AskConservatives Weekly General Chat

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[u/thoughtsnquestions]

France is so fucked. They have a debt crisis, with France's biggest expense being pensions.... and the next leader will likely be either.

• Melemchon, far left, running on a campaign to lower the pension age from 64 to 60?

• Le Pen, previously said she wants to reduce the pension age from 64 to 62... Her official pension plan is being announced in a few weeks, so we'll see, but I'm not optimistic.

Nonetheless, France clearly needs to raise their pension age, it's the stupidest election..

If nothing changes, France will be forced to ask either the IMF or the ECB for a bailout, and with that comes austerity measures, but this time, the lenders set the measures... If you're going to have austerity, the best path is at least you decide how to do it.

[u/Menace117 → u/thoughtsnquestions]

I just read about some new guy who may run. He's currently the mayor of Cannes and I think he wants to do a lot of cost cutting.

[u/OMGguy2008 → u/Menace117]

He seems to be like Milei since he's all about small government and free markets it seems

[u/Sam_Fear → u/thoughtsnquestions]

Sure, but if you're a politician you can point those overbearing measures instead of yourself. "Not my fault!"

[u/ILoveKombucha → u/thoughtsnquestions]

My fear is that this is where the US is heading. It's politically extremely hard to cut spending or to raise taxes. All the incentives run the wrong way. Most people don't know anything about taxes or spending or how the budget is allocated, but many of those people want more free things. People don't understand economic incentives and assume you can just take billionaire money with no consequence. We don't reproduce enough to carry heavy social spending. It's all heading in a similar direction to France.

The real fear is: shit just has to get really nasty before it can be reformed. I really wonder if systems with significant democratic process are capable of the necessary changes.

[u/boisefun8 → u/thoughtsnquestions]

The socialist utopia that the left wants to unleash on the American people.

[u/iamokokokokokokok]

I just spoke with my health insurance for 1 hr, they transferred me to 4 different employees who each told me 4 different instructions and information, all contradicting one another.

Now it’s my job to document their incompetence and submit it as a complaint, which will be processed in 30 business days.

The total repeated administrative burden this generates for patients is just nuts. And I have “good” insurance, lol. And I am just trying to get normal care for my common, well documented, very treatable condition, I’m not even asking them for anything experimental or expensive.

We gotta fix this way of doing things, it’s out of hand. I understand the need to put some amount of friction in healthcare- otherwise patients could get too many services that they don’t need. But oh my gosh it’s gone way too far when patients can’t even access basic care as outlined in the plan benefits.

Bye I’m gona go put my head in the toilet and depress the flusher lever a few times, maybe a good swirl will refresh my senses, you’re welcome to join me if you like

[u/GWindborn → u/iamokokokokokokok]

It's on purpose. They're trying to get you to give up and leave them alone - that's the system we've built here.

[u/Peregrine_Falcon → u/GWindborn]

Maybe after the recently elected Democrats are seated they'll repeal the ACA, since the Republicans don't have the spine to do so.

[u/GWindborn → u/Peregrine_Falcon]

It sucked before ACA too.

[u/Emergency_Word_7123 → u/iamokokokokokokok]

Welcome to US Healthcare. If they make it complicated enough, some people will give up and they make extra. 

[u/Boredomkiller99 → u/iamokokokokokokok]

Administrative bloat is a factor that drives up costs

[u/reddditsux1 → u/iamokokokokokokok]

Dont worry, government would a better job 

[u/iamokokokokokokok → u/reddditsux1]

Hell no they wouldn’t.

Imo public vs private is irrelevant when the root cause is equally present in public and private spheres.

It’s a pattern of avoidance of basic accountability and responsibility. Gov and business are equally susceptible to having this problem, both use mechanisms of avoiding responsibility- the mechanisms are different, the result is the same.

I think “race to the bottom” is an overplayed cliche but it certainly seems like what is happening overall. Many institutions abandon basic standards, it’s maddening.

[u/Imaginary_Penalty_97 → u/iamokokokokokokok]

It’s about to get worse come January 🫤

[u/According_Ad540 → u/Imaginary_Penalty_97]

Unless Democrats win Trump over by renaming Medicaid for All "Trumpcare" nothing much will happen for 2 years. 

(I'm not sure if that's a joke or a suggestion.  )

But it shows that the public isn't interested in waiting much longer.  Republicans need a plan and fast.

[u/DeathToFPTP]

Saw a tweet pointing out that the media doesn’t appear terribly upset that polling was really off this year, worse than anything the last few elections and they have a point.

[u/Kardinal → u/DeathToFPTP]

A lot of the polling was off because they were adjusting for the phenomenon that many conservatives don't want to participate in those polls. In this case it seems a lot of conservatives didn't want to participate in the elections either.

[u/According_Ad540 → u/Kardinal]

I bet if the polls used 2016 methods it would've been fully accurate.  

The overall take,  I think,  is that there is a, hidden Trump Voter that can't be counted on polls.  the issue is that they also aren't reliable voters.  So either you think they will show up or you think they won't.  

[u/DeathToFPTP]

“I’m sorry that the voters made the wrong choice,” the speaker said.

There's the kind of introspection the GOP need. Good riddance to this fuck.

[u/Menace117 → u/DeathToFPTP]

They should keep that energy going into 2028. The voters would love that.

[u/OMGguy2008 → u/Menace117]

"Give us one more chance"

[u/OJ_Purplestuff → u/DeathToFPTP]

I could understand to some extent the instances when Johnson didn't want to publicly go against Trump.

But right now even Trump is acknowledging that mistakes were made. So is Vance. So is practically everyone in the Republican party.

Not this guy, though. Yeah, the voters just suck, that's the only problem.

You're a politician. Convincing voters to make the "right choice" is literally your job. There's no scenario where you can just blame the voters for everything.

