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Go Canes

Dude. Put down the big media talking points that say this is a binary problem created by republicans. It takes both sides and no one cares about Epstein, that scumbag and all the people who visited him from both parties are nothing more then chaff. The shutdown is the result of both parties being populated by raging narcissists who haven't breathed the same air as the average citizen for decades. They want you pissed at "the other side" so you don't do anything relevant to remove incumbents from power. Aim your ire at the real culprits: the people you voted for.

It’s not though. This isn’t about “media talking points.” Adelita Grijalva’s election was certified by Arizona’s secretary of state, the House majority simply refused to schedule her swearing-in. That’s on the official record. The last time Congress blocked a certified member from taking the oath was over a century ago, and it was condemned by both parties as a constitutional failure. Calling that “both sides” is just factually wrong. Only one side controls the calendar. As a point of order, earlier in this Congress, new members from special elections (e.g., two Florida Republicans and a Virginia Democrat) were sworn in within 24 hours of their election, while the House was not in full session. Just wanna confirm that your alls response as to why this time is justified is the Gov shutdown? Can we just get that one on record? You say “no one cares about Epstein.” That’s convenient and pathetically incorrect. The issue isn’t the man, it’s whether Congress will release federal files that may implicate powerful people from both parties. That’s transparency, not gossip. Brushing it off only shows how partisanship outweighs curiosity about corruption. And sure, both parties have their narcissists, but equating systemic obstruction with ordinary dysfunction is a false balance. Trust in Congress has dropped from nearly 70 percent in the 1970s to about 20 percent today. That decline tracks perfectly with the rise of tribal loyalty over constitutional duty. We all swore an oath once. It wasn’t to a party, and it wasn’t to a personality cult. Watching people on this forum who once understood that retreat behind cynicism and call it realism, it’s hard to decide whether that’s sadder or more dangerous.

This is the Crux of it. You either have to believe all of them are stupid, which is true for the majority but not the entirety of our executive and general officer class, or they just don't care. The ugly reality is that the F22 is a completely useless airframe in a great conflict, purely by merit of its scarcity. And the F32 is most likely not far behind based on how difficult it would be to ramp up production. And just like all the bankers during the great financial crisis, these "leaders" will skitter away into the shadows like the cockroaches they are, never to be held accountable, while dudes like Luckey end up being the secret ingredient to winning the next war.

Not a lot. The simple problem is we’ve let “perfect” become the enemy of good (and industry is greedy as fuck and doesn’t give a shit about the country). The days of pumping out war materiel like WW2 will never return.

That last one was pretty incredible

That shutdown lasted 21 days. It’s currently the second longest shutdown behind the 2018-2019 shutdown during Trump’s first term. The current shutdown is currently at 17 days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_shutdowns_in_the_United_States

Don't listen much to Rogan anymore but this one is pretty good. I had been reading about the Eagle Eye system prior to his appearance. It's pretty cool but lots of questions obviously. He's definitely on the right track of MORE for LESS (money and time)

My favorite part of a government shutdown are the news mashups showing every politician from both sides taking the exact opposite position during the previous shutdown when it was the other team leading it.

Necro thread... So there I was, cooking dinner for the kids tonight in the Santa Maria area when the sound of multiple radials starts droning overhead. I ran out the room and onto the porch like a kid trying to catch Santa. My dog was righteously concerned; the kids just ignored me. If, in the long shot, you were in the mixed four-ship on a midfield at/about 5:35 local, thanks for the show appetizer. Happy SMX 2025, to those who celebrate. Now excuse me while I try to find my good camera; too many good things happening for the cell phone treatment.