pulse Report This Comment
Date: March 03, 2025 02:21AM

And they'll never offer to help again. This is what the US is missing; the "US first" point of view doesn't work when you've spent a hundred years demanding the world does things your way and installing yourselves as de facto world police. The next time help is asked for, the next 9/11 or Afghanistan, the next Vietnam or Korea..

In the 50s-80s we had to stop Communism. In the 80s-90s we had to protect countries from invasion; "Iraq can't just invade Kuwait!". Today the Communists are invading. Maybe if Ukraine had more oil? Certainly no issues supplying weapons to Israel.

I'm left to wonder why we are buying $400bn worth of US weapons in the AUKUS deal when we have absolutely no guarantee of assistance from the USA?

woberto Report This Comment
Date: March 03, 2025 10:59AM

USA will always offer assistance as it is in their best interests.
But I think the point is that they want to determine what assistance they give...
...and what's in it for them in return.
It's kinda brutal but hey, they are the big dog.

pulse Report This Comment
Date: March 03, 2025 12:05PM

Yep. And that's cool, but we can play the game too.

Eg, tariffs. They're planning on putting a 25% tariff on some of our exports. Cool. We import 50% more from the USA than they import from us. We carry a significant trade deficit to the USA (yet apparently trade deficit is the reason for tariffs?). And the bulk of those imports we can get cheaper from China or India, who are also logistically closer. Soo.. maybe we should?

At the same time USA is looking to put a tariff on our aluminium because apparently "Australia is just killing our aluminium market" according to Trump advisor Peter Navarro (with Australia being the supplier of a massive 2% of the USA's imports), BlueScope from Australia employs more than 4,000 Americans in Ohio alone..

It feels really counter productive pissing off all your friends and allies. There's no winners here.

quasi Report This Comment
Date: March 03, 2025 01:21PM

My apologies, pulse, it isn't all of the U.S. that wants this, and I'd venture to say that the majority here doesn't want it. Dump won by one of slimmest if not the slimmest margin ever and more people sat out the election than voted for either Dump or Harris. The Dump voters and non-voters fucked around and now there's going to be some serious finding out. Theodore Roosevelt, who was a Republican President when my father was born (and quite progressive in many ways), said of foreign policy, "Walk softly and carry a big stick." Dump, who is Republican in name only, stomps loudly while swinging a big stick at anyone who doesn't bow to him and/or flatter him. His only understanding of give and take is in how to profit monetarily and gather real estate with none of the nuance of working with others toward a common goal, it's all about acquisition with him. Many of the people who fucked around and are already finding out are raising hell with their Republican representatives and senators, some of whom are pretty much going into hiding from the angry masses, and we can hope those congresspersons as well as court judges will grow backbones and put a stop to this craziness as much as they are able to. The biggest problem with that is that this blitzkrieg of Muskovite directed actions will tie up the courts for years - I tend to think that gridlock is the goal to just cause chaos across the board. I said years ago that Musk is a Bond supervillain and weaseling his way into the easily flattered Trump's innermost circle is truly making him that. I also said more recently, prior to the election, that those in other countries who did not care about U.S. politics better care because as the big dog, deservedly or not, the U.S. will affect them and now here we are with a president who shits on our allies and our own citizens for sport with the world's richest man (and all around weird son of a bitch) as his Rasputin. Two people shaped Trump into who he is, his ruthless, greedy father and his ruthless mentor Roy Cohn who I spoke of back in 2016. Check out Cohn, though now it may be too late to understand how a monster is made now that it's loosed upon the earth. Again, I apologize for what my countrymen have done, and I wish y'all good luck in this unfolding mess.

pro_junior Report This Comment
Date: March 08, 2025 09:37PM

Pulse I apologize, quasi does not speak for most Americans.
No matter how much he wishes most of us agree with him, we do not.
Most people are more toward the center are sick and tired of the LBGTVWXYZ bullshit.
And sick and tired of paying high taxes that are spent helping everyone except Americans.

Our government is currupt. Both sides.
We want it fixed and we don't care who fixes it.

