SomewhereonNeptune

So let me reiterate: We don't seem to be in an inflationary chasm if you consider that the latest numbers now show the lowest rate in 4 years. The consumer price index "rose" by the lowest rate. That is a far sight better than the 9% inflation we were experiencing under Biden. I agree that the prices for ordinary goods has risen since 2021 and discretionary incomes have fallen as a result. No disputing that. That seems to have abated in the past several months. Even the pesky price of eggs has fallen considerably -- I paid about $3.49 the other day, that was closer to $6 or $7 even a couple months ago. As for highways, bridges, etc., much of that work actually pre-dates the infrastructure bill. You're in Tampa. You see the work being done on I-275, but that's been the case since I first came down here in '04. And we've gotten a lot done on I-4, but not all of that was infrastructure bill either. I previously cited one project that proudly had a sign that it was funded by the infrastructure bill: ADA curbing on a busy street and sidewalk in a residential area north of Orlando where most people travel by car and there's nothing to walk to in close proximity. And the sign reminded me of that episode of The Office where they spent most of the money on the oversized check. If things are being funded by the bill, they needed to communicate that better or have printed diamond signs that depicted it.

You might want to look into the digital nomad visa arrangement that many of the EU countries are offering. I'm not a tax expert nor do I play one on TV, but you should consult one. Also, I understand that both Thailand and the Philippines are both offering digital nomad visas but for both of those countries you're barred from land ownership (downside), but the cost of living is much less and if you're into ladyboys and the trans scene, they'll definitely satisfy that itch.

"There are lies, damn lies, and statistics." - Mark Twain. I think my response was trying to capture the essence of deportations by President, and might not have done so well in that effort. So here are a couple infographics to illustrate. They capture slightly periods, and the whole discussion digressed, but I was trying to close off the point and hopefully these help. Actually, I think the poster has engaged a different cross-section of participation. I mean it somehow got me contributing and I know my views don't represent the larger group here in most cases. Not an easy task given he's in the UK and this is a very American topic. "Cut him some slack. Jack." 🙂

So far, you're correct. But if the data is correct, 11 million illegally crossed the borders from 2020 to 2025, the number includes jumpers through the Southern border as well as visa overstays and those through other means including human trafficking. Obama did it too. Obama also deported more illegal aliens than several other recent Presidents and started the family separation protocols, but this isn't something that our American media likes to cover. (And yes, I can find the stats on both). Not everyone in Europe is so anti-Trump. There was a political rally in Poland this past weekend where that was brought up in the same vein as border security and sovereignty, and the crowd seemed pretty keen on Trumps actions. Agreed @topblkmale. That has been a key difference in how the media wants to 'frame' the matter. 'No one's really an illegal immigrant'. Despite the fact that the 1996 Immigration Reform Act (quick quiz: Under which administration was that passed? Answer: William Jefferson Clinton's) made clear the penalties for unlawful entry to the United States, as well as for hiring those who've crossed the border and employers who hire them. That act has not been repealed. It's really simple. And having familiarity through friends and family, I understand how broken the system is, and I'd love to see it fixed and streamlined. We need immigration, there is a process, and the right way is to get in line, not pay Cartel Coyotes to traffic you across the border for tens of thousands of dollars or a lifetime of enslavement. We need the labor participation for a lot of jobs that go unfilled, but skirting the laws ain't the way to do it.

Yep. Absolutely correct. Can't dispute that fact, they sent him to the wrong place. Here's the problem I see. Let's quote that song from the 90's: "you don't have to go home But you can't stay here" We can't keep him, and we can't send him to El Salvador where he is a citizen. So that alone shouldn't qualify him for a life in the US or automatic citizenship. But where do you send him? I cannot imagine any other country who'd accept an asylum claim from him based on his background. Before we accidentally set some type of precedent, that asylum claim needs to be scrutinized as once it's used as a basis for future claims, I don't doubt that others will try to use that to skirt the actual reason for leaving their home country. And the majority of asylum claims are already invalid, so are we just inviting more? Asking the question more than having any answer because it ties everyone's hands.

