JE_ThomasVoice #8

If a state has a surplus of energy there is no reason why it shouldn't host data centers. Further, state governments are much closer to the people than is the Federal government. Federal guidance is important but in some cases state action is reasonable.

And you have every right to testify to that in your statehouse.

Jaw-jaw is better than war-war - attributed to Winston Churchill The question in my mind is if we have anyone left capable of having meaningful talks with anyone in the Middle East. The region has a complex history and a melange of competing tribal and national interests. Talks have to have an objective and the US objective is very likely to keep the Red Sea open to traffic. Talks also have to have a strategy to achieve the objective(s). The Trump strategy always tends toward, "do what I say or I'll bomb the crap out of you." That is not going to be a winning strategy in Yemen.

If you've ever heard Jared speak you have a clue how little he brings to the table. And if you've ever heard Witkoff you know we're totally fucked. Why and how the White House uses amateurs to represent the US in critical negotiations is beyond me.

Trump pushed a close ally of long standing away with idiotic insults and confiscatory tariffs and now he complains that Canada is strengthening ties with Europe and China? FAFO, Donnie.

What deal? Trump has taunted Canada about becoming the 51st state, insulted its prime minister, denigrated its people, and levied confiscatory tariffs on it. You're right that it is bigger than a tariff "spat" and wrong to suggest that there is a "deal" involved. There was a deal, the USMCA which was simply NAFTA with Trump's name on it. And then Trump decided to walk away from that as well. Donald Trump and Howard Lutnick may be the only economists (yeah, believe it or not Trump's bachelor's is in economics) alive who think that broad based tariffs are a good idea.

It will be harder to move on from than it was to get into. The tariffs may fade. But the world economy has begun to reorient and a change of presidents won't reverse that. Everyone now knows that the US is never more than 4 years away from potential chaos. Economics loves stability. So do most countries.

Huh? If wishes were horses, beggars would ride - Scottish proverb. Instead of wishing, doing something positive is more likely to yield the desired effect whether 11:11 or 10:10.

Government's role is as a regulator. russia owns stakes in essentially all of its major companies. How's that working out?

First, who cares? Second, therapod dinosaurs came first. Evolution, baby.

Why is it that some always assume that companies will act in America's and Americans's best interests? That isn't their job. Their job is to maximize returns to their investors. Competitive pressure will always impel them to push farther and faster. That is why governmental regulation and oversight is essential.

Trump has done incalculable and irreversible damage to the United States diplomatic standing. It will be possible to patch up some of the relationships but the message that the United States is always one election away from chaos is now a fixed reality. Thanks to all the MAGAts who voted for this train wreck.

Johnson sent the House home early to avoid a vote on impeaching Pete Hegseth. The United States is facing huge challenges both domestically and internationally. Sending the House home to avoid an embarrassing vote is sadly typical of Congress placing partisanship ahead of patriotism.

Trump 47 is arguably the worst presidency since Andrew Johnson. He has destroyed America's alliances, destroyed an economic order that has seen tremendous growth at home and abroad for 75 years, driven gasoline and diesel prices to historic highs, assaulted the rule of law and institutional norms that have kept America safe. Even some of the dyed-in-the-wool MAGAts are deserting. Republican Congresspeople and Senators are widely recognized to have enabled this mess rather than exercise their Constitutional responsibilities. I voted mostly Republican until 2016. Since then the party has become something unrecognizable. I will never vote for any Republican currently holding office.

Be serious. OpenAI had revenues of roughly $13 billion in 2025. A $1.5 trillion valuation is a PE ratio of 115. Talk about betting on the come! It is conceivable that OpenAI will someday be worth a $1.5 trillion valuation. It may also stumble and be worth far, far less. Buying into that valuation is entirely speculative. Remember: pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered.

This is a fraught time economically. The last thing we need is growing inflation. Had the Fed held - or worse decreased a quarter - the signal to the markets would be that the Fed is no longer independent.

We travel frequently, often for extended periods. When I'm home I immediately start living out of the closet. But the suitcases may not get unpacked for a day or two. There are usually lots of things competing for attention when we first get back. Unpacking also means laundry, a trip to the dry cleaner, etc.

No, and not because I think it incapable. I simply prefer to reconsider subscriptions at renewal time. Am I using the resource enough to justify the cost?

We are fortunate to have the resources to navigate these prices but millions of Americans do not. Gas prices are where they are because of a foolish choice with a predictable outcome made by President Trump.

No. To what end would they be sent? Study after study including from the Hoover Institution consistently show that voter fraud is rare. The only reason to send them is voter intimidation. Do we live in America or Russia?

