The issue is no longer the size of government or deficits. That ship has sailed. The issue now is will the government show up at your home with a loud knock on the door and come in whether you answer or not. The issue is whether you will be forced to be injected with something, or not. The issue is whether countless unknown individuals will be allowed to continue streaming across our border, or not. The issue is whether criminals will continue to be released from prison while law abiding citizens are locked up. The issue is whether you as a citizen will continue to be able to travel about freely, when and where you choose to go, or whether your vaccine passport(or lack of one), your social credit score, your digital ID, you website visits, your spending habits, determine that you can’t go, that you can’t buy an airline ticket. The issue is whether Americans will soon become prisoners in their own country, or not. These are not ‘dollar and cents’ issues. These are issues that pertain to living under tyrants in a system called totalitarianism. Forget the money talk. That ship has sailed.
Very good list, but I would disagree that these are two different things. Of course, if one complains about the "size" of government without enumerating why the government is too big, then they are barking up the wrong tree. You put a good list together that shows what the government should not be doing - hence rather than calling the government too big, it's important to explain why and where it is too big. The fact is, along with all the things you mention, we must massively deregulate the economy on all levels. The ship hasn't sailed on the money talk any more than it hasn't sailed on all the issues your cogently bring up. All are in play in my opinion, but if Trump is elected and he doesn't address the money issue, the energy issue, the production issue, along with all the other issues you mention, well the ship will be sunk.
It is really not about conflating the two things. It is about survival. I would conflate the two things in the long run, but not in the short run. Now we are in survival mode. It is literally weeks and months that matter right now. The FEMA camps are already built. Government agencies have been weaponized against the people. Right now, at this very moment, the spotlight should not be on money and deficits. They are a red herring compared to what matters the most right now. Money and deficits are important and should have been addressed years ago, decades ago. Right now we are fighting for our very lives, for our existence as a free nation, a free people. We are right on the precipice.
If possible, I think you both are right. Meanwhile, the leftarde seals clap on.
There is no easy way out of this. They HATE us and everything we stand for - even though our desires basically boil down to just wanting to be left alone.
They can't help themselves and we need to realize that fact and prepare accordingly. We very possibly only have days/weeks left to decide if we want to preserve this Republic for ourselves and our children. They know they are going to lose and probably to such a degree that they can't cheat their way to victory, so the idea is already floating about how the dimocrat communists in Congress will commit straight-up Treason and refuse to certify valid Election results.
SE: What a bunch of BS. The hate is from your side..Not ours. Just read all the comments you make about the Dems. If Trump loses Again, it will be the same BS from you Rep., One of the problems is that Trump can’t stand to lose so he convinces you all that it was Rigged. Unfortunately, you always buy his BS. What are you prepared to do if Trump loses? Don’t tell us, we can figure it out.
Assumptions are SO dangerous. To which candidate are you referring? My church is full of low-information, highly-educated women who would read your comment and say, "WOW! Thank goodness I voted for Kamala in early voting."
Those same gals also said: "Yes, Biden in ruining the country, but at least he's NOT TRUMP!" It's a "baby and the bath water" deal: you can't fix stupid. None of that changes until they experience a personal cost, and unfortunately, they will make us pay right along with them. Best always. PM
I think it was Reagan that said the worst words you can hear are "I am from the government and I am here to help you". It is now obvious that the 99% are the serfs to the 1%. The US government is run by and for the rich elites. You know that RFK, though a flawed man, had the right message because of the way the Dems and most Repubs attacked him through the brainless press propagandists. Gates, snoros, obama, etc selected Harris because she is just a sock puppet and not even good at being a puppet either.
My initial reaction to Bonner's column today as I began reading was "here comes more cynical negativity". But Bill is right about Reagan. He had a chance to stop government growth in its tracks - he did not. Trump, on the other hand, just might. I was a Vivek supporter because he has a much more thorough grasp of the free-market economy than I believe Trump has and also openly talked about cutting out 75% of the bureaucracy. Now, Trump has Vivek and Musk on his side willing to cut government down to size. In this one case, I don't blame Bill for being skeptical, but I'd rather be hopeful that if Trump is elected, he will follow through. A Trump administration will not just be about Trump, but I believe he has learned a lot in the ensuing years and will bring in intelligent people who will cut the government down to size including the unnecessary military adventures (not all are unnecessary, but other means are available to subvert our enemies other than war, and even to prevent wars from happening). I think Trump has turned the Republican party from one of hardline military interventionists to a more thoughtful approach. Bill never acknowledges that. So, first we have to get Trump elected and then hope for the best based on the new set of people he is associating with. I think there are many signs that his second term will be much better than his first.
Reagan may have spent more than we liked, but at least he won the cold war without a kinetic war. He kept Volcker in place to beat inflation while risking his second term. Pro-business policies helped the economy. Number of FAR regulations dropped. Had charisma and civility. As good as we could hope for.
