Posts Made By: James Lacey

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

The latest from Trump on Hamas disarming, a key point in the peace deal:

"President Trump said Tuesday he expected Hamas to decommission its weapons as stipulated in the negotiated peace agreement, or the U.S. would step in."

“They’re going to disarm, because they said they were going to disarm,” Trump said. “And if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5555070-trump-hamas-disarmament-gaza/

In other words, we'd have to put troops on the ground to do it. I'd be skeptical about Trump actually doing it, particularly after claiming now to have ended eight wars.

I will give Trump credit, however, for actions related to getting the hostages back and for bombing the Iranian nuke sites (despite the equivocal results), something other presidents have inferred but had never did, so at least as far as the middle east is considered, he is being taken seriously.

If only he'd be as aggressive in aiding Ukraine against the continual Russian assaults--here he talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk...

If there is one thing about Trump that we have learned, it's that he talks too much and is indiscreet and careless. It's the main reason he's earned the moniker TACO.

It will be interesting to see if he gives Ukraine Tomahawks, as this would represent a significant escalation in capability for Ukraine to strike deep into Russia. As long as the Putin regime doesn't see an existential threat, I doubt they will respond in kind with nukes, but they certainly will have a response, and it will likely be significant, at least in the short term. Perhaps it will prompt Russia to negotiate for peace with realistic concessions, but then again, maybe not. It's a gamble for sure.

Originally Posted by Jim Moscheck

With the prices of beef and especially steaks I don't think the cattle ranchers are doing too bad. Prices are at least 40% higher than when I sold my business 2.5 years ago. I used to eat steak quite a bit, but now it's like once a month if that. I do have to quench that craving once in a while after eating way too much chicken. Good thing I like chicken and know how to cook and grill it in different ways, but in the end it's still chicken. Too much of anything isn't good. At least I don't have to resort to eating the dogs as dear leader once said. LOL.

I went to Lowe's over the weekend to buy a few items to repot and hang a plant. I purchased five items:

1. An eight-inch pot,
2. a macrame plant hanger,
3. a hook for the ceiling,
4. a chain to extend down from the ceiling,
5. and a saucer for the bottom of the pot.

It came to almost $70. I was flabbergasted at the prices, to say the least. The nursery was full of fall plants, but no one was there buying a thing. I chatted with the cashier, and she said no one is buying anything because the prices are too high. I looked at some fall plants but decided to skip them this year. A six-inch pot of lavender was $25! I've started propagating plants from my own yard and from neighbors' yards at this point.

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

"Newly released inflation figures show that President Donald Trump was wrong when he repeatedly claimed this month that grocery prices are “down” or “way down.”

"They were up, again, last month. And they have increased since the start of his presidency."


" There have been particularly sharp increases since September 2024 in the prices of coffee (up 18.9%) and beef and veal (up 14.7%). Overall consumer prices are up 3.0% since September 2024."

"...food economists like Michigan State University professor David Ortega say two of Trump’s signature policies – tariffs on imported goods (including food) and a crackdown on undocumented immigrants (who make up a large percentage of the US farm workforce) – have clearly contributed to the increases in grocery prices this year."

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/politics/fact-check-grocery-prices-trump

This week, health insurance consumers on the ACA marketplace began getting their first look at 2026 premium hikes, and sticker shock hardly describes what they are seeing. Most consumers are seeing at least a 100% rate increase, but increases of 160% or higher are not unheard of. When I checked prices back in 2024, I was looking at about $700-$800 per month; now it's twice that amount, almost $1,500 per month. And there is no other recourse, since catastrophic plans are not available to older Americans and would not cover pre-existing conditions anyway. Some have suggested using a Direct Primary Care service, coupled with indemnity plans (catastrophic, accidental, hospital, etc.), to help manage an unexpected tragedy. But again, indemnity plans do not cover pre-existing conditions. Even if they do, they have long waiting periods before coverage is available, and from what I could tell, they have so many exclusions that they are almost worthless. So, if you are an older American with pre-existing conditions who can't get on Medicare yet, your only real choice is ACA, or risk it and go uninsured.