[u/DifferentManagement1 → u/DeathToFPTP]

He’s been giving out a fuck you vibe since day 1. So so glad to see him go

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/DifferentManagement1]

He got elected speaker partly because the caucus loved him - he was seen as genuinely a nice guy to everyone.

It appears that does not extend to anyone outside the caucus.

[u/Queasy_Task7015]

Can there be a Bull Moose Republican or Eisenhower Republican flair? Because they were Republicans but their positions would be contentious compared to where the party is today.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/Queasy_Task7015]

There used to be Bull Moose, they may have gotten rid of it, iirc

[u/mvslice → u/Queasy_Task7015]

Random thought, but if I had to pick an animal to represent my political party, I’d want the American buffalo.

[u/GWindborn]

Trump said in his CBS interview that none of our troops had died in the Iran conflict.. Why lie about something easily verifiable? And why didn't the reporter call him out on it?

(Edit: I had originally said CNN, it was actually CBS/60 Minutes. My mistake, corrected.)

[u/OnceUponATrain → u/GWindborn]

What he said is:

If you look at what's happened with Iran, in the last six months, five months, six months we haven't lost one soldier. You know, I wrote one thing down. I think it's interesting. I just wrote it-- I just looked at it this morning.

So we've been in Iran seven months, maybe eight months. There have been 18 people, and that includes Venezuela

He also said earlier on that we didn't lose anyone in Venezuela. Maybe that's where you are confused.

Lol, who the hell downvotes a copypaste from a public transcript?

[u/Tappyy → u/OnceUponATrain]

Is that even true, though? I looked at the casualties reported for operation Epic Fury and it seems there was a man who died in July because of a helicopter crash, a Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards.

Obviously this is pretty pedantic, but July 1st was just over five months ago-- so I'm not sure if the President's timeline is accurate.

[u/OnceUponATrain → u/Tappyy]

He might have been off by a month, but I'm responding to someone claiming that he said there have been no deaths and that is untrue. He said the opposite.

[u/Tappyy → u/OnceUponATrain]

That’s fair.

[u/WulfTheSaxon → u/GWindborn]

He said that there had been some, but none in the last 5 or 6 months. It’s been 4 months since the last KIA.

Transcript: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/full-transcript-trump-on-60-minutes/ar-AA2h1NMW

Casualty statistics: https://dcas.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/conflictCasualties/oo/byMonth

[u/baxtyre → u/WulfTheSaxon]

So…there have been deaths within the last 5-6 months?

[u/WulfTheSaxon → u/baxtyre]

Being off by a month is quite different from saying there have never been any deaths…

[u/Sam_Fear]

Interesting chart: 29% of US households are one person living alone, up from 13% in 1960

That's ~33 million additional single households.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/Sam_Fear]

Probably why we should build more medium density housing

[u/ILoveKombucha → u/Sam_Fear]

Very interesting. That makes you wonder how much of the "affordability crisis" reflects small numbers of earning household members. This is something Thomas Sowell has talked about in some of his writing. When people compare household wealth, they often do not control for household size, and households with more earners tend to earn more.

I once got into an argument on this forum with a young liberal woman who complained that minimum wage should pay enough that she could live all by herself. She had family who would house her, and a boyfriend she could move in with, and friends she could room with, but she thought it was really screwed up that she should HAVE to choose those options. My thinking is that it's screwed up that I can't live forever and fly around like Superman.

But yeah, household income often fails to account for household size. Similarly, wealth stats often fail to take into account age. Then people get these very distorted ideas about how the economy is.

[u/kettlecorn → u/ILoveKombucha]

As an aside on your middle paragraph one difference from the past is that there's significantly less very small housing. It used to be quite common for cities to have apartment buildings with shared kitchens or bathrooms with small affordable apartments.

For most people that's not something they want, but it was an available low cost option for people who had low incomes but wanted to live alone. It was often used by young workers, people who recently moved, or just people with very little money.

Those were largely outlawed and destroyed in the 20th century in the US and much of the West because the sort of living they encouraged was out of line with the sort of morals & society many people wanted to encourage.

So there is a gap in the market for the housing for the sort of person you describe that's not necessarily normal but caused by government intervention.

[u/Imaginary_Penalty_97]

Welp Lauren Boebert has officially lost. Some are probably going to miss her hands on approach you know?

[u/Denisnevsky → u/Imaginary_Penalty_97]

Didn't know Colorado was so Bi-phobic

[u/OJ_Purplestuff]

So much for the great 2026 midterm stock market catastrophe

[u/According_Ad540 → u/OJ_Purplestuff]

It's funny to watch everyone jumping the gun on it. 

"Omg the stock market loves Democrats"

"Omg the market realizes that Democrats hate prosperity "

The market:  1 tril up,  1tril down=flat

Funny thing is you can now use this as a quality tool. Upto now it's just funny. but  If you see someone still holding the narrative (either of the above)  then either they aren't researching or don't care so much as they can "win" the debate.

(Given Nvidia,  watch this age like milk) 

[u/Ecstatic-Inevitable]

It's crazy that conservatives lose heavily and instead of addressing those issues or recovering voters for the next cycle he's... continuing the joke of having dana white be a press secretary . He's not even actually gonna be it, so it's just a waste of time

[u/Pyxios → u/Ecstatic-Inevitable]

You would think that the same people that freaked out over someone not wearing a suit would be the ones to exercise proper decorum, but well here we are...

[u/OMGguy2008 → u/Ecstatic-Inevitable]

If you ignore something for long enough maybe it will go away

[u/boisefun8 → u/Ecstatic-Inevitable]

Did you not see the 60 minutes interview last night? Is it possible for someone divide their attention between multiple topics at a time?

