No doubt, Trump has already given, and will continue to give, us much to pontificate on during the next 4 years so setting this thread up to provide an outlet for posters here to vent.
I will start with the word of the day, a real word mind you!
Kakistocracy... that perfectly describes where many of us think we are headed. It is defined as:
Quotekak·i·sto·cra·cy
/kakəˈstäkrəsē/
noun
government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state.
"the danger is that this will reduce us to kakistocracy"
a state or society governed by its least suitable or competent citizens.
plural noun: kakistocracies
"the modern regime is at once a plutocracy and a kakistocracy"
From Wikipedia:
QuoteA kakistocracy (/kækɪˈstɒkrəsi/, /kækɪsˈtɒ-/) is a government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens.[1]: 54 [2][3] The word was coined as early as the seventeenth century.[4] Peter Bowler has noted in his book that there is no word for the government run by the best citizens,[a] and that the aristarchy may be the right term, but still, it could conceivably be a kakistocracy disguised as an aristocracy.[a]
Etymology
The word is derived from two Greek words, kakistos (κάκιστος; worst) and kratos (κράτος; rule), with a literal meaning of government by the worst people.[5]
History
The earliest use of the word dates to the 17th century, in Paul Gosnold's A sermon Preached at the Publique Fast the ninth day of Aug. 1644 at St. Maries:[4]....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakistocracy
You all survived the first 4 years. You'll survive another. Downtown Jax may not survive another 4 years if they continue their preschool level attempts to solve the vagrant crisis.
^ Trump & Co. are determined to dismantle our defense, food & health safety, environmental, intelligence and justice departments for a start. So, with Russia, China, contaminated foods, epidemics, climate change, terrorists and criminals all allowed to go about unfettered due to agency heads who do not believe in their agency's mission or competency to confront such issues, I am not sure what the odds of survival are this time.
Don't disagree about concerns over downtown's future... maybe Trump should quit DC and come to Jax... after all, his background is promoting real estate development. Would solve at least 2 problems at once 8).
I can go with Rubio as Secretary of State... I actually like his Chief of Staff... Thune as Senate Majority Leader is thoughtful and sane... The rest??? OMG... god help us. I think some of these nominees are simply to identify Republicans who are not COMPLETELY on board with Trxxx. I can't even say his name. I'm sad as a former lifelong Reagan republican to see what Trxxx has done to the party. The January 6 BS was the last straw for me. Will never be a Trxxxlican.
^I haven't paid much attention since election day. As an Independent, I don't get too up or down around national election results. My prediction is this group will screw up and there will be another swing in the opposite direction four years down the road. That's the world of the two party dominant system right now. I'm most interested in seeing how Jax fares in getting federal money over the next four years.
Quote from: thelakelander on November 14, 2024, 06:34:25 PM
^I haven't paid much attention since election day. As an Independent, I don't get too up or down around national election results. My prediction is this group will screw up and there will be another swing in the opposite direction four years down the road. That's the world of the two party dominant system right now. I'm most interested in seeing how Jax fares in getting federal money over the next four years.
I'm a new Independent... I don't have the optimism that you do. I'm hoping for the swing but things are kinda crazy right now...
Quote from: thelakelander on November 14, 2024, 06:34:25 PM
^I haven't paid much attention since election day. As an Independent, I don't get too up or down around national election results. My prediction is this group will screw up and there will be another swing in the opposite direction four years down the road. That's the world of the two party dominant system right now. I'm most interested in seeing how Jax fares in getting federal money over the next four years.
Assuming this country isn't in tatters at the end of 4 years, I do believe the real possibility of a swing is there. Not just for historical reasons but Trump-world will have worn out its welcome, starting with the economy. His stated plans to run off migrant labor, impose tariffs and increase the deficit with more tax cuts are going to lead to both higher inflation and higher interest rates that will make the last 4 years look mild.
Unless Rutherford and Bean step in for Jax, don't count on many Federal dollars coming our way with Deegan as mayor who publicly endorsed Harris. And, again, assuming Musk is charged with substantially cutting Federal spending, that there will be any grants of note for any locality.
