SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - US Politics Thread 2021-24

SUBSIM Radio Room Forums (https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/index.php)

- General Topics (https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/forumdisplay.php?f=175)

- - US Politics Thread 2021-24 (https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=248184)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Otto Harkaman (Post 2942102)

My goodness isn't the sauce reduced enough? :dead:
https://files.oaiusercontent.com/fil...DRteiN4A36M%3D

mmm, yum, Tobasco sauce!! :up:
https://cdnimg.webstaurantstore.com/...69/1254438.jpg

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...ion-rcna190044

Quote:

“Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me,” Cassidy said. “Can I trust that that is now in the past? Can data and information change your opinion, or will you only look for data supporting a predetermined conclusion?”

That is indeed the one thing I am uncertain about, too. When I see RFK as a great chance to finally tackle a corrupted food and pharmaceutical industry, I also red about his past campaigning against vaccinations in general, all of them (not just Covid and mRNA vaccines). If this general rejection of any vaccines would find its way into official governmetal health policy, even if he successfully attacks the food/pharma cartel and its devastating influence he then would have cured one desaster while having introduced another one in return.

I can only hope he really has learned from that past, and is beyond that. Regarding his stand on food and bad diet habits and the general health desaster regarding obesity and diabetes, I am obviously on his side. It is of interest for us non-Americans, because the American medical/pharmaceutical/food-related establishment and industry and the way they influence the policy forming in the US, has a very fundamental influence on these topics in other parts of the world as well. A "de-corrupting" of the FDA and NHI would have benefits beyond the American borders.

If RFK gets confirmed, probably no other member of the cabinett then has such a steep uphill battle to fight like he must do then. Success is not guaranteed, I do not even give him a full 50% chance. The forces of persistence that stand in his way are enormous and extremely ruthless. They have driven their tentacles deep into national and international political structures and they swim in money like only few others.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace (Post 2942090)

This is essentially what is being reported. Investigations by the FAA and others may determine there were mistakes by the Pilot, Air traffic Controllers or a combination of the both of them and other factors. I don't look for a final report on the crash to be available for 9-12 months.

Actually, reports are surfacing in the U.S that a number of Military trained and qualified individuals were turned away from Air Traffic Control positions because of DEI initiatives that were put into practice before Trump took office. Further, a number of Individuals with Cognitive and Psychological Issues were employed in these positions, bypassing qualified applicants. How true these assertions are remains to be seen. Regardless, It would seem reasonable to establish standards across the board and require applicants to meet threshold standards in all positions like these and many others.

https://amuseonx.substack.com/p/the-...w-dei-policies

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/...dei-rcna188749

https://unherd.com/newsroom/dei-air-...ontrol-safety/

Quote:

Trump Misleads on D.E.I. Policies in Blaming Biden for Plane Crash
There is no evidence that diversity efforts played a role in the crash, and his statements disregarded his own administration’s hiring policies.

By Linda Qiu
Reporting from Washington

Published Jan. 30, 2025
Updated Jan. 31, 2025, 1:07 p.m. ET

President Trump quickly turned to excoriating the diversity goals of his Democratic predecessors and the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday as he updated the public about the deadly collision over the Potomac River.

Even as he acknowledged that he had no evidence, but was instead relying on “common sense,” he suggested that efforts to hire more people with disabilities and diversify the ranks of the F.A.A. were to blame for the accident late Wednesday that killed 67 people.

Here’s a fact check of his remarks.

What Was Said

“This was before I got to office recently, the second term, the F.A.A. is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website.”

“The F.A.A. website states they include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism all qualified for the position of a controller of airplanes pouring into our country, pouring into a little spot, a little dot on the map, little runway.”

“This was in the Obama administration, just prior to my getting there — and we took care of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, we took care of everybody at levels that nobody’s ever seen before. It’s one of the reasons I won — but they actually came out with a directive. Too white.”

This is misleading. Mr. Trump was citing efforts to recruit people with certain disabilities for air traffic operations that began under his own administration, though the language concerning hiring those with disabilities more generally preceded his first term. And there is no evidence that the government’s efforts to recruit more people with disabilities or the Obama or Biden administration’s diversity efforts were to blame for the crash.

It is unclear whether Mr. Trump was referring to information that is not widely known, but at the time of his remarks, the identities of the pilots and air traffic controllers involved had not been made public.

Under Mr. Trump in April 2019, the F.A.A. announced a pilot program for 20 people with targeted disabilities to work in air traffic operations. Targeted disabilities are a set of statutorily defined disabilities, including, but not limited to, those cited by Mr. Trump, that the federal government emphasizes for recruiting. An archived page from June 2019 named the initiative the Aviation Development Program, which “provides an opportunity for persons with targeted disabilities to gain aviation knowledge and experience as an air traffic control student trainee.”

“The candidates in this program will receive the same rigorous consideration in terms of aptitude, medical and security qualifications as those individuals considered for a standard public opening for air traffic controller jobs,” the F.A.A. said in 2019. Those standards include passing an air traffic skills assessment and a medical exam.