Impeached for gross incompetence. Moreover, he should never have been confirmed. That he was tells everything one needs to know about the quality of the current Republican majority in the US Senate.

The Kennedy Center has been a cultural gem for decades hosting many first rate artists. Trump has inserted himself where he doesn't need to be replacing the board with bootlicks and demanding his name be placed on a building honoring a President who truly supported the arts. Mr. Trump, a man with the artistic sensibility of a first generation mafioso, has nothing to offer except lots of gold paint.

A president has the ability to send National Guard troops in without state approval in very highly constrained circumstances. Current circumstances do not come close to meeting those requirements.

We have already drawn down our strategic oil reserve by 60% (714 million barrel capacity drawn down to 285 million barrels remaining). We need to maintain adequate reserves for a true emergency rather than spending it down because a fool started a war he can't finish that has led to sky high gas prices at the run up to an election.

We are a nation of laws. It doesn't matter if you're selling newspapers on the street corner or wearing an ICE uniform, the law applies to everyone.

Canada's potential accession as an associate member of the EU is another part of a necessary reordering of global relationships. Donald Trump has grossly overplayed America's hand and in the process has damaged America in ways that are irreparable. The world now understands that the US is always one election away from chaos and chaos does not serve anyones interests. And so the world will reorganize in ways that promote stability. Trump will leave America on the outside looking in just as he did with the TPP. For a man who styles himself a master deal maker, Trump is a bust.

It was a smart move but not for the obvious reason. MS was not going to be one of the winners. It maintains its relationship with OpenAI. MS is a mature business and isn't wired for the sort of risks associated with becoming an AI leader. Do what you do well and build partnerships for what you don't do well.

And the least to gain if it isn't. I think MS is playing this intelligently and appropriately conservatively. META in my humble analysis is an octogonal, rotating train wreck that manages to survive only because of the legacy Facebook product and the huge ad revenues it produces. Zuckerberg had one good idea. End of story.

I began reshuffling my investments about 6 months ago. Valuations are far too high, the dangers of a decompression of the AI bubble are too great, and there are good but not spectacular gains to be had with less risks. I hew to the old adage that pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered.

No, it was wrong. Israel does not have a formal constitution like ours but the Israeli Supreme Court has recognized freedom of expression as a foundational democratic freedom and a "supra-legal" right from the earliest days of Israel as a nation." Better would be to revoke Bibi Netanyahu's citizenship and pack him off to the Hague.

Yes, he has every right to complete his term. McConnell is a loathsome creep but the people of Kentucky elected him and there is no legal avenue to force him to relinquish his seat.

It was wrong both morally and Constitutionally. The Eighth Amendment is simple and clear: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

Article I, Section 8. Congress has plenary power over immigration.

It is long past time to do away with this racist idiocy designed to give slave holding states political power far beyond their voting population (you remember the 3/5 compromise?). The Electoral College has given the presidency to a candidate other than the one winning the popular vote 5 times in our history, twice in our young century.

Perhaps this will help: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/electoral-colleges-racist-origins

This shouldn't even be a question. Vaccination is arguably the most important medical miracle in all of history. It has saved more lives than all the surgical procedures put together and itnhas done it at very little cost. We have forgotten the horros of small pox, polio, and rubella. A century ago average life expectancy in the US was in the fifties, not because old people didn't live into their 70s or 80s - many did. Because young people died of communicable diseases before ever tasting adulthood and long before they ever had a chance to grow old. We can save many children now who catch measels or rubella, not all of them, but many. And at huge cost in days spent in pediatric intensive care units. Vaccination is cheap, safe, and effective. Those who sound false alarms about vaccine safety are either uninformed, delusional, or profiting from the lie.

Voting procedures are a state issue. Read the Constitution. I haven't read Alito or Thomas's dissents yet but am looking forward to it. They're always good for a laugh. How either of these simple-minded ass clowns ever passed Senate confirmation is a mystery to me.

I think that anyone who argues that repealing them was a good idea is living in a fairy tale world.

I have opinions on many things, but I lack the information to form an informed opinion on this. I use Claude daily and find it powerful and useful. I am intrigued by the possibility of AGI. But I am also vaguely cognizant of the risks. My analysis is that AI will ultimarely profit the Sam Altmans and their allies, at everone else's expense. But that is a different issue than the question posed here. Whether or not we pause development, someone will forge ahead. It seems wired into the species. We're much better at can we than should we.

Balled stretches the elastic.

It depresses me that the question needs to be asked. I don't know how Americans in the bottom 6 or 7 deciles are surviving. Mostly through increasingly expensive credit it would appear.

