@#3

I'm not yet ready to attribute this current observation to the decades-old Middle-East mess at this point.

As I noted in #2, voters seem not to be especially enthusiastic of socialists, but when they look at MAGA in comparison, they seem to prefer socialists.

@#6 ... The Democrats cheating will be disenfranchised. ...

I'm not yet convinced of that.

Have evidence of the level of Republican cheating vs Democratic cheating?

If so, please share, with links.

@#2

Agreed.

Tariffs are essentially a tax on American consumers.

They are not paid by the country on which the tariffs are imposed.

The tariffs are paid by those American entities who import goods from the countries on which the tariffs were imposed.

So, when Pres trump has another of his terrible-twos temper tantrums and imposes a tariff on, say, Canada... The result of that tariff is a tax on Americans.

Americans, many of whom are trying to make ends meet to put food on the table for their family, now have to pay more for what they need t buy.

I saw NewsMax "reporting" (more like opinions reported as news, imo) that this film would be a bomb at the box office because there was a Black woman cast as Helen of Troy.

How did it do at the box office? I don't follow those things ...

@#6 ... They have a very long history of being soft on crime. ...

I'd proffer that is more your opinion than anything else.

Meanwhile, there's this from the article ...

... The case was put on hold almost immediately after the July 2 indictment, when the Louisiana Supreme Court said the local court and special prosecutor did not follow procedures surrounding the indictment. ...

The case was put on hold almost immediately after the July 2 indictment, when the Louisiana Supreme Court said the local court and special prosecutor did not follow procedures surrounding the indictment. The dismissal by special prosecutor Laurie White came a day after New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams, Democratic Mayor Helena Moreno and five City Council members sent a letter urging her to drop the case.

"What I did was not a crime, it was never a crime," said Murrill, a Republican. "I think this was a malicious prosecution."

At the center of the case are deepening rifts between the state's Republican leaders and Democrats who control Louisiana's most prominent city. ...

Don't worry. Our Sec of HHS is on top of it ...

@#1

To wit ...

... he is concerned about the rise of socialism within his party. ...

Given the choice with what has happened within the GOP, socialism is staring to look pretty good for Democracy.

@#34

Is Iran heading towards being pres Trump's Vietnam?

I'm seeing and hearing reporting that Pres trump is becoming increasingly frustrated with his apparent lack of success in his Iran war, and that the other gulf nations may be becoming tired of his endless war, urging him to find a way out.

At this point, Trump Trump seems to have two options...

1) declare that he has won, and leave the region with the withdrawal of US military presence.

2) do a major escalation (with associated US military casualties) to get Iran to accede to his terms.

imo, I hope there is a third option because the success of either of those two looks unlikely to me. But, what do I know?

@#8 ... You chose him freely. Nobody made you do it. ...

Because of that choice, in the future such a free choice may be more difficult to attain.

More from the analysis ...

... Yes, they have lowered growth, raised prices, and stoked inflation. Yes, they have flooded government coffers with new revenue. The administration remains committed to rebuilding its tariff wall after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected many of them earlier this year. On Thursday, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 nations, including major trading partners. The move comes just as a temporary 10% global tariff expires, and follows new planned duties on Canada and Brazil.

But nearly 500 days since President Donald Trump first implemented them, broad global tariffs have failed to live up to the promises of supporters or the warnings of critics.

Instead, the lesson from these early days of big tariffs looks to be a political one. A president can rattle allies by imposing barriers to their products. He can raise a big but hidden tax on America's middle class. Yet the response to these actions so far has been more muted than predicted.

"President Trump effectively put in place a $3 trillion ... middle-class tax increase" spread over 10 years, says Marc Goldwein, senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonprofit fiscal watchdog in Washington. "And maybe people don't like the tariffs. But I haven't seen a tremendous amount of backlash." ...

Why might the FDA be so reluctant to provide details of this new outbreak?

@#46

More from that article ...

... Experts who spoke to Breaking Defense don't expect this new designation to change the status quo of the major F-35 deal to the UAE that was stalled due to US concerns over Abu Dhabi's use of China's Huawei 5G network in the country. Nor should it impact MQ-9 Reaper exports to Abu Dhabi. Both of those deals are regulated by International Traffic in Arms Regulations and enforced by the US State Department.

