kelly09 said:

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....What is a golden sloth?

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You wrote:


It was a serious question. Sounds like we're not BFFs anymore.

bearister said:

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Chris Wallace cross examines Herr Miller.

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Recap from Mediaite for the reading-inclined:

"Isn't what President Trump want to do a clear violation of what the founders, what James Madison talked about, was giving Congress the power of the purse?" Wallace asked.

Miller countered by citing the National Emergencies Act, which actually doesn't overrule the constitution. Wallace interrupted him.

"But let's talk about national emergency, national emergencies have been declared 59 times since 1976 when the law was passed, the National Emergencies Act," Wallace said. "Can you point to a single instance, even one, where the president asked Congress for money, Congress refused to give him that money, and the president then invoked national emergency powers to get the money?"

"Well first of all" Miller began.

"Can you find one case?" Wallace repeated.

"What you're missing, Chris, is that the national emergencies don't all have the same authorities the same justification" Miller said.

"I understand that, but there have been 59, can you find one case like that?" Wallace asked, again.

Miller tried to dodge the question again, telling Wallace "These authorities' specifically refers to the use of military construction funds. Other emergencies, for example, were declared"

"Wait," Wallace said, cutting Miller off again. "If you want to talk about military military constructions, do you know how many times military construction has been invoked as a National emergency? Twice. Twice. Once by George H.W. Bush during the middle of the Gulf War, and the second time by George W. Bush right after 9/11. This is hardly comparable to either of those."

Miller tried to change the subject again by asking Wallace an unrelated question, but Wallace was not having it.

"You know, the joy of this is I get to ask you questions, you don't get to ask me," Wallace said, and added "Answer my question. Can you name one case where a president has asked Congress for money, Congress has refused, and the president has then invoked national powers to get the money anyway?"

"Well this current situation" Miller began.

"Just yes or no, sir," Wallace said.

After one more shot at dodging the question, Wallace concluded "So the answer is no, there hasn't been a single case like this."

B.A. Bearacus said:

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You wrote:


It was a serious question. Sounds like we're not BFFs anymore.

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And it answered your question, even though he tried not to.

Spoken like another one of Trump's pipe cleaners! Surprised that Lindsay Graham & McConnell can still stand up straight!

Can you please reconsider your answer? I would not have typed such without the asterisks.

kelly09 said:

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oski003 said:

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B.A. Bearacus said:

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Oski003, serious question: is there anything the president could do or can be found to have done that would make you not support him and give him your vote again in 2020? I believe the answer is no, there is nothing.

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I didn't vote for him the first time nor do I plan on voting for him if the Republicans have him run again. I'd prefer he be voted out. On the other hand, I agree with some of his policies.

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Totally agree Oskli. He is a jerk. But some good policies. I like his court picks but a Harris, Gillibrand, Booker or Beto is terrifying.

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What specifically do you find terrifying about any of these people?

bearister said:

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This picture is GOLD.

Another Bear said:

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The GOP gave Trump a green light for 2 years and zero obstruction and he still couldn't get a ******* thing done.

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Not true.
He expanded the national debt by $2T so he could stimulate the economy and claim an irresponsible stock market boost. It will come back to haunt America, however, when debt payments come due for our children and grandchildren.

He owns 10% of all accumulated debt in just 2 years, during economically great times when it was not at all necessary. That he was able to convince the American populace that we had poor economic conditions shows how F'ing stupid most Americans are. I have lost faith in our country because of this stupidity.

B.A. Bearacus said:

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bearister said:

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Chris Wallace cross examines Herr Miller.

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Recap from Mediaite for the reading-inclined:

...
Miller tried to dodge the question again, telling Wallace "These authorities' specifically refers to the use of military construction funds. Other emergencies, for example, were declared"

"Wait," Wallace said, cutting Miller off again. "If you want to talk about military military constructions, do you know how many times military construction has been invoked as a National emergency? Twice. Twice. Once by George H.W. Bush during the middle of the Gulf War, and the second time by George W. Bush right after 9/11. This is hardly comparable to either of those."

...
After one more shot at dodging the question, Wallace concluded "So the answer is no, there hasn't been a single case like this."