Can we subcontract the presidency position to Javier Milei? Seems like he knows how to do the correct thing in the best interest of Argentina. Would be great if we could hire him away from Argentina...
From my view Mark, there is a HUGE difference between Argentina and the good ol' USofA. Those in Buenos Aires are not "entrenched" anything like in the U.S. There is no huge military complex or BigPharma with $T of dollars to be spent. Milei would be made mincemeat in less than a nanosecond here. Your best bet if you like Milei........move on down to the Paris of the South. Beautiful country with great vineyards and wine.
There is NO answer. It is the way of Empires. At this stage, the U.S. will follow the empires before into the shitcan of history. Fixing it........impossible. Yes- you can hope and pray but really.........wouldn't it be more prudent to spend the time preparing. The U.S. - as we knew it - is slowly sinking into the trashcan of history. From my view - wake-up and smell the coffee and then figure out how you are going to prepare to survive the coming chaos. Thinking there is a "fix" is like having your head buried deeply in the sand. Obviously, just this ol' man's opinion.
I agree . There is no man made answer. But to prepare for the future , that We do not know brings, seems to be very hard to predict. Yes We have history as a guide, but history can rhyme and not repeat exactly. Now having My head in the sand does not quite fit, as I too have been around the block, so as to say. The thing is that the problems of the U.S. are not restricted to North America, but are world wide. So what I see is a whole world of problems. And a lunatic. if that is the right word, will come up and have a " solution" . As usual people will fall for this. Yes the cycle must complete. To prepare for what I do not know ,but feel will happen is not preparation, but a false sense of " hope." As You say and old man's opinion.
Don, fully agree. Preparing is difficult since what sh*tshow is coming is impossible to predict. However, there are some basis preparations that we can do. Wealth preservation - gold/silver/bitcoin, some protection (gun, rifle, ammo), and may be a hidey hole somewhere. For the overwhelming vast majority they will go blindly into the coming chaos. My preparation is to try to provide some level or lifeline for those I care about. May be that is delusional but a better use of my time and resources than worrying/hoping there is a fix for our nation.
Glad You are putting Your self out there to help others with the best of Our knowledge. I think Your heart is in the right place. There certainly are many ways to prepare and We choose the best for Us personally. Thanks for Your input!
"The thing is that the problems of the U.S. are not restricted to North America, but are world wide. "
THIS is why we can't give up. Prepare for the worst - of course. But bail out on what those before us have built? No way. Fear and/or Apathy is not the answer.
PS - Preparation and being willing to fight for our Country are not mutually exclusive...
I keep coming back to the basic law of physics: trends in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by a GREATER outside force. The country, as we historically understand "America", peaked in 1960, and the current trend in motion, which is DECLINE, began. It has continued unabated, to the point that the country today bears little resemblance to the one we knew and internalized.
The answer to the problem? Identify the trend, and do all you can to get ahead of it. There is nothing any individual, or even a group of individuals, such as our little circle of concerned (meaning both "affected" and "anxious") participants here on the BPR forum, can do about the trend in place. As I often say, it's our turn in the drum. We just didn't expect it to happen on our watch. Normalcy bias prevented that. Best always. PM
I don't expect Trump to do anything but he might just do nothing, not censor for example, and allow some of the positives attack, Kennedy on health. More than anything I'd like to see some damage to some elites. A few jail terms, some concern for the Constitution and jail terms for the violators, a collapse of confidence would be a nice " I told you so". I'm kinda like the anarcho capitalist.
Setting aside the "whataboutism" and lack of valid analysis for BOTH candidates - an otherwise great article today, Bill. On point IMO (not that it matters what I think, but credit where credit is due and all that.)
PS - "This reveals an alarming lack of cynicalism."
Have you heard about that little thingy called Convid? This alarming lack of Cynicalism/Critical Thinking and absence of any Skepticism from the American people was the most shocking part to me as we progressed through the planned and implemented medical FARCE of '20/'21...
Excuuuse me, Bill. What about the @&#$?&! herd of elephants in the room? I realize finance is your beat, but the most immediate danger to the republic is millions of invaders. Besides the ones already here, the number will grow faster than Jack's beanstalk when Vice President Harris' handlers get the big job. Imagine the future if a Harris victory sweeps in Democratic control of the Senate, House & judiciary. Gun control is a certainty. Mexican cartels alone now have a "GDP" larger than many countries. What happens when they realize they have the ability to actually take over parts of the southwestern US? (See "Taliban in Afghanistan after whoever was in charge of the Executive Branch during the Biden administration.") etc. -Rant by a one-issue voter.