But experts see the A:5 classification as an opening to other defense programs more generally, providing more flexibility to the growing Emirati defense market, especially to acquire subsystems.

"The most immediate defense implication is not necessarily the announcement of a single major weapons sale," said Kristian Alexander, a geopolitical analyst based in the UAE. "Rather, it is the creation of a more permissive regulatory environment for the routine movement of controlled components, software, technical data and dual-use equipment. That can shorten procurement timelines, make sustainment less cumbersome and facilitate closer cooperation between American defense companies and UAE institutions." ...

More from the cited article ...

... The admission showed how President Trump has weaponized the provision of federal education, energy, health, housing and infrastructure aid in his second term.

Far from rooting out the sort of misspending that Mr. Trump sees as rife in Washington, the White House has instead sought to leverage the budget as a tool to assist its allies -- or as a cudgel to hurt the president's foes.

The saga illustrates the stakes as the Trump administration is completing a set of rules that would provide the president even greater control over more than $1 trillion in annual federal grants.

To critics, the new regulation would only make it easier for Mr. Trump to strike wider tranches of congressionally approved funding over political differences.
...

The Strait of Hormuz was open to over 130 ships per day before Pres trump started his war of choice against Iran.

Now Pres Trump's main goal in his war seems to return to that state of operation ...

@#8 ... Or, maybe they did and he didn't listen. . . as usual. ...

That's where I'd put my money ...

@#1 ... Dinner conversation must be a hoot. ...

Do they even eat dinner together?

@#18 ... Obama kills Bin Laden. Trump gives his cousins a nuke. ...

Ironic, in a sad way.

More from the article ...

... The Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday that it's investigating yet another outbreak of Cyclospora, the unicellular foodborne parasite behind a nationwide surge in explosive watery diarrhea illnesses.

The FDA said 72 cases have been identified in this outbreak, but the agency provided no details on the situation.

This announcement marks the sixth Cyclospora outbreak investigation the FDA has opened this year. Overall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has gotten reports of more than 11,500 cases (including 4,173 confirmed and over 7,400 probable) from 41 states. Among the cases, there have been 308 hospitalizations and no deaths.

This year's tally so far -- just in July -- greatly exceeds the normal number of cases the US sees in a whole year. ...

Related ...

More from the article...

... The New York Times said earlier this month that several of its reporters received grand jury subpoenas on the same day it published reporting on President Trump's use of an old presidential aircraft to depart from the NATO summit in Turkey.

The paper said the subpoenas were signed by Jay Clayton, who served as the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York and was tapped by President Trump for director of national intelligence. ...

More from the article ...

... The Post's poll found that 65 percent of American adults surveyed have a negative view of the president's projects -- the new White House ballroom, a proposed triumphal arch and renovation of the Reflecting Pool -- with 38 percent of Americans saying they are "upset" about the projects and 27 percent were "dissatisfied."

Less than half of that total percentage viewed the projects in a positive light, with 12 percent being "enthusiastic" and 19 percent "satisfied."

Over half of those surveyed said Trump had a "different goal," other than making "Washington more beautiful."

Of the 51 percent who said the president has a different goal, 42 percent of that group said the president was trying to "glorify himself/vanity/ego." Twenty-two percent said Trump wants to "leave his mark/name on Washington/U.S./history." ...

imo, it is not "yet another reason."

There is one reason, and only one reason, why the US needs universal health care.

What is that singular reason?

Simple: It helps US citizens to stay healthy, happy and productive.

What other reason is needed?

@#13 ... Currently All the dictators are laughing at America right now ...

"Right now?"

I'd proffer that any laughter generated from this episode may be more of a continuation of the ongoing laughter that other dictators have been exhibiting for months, if not years, regarding Pres Trump.

imo, ...

Yeah, prior automation forays have targeted those who did the work. Can you say Unimation?[1] I knew you could.

But now, automation, driven by AI, is going after those who sit for a living.

So, there should be no surprise that those folk want to unionize.