I don't know much about Greenland or Panama so I won't comment on those. But the comments about Canada are very disturbing to me. They are not jokes, and his comments are designed to lay the groundwork for a take over via one means or another. Not immediately, but long term (10+ years out).



The near term goal is to punish us economically via tariffs or other means while also normalizing the concept of Canada as a part of America in peoples minds. As the impacts on our economy start to make things worse in Canada more and more people will hear those comments and think "why not? Would it be so bad?". There is already an overly large (imo) contingent of MAGA folks up here that are of that mind already. Seeing our economy crumble while our 'cousins' a few miles across the boarder are comparatively successful will steadily add more voices. Who cares about abortion rights and free health care if you can't get a job or buy food?



As for why would democrats support it? Because there is no way we will ever be added as a true State with the same rights as the existing ones. Whether we eventually bend to the emperor willingly, or are beaten into submission militarily, the outcome will certainly be us joining as a second class group of people, with either no voting rights or extremely neutered ones (like comically low electoral votes). That's of course if voting is even a thing down there by the time this happens.



And the goal of course is just to secure our natural resources; mostly water. I won't be surprised if Trump starts blaming Canada this week for 'hoarding water' while California burns. But regardless of specific talking points, the ultimate goal is to secure our water and other natural resources. The Canadian people are just an inconvenience to be overcome.

I think you're overcomplicating this. The answer is probably more simple: it's big

Revolting how MAGA is going fully into blaming the fires on Dems.

Who would be to blame for the response to a fire in a Democrat run city in a Democrat run state under a Democrat President?

Is the response to blame? Like they were all toked out of their minds watching it? Like....... dude...... fire. Let's blaze another... dude.

And we've reached childish "dropping the ic" nonsense.

April 6 is the date

Donald Trump Jr. arrives in Greenland with a message from his dad: 'We’re going to treat you well' | AP News


Freedom for the Greenlanders! Freeedom!

https://media4.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2...IUw/giphy.webp

I wonder if the climate data they're getting is so bad that that's the reason for the odd fixation on Greenland (and Canada to an extent).

If he pulls it off (and it's a big if), my guess is legacy and then, natural resources and location

It’s not hard, brah. Obviously the celebs that are linked to Diddy set these fires to burn their houses down to get rid of all the evidence. That’s what the brain trust on social media is telling me anyway.

IDK, maybe start with the 100 MPH winds?

Mother Nature was a DEI hire.

Duh. Trump.

Cause everything is Trump's fault in TDS-Land

The Laken Riley Act is going to pass. It's such a sloppily written bill that's going to cause all kinds of problems. States are given the right to sue the federal government for "damages" over $100 that come from not enforcing immigration law.

Could have sworn a bunch of scientists have been telling people in power this is going to happen for a whole now. Probably not the time to cut the fire department budget but maybe there is just nothing that can be done to fight a fire.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/09/elon...dget-cuts.html

Just keep back tracking over time until the cuts actually reach $0.

Then shift to the only way to balance the budget is to give his companies more in corporate welfare.

I've read about the $2T but it was never clear to me if the DOGE twins were saying annually or over a 5-10 year time period. If they actually said annually, appreciate a link.

The other possible "out" is some assumption about revenue growth.

Still rooting for them to somehow balance the budget (2024 was $1.8T deficit) or even come close. But yeah, doesn't look that likely or at least, immediately.

They've already laid out the plan. They'll increase the debt limit by 1.5 trillion. Then they'll promise cuts equally 2.5 trillion over the next decade. They'll then cut taxes by way more than 2.5 trillion while also increasing spending on immigration.

I expect the deficit for FY2026 will be greater than FY 2025, but they'll message that 2.5 trillion is greater than 1.5 trillion so they kept their promises.

You could have 10X the budget and you are stopping a fire in 100mph winds.

The fire department budget went up by 50 mil. The cut to the fire department line isn't accurate.

Yeah, I think they'll also pretend tariffs will make up the massive deficit caused by the tax cuts.

Where are you seeing this? The budget's are online.

https://cao.lacity.gov/budget/summar...y_FINALrev.pdf

https://cao.lacity.gov/budget/summar...0-%20FINAL.pdf

It's just noise from a certain group of politicians trying to make this political and into some sort of ridiculous narrative.