Everyone needs to be paying attention at this time regardless of political position as Trump is doing things no president has ever done before. This is an unprecedented situation and for any of us to not pay close attention is dangerous to our personal welfare.
His administration has so far refused to sign the ethics standards required by a law a bipartisan Congress passed a few years ago. He is appointing incompetent, inexperienced, compromised and/or questionably ethical persons to his cabinet and other critical positions that will do whatever he wants without question or consequence to the national interests, only to the benefit of Trump's interests or desire to go after his perceived "enemies."
This will not be democracy as we know it and Trump is pushing aside the checks and balances we thought we had on a president's powers. If not a dictatorship, it will be only steps away unless Congress and the Supreme Court push back in a way not yet demonstrated or indicated.
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on November 14, 2024, 04:55:23 PM
^
Don't disagree about concerns over downtown's future... maybe Trump should quit DC and come to Jax... after all, his background is promoting real estate development. Would solve at least 2 problems at once 8).
Bring back the Casino talks! A Trump casino in Jax next to Shad's Jaguars is a match made in heaven. :)
Quote from: WarDamJagFan on November 15, 2024, 11:56:10 AM
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on November 14, 2024, 04:55:23 PM
^
Don't disagree about concerns over downtown's future... maybe Trump should quit DC and come to Jax... after all, his background is promoting real estate development. Would solve at least 2 problems at once 8).
Bring back the Casino talks! A Trump casino in Jax next to Shad's Jaguars is a match made in heaven. :)
I dunno... Trump's Atlantic City casino projects were a financial disaster. And, as a convicted felon, I don't think he could get a casino license nowadays but, hey, he can be president of the U.S. >:(.
Aside from disappointing those who didn't vote for him, Trump's picks are giving fits to his own GOP allies. To date, his team has not signed the ethics agreements required by law and, in an unprecedented move, has refused to let the FBI do background checks on his appointments. As such, expect more surprises as the media has to do the job of revealing their true backgrounds.
To add, Arab Americans are among the first to begin to think they got bamboozled by Trump. If so, they shouldn't be surprised as they were warned and should have been able to know how Trump operates by now... a fast talking salesman only looking to reward himself at the expense of others. Trump never told anyone how he was going to bring peace to the Middle East or Ukraine/Russia wars that have become intractable to efforts by many others to date. So why did they think Trump had some magic wand?
Here is what is likely to be the first of many articles regarding constituencies who voted for him finding bait and switch being pulled on them:
QuoteArab Americans who backed Trump disappointed by pro-Israel picks for cabinet and senior roles
During his campaign, Donald Trump reached out to Arab Americans with promises that he would bring about peace in the Middle East – but to the chagrin of many in the community, recent nominations to top foreign policy posts have included staunchly pro-Israel figures.
The Trump campaign's overtures to the Arab-American community gained him some support in key swing states among voters who wanted to punish the Democrats over their support for Israel in the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. The nominations to top posts so far, however, have caused great concern and disappointment among some Arab Americans who backed him....
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2024/11/14/trump-cabinet-israel-arab-americans/
Wait until voters for him find out he is likely going to wreck the economy, weaken our military, invite terrorism by ignoring the intelligence community, corrupt the legal system with his incompetent appointments at DoJ and for judges, endanger our health by running off vaccine, food safety and environmental scientists and researchers, diminish our national parks and protected lands, bankrupt Social Security and Medicare, rapidly grow the national debt and mortgage the future of the country for decades to come as we fall behind on cutting edge advancements in technology, medicine, etc. while he destroys the education infrastructure that made us the greatest civilization in the world.
Our only hope is that more rational members of his own party put the brakes on him. The appointment confirmation process will be our first chance to see if Congress fulfills its roles as a check and balance on him as devised by our Constitution.
Quote
Our only hope is that more rational members of his own party put the brakes on him. The appointment confirmation process will be our first chance to see if Congress fulfills its roles as a check and balance on him as devised by our Constitution.
A very slim hope...lol ::) :o
Quote
Aside from disappointing those who didn't vote for him, Trump's picks are giving fits to his own GOP allies. To date, his team has not signed the ethics agreements required by law and, in an unprecedented move, has refused to let the FBI do background checks on his appointments. As such, expect more surprises as the media has to do the job of revealing their true backgrounds.
