Jakebrake Loc: Broomfield, CO

That's what the poor lil TDS afflicted twerps do since they lost~

Michael Rich Loc: Lapine Oregon

T***h!

dtucker300 Loc: Vista, CA

All I care about is what he accomplishes, not what he says.

Geo

Trump is not only a moron – Rex Tillerson also says he is 'undisciplined,' 'doesn't like to read' and tries to break the law

FROM THE BOING BOING SHOP



Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who called Trump a "moron" while he was in office, from which he was later fired, has expressed some more choice thoughts on the president.

Speaking to Bob Shieffer last night, which was aired on CBS, Tillerson said, "What was challenging for me coming from the disciplined, highly process-oriented Exxon Mobil corporation, to go work for a man who is pretty undisciplined, doesn't like to read, doesn't read briefing reports, doesn't like to get into the details of a lot of things..." He also said that Trump "acts on his instincts," which "in some respects looks like impulsiveness."


CBS News political contributor @bobschieffer interviewed Tillerson in Houston last night, at a dinner to benefit MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Tillerson then talked about "how Trump as president regularly attempted to do things that violated the law."

“So often, the president would say, ‘Here’s what I want to do, and here’s how I want to do it,’ " Tillerson said, according to the Houston Chronicle, “and I would have to say to him, ‘Mr. President, I understand what you want to do, but you can’t do it that way. It violates the law.’ ”

Tillerson also wasn't keen on Trump's use – and the American's love of – Twitter.

“I will be honest with you: It troubles me that the American people seem to want to know so little about issues — that they are satisfied with a 128 characters,” Tillerson said.

He was quick to say that that wasn’t meant as a shot at Trump but our political system more broadly. Next to his other comments, though, it wasn’t difficult to see he was lumping Trump with all those Americans who aren’t intellectually curious enough about policy and the actual details of U.S. government.

Michael Rich Loc: Lapine Oregon

Guess what Deorge...More people are going to v**e for our President than last time.

You need start your dossier for his re-e******n, or you will still be talking of irrelevant and dead stories then too.

Good luck Deorge and remind lenny that he gets to tend the rabbits.

dtucker300 Loc: Vista, CA

Confirmation Bias!

Geo

ACT CHECK: Who Gets Credit For The Booming U.S. Economy?
September 12, 20185:00 AM ET
Scott Horsley 2010
SCOTT HORSLEY


The U.S. economy is chugging along. Employers added 201,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate held steady at a low 3.9 percent. Average wages in August were nearly 3 percent higher than they were a year ago.

Who should get the credit for that strong performance?

So while the White House can certainly point to some yardsticks that indicate a meaningful turnaround on Trump's watch — including small business sentiment, business investment and goods-producing job growth — broader measures of the overall job market and wages show the economy continues to follow the steady, upward glide path that began under Obama.

At a campaign rally in North Dakota last week, President Trump boasted that he's responsible for the economy taking off like a "rocket ship."

But Trump's predecessor wants to remind everyone that the countdown began on his watch.

"When you hear how great the economy is doing right now, let's just remember when this recovery started," former President Barack Obama told supporters Friday at the University of Illinois.

This is not just a question of bragging rights. With midterm e******ns less than two months away, v**ers' impressions of who deserves credit for the boom could influence which political party they support in November.

Let's stipulate that presidents of both parties often get more credit and blame for economic conditions than they deserve, given that much of what happens is outside their control. But setting that aside, is Trump simply coasting on the momentum of an already strong Obama economy? Or have things turned around on his watch?

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White House economist Kevin Hassett insists that Trump deserves the credit.

"I can promise you that economic historians will 100 percent accept the fact that there was an inflection at the e******n of Donald Trump and a whole bunch of data items started heading north," said Hassett, who chairs the council of economic advisers.

"Inflection" is just a fancy word for turning point. So Hassett is arguing that conditions since Trump was elected are significantly different than conditions were before.

It's hard to see such a turning point in major economic yardsticks such as jobs, unemployment, or wages.

