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Originally posted by THG:
Trump has failed to lower costs. Now is the time to fight for it.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Because when China countered our tariffs by withholding rare earths, it fucked everything up including car manufacturing. Supplies need to be ensured for manufacturing to happen. It's axiomatic.

THGR:
It's not rare earths that's the problem. We have plenty. It's the infrastructure needed to create the final product that is the problem. Again, one more Trump fuckup.

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Originally posted by THG:

Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution vests the power to lay and collect tariffs with Congress. The Founding Fathers intended for legislative oversight on taxation, tariffs, and related financial matters, viewing tariffs as strategic levers to be used with caution and prudence.

The President has limited latitude to act independently of Congress within the boundaries defined by existing legislation and constitutional principles.

This judicial oversight ensures that the President’s tariff-related powers align with congressional intent and constitutional mandates.

Trump with Tariffs, as with all else, ignores the laws and constitutional boundaries put in place to make sure no one individual wreaked havoc, like a bull in a China shop. Which is exactly what Trump did and is doing.

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The terrible result of which is detrimental to America, tenfold.

First, it’s a tax on not just American businesses, but also on the taxpayer. Which is why it falls to congress. The president does not declare new taxes. He tells his party what he wants in the form of a budget, and the house and senate hash it out and vote on it.

We are the most powerful country in the world, or at least we were a few months ago.

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One reason was because we had friends. Allowing them to profit was a way of keeping them friends. These same friends would help us when we needed them too. Now, because of Trump, they hate us.

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If you or anyone else thinks we are going to see a resurgence of manufacturing anytime soon in America, wrong. It takes a decade to build the infrastructure needed.

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Then, wages will be too high for anyone to profit. If Apple wanted to manufacture the iPhone here. It would take a decade to set up the infrastructure. Then it would cost 3,500 dollars per phone.

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Price hikes because of tariffs are going to make many businesses go under. And these same price hikes are going to cost the average person around 2,300 annually. Why, so Trump can give 2 trillion in tax cuts to the top .01 present.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
SIX, I'm not experiencing inflation like I did under Biden, thank goodness. But I haven't seen prices go down, either. At least not grocery, energy, and healthcare.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Because when China countered our tariffs by withholding rare earths, it fucked everything up including car manufacturing. Supplies need to be ensured for manufacturing to happen. It's axiomatic.

THGR:
It's not rare earths that's the problem. We have plenty. It's the infrastructure needed to create the final product that is the problem. Again, one more Trump fuckup.

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Well, honestly IDK if the USA has enough deposits for all of its industries, altho apparently coal ash (which we have plenty of) is also a possible source.


The big issue with rare earths is extraction, which is incredibly messy. China supposedly has technology which makes extraction more cost effective. Even so, it creates hills of mine tailings and lakes of sludge.


There's a lot of research going on with rare earths extraction, but we're not there yet. So there's technological infrastructure required as well.

Point being, reindustrialization isn't going to happen in three years, it needs decades- long investment, probably needs to be targeted, and probably needs our government to either make preferential loans or take a majority stake in some businesses.

I don't see Trump's scattershot approach good for anything other than the lowest-hanging fruit.

And I'm OK with low- hanging fruit! It's better than nothing! But if we want to go any farther than that, we'll need an actual plan with actual focus.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

SIX, I'm not experiencing inflation like I did under Biden, thank goodness. But I haven't seen prices go down, either. At least not grocery, energy, and healthcare.

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Originally posted by THG:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

SIX, I'm not experiencing inflation like I did under Biden, thank goodness. But I haven't seen prices go down, either. At least not grocery, energy, and healthcare.

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You guys always forget to mention Biden was fixing what Trump broke.

T

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Originally posted by THG:
I see you want to discuss tariffs more comrade. I have no intention of going around in circles concerning tariffs and rare earth minerals. I've been saying before Trump got elected this would happen. You didn’t want to admit it; you just wanted to cut and paste shit about it without accepting the simple fact it was a crazy idea. You still don’t seem to get it. And I don't feel the need to convince you.

T

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

SIX, I'm not experiencing inflation like I did under Biden, thank goodness. But I haven't seen prices go down, either. At least not grocery, energy, and healthcare.

THGR:
You guys always forget to mention Biden was fixing what Trump broke.

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Originally posted by THG:
I see you want to discuss tariffs more comrade. I have no intention of going around in circles concerning tariffs and rare earth minerals. I've been saying before Trump got elected this would happen. You didn’t want to admit it; you just wanted to cut and paste shit about it without accepting the simple fact it was a crazy idea. You still don’t seem to get it. And I don't feel the need to convince you.

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SIX:

What you don't understand is I have no idea what the fuck you're even talking about right now, dude.

I'm not a mind reader. I don't know what makes you bitch and moan from day to day unless you use your big boy words.

You told me WHAT would happen?

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

I hope I've explained my POV on tariffs, and also expressed your concerns adequately.

Next topic?

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

I hope I've explained my POV on tariffs, and also expressed your concerns adequately.

Next topic?