I hope the media does their investigative job - but I'm not going to hold my breath, they didn't do a good job of reporting on DT's mental state.
Quote from: WarDamJagFan on November 14, 2024, 02:20:36 PM
You all survived the first 4 years. You'll survive another. Downtown Jax may not survive another 4 years if they continue their preschool level attempts to solve the vagrant crisis.
Not indicative at all. The first time there were guards rails. His staff was mostly sane and understood what was inside the law and what wasn't. Keep in mind that he wanted police to open fire on unarmed citizens in his first term. It will not be anything like that now. Trump would listen to others before but he will be MUCH, MUCH less likely to do so now. Nevermind the fact that he will be beholden to Elon Musk.
His economic program of tariffs will create an economic earthquake if he actually pursues it. J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs and about three dozen Nobel Prize winning economists have already said as much. So has Elon Musk.
I've spent my entire adult life working to put myself in a good place for my retirement, which I am now enjoying. I fear those plans may run off the rails if Trump proceeds with his agenda. That is to say nothing of the system of checks and balances that he clearly has no respect for and the obvious goal of him to use the government to settle his scores.
People think it can't happen here, but that is foolish thinking.
I will say I am surprised there has been mention anywhere on here about Susie Wiles being his Chief of Staff. I will be surprised if she lasts a year though.
Senate? Senate? He don't need no stinkin' Senate!
Quote
Vox
https://www.vox.com/politics/385884/trump-recess-appointments-cabinet-adjourn-senate-ed-whelan
Trump may start his second term with a stunning power grab
Could Trump force the Senate into recess — and then appoint whoever he wanted to the government?
Throughout the transition, Trump has made several references to his intent to use "recess appointments" to get his appointees in place more quickly. This refers to a longstanding presidential power to fill jobs that typically require Senate confirmation if Congress is in recess. The Constitution included that power in an era when reconvening a recessed Congress would take months of travel time; more recently, presidents have used it to get around Senate opposition for certain picks.
Yet Trump's references to recess appointments were vague, and it was unclear exactly why he sounded so insistent on them. The new Congress would not need to recess for some time. The Senate surely would consider his top nominees quickly. The new Republican majority would likely be deferential to most of his choices, and the Democratic minority has no power to actually block any of them. So why would recess appointments be necessary so soon?
...
The Constitution states that during a congressional session, both chambers of Congress must consent if they want to adjourn Congress for more than three days. But it also says that "in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment," the president "may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper."
In layperson's terms, that would seem to say that if the House and Senate disagree on when to adjourn, the president can force them to do so. This power has never been used by the president.
But according to Whelan's sources in the conservative legal movement, this is the plan Trump's team is putting together. First, Trump would get the House of Representatives under Speaker Mike Johnson to propose adjourning Congress. Then, if the Senate refused to do so, President Trump would step in, saying that because the two chambers disagreed, he'd use his power to force the Senate to adjourn. He would then make recess appointments to his heart's content.
...
If Trump pulled this off, it would be an utter humiliation for incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Republican senators generally — it basically would be taking a wrecking ball to the power of the Senate.
The scheme would also require, as Whelan points out, the cooperation of Speaker Johnson and his House majority. But it is far from clear whether Republicans in either chamber — or the courts — have the inclination or the spine to stand up to an unprecedented power grab by Trump. And the rumors of it bode ill for other Trumpian abuses of power that will surely lie ahead.
Looks like being a TV personality/celebrity is the main qualification for most any job in Trump's administration starting, of course, with himself. Running the U.S. like a reality TV show. Ironically, it is likely that many of the people who voted for him may be the biggest losers under his administration... by far.
QuotePresident-elect Donald Trump has chosen Mehmet Oz, the celebrity physician and TV personality known as Dr. Oz, to be administrator of CMS.
During the pandemic, Dr. Oz, 64, pushed unproven theories about Covid-19 cures, including hydroxychloroquine, that caught Trump's eye. In 2022, Oz ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, losing to now-Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)....
