The_P-nut_Gallery

Let Spirit Airlines fail. It is not a critical airline. It doesn’t need to exist. Let the free market replace it with a new airline if demand exists.

JetBlue offers to buy Spirit for $3.8 billion. 2023: Biden DOJ sues to stop the merger. Jan 2024: Judge blocks merger, citing "threat to competition." Nov 2024: Spirit files for bankruptcy. 2026: Trump admin is considering bailout of Spirit, with the federal government potentially receiving ownership in the company. So instead of JetBlue and Spirit combining to form a formidable low cost competitor for the big 4 airlines, the taxpayers will be on the hook to save a failing company that will offer them low cost airfare subsidized by money taken from their paychecks.

How about we just allow Spirit to merge with or be sold to other airlines instead of having the government bail them out? Or - gasp - even fail entirely? This is MAGA Leftism, pure & simple. And it's antithetical to conservatism. Let the market work. That's the American way.

To any red states that think this can't happen to you… Less than 10 years ago, Virginia Republicans had a 64 seat majority in a 100 seat state house and 7 of the 11 congressional seats were Republican. Stop treating the current fight like it’s business as usual and start acting like it is culturally existential. Because it is.

The was the moderate option for Florida. Operative word is WAS.

I didn’t see a single Republican ad combatting the redistricting of Virginia. Hate to say it but the GOP totally dropped the ball in Virginia.

Trump should just square DC and reverse it. Easy.

During talks between U.S. and Iranian delegations in Pakistan, the topic of Ukraine unexpectedly came up. While discussing U.S. guarantees in the event that Iran halts uranium enrichment and abandons the development of nuclear weapons, the Iranian side asked how the United States is fulfilling the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which it pledged to respect and protect Ukraine’s sovereignty. The U.S. delegation left the question unanswered.

Statement From Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly: In recent days, many Catholics and other people of goodwill have been deeply disappointed by the disparaging comments directed at Pope Leo XIV by the President of the United States. The Successor of Saint Peter is not a politician — he is the Vicar of Christ, entrusted with proclaiming the Gospel and shepherding souls. The Knights of Columbus has always stood in solidarity with the Holy Father, recognizing in him a spiritual father who calls the world not to division, but to unity, not to conflict, but to peace. In this moment, we reaffirm that commitment with clarity and conviction. At the same time, we recognize that faithful Catholics can and do engage vigorously in the public square, and that nations have a right and duty to safeguard the security of their own people — always in accordance with the demands of justice and the pursuit of peace. The Church does not ask Catholics to withdraw from civic life, but to engage with and elevate it — bringing to our civic dialogue the light of truth, respect for the dignity of every human person, and a steadfast concern for the common good. Pope Leo XIV has consistently called for peace, dialogue, and restraint in a world marked by war and suffering. The Holy Father’s words are not political talking points — they are reflections of the Gospel itself. Whether one agrees or disagrees with particular policy judgments, the Holy Father’s prophetic voice deserves to be heard with respect and engaged seriously. As Knights, we are called to be men of unity, as followers of Christ and patriotic citizens. I encourage all Knights of Columbus to pray for the Holy Father, to pray for civic leaders, and to pray for peace and those working to achieve it. And let us recommit ourselves to charity in our public discourse. May we be known not for echoing the divisions of our time, but for healing them. In a moment of tension, the path forward is not louder conflict, but deeper fidelity — to truth, to charity, and to the Gospel.

Pour que les choses soient claires : comme pretre catholique il est de mon devoir de dire au vice-président Vance,dont je connais les qualités qu’il n’a pas le droit comme catholique de donner ordre au Pape de se taire, ni d’invoquer les questions de moralité., avec des sous entendus désagréables. Comme vice-président, il peut bien évidemment invoquer la notion de guerre juste sans qu’il soit nécessaire de médire sur la moralité de l’Eglise. Je ne rajouterai plus rien sur cette question.

Seven sentences. Five audiences. Every word is a weapon aimed at a different target. This is the most compressed piece of strategic signaling in the history of social media diplomacy. On April 15, Trump posted: “China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also - And the World. This situation will never happen again. They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran. President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks. We are working together smartly, and very well! Doesn’t that beat fighting??? BUT REMEMBER, we are very good at fighting, if we have to - far better than anyone else!!!” Decode every sentence. “I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz.” The blockade is not a blockade. It is a service. Trump reframes the entire operation from aggression to provision. The navy enforcing interdiction is now the navy “opening” the strait. And “permanently” signals to oil markets, Asian importers, and Iran that the US intends to remain the guarantor of Hormuz transit indefinitely. Not as leverage. As architecture. “I am doing it for them, also - And the World.” China imports over 50 percent of its energy through Hormuz. Trump positions the blockade as a gift to Beijing. The country whose Iranian oil he just cut off is now the beneficiary. Bessent said hours earlier: “They can get oil. Not Iranian oil.” Trump completes the sentence: and I am the one making sure they can. “This situation will never happen again.” A doctrine in five words. The Hormuz crisis, Iran’s closure, the tolls, the mines, the 46 days of disruption will not recur because the United States is establishing permanent enforcement. No treaty. No negotiation. A unilateral declaration of perpetual chokepoint control posted on Truth Social. “They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran.” Unverified. China’s MFA called the arms reports “entirely fabricated” hours earlier. But the sentence forces Beijing into a trap. If China confirms, it concedes publicly. If China denies, it implies the weapons were under consideration. Silence reads as confirmation. Every response validates the claim. The rhetorical structure is designed to be unfalsifiable in real time. “President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks.” The May 14 to 15 summit confirmed in the most disarming language possible. “Big, fat, hug” humanizes the relationship for domestic audiences while signaling to Beijing that Trump views the summit as a victory lap. The framing shapes expectations before a single agenda item is discussed. “Doesn’t that beat fighting???” The carrot. Three audiences: To China, cooperation beats confrontation. To Americans, this president ended a war with a deal. To Iran, fighting is the alternative and you are losing. “BUT REMEMBER, we are very good at fighting, if we have to - far better than anyone else!!!” The stick. The hug is conditional. The cooperation is optional. The carrier strike group is not. The same paragraph offers peace and threatens war, and both are credible because the blockade proves both simultaneously. One post. Seven sentences. Five audiences: China, Iran, domestic voters, oil markets, and the May summit negotiating table. Every word measured. Every ambiguity deliberate. Every claim unfalsifiable in the window that matters. Trump did not write a tweet. He wrote a treaty draft disguised as a social media post.

Flat tax. Whether you make $1000 or $100 million. A fixed percentage for everybody. And that’s it. A one-page tax form. No bullshit. Everybody pays a reasonable and equitable amount. Everyone - from the wealthiest to the poorest - have skin in the game.