Overview

Good read, thank for posting it.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/desperate-search-missing-girls-summer-040825500.html Good thing we cut all the programs that go into helping us be prepared for this. Hurricane season is right around the corner for the red states.

"From global HIV treatment and emergency food aid to support for democratic institutions, the programs Trump is seeking to cut are vital to U.S. interests. The cuts also risk impacts at home, slashing funding for universities, nonprofits, and contractors across dozens of states—undermining jobs, research, and America’s role in the world. The Trump administration claims these cuts are eliminating “wasteful and unnecessary” spending, but it is slashing these cost-effective programs while pursuing spending in areas that bring little or no benefit to the American people, such as extended deployments of troops at the U.S. border or remodeling Trump’s newly gifted Boeing 747 jet from Qatar." Yea make sure we spend money on the bribe plane instead.

Well, if we are gonna read the editorial opinion of John Hinderaker’s The Center of the American Experiment, then in an effort to provide a balanced editorial response, I submit this article from The Center for American Progress (much like our long-repealed Fairness Doctrine demanded): https://www.americanprogress.org/article/fact-sheet-trumps-rescission-request-would-slash-spending-on-foreign-assistance-programs-that-benefit-american-interests/

Written by John Hinderaker: What an America First Foreign Policy Looks Like Marco Rubio is doing a brilliant job as Secretary of State. A prime example of his implementation of an America First foreign policy is the abolition of USAID and relocation of aid programs inside the State Department. On the State Department’s Substack, Rubio lays out the rationale for this change, putting to shame the Democrats’ absurd “millions will die” mantra: Every public servant has an obligation to American citizens to ensure any programs they fund advance our nation’s interests. During the Trump Administration’s thorough review of thousands of programs, and over $715 billion in inflation-adjusted spending over the decades, it became apparent the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) fell well below this standard. USAID had decades and a near-infinite taxpayer budget to advance American influence, promote economic development worldwide, and allow billions to stand on their own two feet. Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War. Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown. On the global stage, the countries that benefit the most from our generosity usually fail to reciprocate. For example, in 2023, sub-Saharan African nations voted with the United States only 29 percent of the time on essential resolutions at the UN despite receiving $165 billion in outlays since 1991. That’s the lowest rate in the world. Over the same period, more than $89 billion invested in the Middle East and North Africa left the U.S. with lower favorability ratings than China in every nation but Morocco. The agency’s expenditure of $9.3 billion in Gaza and the West Bank since 1991, whose beneficiaries included allies of Hamas, has produced grievances rather than gratitude towards the United States. The only ones living well were the executives of the countless NGOs, who often enjoyed five-star lifestyles funded by American taxpayers, while those they purported to help fell further behind. This era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially come to an end. Under the Trump Administration, we will finally have a foreign funding mission in America that prioritizes our national interests. As of July 1st, USAID will officially cease to implement foreign assistance. Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies—and which advance American interests—will be administered by the State Department, where they will be delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency. We will not apologize for recognizing America’s longstanding commitment to life-saving humanitarian aid and promotion of economic development abroad must be in furtherance of an America First foreign policy. USAID viewed its constituency as the United Nations, multinational NGOs, and the broader global community—not the U.S. taxpayers who funded its budget or the President they elected to represent their interests on the world stage. USAID marketed its programs as a charity, rather than instruments of American foreign policy intended to advance our national interests. Too often, these programs promoted anti-American ideals and groups, from global “DEI,” censorship and regime change operations, to NGOs and international organizations in league with Communist China and other geopolitical adversaries. That ends today, and where there was once a rainbow of unidentifiable logos on life-saving aid, there will now be one recognizable symbol: the American flag. Recipients deserve to know the assistance provided to them is not a handout from an unknown NGO, but an investment from the American people. Equally importantly, the charity-based model failed because the leadership of these developing nations developed an addiction. State Department research finds the overwhelming sentiment in countries formerly receiving USAID funding is for trade, not aid. After engaging with nations across Latin America and Africa, we have consistently heard that developing countries want investment that empowers them to sustainably grow—not decades of patronizing UN or USAID managed support. The Department has consistently heard the same from people in these nations: a Zambian man told American diplomats it would be more helpful for his countrymen to learn how to fish than to be supplied with fish by the U.S. Government, an Ethiopian woman said she viewed the mutual benefits of investment as superior to the one-sided nature of aid, and too many other examples to recount. Americans should not pay taxes to fund failed governments in faraway lands. Moving forward, our assistance will be targeted and time limited. We will favor those nations that have demonstrated both the ability and willingness to help themselves and will target our resources to areas where they can have a multiplier effect and catalyze durable private sector, including American companies, and global investment. This work is well underway. We are already seeing tremendous progress in making the UN, other allies, and private funds pay a greater share of projects around the world, a process matched by the President’s success in convincing our NATO allies to meet their spending commitments. We are consolidating fragmented appropriations accounts to build more flexible and dynamic pools of funds, eliminating bureaucratic processes to move faster and respond to crises in real time, and implementing new efficiency criteria to measure impact quantitatively. By empowering diplomats on the ground through regional bureaus, we are creating a fast feedback loop to ensure programs align with American interests and the needs of partner nations. This model will also place us in a stronger position to counter China’s exploitative aid model and further our strategic interests in key regions around the world. We will do so by prioritizing trade over aid, opportunity over dependency, and investment over assistance. For Americans and many around the world, July 1st will mark the beginning of a new era of global partnership, peace, investment, and prosperity. This change is so appropriate, and so long overdue, that we can only wonder why it didn’t happen a long time ago.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti decades ago wrote: "Pity the nation whose people are sheep, and whose shepherds mislead them. Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced, and whose bigots haunt the airwaves. Pity the nation that raises not its voice, except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero and aims to rule the world with force and by torture. Pity the nation that knows no other language but its own and no other culture but its own. Pity the nation whose breath is money and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed. Pity the nation - oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode and their freedoms to be washed away. My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty."

