Learn the difference between a opinion and a fact!
[QUOTE=KeviKev68;3086020]It was Trump who had State dinner last week with the dictator of China Xi. Talking about hypocrisy![/QUOTE]This is true. But that was foreign policy.
[B]Richard Nixon was the first sitting U.S. president to visit the People's Republic of China in 1972[/B], ending over two decades of diplomatic isolation. This historic trip, which Nixon famously dubbed "the week that changed the world," resulted in the Shanghai Communiqu and paved the way for full diplomatic normalization in 1979.
[U]What The Cmdr is doing[/U]
I am quoting a news report on something TGOC said.
[QUOTE]In an interview discussing his rumored 2028 presidential run, California Gov. Gavin Newsom asserted that the Democratic party is pretty aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), especially when it comes to universal healthcare, climate change and moving away from fossil fuel usage.[/QUOTE][URL]https://nytimespost.com/newsom-admits-democratic-socialist-ideas-mainstream-in-democrat-party-pretty-aligned/[/URL]
Brother keep your worthless fiat currency that loses value every year!
[QUOTE=EihTooms;3085534]Until it is practical to buy a cheeseburger with a bitcoin I'll pass on the latest Tulip Mania or Ponzi Scheme.[/QUOTE]Bitcoin is a opt in system. If that is what you have decided to do. As you like to say to me [I]you do you[/I]. That leaves more Bitcoin for me to buy. There will only be 21 million of them in the entire world.
Everyone gets to buy Bitcoin at the price at which they deserve it. I first mentioned Bitcoin in 2023 (not a investment recommendation). Feel free to look up the price is was selling at then and compare it to the price it is selling at now.
As of 2026, approximately 30% of American adults (70.4 million people) own cryptocurrency, with Bitcoin remaining the most popular asset alongside Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin.
[URL]https://www.security.org/digital-security/cryptocurrency-annual-consumer-report/[/URL]
The USA Government has significantly integrated Bitcoin into its financial framework, most notably through the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve established by executive order in March 2025, which mandates that government-held BTC be maintained as a reserve asset and not sold.
[URL]https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/establishment-of-the-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-and-united-states-digital-asset-stockpile/[/URL]
The country also leads globally in Bitcoin ownership, holding an estimated 40% of all circulating Bitcoin, and dominates mining infrastructure with 38% of global hashrate since China's 2021 ban.
[URL]https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/u-s-leads-the-world-in-bitcoin-ownership-new-report-shows[/URL]
The Dis United States of America owes 40 Trillion United States Dollars. Somebody has to pay it back.
[B]Luke Gromen[/B] defines the [B]debasement trade[/B] as a long-term structural regime shift rather than a short-term speculative bet, driven by high sovereign debt levels that force governments to inflate away liabilities through currency debasement. He views [U]gold[/U] as the primary hard asset hedge, noting that central banks have shifted reserves from US treasuries to gold, while Bitcoin is seen as a longer-term, higher-risk expression of the same debasement theme.
[URL]https://youtu.be/1UiIEvVILY0[/URL]
My money does not have a political affiliation
[QUOTE=AxelHeyst;3086040]ISo, guess what: the Mullahs and the USA did not reach a deal, and it looks like Trump is going to wipe them off the face of the planet after the November elections. Anyway, this is the current worldwide opinion and whether it foretells the future or not, WTI crude oil prices are back up to $100/ barrel AND Airline tickets to BKK are super expensive again.[/QUOTE]Everyone in the world pays those higher prices.
What is more important on the Geopolitical front is the spread between WTI and Brent. Usually it is between 2 - 8 USD. The current spread of 11+ USD shows the markets are calling [B]male bovine excrement[/B] on the Article Two (2) leader of the Dis United States of America.
I disagree with the undeclared military action against Iran. I consider it illegal. It is driving up the cause of fuel in the Dis United States of America and worldwide. It is driving up inflation in the Dis United States of America. It is driving up the PPI in the Dis United States of America. It is driving up interest rates that the [B]bond vigilante[/B] are demanding in order to loan the Dis United States of America the nearly 40 Trillion Dollars it needs to operate the government. Plus the Government of the Dis United States of America is adding 2 Trillion more to the deficit each year.
