DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Trump Campaign Promises Part 4

I think that's one of the most failed potential opportunities that COVID brought about, demonstrating pig-headedness on our part. European downtowns thrive because they are people and living-centric. Our downtowns suffered a long time because they were business centric. COVID was our chance to pivot, like you said, and we botched it.

If it makes you feel any better, it's not so easy to find common sense in leadership in the private sector, either.

They have to wait til president Musk puts them up for sale. Otherwise they will sit there empty for another 45 years, on the taxpayers dime, with no one uttering a word. If the last administration had a shred of foresight beyond the 72 hour propaganda cycle, they would have started selling the properties off so there would be no workplace to return to. DL blames Trump when he really should be blaming the #unelected that ran the country under Biden.

I think it will. We just have to get past the wake-up call portion of the poopshow.

They were going to sell 440 of those buildings until they cut the list down to 320 buildings until they cut it down to 0 buildings. The ever turning revolving door continues.......

Trump administration deletes list of hundreds of federal buildings targeted for potential sale

https://apnews.com/article/gsa-federal-buildings-doge-fbi-doj-aa123e9c3b12e38c8fa511c2a727f880

Of course initially included on the list were the headquarters of the FBI and the main Department of Justice building, after deeming them “not core to government operations.” So maybe revisiting the list wasn't such a bad idea after all.

If something smart like this happens, then I'll be right there next to you clapping. Not only is this not happening, but there doesn't appear to be any plan at all. Hence, the frustration.


IMO, this admin is just as fixated on the short-term optics over any sort of long-term strategy as any. I'm ready and willing to eat crow if a common-sense plan ever materializes.

I guess that depends on what you consider common sense. I think our biggest overall disagreement (and why I also disagree with "short-term optics") is the way this whole thing should be approached.

I don't think there is a soul here that can reasonably argue for the gargantuan glut, waste and fraud in our government. While we all can see it as the black mold that it is, most of you think we should walk around with a spray bottle of bleach. I think we need to rip things down to the studs to make sure it never comes back. That won't be pretty and there will be mistakes and casualties.

Creating unneeded casualties is never a positive spin.

That's just it -- the immediate impulse to call them unneeded. They're a requirement of the mission, it can't be done without casualties. But the party that wants to sequester cow farts to save the planet can never see the forest through the trees.

You want no casualties, I want a country where my grandchildren don't live in economic shackles and chains.

First off there is a profession that actually is supposed to do this type of operation. Forensic accountants. Making excuses why this can't be done by the proper professionals in a professional manner seems to be all the rage. You pretend that the only way to accomplish what you want is by doing it wrong. That's both dishonest and disingenuous.

It can be both if people insisted it be dome right rather than using the mind set of a child. "I want it all and I want it right this minute!"

I never blamed Trump for not selling buildings in DC. Biden should have divested those. Anyone in the COVID era should have.

The way I would say that we are doing it is that we see black mold throughout, but this approach is just ripping apart one way all of the house and compromising some load bearing sections while ignoring areas where mold is more prolific and much more easily accessed.

I was in complete agreement with you up until (possibly) this part, only because I don't think that is what is happening. They fired the folks that look after our nuclear arsenal only to hire them back the next day. The people from DOGE that are going into these departments have little no no knowledge of how these govt departments work (or in this case, don't work). Taking things down to the studs sounds great (and I agree with you on what's needed), but the guy responsible for taking down the drywall appears to be using dynamite, and hasn't put forward any sort of vision as to how things are supposed to work once the dust is settled.

... and I'm not even going to get into all the conflicts of interest going on.

I mean you're blaming Trump for your return to the office when you should be blaming Biden for not selling the office fast enough. Mostly a joke anyway.

Very well stated. Although USAID was about as easy access is there is. One big ball of corruption with a few good programs to make it pass the sniff test (not really though).

This is the part where they have to learn quickly and adjust or it all becomes a disaster. TBC with my next response to Oober as this all fits together...

I think handing Elon (or someone like him), a chainsaw, was all-but-necessary to get the ball rolling and see how quickly things could move. I think the correction was actually pretty quick -- tear out the drywall but don't cut the studs, the building inspectors will move in and spray paint the changes (ie... who remains, who gets fired, where the program goes from there). I think the meeting in the Oval with Rubio was a quick, necessary turning point.

