Jump to content

MC Fresh Breath

Certifiably Surly
  • Posts

    4450
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by MC Fresh Breath

  1. Again, I don't know much about the NYC mayoral candidates but good grief this ap news coverage.  and this is the AP.

    Quote

    Many progressives cheered the emergence of the young and charismatic Mamdani, whose candidacy caught on with viral campaign videos and a focus on the cost of living. But the party’s more pragmatic wing cast the outcome as a serious setback in their quest to broaden Democrats’ appeal and move past the more controversial policies that alienated would-be voters in recent elections.

    So immediately, progressive = non-pragmatic.  Right there.  Holy crap.  

    Quote

    On Israel’s war in Gaza, he used the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s actions in the conflict.

    The ICC, Amnesty International, e.t.c. all use that term.  Only in America is this somehow a controversy.
     

    Quote

     

    Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist Democratic group Third Way, warned that Mamdani’s policies are a political problem for the Democratic Party.

    “The fact that Mamdani is young, charismatic, a great communicator — all of those things are to be emulated,” Bennett said. “His ideas are bad. ... And his affiliation with the (Democratic Socialists of America) is very dangerous. It’s already being weaponized by the Republicans.”

     

    Yikes on the third way. And goddamn worrying about what Republicans think.  Seriously.  

    Welp, now I guess w/o knowing anything I'm pro-Mr. Mamdani.  If something seriously wrong with him comes out I reserve the right to change my mind.  Of course, over here in Oregon my thoughts on the mayor of NYC mean zilch.

     

     

     

    • Hook 'Em 2
    • Like 1
  2. A bit of good news.  I know, the struggle isn't over (Lee has already said he's going to try again) , but anything positive these days seems worth celebrating.

     

    Quote

     

    Republicans Forced to Remove Sale of Public Lands From Budget Bill

    Senate Republicans were blocked from adding a disturbing provision on public land sales to their sweeping budget bill.


    Republican Senator Mike Lee’s proposed mass sell-off of public lands has foundered on the rocks of Senate procedure.

    As a budget reconciliation bill, the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill can pass with a simple majority, rather than the 60-vote hurdle needed to overcome a filibuster. However, it is subject to certain constraints: Under what is known as the “Byrd rule,” provisions that are unrelated to the budget get the chopping block.

    Accordingly, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has in recent days been stripping certain extraneous provisions from the plan.

    Among the dirt washed away in this so-called “Byrd bath” was a provision authored by Lee that would have put for sale up to 3.3 million acres of public land in 11 Western states, including Lee’s state of Utah. The plan received criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and from hunters, fishers, and conservation groups concerned that it would impact treasured natural sites in the American West.

     


    https://newrepublic.com/post/197167/republicans-remove-sale-public-lands-budget-bill

    • Hook 'Em 5
    • Like 2
  3. 1 hour ago, Vegas64 said:

    You are right. It's like in a board game when you roll a 5 and then move 5 spaces but then land on a go back 5 spaces, so ultimately you end up exactly where you were. There is no tangible or material difference I guess, you are arguing. I think the jury is still out on that, but you are probably right.

    However, I think there is a psychological accomplishment. Iran has been talking crazy smack for decades now. They build up proxies to be their little footsoliders and thought they'd be able to sit back and threaten indefinitely. They've been exposed as bullies who talk loud but can't back it up. Like you do with bullies, Iran got punched in the face and their little friends are done. 

    And for what? A day's worth of work for the military and a reminder to the misfit countries (again, the only countries to come out and publicly rebuke us for this is China, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea) about American military might.

    Just because we can't get along very well with each other domestically doesn't mean we can't still put the fear of death in anyone on this planet in any location, even if you are 400 feet deep under a mountain.

    Holy shit.  You think Iran was the bully in this?  You think Iran is the crazy murderous state in the region?  Wow.

     

    • Haha 1
  4. Trump’s announcement in full

    Quote

     

    Here’s what President Trump said on social media regarding the ceasefire:

    CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!

    Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL.

    On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, “THE 12 DAY WAR.”

    This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!

     

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/6/23/live-iran-vows-to-respond-to-us-attacks-trump-hints-at-regime-change

  5. 35 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

    Why won't you just die?

    He's going to make it into his 90s like Kissinger and Pat Robertson.    But it is yet another item in the 'wild' category that our mango dictator is 79 freaking years old.

     

    • Like 1
  6. 1 hour ago, WhatTheBuck said:

    I’m on a phone. Why could I fix your links?

    Maybe it’s not your phone. Maybe it’s you. 

    Thanks for recognizing the salient part of the post.  