NO problem being a "one-issue" voter, since that "one issue" is OUR KILLER. 10,000 every day, and NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT anymore. No need to talk about it; It's "normal". The official numbers are understated by half. Everywhere you look, "budget" apartments are being built. Thousands of them. Contractor friends of mine can't keep up. Who is paying for all of this? We don't need housing to this degree for the EXISTING population. Who is going to FILL all this housing? Some project management company's name is on the check, but the check is covered by the "Government". We can't build a wall, because we're too busy building housing for the 3rd world invaders. We are becoming Cuba on a massive scale, but without the nice weather. THE PLAN: Put the existing population on welfare; make them dependent (done and done), and then flood the country with 3rd world, cheap labor that will RELIABLY VOTE LEFT . No one talks about it, because everyone knows we're toast. Best always. PM
Legalize drugs and prostitution. Overnight you would put the cartels out of business. How @#@/ hard is that? Oh, bunch of idiots will never let it happen, kinda like abortion! Since when is it anybody’s business! In the meantime the cartels have already spilled over the borders, and the higher the wall the higher the drug price and the happier the cartels are. WTF!!!
RIGHT THERE WITH YOU, WES! We are oft times our own worst enemy. But, hey, IF we solve our problems, it not only puts the cartels out of business, it kills the government's gravy train. Jeezus, Mary, and Joseph! How hard is it? Best always. PM
It's amazing that Reagan is still lionized by conservatives. Not only did he blow out the national debt his vision of limited government only applied to the US. He had no problem spending billions to protect the military regime in El Salvador from rebels at the same time he was financing the Contras in their effort to overthrow the government in Nicaragua and bring "democracy" there. Of course neither he nor previous presidents were concerned about Nicaraguan democracy when our boy Somoza - he may be an SOB, but he's our SOB- was in power.
Reagan also gave us Bill Casey at the CIA - We'll know we're successfull when everything the American people believe is false- and Alexander Haig at the State Dept. who said that the American nuns killed by the El Salvadoran military may have been armed.
Reagan is the last time most Americans were on the same page. Except for the few weeks after 9/11, American consensus died with Reagan. The Left took over, and we've been fighting for our lives ever since. Best always. PM
Maybe most were on the same page but to paraphrase Dr. John : We were in the right page but the wrong book. Not only tripling the national debt but giving free range to the CIA, who excelled in trafficking crack to help finance their terrorists in Nicaragua. Was it worth flooding inner cities with crack to finance their obsession with the Sandinistas? Was it worth funding Osama and his merry band of Jihadis in order to give Russia their own Vietnam? Granted Carter started Operation Cyclone but Ronnie continued it.
Yes , in Our system of governments You usually pick the best if the worst. I will say that the leaders of any country are at the whim of outside power. You and I may not recognize them, but they are there . Are or were any past leaders of any country perfect? No not by a long shot ! Will there ever be? Yes ,but We may not see it in Our time on this earth.
No president has ever disappointed me as much as Reagan did. I had such high hopes when he was elected in '80, and four years later I was so disillusioned that I voted for some 3rd party loser who I don't even remember. Reagan increased my innate cynicism 100 fold.
Trump's success or failure at shrinking government is less important to this voter than what we would get with the alternative -- someone who is convinced government is there to solve all human problems, and if government fails at first, the solution is to pour more money into the effort.
As Carole King sang, "It's too late, baby, now, it's too late, 'though we really did try to make it. Something has died, and I can't hide it, and I just can't fake it. " Best always. PM
Spoiler alert: we haven't had one for a long time now. The question is: when does that become apparent to the masses, 50% of whom think they will be glad for an official demise of The Republic... Best always. PM
HEAVENLY FATHER, WE COME BEFORE YOU IN PRAYER SEEKING YOUR DIVINE GUIDANCE IN THE UPCOMING ELECTION FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. JUST AS NEHEMIAH LED WITH STRENGTH AND PURPOSE, MAY THE FUTURE LEADER OF OUR NATION BE YOUR CHOSEN
ONE, GUIDED BY YOUR WISDOM AND GRACE. WE PRAY, O LORD, THAT THE PRINCIPLES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE FOUND IN MATTHEW 7 BE THE FOUNDATION UPON WHICH OUR NEXT LEADER STANDS. MAY THEY LEAD WITH HUMILITY, COMPASSION, AND A HEART OF INTEGRITY, REFLECTING THE LOVE AND TEACHINGS OF
YESHUA AMASHIHA. WE ASK FOR A VICTORY IN THE UPCOMING ELECTION THAT IS SO OVERWHELMING, REMINISCENT OF THE EXODUS OF MOSES, THAT IT
OVERPOWER ANY ATTEMPTS AT CHEATING OR DECEIT. MAY THE WILL OF
THE PEOPLE BE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR, IN A LANDSLIDE VOTE THAT
REFLECTS UNITY, TRUTH, AND TRANSPARENCY. WE PLACE OUR FAITH AND TRUST IN YOU, LORD, KNOWING THAT YOU HOLD THE ULTIMATE POWER AND AUTHORITY IN ALL THINGS. MAY THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES BE ELECTED ACCORDING TO YOUR DIVINE WILL, AND MAY THEY LEAD OUR NATION WITH WISDOM,
COURAGE, AND A STEADFAST COMMITMENT TO RIGHTEOUSNESS.
