The First 100 days

Discussion in 'West Mall' started by theiioftx, Nov 10, 2016.

  1. Vol Horn 4 Life

    Vol Horn 4 Life Good Bye To All The Rest!

    Maybe that captured ship came to life in Area 51. Come on guys, didn't y'all watch the second Independence Day movie? The aliens are coming and not just from Mexico! :yes:
     
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  2. Sangre Naranjada

    Sangre Naranjada 10,000+ Posts

    As Seattle correctly notes, I am not a fan of the federal government expanding.

    As Seattle failed to note, the Space Command already exists within the USAF. Regarding "Space Force", Seattle said:

    This is almost certainly an idea formed in the pentagon (in other words, not Trump's idea), and which has received Trump's approval to be fleshed out and presented for serious consideration. I suspect Seattle simply chafes over Trump's overt cheerleading. I highly doubt Seattle has any more information about the program than I do, to seriously assess it as "Trump's dumbest idea".

    Once I can see the extent to which this idea grows the federal budget and puts us further in debt, I will criticize it, if the expenses are excessive to the need for the mission. As I noted in my last post, I have no idea if this plan is a good one or not. It may well be that the USAF can handle things without a major expansion of the command into a separate branch of the military. But for now, I enjoy watching Trump wad the collective panties of lefties everywhere with a simple little tweet or two. The entertainment value of Space Force is high indeed.
     
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  3. Seattle Husker

    Seattle Husker 10,000+ Posts

    Mattis is on board now but wasn't when it was anounced. Something happened between June and now. Given the DoD initial resistance I'd guess this masterful idea started in the White House. Given other ideas tweeted out by our POTUS have startled other leaders of the Exec branch, it isn't a stretch to believe this idea didn't emanate in the Pentagon.
     
  4. Sangre Naranjada

    Sangre Naranjada 10,000+ Posts

     
    • Like Like x 1
  5. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

     
    • Like Like x 3
  6. Monahorns

    Monahorns 5,000+ Posts

    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The year is 2130, the Space Force patrols the planet, driver-less cars and trucks operate on the streets, burrito prices remain too high and Bill Snyder wins 10 games.</p>&mdash; Brent Blum (@brentblum) <a href="">August 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
    <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

    The most plausible part of that tweet is the last statement.
     
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  7. ProdigalHorn

    ProdigalHorn 10,000+ Posts

    On the face, I'd say that makes sense. There may be a specific reason for it, possibly that the issues involved are completely different from what the Air Force does. Just because the Air Force flies doesn't mean they're the best group to deal with taking out armed satellites or something of that nature.

    *dun dun DUNNNNN*

    I dunno... maybe he got more information on what they were planning and how they were moving forward and he changed his mind?
     
    • Like Like x 1
  8. ProdigalHorn

    ProdigalHorn 10,000+ Posts

    OK first of all, this idea may or may not be stupid. But the argument that "do you SEE any spaceships???" is a good response for not doing this is every bit as stupid.

    That's like telling Poland, "Look, Russia hasn't lobbed any missiles at you, so why would you NEED a defense system?" (Oh wait... I think someone DID tell them that.)

    The reality is that countries have been looking at ways to weaponize satellite tech for a while. Most speculation I've read about North Korea creating a missile that can hit the US involve shooting a missile that leaves the atmosphere before coming back down. It's pretty ridiculous to argue that we shouldn't at least be THINKING about this stuff.

    If you believe that space weaponization is a possibility, do you really want to be second? So why would you say "Look, there's no death star up there. What's the problem???"
     
    • Like Like x 2
  9. mchammer

    mchammer 10,000+ Posts

    For those mocking the Space Force, when was the last time there was an alien invasion? I thought so. They keep us safe.
     
  10. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    Fair points, but they don't support the premise that we should create a new branch. They only question the certainty that we shouldn't. As conservatives, we would never be that deferential to the idea of expanding the bureaucracy to that extent and shouldn't be here.
     
  11. Seattle Husker

    Seattle Husker 10,000+ Posts

    Or maybe he simply stepped in line? More information...like from the White House?
     
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  12. bystander

    bystander 10,000+ Posts

  13. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

  14. BrntOrngStmpeDe

    BrntOrngStmpeDe 1,000+ Posts

    My guess is that this Trump's effort to be "the guy" that initiated the space force the way JFK is associated with the Special Warfare School.

    And given the service rivalries that are in place I'm sure that the other branches were not to keen on letting the chair force hog this one. They've all done the same thing with cyber. It was going to be a AF mission for a while but none of the services wanted to give up the future cash cow.
     