How is $18m going to stop 100 mph winds and/or make fighting fires in 100 mph winds more effective?

Why not cut more from their budget if there is nothing they can do?

You are right. That 2% of the budget would have made all the difference.

From Politico:

There you go again, using actual facts in a political fight. Come on! Facts don't matter. We have to blame Democrats so that people can be distracted from the real issue of climate change. Won't somebody think of the SUV's!

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That seems like an unfair comment, consdering this was rebutting a post that had evidence with links to a .gov site.

Maybe this relatively unknown reporter is right and every news outlet that covers local politics, the current fire chief, the mayor's office, and the city's own final budget posted on the city's own website is wrong. I don't know, but I'd think if I was Mayor, I'd have maybe fired off a tweet or something on the plane ride back from Ghana saying that.


I'm sure the extra money and resources would help. Like I said, scientists have been warning about this exact scenario and the fire chief spoke up a month ago about it too. Seems like the budget should be much much higher than even the 2%. With the climate changing, you need to keep up.

Do you honestly think that the effort to control the fire is limited by the firefighter budget for the city? Like, they're just holding out on planes and helicopters to fight it because there's (supposedly) not enough in the budget?

The Federal government is footing the bill for the whole effort. Biden just confirmed that. This is all just "blame Democrats" nonsense, so people ignore the real issues.

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That 2% won’t even come into play for a fire in January. I know it sounds nice but ultimately they are fully funded right now. Perhaps in November they will have to cut back on OT or whatever but right now that 2% isn’t being felt. They probably just aren’t planning to replace some people that are due to retire this year. That’s how it worked at the departments I worked at when I was a first responder.

How long until Rain is complaining about DEI hires?

Well, I for one, don't want my tax dollars going to support people who don't have good enough sense to live where fire won't burn their house down! That sounds like Socialism. Nobody's house ever burns down from wildfires in KENTUCKY!



/s

Yeah, if you don't want to see a city razed to the ground by a wildfire, you must be a racist conservative. Can't possibly want your country to invest in preventing this stuff.

I think because you don't actually stand or care about anything besides your team winning, you can't comprehend that people have empathy for others.

I think the resources you allocate to fighting fires plays a pretty big role in your ability to fight them. Federal programs are not currently setup to fight wildfires year round as choppers, tankers, and most firefighters are off contract this time of year. This is something that scientists and others have brought up over the years as climate change intensifies things.

As for locally, I think having more firefighters ready and trained can't hurt. Same for equipment like choppers and pilots. And having the infrastructure in place so that they can get water to the areas needed. If you're following things online, you can see they're doing some pretty heroic shit out there to save lives and homes.

I know you have to view this through some partisan lens but arguing that there is literally nothing the most powerful country in the world can do to limit this destruction is a wild take.

Talk about needing new material...

You see a fire destroying the lives of people and your first thought is "how do we make sure this doesn't make the Democrats look bad?".

You see fires and think "how can I blame the Democrats?"

Yes. That is what every here is thinking. How many more people can we burn and how much more destruction can we cause to make Democrats look good. You need therapy. Seriously.

JPhillips first comment about the fires is complaining that right-wingers are blaming his party. Not sadness for people losing their lives and homes. Not anger that this could be preventable. Just concerns people are saying mean things about his team.

I simply asked who are people supposed to blame and have anger toward. I know who's fault everything will be next week. But if your impulse after seeing that fucking hell unleashed on people in California is I need to defend Karen Bass and Joe Biden, I don't know what to tell you.

I didn't feel the need to attack anybody, and it is idiotic to be attacking the people there helping, just as much as it was during the hurricane response in North Carolina. But you are accusing us of jumping to the defending Democrats, but it was you who just admitted you felt the need to defend the right wingers.

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Keep fucking that chicken, dude. It's got to be tough being the one honest man in America.

Being angry at the decisions of people in charge does not mean you are siding with the opposition. Right-wingers are playing the same partisan game many of you are. Neither cares about what is happening and would be saying the opposite if the other party was in power.

It should make you angry what is happening in California to people. It shouldn't be contingent on whether the politician with power to fix it has a D or R next to their name.

