163 Comments
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Tmitsss's avatar

There may be something wrong about the way my brain works. I read Don’s brilliant column and am left with a picture of tough American toolmakers with really soft hands https://www.jergens.com/en-au/

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David Thompson's avatar

They're competing with Palmolive's new metalcutting, laser, and abrasives division ("We make hands that need softening... what's left of them.")

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Don Surber's avatar

You're soaking in it

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LuAnn's avatar

I remember that commercial. Madge, you're soaking it it! (Or something like that.)

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Liberty Belle's avatar

Thanks, LuAnn. Now I remember, too, and understand.

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Lawsy0's avatar

Okay. You got your coffee spurt, professor!

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EODMom's avatar

That’s a pretty funny image of course. I haven’t thought about the hand cream in a long time and never knew it is a Cincinnati company. But the tool maker is in Cleveland. Gotta be family, right? OH is not a big state. Seems fair if cousins look after cousins.

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Lawsy0's avatar

Speaking of tool & dye, my father-in-law worked many years for a division of Dohler-Jarvis in Toledo.

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Pamazon's avatar

Jergen's is my softener of choice. :)

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Douglas Baringer's avatar

I was curious, so I looked them up. They are a sho-nuff tool and die outfit.

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Tmitsss's avatar

I have visited the floor of a modern computerized fabricating shop and was awed. I needed a part for my 2006 Pontiac that was unavailable and they made it for me as a favor. (I did leave them bottle of good bourbon.)

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Richard White's avatar

Yeah. That was my first thought as well. Shows my age.

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Suzie's avatar

Hah!

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Steve Boggs's avatar

Good article and also useful. My industrial designer son works in a firm that is experiencing the pinch that many are. I’m passing this along with the advice to seek out those companies, like Jergens (whose tools I used to buy when I ran my machine shop).

I think the first companies, that look at the doughnut and not the hole, will be the winners.

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Damn the torpedoes's avatar

Those 16 million jobs do belong in America, and every American that voted for Trump knows that in this case, the American penchant for immediate gratification is inappropriate. We know that good things come to a country that waits.

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Suzie's avatar

AMEN. The US has been the victim of a corporate raping of its economy for well over 20 years, and those corporations and their executives have gotten incomprehensibly rich by impoverishing the American working class, creating an almost permanent underclass in the process.

Trumps tariff war is #1 aimed at China, and its global influence in nearly every Western nation.

It’s #2 aim is to bring worldwide economic reality back into sharp focus, as the US and all those Western nations have been living in an economic fantasy-land.

Without his courage to so boldly go where no one else would have ever dared to even contemplate going is the absolute and only medicine that has a chance at curing the terminal disease of fake and easy money the world has been addicted to for decades.

The obstinacy and intransigence of the EU, Canada, and Australia will bring far more devastation and danger to their countries and suffering for their peoples than they can imagine.

China is collapsing in real time, there have major shakeups in Xi’s government, and they are increasingly feeling the immense pressure from the handwriting on the wall.

The first one to blink loses.

Stay the course, and pray much.

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Shrugged's avatar

More like 50 years. I watched U.S. manufacturing moonwalk their way off our soil for ‘shareholder value’. The cost was losing American jobs, a thriving middle class, and the manufacturing strength to stand alone and not depend on huge supply chains.

There was a popular bumper sticker in the 1980’s that said, “He who dies with the most toys wins”. That bumper sticker sums up our demise today.

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Jeremy R's avatar

I was going to say the same thing. I remember when the steel industry was collapsing here as they moved the foundaries off shore. First Mexico, then to China.

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Liberty Belle's avatar

Not just in manufacturing, but in having children.

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Marlan Hoerer's avatar

Had and wore a T with the saying/buddies wife then showed up with a variation stating [he who dies with the most toys DIES ]//she was sharp.

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Shrugged's avatar

Those were fun days. . . working hard and making money the old fashioned way. F globalism and the deep state tyranny.

