Well... it's Trump... again. #47, here we go.

[Derec]

It's not Trump, but because it's a Florida Republican...close enough.

She could just depose Kevin Costner and Wayne Knight.

Close enough.

 

[Derec]

Yes but GOP/Republicans claim to be free market capitalists hence my comment. And they conflate it with an unregulated market. Then claim regulation = socialism/communism, whatever scare word.

Not that Republicans cannot be hypocrites on the issue of free market (just look at their efforts to keep weed illegal!) but this is one of those issues.
It's not that they are trying to prevent businesses and consumers to use paper straws (nobody likes paper straws!), but rather he is undoing Biden's EO to ban plastic ones. And also, there is the issue of states and local governments banning or restricting single use plastic as well, which is also not exactly "free market".

 

[Derec]

In an interview FOTUS says he wants to relocation the 1.9 million Palestinians... but population estimates put the Palestinian population at around 2.1 to 2.2 million before the war. Is this an admission the government estimates a couple hundred thousand have been killed instead of the long out of date numbers that are occasionally used? Or is he just pulling numbers out of his ass again?

A lot of people with dual passports had left through Rafah in the early months of the war. Also, a lot of Gazans had gofundmes to raise money to bribe the Egyptian border guards to let them through.
Crowdfunding and suitcases full of cash: How Gazans seeking to escape war are paying to flee to Egypt

 

[Derec]

It's actually 7.8 trillion, and half of that occurred before the pandemic -- the 2017 tax cut was a result of the Repubs having unrestricted power. In other words, debt that didn't have to happen, but was incurred to please the donor class. Just like the situation this year; what's to stop them? Lots more debt on the way. Funny how the Repubs never go on about "How will you pay for that?" when they run the show.

I agree that Trump's tax cuts increased the deficit substantially. But those were dwarfed by Pandemic deficits. And note that after the Pandemic, the Biden administration continued the Trump's pre-Pandemic trendline - instead of reducing deficits below Trump's pre-Pandemic levels, Biden's spending spree kept increasing them further.


Note that in this graph for some reason the year tick marks do not line up with dots. The bottom is actually 2020 deficit, and the last one on the right is 2024.

Edited to add: I also made this graph. It's deficit as percent of GDP, and here tick marks line up.

As you can see, while the graph is less steep than the nominal dollar deficit one, Biden still managed to increase the deficit compared with pre-Pandemic Trump deficit. In 2019, deficit was 4.57%, in 2024 it was 6.28%. For comparison, Germany had a deficit of about 2.5% of its GDP for the last three years.
Both sides suck ass when it comes to fiscal responsibility.

 

[Derec]

Trump wants to slash regulations on business and personal freedom that Conservatives don't approve, but he wants more stringent regulation of personal freedom issues that Conservatives disapprove of. The usual old-fashioned double standard.

True. Both sides have areas where they want to dictate how people should behave.
And unfortunately, in the area of sex work, illiberal left and the illiberal right agree with each other's illiberalism.

 

[laughing dog]

So, it is NOT A FACT that only white farmers are having their farmland appropriated, but that is a fear.
If an ethnic or racial group owned 70% of the farmland, it is reasonable they would bear that proportion of the expropriation.
Please do not confuse my concern with separating fact from speculation with approval.

Again, even BBC admits that the goal of the land stealing law by the South African government is to redistribute land on a racial basis.

Shift the goal posts much? It is not a fact that only white farmers are having their farmland appropriated. At this point, there is no reports that I have seen of any land having been redistributed.

And, of course, the issue that Trump's executive order is for white farmers just files by your "race blind" radar.

For someone who allegedly despises Trump, you're doing a like of whiteknighting here for him.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Where in the heck do you eat out. I've never seen a person be forced to use a paper straw.

It was more of a fad 3-4 years ago. Some restaurants had switched to paper straws for a time. Starbucks also dabbled in them.

Where was the force?

 

[laughing dog]

Where in the heck do you eat out. I've never seen a person be forced to use a paper straw.

It was more of a fad 3-4 years ago. Some restaurants had switched to paper straws for a time. Starbucks also dabbled in them.

Where was the force?

JH - there was no choice of straws. Either use the paper one or don't drink!!!

 

[crazyfingers]

Appeals court refuses to overturn lower court order that the government continue continue spending that's already required by law.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected a Trump administration push to reinstate a sweeping pause on federal funding, a decision that comes after a judge found the administration had not fully obeyed an earlier order.

The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned back the emergency appeal, the latest in a string of court losses that is increasingly frustrating top administration officials as it slows President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging agenda.

Appeals court rejects Trump administration push to reinstate spending freezes on grants and loans

A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected a Trump administration push to reinstate a sweeping pause on federal funding, a decision that comes after a judge found the administration had not fully obeyed an earlier order.

apnews.com

 

[Shadowy Man]

There will be so many cases that the Supreme Court won’t be able to take them all.

 

[bilby]

So, it is NOT A FACT that only white farmers are having their farmland appropriated, but that is a fear.
If an ethnic or racial group owned 70% of the farmland, it is reasonable they would bear that proportion of the expropriation.
Please do not confuse my concern with separating fact from speculation with approval.

Again, even BBC admits that the goal of the land stealing law by the South African government is to redistribute land on a racial basis.

How does that differ from the way that the exact same land was allocated to the forefathers of its current owners?

Your only grounds for complaint here seems to be that you thought that the game was over, but it turns out it was just the half-time break, and your team (who dominated the first half) are now getting thrashed in the second.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Things are magnitudes worse than I thought they'd be. There is so much bullshit flying around with this Administration, it is easy to miss things, such as...

