2025 American Political (ob-?)Scene
- Thread starter JRT
- Start date
DOR
Voter
Mr President, someone is lying to you.
I’d like to know who told this administration that the reason for federal budget deficits is federal employment.
Whoever that was, whatever his or her affiliation or motivation, he or she is wrong.
Over the past 45 years, since 1980, the population of the United States increased by an average 0.89% per annum.
I’d like to know who told this administration that the reason for federal budget deficits is federal employment.
Whoever that was, whatever his or her affiliation or motivation, he or she is wrong.
Over the past 45 years, since 1980, the population of the United States increased by an average 0.89% per annum.
- Federal revenues? +5.6% p.a.
- Federal spending? +5.2% p.a.
- Federal employment? +0.03% p.a.
DOR
Voter
Someone asked "Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?"
Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England, wrote this magnificent response:
"A few things spring to mind.
Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.
For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace - all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing - not once, ever.
I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility - for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.
But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is - his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.
And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults - he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface.
Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.
Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.
And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.
Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.
He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.
He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.
That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.
There are unspoken rules to this stuff - the Queensberry rules of basic decency - and he breaks them all. He punches downwards - which a gentleman should, would, could never do - and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless - and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority - perhaps a third - of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think 'Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
* Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
* You don't need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.
After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.
He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.
In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:
'My God… what… have… I… created?
If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set."
Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England, wrote this magnificent response:
"A few things spring to mind.
Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.
For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace - all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing - not once, ever.
I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility - for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.
But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is - his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.
And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults - he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface.
Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.
Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.
And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.
Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.
He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.
He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.
That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.
There are unspoken rules to this stuff - the Queensberry rules of basic decency - and he breaks them all. He punches downwards - which a gentleman should, would, could never do - and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless - and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority - perhaps a third - of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think 'Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
* Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
* You don't need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.
After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.
He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.
In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:
'My God… what… have… I… created?
If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set."
Monash
Military Professional
And now on political news of a lighter note. Reports have been sighted quoting President Trump as saying 'it would be a good idea if the US joined the British Commonwealth'. For all our American members I will be posting the words to God Save The King on here just so you can all learn them in preparation for future use. :smile:
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Amled
Well-known member
I'll just get you started: "God Save our Gracious King, God..."!!!:smile::smile::smile:
Of course an expanded Commonwealth would have to have an emperor...!
Monash
Military Professional
Freddie Mercury Rules!
tbm3fan
Defense Professional
For some reason I am having a hard time picturing that...
Monash
Military Professional
What? The Colonel, glass of whiskey in hand rocking away late one winters night to Bohemian Rhapsody at full volume? :smile:
Gun Grape
Resident Curmudgeon
tbm3fan
Defense Professional
That does help me picture it now, GG, although I kinda want to also un-picture it...
Monash
Military Professional
She's baaak! :biggrin:
Officer of Engineers
Military Professional
SECSTATE has a need-to-know. Military strikes in absence of war smacks of foreign policy. But that's not the question. The question is how the hell did a group chat replaced a war room?
Monash
Military Professional
One assumes this was because they were all 'busy' people and as such 'silly' rules don't apply to them. Mind you I can't imagine who they'd be using as a role model for that kind of behavior, it's a complete mystery to me.
tbm3fan
Defense Professional
One assumes this was because they were all 'busy' people and as such 'silly' rules don't apply to them. Mind you I can't imagine who they'd be using as a role model for that kind of behavior, it's a complete mystery to me.
Not Ready For Prime Time.
Now have there been other discussions on Signal which avoid all recording for documentation purposes?
Monash
Military Professional
We'll never be allowed to find out until or unless the dems get back into office and order a review to see if any foreign government have been getting access to classified materiel that way over the past four years. And of course if there were such governments what if any secret information was compromised and what needs to be done to repair the damage.
Officer of Engineers
Military Professional
On what freaking planet?
Officer of Engineers
Military Professional
I have always said that Japan and South Korea hate each other more than they fear China. That's why you will never see an alliance between the two. It took Trump to make a fool out of me. What's worst, there's an alliance between C H I N A , South Korea, and Japan. Who the hell saw this coming?