Yes, the moment they leave Russian airspace. Russia is not our friend, not Europe's friend, not freedom's friend. We seem never to learn history's greatest lesson: you cannot avoid conflict with would be conquerers.

We do not live in an oligarchic autocracy. Yet. The Constitution is clear, Congress draws the map, the executive follows it. Congress has slowly emasculated itself over decades while the executive has amassed ever more power. This Donald Trump administration is the apotheosis of that trend, the Speaker of the House, a weak puppet dancing to his master's tune, a Congress dominated by fearful men and women unwilling to challenge a president who is demonstrably weakening the nation.

Lottery tickets are a stupidity tax. Now I'm waiting for someone to respond, " but somebody has to win!" A. No, they don't, and B. When someone does it won't be you.

Amen

Running president and vice president as a team just underscores partisanship. In the earliest days of the republic the vice president was the presidential candidate who got the second largest fraction of Electoral College votes. It has come to the point that politicians, and to be honest most Americans, seem to put partisanship ahead of patriotism. This leads only to divisiveness.

The White House? No. The vice presidency is at best a ceremonial position unless the president chooses to give that person something to do. Constitutionally, the VP's job is to wait for the president to die.

Remember what John Nance said, "The vice presidency isn't worth a bucket of warm piss." So I'm less concerned about partisanship in the WH than are you. It might be refreshing to have a VP pushing back against an out-of-control executive instead of one who says, "I'm just like Trump but with a beard."

It depends entirely on the prevailing interest rate. I have a 3% mortgage. I could pay it off if I chose. But I can earn just over 4% on a CD and rather more on other investments. But in today's market it would be a much closer call. You can earn more than 6% but the return is speculative and the markets are uneasy. If faced with the choice today I'd lean to paying cash if I could or minimizing the principal with a large down payment.

I certainly hope not. The Twenty-eighth Amendment should be "Aim for the Smart Glasses." ;-)

The right to bear arms is federal by definition; the Second Amendment. The United States has a third world murder rate and an appalling record of mass shootings. Short of repealing the Second Amendment or modifying it (an approach I certainly would approve of) emplacing reasonable regulations is essential.

The bar is the voice of the people. Recall votes are a clear statement of voter unhappiness. While most gubenatorial recall efforts are unsuccessful, they still send an unmistakable message.

Trump claims, among many of his claims, that his war is about stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. But Iran was already in compliance with the JCPOA, negotiated by the Biden administration. Trump tore up that agreement in his first term replacing it with ... nothing. Now he's fighting a war to regain what he threw away and in doing so has further destabilized the Middle East, driven oil to $100 per barrel and diesel to $6 per gallon, depleted our stocks of critical munitions - a fact not lost on the Chinese and the Russians, and made the US appear feckless and impotent. Well done, Mr. President. Man, I love winning.

You have to play by the rules. Missouri's Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, didn't. That isn't my opinion. It is the opinion of Missouri' Supreme Court (which went on to hold Hoskins in contempt for essentially giving the Court the finger) and now the US Supreme Court.

I didn't vote because I'm not privy to all of the relevant information. Besides, I think that H. sapiens has an excellent chance of annhiliating itself in the next 10 or 20 years without AI's help.

I think that people who record at concerts are violating the nearly universal prohibition against doing so, distracting themselves and those near them from enjoying the live musical experience, and capturing a crappy recording.

No one data breach worries me about my personal information; that is already at risk every single day. Dagman makes the excellent point that AI amplifies the threat, potentially in novel ways. If you're still using "password" as your password ...

It is inconceivable that we are the only intelligent life in the universe, nearly impossible to believe that we are alone even in our galaxy. But the distances involved are immense. The Milky Way is 100,000 light years across. Imagine receiving a radio signal from a civilization, say, just 10,000 light years away. The civilization producing the signal could be long gone by the time we received it. And our response would be received - if there was anyone left to receive it - 20,000 years after the original signal was sent. That's a long time between, "hi there" and "s'up?"

Public figures and celebrities have the same First Amendment rights as everyone else. And everyone else has the right to react - including refusal to buy their products, listen to their music, watch their programs, etc. That many of us still buy Teslas and shop at Amazon is on us.

Sales taxes are regressive. Replacing income tax with a national sales tax would only exacerbate wealth inequalities and lead to a two class America.

The War Powers Act gives the president flexibility to react to emergent situations while demanding Congressional notification within 48 hours and Congressional approval after 60 days. The problem is not the War Powers Act, it is a flaccid, impotent Congress unwilling to assert its Constitutional authority in Article I.

States elect their governors by their own rules. Thirty-seven states already have some form of term limits, some lifetime limits, others sequential limitis. There is no Constitutional mechanism to impose gubernatorial terms limits.