Interesting strategy to reverse play the victim card. I'll need to keep that one in mind. 🤣 What I will not do is to attempt to victimize myself other than what the media has already chosen to manipulate. So let's examine how the media manipulates. It was the major media in the US that chose to call Abrego Garcia "Maryland Man", completely disavowing his association with MS-13. And he was ruled as deportable. Multiple times. So now the opposite party has chosen to embrace an MS-13 associate as the hill they'll die on because he wasn't given 'due process'. And that's certainly questionable because he had already been given that by Immigration Judges, and as a non-citizen, that is the due process to which he is entitled. Adding to that, we have activist judiciary who is demanding that he be returned, to which SCOTUS has replied that the administration should "facilitate" his return. As a citizen of El Salvador, his return is up to that sovereign nation, which has made it clear that they do not wish to release someone they also consider as a terrorist. They have trains in Australia? Who knew? 🤣🤣 Kidding aside, I can only go by your words as verbatim, so when you say "slave labourers", that can be a sensitive topic to the US based on its history, flawed as it is. But I'll try to address your points head-to-head. Yes, there have been furloughs of government workers. There have also been voluntary buyouts and much discussion over probationary workers losing their jobs. There are also a ton of workers who are likely not needed given our over bloated bureaucracy, so supposing that the US needs to bring spending back in line, we can either raise taxes on everyone (unpopular option for all and has detrimental impacts to the economy) or we can determine where we spend money and if that's what we want to do. Is it possible that some services are impacted? Sure, because anything is possible. Re: Australian Broadcasters. I can only imagine this to be comparable to the US media, but all we seem to see of your media in the US are funny bits from Karl Stefanovic and your Today show, or Sky News if we are streaming. Of course the US is not your government, so not sure of the depth of your coverage of our news versus your local events. As for the tariffs, it was always the stated case that the administration wanted to discuss fairer trade terms, and since there was no motivation for other countries to do so, tariffs were a way to bring people to the table. The EU has already stated their willingness to talk about equal tariffs; The UK has already signed a deal that opens their markets and reduces tariffs on their cars -- great if I want a good deal on a Jaguar or Land Rover. Others including China are following suit. And the losses from the stock market here have largely been clawed back. So we could continue to have shitty trade deals, markets closed to our goods, or induce negotiations. As to the points on judicial policies, this presents a test of the powers of the Executive Branch and what it can or cannot do. I personally think that any executive order should be followed by the actual legislation to codify that action into law. That our congress has failed to do so is appalling and lazy, and I lose all respect for Congress...or at least I like them less than hemorrhoids. 🤣 I mentioned that there was no proof of insider trading, but since our Congress seems to engage in those bits, we can either all get the benefit of Nancy Pelosi's stock picks, or our Department of Justice should prosecute all insider trading to the fullest extent. Everyone. Regardless of party. Make them felons and unable to run for office. Re: Arms dealers. I won't deny that's what we are. Or the military industrial complex that benefits from it including a lot of HUGE companies. Nonetheless, I'd rather that our economy benefits from that versus that of China. You know, since you wanted to mention "slave labour". 🤣 Feel free to ask what the Uyghurs are doing these days. 🙂 As to media bias, I thought I'd share this chart from All Sides, which independently audits and rates media coverage, and pretty fairly I'll add. Thanks though for a decent tete-a-tete. Much enjoyed. Peace!

And @viking8x6 is really pretty fair about moderating this stuff, and we've spoken about times when -- let's call it the 'non-left-view' -- tends to get short shrift from many, and in the past it's made me reluctant to enter into the Politics Forum here because often my views are about as popular as members of Congress, STIs, root-canal and cockroaches, not necessarily in that order. But because the non-left view does get criticized, I attempt to substantiate any point I make with a valid source or reference. Otherwise, I'm sure I'd get called out on anything that doesn't necessarily comport to much else than what might sound like a rant. So...to quote someone else, "thank fuck" that we have Viking around here, he's actually pretty fair. And I'll be the first to admit that forums don't do well with self-policing since I do a similar task on a more "SFW" website where volunteers also do the job. Thanks, Viking.

