The Next President is...

[disgruntledemployee]

3 hours ago, Day Man said:

who would've guessed a guy who bankrupted a casino wasn't great at business 🤷‍♂️

All this fucking around with people's life savings is epically retarded.  The GOP will get flushed in the midterms. 

Screw it, I'm loading up on SQQQ

[lloyd christmas]

43 minutes ago, disgruntledemployee said:

All this fucking around with people's life savings is epically retarded.  The GOP will get flushed in the midterms. 

Screw it, I'm loading up on SQQQ

We will see how well this post ages.  There will be a lot happening between now and then.  

For the elderly or those about to retire, I’m sure the markets are extremely stressful right now.

For me, I feel a strange sense of peace now.  Not because I trust this administration more than another, but because I’ve watched all the various internet and media driven hysterical narratives just fall apart year after year.   Our society is completely divided culturally.  On one side there is reality and on the other there is an emotionally driven, hyperbolic, hateful and easily manipulated side.  A side that allows itself to continue to be manipulated.  That goes for both sides of the aisle.

The economy will be just fine.  I’m betting it will actually be much better in the end. 

It’s a really good time to invest in America’s markets.   

[BashiChuni]

anytime the vix spikes above 30 has historically been a GREAT time to be buying...

[17D_guy]

5 hours ago, brickhistory said:

Now do the 2024 town halls held by the losing side.  Nothing about screening of audience, pre-planted questions, edited replies, etc.  

Also, do I assume you were good with Biden (actually his handlers) demanding and the press accepting to have his very few press events complete with previously supplied questions?

And say, who's paying for those townhall agitators?  If only there were media reports about the funding of the "grass root" protestors. 

Valid point regarding midterms.  Hence why Trump has about 15 months or so to move the needle significantly to avoid a 2026 midterm loss of the House and/or Senate (not likely).

Also why the district court national injunction-palooza to slow him down.  By the time, it gets to the Supreme Court, where such national decisions by a district court judge should be mooted since it's not in the Constitution at all, the dirt in the Trump gears could have the Left's desired impact.

Love the whataboutism, I thought you guys were the party of values except now two wrongs make a right?

Curtis, one of our senators held a "virtual townhall" no questions, just a 30-min lecture via zoom then 5-min spots to privately ask him questions which all just happened to be full when signups were released. Mike Lee's phone doesn't even get answered. 

Nope, not a fan of the lack of press events, not a fan of him running again, not a fan of Harris not going through a primary, not a fan of their lack of a message to resonate with actual people, not a fan with the centralization of electoral and fundraising processes, not a fan of their stupid "political talk" they always start doing, not a fan of them abandoning the states. Next question.

Paying for townhall agitators, lol. How's the Qanon posts doing these days? You think all the townhalls have paid agitators? Like there aren't people who're upset with what's happening and the Congress abdicating their responsibility as a co-equal part of the gov't. We had one here for Blake Moore, and two down in SLC. No paid agitators, just pissed off people. My area the large employers are the Base, IRS, BLM/Interior. CDC on base just closed due to funding cuts, the probationary job cuts, IRS had the return to work order (that failed and they've stopped), AF DOD employees are taking a cut to locality pay on top of the hiring freeze and promotions being halted. That's on top of them all being told their lazy leeches. But I guess "someone" has got to pay people to show up at townhalls and be upset? Most logical of you.

That Kansas senator who went out into the boonies to do his meet-and-greet, yea those looked like a lot of "paid agitators" as well. But if it makes you feel better to imagine a deep "Soros funded anti-townhall army" go ahead. I know nothing will convince you otherwise anyway. 

Besides, people are just acting the same way your God-King has showed us to act since 2016. Why should we be civil and respectful if that consideration is never returned? Next.

Acting like Sleepy Joe didn't have injunctions against him as well. No other president has tried to magnify executive power in our history, no shit there's going to be a lot of injunctions. That's cause and effect and the whole point of having a judiciary that isn't beholden to the executive: to determine if what they do is legal...looks like a lot of it isn't, or if it is it needs to be proven and not taken at face value.

[GrndPndr]

3 hours ago, disgruntledemployee said:

All this fucking around with people's life savings is epically retarded.  The GOP will get flushed in the midterms. 

Screw it, I'm loading up on SQQQ

Sounds like a good time to buy.  LOL

PS: I'm going to buy some shares this afternoon, might wait until tomorrow.