As for our last election?
According to grok:

Whether Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election can be called a "landslide" depends on how you define the term, and there’s no universal standard for it. Historically, landslides are associated with overwhelming margins in both the Electoral College and the popular vote—like Nixon’s 1972 win (60.7% of the popular vote, 520 electoral votes) or Reagan’s 1984 triumph (58.8%, 525). By those measures, Trump’s 2024 win doesn’t quite stack up, but it was decisive in its own way.
Trump secured 312 electoral votes to Kamala Harris’s 226, a solid margin of 86 votes. That’s bigger than his 2016 win (306) or Biden’s 2020 victory (306), but far short of those historical blowouts. He swept all seven major swing states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—which surprised many after months of tight polling. His collective margin across those battlegrounds was about 760,000 votes, a hefty jump from the razor-thin 46,000-vote margins in the closest states of 2000. So, in Electoral College terms, it was a strong, clean win, but not a runaway.
On the popular vote, it’s closer. As of now, with counting nearly complete, Trump’s at roughly 74.6 million votes (49.9%) to Harris’s 72.9 million (48.3%), a gap of about 1.6 percentage points or 1.7 million votes. That’s his first popular vote win in three runs, and it makes him only the second Republican since 1988 to pull it off. But it’s tight—among the smallest winning margins since 1888, when Cleveland beat Harrison by 0.8 points. Harris could’ve flipped the election with just 229,726 votes spread across Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Compare that to Obama’s 2008 haul (52.9%, 9.5 million-vote edge) or even Biden’s 2020 (51.3%, 7 million), and Trump’s 2024 looks more like a solid W than a landslide.
The narrative’s muddied by perception. Trump and his team have pushed the “landslide” label hard, pointing to the swing-state sweep and a rightward shift in over 90% of counties nationwide. Posts on X echo this, with some claiming it’s a mandate because “89% of counties went right” or citing his gains with Latino voters (up to 46% from 29% in 2016). Critics, though, call it overhyped—pointing out he didn’t crack 50% and that most voters still picked someone else when you factor in third parties. Data backs both sides: Trump’s gains were broad but not deep, with margins staying slim in key spots like Pennsylvania (2 points) and Wisconsin (1 point).
So, did he win by a landslide? Not by historical blowout standards—think 10+ points or 400+ electoral votes. But in the context of today’s polarized, close-election norm, his 2024 win was unusually dominant: flipping the Electoral College decisively, nabbing the popular vote, and breaking Democratic strongholds like the “blue wall.” It’s not Nixon ’72, but it’s not 2000 or 2016 either. Call it a landslide if you weigh the sweep; call it close if you tally the votes. The numbers say both are half-right.

quasi Report This Comment
Date: March 11, 2025 12:14PM

Pro's equivocation on whether or not he supports the republican agenda under Dump is tiresome. He shows support then says they're all bad. Pick a lane. Would a functional multi-party system be great? Hell yes. Does it exist in the U.S.? Not really, and voting third party (or claiming to) when there are only two viable candidates is a cop out. Pro got what he wanted while saying he's third party, but that doesn't absolve him or anyone else who did the same from the consequences. LGBTQ rights are individual human rights, and if their rights can be infringed, anyone's rights can be infringed, something any so called Libertarian should know. There's an effort in Texas right now to criminalize claiming to be trans, and LGBTQ rights are under attack in many places. As far as spending taxpayer money abroad, there are no doubt abuses, but besides the humanitarian considerations there are also strategic considerations which are generally the government's primary concern; unilaterally cutting off that hand of good will to others leaves them ripe for the picking by China as has already been happening. The DOGE indiscriminate cuts and alienating neighbors and allies will have serious consequences for the U.S. in obvious and as yet unimaginable ways, and a more thoughtful, measured approach could and should be used (search Chesterton's fence), but I think the goal isn't the monetary savings, it's the chaos. Beyond that, the flipping sides from Europe and NATO to Russia is unconscionable and alarming, particularly while Dump has imperialist ideas regarding Canada, Greenland, Panama, and who knows where else, maybe Australia.
So hey, Pulse, woberto, and the rest of the international crew here, I guess pro says fuck y'all but is too chickenshit to flat out say it.

pro_junior Report This Comment
Date: March 12, 2025 07:07PM

Whenever I see anyone say Dump, tRump, Drumpf...I can't take them seriously.
All I think is, awww hims don't wike hims pwesident ...
and you wonder why you get accused of crying liberal tears...

