Appreciate the post 5th, well stated whether one agrees or disagrees.
IMHO blaming Trump (not you because you speak to this point towards the end of your post) for the current failings of the USA in its entirety or the complete disconnect from citizenship realities with respect to their political processes minimizes actualities.
Even "if" Trump has pushed boundaries to the degree you suggest, or imply, the "other sides" reactions are equally (if indeed not arguably moreso) divisionary.
It's a mess.
I've lived my life based on a premise of take care of your own house first and then move beyond.
In extremely simplistic terms lose the mortgage before spending 200K on a Mercedes or staying at the 4 Seasons on the Big Island and NEVER go into debt while doing those things.
Take care of you and yours before taking care of others.
Thanks for the lessons Dad.
It's gotten me to a place in my life where I can wake up on a Saturday and flip Brian and his site 500 bucks and not blink an eye while doing so.
This is not stated out of arrogance or braggadocia, it's just fact, it's where I am in MY world, doesn't make me better or worse than anyone, it just is (and I do not mean to imply others here do not have the wherewithal to do the same).
My point?
The good ol' US of A (and Canada) need to hit the brakes, get back to their roots and take care of their internal issues and growth before funding wars worldwide with billions of dollars they don't have.
Take care of the homestead first and foremost!
Canada's Natural resource base, as well know, is such that we should be an economic leader in the world and not dealing with the financial struggles many of our population are.
But.
Not going to happen.
(...and yes Per, I get it, it is to simplistic a vision, no need for charts and graphs regaling me with how Global partnerships, responsibilities and agreements work in 2024...)
So, in summary....
Things as they are will never change to the degree they need to whether it's a muppet, an orange dude, a smells like sulphur greaseball from California, a Ramaswamy or a Kennedy in charge.
We can trade barbs, post memes, argue about Trump and NATO and whether the Western world is "really" protecting democracy in the Ukraine or funding their own internal war mongering engine while further enriching the billionaire elites who hold the real power but, as Led Zeppelin said, the song remains the same.
As I stated above....it's a mess.
...and it goes far beyond slickster art of the deal motherfuckers or old invalids who have security docs in their Vette at home.
You mentioned rants?!!
DeLevering since 1999.