[Day Man]

1 hour ago, BashiChuni said:

anytime the vix spikes above 30 has historically been a GREAT time to be buying...

historically admins knew how to figure out an actual foreign tariff rate too 

[SurelySerious]

[Banzai]

7 hours ago, SurelySerious said:

 

@BashiChuni @Boomer6

What do you not like about this? The tariff rates published by the White House are literally the trade deficit ratios (with a minimum blanket rate).

I find it especially hilarious that because of this blanket simple math, they are instituting tariffs on places like uninhabited islands (Heard and McDonald island) and islands which are literally only inhabited by US/UK military personnel (Diego Garcia) 😂

Drove past a few of these bad boys a couple weeks ago, and you’ve gotta admit, stock prices are low. Promise made, promise kept!

 

Edited April 3 by Banzai

[Sua Sponte]

35 minutes ago, Banzai said:

@BashiChuni @Boomer6

What do you not like about this? The tariff rates published by the White House are literally the trade deficit ratios (with a minimum blanket rate).

I find it especially hilarious that because of this blanket simple math, they are instituting tariffs on places like uninhabited islands (Heard and McDonald island) and islands which are literally only inhabited by US/UK military personnel (Diego Garcia) 😂

Drove past a few of these bad boys a couple weeks ago, and you’ve gotta admit, stock prices are low. Promise made, promise kept!

 

 

[pbar]

I assume everyone complaining about tariffs are just fine with all of the tariffs everyone else puts on our exported stuff.

The basic problem is there are structural problems with the economy but one of the very few tools Trump has to try to fix it are tariffs.  The rest is up to Congress, but regardless of which party controls Congress, nothing gets done (except for some more rigging the game in favor of the elites).  We need to make energy cheaper, pare back the massive, massive overregulation, reform our education system, etc. but none of that is going to happen because Congress is lazy, it's all against the interests of the Dems, and the GOP in Congress lacks any semblance of balls. 

Also, we can't negotiate our way out of the trade war because the State Dept is basically worthless.  When they negotiate anything, they negotiate for what's in the best interest of the State Dept, not the country.  Look at the disastrous free trade agreement we have with South Korea.  

Let's face it, none of the reforms needed are going to happen and we will eventually have an economic collapse due to government overspending and the structural issues with the economy.  But we'll argue and fight over irrelevant social issues all day long (to distract us from the real problems).  

On top of that, our main enemy, China, is eating our lunch and we can't carry out effective countermeasures because half of the country envies and admires the CCP's system.   Our only hope is that China's demographic issues and their economic issues catch up with them before they can really put the screws to us. 

Edited April 3 by pbar

[SurelySerious]

[SurelySerious]

I assume everyone complaining about tariffs are just fine with all of the tariffs everyone else puts on our exported stuff.
The basic problem is there are structural problems with the economy but one of the very few tools Trump has to try to fix it are tariffs.  The rest is up to Congress, but regardless of which party controls Congress, nothing gets done (except for some more rigging the game in favor of the elites).  We need to make energy cheaper, pare back the massive, massive overregulation, reform our education system, etc. but none of that is going to happen because Congress is lazy, it's all against the interests of the Dems, and the GOP in Congress lacks any semblance of balls. 
Also, we can't negotiate our way out of the trade war because the State Dept is basically worthless.  When they negotiate anything, they negotiate for what's in the best interest of the State Dept, not the country.  Look at the disastrous free trade agreement we have with South Korea.  
Let's face it, none of the reforms needed are going to happen and we will eventually have an economic collapse due to government overspending and the structural issues with the economy.  But we'll argue and fight over irrelevant social issues all day long (to distract us from the real problems).  
On top of that, our main enemy, China, is eating our lunch and we can't carry out effective countermeasures because half of the country envies and admires the CCP's system.   Our only hope is that China's demographic issues and their economic issues catch up with them before they can really put the screws to us. 

[Pooter]

This is one of the most epic economic self-owns in history.  I've never seen the right and left so united against anything, but when you propose possibly the most retarded economic plan ever, I guess that's what happens.  I'm so glad we're tariffing Vietnam into oblivion to bring back all those quality t-shirt sweatshop manufacturing jobs. Just happy I'm a long way from retirement and can use it as an opportunity to buy the dip.  