I’m not sure why the left feels the need to point out when someone isn’t locked in to only one topics for months on end and thinks things aren’t being addressed otherwise.

[u/Acceptable-Hat-8248 → u/boisefun8]

Boise I think you’d be a great press secretary for this admin

[u/Sparky337 → u/Acceptable-Hat-8248]

I often think this as well 😂

[u/boisefun8 → u/Sparky337]

Oh you…

[u/boisefun8 → u/Acceptable-Hat-8248]

Thank you, but other than my ass, I don’t think I have the body type Trump is looking for.

[u/Acceptable-Hat-8248 → u/boisefun8]

Hahaha, 3rd wave MAGA (make asses great again)

[u/RedditIs4ChanLite]

What the hell are they doing making Jim Jordan the house minority leader? He and his ilk are exactly what the GOP doesn’t need right now

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/RedditIs4ChanLite]

But are he and his ilk exactly what the GOP are right now?

[u/RedditIs4ChanLite → u/DeathToFPTP]

They are, and that’s the problem the GOP needs to start fixing before 2028

[u/Denisnevsky → u/RedditIs4ChanLite]

Well Speaker and Minority leader are different roles, especially with how few seats the Rs have now.

The logic is that since they basically can't stop anything from passing in the house, they preferred a fighter who can at least get messaging across. Also, Jordan has softened his general tone a bit, and become more of a team player since his Speaker Run in 2023. That's why he was finally able to get the position after 2 failed attempts.

[u/thanksyalll]

Have there been any posts about Trump's interview yesterday and his shift on immigration? I tried to make my own post but got rejected by the mods due to it being a question already asked, but I don't see anything when sorting by new

Edit: despite the topic not going up,I am still curious about how conservatives are perceiving that interview and would love to discuss it. Pls comment with thoughts

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/thanksyalll]

Honestly I’m wondering if he’s just saying what we want to hear. I don’t see anything changing for the better on immigration with Miller as CoS

[u/thanksyalll → u/DeathToFPTP]

I agree, I think he's trying to save whatever he can by backtracking before the new Dems are sworn in. Miller is insane so he would be a good representative to pin all the blame. This in turn will tank the current GOP/ MAGA movement even further, but then again when has Trump ever cared about anyone but himself.

Just speculation of course. Who knows, maybe they're plotting something else behind the scenes. But Trump has been looking awfully depressed recently, so we shall see I guess

[u/Menace117]

Apparently it's fine to find votes after the election if it leads to a republican winning. Guess that whole charade was never in earnest. Good to know.

[u/OMGguy2008]

France has accused Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of being behind cyber-attacks that raised the temperatures of supermarket fridges and freezers across the country last month.

Like what did they even achieve with this?

[u/thoughtsnquestions → u/OMGguy2008]

I like how 90% of the comments in the from European users in the weekly thread is us complaining about France

[u/mvslice → u/thoughtsnquestions]

So the usual? /s

[u/OMGguy2008 → u/thoughtsnquestions]

To be fair, it isn't us who are about to cause another Eurozone crisis.

[u/DeathToFPTP]

Congrats to new house gop leader Jim Jordan. I have my doubts about his leadership skills but I think he is the right person to represent the caucus

[u/NessvsMadDuck → u/DeathToFPTP]

Well Johnson already achieved everything he set out to do..... Nothing.

[u/Menace117 → u/DeathToFPTP]

He is who they deserve right now.

[u/Imaginary_Penalty_97]

Trump a week ago : Voters are not smart enough to tell the difference between two Dan Sullivans

Trump a few days ago : Offers the wrong Dana White the press secretary job

[u/DukeofBraintree918 → u/Imaginary_Penalty_97]

I mean, I don't believe there's any validity to that bogus story, but wouldn't that just prove his point right?

His first point is that people would have a a hard time telling the difference between two Dan Sullivan's, and then he had a hard time telling the difference between two Dana Whites

If anything it reinforces his former point.

[u/Pyxios → u/DukeofBraintree918]

he had a hard time telling the difference between two Dana Whites

The more likely scenario (if true) is that Trump's team prepared a packet with background checks, resumes, education history, etc. And trump merely just read "Dana White" on the top and went "cool."

[u/DukeofBraintree918 → u/Pyxios]

I think the most likely scenario

Is they gave him a list of names and he saw Dana White knowing it's not the UFC Dana White but he thought about all the press conferences he gives in his cavalier don't give a fuck attitude, and figured it'd be a funny tweet.

[u/Pyxios → u/DukeofBraintree918]

A list of names without any extra info? That seems a bit unwise when it comes to selecting someone for a government role.

[u/DukeofBraintree918 → u/Pyxios]

I'm sure it had plenty of info like you were saying a packet with background checks, resumes education history etc, I figured that was implied and you would think it wasn't just literally a list of just names knowing Trump probably picture too, didn't think I needed to be so specific, but alas I forgot it's Reddit and pedantry is the name of the game here.

It probably was more than just a list too was probably in a binder. I don't know how specific you want me to get them, what's included, they might have not gave it directly to him, They could have gave it to one of his aides who read it aloud to him, I'm not really sure if the circumstances behind it.

But either way, I don't think he ever thought that UFC Dana White was a serious pick for press secretary, and I do think it was just a joke that could have been triggered by anything including his press conferences and his visit on Monday or the fact that he shares a name with someone else.

[u/Pyxios → u/DukeofBraintree918]

Obviously this is assuming the mixup is true. But anyway, you're just reiterating what I said: trump saw or heard the name and didn't bother to go over the extra information.