I HAVE to be angry? Why? Is any of these people God? Did they create hurricane force winds and super dry conditions? That is what caused this. It was not a fire department budget. Your misplaced anger and hard on to slam Democrats instead of actually caring about the people is weird.

Edit: What I am angry at is people like you that make everything a political football instead of showing actual compassion.

Didn't say anyone wanted that. I said you didn't care. The travesty isn't people dying and losing their homes, it was besmirching the honor of Joe Biden and Karen Bass. The real victims in this.

It's almost like people have many thoughts about things and posting a response to political statements in a political thread doesn't at all mean that was their very first thought about the issue.

Liberal equivalent of "thoughts and prayers". Absolutely nothing we can do. God just wanted it. No use fighting climate change, investing in infrastructure, or being prepared for this like people have been saying for years. Well until Trump is in power and we can care about that stuff again.

Biden and the Dems passed the largest infrastructure and climate packages ever. Some people are doing more than bitching about things on the internet.

I have no problem with any of those things. Never said I did. You are suggesting a very minor fire department budget cut would have stopped the fires, and that is complete hogwash.

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No, I'm suggesting caring about climate change, land development, and infrastructure would have helped stop the fires. We have countries like Finland that have successfully done this. Defunding one of the few things government in Los Angeles does well so you can pay off the civil lawsuits of crooked cops is just one of many.

I know someone who lives right in that area, and she knows at least 4 people that have lost their homes so far. They're blaming the drought and high winds, not the fire hydrants or the little fishies that Trump seems to be placing the blame on.

That doesn't fit RM's anarchist view of the world, dude is just miserable and likes to share.

I agree with all of that, and never have disagreed. What I think is stupid and just pure partisan BS is:



Because this has nothing to do with the actual fires and helping people, but more "defund the the police" rhetoric bullshit.

The fires are in or next to 2 of the neighborhoods we lived in for most of the last 15 years, and we know double digit people who have lost homes including some very close friends.

Using something like this to peddle half baked theories and to sell a political narrative is bullshit and disrespectful but sadly well on brand for this particular poster. If they had any respect they would back the fuck off (and if we had any kind of effective forum moderation something would have been done about this poster years ago), but I guess I’ll have to settle for continuing to be glad the block button works.

To the contrary, as usual what RainMaker has said isn't nearly as bad as the reaction to him has been.

This.

I disagree. RM's "morally superior" (for the record he is not morally superior) backhanded insults tend to get the responses they deserve.

There is a comment from the Budget chairman, who said that while the Fire budget was reduced, it didn't include some salaries that were still be negotiated, which took the increase almost 50 million over from the previous year. I havent seen any documentation to support it yet.

https://www.dailynews.com/2025/01/09...sed-heres-how/

Edit - I didnt read back far enough, looks like it was already discussed.

Clearly you don't care about murdered children!

The Laken Riley Act puts in motion what I've been worried about. It allows any law enforcement agency to begin the deportation process for anyone charged with a crime who can't prove citizenship. Every cop and sheriff in America will be able to arrest people and send them to ICE without any legal process.

Get your passport cards and carry them with you.

They literally increased the budget of the police so they could make some big settlements. Like they ran out of money last budget for settlements and had to shift them to 2024-2025. They burned through $183 in just the first 4 months of the 2024-2025 budget for settlements. Feels like that might have been useful if it could be used elsewhere.

But it's not about just the city budget. We all knew climate change would exacerbate this and did nothing about it. And now that we are reaping those consequences, we have to adjust. Federal programs have to account for fires happening in months like December and January now (they currently don't). City, state, and federal governments need to be far more proactive about land development and management like they are in certain European countries that have to deal with this too.

These were all things that scientists warned about for decades and were ignored. The people who ignored them deserve blame even if they're on your team.

Nothing screams anarchist like wanting the government to take a more proactive role in protecting people. At least look up the definition of big words before using them.

In 10 days they'll all agree anyway. What's the point?

ICE doesn't have the manpower to handle the influx, so I bet $20 some GOP donor will get a contract to act as an outsourced processor. And they'll do a terrible job.

Feature not a bug


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Yeah, private prison companies saw their stock shoot through the roof after the election. Also all the tech companies are angling for contracts to help. It'll probably be some worthless AI shit but there's going to be a lot of money laundered to the private sector.

