment 64804
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That happened here a few years ago. They're pilling on now with several bills subverting local powers.

In one bill there was a lot of language that caught the attention of several counties and bigger cities. That bill was withdrawn and then the language suddenly appeared in the 'swimming pool safety' bill.
 
Yep, we're looking at bills to get rid of design review, lot size minimums, of course parking requirements because 2 per house is too much, and the usual let's allow 8 units/acre by right in all zoning.

It comes down to when everyone complains about people parking on the street and nowhere to park I can just say it was Senator what his name. The Republican guy.
 
Planit said:
That happened here a few years ago. They're pilling on now with several bills subverting local powers.

In one bill there was a lot of language that caught the attention of several counties and bigger cities. That bill was withdrawn and then the language suddenly appeared in the 'swimming pool safety' bill.
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Your state legislature is an absolute acid trip in how they approach amending unrelated bills. I thought Texas was bad, but y'all are clear winners in that boat race!

As someone that thinks minimum parking ratios are garbage, I'm on-board. I don't like the state preemption method to do it especially since a lot of cities are getting there on their own. It is going to prompt different ROW standards. I could easily see 36' curb-to-curb, but doing bumpouts at all intersections dropping crossing distance to 20', and then requiring alleys with any off-street parking being accessed from there. I've got a client city doing exactly that right now.
 
Dirty Jersey has 564 municipalities in 21 counties. One fun thing about NJ is that it has an affordable housing mandate for each town. Most “urban” towns have met their fair share obligations. The NIMBY towns have been fighting for 50 years, the regulatory oversight body was defunded and not staffed by Gov. Krispy Kreme so guess what wasn’t happening? Current situation is a combination of advocacy groups, courts, and a re-funded regulatory office issuing 4th round obligations (10 years worth) and towns can shit or get off the pot with a settlement plan. They’re all scrambling trying to get their plans in before July 1 to avoid getting sued by the housing advocacy groups.

Supposedly my office is being tasked with being a TA provider for these towns linking them with consultants and experts to figure out their plan. They will find out quickly I am the wrong one 😆 My solution is stop fighting affordable housing-if people are good enough to clean your house, mow your lawn, take care of your kids, do your nails, serve food & drinks, and fix your shit….THEY ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO LIVE IN YOUR TOWN. Also if I were Queen for a Day, I’d waive my wand and any housing project with 5+ units have to provide 20% affordable units.
 
^Ah, Mt. Laurel I & II (and probably more, but I left Jersey a long time ago). I remember them well and all the dirty little tricks places played to get out of their affordable housing obligations. It's a shame, because it was really a fair-minded law.
 
Nice quote from an article I read on the upcoming BigBullsh!tBill vote:

Republicans for years opposed such debt limit increases, taking the nation’s fiscal health hostage by demanding equal spending cuts from Democrats. Under both of Trump’s presidencies, however, they’ve looked the other way.
 
kjel said:
Dirty Jersey has 564 municipalities in 21 counties. One fun thing about NJ is that it has an affordable housing mandate for each town. Most “urban” towns have met their fair share obligations. The NIMBY towns have been fighting for 50 years, the regulatory oversight body was defunded and not staffed by Gov. Krispy Kreme so guess what wasn’t happening? Current situation is a combination of advocacy groups, courts, and a re-funded regulatory office issuing 4th round obligations (10 years worth) and towns can shit or get off the pot with a settlement plan. They’re all scrambling trying to get their plans in before July 1 to avoid getting sued by the housing advocacy groups.

Supposedly my office is being tasked with being a TA provider for these towns linking them with consultants and experts to figure out their plan. They will find out quickly I am the wrong one 😆 My solution is stop fighting affordable housing-if people are good enough to clean your house, mow your lawn, take care of your kids, do your nails, serve food & drinks, and fix your shit….THEY ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO LIVE IN YOUR TOWN. Also if I were Queen for a Day, I’d waive my wand and any housing project with 5+ units have to provide 20% affordable units.
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In the last two weeks, I've been contacted by 3 developers wanting to do LITHC projects. No clue why. Although we make up 20% of the county population, we have 60% of the subsidized housing in the area. We've politely said that we'd like our neighbor and municipality that makes up 50% of the population to up their game (30% of subsidized housing in the area). They have no plans. To make it even better, they get over twice what we receive in HUD funds because their college students show up as low income because they don't work, but also live in luxury student apartments that charge $1,200 per bedroom. Municipalities are strictly prohibited from requiring set asides for subsidized housing, but it makes so much more sense to have a couple of units spread through each development than clustering.