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LuAnn's avatar

De-coupling from China will be a net positive.

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From the Beach...🌞🇧🇷🏖️🌊🐬🌎😎's avatar

Australian and Canadian political leadership will make great trading partners with China. Perhaps each can create visa opportunities for the now unemployed factory workers in Red China. Trotskyist baboons entrapped in global warming grift, high taxes, regulation of free market capitalism and DEI nonsense love each other. Trump , not so much. His testosterone is too much for them . Truth is the disinfectant for the Trotskyists. Daylight is poison for them. " Their democracy" cannot stand the truth. Personally, I could care less about either Australian or Canadian political leadership. Both nations are owned by the globalists. As for Dubya and the WTO, George was not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Perhaps his early addiction to alcohol saturated some of his brain cells. He avoided Vietnam because his Daddy got him into the Texas Air National Guard so he avoid the draft. Laura rescued him from alcoholism. His Daddy rescued him from the Vietnam War. He was a disappointment as Governor and even moreso as President. I have to go purchase some toothpaste, Don. Thanks for a superlative narrative today. You keep us together and focused on not stepping in the dung of the Trotskyists. Muito obrigado.🌴🏖️🥥

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LuAnn's avatar

Australia, Canada, and the U.K. are pretty much done and it was self-inflicted.

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Ross's avatar

And New Zealand too. Sigh.

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Mitchell Moore's avatar

"Globalists believe they won these elections but what they really did was make patriotism acceptable in Australia and Canada. Let’s see them walk that back."

An example of Surber's insightful analysis and ability to take the long view on consequences. Thanks, Don.

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David Thompson's avatar

I am curious about Trump's constant pressure to absorb Canada and Greenland into the USA; both vote far to the left of the US. Canada even has legal euthanasia (and doctors who are recommending it to the elderly, people with disabilities, and ironically pretty much anyone that needs a doctor). Does he have some plan to spread the fear of God into Canada? That would be a welcome miracle but it is not something ever mentioned.

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Epstein Did Not Kill Himself's avatar

I think we'll need to instill the fear of God into some of our current states first.

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Marlan Hoerer's avatar

Amen Ep

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Jeremy R's avatar

Or just arrange an in person meeting for them.

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Shrugged's avatar

Greenland always made sense for strategic defense but Canada has been a paradox to me. Trump invites our neighbor to join America by loading them with heavy tariffs (I'm OK with that) and offending them by pitting their sovereignty and culture to gain tariff relief. Did he really expect tariffs to sway a generally leftist, globalist people or is there more to his plan? I don't know that answer.

I am betting that Canada's rejection of the invitation to join America will lead to Canada's economic failure, which, in turn, will destroy the Globalist Carney. WEF-Carney is NOT to be trusted. Is the plan to let their people see it fail before their eyes? In the end, will they join America happily or hold anger and a grudge that we destroyed them?

Pierre Poilievre was a real let-down.

Trump plays the long game better than anyone I know. He sees through the fog on the horizon with clear vision and I need my reading glass to see the words in front of me so I'll trust Trump.

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TeaPartyGal's avatar

Carney was very smarmy throughout his meeting with Trump. Maybe he should be called "Mark Scarmey", or "Smarmy Carney". The surprising thing is that he went to meet with Trump almost immediately after taking office, which would seem to speak volumes about who is the real boss. You're right--absolutely not to be trusted.

Very interesting--and feasible--hypothesis: that Carney is going to go full speed ahead and double down on the Globalist/Leftist program, "which will lead to Canada's economic failure", and thereby be the downfall of the Leftist party in Canada. Could be.

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LuAnn's avatar

I call him Marx Carnage.

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TeaPartyGal's avatar

Love that!

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LuAnn's avatar

Canada has already failed economically and that's thanks to 10 years of Justin Trudeau and the Liberals.