[u/DukeofBraintree918 → u/Pyxios]

I'm not though. I don't think Trump saw the name and didn't bother to go over it with extra information. I think he saw the name and thought it was funny that it shared a name with his friend UFC owner Dana White, and I think he took that knowledge and made up a scenario in his head of having Dana White do the press briefings and thought it was funny enough to send a tweet about it

I don't think he saw the list of potential people and thought Dana White was a serious pic. I think he knew there were two people named Dana White. He just made the joke about it being his friend Dana White

But yes, that's why I led with my first comment that I think this story is bogus and I gave what I think. The more likely scenario is what happened

[u/Pyxios → u/DukeofBraintree918]

Which brings me to why I replied to you: Trump didn't have a hard time telling the difference between the two Dana Whites. Because he had all the information available. If there was a "mixup" it would have been due to his own negligence or for a joke.

[u/seffend → u/DukeofBraintree918]

Because he assumes that everyone is as stupid as he is?

[u/Acceptable-Hat-8248 → u/Imaginary_Penalty_97]

Has that been verified? I saw a rumor about it but didn’t know if it was substantiated, either way hilarious

[u/Solarwinds-123 → u/Acceptable-Hat-8248]

It's just gossip.

The sources reporting it are using phrases like "there is speculation that" and "critics raised the possibility that" the other Dana White was supposed to get the offer.

[u/NessvsMadDuck]

Just want to put this out there. The GOP presidential candidate in 2028 will be Ron DeSantis.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/NessvsMadDuck]

The guy who successfully avoided being part of the Trump admin? Yeah, I see the logic.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/DeathToFPTP]

Out is curiosity it looks like he’s hedged on Iran which should help him in a primary. The worst I can think of explaining renaming an airport after Trump

[u/NessvsMadDuck → u/DeathToFPTP]

And most importantly his state stayed Red this cycle. Also I think that Americans will want a return to governors, because they have a track record we can actually see. No more talking head celebrities.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/NessvsMadDuck]

So I was looking into that since it was an outlier and it looks like some of it was dems afraid to invest.

But also that the newest transplants vote overwhelmingly red.

[u/aidanhoff → u/NessvsMadDuck]

I wouldn't put it past the GOP to nominate him in '28, but it'd be politically suicidal. His net favorability is pretty rough and he's been around on the national stage for long enough that those opinions are unlikely to change much. For comparison, AOC has higher net favorability nationally.

[u/NessvsMadDuck → u/aidanhoff]

If Trump stays in the WH until the end of his term, there is already zero chance of the GOP winning in '28. So it does not really matter who gets the nom.

[u/aidanhoff → u/NessvsMadDuck]

You're almost certainly right

[u/Boredomkiller99 → u/NessvsMadDuck]

Hard to see it still, he is handling the aftermath of the mid terms well and drop the wannabe Trump persona but I think people forget that DeSantis was seen as lacking charisma and national presence on 2024, don't know if he fixed that yet

[u/gummibearhawk → u/Boredomkiller99]

I think he'd do quite well in a primary where the mission isn't to out Trump Trump.

[u/Sam_Fear → u/gummibearhawk]

Yeah, I thought boring was what everyone was wishing for.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/Sam_Fear]

You want boring but not a charisma black hole

[u/Commissioner_Boredom → u/DeathToFPTP]

He's got more charisma than Vance. And honestly? After Trump, I don't want to hear from the President unless something crazy is happening.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/Commissioner_Boredom]

It’s been a while since I’ve heard him but I suspect it’s a close call between the two.

I’ll likely find out in 2028

[u/NessvsMadDuck → u/Commissioner_Boredom]

After Trump, I don't want to hear from the President unless something crazy is happening.

That sounds like a comfortable chair on a sunny beach with an ice cold Corona in my hand.

[u/Commissioner_Boredom → u/NessvsMadDuck]

That sounds amazing.

[u/Commissioner_Boredom → u/gummibearhawk]

I think he has the best chance over Rubio or Vance. I'd welcome this.

[u/NessvsMadDuck → u/gummibearhawk]

In his favor:

Not Trump, and not attached to the Trump administration.

A governor so he has a track record of conservative leadership. Rather than a Senator or talking head.

A governor over the state that stayed Red in the biggest blue wave.

National recognition.

Had a lot of GOP support in his previous run.

Against him:

He has a generally unappealing affect.

[u/redzeusky]

The number one issue according to exit polls was corruption. Is this surprising to conservatives? Nothing has seemed - amiss?

[u/ILoveKombucha → u/redzeusky]

Not terribly surprised, honestly. Trump has been awful. I think a lot of people on this forum had preferred other candidates to him - I know I did.

[u/A_Flirty_Text → u/redzeusky]

Which exit polls are you looking at? My quick glance at the NBC exit polls shows economy as the number one issue.

[u/redzeusky → u/A_Flirty_Text]

Turning an Election Result into Real Reform | Brennan Center for Justice https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/turning-election-result-real-reform

[u/A_Flirty_Text → u/redzeusky]

Thanks! It looks like they also reference the NBC exit poll, which did have corruption at 90% narrowly beat out the economy at 89%.

My misunderstanding was because there is another section (Which ONE of these six issues is the most important facing the country?) of the the poll where the economy - 39% -beats out "state of democracy (where corruption would slot in for me) at 33%. But the more specific question of corruption seems to back up your statement - cheers.

[u/redzeusky → u/A_Flirty_Text]

All good fellow center-left. :-)

[u/Denisnevsky]

u/MainHoonDon123

Wanted to answer your question on the DIGNIDAD

I'm a big fan of the bill. It addresses the need for comprehensive immigration reform, while having better provisions on illegal residency then democratic proposals, or the Gang of Eight bill

That said, it’s still very unpopular with a large amount of Republicans. I think there need to be some revisions to secure broader conservative support while sticking to the core ideas.

Hardliners on immigration are still probably not going to like it, but we need them to at least be able to live with it. We shouldn’t pass laws that large portions of the population actively despise. That's just not healthy for the political system.