    • Haha 3
  7. 50 minutes ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

    spacer.png

    Quote

    A more complete analysis of the massive public land sell off Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Steve Daines (R-Montana) are inserting into the Senate’s budget reconciliation package shows that areas it would authorize for sale total 294,646,021 acres, impacting vast swaths, if not majority areas of western states and Alaska. The analysis coincides with news that the budget would add $3.4 trillion to the national deficit, according to a non-partisan Congressional report.

    Reporting around the amendment, which comes from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which Lee chairs and which Daines sits on as the chairperson of the Subcommittee on National Parks, has been challenging due to the intentionally obtuse language it uses to parse lands and direct them for sale. That language is likely a deliberate attempt to obfuscate and conceal these efforts from the voting public.

    https://wessiler.substack.com/p/lee-daines-amendment-now-threatens

     

    Spoiler

    A more complete analysis of the massive public land sell off Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Steve Daines (R-Montana) are inserting into the Senate’s budget reconciliation package shows that areas it would authorize for sale total 294,646,021 acres, impacting vast swaths, if not majority areas of western states and Alaska. The analysis coincides with news that the budget would add $3.4 trillion to the national deficit, according to a non-partisan Congressional report.

    Reporting around the amendment, which comes from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which Lee chairs and which Daines sits on as the chairperson of the Subcommittee on National Parks, has been challenging due to the intentionally obtuse language it uses to parse lands and direct them for sale. That language is likely a deliberate attempt to obfuscate and conceal these efforts from the voting public.

    Wes Siler’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

    The amendment, which Lee and Daines published on June 11 without a committee hearing or vote, mandates the sale of between 0.5-0.75 percent of all BLM land and that same percentage of USFS land, while designating 11 western states in which those sales can take place, excluding any lands in Montana, and carving out lands that are protected under various federal designations.

    That’s a relatively challenging formula to apply, but according to math run by people much smarter than me at The Wilderness Society, total lands mandated for sale here could total between 2.02 and 3.04 million acres. Others running that math have come up with a maximum number of 3.3 million acres.

    That amendment will be voted on by the full Senate sometime between now and the July 4 deadline they’ve arbitrarily set for completing the budget. Should it pass there, it will go to the House, where Republican representatives vulnerable in the 2026 mid-terms caved to voter pressure, and removed a previous provision that would have sold-off around 500,000 acres.

    Should it become law, the amendment would push through the sale in short order.

    “The secretaries of agriculture and interior will have 30 days to solicit nominations for lands to be sold from ‘any interested parties’ and must publish a list every 60 days of lands eligible for sale until they’ve reached the quota,” explained a TWS representative speaking to me on background. “The entire sell-off must be completed within 5 years.”

    The amendment fails to give Indigenous people any right of first refusal or other priority for sale, even for lands of religious, cultural, or historic importance to them.

    The Lee-Daines Amendment then goes on to define the lands eligible for sale. A TWS representative explains that formula:

    Eligible states: AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY

    Excludes federally protected land (defined by the bill as a National Monument; National Recreation Area; component of the National Wilderness Preservation System; unit of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; unit of the National Trails System; National Conservation Area; unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System; unit of the National Fish Hatchery System; unit of the National Park System; National Preserve; National Seashore or National Lakeshore; National Historic Site; National Memorial; National Battlefield, National Battlefield Park, National Battlefield Site, or National Military Park; National Historical Park)

    Subject to valid existing rights (understood to mean it excludes lands with property interests like oil and gas leases, rights-of-way or perfected mining claims in existence before the date of enactment of the bill; note that prior version of the bill defined lands with “valid existing rights” to include those with grazing permits, and the new version strikes that. Since “valid existing rights” is best understood to mean property interests like oil and gas leases, rights-of-way or perfected mining claims, this new version seemingly puts grazing permit lands back on the table for disposal, which sends the eligible acreage skyrocketing).

    It’s that provision for including or not including grazing permit lands that has resulted in wild swings in estimates for total acreage made eligible for sale. Those lands were excluded from sale in the bill’s initial version, then quietly removed over the weekend, resulting in the new estimates.

    Here’s the full text of the Lee-Daines Amendment, as it stands at the time of writing:

    Redline (new25684 Vs

    300KB ∙ PDF file

    Download

    Earlier today, the Outdoor Alliance’s GIS lab compared its calculations with TWS and the two agreed on a new conclusion that the Amendment authorizes the sale of a grand total of 194,629,653 acres of BLM land and 100,016,368 acres of National Forest, which add up to 294,646,021 acres.

    You can see that map at this link.

    “Perhaps the more challenging part, was figuring out all of the valid existing rights that were listed on the pages following the special designations,” explains OA’s mapping guy. “This included several datasets from the BLM like mining claims, oil and gas leases, permits/easements, mineral rights, and several others. I had a great discussion with TWS staff yesterday morning and they were very helpful discussing all the existing rights layers that should be included in the analysis.”

