By the way, Duck Soup was always my favorite movie. So much insane absurdity.

Well stated. It was I, who posed that link to Buck’s piece. Even if people refuse to recognize non-economic impacts of unfettered “free” trade, the most naive examiner still must recognize that no other country ignores its own, best interests and the interests of its citizens. No other country would allow its advantages in inventions like pharmaceuticals or microchips to move completely offshore. Japan’s Keiritsu, China’s communist party, the EU and its trade manipulation, Russia…

By the age of 7 we all figure this out playing the board game, Monopoly. The other people at the table are trying to dominate the board.

Our trade policies, since around the late ’60s, have turned Americans into the world’s Eloi. We can do better and encouraging our self preservation and human thriving among ourselves and neighbors is a great place to start.

2) Trump says he and Putin could do something ‘significant’ toward ending Russia’s war in Ukraine – have cut Trump lots of slack over his cowardly fear of Putin ‘n Russia, and his anger at Zelenskyy ‘n Ukraine for not giving him Biden’s head on a platter.

President Donald Trump on Friday said his administration has already had “very serious” discussions with Russia about its war in Ukraine and that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon take “significant” action toward ending the grinding conflict.

No concern for Ukraine’s position or input in such backroom discussions?!

Trump since returning to office has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he should have made a deal with Putin to avoid the conflict.

‘The rape victim should’ve made a deal with the Rapist’ according to Trump’s thinking. Like rape victim should’ve told the Rapist not to hurt her, and if he agreed that she would take him back to her apartment and he could rape her there in comfort.

Putin ‘n Trump sounding like two peas in a pod…

3) 11 years after a celebrated opening, massive solar plant faces a bleak future in the Mojave Desert

What was once the world’s largest solar power plant of its type appears headed for closure just 11 years after opening, under pressure from cheaper green energy sources. Meanwhile, environmentalists continue to blame the Mojave Desert plant for killing thousands of birds and tortoises.

Skeptics always say, well, you only have anecdotes, second hand information, not anyone with first hand experience.

According to what he says–backed up by the testimony of a number of other military personnel who served with him– Jake Barber has such “first hand experience,” and a video as well.*

Moreover, due to his exposure to what is apparently some sort of radiation emitted by the presumably NHI technology he was flying from place to place, he now has a whole slew of physical ailments, which may end up shortening his life.**

* See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t37-SKj4rtY&t=3310s
and see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnnpyNuPdXs

** See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCDVIGxn48M

I enjoyed this 30 minute video. The press respectfully asks questions and President Trump thoughtfully, calmly and respectfully answers them. What a concept!
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/01/31/president-trump-signs-executive-orders-and-delivers-remarks-to-media-from-oval-office/#more-268739

That was never part of the argument Buck Throkmorton was making in the Ace’s piece Barry linked to.

Never mentioned in the non-reciprocal free traders holy grail of cheap stuff was the hollowing of American manufacturing jobs during those pivotal years in the 90’s- 2000’s. Never a mention as the free traders extolled the virtues of unbridled free trade– most of which occurred with those mercantilist countries. He wasn’t arguing we should reciprocate with our own mercantilist policies. It’s not even a distortion of his argument.

He quotes an article by David Haransyi that rails against the kind of reciprocal free trade Trump envisions:

Now, I realize that some of the dead-eyed partisan zombies in the GOP will just repeat whatever Trump says, but this is idiocy. For one thing, tariffs are literally a tax, as they are paid by U.S. corporations and consumers. Secondly, the difference between the price of goods today and the price added by a tariff is called “tax incidence” or “the let’s screw consumers surcharge.” Sooner or later, consumers pay every tax.
However, Trump is right about one thing: Trade isn’t fair. Americans should pray it never gets fair. I’m sure the billions of people in developing nations who work tedious menial labor jobs probably don’t find it “fair” that Americans use the savings found in trade to help build unprecedented wealth.

Trade allows average working-class Americans to buy all kinds of things they could not otherwise afford because of trade. Forcing working-class Americans to make things foreigners or machines can make cheaper only undermines the creation of better jobs for them and their children.

The “unprecedented wealth” Haranasyi is referring to isn’t the blue collar working class but the investor class and they have no intention of sharing. And “forcing working class Americans to make things…undermines creation of better jobs…” is just the type of bunk the non-reciprocal free traders make. This better jobs never seem to materialize in sufficient quantity to save the American dream.

Trump’s bottom line is bringing back manufacturing jobs whether by the carrot of even lower corporate tax rates or the stick of tariffs. Either way the American worker benefits.

This, coming on top of Trump’s earlier stripping these officials of their security clearances.

According to what I understand, these former intelligence officials usually trade on their security clearance and their contacts to land all sorts of very high paying positions after they leave Federal service.

Take away their clearances and, I’d imagine, that they become much less attractive candidates for these jobs.
.

* See https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-bans-intel-officials-who-pushed-russian-disinfo-hoax-from-federal-buildings

One notable incident reportedly took place at a Massachusetts supermarket, where ICE conducted a surprise raid, detaining and “disappearing” around 20 people. This has sparked panic, with some Brazilian illegal immigrants posting videos on Instagram, afraid to leave their homes for fear of being detained. Others are hurriedly leaving with the money and posessions they’ve accumulated during their time in the u.s.

Many are reacting with outrage, realizing that the supposed “right” to live in a country illegally without formally integrating was always a myth.

Interestingly, both the Brazilian right and left are disparaging those being deported, each assuming the migrants belong to the other political camp. The left, which sees itself as Brazil’s educated elite, views these mostly blue-collar immigrants as right-wingers—hypocrites who champion national pride and sovereignty while disregarding U.S. sovereignty by hopping the border. Meanwhile, the right believes many are “esquerdistas” or “petistas”—leftists who voted for the very policies that laid the foundation for Brazil’s current economic woes, only to flee to the U.S. when conditions predictably worsened. (“Petistas” is a nickname for supporters of Lula’s Partido dos Trabalhadores, or Workers’ Party.)

Contrary to what you might think, Miami does not have the highest concentration of Brazilian immigrants in the U.S.—that distinction belongs to Framingham Massachussets.

CNN Brasil and other media outlets are omitting to their viewers that the large majority of people who are being expelled had recieved and ignored prior deportation orders.

Lou Elizondo just keeps edging closer and closer.

Here he is, in a interview our today, confirming that UFOs, particularly egg shaped UFOs–some of which he has “heard about,” “is aware of” or, perhaps, has personally seen–often have symbols–some form of writing on them, pictures of which he has apparently seen, studied, and tried to puzzle out. *

* See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGUb1JKxBDo , starting at hour 1.