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Shrugged's avatar

"Smarmy Carney" is perfect.

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Cookie McCall's avatar

To me, Canada becoming our 51st state is some kind of inside joke that only Trump understands. As for now, I don't take it seriously, but who knows? The Shadow do!

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Lawsy0's avatar

Not if I'm going to have to learn French! I have enuf trouble with English and what little Spanish I remember from sophomore year in high school.

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LuAnn's avatar

I'll be interested to see what Trump's long game is regarding Canada.

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Shrugged's avatar

Yes, we'll both be watching with curiosity.

I was disappointed with the words and messaging Trump used toward Canadian citizens. He seemed to be insulting the citizens to divide the country against the regime, which deserved much scorn. Anyone with half a brain knew a land the size of Canada couldn't possibly function as one state of the U.S.

It would be great to have a strong 'Canada First" neighbor.

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SDN's avatar

For Canada, it depends on the province. Alberta is definitely not leftist.

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LuAnn's avatar

Alberta is right of centre, but the two largest cities -- Calgary and Edmonton -- have headed left.

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SDN's avatar

So, like every US state? Maybe the problem is urban voters.

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LuAnn's avatar

Yes, urban voters everywhere are a major problem.

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Jeremy R's avatar

It's actually part of the show, a distraction to keep the press busy while certain parts of fixing America is kept out of the spot light. We don't want or need Canada as a state, but we need them to quit acting like peons err Europeans.

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Dutchmn007's avatar

Yeah - wish Trump had taken a step back with that “Canada 51st!” nonsense. First of all we don’t want ‘em. Personally don’t have a lot of respect for Canadians (uhh…Justin Castreau?) & they seem to vote incessantly for their own demise. Their military is like the rest of Europe’s - a joke. Literally all they’re good for is a parade ground color guard to greet foreign dignitaries. In addition if we did “add” them they’d just be part-in-parcel Democrats so who needs them?

If Trump had laid off the Canada stuff Poilievre might have won.

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TeaPartyGal's avatar

We need to realize that our "impression" of Canada is probably distorted, because--like in America-- the Canadian mainstream media is heavily controlled by the Left. So if we take everything the Canadian Left Media says at face value, we could get the impression that Canada is a hopelessly majority Left country.

The Left loves that both Americans AND Canadians get this impression, because it DISCOURAGES the Right in Canada and seduces them to surrender.

But Canada may not be that way at all. The recent election gave 169 seats to the Left, and 144 seats to the Right. So although Carney won, still--a big percentage of Canada voted for the Right, despite Poilievre's bungling.

It may be that Canada is just behind us time-wise-- and they have not had as incredible a leader as Trump to spearhead their rebellion against the Left.

I almost think Trump's instinctive and repeated jabs at Canada, are because Trump senses the weaknesses of the Left and the nascent yearnings of the majority of Canadians, and just can't help sticking in the knife and twisting it to help along the exposure and demise of the Left's "seeming" lock on Canada.

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Liberty Belle's avatar

They certainly showed more courage, I think, than we did during the Covid lockdowns with the truckers and all the support they were shown.

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LuAnn's avatar

Correct, TPG. Media here are as bad as U.S. media. What the recent election showed is that people under 50 voted Conservative -- all groups including immigrants. The future is going to be conservative, hopefully. Young Canadians are remarkably conservative.

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TeaPartyGal's avatar

Now that is very good news!

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David Thompson's avatar

Well, by the same token they can point at us and say we elected Biden, encouraged riots, jailed peaceful protesters, and more. I don't think we're better than them but I do think we're better off than them because of our faith in God. I'm just worried such a union would be unequally yoked.

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Dutchmn007's avatar

You’re 100% correct. I get the feeling though Canadians would sooner cheer a “Joe Biden” than they would a DJT.

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Epstein Did Not Kill Himself's avatar

Well, they did elect a leader who is likely to the left of Justin Trudeau.

