It's the economy, stupid.

[Vrede too]

Sort of.
Truman served 3 years then was elected in his own right, completing a Dem run of 5 WH victories.
LBJ served 1 year then was elected in his own right, completing a Dem run of 2 WH victories.

I count only 5 Repugs who were elected twice: Ike, Nixon, Raygun, Shrub (not really the 1st time), DonOLD. Am I missing one? If not, the count is really 5R - 4D.

Well, I think it's a good point even if some might quibble over technical definitions. But they did specifically say "elected twice", which did not apply to Truman or LBJ.

Technically, Truman and LBJ were elected twice, just not as POTUS.

I don't count but 5 Repugs, either, but I don't care. It's still true that the only Dems to be able to get and hold the office absent some fluke (like a Presidential assassination) have been those blatantly playing to the centrists. And if Obama hadn't been somewhat Blackish or at least not been named "Hussein" he wouldn't have generated the hate he did.

I agree that Bill was a moderate from start to finish.

IMO Obama1 ran as a progressive, then governed as a centrist. Did that win him reelection? Maybe, it was hard to tell above the Black Hussein noise.

It's more about personality and symbolism now. Dementia Don has shattered the left-right paradigm, routinely getting MAGA to cheer for liberal planks from a decade or two ago. His only consistencies are White supremacy and fealty to the uber-rich.

[O Really]

Technically, Truman and LBJ were elected twice, just not as POTUS.

Oferpetesake. The article said without question "That they are the only Democrats to be elected president twice over the last 80 years
It looks like you've traded roles with me in quibbling nit-picky points in an article.

[O Really]

So I don't notice cigarettes much in a store. They seem to hide them behind the counter, I suppose, and the rate of smokers around here is under 6% so you don't see a lot of people smoking anyway. Mostly vapers now and then. But I was in a different store yesterday and they had the cigarette section up front with prices. Couldn't effin' believe it - $14 for a pack of Winston! That's $140 for a carton or, if somebody has a pack-a-day habit it's $420/month. Holy shit that's a car payment on a pretty nice car. I think the last time I got this shock the price was closer to $10. And of that, in California the tax is $2.87/pack.

[GoCubsGo]

This could go in multiple threads.

Where’s the missing $17 trillion? Lawmaker says Trump must reveal what he’s done with new investment bonanza he keeps boasting about

Trump has boasted that the supposed investment has been sparked by companies expanding operations or moving business to the U.S. after he imposed a raft of global tariffs.

“Donald Trump is living in a fantasy world,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Thursday in an interview with MeidasTouch. “If there is $17 trillion somewhere, the government doesn’t know about it. None of our committees have access to it. Treasury has no idea what the hell he’s talking about. He’s either a liar, or he’s somehow stashed away money in some magical way, and there’s even more corruption happening.”

[Vrede too]

This could go in multiple threads.

Where’s the missing $17 trillion? Lawmaker says Trump must reveal what he’s done with new investment bonanza he keeps boasting about

Trump has boasted that the supposed investment has been sparked by companies expanding operations or moving business to the U.S. after he imposed a raft of global tariffs.

“Donald Trump is living in a fantasy world,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Thursday in an interview with MeidasTouch. “If there is $17 trillion somewhere, the government doesn’t know about it. None of our committees have access to it. Treasury has no idea what the hell he’s talking about. He’s either a liar, or he’s somehow stashed away money in some magical way, and there’s even more corruption happening.”

MAGA = lying and corruption, ALWAYS

US liquor exports to Canada drop 85 percent

... In other international markets, U.S. exports of spirits also took a hit.

Exports to the European Union, the U.S. industry’s largest market, decreased by 12 percent, falling from $330.7 million in the second quarter of 2024 to $290.3 million in the second quarter of 2025.

U.S. exports to the United Kingdom declined by 29 percent, from $37.7 million in the second quarter of last year to $26.9 million in the second quarter of this year. And exports to Japan dropped 23 percent, from $27.7 million last year to $21.4 million this year....

Good job, MAGA . GQP voters in KY, especially, are getting their faces eaten by leopards.

[Whack9]

This could go in multiple threads.

Where’s the missing $17 trillion? Lawmaker says Trump must reveal what he’s done with new investment bonanza he keeps boasting about

Trump has boasted that the supposed investment has been sparked by companies expanding operations or moving business to the U.S. after he imposed a raft of global tariffs.

“Donald Trump is living in a fantasy world,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Thursday in an interview with MeidasTouch. “If there is $17 trillion somewhere, the government doesn’t know about it. None of our committees have access to it. Treasury has no idea what the hell he’s talking about. He’s either a liar, or he’s somehow stashed away money in some magical way, and there’s even more corruption happening.”

MAGA = lying and corruption, ALWAYS

US liquor exports to Canada drop 85 percent

... In other international markets, U.S. exports of spirits also took a hit.

Exports to the European Union, the U.S. industry’s largest market, decreased by 12 percent, falling from $330.7 million in the second quarter of 2024 to $290.3 million in the second quarter of 2025.

U.S. exports to the United Kingdom declined by 29 percent, from $37.7 million in the second quarter of last year to $26.9 million in the second quarter of this year. And exports to Japan dropped 23 percent, from $27.7 million last year to $21.4 million this year....

Good job, MAGA . GQP voters in KY, especially, are getting their faces eaten by leopards.

[GoCubsGo]

Hmmmm...Stable Genius Alert.

The shutdown also affects the BLS...

The economy can't possibly be bad if there's no numbers.

[GoCubsGo]

WTF is going on here?


China retaliates with new fees on U.S. shipping

Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile, and sending letters to Countries throughout the World, that they want to impose Export Controls on each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it's not manufactured in China. Nobody has ever seen anything like this but, essentially, it would "clog" the Markets, and make life difficult for virtually every Country in the World, especially for China. We have been contacted by other Countries who are extremely angry at this great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere. Our relationship with China over the past six months has been a very good one, thereby making this move on Trade an even more surprising one. I have always felt that they've been lying in wait, and now, as usual, I have been proven right! There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World "captive," but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time, starting with the "Magnets" and, other Elements that they have quietly amassed into somewhat of a Monopoly position, a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least. But the U.S. has Monopoly positions also, much stronger and more far reaching than China's. I have just not chosen to use them, there was never a reason for me to do so — UNTIL NOW! The letter they sent is many pages long, and details, with great specificity, each and every Element that they want to withhold from other Nations. Things that were routine are no longer routine at all. I have not spoken to President Xi because there was no reason to do so. This was a real surprise, not only to me, but to all the Leaders of the Free World. I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so. The Chinese letters were especially inappropriate in that this was the Day that, after three thousand years of bedlam and fighting, there is PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. I wonder if that timing was coincidental? Dependent on what China says about the hostile "order" that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move. For every Element that they have been able to monopolize, we have two. I never thought it would come to this but perhaps, as with all things, the time has come. Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A. One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America. There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

[GoCubsGo]

Think the lemmings will ever wake up?

[Vrede too]

Think the lemmings will ever wake up?

https://x.com/meiselasb/status/1977133393617043775

Idk, lemme check.



Nope.