Of course it's going to suck, the question is to the degree it will suck. I suspect our three regular posters will hate it, but i do hope they educate themselves on what it actually says and will be interested in pursuing an intelligent conversation about it, instead of just ranting about "MAGA scum".

This will take some time to digest. But I did receive a wonderfully long and positively reinforced message from the SSA this morning telling me how great the bill will be for those collecting social security. So it must be a great bill. I mean, it's in the name and the SSA is telling me it is. 🙂 It likely sucks, like most legislation. Like the "Affordable" care act..

After Jeffries pointless waste of time, the house finally voted and passed the bill, and Trump will soon sign it into law. The bill is out there for public consumption and I'm sure we have some educated men on here that will read it. What do you hate about it, or like about it, and why?

When you vote to steal healthcare and food from Children, you are morally bankrupt and anti-American, regardless of what religion you claim or what symbols you wear around your neck. Millions of children will go hungry and people will die, but at least Billionaires get more money. If you voted for Donald Trump, this is on you. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0eqpz23l9jo

I'm surprised to see the ceasefire has held this long, very curious to see how this plays out.

So.. like every politician ever? Then again, Trump is already elected whereas he was inferring that Obama would do it for re-election. Granted, Trump might be doing it for his hope of everlasting re-election...

That's good at least then.

Where did i say that, or even imply that?

Wondering why you want this Bill to be passed?

He says one thing about Obama yet does it years later and acts like it's good when he was saying it was bad all those years ago. That's just typical Trump saying it's bad unless he is the one to do it.

I believe his point was to post something Trump said about Obama 12, 13 & 14 years ago 😇 In other news, the Senate passed Trumps "Big Beautiful Bill" with some tweaks to it, now it's going back to the house for a final vote. Looks like it'll be finished by the 4th like Trump wanted.

But what's your point here?

Trumps greatest achievement will be bringing back concentration camps 🤣🤣🤣

Alligator Alcatraz opening for business.

Trump destroys Obama's Iran deal and now is trying to make the same exact deal that was in place before. Trump was a very jealous man of Obama b.c people loved Obama. He would destroy things Obama did just b.c he wants to and now the American people are paying for it.

2017 individual tax rate cutsPermanent 2017 corporate tax cutsPermanent Pass-through/business-income breakPermanent Estate/gift tax increasesPermanent Exemptions on tips & overtimeTemporary (expires ~2028) Enhanced child & senior tax creditsTemporary (through 2028) I love how they make the working class tax breaks temporary so they can use the decrease as a way to scare people into being happy about the SMALLEST increases. Meanwhile at the top of the evil chain...

I've been saying forever, the reasons may vary, but both sides equally suck. To the bolded, I agree, but I doubt I'll see it my lifetime.

These are mindful republicans which there still are plenty out there.

What I love about Trump is his mouth always screws him over. Imagine voting for this guy and having to live through what is going on right now. 🤣