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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026

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Their goal was 1 to 2 trillion in budget cuts, they achieved 0.2, maybe maybe as little as 0.1.

I want the federal budget to be cut by 90%. Roads, justice, trade policy, standards of weights and measures, diplomacy, coinage, a post office, a defense force for a regional power and nukes and a Navy to prevent invasions of the US.

Let blackwater or anyone else who wants to have a go at it have a letter of marque to provide freedom of the seas. Pay bounties for the heads of anyone who messes with American flagged shipping. Let private charity or the states deal with the poor (with state taxes).

100 billion here and there, pretty soon you're talking about real money though -- if it saved more than it cost I wouldn't say it's a failure per se?