  15. Seattle Husker

    Seattle Husker 10,000+ Posts

    I'm mocking it right now. We may eventually need some sort of presence there but as a priority right now? Ludicrous! By all appearances this is an idea that was prematurely released.

    Buzz Aldrin's reaction matches my own:
     
  16. bystander

    bystander 10,000+ Posts

    I was just posting it because it was a bit of a surprise given his politics (meaning bash Trump no matter what he does). But he's an outer space physics kind of guy so I think he's intrigued and likes to see money spent out there even if it's the military budget.
     
  17. bystander

    bystander 10,000+ Posts

    Was Kennedy's famous moon before the end of the decade just because it's hard necessary then? Maybe it was a sign to the Soviet Union. But China and Russia are acting very aggressive and sinister and on some level, the TOTAL SPECTRUM DOMINANCE as described by PNAC is in need of at least some hype to send the clear message that we will remain a military superpower and that space is the next frontier for that.
     
  18. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    Honestly, I don't have enough information to mock it. It seems dumb and at best premature, but what are we really talking about? Nobody has gotten specific or even provided much of a rationale. At this point, it basically just sounds like an over budget sci-fi movie.
     
  19. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    The Turks are sweatin to the oldies

    [​IMG]

    Turkish Lira per US Dollar
    Five years ago: 1.92
    Four years ago: 2.11
    Three years ago: 2.76
    Two years ago: 2.95
    One year ago: 3.54
    Six months ago: 3.81
    Three months ago: 4.28
    Now: ~6.5

    Maybe AAPL will just buy Turkey?
     
  20. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    Sen. Grassley has announced that the Senate Confirmation Hearings for Brett Kavanaugh will be Sept 4–7
    Opening statements from both Kavanaugh and the Senate will be Sept 4. Questioning begins Sept 5.
    The SCOTUS starts its annual term on Oct 1
    Thus, this schedule leaves plenty of time for confirmation prior to the start
     
  21. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    Trumpstock

     
  22. Vol Horn 4 Life

    Vol Horn 4 Life Good Bye To All The Rest!

    I hear that premature releasing is a major issue. I think there are drugs for that.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  23. mchammer

    mchammer 10,000+ Posts

    Individual receipts were up 7.9% in the first 10 months of fiscal 2018.
    The Editorial BoardAug. 10, 2018 6:58 p.m. ET
    Perhaps you’ve read that the federal budget deficit is rising again, and that’s true. But what you probably haven’t heard is that the main reason is spending, not falling revenue from tax cuts.

    The Congressional Budget Office released its budget summary for July this week, and the deficit for the first 10 months of fiscal 2018 reached $682 billion, up $116 billion from a year earlier. Federal spending increased by $143 billion for all the usual reasons—especially Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

    But revenues were higher as well—up $26 billion. Corporate income taxes were down substantially as expected in the wake of the tax reform that cut the corporate rate and added 100% expensing. But individual income taxes increased by $104 billion, or 7.9%, despite the cut in individual tax rates. How could that be? CBO says one reason is that withholding from paychecks increased by $32 billion, which “largely reflects increases in wages and salaries.” In other words, a faster-growing economy employed more people who made more money.

    Individual tax receipts were down a bit in July but that was more than offset by record revenue in April, the biggest month for tax receipts. Meanwhile, don’t believe everything you read about tax reform and deficits. Higher spending is the real problem.
     
  24. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    I would be curious to know what the actual numbers are for corporate tax revenue. (For the record, in Deezestan, I wouldn't have a corporate income tax, but I would treat capital gains as ordinary income.)
     
  25. mchammer

    mchammer 10,000+ Posts

    Same here. Corporate tax departments are a complete waste. But I would treat all dividends and capital gains at 20% (same percentage as federal spending per gdp).
     
  26. Seattle Husker

    Seattle Husker 10,000+ Posts

    For Trump? It better be able to incapacitate thumbs, this drug.
     
  27. Seattle Husker

    Seattle Husker 10,000+ Posts

    Criticism of Donald Trump = "erratic behavior"?

    Trump revokes John Brennan's security clearance.

    The Admin isn't claiming that Brennan exposed any confidential information, merely that his behavior is "erratic". If that's the new bar for having a security clearance then is it possible to remove DJT's access? Is anyone more "erratic" than him?

    Brennan seems to be an old school company man. Trump's proclivity towards demonstrating a lack of class or respect for diplomatic norms is a trigger for him.
     
  28. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    The leader of the Democrats just turned 80

     
  29. Horn6721

    Horn6721 10,000+ Posts

    Brennan hasn't shown any diplomatic class.
    or class of any type
     
  30. Joe Fan

    Joe Fan 10,000+ Posts

    If this is true, Dems are in a bigger mess than I thought

     

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