The rest of your comments about me just further prove your complete lack of reading comprehension ability yet again.

quasi Report This Comment
Date: March 13, 2025 12:27AM

"Whenever I see anyone say Dump, tRump, Drumpf...I can't take them seriously."

Yet, you take him seriously when he's champion name caller. I used to feel the same as you about the name calling, but after years of listening to him and his minions call people names and belittle them, I figured it must be okay. I had to look at a flag every day that said, "fuck you if you voted for Biden" and was told I should be put against a wall and be shot, so cry me a river about his name. Dump and you MAGAts can kiss my ass, y'all killed civility and now you're whining about it.
Whoever you think was running things the last four years, the U.S. economy recovered from the pandemic better than most other nations despite having a higher mortality rate and had the respect and friendship of much of the world. In less than two months, Dump has sided with Russia, thrown his weight around and swapped the previous respect and goodwill we had for fear and loathing and set everyone on the road to more difficult economic times with his ill-advised tariff and land grab obsessions. Rather than analyzing then government for places to trim the budget he sent in his new best pal with a wrecking ball with sometimes near disastrous result when people in important positions were let go and then called back. I can hardly wait for hurricane season with the cuts made to NOAA and the NHC. But, hey, electric cars are cool again, you can get one at Whitehouse Motors.

pulse Report This Comment
Date: March 13, 2025 03:03AM

Are the trump & flag adorned jacked up "trucks" still unplugging Teslas and parking in charging spots?

They must be so confused what to do now it's right wing to own an electric car rather than that damn hippy crap

Anon - not logged in Report This Comment
Date: May 04, 2025 12:44AM

I think, in all your bickering, you need an outsider's point of view.

Everyone wants to know where they come from. Whom their ancestors were. Yet some of you cry that we don't want to be yanks, or part of a world yankeeland. We don't. Our constitutions don't cause us anxiety over the personality of one individual. Read your posts above again. We don't care.

Will you accept "we don't care" or do I have to say '9mm kiss goodbye'? I've never spoken like that to an aussie, or a brit, or any of the backpackers whom I've met. They've never made me think of it. Neither do you here, but the ones who do are from your country.

Australia is not part of Oceania. Yet some of your people have been wetting their pants over it for how long? None of you here have been so imbecilic, and a post on another site says Mormons, but that's not a subject I'm familiar with.

We would spend far more time on:

"In our courts we promise protection to all men, with no regard to rank or wealth." - Charter of Ethelred, King of the West Saxons, around 1000AD. That's real constitutional matter, not the manner of a speech with hollow words. Such as one that needed lots of amendments.

English is a Teutonic language. In Old Teutonic 'man' means 'one'. The prefixes 'wo' and 'ne' designated what one. 'Ne' has dropped out of use (after local variations). Yet yank political talking points insist that 'woman' means 'woe to man'! Learn English! Some of you imagine they'll impose their lack of understanding the language on the rest of us! An example is Meagain Markle, who imagined a monarchy would stoop to yank political talking points and form their mission statement. Years afterwards, I still can't get my head around that.

If you'll do anything to A. cause chaos; and B. improve the world, readopt the real English dictionary.

So human nature doesn't lead to a world yankeeland. It never will. I could go on, jury system, courts and so on, but cutting to the chase: there seem to be two types of yank who hate Trump: the protestors in the street, whom I'll ignore as I think they honestly don't like him, and the ones coiffured in suits and dresses, who want to keep your constitution and scrap the amendments. All right then, why don't you scrap your constitution for one that doesn't rely on grand words with no substance, and keep your amendments? All of them. In their current wording. Pay close attention to whom objects. We'll watch.

pulse Report This Comment
Date: May 04, 2025 01:19AM

Quote
Anonbot
Word soup

Also, I believe he was wearing an onion on his belt. Which was the style at the time.

Anon - not logged in Report This Comment
Date: May 04, 2025 03:44AM

Pulse prefers short posts. All right then.

Anon - not logged in Report This Comment
Date: May 06, 2025 12:19AM

Pulse, the discovery of pottery was a dramatic leap forward. Before this you had to keep food in animal skins. They went off and stank very quickly, so had to be replaced every couple of days. Not replacing them quickly meant the colonists were disgusted at the Aborigines.