According to a Medium post from the agency, one of the program’s first three candidates graduated in 2021 from the F.A.A. Academy and became an air traffic controller trainee that year. It is unclear how many people who graduated from that program are air traffic controllers today.

Moreover, experts said they could not cite a known instance of a plane crash in which diversity efforts had been cited as the sole cause.

“Historically, there has never been an incident, big or small, where D.E.I. or diversity has ever been attributed as a sole cause or contributing cause,” said Tennessee Garvey, a pilot and the chairman of the board of directors for the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals.

He added that the rigorous standards for hiring pilots, mechanics and air traffic controllers were never relaxed to meet diversity goals, but rather that previous administrations and the commercial air industry overall have worked to remove barriers to entry.

Of the more than 900 Black pilots who made up the Tuskegee Airmen, only one became a commercial pilot, he said. And segregation prevented Black men and women from working in the industry until the civil rights movement and lawsuits.

Robert Fowler Jr., a pilot and professor of aerospace at Middle Tennessee State University, said that costs and time required to qualify for a pilot’s license were still significant obstacles. Despite the industry’s attempt to provide scholarships and cast a wider recruiting net, diversity efforts have not been all that successful.

Mr. Trump’s more specific claims about the F.A.A.’s attempts to recruit people with disabilities ignore his first administration’s embrace of that approach.

As Snopes, the rumor-debunking website, has reported, language on the Federal Aviation Administration’s website says that the agency “actively recruits, hires, promotes, retains, develops and advances people with disabilities.” That specific page appeared as early as February 2013 and remained unchanged through the first Trump and Biden administrations. It is no longer on the agency’s website.

The list of the F.A.A.’s “targeted disabilities” cited by Mr. Trump was also present on the agency’s website during the Trump administration. Those include the disabilities Mr. Trump cited as well as hearing, vision, missing extremities and paralysis.

It is also worth noting that the general federal policy for hiring people with disabilities dates back even further, to the Bush administration in 2003 and a 1973 law.

That law, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, initially protected veterans with disabilities from discrimination in federal programs and was expanded through the years to encompass nonveterans and hiring practices.

In 2003, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a governmentwide directive that instructed each government agency to include an annual mission statement, pledge to offer equal employment opportunity regardless of “race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, age, genetic information or disability” and to continually identify and remove barriers to that goal.

While the F.A.A. under several recent administrations and the aviation industry overall have tried to diversify their ranks, including hiring more people with disabilities, progress has been slow.

Annual reports from the F.A.A. show a slight, but not significant, increase in diversity. In 2016, 58.9 percent of its work force consisted of white men and 0.7 percent had targeted disabilities. In 2020, under Mr. Trump, those percentages remained similar at 57.4 percent and 1.1 percent. And in 2023, under Mr. Biden, those percentages were 55.3 percent and 2 percent.

Census data compiled by Deloitte and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that the proportion of white air traffic controllers has decreased slightly from 79 percent from 2020 to 73 percent in 2022.

And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4.2 percent of pilots were women and 1.4 percent were Black or Hispanic in 2002; 6.2 percent were women and 5.1 were nonwhite in 2017, Mr. Trump’s first year in office; 5.6 percent and 6 percent in 2020; and 8.8 percent and 7.6 percent in 2023.

Professor Fowler said the primary reason the airline industry has tried to hire across different demographics was simply a strategy to fill a labor shortage as pilots retire: “For example, in 2021, we only have 3.9 percent of pilots who are Black,” he said. “That means there are a lot of other individuals out there who could be qualified to fly.”

For Mr. Trump’s claims about an Obama-era directive criticizing the F.A.A. for being “too white,” the White House also cited a lawsuit filed by a conservative legal organization on behalf of applicants for air traffic controller positions. The lawsuit accused the agency under the Obama administration of discriminating against them because its hiring practices were “engineered to favor racial minorities.” That lawsuit is pending in court.

...and this...

Researching Trump’s statements about DEI, past administrations after DC crash | In context --

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...k/78059546007/

...and this (italics mine)...

Trump rails against DEI after DC plane crash, but it doesn't apply to air traffic controllers --

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-wit...173700360.html

Quote:

DEI and any similar programs do not apply to air traffic control hiring, though -- no one is given preferential treatment for race, sex, ethnicity or sexual orientation, a former FAA official told ABC News.

Applicants must pass a medical exam, an aptitude test and a psychological test that is more stringent than that required of a pilot, said Chris Wilbanks, FAA deputy vice president of safety and technical training.

In 2022, 57,000 people applied for an ATC position, Wilbanks said, and 2,400 qualified to attend the academy. Of that 2,400, only 1,000 made it to the first day of training.

Wilbanks said 72% make it through the academy and roughly 60% of those will finish training.

...

According to the FAA, the training process lasts about three to four years from the hire date. Applicants must be younger than 31 and must retire by age 55.

Anyone who has taken Ritalin or Adderall in the last three years doesn’t qualify, the former FAA official said.