WE PRAY ALL OF THIS IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, AMEN.🙏 🇺🇸
What we really need is a guy like the Argentina President Milei, granted the Argentina government is probably no more than 10% the size of the United States government but what this guy is doing down there in Argentina is truly a miracle. He is cutting the government literally and a half or perhaps by 75%. The fact is that Trump has a strong enough personality to be able to do something like this whether or not he will remains to be seen. But I am so much more in favor of what he will do, and has done in the past. This is because to the best of my knowledge he is the only President that we’ve ever had from the very beginning that has actually fulfilled every promise he made to the American people as to what he would do if he was elected president and that is what he did. So this time around I feel like he is the only person out there they can save this Nation from total collapse or even more likely a break up. I do firmly believe that we all would be far better off without California, Oregon, and Washington, along with most of the Northern portion of the East coast of our country with the exception of Maine, That is to say, take your Liberalism, your Woke Crap, your open borders, your Transgenders, your Druggies, your Crime and all your Queers and Steers and form your own country and leave the rest of us alone. Our government would function perfectly well if it were only about 10% of its current size, if the IRS were abolished, if 90% of the Bureaucrats were fired, if the thousands of Agencies were shut down and oh yes, it would make a dent, and perhaps a large one in our overall economy but eventually these Deadbeats and Bloodsuckers, Hanger ons
and Rule Makers would eventually find actual meaningful work in the private sector. I pray that we are truly in the Palm of God’s hands, and that he will lead us out of this mess that we have got ourselves into. My Vote is for Trump.
You won't get a Milei here until the Lefty Libs pay a high, personal price, and that can't happen without our paying it along with them. Enjoy your trip. Best always. PM
Solutions aren't the solution... Modern govt is like a drunk wiith a hammer, everything it sees looks like a nail.
Those of us lucky enough to have a family know how hard it is to regulate a few people: take care of the special interests, devote more time/money to the feckless one, decide on holidays/car/where to live, even what to have for dinner
Now multiply that by several hundred million souls.
Govt thinks it can, we know it can't, unless through having a monopoly on violent coercion.
LF: Trump is only interested in winning at any cost. Maybe he can give all the Rep., some more of our money like he did for the corporations. I wonder who he will call to find more votes since Raffensperger won’t help him. I’m sure he will find someone. I hope if he loses, he leaves the Capitol alone.
All of this chaos is what you get when you let the state educate your children with essentially no oversight by you, the parent. You let the state take over your children's minds while babysitting them, and you worked your ass off to keep up with state-created inflation. We are a constitutional representative federal republic. You allowed your representatives to divide and conquer you. You got civically lazy and lost to the parasitic politician. And now you bitch. It will take much more of your time and effort than voting and bitching if you want to win your country back. The parasitic politician knows you won't get off your easy chair, and he will carry on. Brien's thread is about real and immediate concerns that need your attention. How do you propose to deal with them? Voting alone will not make it happen. It would be best if you actively protected yourselves and your families, community, and country. Are you willing to make that sacrifice? Writing thoughtful responses to essentially a foreigner's critique is nice but not real action. Do something meaningful every day to re-establish and protect the Constitution, and never let a politician ever think he's won!
The issue is no longer the size of government or deficits. That ship has sailed. The issue now is will the government show up at your home with a loud knock on the door and come in whether you answer or not. The issue is whether you will be forced to be injected with something, or not. The issue is whether countless unknown individuals will be allowed to continue streaming across our border, or not. The issue is whether criminals will continue to be released from prison while law abiding citizens are locked up. The issue is whether you as a citizen will continue to be able to travel about freely, when and where you choose to go, or whether your vaccine passport(or lack of one), your social credit score, your digital ID, you website visits, your spending habits, determine that you can’t go, that you can’t buy an airline ticket. The issue is whether Americans will soon become prisoners in their own country, or not. These are not ‘dollar and cents’ issues. These are issues that pertain to living under tyrants in a system called totalitarianism. Forget the money talk. That ship has sailed.
Very good list, but I would disagree that these are two different things. Of course, if one complains about the "size" of government without enumerating why the government is too big, then they are barking up the wrong tree. You put a good list together that shows what the government should not be doing - hence rather than calling the government too big, it's important to explain why and where it is too big. The fact is, along with all the things you mention, we must massively deregulate the economy on all levels. The ship hasn't sailed on the money talk any more than it hasn't sailed on all the issues your cogently bring up. All are in play in my opinion, but if Trump is elected and he doesn't address the money issue, the energy issue, the production issue, along with all the other issues you mention, well the ship will be sunk.
