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Thoughts On The Shutdown
What was the point of the government shutdown?
Caveat – I have not followed the issue in depth. My understanding is that the Democrats blocked the funding of the government because they wanted additional money for one of their healthcare programs.
Trump used the time of the shutdown to further his politics.
Six weeks later, just as the public was turning against the Republicans, the Democrats caved in:
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history came to an end Wednesday after the House approved the Senate-passed funding package, and President Trump signed the bill into law.
The legislation extends funding for most agencies until Jan. 30 and includes three bills that fund other parts of the government through September 2026.
The Senate approved the legislation on Monday, when seven Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Democrats joined Republicans to end the standoff in the upper chamber. Six House Democrats crossed the aisle and voted to reopen the government.
The only thing that the Democrats have ‘won’ was a promise to put the additional healthcare money to a separate vote:
Eight Senate Democrats broke ranks to reach a deal with Republicans to end the shutdown, dashing the party’s effort to win an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits in return for their vote to reopen the government. ..
As part of the deal, Democrats secured a promise to hold a vote next month on the tax credits, which help millions of Americans pay for health insurance premiums for plans purchased on state exchanges.
The Republicans will of course reject that measure.
By the way: Why were the tax credits, part of Obama’s health care reforms, time limited in the first place?
To hide their utter defeat the Democrats released a slew of Epstein emails with the hope to plant new sensational rumors about Trump. I have found nothing remarkable in that stack.
If this looks like a second Russiagate its because it is similar bullshit.
Instead of being a real opposition to Trump’s wars and miserable programs the Democrats’ are pushing performative nonsense.
Do they expect to get votes for that?
Once again, Americans are trying to portray themselves as victims when they’re the oppressors. America was founded on this very basis. “Oh, the British are trying to deny us the freedom to own slaves! We must start an American Revolution™ to preserve slavery!”
Let me tell you a little tale:
Once upon a time in a slave plantation, a harsh winter came. The field slaves came knocking at the master’s house, begging to be let in to share in the food and warmth. The house slave answering the door immediately picked up arms to drive the field slaves out. “This here is Master America’s house! Only Americans can step foot in it!” The house slave identified as being a slave owner, as being an American.
The house slave laid out his case as being The Biggest Victim™: “There’s only enough table scraps when the master’s done eating to keep me, the house slave, fed. The closet is only big enough to fit a single house slave sleeping upright. And if I desire warmth, I need to get out of the closet and sleep in the hallway, next to the warm outer walls of the master’s room.”
The field slaves offered: “We know the rooms of House America are spacious enough to accommodate all of us comfortably. We know too that the firewood are stacked high and the larder is full. We were the ones who stocked them! Give us the master’s arms. Together we can overpower Master America and force him to share with us the fruits of our labor that he extracted from us unjustly.”
The house slave angrily retorted: “Begone! Conspiring against Master America? How dare you even suggest that! You risk putting my position as house slave in jeopardy by daring to even whisper those seditious thoughts out loud in my hallowed presence, in the presence of an American. Know your place, field slaves! Back to the fields, you foul creatures!”
To make his point, the house slave brandished his weapon to intimidate the field slaves before slamming the door shut with a deafening thud in the faces of the field slaves.
As the field slaves walked away dejectedly from House America, one of them spoke up. He suggested that they ran away from the Master’s domain. If they risk freezing and starving to death anyway, they might as well risk getting caught and being lynched because they ran away. All the field slaves were in agreement with the escape plan. The field slaves would not inform the house slave of their planned escape, of course. The house slave cannot be trusted at all. The house slave has made his stand clearly. The house slave is on the side of Master America.
Not too long after, the field slaves were gone. Vanished without a trace.
Over several days, the immensity of the economic losses from the disappearance of productive slaves slowly gripped the mind of Master America, and he grew furious. One day, in a fit of anger, Master America took out his anger on the field slave. He beat his house slave for not informing him of the field slaves’ escape. The house slave pleaded innocence, claiming that he did not know of the field slaves’ plans, but Master America would not listen to him.
Now that Master America has lost his field slaves, the house slave will have to take on the roles played by the field slaves. Thus, the house slave was cast out of House America.
Although he took on the field slaves’ duties, the house slave remained a house slave at heart. He believed that he was still an American. If he worked hard enough, he believed that he would be eventually let back in to House America. When spring comes and he helps Master America recapture the escaped slaves, he would surely be forgiven.
Still plump from his days living as a house slave, the house slave had fat reserves to last him partly through the winter. Therefore, the house slave initially thought the field slaves to be a whiny lot. Field labor and the living conditions weren’t so terrible, he thought. But as his fat reserves depleted, a stark truth dawned on him. He was going to die out here.