Somehow, it is extremely, extremely unlikely, if not impossible, for someone to be hired as an ATC and not have met the stringent requirements and rigorous testing needed to even be certified; 1,000 out 57,000 to even be accepted for training, and, of that, a 28% washout rate and, of those who do get through the ATC academy, 40% washout; that is a very, very low number of persons who can manage to tough it out and meet requirements for that job; and, on top of this, there is not a single bit of verifiable evidence that any ATC job was gained due to any form of DEI...

This whole thing is just another bit of evidence that Trump has absolutely no working knowledge of virtually anything he expounds upon; the depth of his ignorance is astounding and his willingness to publicly display such ignorance is shameful; a pervious post noted that Trump's press conference on the DC crash was "embarrassing" and truer words were never spoken; the sight of someone who purports himself to be the POTUS showing up looking like he was begrudgingly rousted out of bed, put in bad makeup, and made to read something he really didn't want to say (at least, not until he went off script and really screwed himself up), looking for all the world like a child forced to do a recital in an elementary school class was, indeed, embarrassing; embarrassing to our nation, to the dignity of the Office of POTUS, embarrassing to the sensibilities of those who might have been expecting some hint of actual, sincere compassion for the victims, embarrassing for the image of our nation around the world...

Oh, and I can see it now: the knee jerk response of "Well, Trump got 77,301,000 votes, so the people have spoken, so there!"; well that's only 49.8% of the total vote, so 50.2% didn't vote for Trump and those people have spoken loudly;; Trump didn't get a majority and he really doesn't have a significant, if any, mandate; the majority of US voters rejected Trump and his MAGA minions and, come the midterm elections, the skin-of-their teeth majority the GOP currently enjoys in the Senate and the House will probably result in the loss of one or both of those advantages; and that's not even taking into account how, even now, the GOP is having a hell of a time trying to wrangle its own members in Congress to reach even a close consensus; the shambolic nature of the GOP portends a shock to the system of the Trump/MAGA loyalists and, like the middle of Trump's failed first term, a nasty black eye to the GOP...

The very fact that Trump loyalists can seriously, and with a straight face and an assumed façade of "logic and common sense", defend the so glaringly obvious deficiencies and lunacies of of Herr Trump is head-shakingly puzzling; the man speaks as an 'authority' of things of which he knows nothing of, makes decisions based of whim and not considered deliberations, and refuses to acknowledged facts when they are presented; how very, very disappointing and disgusting...

There was a prior claim, in this thread, the Trump is the "Greatest President of the 21st Century"; considering there is still 75% of the century still left, and that there have only been four Presidents in the last 25 years, the odds are strongly against that claim; of the four so far, only one is a convicted felon, only one still faces state level charges for election tampering, only one has been impeached twice, and only one has failed to win reelection after his first term (Biden doesn't count since he didn't really stand election), all in all not a very very convincing CV for Best of the Century; gee, I wonder which of the four POTUS is that embarrassing over all loser...?...

AS I said before, I'm not sweating Trump's new flexing of his flabby muscles; his EOs will result in numerous court challenges, taking years, most likely, or will be struck down as unconstitutional (bit of a bother for Donnie, that Constitution thing), and/or, the existing laws governing the things he wants to change will stymie him into entropy; as per his wont, he will bollocks up everything he touches and the voters will reward him and the GOP with a midterm spanking; then he'll spend out the last two years of our collective misery trying to see if he can further forestall having his ass thrown behind bars and/or having his 'empire' dissolved...

Ah, the tears that will be shed by the MAGAs and the GOP...

...they will be delicious...

<O>

Trump and his minions strike again... :haha:

Trump Broke the Federal Email System and Government Employees Got Blasted With Astonishingly Vulgar Messages --

https://news.yahoo.com/news/trump-br...163327905.html

Quote:

The whole thing apparently stems from an overhaul at the OPM led by oligarch-in-chief Elon Musk. On Tuesday, Wired reported that Musk had been given free reign to replace the agency's high-level staff with lackeys from his previous ventures.

Those included a 21-year-old who had previously worked for Peter Thiel, and a summer intern from Neuralink who just graduated high school. It also included Amanda Scales — a former xAI HR staffer who is reportedly in place as the OPM's new chief of staff.

Scales is allegedly implementing what some have called a hostile takeover of the OPM, axing the Chief Information Officer Melvin Brown II for refusing to implement the new regime's in-house email server. Brown evidently made the right call, as the new system — on top of all the aforementioned drama — was immediately hit with a class-action lawsuit for failing to pass Bush-era cyber security checks.

So, let's see: removing experienced Government IT specialists and replacing them with relatively inexperienced and unfamiliar-with-the-system interns and the like, implementing a new system without cyber security checks, etc..

Yep, Trump, is really gonna leave his image on the US government: disheveled, incompetent, incoherent; disorganized, ignorant of reality and doomed to stumbling its way through the next four years, just like Donnie...

Seems like a fairly simple, basic concept: don't try to fix something unless you actually know completely how it actually works...

Ah, just waiting for those delicious MAGA/GOP tears... :03:

<O>

Quote:

Originally Posted by vienna (Post 2942148)

What unmitigated bullcrap...