[QUOTE]Under U.S. domestic law, the strikes were conducted without a formal declaration of war or specific congressional authorization. While the War Powers Resolution requires the president to terminate hostilities within 60 days unless Congress acts, the administration argues that Article II grants the commander-in-chief inherent authority to use force for "sufficiently important national interests" as long as the operation does not constitute "war in the constitutional sense." Critics, including several legal scholars and senators, contend that the scale and duration of "Operation Epic Fury" exceed presidential authority, noting that no existing Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) covers Iran.[/QUOTE][URL]https://sites.duke.edu/lawfire/2026/03/05/without-a-congressional-declaration-of-war-do-the-attacks-on-iran-violate-the-u-s-constitution/[/URL]
[B]Neither Party is Mine![/B]
3 photos
I own it whether I like it or not. Same as some other investments.
[QUOTE=SubCmdr;3086068]Bitcoin is a opt in system. If that is what you have decided to do. As you like to say to me [I]you do you[/I]. That leaves more Bitcoin for me to buy. There will only be 21 million of them in the entire world.
Everyone gets to buy Bitcoin at the price at which they deserve it. I first mentioned Bitcoin in 2023 (not a investment recommendation). Feel free to look up the price is was selling at then and compare it to the price it is selling at now.
As of 2026, approximately 30% of American adults (70.4 million people) own cryptocurrency, with Bitcoin remaining the most popular asset alongside Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin.
[URL]https://www.security.org/digital-security/cryptocurrency-annual-consumer-report/[/URL]
The USA Government has significantly integrated Bitcoin into its financial framework, most notably through the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve established by executive order in March 2025, which mandates that government-held BTC be maintained as a reserve asset and not sold.
[URL]https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/establishment-of-the-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-and-united-states-digital-asset-stockpile/[/URL]
The country also leads globally in Bitcoin ownership, holding an estimated 40% of all circulating Bitcoin, and dominates mining infrastructure with 38% of global hashrate since China's 2021 ban.
[URL]https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/u-s-leads-the-world-in-bitcoin-ownership-new-report-shows[/URL]
The Dis United States of America owes 40 Trillion United States Dollars. Somebody has to pay it back.
[B]Luke Gromen[/B] defines the [B]debasement trade[/B] as a long-term structural regime shift rather than a short-term speculative bet, driven by high sovereign debt levels that force governments to inflate away liabilities through currency debasement. He views [U]gold[/U] as the primary hard asset hedge, noting that central banks have shifted reserves from US treasuries to gold, while Bitcoin is seen as a longer-term, higher-risk expression of the same debasement theme.
[URL]https://youtu.be/1UiIEvVILY0[/URL][/QUOTE][B]Vanguard Slams BitcoinBut Now Has Billions Tied To It Thanks To Index Exposure[/B]
[URL]https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vanguard-slams-bitcoin-now-billions-144612435.html[/URL]
[QUOTE]In a twist of fate, Vanguard has become the largest shareholder of the most established Bitcoin equity play.
..........
Now Vanguard is the largest shareholder in MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), a firm whose value proposition is that it is the most established Bitcoin proxy in the stock market, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
..........
The disconnect between Vanguard's professed cryptocurrency stance and its financial holdings primarily comes from its passive index fund strategies through funds like the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index (NASDAQ:VITSX), Vanguard Extended Market Index (NASDAQ:VIEIX) and the Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF (NYSE:VUG).[/QUOTE]In one form or another that Total Stock Market Index Fund has contributed to a more comfortable life and retirement for me. Glad I have been in it under one or another name for decades. I appreciate the incomparable level of critical diversification it has provided over the typically great Dem presidential times and the typically crap Repub presidential times.
The inarguable pattern continues. I'll take the previous 20 months under Biden vs the recent 20 months under Trump anytime.
Propaganda Petrostate MAGA Math naturally fails, when golf courses exceed solar parks
[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3085692]One gallon of diesel contains 40.7 killowatts of energy. [URL]https://www.convertunits.com/from/gallon[/URL]+USA +of+diesel+oil / to / kilowatt-hour.
Multiply the two and you get 81.4 billion watts of energy. If you have a 10 day cruise, that is about 8 billion watts of energy per day.
What a bird brain like you does not get is that solar energy generation is based on square footage and how much space do you need to generate 8 billion watts of energy per day?[/QUOTE]Who cares about your arcane propaganda fossil fuel math, when countries like Pakistan stands to save US $6.3 billion over the course of the year through reduced oil and gas imports, following an estimated US $12 billion saved between 2021 and early 2026, using simple rooftop solar. [URL]https://energyandcleanair.org/the-hedge-that-paid-off-how-pakistans-solar-boom-is-shielding-it-from-the-hormuz-crisis/[/URL]
[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3085692]Per google, to generate 8 billion watts (8 gigawatts) of solar energy daily, you require approximately 17,500 square miles of land area, which is equivalent to about 11.2 million acres. That just happens to be an area that is 1.5 times the size of the state of Maryland.