Even the ACA plans are pretty bad. The lowest-level bronze plan I can get has a premium of $1,500 per month and a $7,500 deductible, with 50% co-insurance for hospital stays after you meet the deductible. So, for something like a $100,000 hospital stay, the typical cost for coronary bypass surgery, you will pay the $18,000 per year premium, plus the $7,500 deductible, plus the 50% co-insurance for a total of $18,000 + $7,500 + 0.50($100,000 - $7,500) = $71,750! What the heck is the insurance for exactly?

Something is going to have to change, that's for sure. Our national leaders have been failing us on healthcare for a long time.

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

"Trump argued polls shows the shutdown, which Wednesday set a record for the longest in history, “was a big factor, negative, for the Republicans.” He also suggested his absence on the ballot was a factor."

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5590479-trump-shutdown-election-blame/

Hmm, how about high prices, tariffs and and "only the best people" in his government? Military in the streets of US cities? ICE? How about TRUMP?!...

The curse of the majority party is that they always get blamed for everything, but in Trump's case, I think it's well deserved!

1. Everything costs more, and high prices is something Trump said he would fix from day one, and honestly he's only made the problem worse.
2. The tariffs are hugely unpopular, and most Americans realize they are a massive part of the problem regarding costs. All the chaos and turmoil he has caused with them has primarily been for nothing.
3. ICE and the punitive and aggressive form of its immigration enforcement are also hugely unpopular outside of the MAGA crowd. It's hard not to see the massive increase in ICE spending and its tactics as overreach, without any checks and balances on its power.
4. The budget deficit is ballooning under Trump, again. Can we please finally dispel the myth that Republicans are more fiscally responsible than Democrats?
5. Trump's style and structure are polarizing and undermine bipartisanship at almost every turn.
6. Executive overreach and the unprecedented use of the Supreme Court's emergency docket are unsettling, to say the least.
7. The clown show of a cabinet that amounts to little more than under-qualified sycophants and loyalists.
8. A lack of ability to govern or compromise and an insistence that they have a mandate, when clearly they do not. I haven't viewed the Republican Party as a competent governing party for a long time now.

And that's just what I can come up with,  without much prior thought!

Originally Posted by James Brown

I am pleased the Democrats on this forum have apparently not taken the bait and started acting like the Epstein files are the "big thing" that will truly, seriously, and finally take Trump down.   The big bombshell of three emails released by the Democrats to distract from their own government shutdown humiliation are perhaps the biggest dud in a long history of pseudo-scandals designed to take Trump down.  Seriously, how can they be so stupid?   How can they be so out of touch?

This column by Phillip Bump is representative.  There are lot's more.  With so many legitimate reasons for a democrat or independent to dislike Trump or his policies, why must the hard left and their allies in the press keep chasing after chicken little stories.  "A widening sinkhole..." sheesh.  What a rube.

https://www.ms.now/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-epstein-emails-files-republican-allies-rcna243787

The recently released emails actually make Trump look pretty good, at least for Trump.

I'm completely skeptical that any scandal could ever touch Trump. But there are some real risks for Trump regarding the Epstein files. For example, he was clearly associated with Epstein. He had a long-standing social relationship, and this has hurt his reputation not only among moderates and swing voters, but even among some of his hard-core MAGA supporters (i.e., MTG). Trump said as a campaign promise he would release the Epstein files, which he could have done a long time ago, but he's clearly been stalling. It finally took a veto-proof vote in Congress to make it happen. This has cost him a lot of credibility among even his most ardent supporters.

Of course, Trump is pushing back and calling it all a Democratic hoax, and the emails released prove only that he's innocent. In other words, it's a classic Trump reaction of doubling down and gaslighting.

My guess? It's not game over for Trump, but it's going to hurt the Republicans even more in the upcoming midterms. Coupled with the cost of living, skyrocketing healthcare costs, and other Trump and Republican policies that are clearly hurting the American people, especially Trump's most ardent supporters, it's just one more serious warning sign for the 2026 mid-term elections.

Originally Posted by David Cotterell

I have a side question:  WHERE are the files? In whose possession are they at this time? At what location?  If they are released someone has to release them. Who is this person?  Or group of people...  

