Donald Trump the Megathread part II - mod warnings in OP, Updated 18/03/25

And again, are the fires worse than the botched and lethal Covid screwup?

Trump had all the money, plenty or warning, plenty of experts telling him qhat to do but his incompetence costs thousands of people their lives.

How many have died in the fires?

Exactly. It's the 'L'Oriel' culture that oozes through almost every public-sector organisation (and one don't have to look outside the coast of Ireland for fine examples either) the "because I'm worth it" brigade - fixated on utter bullcrap that undermines everything about the role they were employed to do. I've met those types, a 'dime a dozen' to coin a US phrase. Wouldn't sweep a floor or wipe an office desk because it isn't in their job description. Absolute C U Next Tuesdays of the highest order. Think they know it all and know absolutely SWFA at the end of the day.

This is bull crap. Fires have always been natural in California long before human habitation.

How do we deal with the fire hydrants with no water? The Palisades Reservoir with NO water (no water for a full year because they couldn't fix a bloody cover for the reservoir)? The cuts to fire houses across Los Angeles? The failure to put electric wires underground because the planning process is so screwed in California due to Democrat bullsh!t? The fact 20 times more was spent in the last year facilitating homelessness and drug addiction on the streets than providing basic fire protection services? How about 10 times more last year on policing and "understanding" additional crime due to Democrat 'no punishment' policies? (the same beauties who no doubt went on a looting spree, sure why not?)…..I could go on and on.

All on the Democrats.

More evasion. Who really put this moron where he is? Trump?

Or was it incompetent Democrats?

What calamity do they have to oversee before it sinks in where the problem actually is?

Are you asking who is going to install RFK as some weird health tsar?

Or are you going to be blaming the DNC for every stupid daily thing that trump does?

Though I'm not sure what I'm evading given I've never evaded a single thing on this forum.

Yes forest fires have always been a natural occurrence. However , just as in Australia and Portugal and Greece and Canada recently, we see more intensity of such fires and we can attribute a significant proportion of global warming to human activity. Is the democrat party responsible for all of these fires also? California has been suffering historic drought conditions for over thirty years. Ensuring every water hydrant has a supply is difficult and would not have prevented a massive fire like this with thousands of acres of dry fuel and strong winds. The Republicans seem to want to deny climate change and trump wants to cancel wind energy programs because it's inconvenient for them and it's not the bad news people want to hear. I think this will have a far greater detrimental effect on the standard of life for people everywhere, Americans included. Blaming the Democrats for not filling fire hydrants is like blaming the dentist for missing a cavity in you childs mouth as you continue to feed them chocolate.

and trump wants to cancel wind energy programs because it's inconvenient for them and it's not the bad news people want to hear. 

How have wind energy programs worked out for Ireland and Germany, we're the top two for the most expensive electricity markets in the EU. Any incoming US president would be incredibly dumb for following our failed policies.

Our only hope is the Healy Raes get us the energy security with LNG. That's the damage the Greens have done to this country. Now they are oblivion, thankfully.

Why is such a large population (and businesses) in California fleeing for Texas? I'll wait.

Ireland and Germany have basically no natural resources, Germany has some very in efficient lignite and that's about it. America is blessed with massive resources that are cheap to extract. Obviously it's cheaper. You cant argue that Democrats are extracting too much oil and then argue that they are too reliant on renewables, both cannot be true. But a transition seems logical. The end state will always be a mix with a base load requirement of either nuclear or fossil fuel. The transition to other forms of energy is not supposed to be more affordable but then I guess if you factor in the cost of forest fires, coastal erosion , flooding, hurricanes etc...

Ok wait?

Anyway, lower taxes this is obvious. This doesn't make Texas more desirable to live in. Most people would rather live in San Francisco than Houston. It is obviously a superior standard of life. Cheaper is not necessarily better. So fine, that is just my opinion. I support it by the fact that far far more tourists pay to visit California than Texas, they have better public schools, universities and hospitals.

By the way "fleeing" is a bit of an over statement, California still has the highest gdp and a thriving tech sector. Think 4 t v 2.6 t Texas, even with all its oil and the "fleeing"

if the Demos ‘play it right over the next 4 years it should be a ‘shoe in ‘ the next time if things pan out as predicted eg-:-

(1). The negative effect that the planned MASS deportations are going to have on big and small businesses. A lot of the menial jobs ,builder labourers, packing fruit, refuse disposal , land scaling, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. the real American ‘eligible for this work normally will not do this work as it is too menial/ dirty, poor salary, not for us attitude, no union rep, etc. this should impact on cost of production, product /service supply, businesses going bankrupt, etc.

(2) His ‘transactional approach ‘ to everything is going to ‘upset world order’ in such a way that it is going to profoundly change relationships between the US and many, many countries that have been allies of the US. Eg He is behaving like Putin re intention of ‘ grabbing / control over ‘ land - by force if necessary - eg Greenland, Gulf of Mexico, Panama Canal, Canada State.

His current ‘take’ on Tic TOC is interesting. Imagine the few times that there has been a bilateral agreement between the Demos and Repub at the Senate and House on a SECURITY basis because of a fear that the Chineese gov would would access and use it for its own purposes /propaganda

AND NOW TRUMP IS DOING HIS BEST TO OVERTURN THE DECISION TAKEN

The above bipartisan agreement was reached at a time when the two sides were ‘ at each others throats’ over the MAGA issue, personality clashes, abortion , etc . So both sides must have felt that the issue of security was an EXTREMELY SERIOUS one and needed to be urgently addressed. So who has got at Trump.

Will there be more such examples that will Pitt Trump against his party?

I’m sure that economic/ political experts, etc, on here can field more examples that will turn off the Rep at the next election

It's disgusting what has happened to SF.

No wonder people are fleeing in terror to Texas - a non democrat state.

And in the process turning Texas blue. California is successful and like any successful area it becomes more expensive. People accept that until a point is reached that the negatives outweight the positives.

Taxes, home costs, cost of living, crowding etc all play a part. Add in the movement to WFH and many companies now see that they don't need the expensive office and workers see they don't need the high prices and the long commutes.

I wonder, do you question the red flyover states in the same way? Do you blame the right for continued need for federal subsidy due to failed ideology and incompetence?

Companies move because of money. Its why they manufacture in China and have EU bases in Ireland. Do you think American companies that have companies in China are moving because they prefer dictatorship?