    “In any case, it's A LOT of public land that could potentially be up for sale, and it's hard to pinpoint at this juncture where that could be, because there's not a lot of guardrails,” they continue.

    TWS says that the ultimate total very much remains in flux, as Lee and Daines hash out final language.

    “We’re hearing that SENR is likely to change the bill text again, maybe tonight, to change the way it treats grazing permits,” the TWS rep explains. “So the eligible acreage will swing back, presumably.”

    What’s the difference between the three-or-so million acres mandated for sale by the Lee-Daines Amendment and the 294,646,021 acres authorized for sale by it? There’s nuance to that answer, and that matters.

    Lee and Daines have included language that states all lands authorized for sale are, “considered to meet the requirements of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act," which, if this passes into law, would mean they can be sold without any further public process.

    It’s important to remember here that this budget is being pushed through the Senate using budget reconciliation. That helps Republicans avoid debate on unpopular provisions like this one—the reconciliation process means that Senators will only have to vote on the amendment once, during a full floor vote, and not separately in committee—and avoids the filibuster so that the budget can pass on a simple majority vote, rather than the typical 60 votes, which Republicans do not have.

    But, using budget reconciliation also means that any measure which adds to the deficit must be offset by equivalent savings.

    (The math Congress uses is of its own creation, and is very much not tethered to reality. A measure passed by the House in January, for example, prevents the consideration of ongoing revenues on these lands from being considered. Those revenues are likely considerable, the BLM nets $262 billion annually, while National Forests rake in over $300 billion.)

    Reports indicate that target revenue for the mandated sale is $5 to 10 billion over that five year sale period.

    All this is relevant to this discussion because balancing revenues generated by land sales against the deficit in a bill that also authorizes 46 percent of all public lands for sale without public process sets up an impossible scenario for future budgets, no matter who takes charge of Congress or the White House in future elections.

    Not only does the Lee-Daines amendment create precedent for selling public land in order to fund tax cuts for billionaires, but it also creates a scenario in which future budgets will need to create new revenue from other sources (like politically challenging increases to taxes) in order to make up for revenues now achieved by ongoing sales of land. Land that, should this measure and budget pass, will already be authorized for sale. And that’s going to come even as lawmakers will have to find money to service massive increases to the nation’s interest payments.

    According to polling conducted by the Trust for Public Land in April, 71 percent of Americans oppose any sale of public land.

     

    • Rage+1 7
  8. 57 minutes ago, South Austin said:

    Trump and his family will be enjoying champagne and caviar in a posh underground bunker, while the rest of us on the surface who manage to survive our fifth degree burns will be fighting over cockroaches for food. 

    That’s a pretty fucking epic win, wouldn’t you say?

    This is a long-ish read.  And it isn't specific to this thread.  But it's on my mind a lot these days.

    The Rise of End Times Fascism By Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor

  9. You don't need to go to deep to see the things that were covered every day in broad daylight and nobody cared.  I'm thinking Elon and the 290 million he spent.  And the dumb voter lottery fake out thing he pulled.  Thought I read somewhere that the winners were plants and they didn't get paid.  Could be wrong.

    Anyway the very allowance of the amount of money in elections from billionaires openly seeking buying influence should be the issue imo.  Not some questionable thing in New York which wouldn't have changed the national outcome anyway but for some reason reddit has glomed on to as an 'election was stolen!' story.

     

    • Hook 'Em 6
    • Like 1
  10. 4 hours ago, Covri said:


    Being a supervisor in operations and working in continuous improvement are not the clandestine roles you think they are. But I’m just being snarky having been in this industry awhile. 

    OK, you're right.  I was stream of consciousness posting.  Sorry for any offense caused.  Security operations in the places listed stood out to me. (edit: trimming my babbling).   I'll quit speculating.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  11. 1 minute ago, Covri said:

     


     

    This certainly looks like a merc’s employment bio lol 

     

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-vance-boelter-e-d-d-b7814715

    "Dr. Vance Boelter has been involved with security situations in Eastern Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East, including the West Bank, Southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. He brings a great security aspect forged by both many on the ground experiences combined with training by both private security firms and by people in the U.S. Military.  He has worked for the largest U.S. oil refining company, the world's largest food company based in Switzerland and the world's largest convenience retailer based in Japan.  "

    Nestle thing too.  Maybe its a wannabe, dunno.  



     

  12. 2 hours ago, Degenerate Gardner said:

    There are a million ways to die, and no one here gets out alive. Dying while standing for the right thing is far better than most endings. I’m not seeking it, and I’m no martyr, but I’ve made peace with that possible outcome.

    All that said, I would hate to lose a good amigo.  Esp one who puts up with my rants and venting over beers.  Be careful out there please.

    • Hook 'Em 3
×
×
  • Create New...