 Are the files entirely digital on hard drives, mainframes or jump drives or equivalent?  If they are all digital, are there back ups?  Back ups of the back ups? Kept in different locations?

OR 

Are the files written documents on paper, in notebooks, diaries,  binders/file boxes or whatever? Stored in a fire-proof safe somewhere?  Are these backed up?  Physically or digitally or both?

I have this sort of 'Nicolas Cage movie plot' in my brain that should the release be voted upon favourably there will be a person or small group of persons who will completely and utterly destroy the files and the back ups - either ordered from above or on their own initiative...  

As for what I think is in the files - I'm firmly in the camp saying, "If you are not in the files and are not guilty then why haven't you released them ages ago to prove your innocence?"

The kid-glove treatment of Ms. Maxwell, the goalpost moving statements of Megyn Kelly (15 is not 8), and the unending efforts to block the release of the documents for years all point to Trump and others being guilty as hell of sexual contact with children 15 or younger.

I also believe Trump will die before he ever has to face justice...  

Dave

He will definitely never have to face justice. We mostly suck at holding the wealthy and powerful accountable, and it's even worse for our federal leaders, especially the sitting President. People you and I have never heard of will be held to account for what is in the Epstein files, and Trump will at most suffer some political cost.

I think the Epstein files are everything you mentioned: digital media, physical media, etc. But also stuff like Epstein's "black book," flight logs, court records, legal filings, images, videos, emails, and so on. It's a ton of stuff. They are not releasing everything, though. Some stuff remains under seal, and of course, some is heavily redacted. The DOJ and FBI will withhold more to protect certain information, such as victim identities.

Originally Posted by william chiu

Things happen when uniparty unifies.

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/18/nx-s1-5612504/trump-saudi-arabia-mbs-khashoggi

An inspiration for journalists all over.  Gaza still hiring those with bullet proof stamina.

The Trump family's business ties to Saudi Arabia are all you need to know about why Trump is making excuses for the Crown Prince, and why he's allowing them to have F-35 fighter jets. I guarantee you the Trump family will make millions, if not billions of dollars, off of business dealings with Saudi Arabia in the coming years and decades. This is yet another example of a scandal that would plague any other Presidency, yet because it's Trump, we barely notice and instead only deliver a loud collective yawn, because it's just one more outrage on top of the hundreds and thousands of others he's racked up while in office.

But hey! Meanwhile, a 63-year-old man who retired early to take care of his wife with Alzheimer's related dementia is seeing his health insurance cost go up by 114% in 2026. America First! Am I right?

Originally Posted by william chiu

Incredible abstinence by Russia and Ghina.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/un-approves-u-s-plan-authorizing-an-international-stabilization-force-in-gaza

Thanksgiving in Palestine becomes a reality.

It's a good first step, but that's all it is, a tiny first step. Unfortunately, Palestine is still a long way from a Thanksgiving toast or celebration.

Originally Posted by James Brown

I would think the cake is baked for the 2026 midterms.  For the reasons you listed, plus the fact that American voters always seem to vote against the party in power in a midterm.  It is an unwritten check on the executive, which I think is a nice feature of our system.

Yeah, I don't see how they can undo the damage they have done. Affordability of everything is atrocious: food, housing, healthcare, transportation, etc. Trump and his advisors pulled another TACO and lowered tariffs on goods like beef, coffee, soybeans, cocoa, fruits and vegetables, etc., in an attempt to lower grocery store prices, but it will take time for any of it to have an effect. And as you said, the party in power gets blamed for everything, whether they deserve it or not. In this case, I can confidently say they do. ICE's actions are also broadly unpopular. The Republicans essentially took the blame for the shutdown. Honestly, it's hard to find any silver linings for the Republican Party regarding the midterms right now.

Originally Posted by Jim Moscheck

BTW, this was a 1am post from Trump, probably while sitting on his gold plated thrown as he was struggling to pass the previous day's Big Macs, KFC, french fries, and diet cokes.  

Unfortunately, I think we have become numb to Trump's un-American and controversial rhetoric. It happens so often, and nothing ever comes of any of it, that we mostly ignore it as the actions of an overgrown man-child.