Foremost, nothing has actually been cut, so that's an inaccurate claim. Secondarily, you mention the deportation of "slave labourers". It interesting that the Democrats of the 1860's who were largely pro-slavery plantation owners in the Southern US and Democrats of 2025 are making very similar arguments of "who's going to pick our (insert cotton or produce here)?" So I don't mean to be crass but are you suggesting that we should be keeping people here in poor working conditions being paid low wages because we need them to do work? Then let's look at the "already biting costs of food & other items necessary for a reasonable quality of daily life". When did those costs really begin to inflate? I seem to recall that wasn't until Mr. Biden had been in office for more than a year. As for tariffs...I seem to be reading these to already be in negotiation. Our treasury secretary is meeting with China's representatives, and that's actually resulted in a major reduction of the tariffs before those can have major impact. But hey, which is better? Being able to buy cheap shit made in China by abusing intellectual property or having fair reciprocal trade rules? I'll take the latter every day, twice on Sunday. And where is the proof of that claim? If I were to sit here and make such a claim in a post, I can guarantee that I'd both be downvoted AND get penalty points on the post, but it's interesting that the counter-argumenters can make those claims scot free. So there's no proof of your claim of insider trading, though Nancy Pelosi and her cohorts in Congress seem to always have the inside track on good stock deals. Things that make you go Hmmmm... And I should point out that the same offer of the 747 was made to Biden, who turned it down. Trump accepted it. Up to our DOJ to make a determination of any gift given to the American government, but let' go back about 8 years to a discussion of replacing Air Force One. This was supposed to have cost billions of dollars and taken considerable time to do until Trump made a recommendation that would have reallocated another 747 that could be used more quickly. Eight years on, where's the new Air Force One? Didn't happen either. As for an arms deal, who benefits from that? Oh right! All those defense contractors who actually build that stuff, so it's revenue to them, not to Trump. He's just the guy that helped seal the deal for the Middle East nations to cozy up as our ally and buy from us. But would buying from Russia be better in your view? China? I think companies like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin would beg to differ. So If I were to make an outrageous claim, I need to substantiate it with all sorts of facts and references to make my point, but the counter-argument gets to go absolutely nuts because...well, it's Trump and people should hate him. But already you've gotten timing wrong on inflation and the like, neglecting to mention key facts, and you really want to suggest that you should get a free pass? And while you cite media, let's clarify that you're speaking of the same media that tried to gaslight the American people on Joe Biden's cognitive issues for months (MSNBC's Joe Scarborough's 'this is the best Joe Biden ever', etc.) only to come back when challenged on why they didn't do their job as journalists only to say that "(they're) looking forward" (Senator Schumer) or "these are backward looking statements" (Gov JB Pritzker). Then we have people like CNN's Jake Tapper who completely neglected coming clean about Biden's condition in order to write his tell-all admitting that he wasn't all there. You're talking about that media, right? Can you see why people in the US have an overwhelming distrust of the information they're getting from the media because of how that same media wants to craft its own narrative? Not all of them. You have a majority of Republicans in both houses, so you'd think all those folks would easily rubber stamp anything this President has done. Why then do we not have this "Big Beautiful Bill" or actual legislation crafted around all of these Executive Orders that the President has signed? Would it not stand to reason that if they were all standing behind him they'd be crafting laws to codify those orders? And why hasn't that even happened? I'll be clear. I'm not a Democrat. I can't tell you a single thing that they stand for other than screaming about Trump. But I think the Republicans have already had time to act on all of this stuff and haven't, so they're feckless too. So we may not be in total agreement, but we aren't in polar disagreement either and I think we can have spirited discussion based on the facts. And I'll be the first to say "you're right" when you have me on it. Just don't think that's slam dunk simple. 😀

With all due respect, do you have data to support that assertion? We don't seem to be in an inflationary chasm if you consider that the latest numbers now show the lowest rate in 4 years. I would like to better understand where the data shows that the economy was in sorrier shape from first to last day in office. We should also note that no one has really probed the Hunter Biden laptop where it depicted "10% for the big guy" and cut a series of other percentages. Did he profit? Not yet proven true or false, but lots of data to review if DOJ is inclined. Interesting side topic, though. The spending habit that we entered during the prior administration was marked by passage of new spending and continuation of a lack of fiscal oversight, where DOGE depicted some significant flaws in how the federal government actually tracks things like payments (they didn't very much) and lax accounting controls. We also allocated a LOT for things like the Infrastructure Bill ($1.2 trillion) and can't point to very much in the way of projects to which the monies were allocated. It could be argued that the additional spending was done pretty quickly and required the Federal Reserve to print money, thereby causing dilution that in turn spiked inflation in consumer prices. To counteract that, The Fed then decided that cooling inflation required raising interest rates, which in turn has had a chilling impact on the affordability of housing. It also froze the hiring market since companies couldn't predict how markets would expand or contract, so there are a lot of people that have been out of work and since fallen off the unemployment rolls. My own livelihood certainly took a hit and many others haven't recovered from that completely. In the classic sense, we didn't hit a traditional recession, but the economic indicators don't seem to paint a rosy picture of his stewardship. And prior to the election in '24, every single poll reflected that a majority of the electorate felt the economy had suffered during his administration, or that respondents had more confidence in Trump from an economic standpoint. I'll grant that the entirety wasn't his handiwork, but his cabinet and handlers weren't as focused on economics as they were on other concerns.

What on earth would be the point of that? Like wearing a raincoat in the shower. Or asking to be knocked up when you've been on PrEP for considerable time.