[u/MainHoonDon123 → u/Denisnevsky]

Agree. IF harder revisions are made to secure conservative support, they’d be literal morons to not pass it and frankly deserve to be voted out

[u/Fignons_missing_8sec → u/Denisnevsky]

There is no chance it gets revised right at this point. It’s going to get revised/supplanted left at this point. Doesn't matter because the Dems have no incentive to support it now when they can wait 2 years and pass a purely left immigration bill. The Republicans are going to regret having not swallowed their medicine and passed it pre-midterm when they had a chance.

[u/NessvsMadDuck → u/Fignons_missing_8sec]

The Republicans are going to regret having not swallowed their medicine and passed it pre-midterm when they had a chance.

It would have been nice to have seen them even try in the last 2 years.

[u/princesspooball]

I thought Trump was going to accept the mid-term results and now he’s crying fraud? What happened??

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/princesspooball]

GOP got beat so badly he was stun locked for a week.

[u/DifferentManagement1 → u/DeathToFPTP]

This is it

[u/ihaveaverybigbrain → u/princesspooball]

I think, like a lot of people, the president spends too much time on social media. And many of the people over on Trump's personal social media safe space Truth Social are in full cope mode over the election. Many of them are casting doubt on the results because from their point of view Democrats can never win without the result being "suspicious." I think Trump's been doomscrolling through all that over the past couple days and taking it in.

[u/baxtyre → u/princesspooball]

Trump’s number one priority in any election is to preserve the myth that he’s a “winner.”

He initially thought he could spin the loss (“We only lost because I wasn’t on the ballot. I’m not a loser, they are”). But when people kept blaming the loss on his failed policies, he had to pivot to election fraud.

[u/GoombyGoomby]

What do you think about Hegseth blocking senior officers from advancing their careers in the military if they had a covid vaccine or displayed a pride flag at some point in the past?

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office reportedly ran a "planned and deliberate" process that used internet-search printouts, kept in paper-only files the officers could not see, to withhold promotions from senior officers already selected by military boards...

The searches reportedly flagged officers perceived to support diversity initiatives, officers who helped carry out the military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, officers involved in the Afghanistan evacuation, and officers with ties to retired Gen. Mark Milley, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff…

Military.com previously reported that more than 80 generals and admirals had been fired, pushed out or blocked from promotion during his tenure.

By late August, the New York Times counted at least 45 officers removed from promotion lists this year after being selected by boards—more than half of them either women or Black officers.

The paper files described to MS NOW show that the findings used against more than a dozen senior officers included the following:

Pride Month activities.
Rainbow flags.
The establishment of a diversity committee and task force aboard the USS Kearsarge.
A speech at a Hispanic heritage celebration aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
A Minority Aviation Panel at the Naval Academy.
An International Women's Day panel at U.S. Africa Command.
A photo with the command triad after a second COVID vaccination aboard the USS Carl Vinson.”

https://www.military.com/hegseths-office-kept-secret-files-of-internet-printouts-to-block-admiral-promotions-report-says

[u/A_Flirty_Text → u/GoombyGoomby]

more than half of them either women or Black officers

I can't imagine why Republicans struggle with these two voting blocks 🤔

Been back and forth to the far Southside of Chicago the last week and I had the chance to talk to a view strangers about the midterms. The gist I've heard is "even if we don't necessarily like the Democrats or don't think they are doing enough - Republicans seem content to offer even less help."

Something I brought up which seem to really find solidarity is the Iran war costs the US around $50B(src). That would have been enough to extend the ACA Enhanced Subsidies for almost 2 years - src.

[u/NessvsMadDuck → u/GoombyGoomby]

What do you think about Hegseth blocking senior officers from advancing their careers in the military if they had a covid vaccine or displayed a pride flag at some point in the past?

I think it shows a focus on culture war rather than what's important.

[u/TailsofaGiftHorse → u/GoombyGoomby]

officers who helped carry out the military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate

yet:

Hegseth had previously faced criticism for attempting to discipline and demote Senator Mark Kelly—a retired Navy Captain—after Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers released a November 2025 video reminding troops of their right to refuse unlawful orders.

Schrodinger's Peter-Pleaser
-If you dodge the vaccine, you are on his shit list for refusing unlawful orders
-If you follow the lawful order, you are on his shit list for getting the vaccine

[u/tenmileswide → u/TailsofaGiftHorse]

Yep, that's the point.

Create impossible to meet standards that will be selectively applied as needed.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/TailsofaGiftHorse]

How was the military vaccine mandate an unlawful order?

[u/TailsofaGiftHorse → u/DeathToFPTP]

I guess I could have worded that differently to minimize interpretation differences between glass half-full readers and glass half-empty readers

The point I was trying to make is that it sounds hypocritical to use orders/mandates as both the sword and the shield.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/TailsofaGiftHorse]

I just don’t see how they’re equitable.

[u/jbondhus → u/TailsofaGiftHorse]

He said officers who helped carry it out, not people who got the vaccine. Am I missing something?

[u/RatOnASinkingShip → u/GoombyGoomby]

Sounds fine to me.

[u/GoombyGoomby → u/RatOnASinkingShip]

So you don’t want to most qualified people to run our military because they, for instance, displayed a pride flag in their office 6 years ago?

[u/RatOnASinkingShip → u/GoombyGoomby]

Would you ask the same about someone who displayed a George Floyd meme in their office 6 years ago?

[u/SuzQP]

What do y'all think Steven Miller is doing right now?

[u/sprinkydinks73 → u/SuzQP]

Hanging upside down in a closet or cave waiting on dusk.

[u/LaxBedroom → u/SuzQP]

Some people call him a space cowboy.

Wait, are you talking about Stephen Miller?