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Military Construction (MILCON) projects are presented to Congress and Congress appropriates money for each project and publishes a list of 'funded' MILCON projects. DOD is not supposed to move funds from one project to another (I'm not willing to say it hasn't happen, but it's grounds for immediate dismissal). However this is not the only MILCON funds. DOD is given a small percentage of the total for projects too small to require direct Congressional funding.

Unspecified Minor Military Construction (UMMC) within the MILCON appropriation, on average, represents less than 2% of the total amount, or approximately $140 million. Since FY2012, the percentage has risen steeply relative to previous years, but has varied by small amounts as a proportion of the entire MILCON appropriation. The Administration requested approximately $180 million for minor construction in the FY2018 MILCON request.

Bottom Line - There is not $3.5 BILLION of unspecified MILCON available for the POTUS to steal for the WALL.
In FY 2018 MILCON increased about 20%, the Administration requested $9.8 billion for military construction and family housing in the base budget, and $0.6 billion in OCO (overseas construction) funds, for a total of $10.4 billion. The declaration of a National Emergency requires DOD to declare that 36% of it's domestic MILCON budget was for non-essential construction, and wipe those projects off it's annual funding requests for the future.
I would expect a lot of pushback from Generals and Admirals forced to basically declare that over a third of their current MILCON budget was for unnecessary projects. Since this is only a small down payment, less than 10% of the total cost of the wall, I would expect Congress to reduce MiILCON funding by $5 BILLION in future budgets as a result of POTUS making a determination that this construction was unneeded. By taking the money out of MILCON it would also result in a reduction in staffing of the DOD agencies with the contract authority. There are well established staffing metrics based on MILCON dollars. A 36% cut in MILCON would quickly result in a 36% reduction in staffing at these DOD agencies (where I used to work).

UN?Intended Consequence

AB, for some reason that image didn't auto-populate BI for me. Here is your image just in case others are in my boat.

Quote:

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What is a golden sloth?

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Two things:
1. I like the imagery of the sloth as a guy living a lazy unproductive life wasting all his time on the internet all day. So using the sloth as a symbol of a dude on the internet, the golden part is in being that false idol of the internet, the ultimate troll. When I thought of the name, I had the image of the bad guy from the South Park World of Warcraft Episode in my head. Its a self-referential joke that amuses me about what I am partaking in and what I should avoid at the same time. So it a joke and a friendly reminder to myself to not get too worked up about internet chat boards at the same time.

2. We are the California Golden Bears, and sloth is the term for a group of bears, so golden sloth seemed to be relevant to a Cal board as I am one of the sloth.

The photo I used of a cartoon golden sloth in a buddaesque state of zen, reminds me of the best way to communicate on chat boards. Calm, straight forward, logical, non-name calling but beaming with insufferable arrogance and smugness.

At the end of the day, although my comment might have been a bit critical, we are all Cal fans, and we can all agree that 'We Want the Axe'!

B.A. Bearacus said:

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AB, for some reason that image didn't auto-populate BI for me. Here is your image just in case others are in my boat.

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This really should be the Dems "platform" or attack mode:
a) Climate Change
b) Massive Election Fraud
c) Gun Control
d) POTUS is a criminal and traitor

So, trump shutdown the govt for his border money. That costs the economy many more billions than he was seeking. So, I suppose I should not care that these prototypes were also a complete waste, to the tune of $20 Million.

They are being torn down to make way for new fencing. None of the designs is being used.


