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I summarised Heather Cox Richard’s update for what happened in the US since Friday. What a shit storm. Trump’s administration has frozen government funding, leaving many Americans struggling. Farmers who had contracts with the USDA to improve infrastructure were left without promised financial assistance. Democratic-led states are suing to challenge these funding cuts, while Republican-led states, despite being hit harder, are seeking direct exceptions from Trump. Trump’s appointee, Russell Vought, shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, calling it a shakedown mechanism for leftist groups. This move has sparked legal action, with the National Treasury Employees Union suing over what they claim is an unlawful shutdown. Vice President J.D. Vance and other MAGA figures have suggested they may defy court rulings, drawing sharp criticism from Chief Justice John Roberts, who called such ideas dangerous and unacceptable. The American Bar Association has also condemned the administration for undermining the rule of law, urging elected officials and attorneys to push back. Five former Treasury secretaries have warned that democracy is under siege, particularly as Trump and his team attempt to politicize the U.S. Treasury. Trump even suggested that the U.S. might not honor its debt, a direct challenge to the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees the validity of public debt. Meanwhile, Trump continues to purge officials he deems insufficiently loyal. He has fired key government watchdogs, including the heads of the Federal Elections Commission, National Archives, Office of Government Ethics, and Office of Special Counsel. Some of these officials, like U.S. Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, are now suing over their removals, claiming they were illegal.

Not in America it isn't. The 2 party system is in control. Until that changes, any vote for anything other than R or D is a wasted vote.

Hi Joe, I'm with you. Just not in that verbiage. IMO anyone who did not vote should not discuss the results. Jerry Baumchen PS) Those not eligible to vote to be excluded; i.e., our friends to the north.

Lame in spades. You had your shot at being a conservative voice of reason before you pretty pretend voted in your mind. I did vote for my nations next leader and now have the earned voice to talk about it good or bad. You are just another one of the 90+ million who should be as silent as your non vote deserves while the rest of us who actually gave a shit work the problem.

Small things add up. Details matter.

I disagree. A big problem with a two party system that is inherently broken is that nobody challenges it. Voting independent is very different to not voting.

Good luck on getting a pass with that. This will go down as the most consequential, and likely the most harmful to our nation, election in our lifetimes and possibly beyond. Reality: if you didn't vote for Harris or Trump you didn't vote. Bottom line: democracy isn't for voyeurs. I mean seriously, as a thinking person how can you justify abrogating such an important duty when the impact of the past election was so clear? Are you truly at peace with your example? Can you imagine standing in front of a 10th grade class and explaining to them why sitting out important elections is the right and responsible thing to do on occasion?

Thing is dude, you said that about people who thought Trump's idea was the permanent relocation of Palestinians out of Gaza. And he has since made it explicitly, undeniably clear that he really does want to ethnically cleanse Gaza by permanently relocating all the Palestinians. So it's kinda rich for you to imply that other people are being naive when you're going out of your way to not understand what's actually going on.

I’ll drop it and not keep harping on about it, although I’ll admit I’m surprised at your response. If it had said Go Home, but linked to the homepage I would agree that it was sloppy, poorly considered and potentially a little jab at minorities. The fact it didn’t link to the homepage but to a campaign video suggests wasn’t just a mistake. The white power agenda is growing at a shocking pace and it’s hard to keep up with the barrage of small things. It’s in plain sight with no attempt to hide it. Another example is NSA museum covering up plaques honouring non whites and women. https://www.tpr.org/2025-02-05/nsa-museum-covered-plaques-honoring-women-and-people-of-color-provoking-an-uproar

But are you mad enough to bang your cow bells?

The bump/oscillation jump is the most messed up issue in the Vortex. Cooper jumped at 8:11 almost exactly. I have new data. FALSE.. Anderson did not say they discussed it for minutes then the bump occurred. I monitored the gauges and reported to Captain Scott. We all agreed that the gauges were detecting a disruption of airflow, most likely caused by Cooper testing out the aft stairs. But we all felt one physically distinguishable "bump" with our ears which came abruptly after we had been monitoring the gauges. We all felt it almost in unison, surprised, "there he goes!" It was the largest bump by far, an abrupt pressure change. We all thought he had exited the aircraft at that point, because the gauges never detected any further major airflow disruptions after that ‘thud’. The re-test duplicated the oscillations and the pressure bump exactly. It was very dark, with virtually no ground reference except when we got in the Portland area. We bounced around the clouds, with occasional breaks. The 727’s slipstream initially overcame the aft stairs hydraulic system. The stairs weren’t opening like Cooper needed. Cooper called me on the interphone while Tina was riding up front with us. Cooper had let Tina come to the front. He yelled, "slow it down!." I stated back to Cooper, "OK." And we did; we slowed the plane. The oscillations continued, as I remember, but were smoother and we hadn’t heard anything from Cooper. Bill called back to him and he finally answered. He said everything was “OK”. More time passed. And then suddenly came that “bump”. After the final "bump" which we felt with our ears, we all discussed it for awhile, waiting for another bump. It never repeated, so we assumed that was his exit. But we discussed this among ourselves before notifying NWA. The truth is, we just didn't know for sure. I just don't recall how much time lapsed between feeling the final "bump" and reporting it to NWA via radio. That’s where the uncertainty has come from. But later we all thought that final bump was his exit.

He says he wants Canada for our resources. We have no real problem with selling resources to the US. Exporting resources starting with beaver pelts has always been a huge part of our economy. The original free trade agreement was all about ensuring access to our oil reserves from the American point of view. The US is naturally the best and easiest place for us to market our abundant supplies of certain natural resources and we are happy to do business with our neighbours. What we don't want is medical bankruptcies and regular school shootings. Or a dominant Christian right wing limiting our freedoms. So no thanks to any sort of union. And also, this talk about a 51st state? Ten provinces and 3 territories would never consent to having their power limited to that of one state. It would take a determined military invasion to accomplish that. The US might win if it had to. But it would have to face a conflict that would make the Russia versus Ukraine battle look mild. And you would have to know that we would be sure to take the fight deep into their territory. Something they have not had to face for a very long time.

The HIrisPlex-S DNA test system is capable of simultaneously predicting eye, hair and skin color phenotypes from DNA. What we do know from Cooper's own lips, is that he was a traveler. He had been in the Midwest and Minnesota specifically. He said he wasnt taking the plane to Cuba. At one point he said the plane could not land anywhere in the USA. He specified going to Mexico City! He had social awareness of the world situation at the time. He wanted out of the grasp of law enforcement but then he bails just north of Portland. He is on the run to something ... above all he does not want to be apprehended and linked to a hijacking. The money makes him highly vulnerable ... nothing in his reported grammar suggests a Spanish speaker! Its an interesting combination of traits and history ...

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