Job growth has been remarkably consistent since the end of the recession in 2010. The 3.6 million jobs added in the 19 months since Trump took office are roughly comparable to the 3.9 million added in the previous 19 months under Obama. Likewise, unemployment has steadily declined. And wages have inched up at a slow but steady pace.

On a graph of any of these metrics, the period before Trump took office is virtually indistinguishable from the period since.

"At best, you would say it's been a continuation of a steady trend," economist Austan Goolsbee told MSNBC.

Goolsbee, who had Hassett's job early in the Obama administration, challenged the idea that things suddenly improved following Trump's e******n.

"I don't see how you come into the game with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, your team is already ahead, and you're like, 'I won this game.' "

But Hassett presented his own charts to back up the idea of a Trump turning point.


Job growth in goods-producing industries has accelerated under President Trump, even as growth in the much larger services sector has slowed.
White House Council of Economic Advisers
One area he focused on is the growth in what the Labor Department calls "goods-producing" jobs such as manufacturing, construction and oil drilling. (Hassett called these "blue collar jobs," although the term "blue collar" can also refer to some service-sector jobs such as custodial or warehouse work.)

Goods-producing employment has accelerated since Trump took office, even as job gains in the much larger service sector have slowed. As Mark Muro and Jacob Whiton of the Brookings Institution have noted, that could be helpful to Republicans in November, since goods-producing jobs tend to be concentrated in redder, more rural parts of the country.

"As the e******ns approach, smaller, redder places are doing relatively better than they were in 2016," Muro and Whiton wrote.

It's important to remember, though, that goods-producing jobs make up a relatively small slice of the overall U.S. economy, accounting for less than 14 percent of the total workforce. By focusing on those jobs, the Trump administration is discounting the industries that employ 86 percent of American workers.

Hassett also highlighted a surge in business investment in property, plants and equipment beginning around the time that Trump was elected.


The White House says business investment surged after President Trump's e******n.
White House Council of Economic Advisers
"What's happened is that the capital spending boom that we promised would happen if we passed the tax cuts is underway," Hassett said.

In theory, that additional investment should make workers more productive, boosting both output and wages in the future. But not everyone is convinced that the boom is widespread or that Trump and the tax cuts are responsible.

The president of the federal reserve bank of Atlanta says much of the increased investment is in the energy sector, driven by higher oil prices.

"Excluding energy and oil investment, investment growth is still below 5 percent on a year-over-year basis — a bit lower than the typical expansion average," Raphael Bostic told the Savannah, Ga, Rotary Club in June.


NFIB members were much more optimistic about the economy after the 2016 e******n.
Whit House Council of Economic Advisers
One area where there is a clear, e******n-related turning point is small-business sentiment. Members of the NFIB, a Republican-leaning small-business group, were significantly more optimistic after Trump's upset victory in 2016, perhaps anticipating his policies of tax cuts and reduced regulation.

"People started to ratchet up their expectations for what would happen to the economy," Hassett said. "Everybody, except for Mrs. Clinton's supporters, was starting to do that right after the e******n."

Significantly, Hassett did not highlight GDP growth, perhaps because the measure has bounced up and down and would not show a clear difference between Trump and Obama. Although Trump often boasts about the strong GDP showing between April and June — when growth topped 4 percent — there were quarters during Obama's tenure when growth was even stronger. Forecasters disagree about whether Trump can deliver sustained, multiyear growth in the 3 percent range, as promised.

So while the White House can certainly point to some yardsticks that indicate a meaningful turnaround on Trump's watch — including small business sentiment, business investment and goods-producing job growth — broader measures of the overall job market and wages show the economy continues to follow the steady, upward glide path that began under Obama.

Geo

Are rare earth minerals China's trump card in its trade war with US?
By Reality Check team and BBC Monitoring
BBC News
29 May 2019


China carries out most of the mining and production of rare earth minerals
China has been signalling that it may restrict the export of rare earth minerals to the United States as the trade conflict between the two countries escalates.

It is by far the largest producer of these raw materials, vital for many American industries including high-growth sectors such as electric car and wind turbine production.

Last year, the US Geological Survey designated these minerals critical to the economy and national defence.