I was talking to my son about how I would handle this "business". I spoke about how Trump can very often be blind to ancillary damage when he makes up his mind about something. Definitely a bull in the china shop. I told him there must be some kind of care applied to parts of these programs that make sense or he'll quickly lose his audience and support.

In this day and age, I'd actually let the opposing media do all the heavy lifting. As soon as they expose some starving children as a result of an USAID cut, I'd jump on stage and tell the world we're sending helicopters there with AID as we speak, and "reitify" (George Dubya voice) that it is never our intent to hurt people deserving of our aid. Good parts of each program need to be funneled to the next, the one that makes the most sense to be the adopting parent.

Hire carpenters to do your plumbing. You don't care about all of the leaks as long as they can get your water running.

Like I've said before...

If any of the admin's actions/behaviors gave the impression that they were following a plan equivalent to what you laid out, I wouldn't be near as negative. I'm aware that taking on an enemy as big and complicated as govt waste, you're not going to bat 1.000... and if it turns out that they are following a carefully laid out plan, then I'll gladly eat crow.

I don't expect I'll be eating crow, though.


The several instances where they've fired people only to have to urgently hire them back (ex. nuclear arsenal folks and ATC) tells me they don't know where the studs are before they start cutting. Now that they're getting into SS and DoE, we probably won't feel the effects for a while.

I don't think it is that hard to find leaders with common sense - both side
Dems - Andy Bashir, Mark Kelly
Reps - Brian Kemp, Larry Hogan

The trouble is actually getting the people to vote for them

Gotcha. Sorry I misread.

Good convo. I actually hated to see USAID cut the way it was with a chainsaw. With a lot of these places, it wasn't really the fault of the employees or a lot of the missions involved, but basically what I referred to earlier, being that Congress has the power of the purse, Congress appropriates funds, and Congress authorizes how those funds can be spent. Oftentimes, those funds get rerouted to the people who pull the strings of the 535. The problem is that we're cutting off the heads of the hydra and not the heart.

You're going to have that fallout like you mentioned, but you're also going to have Congress still being the problem at the end of the day. I mentioned before, but the real fallout of all this - meaning worst case scenario - is that we go through all this drama and spending/deficit are still as big of a problem as they were, or they've gotten worse. I don't know if that'll happen, but if it does, that's when the S hits the fan.

Can I ask what “Fertilization President” means?

Didn't know where the post it-Darwin doing its thing
Oh yeah-we are up to 10 cases in Ashtabula County

Doctors treating people hospitalized as part of a measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico have also found themselves facing another problem: vitamin A toxicity.

At Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, near the outbreak’s epicenter, several patients have been found to have abnormal liver function on routine lab tests, a probable sign that they’ve taken too much of the vitamin, according to Dr. Lara Johnson, pediatric hospitalist and chief medical officer for Covenant Health-Lubbock Service Area.

The measles virus, paramyxoviridae from the Morbillivirus family, transmission microscopy view. (Photo by: BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Related article
Measles cases rise to 23 in Kansas, may be linked to large multistate outbreak

The hospitalized children with the toxicity were all unvaccinated.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has centered his response to the outbreak on vitamin A, even suggesting in a Fox News interview that it could work “as a prophylaxis.”

But overuse of vitamin A can have serious health consequences, and there is no evidence that it can prevent measles.

The only way to prevent infection with the measles virus is through the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is 97% effective against measles after two doses. Kennedy has said that he does “encourage” vaccination but that it is a “personal choice.”

“If people have the mistaken impression that you have an either-or choice of MMR vaccine or vitamin A, you’re going to get a lot of kids unnecessarily infected with measles. That’s a problem, especially during an epidemic,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine. “And second, you have this unregulated medicine in terms of doses being given and potential toxicities.”

In specific doses taken under the care of a physician, vitamin A can play a role in treatment for measles. That’s why the World Health Organization and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend it in serious cases. But the patients who were reported to have toxicity were probably not taking the vitamin under the supervision of a physician, Johnson said.

