SpankyMcFarland

Some opinions from Republican senators: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY): "So the nation's top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong – Take your pick." Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC): Described the fund as "stupid on stilts." He added: "It will invariably put us in a position where your taxpayer dollars and my taxpayer dollars could potentially compensate someone who assaulted a police officer... That's absurd." He also referred to the proposal as "tyranny." Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA): Called it a slush fund with "no legal precedent," noting: "People are concerned about paying their mortgage or rent, affording groceries and paying for gas, not about putting together a $1.8 billion fund for the president and his allies." Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME): Stated she did not support the fund "as it has been described," adding, "I do not believe individuals that were convicted of violence against police officers on Jan. 6 should be entitled to reimbursement of their legal fees." Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): Expressed deep skepticism about the optics and timing of the proposal, calling its unveiling "a giant mistake" and "a galactic blunder."

The way this has turned out must be a wake-up call for the US. The Americans were unable to defend their Gulf allies and shipping against Iranian attack. It turns out that the scale of the assault is what mattered. If the future of Taiwan depends on which side can produce the greater volume of war’s new machines, I’m afraid its fate may already be sealed which would be very bad news for the West. When it comes to fighting the Shaheds in a cost-effective manner, we have one country that stands above everyone else at the moment. Ukraine has vital expertise here that we all should be tapping into.

I don’t know any physician who is not concerned about controlling the risk factors for strokes and heart attacks like diabetes, raised cholesterol and hypertension. However, infectious diseases are a legitimate matter for public health to be interested in. If dangerous epidemics are allowed to spread and particularly if they kill young people, we will all be demanding accountability from government and public health departments.

When you read about Britain in the right-wing media you’d think it was some sort of dystopian hellhole. That’s not the case. North Americans still criticize British cuisine as they have since WWII, apparently unaware of the superb restaurants that now exist these days right across the country offering dishes from every corner of the globe. Get beyond London and walk the beautiful countryside. Yes, it has problems but it’s still a marvellous place.

I never thought much of Gabbard’s political skills. Her speeches were largely devoid of interesting content apart from the odd weird theory and delivered in a dreary monotone. She wasn’t a great salesperson for either party.

That Obama-era matter was a settlement in a real court case. By contrast, in the current matter, the question as to whether the basis for a genuine case here ever existed is very much in doubt as the judge pointed out. What’s stopping Trump and Co. repeatedly suing the state and ordering minions in the Justice department to settle? This number of 1.776 billion is no accident either. The MAGA movement believes it’s involved in a revolutionary transformation of America. If it gets away with stealing like this it will indeed change the country - but not for the better of course.

This is a worrying story: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/22/us-arms-sales-taiwan-pause-iran-war-says-acting-navy-chief If part of the truth, it raises the question how ready America is to defend Taiwan when engaged in a war elsewhere. Of course, the other issue is whether this is part of a weakening of the defence of Taiwan under pressure from Xi. Mitch McConnell got a little barb in here:

I see it alleged on Facebook that this is a Ewing’s sarcoma which more commonly occurs in children and young adults. In older adults the prognosis is not as good.

In terms of tackling terrorism, the record is clear: we have had to manage it as a chronic problem. Simplistic solutions are often counter-productive. If one has to escalate to invading another country, Americans have learned the hard way that, even with the best intentions, foreign armies tend to end up being seen as occupiers. The wisest strategy is to avoid such entanglements as much as possible and get out as soon as possible.

Are you American, ie, from the USA? Or are you a Canadian who yearns to be American? There is a simple cure.

Who likes inflation? Ask voters about it and they will respond very much in the negative even though the numbers are mild by historical standards. However, there is more to running a country than that and the crucial question at election time will be: do you think the other guy can do a better job overall? Carney only has to be preferable to the alternative. Despite all the difficulties facing our government, can anyone claim PP is inspiring much confidence at the moment? He should be doing better and the Tories know it.

And the supply of enemies changes with each attack on the country. It’s not a static number. Why is this so hard to understand after Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq? It’s counter-insurgency 101. People who are not fond of the regime are still Iranian, love their country and hate seeing it bombed by foreigners.

No. I would like to see the Western model of liberal democracy in every country. However, we are not going to deal with China effectively by denying the threat it poses. China is successful despite its dreadful system, not because of it. The country has so many brilliant entrepreneurs and engineers that they can overcome the obstacles put in their path by Xi and Co.

I think you’re going to have to give the Chinese more credit than that. While their country has appalling failings they have worked hard and smart for their success.

Has anything on this scale ever occurred before in US history?

When it comes to health care you can only have two of the following: high quality, low cost, easy availability. Most of the best medical systems are in Europe and have a mixed approach, public and private. Bear in mind these are microstates compared to Canada. It’s a lot easier to deliver care in a tiny country. IMO the best peer is Australia which resembles us in many ways, including geographically. They also have a mixed system.

That’s my impression.

What is the best scientifically evidence, eg from RNA viral sequences, that the lab leak theory is true? For my money this is not a settled question.

China is not a nation in decline. No reasonable person believes that. Like every country, it faces significant challenges. One of them in China’s case is demographic.

Well, I can claim the files haven’t been released in anything like their entirety. That’s not a conspiracy theory but a simple fact.

What actually happened remains obscure because so many of the files have not been released. What is absolutely clear is that Trump desperately resisted releasing even the stuff we have seen.

I suspect America’s military edge is something nobody should bank on. Military power often lags behind economic expansion. Who feared the US army in the Thirties? Then WWII came along and America’s overwhelming industrial superiority was brought to bear on entirely new military problems. To make matters worse, we’re at an inflection point where drones and cyber are becoming much more important. This minor war with Iran has revealed worrying deficiencies in America’s ability to defend its allies against even the primitive Shahed drones of Iran. The missiles used have often been absurdly expensive and will require rare earth metals to replace them. Where will those scarce resources come from? I’m sure China is doing its sums and figuring out what all this means for Taiwan’s security. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/09/middle-east-war-weapons-china-00864622

Come back to reality? You’re saying that? Anybody still defending Trump on Epstein is beyond help.

Prudent people think about the future. The rare earth disaster was coming for decades and yet Trump walked blindly into that trap. In addition, America is living beyond its means and has failed to compete with China in the renewable sector. On top of that, Trump has alienated every liberal democracy on the planet. America’s natural allies don’t want to have anything to do with the country while Trump is in charge.

This fact remains: your dear leader needs to watch what he says about Xi. He would have loved to have gone to China after his Iran disaster was fixed. Now he looks even weaker.