And you would need battery capacity to store 4 billion watts of power when the sun went down and you are still going to need hundreds of thousands of gallons of diesel in case there is not adequate sun.[/QUOTE]Oh really! Has anyone in Trumpland and MAGA world, on Earth #2, heard of:
[LIST] [b]Rooftop solar?[/b] On/Offshore wind? Tidal-wave power? Where NO illegal wars to misappropriate land, Venezuelan oil, Iranian LNG or propaganda MAGA math is need.[/LIST][LIST] Converting just [b]1% of the world's agricultural land to solar,[/b] could theoretically meet global electricity demand. [URL]https://vegetablegrowersnews.com/news/ag-lands-ripe-for-solar-panels-new-study-shows/[/URL][/LIST][LIST] A well know fact, that the top 10 countries in the world, with the most golf courses, with dedicated land to golf, is significantly larger than the land used for utility-scale solar or wind. In the UK specifically, there is roughly six times more land for golf courses than for solar. [URL] https://www.sheffieldfoe.co.uk/2026/09/do-solar-panels-on-farms-really-create.html[/URL][/LIST]
[U]So who cares about your fossil fuel propaganda math? NOT Pakistan or the Philippines![/U]
The next shoe to drop (or domino to fall) is the Philippines (nipping at the heels of Pakistan), who in a single year, installed five times more rooftop solar than it had in the previous 10 years combined. [B]Sky-high power bills push Pinoys to go solar,[/B] September 1st, 2026. [URL]https://www.philstar.com/business/2026/09/01/2553115/sky-high-power-bills-push-pinoys-go-solar#1[/URL]
And in Pakistan, their rooftop solar boom has been so rapid that in only two years, they've added as much generating capacity, [I][b]as the country's entire fleet of fossil-fueled power plants[/b][/I].
But the other thing that links, both of these countries, is that they have some of the highest electricity prices in the world. So the Philippines, right behind Pakistan, is one of many countries in the Global South, following China's solar boom, and no doubt soon followed by batteries [I]and EVs...etc,[/I] due to heavy load shedding and blackouts caused by your dumbass MAGA Fuhrer / Bonkers BiBi Israel illegal war against Iran.
2026 The Year of the Battery.
My Bitcoin Education continues (Take 3)
[QUOTE=EihTooms;3086271][B]Vanguard Slams Bitcoin But Now Has Billions Tied To It Thanks To Index Exposure[/B]
[URL]https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vanguard-slams-bitcoin-now-billions-144612435.html[/URL][/QUOTE][B]You don't own any Bitcoin and neither does Vanguard![/B]
Vanguard does not own Bitcoin in self-custody. The firm has explicitly stated it has no plans to launch its own Bitcoin ETF or hold cryptocurrency directly. Vanguard's policy restricts direct ownership and self-custody of digital assets for its clients. Period. Full Stop!
[QUOTE]Vanguard is one of the world's largest asset managers and for years, it wanted nothing to do with Bitcoin.
That changed in December 2025, when the firm reversed course and opened its brokerage platform to third-party crypto ETFs.
But here's the key distinction investors need to understand: Vanguard now allows Bitcoin ETF trading on its platform it has not launched a Vanguard Bitcoin ETF of its own.
[b]Vanguard does not offer its own Bitcoin ETF there is no Vanguard-branded product with a Vanguard ticker symbol.[/b][/QUOTE][URL]https://www.mexc.co/learn/article/does-vanguard-have-a-bitcoin-etf-what-investors-need-to-know/1l[/URL]
As I said before, Bitcoin is a opt in system. No one owns it that does not deserve to. I am available for any further questions any of you [B]International Tricks[/B] may have about Bitcoin. Even if you are a [I]no coiner[/I] and are skeptical. I already put down much mis information in this thread about Bitcoin. My information has not been refuted.
Regulatory rule making has shifted from Congress to federal agencies after the CLARITY Act failed to advance due to the Democrats on September 15,2026. The SEC, CFTC, and Federal Reserve are rapidly drafting rules using existing authority to fill the void, with the SEC unveiling a tokenized-stock exemption and the Fed proposing stablecoin reserve rules under the GENIUS Act. [B]The Trump Administration is a friend of Crypto[/B]. The Democrats are not.