....The pick continues a trend of Trump picking television fixtures for key administration roles, including Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary and Doug Collins for VA secretary. A person familiar with the situation granted anonymity to speak candidly said Oz was not among the early candidates on the list for the job....
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/19/dr-oz-cms-administrator-trump-00189456
Don't forget racist, rapist, homophobic bigots! Wait, am I seeing a trend here?
Quote from: jcjohnpaint on November 19, 2024, 08:36:47 PM
Don't forget racist, rapist, homophobic bigots! Wait, am I seeing a trend here?
Criminal...
Quote from: BridgeTroll on November 20, 2024, 04:23:45 PM
Quote from: jcjohnpaint on November 19, 2024, 08:36:47 PM
Don't forget racist, rapist, homophobic bigots! Wait, am I seeing a trend here?
Criminal...
Fellas, fellas.
Let's not forget misogynist, insurrectionist, and Nazi sympathizer.
It's hilarious how matter of fact the general board is regarding being on board with leftist politics and rabidly anti Trump.
There are those of us deplorables who for whatever reason still pay some attention to this board who love Trump. As someone who works in real estate, close to development, I welcome some deregulation that has been talked about by the incoming administration. It has become too hard to get anything approved let alone built. I think this administration will be great for so many things.
Love just about all of his cabinet and administration picks except for Marco Rubio, who's too much of a neocon.
I love the cognitive dissonance as well by all the people who were much better off during his last administration as compared to the recent and ongoing disaster, yet are worried that he will ruin all the "good" we are experiencing under this latest administration.
I for one have been genuinely suffering a little bit as of lately and I await the end of this current nightmare. Trump will be great, the majority of America wants him and I chuckle at all the Trump derangement that still exists and will always exist.
Joy Reid and Joy Behar are your people. You can have them, they are laughably insane and deranged.
^ Gaetz just backed out. Him and at least 2 other Trump nominees are tied to sex scandals. Many nominees want to deconstruct the agencies they are to head, not constructively improve their efficiencies or quality of services. Some have questionable experience to deem them qualified for the positions they are being nominated for. Others are on record for making unsupported and outrageous statements that conflict with the responsibilities they are being asked to carry out. Few seem to have an open mind to digest ideas or protocols that don't fit their or Trump's preconceptions which are often misinformed or unfounded. Blanket black and white statements that oversimplify complex issues are not productive.
There also appears to be little appetite for consensus building or accommodating a wider range of legitimate interests or concerns. Compromise and accommodation should not be dirty words in our complex and diverse world. The ultimate prerequisite is merely unfettered loyalty to Trump, no matter how outside the lines his demands may be. Our government is predicated on checks and balances and Trump and his ilk want to undermine our founders vision for this which leans into an authoritarian government which is absolutely a danger to our country's future.
Most Federal regulations exist because somewhere in our country's history there were unresolved issues that needed standardization, clarification or to address abuses that impacted our society. And, most have been approved or supported by both parties over the decades.
What Federal regulation curtailment would you like to see that doesn't have consequences elsewhere that the regulations were designed to address?
The generalization of posters here who don't align with you is inappropriate and unfair. This "name calling" that typifies MAGA supporters helps drive the divisiveness and partisanship we see today and doesn't serve anyone well. Before Trump's arrival, the level of name calling that exists today was never deemed appropriate or practiced to this degree. His demonization, belittling, targeting and threatening anyone who doesn't line up with him is unparalleled, unprecedented, mean-spirited and childish. I fear for our young people who think this is a model for conducting themselves as they become adults.
Trump's stain on our country will take decades to eradicate if we survive that long.
Quote from: Ken_FSU on November 20, 2024, 07:24:45 PM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on November 20, 2024, 04:23:45 PM
Quote from: jcjohnpaint on November 19, 2024, 08:36:47 PM
Don't forget racist, rapist, homophobic bigots! Wait, am I seeing a trend here?
Criminal...
Fellas, fellas.
Let's not forget misogynist, insurrectionist, and Nazi sympathizer.
Oooh...oooh... how about denier and revisionist... 8)
Quote from: simms3 on November 21, 2024, 07:08:07 AMI love the cognitive dissonance as well by all the people who were much better off during his last administration as compared to the recent and ongoing disaster, yet are worried that he will ruin all the "good" we are experiencing under this latest administration.