?quality=85&strip=all&w=770


SAN DIEGO (AP) A jackhammer reduced prototypes of President Donald Trump's prized border wall into piles of rubble Wednesday, a quick ending to an experiment that turned into a spectacle at times.
The four concrete and four steel panels, spaced closely together steps from an existing barrier separating San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, instantly became powerful symbols associated with the president and one of his top priorities when they went up 16 months ago.
For Trump's allies, the towering models were a show of his commitment to border security and making good on a core campaign promise. For detractors, they were monuments to wasted taxpayer dollars and a misguided display of aggression toward Mexico and immigrants seeking a new home in the United States.
Within about two hours, a hydraulic jackhammer on an excavator leveled seven prototypes. Concrete slabs crashed in small clouds of dust, steel panels were knocked over, and an owl flew out of a steel tube atop one panel just before it thundered down. The last prototype standing took a little more time to destroy.
U.S. officials say elements of the prototypes have been melded into current border fence designs and they were no longer needed.
Public access to the prototypes was blocked from the San Diego side, turning an impoverished Tijuana neighborhood into a popular spot for journalists, anti-wall demonstrators and curious observers. People climbed piles of trash against a short border fence that has since been replaced to get a clear view from Mexico.
Artists projected light shows on the walls from Mexico, with one message reading "Refugees Welcome Here" next to an image of the Statue of Liberty and another showing a silhouette jumping on a trampoline with a caption that read, "Use in Case of Wall." Demonstrators craned their necks for a view when Trump toured the prototypes 11 months ago.
Removal of prototypes made way to extend a second-layer barrier of steel poles topped by a metal plate rising 30 feet (9.1 meters) from the ground, the same design being used elsewhere on the border. The new barrier vaguely resembles some of the steel prototypes but looks nothing like the solid concrete panels, which were widely panned because border agents couldn't see what was happening on the other side.
The nearly $3 billion that Congress has provided for barriers during the first half of Trump's term requires that money be spent on designs that were in place before May 2017, effectively prohibiting the prototypes from being used and denying Trump bragging rights to say he built his wall. It's unclear if the restriction would apply to the billions of dollars that Trump wants to spend by declaring a national emergency on the nation's southern border, which the House of Representatives voted this week to block.
The eight prototypes, which cost $300,000 to $500,000 each to build, vary by slopes, thickness and curves. Bidding guidelines called from them to withstand at least an hour of punishment from a sledgehammer, pickaxe, torch, chisel or battery-operated tools and to prevent use of climbing aids such as grappling hooks.
The guidelines also required they be "aesthetically pleasing" from the U.S. side. One had two shades of blue with white trim. The others were gray, tan or brown in sync with the desert.
The Department of Homeland Security redirected $20 million from its budget in February 2017, a month after Trump took office, to pay for the prototypes and smaller mock-ups built farther from the border that have also been dismantled. Open bidding generated a wide range of ideas, some of them whimsical or far-fetched. One bidder wanted a wall large enough for a deck that would offer tourists scenic views of the desert.
Bidders met fierce criticism from wall opponents. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico said any Mexican companies that expressed interest were betraying their country.
The government rigorously tested the designs and, according to a summary from the Government Accountability Office, found that the concrete walls posed "extensive" construction challenges and the others posed "substantial" or "moderate" challenges. Six of the eight would require extensive changes to accommodate drainage.
A Customs and Border Protection report, first reported by KPBS of San Diego, showed that each prototype could be breached using several different techniques but the heavily redacted version that was made public did not say how long it took.

Ross Wilkin, a Border Patrol spokesman, noted that authorities never claimed the prototypes would be impenetrable and that they simply wanted to know how much time it took to crack each one.
The appeal to private industry for ideas was a new approach to building barriers and provided many lessons to guide construction, he said. Authorities learned that certain materials were unsuitable for quick repairs and that combining different surfaces, like bollards topped by plates, were more effective.
A steel model with vertical U-shaped indentations could be jammed with pieces of wood and become a ladder, Wilkin said. Prototypes with exposed fasteners like screws or bolts could be broken with the right tools.
"They were tested and evaluated," Wilkin said. "They're not required anymore. It's time for them to go."
The new barrier replaces a steel-mesh fence that runs more than 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the Pacific Ocean, which worked like a fortress when it was built a decade ago but is now regularly breached with powerful battery-operated saws recently made available in home improvement stores. It will then extend another mile or so over the prototype site. SLSCO Ltd. of Galveston, Texas, won the $101 million contract in December and started work last week.
Work on replacing the first-layer barrier, also with steel bollards and metal plates up to 30 feet high, runs the same length as the second layer and is nearly finished.
Illegal crossings have fallen dramatically in San Diego over the last 25 years as the government erected barriers and added agents. In the Tijuana neighborhood near the prototypes, Guillermina Fernandez briefly turned her patio into an informal restaurant about 15 years ago, once serving 200 sandwiches on a single order from a smuggler who fed his customers.
Smugglers dug small holes under the old fence for migrants to pass. Campfires warmed them while waiting for an opening to dart past border agents.
"It looked like a party here," said Fernandez, 54, who, like some neighbors, built her shack of plywood scraps on squatted land that she and her husband later bought.
Residents complain that outsiders illegally dump trash on their dirt roads that lack street lights. They tout one benefit of the new wall: The poles allow the Border Patrol's bright lights to seep in and provide some visibility at night.