Well, that and all the people who are going to be put into camps. Can't believe you forgot to mention that, RM. You're slipping.

Trump backtracks on ending the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours and now says he hopes to resolve it within 6 months.

And Musk backtracks on the $2 trillion in budget cuts and says they have a good shot at cutting $1 trillion.

For those keeping score, before he's event taken office, either he or people involved with his campaign have walked back: The Ukraine conflict, budget cuts, grocery prices, immigration, and tariffs. So basically, his entire campaign.

But we like him because he says things and means it. Except when he really means something else. Or it’s not really about the words but rather the general way he says things.

Well at least we all know the winning strategy for 2028. Just make up stuff and lie about everything. Honesty is for losers.

So in other words, what the winning strategy has been politically throughout all of human history.

right. Everything about Trump is totally like things have always been :rolleyes:

Lets not idolize other politicians just because Trump is terrible. They all lie through their teeth, just less overtly.

I’m not idolizing anyone. How about we don’t normalize trump?

I don't understand why MAGA is so obsessed with de-wormers. Now they are saying Ivermectin cures stage 4 cancer. Fucking nuts.

It does cure Stage 4 cancer. If that's all you do to treat your cancer, you will eventually no longer have Stage 4 cancer.

I get the point you're making, but I didn't at all say that. Yes, Trump is worse. This shouldn't need to be said constantly in my opinion, particularly when I'm on the record I don't know how many bazillion times on that subject.

I don't see the value in making huge distinction between 'regularly lies a lot even when it's provably false' and 'lies even more brazenly and constantly'. Political lying has been normalized for a long time. Politicians occasionally pay a price for it depending on the circumstances but far more often they are rewarded for it. It is what it is, people who vote for them are who they are, and politicians behave accordingly.

Looks like the GOP is already getting behind all of Trump's nominees, so Dems need to make it cost something to get Hegseth, Gabbard, Patel, and RFK.

GOP seems unanimous in their conviction that California gets no disaster aid without changes to their laws.

I got excited when I read the headlines and started dreaming of buying a nice vacation cottage in Greenland ...

Access to this page has been denied

Unfortunately, came back down to reality pretty quick


Nevertheless, I would like to see some real polling done but it needs to have

• Yes
• No
• Maybe, depends on what we get

I've seen a couple articles stating below. I suspect it'll happen.

Just a moment...

It'll be a wild week/month of politics & markets (and on FOFC).


On a tangential note, I was going to criticize the lack of grammar check so I copied the first sentence into Word and ... it passed the grammar check? Am I wrong or should "as soon as he inaugurated" have been flagged?

• Quote:

  Maybe, depends on what we get

[/quote]

Crippling medical debt, forced birth, school shooter drills...

They won’t, but next time dems are in control they should withhold Hurricane relief unless gulf states repeal their abortion bans.

Looks like Maduro is channeling his inner Trump

Nicolás Maduro Calls for Puerto Rico Invasion to 'Liberate' Island From US

Can you imagine if he actually tried it?

I imagine it would look something like me storming Fort Knox by myself.

You're going to be so disappointed when you get around to reading the Wikipedia on Greenland.

Very normal thing to say.

Some of you clearly never watched the second Mighty Ducks movie.

But withholding aid to wildfire victims unless California changes it laws is totally cool?

No, that is equally bad too.

So the GOP should just get away with horrendous behavior and the dems try and uphold the moral high ground. Where have I seen that before...

You're not punishing the GOP, you're punishing innocent people because you're mad you're bad a politics.

actually you're punishing the people who put the GOP in power. Elections have consequences.

Beyond just the moral bankruptcy of punishing disaster victims because they didn't vote for your team in an election, the majority of people in any disaster area likely didn't vote for the person you're mad about.

I'm so old I remember when a blizzard of executive orders would have sent GOPers into fits of rage.

You can't take any GOP process complaint seriously.

That was one of their complaints about Obama. Too many executive orders. Which really was a dog whistle for too much melanin.

It's even worse than what they were saying yesterday. The GOP is going to attach disaster aid to the debt limit increase. Victims only get aid if Dems agree to the room for billionaire tax cuts.

Bloomberg is reporting that China is discussing the possible sale of TikTok US ....to Elon Musk.

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