• To the maximum extent permitted by law, DOT-supported or -assisted programs and activities, including without limitations, all DOT grants, loans, contracts, and DOT-supported or -assisted State contracts, shall prioritize projects and goals that:
  • utilize user-pay models;
  • direct funding to local opportunity zones where permitted;
  • to the extent practicable, relevant, appropriate, and consistent with law, mitigate the unique impacts of DOT programs, policies, and activities on familiars and family-specific difficulties, such as the accessibility of transportation to families with young children, and give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average (including in administering Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment Grant program);
  • ...

WTF?! You can tell they know it is bullshit, because they preface it with "practicable, relevant, appropriate, and consistent with law".

This isn't out of the blue either.

Vice President JD Vance has long expressed concern about declining birth rates, citing national economic needs as well as the inherent value of children.

Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn raised the idea of tying transportation funding to population growth during Duffy's confirmation hearing.

"People are leaving some of these blue states and coming to places like Tennessee," she said. "And this means that we need to look at where those federal highway dollars are spent and placing them in areas with growing needs rather than areas that are losing population."

This again pushes the narrative that pro-life is nothing but a movement to get women back in the home, and nothing to do with the lives of the unborn.

 

[ZiprHead]

Where in the heck do you eat out. I've never seen a person be forced to use a paper straw.

It was more of a fad 3-4 years ago. Some restaurants had switched to paper straws for a time. Starbucks also dabbled in them.

Where was the force?

JH - there was no choice of straws. Either use the paper one or don't drink!!!

I almost never use straws. I just drink from the glass like a normal person. And the ice is at the top so the drink is colder.

The soda fountains in the forties and fifties used paper straws. There were no plastic straws. And there were no PFAS then too.

The paper straws do not need to be made using PFAS. And frankly, PFAS are almost everywhere around us.

PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that have been used since the 1940s in household products and industrial settings. They are used mainly for their ability to repel oil, grease, water, and heat. We are exposed to PFAS from a variety of sources in everyday life. Stain-resistant carpeting, nonstick cookware, grease- and water-proof food packaging, fabric softeners, waterproof clothing, cosmetics, and many other products contain this class of chemicals.

Step 1: What are PFAS and Where Did They Come From? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension

PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that have been used since the 1940s in household products and industrial settings. They are used mainly for their ability to repel oil, grease, water, and heat. We are exposed to PFAS from a variety of sources in...

extension.umaine.edu

Paper straws have become almost ubiquitous in bars and fast-food outlets as the hospitality industry has rushed to ditch plastic in response to a consumer backlash. But while they may not linger in the environment for 300 years or so like those made of plastic, paper straws leave a lot to be desired.

A recent study has also highlighted another potential concern. Paper straws assessed by researchers at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, were found to contain more "forever chemicals" – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS – than plastic. These long-lasting PFAS can stay in the environment for decades, can contaminate water supplies, and are associated with a range of health problems. (Read more about where forever chemicals come from, how long they last for and how we could clean them up.)

So, we've got 300 years vs decades.

Plastic or paper? The truth about drinking straws

The backlash against single-use plastics has seen a growing market for paper, metal, glass and plant-based straws. But is the choice between them really a simple one?

www.bbc.com

And frankly plastics straws contain there own health risks.

Exposure to plastics can increase the risk of many health problems, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and reproductive issues.

How plastics can harm health

• Microplastics
  These tiny pieces of plastic are found in many parts of the human body, including breast milk, the placenta, and the heart. They've been linked to cardiovascular disease, low male fertility, and respiratory complications.
  
  
• Chemicals
  Chemicals in plastics can cause cancer, metabolic disorders, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
  
  • Endocrine disruption
    Chemicals in plastics can act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are linked to infertility, obesity, diabetes, and more.
    

Who is most at risk

• • Women and children are particularly susceptible to the toxic chemicals in plastics.
    
  • Informal waste pickers who sort through landfills are exposed to hazardous materials and fumes from burning waste.
    

 

[Shadowy Man]

It’s official!!

 

[KCFlyer]

View attachment 49399
It’s official!!

YEs, we officially look like idiots.

 

[Shadowy Man]

View attachment 49399
It’s official!!

YEs, we officially look like idiots.

That already happened. This is even newer.

 

[TomC]

View attachment 49399
It’s official!!

Renaming things could be fun.

How about the first hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast of America gets named Hurricane Donald J?
Or maybe save that name for the first one that hits southern Florida. Call the first to hit Texas "Hurricane Abbott".
Tom

 

[Shadowy Man]

View attachment 49399
It’s official!!

Renaming things could be fun.

How about the first hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast of America gets named Hurricane Donald J?
Or maybe save that name for the first one that hits southern Florida. Call the first to hit Texas "Hurricane Abbott".
Tom

Well, after they disband NOAA and privatize the National weather service, perhaps the naming of hurricanes will be up for bid.

 

[crazyfingers]

View attachment 49399
It’s official!!

Renaming things could be fun.

How about the first hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast of America gets named Hurricane Donald J?
Or maybe save that name for the first one that hits southern Florida. Call the first to hit Texas "Hurricane Abbott".
Tom

Well, after they disband NOAA and privatize the National weather service, perhaps the naming of hurricanes will be up for bid.

Ya I read that the Associated Press still referred to the Gulf of Mexico ad the Gulf of Mexico and as punishment were barred from the White House press core. That 3 year olds Trump and his gang are.

 

[crazyfingers]

Well, after they disband NOAA and privatize the National weather service, perhaps the naming of hurricanes will be up for bid.

I don't know if there have been firings yet at the National Weather Service but it seems to me that the forecast accuracy is already getting worse. The Local TV station does a better job forecasting storms. The NWS radically changed their forecast for the rest of this week three times today over the course of one hour. It feels like they are just letting the computers run the forecast with no human involvement.

Regarding NOAA, I wonder if Musk will consider Hurricane forecasting to be unnecessary.