The Constitution is a framework charter, NOT codified code
[QUOTE=SubCmdr;3085713]This is not a question to be directed at me. The question needs to be directed at the Republicans posting in this thread. Lest I remind you:
[B]Neither Party is mine![/B][/QUOTE]Uh! Since when do you need to be in support of a particular party, to answer a question about another political party (or non-political entity)?
Why all the hestantancy? You posted stuff on the (neither party is mine) Repubs or Dems, before, when criticizing or praising them, when it suit your needs, over stuff like one single-issue voting, only about 3 or 4% of Americans, even care about. So what's so different or difficult, about me asking the following question?
[B]So the question still remains,[/B] [I]"What has the administrative party in power (both houses), the (neither party is mine) Repubs, done for Americans?"[/I].
[QUOTE=SubCmdr;3085713]There is no mention of [B]political parties[/B] nor a [U]loyal opposition[/U] in the United States Constitution.[/QUOTE]While the Constitution says nothing about political parties or "the loyal opposition" it also says nothing about primaries, the cabinet, executive agencies, judicial review, the filibuster, the administrative state, either, but they exist as extra-constitutional institutions or articles and rules of law, that have emerged after ratification and are now regulated in part by constitutional law.
Again, as I've explained before, this is why we have constitutional law and constitutional lawyers, that give operational legal meaning in specific cases, since the constitution is a framework, in which to work within and not codified code.
[QUOTE=SubCmdr;3085713]Thank you for the religious reference. But the meaning is lost on me in this political debate. ... [/QUOTE]Pity!
[QUOTE=SubCmdr;3085713]That is your opinion. You make fun of my political position all the time. When you write [I]the (neither party is mine) Repubs, done for Americans?"[/I] in italics when you should have just written Republicans. [/QUOTE]Uh! Whether it's italics or not, I'm 100% pretty sure my italics, are only there to convey, the very wording you yourself have ardently used on multiple occasions to describe your political position and apparent disdain for the ("Neither Party is Mine") Repubs or Dems.
But when I write (neither party is mine) Repubs or (neither party is mine") Dems, [U]how is this NOT an accurate description,[/U] describing your political position, as you've repeatedly written and told us as such, on multiple occasions?
[QUOTE=SubCmdr;3085713]Which party in the Dis United States of America does that?[/QUOTE]I'm also pretty sure, by now you know, which party [I]in the U.S.,[/I] I think, does that, the best or at the very least, better than the other!
To be clear once again, [B]The Constitution is a framework charter[/B] of powers and limits, not a blueprint for every single specific institutional, political, judicial or civil case. The space in the administrative framework of the Constitution, is it left open by the Framers, so that through legislation, executive practice, judicial interpretation, and political involvement, can be filled in, through articles of law, statutes, precedent, and custom, over time.
Thank you for the confirmation on the "loyal
[QUOTE=SubCmdr;3085713]There is no mention of [B]political parties[/B] nor a [U]loyal opposition[/U] in the United States Constitution.[/QUOTE]Yes, thank you for confirming what I'd told you in a previous post, to the one you've just posted.
Here:
[QUOTE=Spidy;3085648][b]Currently there is no such thing as the "loyal opposition" in [I]the U.S. Constitution,[/I][/b] but it does sound to me like, your "loyal opposition" argument, is the very thing that constitutional law and lawyers are need for and are meant to argue in the courts, as to whether or not it pertains to the constitution.[/QUOTE]Now that we both agree on your argument for "loyal opposition" and it's NOT contained [I]in the U.S. Constitution,[/I] it remains moot point, but nonetheless a point of constitutional law to be argued in the courts (or in debate forums) as to it's relevance or necessity as codified law.
Electrostate vs Petrostate: On Earth #1, solar is most often complementary to Nature
[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3085692]Per google, to generate 8 billion watts (8 gigawatts) of solar energy daily, you require approximately 17,500 square miles of land area, which is equivalent to about 11.2 million acres. That just happens to be an area that is 1.5 times the size of the state of Maryland.