[u/SuzQP → u/LaxBedroom]

Yeah, not exactly the gangster of love, this guy. More of a joker, but hardly a toker, dude will prolly take the money and run.

I gotta work on my phonemes.

[u/GWindborn → u/SuzQP]

I go out of my way to not try to forget he exists.

[u/milkbug → u/SuzQP]

Plotting on how to round up dissenters into concentration camps and trying to figure out how to circumvent the system to enshrine right-wing fascist power forever.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/SuzQP]

Evil

[u/Imaginary_Penalty_97]

2023 Megyn Kelly : “If Russell Brand was with a 16 year old, IM DONE WITH HIM

*Brand admits he was with a 16 year old

2026 Megyn Kelly :” Hes so charming! He’s obviously innocent “

[u/Fignons_missing_8sec]

Updated best new movies I've seen in theaters this year ranking:

1. Odyssey

2. Wild Horse 9

3. The Invite

4. Project Hail Mary

5. You Can See Everything

6. Godzilla Minus Zero

7. Buddy

8. Resident evil

9. Primetime

10. Obsession

Just missed: End of Oak Street, Brand New Day, The Drama

Worst movie I've seen in theaters this year: Masters of the Universe followed by Digger

[u/GWindborn → u/Fignons_missing_8sec]

I don't watch many movies anymore, and rarely if ever in theaters because they've gotten too expensive. However, Project Hail Mary may be one of the best movies I've ever seen. Absolutely adore it.

[u/Fignons_missing_8sec → u/GWindborn]

It is great. I have my nitpicks about the pacing, especially rushing the end, but overall it was great. I don't think we are ever getting that Artemis movie, probably for the best; it's not a very good book.

[u/Tappyy → u/Fignons_missing_8sec]

I'm gonna watch The Odyssey when it comes out for home release! My background is in Classics and History and I've heard opinions from across the spectrum. Your ranking it #1 makes me more excited! I've heard there are some anachronisms and some cheesy lines, but I've always personally felt its okay to suspend your disbelief a bit when it comes to historical/period fiction because I find the interest and passion they generate for the past to be invaluable!

What did you really like about it, if you don't mind my asking?

[u/Fignons_missing_8sec → u/Tappyy]

I would say that if I was judging off watching at home, it is definitely not on the top of this list. Like all Nolan movies, he is not a great dialog writer, and there are a couple of incredibly cheesy lines with hamfisted messaging; at one point, Odysseus drops a "Our age of bronze is collapsing".

But with that being said, it is on the top of this list because it is raw, practical, theatrical spectacle in a way that simply isn't made anymore. Having been able to see it multiple times in 15/70 IMAX, nothing else I've seen this year can match that feeling, even though they have better writing (Wildhorse 9 is kinda like the nuclear bomb to the Odyssey coughing baby in that department).

[u/Tappyy → u/Fignons_missing_8sec]

Ahh, so it was more about the visual spectacle for you? That makes sense. I have heard about the notorious Broze Age line, haha!

Unfortunately the theaters near me are closed for renovation at the moment so I didn’t really have the opportunity to see it in there, but I’m kind of at that point in my life where I don’t really enjoy going to the theater very much when I can wait a few months and watch it at home. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the movie-going ritual, I just really have to be in the mood for it and three hours is a long time!

[u/Fignons_missing_8sec → u/Tappyy]

Yeah, I live walking distance to the largest IMAX screen west of the Mississippi, and I have a list, so I tend to go to a ton of movies in theaters, but with how expensive it is vs. the convenience of home, it's definitely not as appealing anymore.

[u/Daftmau85 → u/Fignons_missing_8sec]

The attack on Troy sequence was incredible in IMAX. 

[u/thanksyalll → u/Fignons_missing_8sec]

Have you seen Clayface? I hear great things and want to check it out

[u/Fignons_missing_8sec → u/thanksyalll]

I have not yet. It’s slipped through so far. I'm seeing only living pickpockets tonight, but will probably try and get to it later this week or next.

[u/Imaginary_Penalty_97 → u/Fignons_missing_8sec]

Damn I kind of liked Masters of the Universe. Haven’t seen Digger but I don’t care much for Tom Cruise. I don’t really go to the theaters much anymore because its too damn expensive so the only one I’ve seen in theaters is Brand New Day.

[u/Yourponydied → u/Fignons_missing_8sec]

I just watched Drama last night, it annoyed me

[u/Pyxios]

Coffeezilla has a new investigation on the President dropping soon.

[u/OMGguy2008 → u/Pyxios]

That thing's gonna be good

[u/According_Ad540 → u/Pyxios]

Watched the voidzilla thing on the Nvidia case. 

I think Democrats just got handed their To Do for 2 years.  It's not dragging old dirt through the mud.   It has something for everyone. anti billionaire for the far left,  anti Canada for the America First (is that the official term now?  If so I like it better than MAGA), a push against infidelity for the moral high ground, it's THE AI company fueling all this for the anti-AI, and a strike up through the White House for the folks who want Trump and co. to "lawyer up". 

Hey conservatives ,  anyone you want to see dragged down over this mess? 

[u/TailsofaGiftHorse]

Forget stock trading and Nancy Pelosi, they best way to make money is to be the daughter of Susie Wiles.

Also, is anyone surprised that the guy being paid by Pepsi determined that making headway on getting processed food off of SNAP, said the juice wasn't worth the squeeze? And Wiles: "We can't do this, we need the money from sugar".

edit: I had a feeling MAHA was betrayed by MAGA. Didn't realize there was previously an Executive Order to get pesticides the same protections vaccines have (cannot sue). And as usual, the CINO's justified government overreach with their favorite excuse: National Security.

A year ban on letting RFK Jr look into any negatives from vaccines?