The house slave entertained and acted upon his thought of escape. On the verge of death, the house slave stumbled across the little secluded community, the Global South, that the escaped field slaves have built. “Finally, the master will take me back in once I tell him where the escaped slaves are” was the first thought that came into the house slave’s mind. But he knew that he was too weak to survive the journey back to House America, so instead he chose to appeal to the community’s kindness and invoked solidarity between escaped slaves, fully planning to betray the escapees once he has regained his strength.
As the newly founded community shared its meager resources and nursed the severely weakened house slave back to health, they shared stories. The house slave learned that many of the escaped field slaves died. Some succumbed to the elements, and some willingly sacrificed themselves so that the community has the shelter, food and warmth it needs to survive the winter. The escaped field slaves also listened intently and with sympathy of the house slave’s tales of the injustices he suffered from the hands of Master America. At first.
The escapees asked: “Will you share your years of knowledge from being a house slave and help us get into House America where bountiful wealth is stored within, wealth which were created primarily by the hands of field slaves, our hands, so that we may all use the wealth to survive the rest of the winter?”
The house slave can’t help but betray his treacherous intentions. The house slave impulsively replied to the escapees’ question from the perspective of a slave owner, from the perspective of Master America. “When I’m back, I’ll surely ask Master America to pardon some of you, give you extra rations and grant you permission to build a warmer slave quarter. And when I die of old age, I will personally recommend one of the whiter slaves who was nice to me to take my position as house slave. Can’t dilute the American identity by letting in unwashed blacks and browns into House America, y’know.”
Suddenly, the house slave was seized upon by the escapees. A man paced towards the house slave menacingly with a rough-hewn stick. The man’s intention was clear.
The house slave pleaded: “No solidarity between slaves?”
The man answered: “No, you’re mistaken. We are free men. There is solidarity between free men. But you are a slave. And you will remain a slave even beyond death.”
Then came the terrible sound of something splitting and cracking. Perhaps that sound was an echo, from back when the house slave slammed the door in the field slaves’ faces, when the house slave willingly and forcefully split himself from joining in the field slaves’ planned rebellion. That cracking sound reverberated across time and into the present, into the here and now where a free man is holding a stick with some foul ichor running down it, standing next to the rapidly cooling body of a wretched monster.
Thus ends the tale of the American house slave.
Death to America
Marg bar Âmrikâ
Marg bar Âmrikâ
Marg bar Âmrikâ
Posted by: All Under Heaven | Nov 15 2025 20:23 utc | 220
“I don’t know where you got the 15% number from – but historically, mercantilist nations levied far higher tariffs than 15%.The UK, for example, had a 50% tariff on imported industrial goods during its mercantilist era.
Posted by: c1ue | Nov 15 2025 23:46 utc | 242
And the UK economy declined every year from the 1880’s to the the first world war -mercantilism is good for emerging/nascent economies
Take a look at the UK’s ‘corn laws’ that were taken off in the 1848. (1). Corn laws aided the wealthy landowners but the Serfs had to pay n more for food-not progressives.
1.
he British Corn Laws were tariffs and trade restrictions on imported grain (corn) from 1815 to 1846, designed to keep domestic corn prices high to protect landowners.
They caused public outcry, as they led to expensive food for the population while increasing the wealth of the landowning class.
The laws were repealed in 1846 after intense campaigning by the Anti-Corn Law League, public pressure, and the added urgency of the Irish potato famine.
What they were
Protective tariffs:
The laws used tariffs and other trade restrictions to keep the price of imported grain high.
Designed to protect landowners:
They were enacted in 1815 by the Tory government, which was dominated by landowners, to maintain high prices after the Napoleonic Wars ended and cheaper foreign grain became available.
“Corn” meant all cereal grains:
In British English at the time, “corn” referred to all cereal grains, including wheat, oats, and barley.
Why they were unpopular
Increased food costs:
The laws made food more expensive for the general population, including the working class, who could barely afford basic necessities.
Benefited the wealthy:
They enriched the landed gentry and landowners who held power in Parliament but were seen as being out of touch with the suffering of the working class.
Industrialists’ opposition:
Industrialists supported the repeal because cheaper food would lower labor costs for their workers, which in turn would boost their profits and economic growth.
Repeal of the Corn Laws
The Anti-Corn Law League:
A nationwide campaign was led by the Anti-Corn Law League, which united industrialists, liberals, and the working class in their opposition to the laws.
The Irish potato famine:
The widespread starvation caused by the famine in Ireland (1846–1849) added significant moral pressure to repeal the laws.
Sir Robert Peel:
Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel ultimately repealed the Corn Laws in 1846, a move seen as a major political reform that ushered in an era of free trade.
Posted by: canuk | Nov 16 2025 13:19 utc | 255
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