It is really not about conflating the two things. It is about survival. I would conflate the two things in the long run, but not in the short run. Now we are in survival mode. It is literally weeks and months that matter right now. The FEMA camps are already built. Government agencies have been weaponized against the people. Right now, at this very moment, the spotlight should not be on money and deficits. They are a red herring compared to what matters the most right now. Money and deficits are important and should have been addressed years ago, decades ago. Right now we are fighting for our very lives, for our existence as a free nation, a free people. We are right on the precipice.
If possible, I think you both are right. Meanwhile, the leftarde seals clap on.
There is no easy way out of this. They HATE us and everything we stand for - even though our desires basically boil down to just wanting to be left alone.
They can't help themselves and we need to realize that fact and prepare accordingly. We very possibly only have days/weeks left to decide if we want to preserve this Republic for ourselves and our children. They know they are going to lose and probably to such a degree that they can't cheat their way to victory, so the idea is already floating about how the dimocrat communists in Congress will commit straight-up Treason and refuse to certify valid Election results.
What are you prepared to do when that happens?
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2024/08/video-democrat-congressman-calls-for-civil-war-conditions-to-disqualify-trump-if-he-wins/#google_vignette
SE: What a bunch of BS. The hate is from your side..Not ours. Just read all the comments you make about the Dems. If Trump loses Again, it will be the same BS from you Rep., One of the problems is that Trump can’t stand to lose so he convinces you all that it was Rigged. Unfortunately, you always buy his BS. What are you prepared to do if Trump loses? Don’t tell us, we can figure it out.
And the leftard seal shows up to clap right on cue
Invector: Yelp..just like all you republicans!
Not sure what part is BS. Did you look at the link? Doesn't get more clear than their own words...
Assumptions are SO dangerous. To which candidate are you referring? My church is full of low-information, highly-educated women who would read your comment and say, "WOW! Thank goodness I voted for Kamala in early voting."
Those same gals also said: "Yes, Biden in ruining the country, but at least he's NOT TRUMP!" It's a "baby and the bath water" deal: you can't fix stupid. None of that changes until they experience a personal cost, and unfortunately, they will make us pay right along with them. Best always. PM
Yes, point taken. Not much can be done about that by you or me. The Bible has much exhortation about not getting into an argument with fools.
Its like Bill says when the money goes everything goes.
The money is gone. We're rolling into the unknown, sputtering on fumes...
Great list Mr. Brien. I would add individual posts on internet comment boards...
I think it was Reagan that said the worst words you can hear are "I am from the government and I am here to help you". It is now obvious that the 99% are the serfs to the 1%. The US government is run by and for the rich elites. You know that RFK, though a flawed man, had the right message because of the way the Dems and most Repubs attacked him through the brainless press propagandists. Gates, snoros, obama, etc selected Harris because she is just a sock puppet and not even good at being a puppet either.
My initial reaction to Bonner's column today as I began reading was "here comes more cynical negativity". But Bill is right about Reagan. He had a chance to stop government growth in its tracks - he did not. Trump, on the other hand, just might. I was a Vivek supporter because he has a much more thorough grasp of the free-market economy than I believe Trump has and also openly talked about cutting out 75% of the bureaucracy. Now, Trump has Vivek and Musk on his side willing to cut government down to size. In this one case, I don't blame Bill for being skeptical, but I'd rather be hopeful that if Trump is elected, he will follow through. A Trump administration will not just be about Trump, but I believe he has learned a lot in the ensuing years and will bring in intelligent people who will cut the government down to size including the unnecessary military adventures (not all are unnecessary, but other means are available to subvert our enemies other than war, and even to prevent wars from happening). I think Trump has turned the Republican party from one of hardline military interventionists to a more thoughtful approach. Bill never acknowledges that. So, first we have to get Trump elected and then hope for the best based on the new set of people he is associating with. I think there are many signs that his second term will be much better than his first.
JG: You're the eternal optimist.
I too voted for Vivek in the Primary
Reagan may have spent more than we liked, but at least he won the cold war without a kinetic war. He kept Volcker in place to beat inflation while risking his second term. Pro-business policies helped the economy. Number of FAR regulations dropped. Had charisma and civility. As good as we could hope for.
Can we subcontract the presidency position to Javier Milei? Seems like he knows how to do the correct thing in the best interest of Argentina. Would be great if we could hire him away from Argentina...