The chaos and costs of "closing the border"


https://www.axios.com/2023/12/22/us-mexico-border-closures-could-cost-billions

"A complete border shutdown, as proposed by former President Trump and other GOP candidates, could cost the U.S. billions of dollars in trade.

Food and fuel chains would be disrupted. Auto parts would likely become scarce. In less than a month, Americans may run out of avocados.
Mexico, which is currently experiencing economic growth, would likely be thrown into disarray which could spark more migration."

*Yes, a serious issue that no Administration has figured out, but this points out that it is more complex than a Tucker Carlson Talking Point.

bearister said:

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The chaos and costs of "closing the border"


https://www.axios.com/2023/12/22/us-mexico-border-closures-could-cost-billions

"A complete border shutdown, as proposed by former President Trump and other GOP candidates, could cost the U.S. billions of dollars in trade.

Food and fuel chains would be disrupted. Auto parts would likely become scarce. In less than a month, Americans may run out of avocados.
Mexico, which is currently experiencing economic growth, would likely be thrown into disarray which could spark more migration."

*Yes, a serious issue that no Administration has figured out, but this points out that it is more complex than a Tucker Carlson Talking Point.

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Of course we could replace Mexican trade with imports from China, Russia, North Korea, Hungary and other MAGA-Putinista endorsed countries.

However here in San Diego things could get odiferous when the daily housekeeping workers can no longer
cross the border to clean the restrooms.

2020: We are a Sanctuary City!

2023: We can't handle all these migrants

Graph of the week. Yikes!

bear2034 said:

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Graph of the week. Yikes!

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I thought you guys wanted illegal immigrants apprehended and expelled. It looks like Biden was the best ever at that and Trump was about the worst. At least since the 1960s.

Eastern Oregon Bear said:

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I thought you guys wanted illegal immigrants apprehended and expelled. It looks like Biden was the best ever at that and Trump was about the worst. At least since the 1960s.

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The graph doesn't show those that weren't expelled. I thought you were going to quit me?

bear2034 said:

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Eastern Oregon Bear said:

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I thought you guys wanted illegal immigrants apprehended and expelled. It looks like Biden was the best ever at that and Trump was about the worst. At least since the 1960s.

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The graph doesn't show those that weren't expelled.

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So Trump wasn't expelling illegal immigrants? I thought that was the cornerstone of his administration.

Quote:

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I thought you were going to quit me?

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I didn't say that. I said it wasn't worth having a serious discussion with someone who isn't serious. I reserve the right to swing at your hanging curveballs when I feel like it.

Eastern Oregon Bear said:

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I reserve the right to swing at your hanging curveballs when I feel like it.

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It's not that fun for the both of us when you end up striking out though.

Texas takes on Mumbles Biden.

The real showdown is about to begin

Biden has given Texas a 24hr deadline to allow Border Patrol to remove the barbed wire or face consequences

Gov. Abbott has told Biden he’s not budging

pic.twitter.com/g9mXW0lPId

— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) January 26, 2024

I’ve been to the southern border multiple times & I’m happy to go again

Patriots are sick of watching their country crumble into a globalist hellhole

Red states are standing up

This could be the moment we truly stop the invasion of America

Peacefully, legally, and effectively pic.twitter.com/L2d8izRT2Q

— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) January 25, 2024

BREAKING:

🚨

There are reports that the Biden administration is now threatening military action against the Texas National Guard unless they remove the National Guard from the border by 1 pm
EST!

This is absurd.

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) January 26, 2024

I sure hope the Feds can take the heat
https://www.threads.net/@francisfordcopulate/post/C2llBy5gz0b/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==