MMR vaccine administer prep is pictured during a drive at the City of Lubbock Health Department in Lubbock, Texas, on February 27.
Related article
When speaking with vaccine-hesitant patients, pediatricians turn to these tips

Vitamin A is most useful for measles support in people who have a specific deficiency, and studies suggesting its use mainly draw on evidence from low-income countries where that deficiency is common. The patients in West Texas are generally well-nourished, said Dr. Lesley Motheral, a pediatrician in Lubbock, so experts say it’s unclear how beneficial the vitamin might be in this setting.

Vitamin A has an important role in immunity and vision. It’s fat-soluble, so when someone takes too much, it can accumulate in organs like the liver. Excess vitamin A can cause dry skin and eyes, blurry vision, bone thinning, skin irritation, liver damage and other serious issues. In pregnant women, excess vitamin A can lead to birth defects.

Patients with toxicity can receive supportive care like fluids for low blood pressure or moisturizers for dry skin and eyes, Motheral said. But more serious damage will need to be evaluated and given further management.

“Recovery for patients with acute toxicity can be rapid when the vitamin is discontinued,” she said. “Chronic toxicity can affect bones, brain and of course the liver. … Sadly, some of the more serious problems with vitamin A toxicity are not always reversible.”

The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association for dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, issued a statement Wednesday warning parents against using high doses of vitamin A to try to keep their children from getting measles.

“While vitamin A plays an important role in supporting overall immune function, research hasn’t established its effectiveness in preventing measles infection. CRN is concerned about reports of high-dose vitamin A being used inappropriately, especially in children,” the statement says.

Johnson said she has seen people who were taking vitamin A for measles treatment as well as for prevention. She doesn’t know exactly where these patients heard that they should be taking a lot of vitamin A, she said, but the approach is heavily discussed on social media.

“It’s coming out of the health and wellness … influencer industry that downplays the importance of vaccines and tries to promote various spectacular cures like ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine or vitamin A,” Hotez said.

Two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine are 97% effective against measles.
Related article
Kennedy downplays immunity from vaccination as measles outbreak grows

Ivermectin, a deworming medication, and hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, were both incorrectly touted as treatments for the Covid-19 pandemic but resulted in many poison control reports and an estimated $200 million in unnecessary spending. Experts worry that the drug misinformation so rampant during Covid could mirror rhetoric about vitamin A for measles prevention.

In his Fox News interview, Kennedy endorsed an unconventional treatment regimen for measles including a steroid, an antibiotic and cod liver oil, which is rich in vitamin A. He praised two West Texas doctors who he said were using this remedy on their patients and had seen “almost miraculous and instantaneous recovery.”

The antibiotic, clarithromycin, could be an attempt to prevent secondary bacterial infections like pneumonia, but evidence for that is limited. Budesonide is a steroid with a variety of uses, but it’s not clear whether or how it might help someone with measles.

The measles outbreak has now affected at least 379 people across Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Kansas has reported 23 measles cases, and officials said Wednesday that they may also be linked to the outbreak.

Kennedy pffft. Anybody with half a brain knows he’s a quack and poses a threat to our health. But yet here we are.

If he does what he says he wants to regarding the average American diet, quality of food, etc, then I'd argue even all this nonsense will be worth it.

But that's a big if.

100. That's an uphill battle because he's in the middle fighting both ends, big food and lazy Americans who are slow to change any habit. Michelle Obama busted her azz to try to make change and barely made a dent. At least she bypassed the biggest guilty party (parents) and reshaped the quality of school lunches.

We had a joke that Pokemon Go did more for getting kids moving than anything Michelle Obama did over those 8 years.

More Americans say Trump’s second term has been worse than expected, according to a new poll
The Yahoo News/YouGov survey shows the president’s approval rating has fallen since last November amid perceptions that he isn’t prioritizing America’s most important issues.

Andrew RomanoReporter
Thu, March 27, 2025 at 8:00 AM EDT5 min read


https://www.yahoo.com/news/more-ame...d-according-to-a-new-poll-120010590.html

President Trump leaving the White House last week. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.
Generate Key Takeaways

Two months into Donald Trump’s second term, more Americans say his presidential performance has been worse (41%) rather than better (30%) than they expected, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

Another 22% say Trump has been “about the same” as they expected.

