Again, this is fantasy. The US does not have a large supply of rare earth materials

We have a lot of rare earths in the grounds of the US, we just need to open those lands up for mining.

Geez I've already said we neeed to be self sufficient in EVERYTHING....just stuff vital to national security..in case of war, or another pandemic, etc.

We can live without olive oil....we can't without steel.

So we agree: Your world view is that the US should fight everyone.

No, but the entire world IS in competition for resources, quality of life, etc.

As long as the US gets what we need and our government is there to ENSURE this is the case, I don't care what the rest of the world does.....hell if we're all good I'm for helping our allies, but when it comes down to it...yes, I'll take my country over anyone else's country......that's the nature of countries and governments.

We saw the dangers of having to depend on other countries for important things during covid......does everyone here have such short memories?

China had the US by the short and curries with regard to masks and other medical needs.

We need to be self sufficient on many things, like steel, etc...rare earths, etc.....things that are absolutely needed for national security.

Olive oil, imported wines and cheeses..sure bring them on.

It is also a good idea to protect the middle class in the US and build it back up.....

We should not voluntarily put our ball sack in the hands of other nations, especially ones that are outwardly antagonistic towards us.

Helll, not even with friendlies without caution, and backups....

I pray to God that Gavin Newsom does not get the Democratic nomination, because I think even JD Vance could win in that contest.

From what I've seen in action so far, I'd say Vance is a gifted orator and debater.....and whomever the Dems get really better be on the ball to have a chance against him.....and I've not seen anyone so far to come close (AOC???).

I'm guessing the Dems will just pretty much try to avoid any debates with the Republicans next presidential go around, unless someone that can actually speak comes out of the fold and gets nominated...

ability of the U.S., to sell green printed paper in exchange for really valuable products like steel, oil, cars and electronics,

Perhaps the "orange one" sees the inherit danger of becoming completely dependent upon other nations for necessities.....and weakening oneself by becoming less and less self sufficient.

Globalization kinda sounds good on paper if ALL nations out there are selfless and altrustic and sharing....but is just not the case of human nature, we've seen that now..China is just the largest culprit here lately.

I know quite a few people who live in LA and all of them hate driving in LA because the traffic is horrendous.

Most cities in the US are NOT as densely packed or as HUGE as LA...and therefore do not replicate the same kind of traffic they have out there.

I rarely run into traffic anywhere I've ever lived at any time of day...if there is some it is short short windows of time.

Where I've lived I'm always only minutes (10-20) away from work....and no I do NOT live in a downtown city/urban area.....

The "LA" experience is not representative of most of the living areas in the US.

Nobody says there aren't enough cars in NYC for example.

BUT....for pretty much all cases..ONLY if you live in an extremely urban city, sharing walls and high rise dwellings...will you have all that alternative (public) transportation that works.

That's well and good for those that like that lifestyle, for me personally, I would consider having to rent an apartment that shares walls with other people as a major step down in life..back to the days when I was a starving college student having to live in apartments/dorms.

I have money now to afford the life "I" want as an adult....free standing house, with nice big yards for my dog, and my yard toys (Big Green Egg XL charcoal grills, my large log burning offset smoker....place to set up for parties with friends and boil crawfish, etc....plant viable veggie gardens for the summer with plenty enough left over to can for the winter..etc.

We need to eliminate car dependency and give people a choice of transportation.

I like my private car (dependency) where I can some and go door-to-door when I want on my schedule.

As long as you don't fsck what works for me and most people today....have fun.

By the way...there are other forms of public transportation, but mostly only smelly bums ride on them...at least from my observations.

Please don't try to PUSH things on people to force them to change because you think YOU know better, you know?

True, but we aren't that far off. Metal 3D printers exist and are coming down towards hobbyist reach. The range of materials available to hobbyists has increased a lot. There are also hobbyist CNC systems that are a lot easier to use than the industrial versions.

True...but we aren't quite there for pushbutton.

That being said...I'm happy to see the progress being made.

Again, it's always been legal in the US federally (and most states too) to make your own firearms.....with no serialization, as long as you do not sell it or give it away, personal use only. It's only the tools are getting a bit easier and more precise for the hobbies to use.

What can "occur" in the head of an imbecile without an education whose life achievement is raping young girls procured for him by a russian/israeli spy?

Wow....just...wow.

As a matter of genuine curiosity ....what flavor was the Kool-Aid....?

globalization is dead.

Thank God...

Lots of people were paying attention and noticed, that's why other countries started increasing military presence there, that's what caused stocks to dip which caused Trump to TACO and knock it off.

Sent troops? Seriously?

From the news it appears only a few countries sent maybe 5-10 "troops" tops...like that would pose any sort of deterrence to a real US invasion?

It was just Trump bluster to get a deal he wanted....and from what I can tell he pretty much got what he wanted ...

The same argument that anyone who knows how to work metal can make a gun ignored that 3D printers are different. If they were not, they wouldn't be so desirable. The whole point is to make it easier, trivial even, to make things.

That's still the case today..for your normal run of the mill plastic 3D printer...it's not going to just magically print a working firearm.

You will need some metal pieces....with 3D printing, you're generally just printing the lower which can be polymer (ala Glock)...but you need metal slide rails, slide, trigger parts and firing pin,, extractor, etc.....that's not a problem as that the "lower" for the most part is the only serialized part that is legally considered a "gun".....so barrel and all other parts are just that....parts that you need no special permits, backgrounds checks or licenses to purchase and use to construct your own firearm.

You can privately manufacture firearms and easily register them through someone with an FFA in most states.

In most states you do NOT have to generate a serial number such firearms nor register them with anyone.....

It has ALWAYS been perfectly legal for US citizens to make their own firearms.....no serial number required.

The catch is...you cannot sell them or give them away, personal use only.

Using a 3D printer or CNC machine that is user friendly is only using an old tool to do something that is 101% legal in the US and has been always.