THGR:

Yes, you explained your point clearly. It was void of the understanding that in the 1700 18 hundreds, it took 6 weeks to 2 months for a ship to come from Europe. Today it takes less than a week. The ships were the size of today's school buses and a cargo ship today carries 28 tons. And you ignore the constitution for your personal opinion.

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I thought this was your thread signym when I agreed to come here. Nope, it's Gilligan's. This discussion belongs in my "Trump destroys everything he touches." thread. So, put the next post, topic on the list, you want me to respond to there.

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Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:

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Trump to impose a 100% tariff on "any and all" movies made outside the U.S. in a bid to reclaim Hollywood, which was "stolen" by foreign countries.

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That's the stupidest thing Trump has done so far. Why he would reward the people currently running Hollywood like this, especially when they all hate him, is anyone's guess.

Japan's saying "Oh well... We just made $650 Million + worldwide on a $20 Million budget, and only 1/5th of that income came from the US".

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Generals Gathered In Their Masses…
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025 - 01:25 PM

Authored by Daniel McAdams via The Ron Paul Institute,

On Tuesday we observed one of the strangest spectacles of our time. President Trump and his "Secretary of War," Pete Hegseth, called a mandatory meeting of all the top brass in the US military. Some 800+ general officers, admirals, and the like gathered at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia for a doubleheader talk from Hegseth and Trump.

Because such an event is nearly unprecedented – at least in peacetime – the days leading up to the meeting were increasingly filled with speculation and even dread.

Tensions between the US and Russia are soaring over reports that the Trump Administration may provide and assist in the launching of Tomahawk missiles – capable of both hitting Moscow and of carrying nuclear weapons. The Putin Administration pointed out the obvious: such weapons would require the active participation of US intelligence as well as trained US or NATO personnel and should they be used would bring Russia and the US/NATO to a state of war. It is a war that, given both US and Russian nuclear doctrine, could very quickly rise to the level of an exchange of nuclear weapons and total destruction.

Likewise, media reports and observers of the movement of military equipment have been raising a red flag over the past several days on the massive movement of US fighter jets and aerial refueling tankers from the US toward the Middle East. Observers point out the similarity to the days leading up to the US attack on Iran in late June, just over three months ago. With Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu in town earlier this week, has President Trump been talked into again joining Israel in its war on its neighbors?

Additionally, US warships have been gathered off the coast of Venezuela for weeks and at least three speedboats accused of running narcotics have been blown out of the water by the US military. The New York Times reported on stepped up US efforts to overthrow the Venezuelan government and install a new leader (as the Trump team attempted and failed in his first term). Media outlets are reporting that the Trump Administration is even considering military strikes deep inside Venezuela, which would of course be unprovoked acts of war.

What to expect of the gathering of the generals? Many of us waited at the edge of our seats.

What we were able to see was a pair of not particularly well-prepared – and less well-received – speeches by Trump and Hegseth on transforming the US military into a “MAGA” force and the evils of late middle-aged rotundity among senior military personnel. The crass treatment of America’s tip military officers – whether some deserved criticism or not – will likely have an effect opposite of what was intended.

The pauses in the pre-prepared speeches meant to allow for applause were met with stony silence.

Fat-shaming and chest-pounding is not the way to go about building esprit de corps in the US military. Especially when such a dressing-down was broadcast to the rest of the country via live video hook-up.

But what if some of our initial sense of dread was not misplaced? In his essential Sonar21 blog, former CIA officer Larry Johnson wonders whether there was a (very) public message delivered to conceal a secret and more dangerous message.

First Johnson quotes Yves Smith of the Naked Capitalist blog:

After Charlie Kirk, perhaps I have become too fond of complicated theories.

But it’s ludicrous to have called so many senior guys in for such a silly agenda. A stern memo and/or video sessions would have done.

So the big stoopid meeting, IMHO was to cover for a smaller gathering that had to be done in person. And where whoever was summoned would be a big tell as to what the focus was.

Johnson then signals his agreement with the speculation:

No, Yves… I think you nailed it. Besides the massive US naval force parked off the coast of Venezuela, we are now hearing that US tanker aircraft are flying to the Middle East via England. We saw the same phenomena in the days preceding the June 24 attack on Iran.

If the Trump administration is planning a coordinated attack on Venezuela and Iran, the commanders of USCENTCOM and USSOUTHCOM would be involved. While the plans for such attacks could have been discussed over a SVTCS (i.e., Secure Video Teleconferences), those sessions usually have dozens of straphangers watching. If you want to keep close hold on such planning, you do it in person. If the CENTCOM and SOUTHCOM commanders had been called to Washington alone, the odds are high that someone would have reported this. With the presence of the US naval force off the coast of Venezuela and the movement of US aircraft towards the Persian Gulf, this likely would have attracted unwanted attention…

What Larry Johnson writes here makes a good deal of sense. Even in Trump World, spending millions of dollars to publicly dress-down the US military makes little sense. A memo or video hook-up would have been far more effective and less disruptive.

Was the real purpose of this spectacle to hold a secret side meeting to give orders for an impending, multi-continental war? We’ll know soon…

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