You have no clue how economies work. That’s obvious to everyone.
Every professional economist will tell you clearly, the attempted blackmail using the debt ceiling as a hostage has already cost hundreds of millions or more in lost revenue/investment, and will cost TRILLIONS if our credit rating is lowered significantly, which it will be soon.
How much of that spending was Republican spending (and unprecedented economic losses) from 2019-20?
How much did they/you care in 2017-20? ZERO…that’s how much.

The economy was doing great under Biden until over leveraged banks started failing. It’s still doing well, but could falter. The bank failures are 100% due to thoughtless deregulation by maggots.

“What the Republicans passed is fair even if Democrats dont like it.”
You don’t even know the topic now? “Whatever the maggots passed”…like trillions handed back to billionaires then claiming poverty, claiming millions to feed children bankrupted us, not TRILLIONS TO BILLIONAIRES. (Or do you mean the MAGA brainless budget proposal guaranteed to create a depression, massive unemployment, and doubling or tripling the homeless while bankrupting the nation?). You are such a silly little boy.

What they should have done is repeal the Trump handouts, reinstate reasonable corporate rates (with minimum tax rates so no company and no one making $75k pays zero), that would erase any need to raise the debt, but to your ilk that’s a non starter because those poor billionaires need that money for buying and destroying companies like Twitter.

ROTFLMFAHS!! First, Bush left two wars off those books, then crashed the economy into depression. Obama pulled it out and left the economy healthy and growing. Trump in 4 years, starting with a healthy economy and balanced budget spent as much in 4 years as Obama in 8, raising the spending levels like an rocket and lowered the income of the government by trillions, made gdp a NEGATIVE number, unemployment skyrocketing like never before in history, (and don’t forget over 1 MILLION DEAD Americans and what, 10 million disabled?)

Government has both an income and spending problem…wasting $40 billion on a fence that has INCREASED immigration rates (but refusing to increase border control spending to hire more agents)…wasting $10 billion on a border stunt by Texas that didn’t catch a single smuggler but caused shortages and gridlocks at the border and ports for weeks. Outraged at the idea of staffing the IRS enough to enforce tax laws despite it being guaranteed to make billions in recovered taxes that otherwise go unpaid. Causing billions to be spent protecting government workers and buildings from terrorist maggots and their mobs and death threats and bombs, molotovs, guns, nooses, etc.

Social security isn’t a general fund item, dummy. Cutting it doesn’t put money in the coffer, it merely lowers how much workers pay into their accounts and takes some from those who already paid in.

Bank failures are due to deregulation that allowed over investment without cash reserves so when interest rates went above zero, which was guaranteed to happen sometime, they were guaranteed to lose their shirts. Regulations were put in place to make that 100% illegal after 08, and were removed in 18 guaranteeing a repeat.

Inflation caused by 1/3 of every dollar being created out of thin air under Trump while our GDP tanked. Both caused inflation.

Yeah, sure…Trump caused the crisis, failed to properly address it exacerbating it by a factor of 10, finally started to a hundred days late and billions of dollars short. Biden turned a negative Trump gdp around to positive, fixed the unprecedented high unemployment under Trump, and got Covid under control…but it’s Biden that broke the camel’s back with his 10% contribution, not Trump’s 90%….in fact we should get Trump back and get the ball rolling downhill again. 🤦‍♂️

Blaming both sides (which you are attempting) doesn’t solve the problem. Solving the problem solved the problem, and Biden has solved many problems Trump left behind and solves more every day while Trump gets another indictment for criminally personally benefiting from mismanagement, fraud, thefts, sale of state secrets, covering for murders, vote fraud FOR HIM, etc.

Trying to blame Dark Brandon for the horrific mess Trump left does not solve the problem, it attempts to distract from it with nonsense.

Wasn’t the wall, that Trump said was finished, supposed to slow immigration? Seems like it failed 100%.

I suppose blue city mayors should send bus loads of recently released gang members to San Antonio and Houston….to share the pain…since Texas is sending what it claims are all drug smugglers.

It’s not the numbers, it’s the intentional disruption of services by dumping them without notice in large groups to intentionally overwhelm social services. It’s a stunt with meaningless results that’s costing Texas money much better spent on border security. For the money, they could have stopped ten times as many from entering (but not been a snide dick to NEW YORK CITY! (somebody get a rope).

Texas is incapable of doing anything meaningful about immigration or smuggling because they’re a failed bankrupt state with ethically bankrupt leadership that do nothing useful, only exorbitant stunts costing billions for zero results, so they want to share their failure. Turnabout is fair play, send 6000 MS13 members to Houston and ask “why are you complaining?”, or how about 10000 Afghan refugees in trade? Hilarious that a state that prides itself on standing on its own two feet, never wanting any federal involvement, pawns 100% of blame on the fed for not fixing their failure to secure their border.

