@#58 ... a system that monetizes everything ...

Not just monetizing everything, but also channeling the benefits of that monetization upwards in the financial ladder.

Stated differently, intentionally, and with a purpose, channeling the wealth of the Country towards to wealthy. To the detriment of the workers who now seem to have issues with feeding their families..

@#54 ... The system is broken and the younger generations have zero interest in it. ...

Of course, the question then becomes ...

Who, the Dems or the GOP, will be able to pull in the support of Gen-Z?

Time will tell.

As I cited in another thread ...

@#54 ... The system is broken and the younger generations have zero interest in it. ...

Yup.

Gen-Z seems to want nothing to do with Capitalism.

And why has it been a month or so before the First Lady would want to be seen with Pres Trump in public?

Yeah, I had heard about these letters.

From the cited article ...

... Harp also wrote she was sorry for stepping onto the golf course instead of riding in a cart. She pleaded with Trump to "please forgive me" if she had done anything else to cause him trouble.

She went on to write that she wants "things to always be right between us" and that she's "been distracted all week" while forgetting to eat and sleep at times. ...

Yeah, after reading all that, I have to wonder ...

Just how does Pres Trump choose the important people he wants around him?

Obviously he views Ms Harp as an important because he chose her as one of the few to accompany him onto the catering truck.

@#7 ... They are very good at blowing stuff up. Can't argue with that. ...

Yup.

But how is that tactical power used for strategic purposes?

Of course, that presumes there actually is a strategic purpose from the Commander in Chief.

OK, please allow me to ask once again ...

Why does Pres Trump seem to be so focused upon punishing our long-term allies, and aligning with other autocrats like Pres Xi, Pres Putin and Leader Kim?

I mean, the border between the US and Canada is the longest non-militarized border in the world. imo, that is significant.

The US and Canada have always had friendly relations.

But now, Pres Trump seems to want to push Canada away.

What's the long-tern fate of NORAD in Pres Trump's strategy with Canada?

Oh wait, Pres Trump doesn't deal in strategies. Only whimsical, ~how do I benefit now~ thoughts.

@#16

Wow, Taj Mahal.

I've not heard that group's name in years.

Digging into my music library, I find ...

Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band - She Caught The Katy (1997)

From the album ... Tibetan Freedom Concert 1997

Lemme see if I can find an online version ...

OK, found this ...

Holy meadow muffins!

The headline of the cited article is...
Former Republican Candidate Charged With Child Sex Crimes Has Close Ties to GOP Legislative Leader

More from the cited article ...

... Montoya worked as a corrections officer for the state Department of Corrections, but he also worked in Republican politics, both as a candidate and on at least one campaign.

Montoya ran unsuccessfully for Las Animas County Sheriff, terminating his bid for the GOP nomination several months before this year's June primary. He bowed out despite having raised over $9,200 in donations -- over 30 times more than either the other Republican or the incumbent Democrat. ...

@#5 ... Now, well, Pres Trump seems to be backed into a corner by Iran. ...

... and I do want to emphasize. ...

I had thought, and I continue to hold the opinion that our military is most powerful.

My concern is, and always has been, with the apparent lack of any strategy of Pres Trump is using that awesome force.

Pres Trump seems to have shown that he's not a clue how to act on the world stage. His "we have amazing military power" tactics, while true, seemed to have failed strategically.

Pres Trump's big time failure. Apparently focusing on tactics, and not having a strategy.

@#4 ... I thought he decreed it to be a US territory. How can it not be open? ...

Even before Pres Trump decreed the Strait of Hormuz as a US territory, he had asserted that it was fully open.

So I ask once again, before Pres Trump's War of Choice with Iran, 130 ships per day passed through the Strait of Hormuz. No issues at all.

Now, well, Pres Trump seems to be backed into a corner by Iran.

... and then there are the negotiations between Iran and Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz ...

@#1 ... The shipments are still far below the fuel exports before the war, when about 20 million bpd of crude oil and products passed through Hormuz. ...

Yup.

Thank-you to the US military for that effort.

But, the amount of oil transiting the Strait still shows Iran's control over the Strait.

The Strait of Hormuz is not, as Pres Trump has asserted, open.

It is still subject to Iran's control.

More from the article ...

... The U.S. military has helped tankers transport more than 660 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz since early May, Central Command told CNBC this week.

The military has assisted about 1,300 commercial vessels sail through Hormuz over the same period, said U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesperson, in a statement Thursday.

"Multiple routes remain free and open for commercial transit," Hawkins said.

This suggests at least 160 million barrels, or more than 7 million barrels per day, have transited the strait over the past three weeks, based on the military's past statements. Central Command said on July 29 that U.S. forces had assisted 500 million barrels through Hormuz since May.

The shipments are still far below the fuel exports before the war, when about 20 million bpd of crude oil and products passed through Hormuz. But the U.S. military's figures indicate that a substantial amount of oil is passing through the strait despite Iranian threats and attacks. ...

From out in left field (but, what do you expect from King Missile?)...

Why does Pres Trump seem to be so focused upon punishing our long-term allies, and aligning with other autocrats like Pres Xi, Pres Putin and Leader Kim?

Why?

I am not at all surprised at this ~uprising~ against Pres trump by the representatives of the beef-producing states.

But what has really surprised my about Pres Trump's announcement was his implicit admission that Americans pay his tariffs. So contrary to the lies he has uttered in the past.

@#1 ... His order appears intended to freeze the status quo ...

So the Trump-owned SCOTUS seems to be allowing Pres Trump's vandalism of US property to continue.

And as SCOTUS construction to continue, when might the construction reach a point in which it has to be completed?

Of course, that seems to be Chief Justice Roberts' goal here.

Allow the construction to continue to the point at which it must be completed.

Never mind the Constitution.

More from the article ...

... The Supreme Court is allowing President Donald Trump to press on with his White House ballroom project, granting temporary relief from lower-court rulings that were set to halt above-ground construction on Saturday.

Chief Justice John Roberts granted an administrative stay Friday that puts a hold on a federal appeals court decision that found Trump appeared to lack legal authority to embark on major construction at the White House complex without specific approval from Congress.

Roberts' one-page order did not explain his rationale for temporarily lifting the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling one day before it was to take effect. His order appears intended to freeze the status quo while the full Supreme Court considers how to resolve an emergency appeal Trump filed last week. ...

And, fwiw ...

I am not happy when it rains ...

@#10 ... Of course he knew. ...

I do not disagree.

Especially since it seems to be Pres Trump's modus operandi to first try to blame others for his failures.

Speaking of the vice of the Vietnam War ...