Tomorrow consumable hemp becomes regulated. Specifically, vaping and smoking hemp products will be a felony (possession of pot is misdemeanor). There are planned injunctions and other attempts to fight the new state law, but I don't think they have much of a chance. We'll likely have 5 or 6 shops that will close starting tomorrow or fairly soon. The police want nothing to do with enforcement of it, but don't really have a choice.
 
Does anyone really know what all is included in Trump's bill? All the media sources seem to pick and choose which elements it includes. But what else is in there that isn't getting attention?

I ask because I doubt anyone who is actually voting on it understands it.
 
michaelskis said:
Does anyone really know what all is included in Trump's bill? All the media sources seem to pick and choose which elements it includes. But what else is in there that isn't getting attention?

I ask because I doubt anyone who is actually voting on it understands it.
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Or reads the bill in its entirety. "We have to pass the bill, so that you can find out what is in it." Pelosi was referring to the 1,990-page Obamacare bill and very likely not read entirely through by a single person.
 
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We are trying to determine what the impacts of BBB are to EDA, Brownfields, HUD, and other funding sources, but have had zero luck. Even our EDA rep doesn't know where things will land.
 
MacheteJames said:
We are trying to determine what the impacts of BBB are to EDA, Brownfields, HUD, and other funding sources, but have had zero luck. Even our EDA rep doesn't know where things will land.
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Our EPA rep & a consultant we work with both have said they don't know where things will land. Supposedly brownfields is around one more year at least, but maybe not.
 
MacheteJames said:
We are trying to determine what the impacts of BBB are to EDA, Brownfields, HUD, and other funding sources, but have had zero luck. Even our EDA rep doesn't know where things will land.
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There's some weirdness now with some of my team's FedGov projects being slowed-rolled for the next month or two until the powers that be can figure out the funding situation...
 
From what I understand, there are some republicans not questioning what the bill says but how it will be interpreted and implemented. I would be terrified if I was relying on an equitable interpretation from this administration. They're going to do whatever they want and treat their "friends" well and vengeful to their "enemies" based on how they feel that day.
 
Dear Sen. Ted Cruz & Sec. Marco Rubio;

Please explain how sons of immigrant refugees are now Anti-Immigrant and Anti-Refugee politicians.

Sincerely,

Americans
 
The community that I live in is very red. Over the weekend I was chatting with my neighbor and he was all excited about Trump's bill getting passed. He just assumed that I thought the same since I have an American flag on my house for more than just the 4th of July. Being that we were just two guys standing in the driveway with cold beer's I didn't feel that it was a good time to tell him that I didn't vote Trump.

He was going on and on about all the liberals spewing hate about the bill. So finally I asked, why do you think that they are saying all of that? He responded with a bunch of sound bites.

But I dug in deeper and asked what kind of Nation would he want if he could write the rules? He started talking about different freedoms, some of which were in direct conflict with my understanding of the bill.

Further goes to show, most people don't really know what just got approved.
 
JNA said:
If you need to know the details -
Click to expand...

Just the table of contents should be enough to scare people.





EDIT:
Elon Musk is forming his own political party. Based on the little bits that I have heard so far and his corporate positions, it will be:
  • Pro Alternative Energy
  • Pro Electric Vehicles
  • Pro Technology
  • Pro Second Amendment
  • Pro Bitcoin
  • Pro Private Space Travel
  • Pro Hyperloop
  • Anti-Government Spending
  • Representing 80% in the middle


What are your thoughts on all of this? Personally, I will believe it when I see it...
 
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michaelskis said:
Just the table of contents should be enough to scare people.





EDIT:
Elon Musk is forming his own political party. Based on the little bits that I have heard so far and his corporate positions, it will be:
  • Pro Alternative Energy
  • Pro Electric Vehicles
  • Pro Technology
  • Pro Second Amendment
  • Pro Bitcoin
  • Pro Private Space Travel
  • Pro Hyperloop
  • Anti-Government Spending
  • Representing 80% in the middle


What are your thoughts on all of this? Personally, I will believe it when I see it...
Click to expand...
I'll believe it when I see it too. But I sure hope he tries.
 
michaelskis said:
Just the table of contents should be enough to scare people.





EDIT:
Elon Musk is forming his own political party. Based on the little bits that I have heard so far and his corporate positions, it will be:
  • Pro Alternative Energy
  • Pro Electric Vehicles
  • Pro Technology
  • Pro Second Amendment
  • Pro Bitcoin
  • Pro Private Space Travel
  • Pro Hyperloop
  • Anti-Government Spending
  • Representing 80% in the middle


What are your thoughts on all of this? Personally, I will believe it when I see it...
Click to expand...
Hey man, I'm just like you. I like guns just like you. I like the middle-class just like you. I like private space travel just like you. All sounds like his own agenda with some healthy pandering thrown in to get a few votes.
 
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