I like how the theory is “one day when they have all the levers of power the left will make the illegal immigrants into voting citizens to grab the levers of power”, not realizing the mistake in the “logic”.

@bobknight33, with the exception of the crime of illegal entry, undocumented immigrants commit crimes at levels much lower than citizens. This is historical and statistical fact. Why isn’t Fox screaming bloody murder about the white gangs selling fentenal, or their own members sex trafficking, hiring illegals, and organ harvesting!?

Jesus Fuck! Last year Trump tried to invade Mexico and start a war on the Southern border by sending 250000 troops to the border with instructions to follow cartel smugglers back into Mexico and murder them there. Thank our lucky stars someone realized how illegal and dangerous his plan was and stopped it, or the Southern states would all be Mexico now and America would be a new world pariah.

Can’t wait for the Jan 6 report. Ex presidents don’t have executive privilege, Trump’s actions will come to light, and that will prove you support an anti American traitor who attempted a coup.

It also came to light the extent of some of his tax frauds. Just one instance, one golf course he owned was valued for taxes at $15 million. He insisted that was an outrageous inflation, it was only worth $1.5 million, and he sued repeatedly to get the taxed value lowered. At the same time, 2015 and after, he listed it as an asset when filling out financial disclosure forms to run for president, there he listed the value as well over $50 million (for credit purposes). That’s both tax and bank fraud, and just one of hundreds of felonious frauds he perpetrated for decades. Daddy Trump will likely die in prison.

huh "Directed by the Swedish collective StyleWar in collaboration with production company Smuggler, the music video accompanies BRONSON ’s newly released track “Keep Moving.” The short is comprised of stock footage that’s manipulated and layered with CGI to create the frenzied office nightmare, according to a statement. For more of Smuggler’s comical projects, head to Vimeo."

In case anyone was wondering: the actual named company exists and---it's apparently a financial accounting firm?

https://bronsoninc.com

I cannot fathom how one would use their constitutional rights to smuggle someone into the country, but I did already state I don't think smugglers are doing good, or the right thing.

I would, however, fully support someone standing on their legal rights to help people who are deserving asylum, or at least to help offer the opportunity to apply for it.

I don't get the same feeling, that this guy (hero) flaunts the law to help people flaunt it. I got the idea he used the law to protect them....within the law. Without a signed warrant or conviction, they aren't yet illegals any more than you are after speeding but not being caught. They aren't even named suspects.

Note, I never said anything close to "by any means necessary", because I don't support any such thing. You said that. I said because democracy is broken and the majority is stymied by the minority, stopped from legislating solutions, sometimes "flaunting the law" is the only method left to avoid callously walking away and letting innocents be returned to certain death. A far cry from any means necessary, which would have people murdering border agents to let in everyone. I didn't even say "ends justify the means." I said "Sometimes the wrong method is the only path to the right outcome." That's desperation, not justification.

True, but that's not the case here.
Edit: I was simply explaining why changing the laws, while the right method, might not be a possibility even though it's supported by a majority. Democracy in America is broken, as I explained, and obstructionism is rampant. People shouldn't be forced to suffer because of that fact if it can be avoided, imo.

No sir. It's his job and sworn duty to follow and uphold the law. Ignoring the words, words that stated the law and legal rights, is the same as ignoring (flaunting) the law, their rights, his job, and his sworn duty.

There's no such duty for the average citizen, who may recognize the failure and obstruction of democracy and, to avoid inhumane treatment of friends and family, stand on their legal rights to deny ice agents the opportunity to abuse their powers and lie about their authority in order to trick the ignorant into not availing themselves of the protections they enjoy under the law. (It's obvious that changing the law to force them to be honest about people's rights and the law is a non starter, since police and prison guard unions are the biggest non corporate lobbyist groups, and they are consistent in their insistence that they be allowed to lie to citizens about the law and rights.) That is not flaunting the law, it's availing oneself of their rights under it, granted it's sometimes in an effort to help others flaunt it.

Often those flaunting the rules of the state regarding who can and cannot enter and stay in the country are the ICE or border agents themselves, as exemplified in this video and many others....but smugglers, who also fit that bill, aren't doing good either, imo.

This person, however, was not flaunting the rules of the state, he was insisting the police follow them if they wish to arrest people, even suspected undocumented immigrants. You agree with that action, I hope.

