America. 7/4/1776 to 11/5/2024.

[Firebird]

Actually I did vote in a presidential election in the past. I've been around to long I guess, but voted for Kennedy back in the day whilst IN the USMC and haven't since. I was in service under Ike and Kennedy. I voted for Trump because of to maintain Americanism over globalism, and to preserve the constitution. Whilst not perfect it's the better deal to me. 

Shame on you. I'm done trying to reason with people like you who clearly have no idea what "preserving the Constitution" means. The man tried to lead an insurrection and is planning to sic the Justice Department on politicians and journalists he doesn't like. He wants to ignore the 14th Amendment to that Constitution you say he wants to "preserve". His Supreme Court justices overturned several protections we used to have in the Constitution. There is no one who is a bigger danger to the Constitution or country than him. Your cognitive dissidence is truly a sight to behold, and one that will get many (most?) of us hurt.

[Recusant]

Shame on you. I'm done trying to reason with people like you who clearly have no idea what "preserving the Constitution" means. The man tried to lead an insurrection and is planning to sic the Justice Department on politicians and journalists he doesn't like. He wants to ignore the 14th Amendment to that Constitution you say he wants to "preserve". His Supreme Court justices overturned several protections we used to have in the Constitution. There is no one who is a bigger danger to the Constitution or country than him. Your cognitive dissidence is truly a sight to behold, and one that will get many (most?) of us hurt.

It goes with the other baloney peddled by dear Old Seer though. Despite the claims of deep insight we have what appears to be an unequivocal example of internalizing MAGA hogwash. Suppression of cognitive dissonance is close to the heart of it.

Good to see you stopping by, Firebird! 

[Firebird]

Good to see you stopping by, Firebird! 

Thanks Recusant. I still lurk here occasionally when I find the time.

[Asmodean]

During the recent presidential election, voters did NOT vote in their own best interests.

A lot of them did. there were those who, for example, voted for Harris because they want "The Fed" to provide them with the right to abortion. There were others, who voted for Trump because they wanted "The Fed" to stay out of it.

both are two sides of the same "hot" political issue, and both represent someone's own best interest.

Translate that to a multiple variable analysis, and it comes down to sacrificing some things in favour of others, which is pretty much what passes for the "common good" in a democracy.

My point is that you are the arbiter of your own best interests - yours and your dependants. If someone voted against your best interests, that does not mean that they did not vote for their.

They did vote for absurd promises that would affect their lives in a decidedly negative way.  Trumps promise to lower taxes sounds good but there are more downsides than good ones when the nations debt continues to grow almost exponentially. .....What the Hell? only a few more trillion dollars of debt? What could that hurt?

Yeah, one does ought to shrink the scope of government in tact with lowering taxes for it to be sustainable with no added national revenue streams. Personally, I don't think a Department Of Govbernment Efficiency is the way to go - it's a bit like in corporate networking; creating a new portal to sort out all them other portals is naught but a cheap and cheerful way of passing the problem on to someone else down the line.

Still, at least the ambition is kind-of there-ish. If you do think that the government is bloated and/or that your taxes are mis-spent on foreign conflicts and managing foreign nationals illegally within your borders, and your alternatives are Trump or Harris, then I, for one, would think that Trump would be the more obvious choice among them.

Deport all those immigrants that are doing 30% of all construction work....What could that hurt?  Who is going to harvest our fruits and vegetables when we deport all those Latinos?

...On a more serious note, this does make me roll my eyes a bit. Citizens, legal residents and legal foreign workers will swing them hammers, pick them grapes and scrub them toilets.

The US has critical need for more ships for both commercial and military uses. Shipyards in the US are years behind because they cannot hire enough workers with the needed skills. Surprise, Mexicans, Guatamalans, venezuelans and the rest can weld, paint, pipe fit, and more.

...and yet, as you just said, years behind on their demand. Perhaps weldy Guatemalans are not the solution to what ails your shipbuilding industry? Why can they not compete for the jobs on par with other industries, which even manage to grow?

They have plenty of other needed skills and many of them already work at shipyards. Should we further cripple the industry by deporting them? Does anyone of the voters know how much it will cost to deport millions of undocumented immigrants?  The answer is billions. But we can cut taxes, Right?

Sure. One can deport those who are in the country illegally AND cut the taxes. Of course, to do it "right," one would also have to shore up border security in order to turn the former into as much of a one-time expense as possible.

You could start with everyone convicted of additional crimes. If that goes well, have another look at those whose only known crime is "national trespassing."

Best interests ?  in a pigs ass!

I'm sure more ass on pigs is in a pig farmer's best interest.