When it comes to the standards for Air Traffic Controllers (ATC), DEI has absolutely, and I do mean absolutely, nothing at all to do with the selection and hiring of ATCs; first of all, let's look at the breakdown of ATCs:

What the data says about Trump's DEI air crash claims --

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/31/dc-...c-control-data

78% male and, of that, 71% White does really seem to fly in the face of those claims of 'rampant' DEI hires; and this:

...and this...

Researching Trump’s statements about DEI, past administrations after DC crash | In context --

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...k/78059546007/

...and this (italics mine)...

Trump rails against DEI after DC plane crash, but it doesn't apply to air traffic controllers --

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-wit...173700360.html

Somehow, it is extremely, extremely unlikely, if not impossible, for someone to be hired as an ATC and not have met the stringent requirements and rigorous testing needed to even be certified; 1,000 out 57,000 to even be accepted for training, and, of that, a 28% washout rate and, of those who do get through the ATC academy, 40% washout; that is a very, very low number of persons who can manage to tough it out and meet requirements for that job; and, on top of this, there is not a single bit of verifiable evidence that any ATC job was gained due to any form of DEI...

This whole thing is just another bit of evidence that Trump has absolutely no working knowledge of virtually anything he expounds upon; the depth of his ignorance is astounding and his willingness to publicly display such ignorance is shameful; a pervious post noted that Trump's press conference on the DC crash was "embarrassing" and truer words were never spoken; the sight of someone who purports himself to be the POTUS showing up looking like he was begrudgingly rousted out of bed, put in bad makeup, and made to read something he really didn't want to say (at least, not until he went off script and really screwed himself up), looking for all the world like a child forced to do a recital in an elementary school class was, indeed, embarrassing; embarrassing to our nation, to the dignity of the Office of POTUS, embarrassing to the sensibilities of those who might have been expecting some hint of actual, sincere compassion for the victims, embarrassing for the image of our nation around the world...

Oh, and I can see it now: the knee jerk response of "Well, Trump got 77,301,000 votes, so the people have spoken, so there!"; well that's only 49.8% of the total vote, so 50.2% didn't vote for Trump and those people have spoken loudly;; Trump didn't get a majority and he really doesn't have a significant, if any, mandate; the majority of US voters rejected Trump and his MAGA minions and, come the midterm elections, the skin-of-their teeth majority the GOP currently enjoys in the Senate and the House will probably result in the loss of one or both of those advantages; and that's not even taking into account how, even now, the GOP is having a hell of a time trying to wrangle its own members in Congress to reach even a close consensus; the shambolic nature of the GOP portends a shock to the system of the Trump/MAGA loyalists and, like the middle of Trump's failed first term, a nasty black eye to the GOP...

The very fact that Trump loyalists can seriously, and with a straight face and an assumed façade of "logic and common sense", defend the so glaringly obvious deficiencies and lunacies of of Herr Trump is head-shakingly puzzling; the man speaks as an 'authority' of things of which he knows nothing of, makes decisions based of whim and not considered deliberations, and refuses to acknowledged facts when they are presented; how very, very disappointing and disgusting...

There was a prior claim, in this thread, the Trump is the "Greatest President of the 21st Century"; considering there is still 75% of the century still left, and that there have only been four Presidents in the last 25 years, the odds are strongly against that claim; of the four so far, only one is a convicted felon, only one still faces state level charges for election tampering, only one has been impeached twice, and only one has failed to win reelection after his first term (Biden doesn't count since he didn't really stand election), all in all not a very very convincing CV for Best of the Century; gee, I wonder which of the four POTUS is that embarrassing over all loser...?...

AS I said before, I'm not sweating Trump's new flexing of his flabby muscles; his EOs will result in numerous court challenges, taking years, most likely, or will be struck down as unconstitutional (bit of a bother for Donnie, that Constitution thing), and/or, the existing laws governing the things he wants to change will stymie him into entropy; as per his wont, he will bollocks up everything he touches and the voters will reward him and the GOP with a midterm spanking; then he'll spend out the last two years of our collective misery trying to see if he can further forestall having his ass thrown behind bars and/or having his 'empire' dissolved...

Ah, the tears that will be shed by the MAGAs and the GOP...

...they will be delicious...

<O>

Quote:

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace (Post 2942090)

How true these assertions are remains to be seen. Regardless, It would seem reasonable to establish standards across the board and require applicants to meet threshold standards in all positions like these and many others.

I never said they were facts, just what was being reported. I left it open for others to investigate on their own to determine the truth. I listed the links as well. However, it is well documented that DEI hires contributed to the exacerbation of the wildfires in Los Angeles. You may not feel that way but again, many who voted Democrat in the last election in California for Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom in California feel much differently now. I won't get into how much money was stolen and misdirected to DEI Initiatives instead of building and maintaining the Infrastructure in California. California was beautiful. Now it is a State everyone is leaving. That's a fact.

Further, I have had to deal with Governmental DEI hires and listen to them try to do an analysis in meetings when they didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about. I have walked out on those meetings in the middle of a session because I didn't want to listen to these DEI people anymore. No one listened to me about how inept or stupid they they were until their mistakes cost more money than I will mention here. Only then did they realize their mistakes.