Nah, this flying boat's too visible on radar. The smugglers are going to be running this baby:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJCQKuMq3vY

Man, I'm suuuper late to this party....
Anyways, Die Hard is and is not a Christmas movie at the same time. And it depends on your definition what makes a Christmas movie.
I'm gonna take an insane detour here that'll make sense.
Is Star Wars Episode 4 a science fiction movie?
That setting is futuristic, sure, must be sci-fi then. Lasers, Spaceships, Robots, the works. The checklist is done. Sci-Fi.
But what are the themes it touches upon, what is the story?
A young farmer's boy (naturally an adoptred orphan) named Luke is dragged into a rebellion against an evil king (Palpatine) by accident. When the boy get's hold of a pretty princess' (RIP Carrie Fisher) message to an old ally and menthor (Obi) through the fault of her two comic-relief servants (Robot-slaves), he decides to seek the adventure he's yearning for. He finds the old man (by fucking up) and both seek the next harbor to board a ship to join the resistance. The hire smuggler/pirate/bandit/nerfherder Han and his foreign friend Chewie and cross paths with the black knight Lord Vader, the evil kings enforcer. Hijinks ensue, princess rescued, the magic castle/ship/train of the evil king get's destroyed and everyone gets a medal.
What's exactly sci-fi here?
That could play out in medieval times. Or ancient greece. Or the wild west. Or on Christmas.
The setting and the genre are two different things and both determine what you'll label a story with.
Alien is a horror movie, a slasher. Aliens is a war movie. Alien³ is a horror movie of the animal-gone-maneater kind. Alien: Resurrection is a disaster movie (hihi).
They're all sci-fi, like Star Wars. Because of the setting.
Now look at Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 Episode 9 'The Measure Of A Man'.
Lasers, spaceships, robots, the usual. What is it about?
A Robot who's so sophisticated that he has to go to trial to prove he's not property but a real boy. Sure, you'll say, I've seen Pinocchio and I can see african men argue the same stuff in the 18th century. The point of the story is not only that is humanity is questioned, the point is he's an artificial lifeform. The question is not only 'What makes you a person?' but also 'When does artificial intelligence become an artificial person?'
That shit won't work in a setting without spaceships and robots. That's sci-fi because of its story.
So, setting and story are both what makes you label a movie a certain way but they're not the same.
Die Hard. Happens on Christmas. Could be Thanksgiving too. Setting interchangeable.
Story? Doesn't contain any christmas-related themes beyond two estranged family members become closer again. That could happen at a funeral as well.
I'm in my mid-thirties and I love Die Hard. It's one of the best 80's action movies. I can watch it anytime and I've seen it at least 20 times (noit joking here). But mostly in the summer. But I understand the question and its diverse answers perfectly well.
Die Hard is a christmas movie if it feels like one to you. For me, Lord of the Rings (especially Fellowship) feels like a Christmas movie to me. I've seen them all in theatres in December, I watched them on VHS and Blu-Ray only in December so far. They have fuck all to do with the occasion but this year was the first one I didn't watch any of them in December. And I feel I missed something this year. I'm not sure I can watch them at this time of the year.

There's something wrong with all those pictures...all of those camps are almost completely empty. What's the story with that? There must be a reason...such as those staying there are not allowed to work, but must still pay for food and services, or something else untenable. People would not be paying thousands of dollars for a chance to take their familys on an overloaded rubber raft across dangerous waters and continuing on a dangerous voyage through hostile countries to unknown possible places of refuge if there was a reasonable, safe place for them on the border of Syria.
Also, to be sure, tent cities are less than ideal in Southern Turkey where the temperature is often deadly....but they are better than nothing.
I'm not sure, beyond the smugglers getting them to Greece and food on the trail, what the Syrians might pay for that helps them reach Europe. The train tickets they're buying don't cost much, do they? Certainly not the thousands they pay the smugglers....but perhaps paying the smugglers is what you mean.

Straight from the Guardian's current article on the most recent shipwreck in the Med:

The deaths are likely to renew calls from campaigners for Europe to reinstate full-scale search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean. Last October, the EU opted not to replace the Italian-run Operation Mare Nostrum, which saved about 100,000 lives last year, amid fears that it was encouraging smugglers and migrants to organise more trips to Europe.

What they forgot to mention: Italy would have continued Mare Nostrum if the rest of this bloody EU had bothered to pitch in with a few bucks. The total bill was €114 million per year. Petty cash, by any measure.

The replacement, Frontex's Operation Triton, doesn't even have a mandate to save shipwrecked folks, just to keep them away from EU soil.

European values worthy of yet another Nobel Peace Price, I'd say...