The new survey of 1,677 U.S. adults, which was conducted from March 20 to 24, finds the president struggling amid rising economic uncertainty to maintain the political momentum that greeted his reelection last November.


Immediately after Trump’s Nov. 5 victory, 51% of Americans told Yahoo News and YouGov that they approved of the way he had handled his first term in office, while 43% said they disapproved. But today those numbers are reversed, with more Americans disapproving (50%) than approving (44%) of the job that Trump is currently doing.

Likewise, more Americans now rate Trump unfavorably (52%) than favorably (44%) on a personal level. After the election, Trump’s favorable rating (49%) narrowly exceeded his unfavorable rating (48%).

The ‘honeymoon’ effect
Do these numbers mean Trump’s “honeymoon” is over? Possibly. A president’s popularity typically peaks in the initial phase of his presidency. But while more Americans said in November that they expected Trump to change America for the better during his second term (45%) than said they expected him to change America for the worse (33%), slightly more now think he is, in fact, doing the opposite: changing the country for the worse (43%) rather than the better (40%).

Perceptions of Trump’s relationship to democracy have shifted as well. In November, more Americans agreed with the idea that Trump “likes to talk tough” but “won’t threaten democracy” during his second term (43%) than agreed with the idea that Trump “poses a real threat to democracy” because “it’s not just tough talk” (39%). Now, however, the number of Americans who say Trump represents a real threat to democracy (47%) is significantly higher than the number who say it’s all just talk (39%).

Why Trump’s popularity has declined
There are two main reasons for Trump’s declining popularity, according to the poll. The first is fairly simple, and likely inevitable.

Trump has dominated U.S. politics for a decade, so views of him are relatively fixed — and polarized. But after the election, at least some Democrats softened their usual opposition to the president.

In November, for example, 68% of Democrats predicted Trump would change America for the worse; today, many more (82%) say that’s what he’s actually doing. In other words, a modest number of Democrats who were willing to “give Trump a chance” late last year have reverted back to opposing the president after seeing how he spent his first months back in office.

The second reason Trump’s popularity is falling may be more self-inflicted: how he’s dealing with — or not dealing with — economic issues.

When asked to identify the most important issue facing the country, nearly half of Americans choose either the cost of living (23%) or the economy (23%). Democracy (12%), immigration (11%) and government spending (8%) trail far behind.

But when asked about the most important issue to Trump — "based on the actions he has taken so far in his second term" — just one in ten Americans pick either the cost of living (2%) or the economy (9%). Far more select immigration (37%) or government spending (25%); one in five say they aren’t sure (19%). All other issues register at 2% or lower.

Real economic worries
This massive disconnect between what’s important to Americans and what seems important to Trump comes at a time of persistent economic anxiety:

Just 26% of Americans now rate the state of the economy as excellent or good; 70% rate it fair or poor. Right before the election, those numbers were 30% and 67%, respectively.

47% of Americans say the economy is getting worse; only 26% say it is getting better.

51% of Americans believe inflation is getting worse, roughly the same as last October.

Only a third of Americans (34%) describe their own personal economic situation as excellent or good, while 64% say it is fair or poor. Those numbers are also unchanged since October.

Most Americans believe the economy is in a recession today (26%) or headed toward one (26%).

A full 87% of Americans say grocery prices are too high, while just 7% say they’re about right and a mere 1% say they’re too low. Two-thirds (66%) say grocery prices are going up.

As a result, Trump’s perceived inattention to the economy and the cost of living has damaged his standing with the public. His rating for handling the economy — 39% approve to 51% disapprove — is now lower than his overall job rating. In fact, Trump’s economic rating is lower today than it was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, from May to June 2020 (49% approve to 45% disapprove, on average).

And Trump’s rating for handling the cost of living is lower still: 34% approve to 54% disapprove.

Tariffs aren’t helping
Meanwhile, the president’s main response to America’s economic challenges — hiking tariffs on imported goods — doesn’t appear to be helping, at least not yet.

It’s true that a plurality of Americans agree with the president that tariffs will force companies to manufacture things in America rather than elsewhere (46% agree, 29% disagree) and raise hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue for the federal government (42% agree, 33% disagree).