Imagine my satisfaction when I witnessed an entire group of DEI people fired for that massive debacle. I once asked an Individual at work who was gay, and black and recently hired where he went to College and what Education he had. He replied he had an Art degree. I remember I looked at him incredulously and said, " so, you know how to open a coloring book and color in the lines." He had none of the requisite abilities or talents the job he was in demanded. But, he was hired. :doh: He was one of the first DEI people who were later fired.

I have seen DEI hires permeate every aspect of Government and the Private sector. I have no Idea if that played a role in what happened in D.C. However, it is also well documented how many close calls have happened at Reagan National Airport and countless warnings went unheeded. It was only a matter of time before there was an " accident " like this.

As far as Biden, I'm certain he will go down as the worst President this Country has ever had. Then again, only time will tell. Remind me not to ask you for advice when I'm playing the ponies at the race track.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace (Post 2942150)

I'm surprised at your tone, Vienna. I know you don't like Trump and that is your prerogative. I personally couldn't care less. The vast majority of the American voting Electorate made an Informed choice and decision. If you can't accept that, that's your problem. If you can't see what has happened over the last four years with Biden / Harris, you must live in a cave.

I never said Trump wasn't carrying a certain degree of baggage. He is. However, given that Harris and Biden have done nothing in four years to address the Issues this country now has, and made things worse, Trump was clearly the better choice, even with his Issues. If the vast majority of our Countrymen voted and supported Trump as opposed to Mama Kamala, are you going to say they are all wrong and your small majority is right. That is absolutely, unmitigated Rubbish.

Keep in mind the post I made.

I never said they were facts, just what was being reported. I left it open for others to investigate on their own to determine the truth. I listed the links as well. However, it is well documented that DEI hires contributed to the exacerbation of the wildfires in Los Angeles. You may not feel that way but again, many who voted Democrat in the last election in California for Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom in California feel much differently now. I won't get into how much money was stolen and misdirected to DEI Initiatives instead of building and maintaining the Infrastructure in California. California was beautiful. Now it is a State everyone is leaving. That's a fact.

Further, I have had to deal with Governmental DEI hires and listen to them try to do an analysis in meetings when they didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about. I have walked out on those meetings in the middle of a session because I didn't want to listen to these DEI people anymore. No one listened to me about how inept or stupid they they were until their mistakes cost more money than I will mention here. Only then did they realize their mistakes.

Imagine my satisfaction when I witnessed an entire group of DEI people fired for that massive debacle. I once asked an Individual at work who was gay, and black and recently hired where he went to College and what Education he had. He replied he had an Art degree. I remember I looked at him incredulously and said, " so, you know how to open a coloring book and color in the lines." He had none of the requisite abilities or talents the job he was in demanded. But, he was hired. :doh: He was one of the first DEI people who were later fired.

I have seen DEI hires permeate every aspect of Government and the Private sector. I have no Idea if that played a role in what happened in D.C. However, it is also well documented how many close calls have happened at Reagan National Airport and countless warnings went unheeded. It was only a matter of time before there was an " accident " like this.

As far as Biden, I'm certain he will go down as the worst President this Country has ever had. Then again, only time will tell. Remind me not to ask you for advice when I'm playing the ponies at the race track.

Let's go over you post in specifics:

Quote:

Well, you know I don't like Trump, but my tone surprises you? Really?...

The "vast majority of the American voting Electorate made an Informed choice and decision"? Again, really? What world do you live in? Not only was the no "vast majority" for Trump, he couldn't even muster up a majority at all. C'mon, prove to us where this "vast majority" thing comes from, what's its based on, objectively and mathematically. In fact, given that he was, by your reckoning regarding Biden/Harris, running against a dismally incompetent and inferior opponent, Trump should have made a much better showing; in fact, again, Biden, when he defeated Trump, had a very much larger vote margin than Trump; in 2020, Biden beat Trump by a margin of 7,049,526 votes against Trump's 2024 margin of 2,284,967, a difference of a whopping 4,764,559 votes; and all that shows Trump is very far from being anywhere near a "vast majority"; Trumps margin over Harris was 2,284,967 votes, which with a total of some 150 million votes cast in the 2024 Election, is not any vast majority; seemingly you can't seem to accept that Donnie is not the most popular kid on the playground...

Oh, I accept the Election results, all right; but there is no requirement that I have to see them as my having to submit to the lunacy and idiocy of Trump and MAGA; you seem to have a little problem with 1st Amendment right when it comes to criticizing and pointing out the flaws of your idol.. :03:

As far as four years of Biden/Harris, well all I can point to is the Keystone Kops farce that has been the first two weeks of the Trump second, and thankfully, last term;

Quote:

I never said Trump wasn't carrying a certain degree of baggage. He is. However, given that Harris and Biden have done nothing in four years to address the Issues this country now has, and made things worse, Trump was clearly the better choice, even with his Issues. If the vast majority of our Countrymen voted and supported Trump as opposed to Mama Kamala, are you going to say they are all wrong and your small majority is right. That is absolutely, unmitigated Rubbish.