Heh, i live in Kokkola.. We are the neighboring town for Jakobstad and that's where Sara comes from She lived here for couple of years doing music studies.

Kokko is also an old word for an eagle and while Kokkola is understood now as "place for bonfires", it actually comes "place for eagles" as legend says that eagles liked to rest on the rock in the bay. "City that rose from the sea" is is accurate description as around 1200s there were only the exact hill i live on and one other places above the water.. In fact, there is still an old smugglers tunnel, less than 50m away from where i sit right now that leads to the old shoreline, maybe 200m long that was used in 1600s. The sea itself is now about 3-4km from here.

The good news is, i could sit here for a hundred years without fearing rising sea waters.. Not that i intend to but i could.

@VoodooV

Blankfist loves that word. Though I often question if he knows what it means. Totalitarianism or Police Sate just don't have the same ring to his ear.

Per my post it really would be useful to have the full story here. I know that wanting all the facts and understanding the entire situation before jumping to conclusions isn't popular, but I'm ok with that.

Surely there are a large range of possibilities of what happened here ranging from the police and doctors went totally insane to David Ersatz is a known drug smuggler with a confirmed history...

Let's just all pretend that we can reach informed conclusions based upon this video and the recycled news cloud it formed.

/sarcasm: Go listen to the Young Turks I'm sure they have many interesting things to say.

"Oy! I think I ripped me budgy smugglers!"

In reply to this comment by MrFisk:
Happy birthday, video smuggler.

LOL! Thank you!

All due respect but I take offense to you bringing race into this.

1). You don't know this guy's race, so to start, you are off base.
2). I don't understand how you think white people don't understand authority. I've never seen a get out of jail free card. That assumption is a generalization and is therefor again off base.
3). I know and respect border officials and know how to respond when they ask their questions. It has NOTHING to do with race. It has to do with respect of authority. Something this guy let slip and boom, he's detained. As expected as anyone of any ethnicity would be detained.

I (as a white guy) have never expected a free ride because of race and as such always respond or act in the required manner expected of myself as needed. Respect gets respect.

You are right - "He doesn't understand this situation at all"
But this is NOT a Minorities Game. This is an Authority Game. plain and simple.
Throwing derogatory race comments around isn't necessary.

Thank you for your consideration.
(Again,all due respect, I'm not trying to start something - just pointing out that calling out race is off-base and may be called racist in itself)

>> ^legacy0100:

WHITE PEOPLE ARE SOOOOOOOOOO FUNNY!!!! LOL He doesn't understand this situation at all!! LOL!
Authority figures don't want back talk or any type of attitude from you. Why? Because they are being fair. I know that sounds fucked up but hear me out. The ironic part about being fair is that in order to treat everyone equally, including illegal immigrants and smugglers, they have to be tough to EVERYONE so that they wouldn't be accused of being bias or be accused of racial profiling. So more crimes & illegal activities going on around the border, the tougher they have to treat regular innocent citizens. So look at it from a socio-economic perspective rather than just one isolated encounter. And be happy that everyone is now being treated equally. Yay.
The bottom line is that the officer is being fair, and the man IS resisting the officer. The funny part is that he thinks he's totally clean, and expects a special 'White Canadian' treatment, which he is denied. And he's raising a fuss over it because he just found out that he isn't SPECIAL anymore.
Minorities know all too well how this game goes, and I just find it fascinating how this Canadian couple (assumed Caucasian) just can't grasp the concept that he was defying the officer's orders just now, and has no fear of resisting an authority figure. This is such a fundamental difference in culture because every minority in North America would have been familiar with this drill before. Ready your papers, yes sir, no sir, show that you cooperate with the authorities, and be on your way. Also, most minorities are familiar with the repercussions of disobeying an authority figure, and would like more than anything to avoid that situation as the laws aren't so gentle and understanding when it comes to minorities. So minorities know exactly what to do in this situation.
However,(assumed non-minority) Canadian man thinks such treatment unto him is unfair and protests, demanding that the officer answer HIS questions instead of he answering the officer's questions. He sees the officer as his equal, and has no problem challenging him incessantly. I assume that he has never been treated this way before in his life, being treated just like the rest of the minorities have been for centuries. I just find this HILARIOUS. This just goes to show how divided our country really is, and how ironic to see that what is considered as normal practice to minorities, is deemed absolutely unacceptable to a white guy. Welcome to the life of minorities, friend!
Well perhaps he could take solace in the fact that everyone else being treated equally the same way in no regards to their race or ethnic country of origin. He should be happy this has happened to him (sarcasm!) Equality Achieved!