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David Thompson's avatar

As for Poilievre, I think he made a stench of himself by opposing Trump. If Trump is going to butt heads, why wouldn't he choose the opponent with the softer skull? It's easier for Trump to make Carney look crazy because Carney's full in on the look already.

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Dutchmn007's avatar

Maybe but look who won.

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Shrugged's avatar

Yes. That’s why many (perhaps most readers here) had concerns about having Canada as a state.

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LuAnn's avatar

No, you don't want more Democrat voters from Canada. But I don't blame Trump for Poilievre's loss. He wasn't agile enough during the recent election campaign and Canada was already failing economically.

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NNTX's avatar

Mark Steyn had a good column on the Canadian election.

Poilievre was quite a weak candidate, and the Left/Liberals were canny in booting Trudeau before the election---which dissipated some of the anger against Trudeau's terrible results for Canada.

Can't win without vigorous campaign, which Poilievre did not wage (heck he even lost his own seat I believe).

Canada, like many Commonwealth countries, has "conservative" parties that seem to resemble our RINOs.

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Lawsy0's avatar

I've wondered that, too. Sometimes I think that Trump enjoys pulling on their ying-yang just to see if the enemedia will pick it up and run with it--into the nearest brick wall.

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TeaPartyGal's avatar

Ha!

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LuAnn's avatar

If Canada's Arctic were attacked, we wouldn't be able to properly defend it. We would be another version of the Ukrainian-Russian war. Lots of death, but no decisive victories. No peace at all. That actually scares me as a Canadian.

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Brian LeMay's avatar

The only country that can sustain a conflict in the Canadian Arctic is the USA ; always remember a quote from Phillip H. Sumners " If you get the opportunity to buy the place next door , do so . You probably won't ever have the chance again " . First thing said is " I can't afford it " , question is can you afford not to ?

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Liberty Belle's avatar

Somebody somewhere shared a link to a conversation between Steve Bannon and Megyn Kelly where Bannon was talking about Trump wanting to secure our country and not have to send troops all over the world by focusing on the northern and southern hemisphere, thus Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal. Never occurred to me, but makes sense and explained to me where this all came from. That still leaves the question of whether Trump really wants Canada to be another state or is just using that to troll them and gain leverage with them in his Art of the Deal. (I must read that book!) It left me wondering about all those countries south of our border, but I didn’t get to finish the podcast; maybe Bannon talked about that, idk.

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Michael Davis's avatar

Hey Y'all, Trump is just snatching the chain of all the leftists who moved there after he was elected. And working on the tariff issues.

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Richard White's avatar

Trump upset the political applecart here in the US in 2016, especially for the GOP. He's now upsetting economic applecarts all over the world.

And this is exactly what we voted for.

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TeaPartyGal's avatar

Yes; and it is glorious to see.

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PM's avatar

I really like MAGAts, kinda punny, plus 'maggots have social redeeming value. They can be used for organic waste management, providing animal feed, and even for medicinal purposes like wound healing. Maggot therapy, the use of live larvae to treat wounds, is a well-established and effective method for cleaning and healing infected wounds. Additionally, maggots can be a source of protein and can help convert waste into valuable resources. Perhaps the joke's on the lunatic left.

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CactusMatt32's avatar

Bill Gates, MAGAt-prenure #1!!

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Playswithneedles's avatar

“ This is perhaps because the incumbent is seen as more experienced in dealing with the United States and with global economic volatility.”.

Idiots. Their encumbents are experienced in dealing with the likes of Pedo Joe and Hussein. Trump is and will continue to walk all over them.

Perhaps those 16 million jobs lost in China can be done here in the US by former government bureaucrats.

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Playswithneedles's avatar

Agree. But my suggestion was made with my tongue jammed firmly in my cheek.

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CactusMatt32's avatar

Everyone knows they prefer to code….