"China is seriously considering restricting rare earth exports to the US," tweeted the editor of Chinese state-run Global Times this week.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
What are rare earths?
Rare earths are a group of 17 elements used in production in a huge number of sectors, including renewable energy technology, oil refinery, electronics, and the glass industry.

Although called "rare", they are actually found relatively abundantly in the Earth's crust, according to the US Geological Survey.

However, there are relatively few places in the world that mine or produce them.

Extraction is both difficult and potentially damaging to the environment.

What are 'rare earths' used for?
A quick guide to the US-China trade war
Chinese mines account for around 70% of global output.

Myanmar, Australia, and the United States plus a few other countries which mine only small amounts, account for the rest.

ADVERTISEMENT

China's dominance of rare earth mining
Yearly mine production (tonnes)

Source: US Geological Survey
In the refining of rare earth ores, China is even more dominant.

Last year, almost 90% of all the processing into usable oxides was done in China.

An Australian company operating in Malaysia produces almost all the rest.

Over the past five years, China's exports of rare earth oxides have almost doubled, according to official Chinese statistics.

How reliant on China is the US?
Around 80% of the rare earths imported by the United States comes from China, according to US government data.

Estonia, France and Japan also supply processed rare earths to the US, but the original ore comes from China.

The one rare earth mine operating in the United States sends its ore to China for processing - and already faces a 25% import tariff imposed by China.

There is an option for the US to import from Malaysia, but not in the quantities required.

Also, the Malaysian government has threatened to discontinue production because of environmental concerns.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Rare earths mine in China
Could the US start its own refining industry for rare earths?

It's certainly possible, but this would take time and the sources of ore could be limited if China were ruled out.

Until the 1980s, the US was in fact the largest producer of rare earths.

China has restricted exports of rare earths before.

In 2010, they did it against Japan, over a territorial dispute.

The restriction of exports to the United States, if enforced, could have a major impact on major US industries worth trillions of dollars that rely on rare earth minerals.

dtucker300 Loc: Vista, CA

The economy may have been ready to take off while Obama was President. But the t***h is, Obama didn't know what to do with it, so it stagnated for seven years after the wasted bailouts.

dtucker300 Loc: Vista, CA

We have rare earth minerals right here in the U.S.A. One area that is rich in these is on I-15 in the Mojave Desert at Mountain Pass, CA. Just before you leave CA heading into NV.

dtucker300 Loc: Vista, CA

If you read OPP regularly you can find even more moronic sayings from those on the Left.

dtucker300 Loc: Vista, CA

An “Old West” analysis and summary of the Mueller report and Congress’ response in one sentence:


"While we recognize that the subject did not actually steal any horses, he is obviously guilty of trying to resist being hanged for it."

Geo

This Dummy is incapable of learning.

Trump: I Would Accept Information On My Opponent From Foreign Governments, "It's Called Oppo Research"
Posted By Ian Schwartz
On Date June 12, 2019


President Donald Trump said he would accept information from a foreign government or foreign nationals that would help him in the 2020 p**********l e******n and not notify the FBI in an Oval Office interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos.

Crayons Loc: St Jo, Texas

You may have missed that line ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My belief is that the U.S. has 100 years of back up reserves Not including what can be urban mined/recycled

From zerohedge.com
Another irony emerges: the U.S. has 1.4 million metric tons in rare earth mine reserves, 93 times the nation’s output last year, according to data from the U.S. Geological Service website; it should be relatively simple to restart mothballed facilities. And yet, it isn't: the only US producer, MP Materials, has been shipping all its output from the Mountain Pass mine in California to China because there is currently no refining capacity available to handle its output anywhere else in the world, its biggest shareholder said.

“As with our energy security, the Trump administration is dedicated to ensuring that we are never held hostage to foreign powers for the natural resources critical to our national security"

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-06-04/us-braces-chinese-retaliation-scrambles-find-alternative-rare-earth-suppliers

dtucker300 Loc: Vista, CA

Rare Earths is a misnomer. They are not all that rare and actually quite abundant. The problem is mining and refining the materials. Very water intensive and expensive. The Chinese have literally polluted beyond repair the sites where they refine these elements.