... He also got owned by the Dutch ...

imo, the people in Pres Trump's orbit are amateurs on the diplomatic global stage.

Also, imo, the Dutch don't look to own anyone. The Dutch are, and have been for centuries, traders on the world stage.

If the Trump folk think that the Dutch have owned them, well, to me that just looks like a major admission of incompetence by that Trump team.

But, would that admission really be a surprise?

... Remember when President Donald Trump put his son-in-law in charge of negotiating a grand bargain in the Middle East, back in his first term? Understandable if not, given that no grand bargain emerged and the region is more on fire than ever courtesy of the U.S. and Israel's disastrous war with Iran, ...

An excellent, albeit succulent, summary of Pres Trump being manipulated by Pres Netanyahu to do what Pres Netanyahu wants Pres Trump to do.

@#3 ... Ya know I would kinda keep my head down, after a $25b score. ...

Yeah. Especially after that $25B decision is not at all final.

There's the aspect of taking the victory lap before the victory was won.

I'm waiting to see how this case progresses.

@#4 ... White powder? She opened Paul's mail by mistake. ...

Why is your current trolling alias trying to trivialize this assault upon those in our government>

Could it be that it agrees with these attacks?

If so, why?

Yer up ...

@#1 ... "The message should be received in Silicon Valley that this is not the end, it's just the beginning." ...

Woof.

More from the article ...

... Fresh off landing a $25 billion judgment against Meta for misleading the public about its privacy protections, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is putting artificial intelligence and Silicon Valley on notice they could be next.

Torrez (D) took a gamble when he opted not to join a $17 billion multistate settlement with Meta in August. But that move paid off with a record-setting ruling against the company Wednesday.

The case relied on consumer protection laws to claim Meta deceived users about its privacy controls, a tactic states are already using against AI developers.

"Anyone in artificial intelligence, people who are building products that they can't control, people who are making representations in the marketplace about what a product does or doesn't do, or how it uses or doesn't use specific types of consumer data, we are going to be watching, and we are prepared to do this again," Torrez said in an interview. "The message should be received in Silicon Valley that this is not the end, it's just the beginning." ...

@#14 ... He has the lowest approval rating going into the midterms ...

The operative question at this point is, imo, what will that approval rating be after the votes are counted?

The purchasing of the current Oval Office occupant.

Should I submit a fraud complaint to Pres Trump's new fraud hotline?

Pres Putin seems to view any efforts towards peace by Ukraine or the US as an indication of his strength.

imo, the solution to resolve Pres Putin's unprovoked invasion of a sovereign Ukraine is to show Pres Putin that he is losing.

That goal is most definitely not accomplished by telling Pres Putin that he is a humanitarian.

I mean, friggin' wow.

That's the way for the US to bow down and kiss Pres Putin's toes.

imo, of course.

If you take nothing else away from this thread, please look at this from #1 ...

Still, polls aren't meant to be predictive. They represent a snapshot in time, offering insight into public sentiment and voters' most pressing concerns.

Look at the polls for what they are, a snapshot in time. Nothing more, nothing less.

One other aspect I consider when I look at polling vs actual election results ...

If you are being polled, you may be more likely to just say your current opinion, without really giving it any further thought.

But, when you are in that election booth and marking your ballot, my guess is that there may be more significant thought behind the vote being cast.

So I will say again ...

Still, polls aren't meant to be predictive. They represent a snapshot in time, offering insight into public sentiment and voters' most pressing concerns.

@#14 ... Will Americans stand for their votes being stolen from them? ...

That seems to depend upon who is stating the definition of "Americans."

There does appear to be a very significant force used by those currently in power who appear to be actively endeavoring to reducing the voting power of those Americans who typically do not vote in their favor.

So the Brain Drain from the United States has begun, instigated by Pres Trump?

So the screwworm is now out in the wild in the US?

How long before our beef farmers are affected?

@#3 ... when google used to use the saying, ~do no harm,~ ...

My error.

The correct saying ...?

@#2,4,5

Curious the attempted deflection away from the thread topic.

Why?

Keeping it in the ~family.~

@#12 ... Recurring Pattern: Trump regime says nice things about Putin just before Trump attacks Iran. ...

So your current alias seems to acknowledge that Pres Trump knows that Pres Putin is helping Iran kill American soldiers, and that Pres Trump's approach to that is to say nice things about Pres Putin?

Wow.

Saying nice things about the person who is facilitating the killing of Americans.

Wow, just friggin' wow.

@#3 ... Americans sick of all things Zuckerberg ...

So, it seems that Mr Zuckenberg has issued himself a bunch of non-voting stock shares that he can then sell when [if] the California wealth tax takes effect.

Why might he have done that? One report I saw noted that he would have had to sell his voting stock shares to pay the tax.

So, to get around having to sell his voting shares, he just issued himself a boatload of non-voting shares that he could sell without affecting his uber-control of the company.

@#16 ... By and large, members of the Epstein ring were boomers. ...

Was it because of their age or their wealth?

And, more important to me, does Pres Trump appear to be trying to protect those members of the Epstein ring more because of their wealth, or because they were Boomers?

More from the article ...

... The detection prompted additional wildlife surveillance in the area by the USDA and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The Texas Animal Health Commission will also modify a previously established infested zone.

Officials said hunters should watch for signs of infection, including visible maggots in wounds, foul-smelling injuries and animals that appear weak or distressed.

Other warning signs include open or enlarging wounds and infestations around an animal's nose, mouth, ears, eyes or genital areas.

Officials urged anyone who notices suspicious signs of infestation to report them immediately.

The USDA in June confirmed the presence of a flesh-eating New World screwworm in a 3-week-old Texas calf.

New World screwworm is a parasitic fly that lays eggs in open wounds or body openings of warm-blooded animals, including livestock and, in rare cases, humans. Once hatched, the larvae feed on living tissue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While the USDA says New World screwworm doesn't affect food safety, it can impact meat production. ...

@#2 ... "They're not telling the truth. They're not telling the full story. They're not telling how much damage there really was," another said. ...

That is an interesting observation.

In prior wars, or maybe I should say ~wars,~ journalists were allowed to embed within the troops and report from the war zone.

Why is that not being done for Pres Trump's choice of a war against Iran?

What is this ~most transparent Presidency~ hiding from Americans it should be serving?

The destruction of the Naval Base in Bahrain. Destruction to the point that now Naval ships in the area need to get their supplies from the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, 2,200 miles away from the Gulf of Oman?

From the article cited in #2

... The military reduced staff on the base to "mission critical status," and the Navy had to rely more heavily on a small logistics base on the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, 2,200 miles away from the Gulf of Oman, for resupplying the carrier strike groups they had deployed to fight the war.

The move slowed down supplies to the ships and the thousands of service members who were living and working on them, causing food and supplies to be rationed for periods of time. ...

I remember Mr Skerritt from an episode of West Wing, and his recurring character on Cheers.

He always was true to the character he portrayed.

R.I.P. Thomas Roy Skerritt

@#4 ...When you think the GOP has hit rock bottom, they break out the excavators. ...

Your comment is more focused upon my current view than the comment I was going to post.