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Dennis's avatar

China has been stealing from the U.S. for decades. The Red Chinese operate a theft-based economy. Wanna know why Apple and the music industry and others created the digital system we have today for controlling music? CHINA.

If you turned China upside down and shook it hard, you'd be hard-pressed to shake out more than two morals. An intellectual property attorney I met several years ago said she was amazed at the accuracy of a designer label ski jacket she saw being sold on the street for $20. Then it dawned on her. It was the exact same jacket you could buy stateside for $100s. The designer would order 100,000 units from a Chinese factory, which produced 200,000, shipped 100,000 to the designer and sold 100,000 out the backdoor to street merchants and other intellectual property misfits. And that's just a well-known jacket. They've been doing that sort of scam with virtually everything. UNTIL THEY RAN INTO TRUMP - THE BUZZSAW DOING WHAT NO ONE ELSE HAS HAD THE INTELLECT OR COURAGE TO DO - HIT THE CHINESE WHERE IT HURTS - IN THE TARIFF BOOK. Here's what's also amazing. Trump is taking back the equivalent of everything that's been stolen - but doing it legally!

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LuAnn's avatar

That's true. My son bought a fake Montcler jacket that way that you'd be hard pressed to tell isn't real. You can scan the QR code on the jacket and it takes you to the Montcler website for authenticity. It's the same jacket that was produced counterfeit in CHina right next door to the real Montcler factory in China. My son got it from a friend who's in the retail business.

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TeaPartyGal's avatar

It truly is amazing.

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William Coulter's avatar

I have to believe that part of the settlement that will come with China will include some kind of compensation for the devastating effects the Wuhan Flu had on this country. Other countries would be wise to do the same.

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Shrugged's avatar

Probably, yes, but no amount of money will bring back the millions of people who were murdered by a lab-developed bioweapon intentionally released to cause chaos, global shutdown, and control by deep state governments.

Lies and propaganda enabled the continued murder of innocent people. The rate of unexplained deaths continues to this day.

Nobody will talk about it. Why should they? To provide evidence-based data in a society where people still believe COVID was a real pandemic.

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Epstein Did Not Kill Himself's avatar

Fauci was involved in that all the way up to his neck.

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Lawsy0's avatar

Great idea! Bury him near the nearest colony of fire ants. Up to his neck.

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Cookie McCall's avatar

somebody needs to take that Fauci SOB out - and I don't mean to dinner - unless it's laced with poison! he seems to be the embodiment of pure evil - does Dr. Evil have a familiar ring to it?

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Jeremy R's avatar

He will eventually face GOD and pay for his crimes.

Keep in mind, it didn't happen in a vacuum, he is still a puppet of the globalists like Soros and Gates.

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Shrugged's avatar

"Keep in mind, it didn't happen in a vacuum, he is still a puppet of the globalists like Soros and Gates."

All of those sentenced at the Nuremberg trials were puppets of Hitler. They were put to death for crimes against humanity. COVID was many time worse than the holocaust.

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Jeremy R's avatar

My point is that until we sever the head, the small parts like Fauci will be replaced.

When anthropoid removed Heidrich, someone took his place in each of his duties. The cripo and SD didn't cease to exist.

Likewise there are stooges waiting to take over every roll of the deep state the moment GOD or Trump brings them to justice.

As for covid being worse, we need to remember that the axis slaughtered upwards of 40 million people world wide.

We may never know the real numbers about the fake flu. The virus didn't kill that many, the "cure" is killing more, destroying fertility, and destroying people's livelyhood and will do so for many more years.

It may very well make the Holocaust pale, but the Holocaust was aimed at Jews and this is aimed at everyone.

Will it happen again? Probably, and you can bet that there will be a cure handy for the money changers to protect them. The rest of us? Not so much. Their goal is to reduce the population to under 1 billion and only GOD can stop them.

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Shrugged's avatar

And "up to his neck" shall the noose go.