From my view Mark, there is a HUGE difference between Argentina and the good ol' USofA. Those in Buenos Aires are not "entrenched" anything like in the U.S. There is no huge military complex or BigPharma with $T of dollars to be spent. Milei would be made mincemeat in less than a nanosecond here. Your best bet if you like Milei........move on down to the Paris of the South. Beautiful country with great vineyards and wine.
So Your answer to the problems is ?
There is NO answer. It is the way of Empires. At this stage, the U.S. will follow the empires before into the shitcan of history. Fixing it........impossible. Yes- you can hope and pray but really.........wouldn't it be more prudent to spend the time preparing. The U.S. - as we knew it - is slowly sinking into the trashcan of history. From my view - wake-up and smell the coffee and then figure out how you are going to prepare to survive the coming chaos. Thinking there is a "fix" is like having your head buried deeply in the sand. Obviously, just this ol' man's opinion.
I agree . There is no man made answer. But to prepare for the future , that We do not know brings, seems to be very hard to predict. Yes We have history as a guide, but history can rhyme and not repeat exactly. Now having My head in the sand does not quite fit, as I too have been around the block, so as to say. The thing is that the problems of the U.S. are not restricted to North America, but are world wide. So what I see is a whole world of problems. And a lunatic. if that is the right word, will come up and have a " solution" . As usual people will fall for this. Yes the cycle must complete. To prepare for what I do not know ,but feel will happen is not preparation, but a false sense of " hope." As You say and old man's opinion.
Don, fully agree. Preparing is difficult since what sh*tshow is coming is impossible to predict. However, there are some basis preparations that we can do. Wealth preservation - gold/silver/bitcoin, some protection (gun, rifle, ammo), and may be a hidey hole somewhere. For the overwhelming vast majority they will go blindly into the coming chaos. My preparation is to try to provide some level or lifeline for those I care about. May be that is delusional but a better use of my time and resources than worrying/hoping there is a fix for our nation.
Glad You are putting Your self out there to help others with the best of Our knowledge. I think Your heart is in the right place. There certainly are many ways to prepare and We choose the best for Us personally. Thanks for Your input!
"The thing is that the problems of the U.S. are not restricted to North America, but are world wide. "
THIS is why we can't give up. Prepare for the worst - of course. But bail out on what those before us have built? No way. Fear and/or Apathy is not the answer.
PS - Preparation and being willing to fight for our Country are not mutually exclusive...
I keep coming back to the basic law of physics: trends in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by a GREATER outside force. The country, as we historically understand "America", peaked in 1960, and the current trend in motion, which is DECLINE, began. It has continued unabated, to the point that the country today bears little resemblance to the one we knew and internalized.
The answer to the problem? Identify the trend, and do all you can to get ahead of it. There is nothing any individual, or even a group of individuals, such as our little circle of concerned (meaning both "affected" and "anxious") participants here on the BPR forum, can do about the trend in place. As I often say, it's our turn in the drum. We just didn't expect it to happen on our watch. Normalcy bias prevented that. Best always. PM
Enjoyed your letter, Dad! Thanks!
I always enjoy your dads letters going back over 20 years
I don't expect Trump to do anything but he might just do nothing, not censor for example, and allow some of the positives attack, Kennedy on health. More than anything I'd like to see some damage to some elites. A few jail terms, some concern for the Constitution and jail terms for the violators, a collapse of confidence would be a nice " I told you so". I'm kinda like the anarcho capitalist.
Setting aside the "whataboutism" and lack of valid analysis for BOTH candidates - an otherwise great article today, Bill. On point IMO (not that it matters what I think, but credit where credit is due and all that.)
PS - "This reveals an alarming lack of cynicalism."
Have you heard about that little thingy called Convid? This alarming lack of Cynicalism/Critical Thinking and absence of any Skepticism from the American people was the most shocking part to me as we progressed through the planned and implemented medical FARCE of '20/'21...
The whole c19 project was an intelligence test, most failed the test.
The "reward" for failure was to be part of a medical "experiment".
A true watershed experience for the span of my life. 9/11 isn't even close.
Before and after C19, thats my count.
We are all in the "Matrix" now!
Excuuuse me, Bill. What about the @&#$?&! herd of elephants in the room? I realize finance is your beat, but the most immediate danger to the republic is millions of invaders. Besides the ones already here, the number will grow faster than Jack's beanstalk when Vice President Harris' handlers get the big job. Imagine the future if a Harris victory sweeps in Democratic control of the Senate, House & judiciary. Gun control is a certainty. Mexican cartels alone now have a "GDP" larger than many countries. What happens when they realize they have the ability to actually take over parts of the southwestern US? (See "Taliban in Afghanistan after whoever was in charge of the Executive Branch during the Biden administration.") etc. -Rant by a one-issue voter.