Or he could be like the hecklers who sit on the sidelines downvoting posts without having the courage to contribute and subject their own views to critique. Right? 😆

The highlighted section was what made me laugh, @harrysmith25. Not laughing at you, just at your sense of wit. Staggering Biden was overtaken by Collapsing Springsteen that's become viral on X today. Before I was just another Jersey boy who didn't like "The Boss". 🤣

If I could do that, I don't think I'd leave the house much. 🤣

More because seminal fluids are not as effective in carrying the HIV payload as blood, yes? Ya know, since your mileage may vary. 😉

Well put @nanana. The dreaded ⬇️ seems to come out and be wielded like knives when someone 'disagrees' or 'doesn't like' a post, regardless of merit or facts or the illustration of a position. I've already accepted that I'll post a position and cite data and if almost on queue, someone will emerge from the woodwork to downvote it rather than do something like state 'Here's why I disagree with your assertion'. Certain people will be reasonable. Others will be passive/aggressive. It's why we are so divided even within the more parochial LGBTQIA++ community. I picked this post out as an example that there is common ground on which many of us can agree. Biden did come out as an ally where Obama was politically posturing. I commend him for that. Just like I commend him for pushing for the funding for the Hudson River tunnels, improvements to rail in the Northeast corridor, and other commitments that were made at a federal level that people like Chris Christie and Donald Trump dismissed or ignored when they were clearly needed. And I think you'll find that most people don't harbor ill-will toward same sex couples. Our Presidents are imperfect. Our popes are imperfect, People in general are highly flawed, it's a very imperfect world and we're all human.

Do y'all remember back in July of 2022? Especially if you lived in the UK? That was my vacation. Wouldn't have been so bad in Florida, but much of the UK does not have air conditioning. Plus part of my plan was first to visit friends in Lincolnshire, then hop a train to Edinburgh before I learned that their rails seem to warp and airport tarmac tends to really soften there. So it can get hot anywhere. It's more who is prepared for it. I'm not far from Sarasota and came through the hurricanes in '24 unscathed (mine went through the eye as it passed overhead). Depends where you are and how you're built, and I find my place is different from most in Florida. I'm knocking wood because my homeowners actually decreased a bit on renewal this year. But Florida homeowners insurance is hitting hard in (a) many older homes (over 25 years), (b) those not built to the Hurricane Andrew (Cat 5)/Miami-Dade building codes, and (c) those hugging the coast. Places like Sanibel/Captiva, Fort Myers Beach and a few other Gulf islands are still dealing with damage from '22, and even Punta Gorda from '24 (my aunt hit all 3 of the criteria above in Milton, her house and pool levels were the same as her canal at one point, fun times). Basically, you either like Florida or hate it intensely. My alternative was NY, so...I lean more to liking it.

Bit of a stretch though. Like referring to Ketchup as "tomato sauce" or a tomato as a "fruit". Yeah, they are, but you wouldn't put ketchup on pasta or tomatoes in a fruit salad. 🤣 You must be from Alberta! I hear that y'all aren't too happy about the political direction there. 🤣

"...no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should." - Desiderata Carlin was edgy for his time in a way that many current comedians and late-night TV chat show hosts...well, aren't. Regardless of partisanship, I can enjoy a good laugh (and usually do) on political figures and the extremes on all sides since so often there is hypocrisy in all of it that makes for a healthy chuckle. The problem is that we have created a divided culture that seems intent on forcing a point of view with which we may not agree. Or particularly like being force fed. Or to have everything become politics. Here's an example: I loved Letterman. I absolutely cannot stand Colbert. Loved Carson and Leno. Even Conan O'Brien. Now for the most part, many subscribe to similar political ideologies, but the ones that made you laugh and think through humor (absurd or sublime) appeal more than the ones who night after night after night repeat the same message to the point that I want to throw solid objects at my TV. Hell, I'd laugh constantly at Bush ("W", not the elder) and Biden for very similar reasons. They're comedy gold. Gutfeld and Graham Norton are both funny for similar reasons: Their chat show formats are focused on the humor exchanged in story-telling and discussions. By the same token, I don't laugh at Trump because there is very little that's true humor with the guy and he's more a troller. But I digress. There is a subtle art at making you see the humor in yourself and your beliefs. There's humor in the every day absurd or the inherent contradictions in life. But having to beat your head in to make a point is much like explaining how or why a joke is funny: If you need to do either, your joke didn't land and the heckler in the back row is waiting for his turn.