And you would need battery capacity to store 4 billion watts of power when the sun went down and you are still going to need hundreds of thousands of gallons of diesel in case there is not adequate sun.[/QUOTE]Late additional questions, if anyone in Trumpland and MAGA world, on Earth #2, has also heard of the follow variations of solar, that work with nature's resources and don't take up additional land?:
[LIST][b]Agrivoltaics?[/b] In harmony with land, nature and the farmers[/LIST][LIST][b]Floating Solar? [/b]Again, in harmony with the sea, nature and fish & wildlife conservation[/LIST][LIST][b]Canal Solar?[/b] At the same time conserving water, for farmers. California and India projects, have yielded good results[/LIST][LIST][b]Vertical Solar?[/b] Like on the side of residential homes, commercial buildings OR[/LIST][LIST][b]Solar as Fencing Panels?[/b] Since solar panels are often cheaper than other fencing materials FWIW[/LIST][LIST][b]Canopy Solar:[/b] Parking Lots, Gas/Charging Stations, Rest Stop Areas? Also provides vehicle, weather and road protection[/LIST][LIST][b]Balcony Solar?[/b] Option of apartments as a nominal way to participate in creating their own energy[/LIST][LIST][b]Desert/Mountain Solar?[/b] China has just about perfected the reuse and revitalization of what was unusable land, hillsides or desert with solar[/LIST][LIST][b]Unused/Abandoned Mining Solar?[/b] China has built the largest single coal mining subsidence area photovoltaic project in Ningxia (ie. big-time use of marginal unused land)[/LIST]AND the latest and greatest solar, no one in Trumpland and MAGA World, on Earth has every heard of, that doesn't take up land is:
[LIST][b]Railway Track Solar[/b] Pilot project in Switzerland, with more than 11,000 trains having rolled over the setup without causing damage, safety issues, or glare for drivers. Italy and others are seriously considering this solar[/LIST][LIST][b]Solar Noise Barriers?[/b] Photovoltaic modules integrated directly into noise barriers along highways or railways[/LIST]I know that, since the sun and wind doesn't shine or blow everywhere on Trumpland and MAGA world on Earth #2, tell me, do none of these various implementations of solar, also not exist in either?
2026 The Year of the Battery.
My plain language education continues
[QUOTE=SubCmdr;3086346][B]You don't own any Bitcoin and neither does Vanguard![/B]
Vanguard does not own Bitcoin in self-custody. The firm has explicitly stated it has no plans to launch its own Bitcoin ETF or hold cryptocurrency directly. Vanguard's policy restricts direct ownership and self-custody of digital assets for its clients. Period. Full Stop!
[URL]https://www.mexc.co/learn/article/does-vanguard-have-a-bitcoin-etf-what-investors-need-to-know/1l[/URL]
As I said before, Bitcoin is a opt in system. No one owns it that does not deserve to. I am available for any further questions any of you [B]International Tricks[/B] may have about Bitcoin. Even if you are a [I]no coiner[/I] and are skeptical. I already put down much mis information in this thread about Bitcoin. My information has not been refuted.
Regulatory rule making has shifted from Congress to federal agencies after the CLARITY Act failed to advance due to the Democrats on September 15,2026. The SEC, CFTC, and Federal Reserve are rapidly drafting rules using existing authority to fill the void, with the SEC unveiling a tokenized-stock exemption and the Fed proposing stablecoin reserve rules under the GENIUS Act. [B]The Trump Administration is a friend of Crypto[/B]. The Democrats are not.[/QUOTE]Who said anything about me owning bitcoin? I didn't say that.
From my linked article:
[QUOTE]The views come as Vanguard now already offers its customers [b]indirect cryptocurrency exposure[/b] through its funds, but refuses to offer customers access to products like Bitcoin ETFs on its brokerage platform. [/QUOTE]Did you think bitcoin is the same as indirect crypto currency exposure?
Interesting. You might want to read up on the topic a bit more.
Or did you mistakenly think you saw the plain language word "bitcoin" in the Subject of my post and somewhere in my comments about the article I linked when it isn't in there at all?
My Bitcoin education continues (Part 4)
[QUOTE]I own it whether I like it or not. Same as some other investments.[/QUOTE]I do not see the words indirect crypto currency exposure.
[QUOTE] Interesting. You might want to read up on the topic a bit more.[/QUOTE][U]Owning Bitcoin[/U] technically means possessing the private key that grants exclusive control and the ability to sign transactions for a specific balance recorded on the blockchain. Unlike traditional assets, Bitcoin is not a physical object or a file stored on your device; it is a record in a decentralized public ledger where ownership is defined by cryptographic proof rather than a central authority. [U]Bitcoin has delivered significantly higher historical returns than [I]stocks[/I][/U]
[B]Plain Language.[/B] ROTFLMAO!
