I think what changed the decision calculus was Russia's alliance with NorK and the deployment of NorK troops. That's an escalation in and of itself, and it shows that Russia is struggling to succeed with it's own organic forces. In my mind, this act just regains a recognized level of parity that both sides understand.

But yeah, it is going to be thousands of North Koreans who pay the price.

^I should have stated "Continental US." The beaches in Hawaii and Guam are obviously far better than those in Florida.

"Some of the best beaches in the world is what there is."

In Florida???

You've clearly never seen the rest of the world.

I have.

I will say that the best beaches in the US, again highly subjective, are situated around Destin. But compared to the rest of the world those beaches maybe hit the 5/10 mark at best.

There are some really cool coastlines in the PNW and NE, but you're not probably going to swim there. Same with Michigan.

FTR, the best beaches I have ever seen are in Albania. Which is why I am going to plant the flag there.

I know vacation appreciation is highly subjective, but why Florida? I sort understand going to see the mouse...sorta...but other than that, what is there?

I could understand people from Alabama or Georgia driving in, but 74% arrived by air, which suggests that they are not coming from a neighboring state.

As the senior classification authority on anything except DOE-related programs, the president is fully within his power to release any sensitive information. Even the most sensitive. The ODNI sits right below the president. It is unlikely and ODNI would share any info that was not approved by the president.

"People love the rapist. American women feel sooooooo empowered."

American women had the chance to vote against him.

They really didn't.

Dobbs may have been important to some female voters, but it does not appear to have outweighed other issues.

But you can watch TikTok's of the ones who were outraged.

They're funny.

#83

Dude, I think Trump is an abject ------- ------. But in the end, his victory appears to have had more to do with people actually liking him and what he was selling. It's not something I would have ever seen coming.

"the left has a ---- ton of puritans who can't stand it when they don't get their candidate and they stay home."

It would appear that there were a lot of Muslims and Arabs in Michigan who voted for Trump because the Dems weren't going to overly criticize Israel. If you're an Anti-Israeli, Trump's being in office is only going to weaken the position of the people you support.

It's kinda crazy.

"Oh so when the left has a strong populist its THEY CANT GET ELECTED. When the right has a strong populist it's THEY CANT BE STOPPED."

I'm not sure if "the left" is the term I would use, but it's going to be very difficult to run as a populist and a proponent of identity politics. The two are oil and water.

Like I said: IMO the Trump win shows that a Bernie win would be a distinct possibility...if Bernie were young enough to run in the near future. I think AOC is more of an identity politics person, but I have found myself agreeing with her on occasion, and I think she is introspective on why the dems lost. Why so many people whom she would have viewed as being in her camp voted for Trump.

One of the hanging chads in my mind, so to speak, is why so many did vote for Trump. Prima facie, it may seem like a repudiation of contemporary left-wing values. It may be, but I think it's just as likely a repudiation of modern US progressivism, which doesn't really contain any sort of populist position that is not infused with identity politics.

#27

Tariffs take you from a participant in the global marketplace to a participant in a national marketplace.

Which do you think provides more wealth creation? Which do you think creates more jobs.

Anyone who ever took an economics course knows that tariffs are bad. Unless you're one of the small group who benefits from them at everyone else's expense.

But this is the Drudge Retort...there is certainly not a dearth of current or former econ students contributing to the discussions here.

Whether you like Trump or not, he won both the popular vote and the electoral college. Additionally, His party flipped four states in the Senate. Hell, Sherrod Brown lost in Ohio, and he's been in Ohio politics longer than I have been alive.

Maybe it's time for that come to Jesus moment and realize that, for many of you, the rest of the US does not share your interests. And that's OK. You don't share theirs.

The good news for all my progressive friends, maybe, is that the US just elected an extremist. Maybe next time it will favor you and be a progressive extremist. There's not always a lot of trade space between the left and right extremists.

Sorry, though. I think Bernie is too old. And there is no more a young Bernie than there is a young Trump.

"you voted to get rid of the constitution!"

Hmm.

I missed that.

Walk me through how the US held a vote to get rid of the constitution.

That's not even a thing.

"Goebbels was in favor of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you're really in favor of free speech, then you're in favor of freedom of speech for precisely the views you despise. Otherwise, you're not in favor of free speech."

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."

-Noam Chomsky

There's probably not much interest in this, but Evil's back story is pretty interesting for those who are unfamiliar with it. He was one of my instructors at the USAFE Weapons School when I went through as a student back in 2010.

"Bernie sanders said it best - dems abandoned populism so they deserved to lose."

Trump picked up that mantle.

I subscribe to a German news outlet focused on expats. One of the comments was that the Trump victory was a win for the working class.

"He really voted for Trump because he wants Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in Palestine and he knows Trump will provide anything Israel wants to Finish It."

Your only issue with genocide and ethnic cleansing is that you want the Palestinians to be the ones doing it. Like all of the other Arab states did.

Do you know who doesn't want a two-state solution? Palestinians. They look at that multi-trillion-dollar diamond in the desert called Israel and think, "all of that should be ours."

"No argument here. I don't look forward to Trump taking office, but Kamala's loss is not surprising based just on the inflation issue."

It surprised the ---- out of me.

I've always thought that Trump's position was based on the perception that he wasn't as bad as the alternative. It turns out he was actually popular with a large number of people.

In retrospect, it wasn't close at all. Trump took all but 2 swing states...and it's looking likely that he will take those as well once the votes are tallied.

#139

You guys are all severely mistaken. Median household income in 2023 was over $80k. That represents a 4% increase in inflation-adjusted dollars over 2022.

What has changed? People's expectations of what they deserve. This #139 nonsense article pre-supposes an obsolete market that no longer exists. It's not wrong probably, but it is referencing a world that has been overcome by events.

The biggest contributor to dissatisfaction now is that people feel they deserve more than they are able to earn or collect on their own. Imagine a prehistoric hunter stating that he "deserved" one elk kill per week, but based on ability was not able to achieve that, and instead based the blame on those hunters with greater skill who were able to achieve multiple kills per week.

That's where we are at champs. But ask yourself, would our ancestors who survived the great depression want to trade places with us? Would you want to trade places with them? How about those in 1960? That halcyon period where high income earners were taxes at 91% and union membership was strong.

I think they would happily trade places. Progressive might, until they realized they were stuck in a 1200 square foot house with one car.

According to articles I have read, something like 40% of voters have already cast their ballots. Shouldn't we have some idea of what these results look like? Is there something that keeps the early results from being released.

"Yes, I do, because the 21st Amendment allows for states to regulate alcohol."

No, the 21st amendment simply mirrors the 10th amendment.

The 2st amendment simply ended federal criminalization of alcohol production, sale, or consumption. It did nothing to prevent the states from implementing legal restrictions.

"It is correct that shipping abortion drugs is now illegal. Has been since Dobbs."

Why wasn't it before Dobbs?

What changed?

Did you even go to college, bro?

"so, once again, you prove yourself ignorant of basic civics."

Yeah. Sure, champ.