Again, that fictional "vast majority"; the countrymen who voted for Trump are, technically, indeed a minority, less that 50% of the total electorate; are they all wrong no, because I believe a great, great many of them voted not for Trump as a favorable and viable candidate, but, rather because there was no other choice; there there is a vast difference in cast a vote for a candidate because you really do support his vales and ideas and casting a vote because there are no other viable options; and, again, even with such a bleak situation at the polls, Trump still couldn't break 50%; they are not "all wrong" and the opposition is not "all right" by any means; anyone who cast s the situation in such 'black-and-white", strict 'yes and no', terms is trying to hide that they are the ones trying to insist they are "all right" in an effort to divert from their own doubts in and inabilities to rationally defend their stance; trying to insist to be fact that which is not at all fact and not being able to substantively back up those assertions, such as you do, is, indeed, the very definition of unmitigated rubbish...

Quote:

Now that's a sizeable load of horse crap. Let's pick this one apart: "However, it is well documented that DEI hires contributed to the exacerbation of the wildfires in Los Angeles." Got any actual facts to back up that pile of Bandini, Bub? I live in LA and I can tell you, in all the news reports and analysis, I have seen, heard, or read, there has not been a single verifiable fact reported to backup your hogwash; again, c'mon: give us the hard facts you say are there to back you up, and, again I want verifiable, hard facts, not OpEd pieces or YT vanity videos; it time to put up...

Next:

Quote:

You may not feel that way but again, many who voted Democrat in the last election in California for Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom in California feel much differently now. I won't get into how much money was stolen and misdirected to DEI Initiatives instead of building and maintaining the Infrastructure in California. California was beautiful. Now it is a State everyone is leaving. That's a fact.

Time to put up again: just the proof of your "facts", CW, that's all we ask; what money and how much, and exactly how DEI is a part of it all; California has spent huge amounts in maintaining existing and building new infrastructure all across the state; we're probably in a much better condition than some of the Blue States; C'mon, show us where a DEI diversion happened and how it adversely affected infrastructure and, please, be specific..

AS far as Bass and Newsom are concerned, well, I didn't vote for Bass, but I did for her opponent, a guy named nick Caruso, a billionaire commercial and residential land developer; he was a Republican, but became an Independent when the first Trump administration and the GOP took a turn for the looney bin; when he ran for Mayor of LA, he ran as a Democrat because the chances of winning as an Independent were vary, very slim; I liked him because he had a record of being fairly level headed (probably a reason why he left the CA-GOP) and he had some rather good ideas; also, I was suspicious of some of Bass's links within the Democratic Party; he ran a good clean race, to his credit, but came up a bit short; I was kind of hoping he would think about running again, if Bass didn't work out, but I have changed my mind following the fires; one of Caruso's big commercial properties was nearly engulfed by one of the fires and was saved through the heroic efforts of the firefighters; do you think he made an effort to highly praise the work of those firefighters? No, he chose instead to loudly and openly criticize, much as you have, the Governor and the Mayor, in the same tone as yours, mainly to bolster his own political ambitions (besides considering another go at the Mayor's office, he's also rumored to be floating about a run at CA Governor); when he did this, many, including some of the victims of the fires, were very quick to point out how he, who was spared from loss, sought to advantage himself on the back's of the victim's misery; maybe he was hoping for that "vast" MAGA vote...

Bass really has been doing a surprisingly, to me, good job in this crisis; she has been totally boots on the ground and very actively involved in all aspects of the relief and recovery efforts; didn't really think she had it in her; as for Newsom, he also has been spending an awful lot of time here in LA and also has been very involved and proactive in the efforts; remember, the CA-GOP has mounted 8 (eight) recall efforts against him since he took office (the first was launched the day after he first won election) and only one actually even made it to the ballot; Newsom easily won with over 61% of the voters (you know, a real vast majority) denying the CA_GOP' s recall; he'll be termed out in 2026, but the real bad news for the CA-GOP is that they still don't have any viable candidates to run for the office...

BTW, Donnie did show up in LA, for his photo-op, and held what he called a town hall on the fire situation; not invited was Newsom and other DEM officials, but plenty of Trump sycophants' were there; it was almost embarrassing to see the "randomly" selected persons posing questions to Trump, gushing over how great he was and how "right" was about absolutely everything; I don't really understand how the Trump camp thought rational people couldn't see through the farce playing out in front of them; then there was the part when Trump tried to unload on Mayor Bass and she was having none of it, answering back against Trump's BS and refuting his fallacies with facts; Like I said, I didn't know she had it in her; fortunately all the local television news stations broadcast the town hall live; the sight of a down crested, sulking Trump being upended by a slip of a woman was priceless...

...and, no, not "everybody" is leaving CA; in fact (there's that fact thing again, look into it) the rate of migration out of state has slowed and the rate of migration into CA has picked up; it seems the temptation of tech jobs and the like has people coming back...

