Free Republic

Except she's more of a face down, bottoms up type of gal.

It’s a sad state of affairs when Zero growth is touted as a “Good Thing”.

LOL...I was wondering the same thing.

The real issue, is that everyone becomes enamored by 'strategy', yet a strategy is only as good as the tactics being used, and the people actually doing the tasks.

I'm just not sure that today's military leaders understand that wokeism is part of the problem, and as long as it is allowed to fester, everything else is at risk.

My wife will be happy to hear that. Not sure I can accommodate her though.

I dumped the HR Bill into ChatGPT just searching for listed dollars and associated description:

Here is a comprehensive list of all the dollar amounts and ranges found in the document:

$25,000,000 for “Executive Office of the President—Office of Administration—Presidential Transition Administrative Support”​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$47,000,000 for “District of Columbia—Federal Payment for Emergency Planning and Security Costs in the District of Columbia”​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$19,424,177 for “General Services Administration—Expenses, Presidential Transition”​(BILLS-118hr9747eh)

$14,443,726 for activities under sections 3(a)(1) through 3(a)(7) and 3(a)(10)​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$2,980,451 for activities under section 5​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$2,000,000 for activities under sections 3(a)(8) and 3(a)(9)​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$7,221,863 as the maximum share for activities under sections 3(a)(1) through 3(a)(7)​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$1,000,000 as the maximum share for activities under sections 3(a)(8) and 3(a)(9)​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$23,000,000 for “National Archives and Records Administration—Operating Expenses”​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$190,784,000 substituted for $219,076,000 under “Office of Personnel Management—Salaries and Expenses”​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$245,267,000 substituted for $192,975,000 under the same heading​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$37,600,000 for compensations related to flood storage at Hugh Keenleyside Dam​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$231,000,000 for “United States Secret Service—Operations and Support”​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$5,000,000 for “Department of the Interior—National Park Service—Operation of the National Park System”​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$24,262,000 for “Indian Health Services” for staffing and operating facilities​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$2,060,000 for “Indian Health Facilities”​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$6,000,000 for “Bureau of Labor Statistics—Salaries and Expenses”​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$27,100,000 increase for Northern Mariana Islands​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$3,197,000,000 for Medicare Improvement Fund in 2026​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$174,000 payments to the heirs of Sheila Jackson Lee, William Pascrell Jr., and Donald Payne Jr., each​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

$2,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2010 through 2023​(BILLS-118hr9747eh).

Now that would be rude.

The truth should never be construed as rude.

Car dealers sure seem to be willing to hang on though. Some factory incentives are creeping out, but the inventory on lots sure appears to be growing.

Except some of those different rules imposed by a own government (American) show that it doesn't care how hard it makes it for businesses to operate. Then there is the issue of finding competent, skilled people who want to work, and who give a damn.

The U.S. is moving towards a model/attitude, and has been for awhile, whereby the manual jobs are done by immigrants. You see this in areas like Emirates, Saudi Arabia, etc. The management ranks are filled by the natives, but all of the manual labor is imported. One company I personally know of outside Dubai has 18 languages spoken in the company, and all of the manual labor is done by folks from India, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysians, etc.

Then there are the multi-layered regulations (Federal, State, And Local), plus the risk of unionization.

It is possible to manufacture cheaper in the U.S., versus using Mexico, as I've proven it out. The labor/overhead isn't usually the deciding factor when looking at it discretely, when considering moving out of the U.S..; or if it is, someone may want to find a better accountant to double-check the math.

Likewise, Mexico labor is often unionized, and the government has a huge say in how negotiations play out. Not too mention the challenges in getting products across the border that occasionally arise.

If a nation makes it hard for companies to operate within it's borders, they will find somewhere else.

Do it anyway...There are trained construction experts within the military. Consider building the wall as a training exercise.

If I was Trump, I would overwhelm the system, with a flurry of Executive Orders from word “GO”.

Make the lawyers work double-time to try and stop the EO’s from being halted, all while producing more. Keep them very narrow, and basically adjacent so that the courts can’t even up.

In the process, make it clear that anyone that in a Federal department that works against those edicts, will be fired. Hell, fire a bunch of them anyway.