[SocialD]

Maybe some day, those shouting the loudest about what will and what will not work, will actually fix the economic situation we're in.  But from where I'm sitting, they've done nothing but 3x our national debt in the last three decades.  

[Sua Sponte]

1 hour ago, Pooter said:

This is one of the most epic economic self-owns in history.  I've never seen the right and left so united against anything, but when you propose possibly the most retarded economic plan ever, I guess that's what happens.  I'm so glad we're tariffing Vietnam into oblivion to bring back all those quality t-shirt sweatshop manufacturing jobs. Just happy I'm a long way from retirement and can use it as an opportunity to buy the dip.  

 

[Pooter]

26 minutes ago, SocialD said:

Maybe some day, those shouting the loudest about what will and what will not work, will actually fix the economic situation we're in.  But from where I'm sitting, they've done nothing but 3x our national debt in the last three decades.  

I just don’t see how starting a worldwide trade war that tanks our markets and makes virtually every product more expensive fixes our debt problem. And the republicans just passed a continuing resolution that failed to cut spending in any meaningful way so I have a hard time believing this is some all-aspect strategy to attack the national debt. 

I will grant that trumps tariff plan is at least different. But so is shooting yourself in the dick.

[SocialD]

5 minutes ago, Pooter said:

I just don’t see how starting a worldwide trade war that tanks our markets and makes virtually every product more expensive fixes our debt problem. And the republicans just passed a continuing resolution that failed to cut spending in any meaningful way so I have a hard time believing this is some all-aspect strategy to attack the national debt. 

 

Quite frankly, idk either.  But doing what we have been doing clearly wasn't working.  So do we just keep doing that?  My guess is they hope it will bring people to the table.  Big gamble, then again, maybe it pays off big.  Time will tell, but I'm not going to cry wolf because the market hits the same level we were in last summer.  I say that as someone who isn't all that fond of 47.  

 

 

5 minutes ago, Pooter said:

I will grant that trumps tariff plan is at least different. But so is shooting yourself in the dick.

 

 

Maybe just cut it off, that seems to have become popular over the last few years.  

[Pooter]

3 hours ago, SocialD said:

But doing what we have been doing clearly wasn't working.  So do we just keep doing that?  

No. But you can change course without going full retard.  If you want to attack the debt you cut spending in a meaningful way like they were *kindof* trying to do with the doge stuff.. and leave trade policy tf alone. We are not getting ripped off by Vietnam because we have a trade deficit with them. We are a rich country. They are a poor country. They make stuff for super cheap. We then buy that stuff for super cheap and have more money left over for other things. It is a win-win. Trump is under this insane misimpression that voluntary trade is a zero-sum game where there has to be a winner and a loser. And somehow since the word "deficit" sounds bad, we are the loser?? As others have pointed out, you have a trade deficit with your local grocery store, or your dry cleaner, or literally every service you pay for ever. So are you being ripped off when you voluntarily engage in a market transaction to buy something that someone else made?

Not to mention we're tariffing countries who we have a trade surplus with...  please make it make sense

I think tariffs are almost always stupid, but I would be slightly more willing to take this ride if it seemed like there was any semblance of a coherent plan. The reason the market is tanking is because there is no plan and we've been in a constant state of will-he-won't-he for the the last two months. If we actually want to "bring manufacturing back to the US" businesses need some stability and predictability before they go sink millions and billions into new domestic production capacity. But they can't do that when the president is flip-flopping on his own policies and creating random new carve outs and exemptions on an hourly basis.  Because who knows, trump could use these tariffs to get some concessions from a few countries and then dump the policy entirely in a few months.. well inside the turn circle of setting up a new production line.

In summary:

-you can address the debt without dumpstering world trade

-trade deficits are not us being ripped off

-blanket tariffs are bad and dumb

-the market wants stability, not constant whiplash

-if there is a plan, fucking communicate it

 

Edited April 4 by Pooter

[M2]

Trump administration fires director of National Security Agency/Cyber Command

The Trump administration has fired the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency, the United States’ powerful cyber intelligence bureau, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation, members of the Senate and House intelligence committees and two former officials familiar with the matter.

The dismissal of Gen. Timothy Haugh, who also leads US Cyber Command — the military’s offensive and defensive cyber unit — is a major shakeup of the US intelligence community which is navigating significant changes in the first two months of the Trump administration. Wendy Noble, Haugh’s deputy at NSA, was also removed, according to the former officials and lawmakers.