Wait, are we discounting the fact that a global pandemic took place in 2020 that disrupted the entire world economy? Lord knows, I don't think Joe Biden was the world's greatest President, but inflation didn't skyrocket because of his economic policy specifically. Inflation skyrocketed because we injected a shit-ton of extra purchasing power into the economy to stave off a depression by way of:
1. Multiple stimulus checks
2. Beefed up unemployment benefits for those with jobs displaced by COVID
3. Pauses on evictions and student loan repayments
4. COVID-related tax breaks
5. Cost savings associated with seismic shifts to WFH
6. Labor shortages during the pandemic, resulting in increased wages
To be clear, these decisions spanned both presidencies and were absolutely the right thing to do, but when you're pushing that much extra money into the economy to stave off a depression/deep recession, the basic laws of supply and demand suggest that you're going to devalue the dollar and struggle with inflation.
Let's not forget the historic losses in the tech sector over the last 12 months as the result of the rise of AI and correction of overhiring during the post-covid bubble.
I'm not even normally a huge fan of the Federal Reserve, but it's a minor miracle that the Fed was able to manipulate interest rates in a way that has steadily cooled inflation while keeping unemployment low and wage growth net positive. If we can truly stick a soft landing after the entire world economy shut down, that's pretty damn impressive.
Also think there's a difference between being a leftist fanatic and thinking that the best man to lead the free world might not be the rapist from Epstein's plane with 30+ felonies on his record, an easily fact-checked history of flagrant lies, a Rolodex full of dictators, a cabinet that resembles one of Diddy's White Parties, no concern for the future of the planet, and a proud disdain for the lower class.
I don't doubt that a Trump administration might be good for your real estate portfolio, but at what expense? The basic rights to health for American women? The disbandment of immigrant families who are already here? A habitable planet for our great grandchildren?
Honest question: Do you not care about his character at all? Is the way he openly talks about women immaterial to you? Do you find nothing wrong with selecting an Attorney General actively under investigation for statutory rape? A Secretary of Education whose husband is under federal investigation for a raping a woman at his corporate headquarters and then shitting on her? Does the fact that dozens of his former aids warn that he wants to overthrow the U.S. government worry you? Are you not worried about the long term effects of drilling in our national preserves? Are you fine with ceding control of your wife, or daughter, or sister's reproductive system to your state government?
Totally get how someone could pinch their nose and say, "His economic policies will be better for me, despite all the horrific side bullshit."
Can't wrap my around people like you who, in your own words, actively "Love Trump."
Simms,
I do appreciate your opinion. I'm sorry, but I am not used to a logical reason why someone would vote for Trump. I am not in real estate, so I cannot speak on that interest. Most of my friends and family from my home state of Pennsylvania voted for Trump for absolutely batshit crazy ideas. And by the way, these are their literal ideas, not what I assume they believe because they voted for the other guy.
-Jesus sent Trump to the border to stop immigrants from eating our dogs and children.
-Biden and his cronies are using commercial jets to drop fire on California.
-Biden and his cronies are putting vaccines in the water to turn our children into transgender people (two bad things in one).
-The Covid vaccine had microchips put in to follow your thoughts and turn us into liberals.
-Transgender people are sneaking into schools at night and leaving books to instruct students on how to become transgender. Somehow these books also make the children decide to become transgender.
-Trump might be flawed, but so are many biblical historical figures and he is going to set things right. Although they can't recall who such historical figures were and what needs to be set right. They just mention something about pure good and evil.
Before Trump, most of these people were lovely friends and family. Now I can never talk to them again because they hate me and think I'm evil. And by the way, I vote both Dem and Rep. There is no need to have a conversation here because it is not worth it.
As for the other ten percent, who have a general economic interest and believe Trump will make their lives slightly better than the status quo. Here is my problem with rationalizing following Trump for economic reasons.
Trump is a psychopath. A psychopath does not care about anyone but themselves. They don't care about the general economy. They only care about the economy that serves them.