Regarding your alleged experiences with DEI hires, well, that's your word about what you say you saw; I am indeed a firm believer of people being hired for their talents and capabilities and advanced in position based on their results; I don't believe in things like, nepotism, 'old boys clubs', or 'old school ties'; I am also against people being denied opportunities simply because they don't look, act or think like you or your associates; I am reminded of how it was reported Bill Gates exploded into a rage when he was at a meeting on recruitment for Microsoft and he noticed that the recruiters were overwhelmingly and almost without exception recruiting from only their alma maters and related more Ivy League, and white, intuitions; he demanded to know why they weren't also seeking candidates from other colleges, universities, and school who might have equal, if not better capabilities than the narrow pool they were recruiting from; Gates knew that a great brain can live in any individual and he wanted to seek out the best; must have worked, because I do hear Microsoft made a bit of money in the process...

I am also reminded of I book I read a while back, when I was researching the history of Delta Blues music; one very well researched book by Robert Palme, the music critic and scholar, had an entire chapter on the post Civil War effects of economics had on the the Blues; he noted that, following the Emancipation, former slave owners sought to hire Whites to replace their now freed slaves; the plantation owners found that the whites either thought it was beneath them to work at jobs formerly done by slaves, or they actually didn't have the necessary skills or endurance to the jobs, or demanded wages way out of scale to their positions, or were basically unreliable, so the owner offered the paying jobs to the former slaves for a good wage, which of course made the White workers angry because they claimed the Blacks were taking "their" jobs, the same jobs they were unwilling or incapable of doing; the more things change the more they remain the same...

Now see if you can find some real verifiable facts and maybe I'll take you seriously and not as Koll Aid drinking MAGA lemming; I'm sure you're better than that, at heart...

<O>

Lets keep the rhetoric down to a dull roar boys, no mud slinging!! :yep:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Commander Wallace (Post 2942150)

I never said they were facts, just what was being reported.

You might not have said it, but your posting was written in a way that heavily implies that the things you claimed were indeed facts* (which, btw., none of your sources supports beyond the level of "hearsay" and "unsubstantiated claims").

This is the same strategy that has been done over and over throughout the entire election season (and the previous seasons as well). It's all about nudging voters towards a certain direction without directly pointing, about creating and then channeling voters' emotions. This is also why I heavily disagree with your statement about the "vast majority of the American voting Electorate [making] an Informed choice and decision". No, definitely not, the contrary is the case. The vast majority made a decision based on emotions, with very little to no consideration of reliable facts, while they believe their known "facts" are absolutely and irrevocably true and anything that doesn't fit their view must be "fake news" and "lies".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ostfriese (Post 2942163)

This is your take on what I said. I clearly said, this is what is being reported and listed the sources. If you want to believe otherwise, that is of course your prerogative. You are not a native of the U.S whereas, I am. I believe I and those in the U.S that have had to deal with DEI Initiatives have a better understanding of it's effects than someone from thousands of miles away and that relies on media and various news outlets which may be biased.

I have clearly seen DEI Initiatives have disastrous consequences here in the U.S. Unlike you, I didn't need to read about that as we that live in the United States have seen those initiatives up close and personal. Various companies here have completely suspended DEI Initiatives. The listing and links are just a few that have ended DEI Initiatives. Other Companies have quietly removed them without ever acknowledging they had them in the first place. Other Companies are standing firm on their DEI practices.

To be fair, I have nothing against a diverse working environment. In fact, I think it's reasonable. Where the problem arises is where the DEI Initiatives use Identity based reasons to disqualify highly qualified individuals from a job or position in favor of someone who doesn't have any of the requisite education or qualifications for that position. When DEI practices force you to overlook qualified people in favor of those less qualified, that's a huge problem and will be costly, in the long term.

I usually get together with various friends that are business people on Friday nights for dinner and " Happy hour. " I have listened to them and Human Resources people at dinner lament the fact that they were forced to hire people that weren't qualified for the positions they applied for but fit the ideal of a socially engineered employee. These hiring decisions were pursuant to DEI Directives in the various Companies.

Further, when those DEI hires didn't do the job, the Company had to release them and find someone else for the same position. Anyone is Business will tell you that turnover, in terms of the time required and costs and expenses involved to train someone else and the business lost not to mention the damaged reputation with your clientele, can be costly. Perhaps even worse is the fact that such practices can erode confidence in your ability to lead, by your employees and Clientele. This is especially true if your employees have to work harder or put in overtime because of stupid and short sighted DEI hiring practices. This can undermine the Company objectives and also confidence by your business partners. This in turn can destroy morale with your more established and educated personnel and others too if they have to cover the work lost because of the firing of DEI people that never should have been hired in the first place.

Since people have freedom of movement, the good employees that previously existed may leave their former company for greener pastures and take their knowledge, drive and abilities with them, possibly to competitors and competing Companies. This is assuming there is a no compete clause in their respective employment contracts. This would be a disaster since employees like that have a working knowledge of the Company they just left and it's command and control structures, equipment, production capacities, etc.... This can also be the beginning of a cascading effect of losing good people. It also makes managers look bad because of forces beyond their control.