The top Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence committee, Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes, denounced the firing of Haugh, who served in the roles since February 2024, in statements on Thursday night...

(Full article at title link)

I've had a couple of opportunities to meet with Gen Haugh when he was the 16AF/CC.   He was an articulate, dedicated and experienced leader in the field of cybersecurity and intelligence, and I cannot fathom how his dismissal will benefit our national security.

[Sua Sponte]

It’s not supposed to benefit our national security, he wasn’t a puppet and that’s why Trump fired him. 

[M2]

On 3/19/2025 at 10:16 AM, M2 said:

Interesting, it appears Trump is giving up the SACEUR position after the US has filled it (STS) for 75 years...

Trump Intends to abandon US command of NATO forces in Europe

It appears Cavoli wants to be the next four-star fired by Trump!!

A non-American as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO? That’d be ‘problematic,’ Cavoli says

"It would put us in a position where, in an Article 5 [mutual defense] situation, we could have for the first time since the First World War, large numbers of American troops under non-US command."

But it's OK if the other 31 countries are under US command?

So the US administration wants less involvement in European problems, but still wants to dictate everything?

Check. 

[HeloDude]

20 hours ago, Pooter said:

This is one of the most epic economic self-owns in history.  I've never seen the right and left so united against anything, but when you propose possibly the most retarded economic plan ever, I guess that's what happens.  I'm so glad we're tariffing Vietnam into oblivion to bring back all those quality t-shirt sweatshop manufacturing jobs. Just happy I'm a long way from retirement and can use it as an opportunity to buy the dip.  

Update on your Vietnam tariff discussion:

https://www.cnbctv18.com/world/vietnam-wants-to-cut-tariffs-down-to-zero-after-us-reciprocal-tariffs-trump-says-19584921.htm

[SocialD]

15 hours ago, Pooter said:

No. But you can change course without going full retard. 

 

True, but when were the smartest men going to change course? They've had multiple administrations to do so (including Trump 1.0). Were they just going to keep talking about it, or actually doing something about it?    A few more debt ceiling increases?  After another 36T in debt?   When our economy collapsed under the weight of our own debt?  *Insert bench skeleton waiting meme here.*   

 

Also, if tariffs don't work, then other countries should have no problem ending them if we agree to end them as well. 

Edited April 4 by SocialD

[17D_guy]

4 hours ago, M2 said:

Trump administration fires director of National Security Agency/Cyber Command

The Trump administration has fired the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency, the United States’ powerful cyber intelligence bureau, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation, members of the Senate and House intelligence committees and two former officials familiar with the matter.

The dismissal of Gen. Timothy Haugh, who also leads US Cyber Command — the military’s offensive and defensive cyber unit — is a major shakeup of the US intelligence community which is navigating significant changes in the first two months of the Trump administration. Wendy Noble, Haugh’s deputy at NSA, was also removed, according to the former officials and lawmakers.

The top Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence committee, Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes, denounced the firing of Haugh, who served in the roles since February 2024, in statements on Thursday night...

(Full article at title link)

I've had a couple of opportunities to meet with Gen Haugh when he was the 16AF/CC.   He was an articulate, dedicated and experienced leader in the field of cybersecurity and intelligence, and I cannot fathom how his dismissal will benefit our national security.

Worked for him when I was in CYBERCOM. Good dude, mostly good ideas and really cared about the mission and the people. His bad idea(s) were trying to solve a problem he was put in, and the didn't ever take effect.

I can't speak on the CSAF, CNO, VCSAF getting fired with a personal anecdote. But Haugh knew his shit, was a cyber "operator" (stop laughing), and cared about his people.

This is a massive loss for warfighing in the "new" domain. And if this is because he wouldn't co-sign splitting up NSA and CYBERCOM then whoever replaces him to do that is setting back our capes at minimum a decade, if not more.

[SurelySerious]

Update on your Vietnam tariff discussion:
https://www.cnbctv18.com/world/vietnam-wants-to-cut-tariffs-down-to-zero-after-us-reciprocal-tariffs-trump-says-19584921.htm

If they cut their tariffs on imported US goods, that’ll help them not pay tax on the…nothing they buy from the US.