NO problem being a "one-issue" voter, since that "one issue" is OUR KILLER. 10,000 every day, and NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT anymore. No need to talk about it; It's "normal". The official numbers are understated by half. Everywhere you look, "budget" apartments are being built. Thousands of them. Contractor friends of mine can't keep up. Who is paying for all of this? We don't need housing to this degree for the EXISTING population. Who is going to FILL all this housing? Some project management company's name is on the check, but the check is covered by the "Government". We can't build a wall, because we're too busy building housing for the 3rd world invaders. We are becoming Cuba on a massive scale, but without the nice weather. THE PLAN: Put the existing population on welfare; make them dependent (done and done), and then flood the country with 3rd world, cheap labor that will RELIABLY VOTE LEFT . No one talks about it, because everyone knows we're toast. Best always. PM
Legalize drugs and prostitution. Overnight you would put the cartels out of business. How @#@/ hard is that? Oh, bunch of idiots will never let it happen, kinda like abortion! Since when is it anybody’s business! In the meantime the cartels have already spilled over the borders, and the higher the wall the higher the drug price and the happier the cartels are. WTF!!!
RIGHT THERE WITH YOU, WES! We are oft times our own worst enemy. But, hey, IF we solve our problems, it not only puts the cartels out of business, it kills the government's gravy train. Jeezus, Mary, and Joseph! How hard is it? Best always. PM
It's amazing that Reagan is still lionized by conservatives. Not only did he blow out the national debt his vision of limited government only applied to the US. He had no problem spending billions to protect the military regime in El Salvador from rebels at the same time he was financing the Contras in their effort to overthrow the government in Nicaragua and bring "democracy" there. Of course neither he nor previous presidents were concerned about Nicaraguan democracy when our boy Somoza - he may be an SOB, but he's our SOB- was in power.
Reagan also gave us Bill Casey at the CIA - We'll know we're successfull when everything the American people believe is false- and Alexander Haig at the State Dept. who said that the American nuns killed by the El Salvadoran military may have been armed.
And let's not forget Iran-Contra.
Reagan is the last time most Americans were on the same page. Except for the few weeks after 9/11, American consensus died with Reagan. The Left took over, and we've been fighting for our lives ever since. Best always. PM
Maybe most were on the same page but to paraphrase Dr. John : We were in the right page but the wrong book. Not only tripling the national debt but giving free range to the CIA, who excelled in trafficking crack to help finance their terrorists in Nicaragua. Was it worth flooding inner cities with crack to finance their obsession with the Sandinistas? Was it worth funding Osama and his merry band of Jihadis in order to give Russia their own Vietnam? Granted Carter started Operation Cyclone but Ronnie continued it.
Yes , in Our system of governments You usually pick the best if the worst. I will say that the leaders of any country are at the whim of outside power. You and I may not recognize them, but they are there . Are or were any past leaders of any country perfect? No not by a long shot ! Will there ever be? Yes ,but We may not see it in Our time on this earth.
No president has ever disappointed me as much as Reagan did. I had such high hopes when he was elected in '80, and four years later I was so disillusioned that I voted for some 3rd party loser who I don't even remember. Reagan increased my innate cynicism 100 fold.
Trump's success or failure at shrinking government is less important to this voter than what we would get with the alternative -- someone who is convinced government is there to solve all human problems, and if government fails at first, the solution is to pour more money into the effort.
Well, it's both. If he doesn't shrink government and massively deregulate the economy, we are going down.
As Carole King sang, "It's too late, baby, now, it's too late, 'though we really did try to make it. Something has died, and I can't hide it, and I just can't fake it. " Best always. PM
I’m just waiting to see if we still have a Republic Wednesday morning 🤔
It's a "democracy." Haven't you seen any commercials?
Try to keep up, brother... ;)
Spoiler alert: we haven't had one for a long time now. The question is: when does that become apparent to the masses, 50% of whom think they will be glad for an official demise of The Republic... Best always. PM
SL: I don’t think we will know for several days after the election!
HEAVENLY FATHER, WE COME BEFORE YOU IN PRAYER SEEKING YOUR DIVINE GUIDANCE IN THE UPCOMING ELECTION FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. JUST AS NEHEMIAH LED WITH STRENGTH AND PURPOSE, MAY THE FUTURE LEADER OF OUR NATION BE YOUR CHOSEN
ONE, GUIDED BY YOUR WISDOM AND GRACE. WE PRAY, O LORD, THAT THE PRINCIPLES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE FOUND IN MATTHEW 7 BE THE FOUNDATION UPON WHICH OUR NEXT LEADER STANDS. MAY THEY LEAD WITH HUMILITY, COMPASSION, AND A HEART OF INTEGRITY, REFLECTING THE LOVE AND TEACHINGS OF
YESHUA AMASHIHA. WE ASK FOR A VICTORY IN THE UPCOMING ELECTION THAT IS SO OVERWHELMING, REMINISCENT OF THE EXODUS OF MOSES, THAT IT
OVERPOWER ANY ATTEMPTS AT CHEATING OR DECEIT. MAY THE WILL OF
THE PEOPLE BE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR, IN A LANDSLIDE VOTE THAT
REFLECTS UNITY, TRUTH, AND TRANSPARENCY. WE PLACE OUR FAITH AND TRUST IN YOU, LORD, KNOWING THAT YOU HOLD THE ULTIMATE POWER AND AUTHORITY IN ALL THINGS. MAY THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES BE ELECTED ACCORDING TO YOUR DIVINE WILL, AND MAY THEY LEAD OUR NATION WITH WISDOM,
COURAGE, AND A STEADFAST COMMITMENT TO RIGHTEOUSNESS.