There is no strategy beyond that. Trump does not have a strategy about his cabinet appointments other than loyalty. This is how psychopaths work. It does not matter what kind of experience they have because this is not what is important. There are not too many (logical) people/professionals left who will follow him. They were burned the last time. This is why his picks are so chaotic and destructive. This will continue. In the past, he had some smart people around him. They have moved on and are now on every new channel warning people about him. We will have to wait and see.
The other point I want to make is the guardrails that were put in place were agreed upon by the left, middle, right, private sector, and public input. We don't like all of the ideas, but we work together to make our changes little by little, we vote in a fair election, and sometimes agree to disagree and move on for another day. I do a lot of work with colleagues in my institution. Many of us disagree, but we sit at the table and discover a path together. This is what logical people do. I have cherished my deep conversation with my conservative friends and some have changed my views on things.
This is not what we have.
Quote from: simms3 on November 21, 2024, 07:08:07 AM
It's hilarious how matter of fact the general board is regarding being on board with leftist politics and rabidly anti Trump.
There are those of us deplorables who for whatever reason still pay some attention to this board who love Trump. As someone who works in real estate, close to development, I welcome some deregulation that has been talked about by the incoming administration. It has become too hard to get anything approved let alone built. I think this administration will be great for so many things.
Love just about all of his cabinet and administration picks except for Marco Rubio, who's too much of a neocon.
I love the cognitive dissonance as well by all the people who were much better off during his last administration as compared to the recent and ongoing disaster, yet are worried that he will ruin all the "good" we are experiencing under this latest administration.
I for one have been genuinely suffering a little bit as of lately and I await the end of this current nightmare. Trump will be great, the majority of America wants him and I chuckle at all the Trump derangement that still exists and will always exist.
Joy Reid and Joy Behar are your people. You can have them, they are laughably insane and deranged.
No use dude. This is a liberal echo chamber when specific city matters are not the topics of conversation. They never read beyond the headlines which is why so many people here still think Trump is a Russian asset from 2016, that Trump called Nazis "very fine people", that if he didn't win the election "there will be a bloodbath" insinuating a civil war, etc, etc, etc.
No matter how many times they've been lied to about Trump, as long as the next headline is a negative one, it will instantly be believed and anyone who doesn't see things their way is also just another fascist Nazi. (Whatever happened to the end of the world because Trump had access to the nuclear codes his first term? Got that one wrong so time to pick a new scare tactic! He's Hitler!")
You want a secure border? You want the Russia/Ukraine conflict to end? You don't want our military to be the world's police? You despise Washington and want its bloated budget and bureaucracy reduced? You acknowledge the fact that most of this country is in terrible health and want to actually look at preventative approaches instead of endless treatments? Quite frankly then, you're just an uneducated racist homophobic bigot who's scared of a female president.
Quote from: WarDamJagFan on November 22, 2024, 02:01:35 PM
You want a secure border? Bipartisan, yes.
You want the Russia/Ukraine conflict to end? Bipartisan, yes.
You don't want our military to be the world's police? Bipartisan support to do so if it is in our national interest.
You despise Washington and want its bloated budget and bureaucracy reduced? Budget issues are caused by bipartisan support. Dems spend and GOPers both spend and reduce revenue with tax cuts. Using the tax code as a bureaucratic example, GOP and Dems both have plenty of plums in it for their wealthy supporters to pay less than you and me. Take them out and the IRS is much more efficient. Apply this approach to almost all government regulations thanks to the power of special interest money in elections. The conservative Supreme Court threw gasoline on the fire when it ruled corporations are "people" in Citizens United that can make unlimited campaign contributions aka legalized bribery.
You acknowledge the fact that most of this country is in terrible health and want to actually look at preventative approaches instead of endless treatments? Guess you are favoring national health insurance as this is the quickest, most efficient and productive way to improve the nation's total health score for less dollars. Aside, supporting science that includes the efficacy of vaccines, good affordable and accessible nutrition, proactive pregnancy care, value of sex education and birth control, allowing doctors to care for their patients without government interference, supporting drug dependency clinics, supporting negotiated drug pricing for Medicare and Medicaid, adequately funding preventative programs, funding school lunch programs, supporting and improving - not dismantling - FDA, NIH, HHS, USDA, etc. Not seeing today's GOPers on board with much of this
Quite frankly then, you're just an uneducated racist homophobic bigot who's scared of a female president. Plenty of homophobic and sexist implications by GOPers starting with Trump.