My father who was in Business once told me, " If you don't take care of your Business and or customers and Clientele, someone else will and you will lose. " He was 100 % right. DEI Initiatives are clearly a threat to that philosophy for the reason's i mentioned.

DEI initiatives have been largely used in Government and the Military. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has acknowledged DEI problems in the Military and vowed to eradicate it to create a more lethal military which is of course, his job. Pete's assertions were made after discovering resources were being allocated to DEI initiatives instead of building and maintaining the infrastructure of a highly trained and mobil, lethal fighting force.

IF DEI policies weren't an Issue or problem, why would a Harvard and Princeton educated Individual like Pete Hegseth need to address them at all ? Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has served in Iraq and Afghanistan as well. Pete is a highly decorated Vet with several military awards, including two Bronze Star Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Expert Infantryman Badge.

Therefore, if it is acknowledged that DEI Initiatives are present in U.S Government entities and in the Military, why is it not plausible that DEI hires might also include Air traffic Controllers as well who are to a large degree, trained in the Military ?

It disturbs me that I am being called a MAGA crazy and that somehow thinking that Donald Trump was a better choice for President makes me uniformed. A former friend here has said with surprisingly open hostility that they believe Donald Trump is my Idol. Quite the contrary. Donald Trump had promised to address the Issues the U.S is facing like out of control Immigration. Trump and Tom Homan took on that task on day one after Trump's Inauguration. This is a situation that was created by Biden / Harris. The Issue of Migration is being faced by your own country in Germany in addition to the U.K, Poland, Hungary, Ireland and other countries in Europe with regards to Muslim invaders. These countries are realizing the threat and dangers these dissimilar individuals pose and starting to respond with force.

To be honest, It was stupidity on the part of Germany and others to expect people from different countries with a Muslim religion that espouses hatred, intolerance and violence and against women, to conduct themselves in a reasonable fashion. Germany and others are beginning to wake up to that realization. Simply put, if people don't share your collective values, things won't go well.

Again, I have said it remains to be seen if that is true, with regards to the Air Traffic Controllers. I never said it was or it wasn't. However, considering how DEI Initiatives have permeated every part of the U.S Government, I thought it was at least, possible. Maybe this detailed explanation with regards to DEI practices will give you a better understanding of what I am talking about. Probably not, though. If you want to make something more out of that in pursuit of an agenda known only to you, have at it. I stand on what I said based on what I have seen, not what I have read, like you have.

https://blog.obws.com/list-of-corpor...i-initiatives/

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/16/dei...meta-mcdonalds

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/p...from-pentagon/

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/def...-no-exceptions

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/...-16616704.html

https://www.newsx.com/us-elections-2...ings-and-more/

Now this came as a surprise for me, as I see USA as a friend-Even though Trump have threaten Denmark, if they don't sell Greenland to him.

Quote:

It was conducted by YouGov for the international media outlet the Guardian and was made against the backdrop of weeks of tensions between Denmark and the United States, after President Donald Trump declared that he wants to take control of Greenland and buy the country.

https://ekstrabladet-dk.translate.go..._x_tr_pto=wapp

Markus

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buddahaid (Post 2942098)

Look in the mirror. There has already been one special election for the senate that MAGA lost by a large margin in a Trump plus twenty-one area. :har:

What are you blathering on about now Mister change the subject?

Speaking about changing the subject:

Interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. has made a bold move, dismissing about 30 federal prosecutors involved in the Capitol riot cases. This decision, announced on Friday, signals a significant housecleaning of the top prosecutor's office in Washington, D.C., as Martin gears up to purge partisans who weaponized the Justice Department against Joe Biden’s political enemies, including Trump, pro-life activists, and others.

But he’s also taken another bold step, effectively launching an investigation into Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over comments he made back in March 2020 during a #MyRightMyDecision rally outside the Supreme Court. During the rally, Schumer blatantly threatened Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch over their potential votes in the first abortion case before the Supreme Court with the new conservative majority.

“I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh: You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price,” Schumer said to a chorus of cheers. “You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”

According to 18 U.S. Code § 115, whoever threatens a federal official, “with intent to impede, intimidate, or interfere with such official, judge, or law enforcement officer while engaged in the performance of official duties, or with intent to retaliate against such official, judge, or law enforcement officer on account of the performance of official duties, shall be punished” by a fine or imprisonment of as much as ten years.

Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, has been calling on Schumer to be federally prosecuted for years.

“Schumer should have been (and should be) criminally prosecuted for his threats targeting two Supreme Court justices,” Fitton wrote.

“If I had said that, I'd have two U.S. marshals in my office, or frankly, probably in my home in the least, questioning me, questioning my family, questioning everyone here at Judicial Watch,” he said back in 2022. “Anyone else I had talked to about that threat on the Supreme Court, Justice Roberts responded, rightly so, said that type of language is dangerous.”

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/20...ation-n4936581

Just checking in.
Good thing I was ready!

https://c.tenor.com/9VkGCZY2zjMAAAAd/popcorn-eating.gif