WE PRAY ALL OF THIS IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, AMEN.🙏 🇺🇸
Dot...as I said, "after several days?"
How's about a few MONTHS!
JN: No, I don’t think so…why would it take a few months. AS far as I can remember, it has never taken more just a few days and Never a few months.
What we really need is a guy like the Argentina President Milei, granted the Argentina government is probably no more than 10% the size of the United States government but what this guy is doing down there in Argentina is truly a miracle. He is cutting the government literally and a half or perhaps by 75%. The fact is that Trump has a strong enough personality to be able to do something like this whether or not he will remains to be seen. But I am so much more in favor of what he will do, and has done in the past. This is because to the best of my knowledge he is the only President that we’ve ever had from the very beginning that has actually fulfilled every promise he made to the American people as to what he would do if he was elected president and that is what he did. So this time around I feel like he is the only person out there they can save this Nation from total collapse or even more likely a break up. I do firmly believe that we all would be far better off without California, Oregon, and Washington, along with most of the Northern portion of the East coast of our country with the exception of Maine, That is to say, take your Liberalism, your Woke Crap, your open borders, your Transgenders, your Druggies, your Crime and all your Queers and Steers and form your own country and leave the rest of us alone. Our government would function perfectly well if it were only about 10% of its current size, if the IRS were abolished, if 90% of the Bureaucrats were fired, if the thousands of Agencies were shut down and oh yes, it would make a dent, and perhaps a large one in our overall economy but eventually these Deadbeats and Bloodsuckers, Hanger ons
and Rule Makers would eventually find actual meaningful work in the private sector. I pray that we are truly in the Palm of God’s hands, and that he will lead us out of this mess that we have got ourselves into. My Vote is for Trump.
You won't get a Milei here until the Lefty Libs pay a high, personal price, and that can't happen without our paying it along with them. Enjoy your trip. Best always. PM
I doubt God cares about our politics or the concept of democracy.
"Is there any plausible hope that The Donald will succeed where The Gipper failed?"
Sure, it is. Make Bill a member of Musk's D.O.G.E. team :)
won't work, Bill would have to offer solutions instead of armchair QB! :-)
Solutions aren't the solution... Modern govt is like a drunk wiith a hammer, everything it sees looks like a nail.
Those of us lucky enough to have a family know how hard it is to regulate a few people: take care of the special interests, devote more time/money to the feckless one, decide on holidays/car/where to live, even what to have for dinner
Now multiply that by several hundred million souls.
Govt thinks it can, we know it can't, unless through having a monopoly on violent coercion.
"monopoly on violent coercion"
See: DoJ, ATF, DHS, TSA, FBE, CIA, IRS. I can go on...
LF: Trump is only interested in winning at any cost. Maybe he can give all the Rep., some more of our money like he did for the corporations. I wonder who he will call to find more votes since Raffensperger won’t help him. I’m sure he will find someone. I hope if he loses, he leaves the Capitol alone.
Reagan signing the Immigration Reform and Control Act was one of the greatest policy disasters of all time.
Otter to Flounder: "Hey, you f#cked up; you trusted us!"
Bluto to Flounder: "My advice to you: start drinking heavily."
Best always. PM
All of this chaos is what you get when you let the state educate your children with essentially no oversight by you, the parent. You let the state take over your children's minds while babysitting them, and you worked your ass off to keep up with state-created inflation. We are a constitutional representative federal republic. You allowed your representatives to divide and conquer you. You got civically lazy and lost to the parasitic politician. And now you bitch. It will take much more of your time and effort than voting and bitching if you want to win your country back. The parasitic politician knows you won't get off your easy chair, and he will carry on. Brien's thread is about real and immediate concerns that need your attention. How do you propose to deal with them? Voting alone will not make it happen. It would be best if you actively protected yourselves and your families, community, and country. Are you willing to make that sacrifice? Writing thoughtful responses to essentially a foreigner's critique is nice but not real action. Do something meaningful every day to re-establish and protect the Constitution, and never let a politician ever think he's won!