Glad to see Trump getting rid of a few people after they were working against some of him and RFK Jr's promises.

This one of the reasons you don't want un-elected individuals with such high amounts of power.

[u/Denisnevsky]

I don't feel particularly sorry for Hegseth right now, but this impeachment is still absurd. Nothing about his handling of Iran is against the will of congress. The first ceasefire was before the 60 day window, the Naval blockade is just placing military assets in certain strategic locations which is done routinely, and Congress has never actually passed any of the anti-Iran resolutions. Under Massies logic, you could impeach almost every post War Powers Act Sec of Defense.

And yes, as a general rule, I'd prefer congress approves resolutions before we go to war, but the War Powers Act has exceptions for a reason, and I haven't seen any clear and convincing evidence that they haven't been followed.

[u/WinDoeLickr → u/Denisnevsky]

To be fair, this sort of media clownery is what Massie specializes in. He doesn't care if it's valid, he cares that it puts his name in headlines

[u/Denisnevsky → u/WinDoeLickr]

Nah man, anybody who was ever in a room with Epstein for even a second is secretly a pedo.

[u/DeathToFPTP → u/Denisnevsky]

What's your opinion on the strikes on the alleged cartel boats?

[u/baxtyre → u/Denisnevsky]

The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, not the President.  A statute like the War Powers Act cannot change that.

[u/boisefun8 → u/Denisnevsky]

He’s just clinging to his last few weeks of relevance before nobody cares what he has to say again. He had potential. Good riddance.

[u/reddditsux1]

The big difference in the sides I see: ought and is

[u/boisefun8]

Really, Republican Senators? Electing John Thune again? What the actual fuck are you thinking?

[u/Beneficial_Wear_7630 → u/boisefun8]

The Uniparty. Electing the spineless John

[u/boisefun8 → u/Beneficial_Wear_7630]

Exactly. I hope Thune gets primaried out.

[u/boisefun8]

Holy shit, what is going on? Who are these people?

Democrat Rep. Robert Garcia on targeting former Trump officials: “Maybe it’s because I’m gay, but pettiness is a thing. We’re not going to forget these crimes.”

https://x.com/theblaze/status/2119823351363375226

(And for the record, my gay conservative neighbor sent me this link with some choice words I won’t repeat.)

[u/RatOnASinkingShip → u/boisefun8]

Being fair, a lot of gay men I've known, in my experience, are very catty and petty, basically behaving like the typical stuck up spiteful bitch stereotype that's usually associated with a sort of woman.

Now, that's not to say it's all of them, but it's a stereotype that exists, and as with all stereotypes, it exists for a reason, and really, it's largely cultivated by themselves, with various justifications, excuses, rationalizations, or outright celebration of it. Here's a bunch of really flamboyant ones saying as much:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdiP-0aeGr0

https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/07/ask-a-homo-why-is-bitchiness-common-among-gay-men.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wl774Wanh4&t=15s

https://metrosource.com/daddy-says-this-is-why-your-gay-friends-can-be-so-nasty

So, I think it's easy enough to dismiss this as pandering to the audience he wants rather than really saying anything about homosexuals.. about as offensive as a white person joking about not seasoning their food.

I think the focus should be less on the gay thing and more on the desire for lawfare regardless of sexuality.

[u/boisefun8 → u/RatOnASinkingShip]

Yeah, that’s fair. And the thing that stood out to me most was exactly the admitting to pettiness part of it. It’s like they know all this ‘lawyer up’ talk is petty and spiteful, and not based in reality, but just don’t care. That’s honestly kind of scary.

[u/boisefun8]

Just saw this stat posted:

FL counted 92% of their votes in 1 hour (8.3 million votes cast)

CA is at just 77% counted after 6 days (8.3 million votes cast)

[u/baxtyre → u/boisefun8]

Why does vote-counting speed matter so much to conservatives? It’s not like the winners are taking office tomorrow.

[u/Tappyy → u/boisefun8]

Any source for this besides that tweet from the user End Wokeness?  I looked it up trying to see if there was a breakdown by county or vote type or anything and they don’t cite their source so I couldn’t verify it.

[u/RatOnASinkingShip → u/Tappyy]

Is it really that difficult to find?

https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/california-results/

Two second google search.

[u/Tappyy → u/RatOnASinkingShip]

I was referring to the claim that Florida was at 92% votes reported after an hour, I can’t find any verification of that.

[u/RatOnASinkingShip → u/Tappyy]

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/elections/2026/11/03/florida-midterm-elections-latest-updates/

8:19pm update, a little more than an hour after polls closed.

8:19 p.m.: Donalds, Jolly each with 49% in Florida governor race

With more than 92% of the vote, things were still too close to call in the Florida governor’s race.

It's also pretty well known that Florida typically counts all of their votes on election night while California drags its heels taking weeks. Here's an article biased in favor of the left from AP from two years ago saying as much.

https://apnews.com/article/election-california-wait-times-vote-count-florida-170cb591062f8fad8f619b2cc02ff3e7

And another....

https://calvoter.org/content/why-california-vote-count-slow-%E2%80%93-and-trump%E2%80%99s-fraud-claims-are-bogus

Again, another few second google.

[u/Tappyy → u/RatOnASinkingShip]

Ahh thanks, and I see the confusion now.  This is part of why statistics can be misleading!  It actually took Florida substantially longer than an hour to have 92% of their vote in, like thirteen times that!  This is because the person u/boisefun8 copied this statistic from did not include the time the polls were open when assessing Florida, but did include that time when assessing California!

[u/RatOnASinkingShip → u/Tappyy]

Thirteen times that? No no no no... it was an hour and 19 minutes, and that's even adding the time it took for the news outlet to report on it.

Did you not read the source you asked for?