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Lawsy0's avatar

Once again, I am reminded of my seething loathing for COVID-19, regardless of the bio-weaponization done toward us. Two beautiful elders in my church were the first of our congregation to go. Oddly enough, in their youth, they met as new hires at the CIA. I try hard to handle my anger--it's just a flesh wound--so far.

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Liberty Belle's avatar

Thanks for sharing that. So many untold stories…

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james garrett's avatar

No Conservative should want Canada as 51st state. They will send two more liberal democrat Senators......and, even more importantly because of Quebec, we would be forced to hear "appuyez sur trois pour le français" each time we call for customer service.

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PM's avatar

Not if Alberta divorces Ottawa-then it's a good bet to be the 51st. Carney brought a knife to a gunfight.

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PM's avatar

Sorry, shrubs, It's Buffett. His companies are up 11% ytd-Dow down 4%. Your post today should be reposted by everyone reading it; perhaps it will convince the 'wobbly' that the sky is not really falling. And the ship is taking a hard starboard toward conservatism. Betcha never had the Globalists bending the knee on your bingo card. I believe it's called reading the room.

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CactusMatt32's avatar

He’s a shrewd leach that preys on juicy F100 companies after stupid hired management needs a money-honey bailout. He’s perfectly happy allowing politicians to screw up the US and create more predatory, but profitable, opportunities for him to make billions of dollars in easy (and untaxed) money.

His name would be JP Morgan, before the federal government had the ability to tax US citizens income, back in the the 19th century.

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PM's avatar

Who is Arthur Laugher? And what's a curve?😇

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PM's avatar

Take a deep breath, Cactus. I would be happy too, if I allowed politicians to screw up.

'No, Warren Buffett is not a "leech." He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in history, known for his value-oriented investment philosophy and patient approach to building wealth. His investments have generated significant returns for his company, Berkshire Hathaway, and have created numerous jobs and contributed to various industries.

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CactusMatt32's avatar

Sorry they won’t, lazyass slackers can’t work from home, and not do a job for 4 years, for these companies.

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RevMikeyMac's avatar

I thought for a moment there you were talking about Federal employees.

Trump can't get rid of enough of them, as far as I'm concerned.

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CactusMatt32's avatar

Oilpatch manufacturing company laid off 99% after the 1986 TRA collapsed oil, real estate, and consequently banks. Our CEO told the handful of us our job was to hire back only those necessary keep the business alive until oil prices recovered. Thousands affected. Trump showed us hardly anyone is ‘needed’ to keep US Government ’working’ - like IRS answering phone calls on 3rd ring, w a competent human to direct your call w a question about Congresses’ 500,000 page tax code….

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PM's avatar

Erratum-BRKA is up 12.79%. Full disclosure. I own 10 shares-excuse me, my yacht Captain wants a word.

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RevMikeyMac's avatar

Agree - it's definitely Buffet - who just announced his retirement the other day (maybe that's why Don included him in the poll?).

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Epstein Did Not Kill Himself's avatar

Buffett was my choice too. Who knows an economy more than someone extremely successful in business? Donald Trump, Warren Buffett, and a few others who aren't on the list.

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Danimal28's avatar

Wonderful piece, Don..

“Do you know how much I care about foreign elections? Less than I care about Oscars, Grammys, Tonys, Emmys or Pulitzer prizes.”

Exactly.

“Trump also burned Carney like he was in the Palisades of LA with his answer…”

Coffee spit! And indeed, Trump is squeezing China via Canada.

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geraldsd's avatar

It was between Xi and Laffer for me. I think that they know for different reasons.

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Jeremy R's avatar

Panda knows what Americans buy and owns too many of our politicians.

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Marlan Hoerer's avatar

T hank you Poca-Man for telling the masses what is really happening. As an asid.e I was reading an article on a site when an ad popped up asking for support for AP news. I stopped reading and left the site thinking [Surber and co ] own AP mentally and it shows

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