But Americans also agree with Trump’s critics by a wider margin that tariffs “will cause a recession" (49% agree, 23% disagree) — and most of all, that tariffs "will increase the amount I personally pay for goods and services" (68% agree, 14% disagree). They do not agree with Trump’s argument that tariffs will force other countries to treat the U.S. more fairly (36% agree, 44% disagree).

Overall, then, it’s no surprise that most Americans believe Trump’s tariffs are having more of a negative effect (51%) than a positive effect (20%) on today’s economy. That gap narrows a bit when Americans are asked to predict the tariffs’ long-term effects, but it is still more negative (44%) than positive (31%).

Most American-made vehicles:

1 Tesla Model 3 Performance 87.5%
2 (tie) Tesla Model Y Long Range 85%
2 (tie) Tesla Model Y 85%
3 Tesla Cybertruck 82.5%
4 (tie) Tesla Model S 80%
4 (tie) Tesla Model X 80%
4 (tie) Ford Mustang GT automatic transmission 80%
4 (tie) Ford Mustang GT 5.0-liter 80%
4 (tie) Ford Mustang GT Coupe Premium 80%
5 (tie) Honda Passport AWD (all-wheel drive) 76.5%
5 (tie) Honda Passport Trailsport 76.5%
6 (tie) Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 76%
6 (tie) Jeep Wrangler Sahara 76%
7 (tie) Volkswagen ID.4 AWD 82-kWh 75.5%
7 (tie) Chevrolet Colorado 2.7-liter 75.5%
7 (tie) GMC Canyon AT4 Crew Cab 4WD (4-wheel drive) 75.5%
7 (tie) GMC Canyon Denali Crew Cab 4WD 75.5%
7 (tie) Chevrolet Colorado LT Crew Cab 2WD 2.7-liter 75.5%
7 (tie) Chevrolet Colorado Z71 Crew Cab 4WD 2.7-liter 75.5%
8 Volkswagen ID.4 RWD (rear-wheel drive) 962-kWh 74.5%
9 (tie) Volkwagen ID.4 RWD 82-kWh 74%
9 (tie) Honda Odyssey 74%
9 (tie) Honda Ridgeline 74%
9 (tie) Honda Pilot 74%
10 Lincoln Corsair 73.5%

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/oth...55435fa2ce4ef4a98e6758f90af8a6&ei=31

GM and Ford lost 10%-15% of their worth overnight due to trumps tariffs. He sure knows how to cause bankruptcy. Good job GOPers, you voted for this crap. MAGA! Making America GAG Again. Pffft.

Good. They masquerade as US companies, enjoy US corporate tax rates and perks, act like they're American and make half their stuff overseas. Nobody cares when American blue-collar workers lose their jobs though, hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Let's burn stuff in the streets though if a government worker has to drive his foreign car back to the office.

BTW, when did they file for bankruptcy?

Why make this comment?

Merit based?

https://www.defensenews.com/pentago...rving-in-a-key-role-inside-the-pentagon/

jc

Trump secured the border with executive orders, just like he said he would. WHERE ARE THE LIBTARDS WHO WHINED AND WHINED AND WHINED THAT BIDEN CANT SECURE THE BORDER, ONLY CONGRESS CAN DO IT.

Morons.

Biden had a bipartisan bill that was going to be the best in history but trump crushed it, so blame trump it didn't happen sooner and better. Facts no caps

Seriously??

Here, let's put the first sentence back and try again.

Nobody cares when American blue-collar workers lose their jobs though, hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Simple contrast. The left has selective outrage depending on who's losing the jobs. Auto workers, Pipeline workers, any federal worker that doesn't get a jab: falls somewhere between "fair game" and cheering in the streets.

Government workers have to drive back to work? Marching in the street, burning ish down again. Can't see the contrast?

You missed the part that said "secured the border". Letting 5000 people in per day isn't securing the border.

I'll grant you that it was the best something in history. Anyone with common sense and a shred of emotional maturity would replace "bill" with "snow job" though.

That's alright though, y'all keep preaching what only 20% of Americans believe. That's doing wonders with the electorate.

Show where only 20% of Americans approved of a bipartisan immigration bill. You've turned into MTG lite.

The bill let zero people passed the boarder because trump stopped it? Get it ole wise one?