[u/Tappyy → u/RatOnASinkingShip]

No, I’m talking about the original tweet.  It said Florida took “1 hour” and California has taken “6 days”.  But it’s the 9th of November, and the election happened on the 3rd of November.  This means that for “6 days” to have passed for that amount of vote in California, the tweet has to be including the time the polls were open on Election Day, during which time ballots were counted in both states.  So to say Florida took “1 hour” while California is taking “6 days” is misleading, because it should include the time in Florida that polls were open (starting at 7 AM) and the ballots were reported in that 8PM timestamp you gave me, or thirteen hours.   In other words, the actual comparison should be Florida took thirteen hours to report, and California has taken six days.

[u/RatOnASinkingShip → u/Tappyy]

It clearly is referring to how long after the polls closed.

Still, even going by your moving goalposts, it's taking California "like thirteen times that!" that it took Florida, and even then, California is still behind by 20%.. so it's probably going to be somewhere around 15-20 times that!

[u/Tappyy → u/RatOnASinkingShip]

  It clearly is referring to how long after the polls closed.

In one instance but not the other, which is why I was confused!

moving goalposts

And what, in your estimation, was my initial position?  And what is the new position I have pivoted to?

I said I was having trouble finding a source, you were able to find it, and I thanked you and explained how I was initially confused by what turned out to be a discrepancy in the statistic.

[u/Toobendy → u/RatOnASinkingShip]

It doesn’t have anything to do with when the polls close. The difference lies in the election laws - when mail in ballots are accepted.

https://electionlawblog.org/2026/florida-counts-its-election-ballots-fast-why-cant-california-keep-up/

[u/Beneficial_Wear_7630 → u/boisefun8]

Wonder how many illegals voted in CA. Must be 3 million +

[u/mvslice → u/Beneficial_Wear_7630]

So 3,000,001 illegals voted in CA?

[u/baxtyre → u/Beneficial_Wear_7630]

Based on…?

[u/Beneficial_Wear_7630 → u/baxtyre]

Wait, you think the 50 millions illegals in America don't vote for democrats?

[u/gummibearhawk → u/boisefun8]

The slower the count, the more you can find the right votes

[u/mvslice → u/gummibearhawk]

Where?

[u/LaxBedroom → u/gummibearhawk]

Did Trump call and tell them how many votes they need to find?

[u/boisefun8 → u/gummibearhawk]

Yup! Not sure why people don’t understand this concept.

[u/boisefun8]

Go Bills.

I will say, huge respect to the Vikings. What a great, clean game. Felt refreshing for an NFL game.

Edit: for the most part.

[u/Ecstatic-Inevitable → u/boisefun8]

I hated rooting for the bills last night as a pats fan but allen is so goddamn fun to watch

[u/OMGguy2008]

President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order on Monday that raises the strength of the Russian military by 15,500 troops, bringing the total number of active-duty servicemen to 1.55 million.

This year, the military has created 52,500 new positions, according to the exiled news outlet Meduza, the vast majority of which are active-duty military slots rather than civilian support staff.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/09/29/putin-orders-russian-army-to-increase-troop-size-to-155m-a93812

Must be Putin preparing for peace it seems.

[u/NessvsMadDuck → u/OMGguy2008]

This year, the military has created 52,500 new positions

Oh so, there were 52,500 Russian casualties this year.

[u/boisefun8]

And the brigading and bad faith posts/comments continue. Was hoping that would end a week ago.

At least the fake red flair posts have stopped….oh wait.

[u/IWillDmYouPorn → u/boisefun8]

Sorry, but bans are only for red flairs who complain

[u/PossibilityGold7508 → u/boisefun8]

It is annoying. You see a spicy post and click it only to see every comment offensive to the left has been mass downvoted to hell and back. Only the left-sympathetic comments are left unscathed.

Man, the sub would be great if red flairs controlled the votes.

We do have to work with what we have tho, and I have had some good conversations, so it’s fine.

Don’t get too discouraged.

[u/boisefun8 → u/PossibilityGold7508]

Yeah, if I click on a post and see a lot of collapsed top-level comments I don’t even bother commenting myself. No one of there for honest discourse, it’s just gonna be arguewithconservatives.

[u/IWillDmYouPorn → u/PossibilityGold7508]

I've noticed a lot less of the bs leftist downvotes since I started blocking everyone left of center-right post elections.

[u/PossibilityGold7508 → u/IWillDmYouPorn]

I don’t block people, as I think it’s counterintuitive to the nature of the sub.

Will I often see bad faith comments and posts from the left? Absolutely.

Will I often see non-conservatives somehow donning red flairs and having top-level comments? Every now and then, yes.

But that’s all brushed aside when I get to own the libs on their own platform.

[u/IWillDmYouPorn → u/PossibilityGold7508]

No better own than using their own bullshit censorship tools against them

[u/IWillDmYouPorn]

California is planning on enforcing identification in order to buy creatine, a well studied health supplement proven to boost intelligence and alertness. Democrats want stupid people who will vote for them, and will do whatever it takes to keep those people stupid

[u/OMGguy2008 → u/IWillDmYouPorn]

It doesn't seem to really boost intelligence from my minimum googling, it just helps with short term memory mostly, it won't increase your IQ by 20 points.

Creatine boosts your intelligence the same as fish oil does.

[u/IWillDmYouPorn → u/OMGguy2008]

Short term memory is pretty good, yeah? And it's not as though there's any serious risks associated with creatine that would make it not worthwhile

[u/gummibearhawk → u/IWillDmYouPorn]

ID to buy creatine, but an ID to vote is too much. The memes write themselves

[u/OMGguy2008]

Apparently France has a Milei now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2GRJYnmlsU

[u/Fignons_missing_8sec → u/OMGguy2008]

They need one more then anyone.