Yes, but... If you speak with most people around the globe, they'll refer to those from the United States as "Americans" and people from other countries as from their country of origin (Argentinian, Brazilian, Colombian, Peruvian, etc.). I don't think I've ever been referred to as anything other than American when I've traveled (at least to my face). If I referred to you being from Canada as an "American", I reckon you'd consider that insulting. Yes? 🤣

I'm guessing there was a lot of pumping of various kinds going on there. 😉

Funny story: It was 1997 and I was walking around Disney Epcot. An attractive bear of a guy just came up to me and kicked off a conversation, so I went with it. I could tell quickly he was gay and his goal was hitting on me, but since we were just going around the park it was a chance to do things with someone rather than alone. We spent the afternoon doing the rides and attractions and he said that he needed to get back to his hotel for his luggage and then to the airport. So I offered to take him both places since it gave me a chance to see a resort on the Disney property (Wide World of Sports). I dropped him at the airport, he lived in NYC and I was only about 90 minutes aware from there, we exchanged numbers and kept in touch. We kept a friendship for many years though it never grew into a relationship (or anything more 'intimate') but he was a great guy and he even linked me up with a recruiter friend who connected me with my next job. He went through a couple relationships, relocated to Boston, and got married.

Since I've mostly topped, it's close to 100%. Notable exception was this Asian guy who wanted to get fucked, then as soon as we were about to do it, he breaks out the condom and things rapidly go downhill from there (spoiler: he didn't get fucked). Then he asked if he could give me his number, and I just said no thanks and that was it. And that was 10 years ago. Otherwise, generally no one asks, it isn't discussed, and if someone's offering themselves up without any mention of it, the presumption is they want it raw. And sure enough, it's never come up in a "What's your sign, and do you have a recent STI panel" type of way.

I think this could be knee-jerk given the exceptionally lax restrictions on border control by the (ahem) prior administration. To me it seems challenging that people are being flagged based on sexual preference. Is it possible that for some of these, the media is providing a partial rendition of what happened or CBP isn't providing the full reasons for denial of entry? For instance, if a CBP agent does an inspection from someone clearing customs from certain countries, they will look to see signs such as a visitor's visa but carrying work-specific equipment and enough evidence that they may be looking to overstay a visa and try to apply for work. The Philippines and India are 2 nations where that activity is highly likely. What we don't know, or aren't being told to be fair, is whether there are other mitigating circumstances or intelligence suggesting certain flights may be logical choices for potential threatening activity. I don't know your friends who've gone through this and cannot speculate, but I know people who've had encounters coming to the US who were "selected for enhanced screening" including a family that visited me in October. Some years ago, I got selected for enhanced screening coming out of Dublin back to JFK, and they did the process in Dublin pre-boarding. I have Global Entry, TSA Pre-Check and other items to help me pass security more easily since I used to travel both for business and holidays. I don't fit the profile of someone on a watchlist. CBP can see my travel record across the globe. I'm so white and American I probably scare Casper. But I got the full treatment and no one could tell me why. Yeah it sucks.

I'm not sure I buy into that. Foremost, he hired Scott Bessent as his Treasury Secretary, and he's openly gay. He also had kind things to say yesterday about a gay couple, though he wasn't complementary on the job one of them did. He didn't use comments on his view of Buttigieg's performance to throw shade at their child and relationship and said it was a "nice family". Now he may be echoing the sentiment of many that there are only 2 sexes as defined by chromosomes, but that doesn't mean that we'd necessarily take giant leaps backwards in human rights to begin restricting existing rights. (I know someone will probably bring up abortion, and there's a difference there in terms of whether that should be restricted. Trump has already cited the Florida 6-week limit as "too restrictive", proposing that 13-weeks is a better target) The other thing about Cardinal Prevost/Pope Leo XIV is that he follows in alignment with Francis, by whom he was appointed. We're both Catholic, so we know that the pendulum of the Church swings rather slowly. If he follows Francis (as with the other 108 Cardinals Francis appointed), I've no doubt the Church will swing toward a more liberal approach to LGBTQIA issues, but it'll likely stop short of female priests and gay marriage. If you want that, try Episcopalian. 😉

The more you know. Thanks for clarifying. I'd have thought the combination of a more liberal climate and a decent gay scene would have made a fertile field (pardon the pun) for bathhouses that are not fuck free zones. I mean do you all ask pronouns and whether I can touch you? (Kidding but not entirely) Again...wow! If those were the questions you asked out there, they'd be the same questions I asked on the East Coast and never had any issues. Are people that uptight? And do they put on their profiles that they like candlelight dinners and long walks on the beach? 🤣 East Coast, there's a lot of activity on Sniffies and most people looking also host with more bare backers by me than not. BBRT can be flakey (no one hosts, few real responses), and that leaves NastyKinkPigs for the hardcore stuff. Disclaimer: If you don't live in or near Lauderdale, It's a crap shoot (I'm on the Gulf south of Tampa, aka God's Waiting Room), average age tends to be...well, don't make me go there. 🤣