Move along! Savages just savaging! Both NG to see here. </Sarcasm>

LYRICS:

Well, it’s a warm night down in Little Haiti, Fire’s
cracklin’, feelin’ kinda crazy, The smell of the charcoal,
it’s risin’ high, Neighbors peeking out, wonderin’ why. They
got their grills up, folks gatherin’ ‘round, Laughin’ and
chattin’, there’s a sizzlin’ sound. It's a flavor from home,
you know it’s the deal, ‘Cause the cat’s on the grill, yeah,
they’re keepin’ it real!

Charcoal nights, got that smoky thrill, Haitian style, got
the cat on the grill! It’s dinner time, with a tasty bite,
Barbecue dreams on a moonlit night.

Now the spices fly, in the Caribbean way, A little salt, a
little heat, it’s a feast today! They sing and they dance,
to an old rock beat, Sharin’ a meal right out on the street.

Some folks might stare, yeah, they might get a fright, But
it’s all about family, doin’ it right. A dish from the
homeland, love in the flame, In every bite, they’re callin’
its name.

Charcoal nights, got that smoky thrill, Haitian style, got
the cat on the grill! It’s dinner time, with a tasty bite,
Barbecue dreams on a moonlit night.

Now, you might not understand it, but that’s alright,
It’s about tradition, yeah, it feels so right.
They’ve got stories to tell, and love to share,
Cookin’ up memories, in the open air.

So if you’re strollin’ by, on a Saturday night, Catch a
whiff of that grill, under the pale moonlight. Remember,
it’s culture, it’s passion, it’s real, ‘Cause the cat’s on
the grill, it’s a family meal!

Charcoal nights, got that smoky thrill, Haitian style,
got the cat on the grill!
It’s dinner time, with a tasty bite,
Barbecue dreams on a moonlit night.

Charcoal nights, sing it loud and clear, Haitian flavors,
bringin’ folks near. It’s a feast from the heart, on a
charcoal thrill, Barbecuin’ cats, man, they’re grillin’ for
real!

What I would be curious to know is how they plan to manage the uptime. Pretty sure the average line person at Chipotle won’t be able to troubleshoot the PLC should it fail.

It’s basically a very repetitive task, so it does make sense to automate. Except what happens if the automation fails in the middle of a lunch rush. Hell, people can’t calculate the change you are owed back in their heads anymore.

No real chance for a soft landing:

1) The higher costs for just about everything has tapped many people out of their savings and/or increased the amount of credit they've carried. And if credit cards aren't paid off monthly, that interest can become a real killer, especially at 17-20% and higher.

2) Because of the higher costs...just everything. Many probably tapped into their housing downpayment, which means that the lower interest rate/s (not too mention still inflate prices for homes) may not be enough to kickstart the housing market.

3) The car market is a wreck. Vehicle (used and new) prices are still inflated and have a long way to go before any correction is over. Repos are at all-time highs. People can't trade in because they are too underwater on their current loan.

In essence, there’s a lot of this that goes on around the world. Go to Saudi Arabia, Emirates, etc.; and you be hard pressed to find manual labor being done by the natives. That type of work is for the imported labor.

One company I deal has 18 languages spoken in their company. The labor is from Thailand, Phillipines, India, Malaysia, etc. All of the natives...they were in management.

Bump for later.

It's an absolute joke and a waste of time/money.

I've seen the set-asides on the DoD side go to a small business (women, minority, veteran, etc.) only to come back to us because they couldn't make the products the contract they bid on required.

It was an interesting conversation with the Program Manager and contracting office when they told us we only won 80% of the contract, even though we were the only company in the industry that could produce what was needed for the contract.

So the contract office wanted us to be the Prime for 80%, and yet gave away another 20% to the minority-owned business which they wanted to buy from us and then pass it through to the DoD. When I received the quote from this other business, I just "No-quoted" it. That caused a bit of a stir because now there was a contract that couldn't be completed by this other vendor. Luckily, we had a really good Program Manager to work it.

Absolutely. I would focus more on Asia (a much bigger geography and population than the EU), plus Africa and Central/South America. Let the EU flounder.

The EU can't sustain itself internally, so if companies draw a line, they might re-think the policy. Wait, no they won't, because to insinuate they may have been wrong would hurt their fragile ego.