In the end, our differences are often imaginary, exaggerated or honest differences of opinion as to the best way to proceed. Others are due to a failure to communicate. The absence of civil conversations, the unwillingness to compromise and/or accommodate differing positions, the threat to overrun checks and balances or to take retribution against those who disagree, led by Trump's antics, is the danger to our nation that many are first and foremost concerned about.
And, when it is all said and done, as Jcjohnpait explained succinctly, Trump is truly a madman only interested in prioritizing himself, not you, me or anyone else who voted for him. Starting with he wants to now fire all DoJ staff attorneys who investigated him for Januaryy 6th or contested him in court over his false 2020 election claims (a great example of both his denial of reality and inability to let go of anything that impeded on his ego).
I didn't call anyone a Nazi. I base my opinions on the words from Trump's mouth. Sorry, he does talk a lot! I can draw my own opinions. I know how media can be corrupted by party umbrella and donors. Both sides. I appreciate Simms' logic and honesty. I just don't think Trump cares about anything, but himself. I don't think he cares about Nazis and racists. They are just tools to him. Yes, typically dictators are sociopaths and psychotics. The question I have is... will our political system accept it? I don't think so.
Does he have a genius none of understand? It does not matter.
I don't see why folks would be surprised at how other Americans voted, and deep down I don't think many really are. We are a very divided country right now and people are looking for and listening to different things. More often than not, what one person likes about a candidate (cutting taxes/investing in infrastructure!) is not what the next person hates about them (cutting Medicare/not fixing inflation!). There are some issues where the population really is deeply conflicted, like abortion and immigration, and the swings and peculiarities particular to the individual election, but for most things, it's a matter of picking what you like and what you can live with. In the end, a divided country led to a very tight election by the numbers, as all the polls and data suggested would happen.
Quote from: WarDamJagFan on November 22, 2024, 02:01:35 PM
Quote from: simms3 on November 21, 2024, 07:08:07 AM
It's hilarious how matter of fact the general board is regarding being on board with leftist politics and rabidly anti Trump.
There are those of us deplorables who for whatever reason still pay some attention to this board who love Trump. As someone who works in real estate, close to development, I welcome some deregulation that has been talked about by the incoming administration. It has become too hard to get anything approved let alone built. I think this administration will be great for so many things.
Love just about all of his cabinet and administration picks except for Marco Rubio, who's too much of a neocon.
I love the cognitive dissonance as well by all the people who were much better off during his last administration as compared to the recent and ongoing disaster, yet are worried that he will ruin all the "good" we are experiencing under this latest administration.
I for one have been genuinely suffering a little bit as of lately and I await the end of this current nightmare. Trump will be great, the majority of America wants him and I chuckle at all the Trump derangement that still exists and will always exist.
Joy Reid and Joy Behar are your people. You can have them, they are laughably insane and deranged.
No use dude. This is a liberal echo chamber when specific city matters are not the topics of conversation. They never read beyond the headlines which is why so many people here still think Trump is a Russian asset from 2016, that Trump called Nazis "very fine people", that if he didn't win the election "there will be a bloodbath" insinuating a civil war, etc, etc, etc.
No matter how many times they've been lied to about Trump, as long as the next headline is a negative one, it will instantly be believed and anyone who doesn't see things their way is also just another fascist Nazi. (Whatever happened to the end of the world because Trump had access to the nuclear codes his first term? Got that one wrong so time to pick a new scare tactic! He's Hitler!")
You want a secure border? You want the Russia/Ukraine conflict to end? You don't want our military to be the world's police? You despise Washington and want its bloated budget and bureaucracy reduced? You acknowledge the fact that most of this country is in terrible health and want to actually look at preventative approaches instead of endless treatments? Quite frankly then, you're just an uneducated racist homophobic bigot who's scared of a female president.
Speaking as someone who works in local politics, blasting politicians, parties, policies, the machine, etc. is one thing, but it never makes sense to disparage your fellow voters. It definitely doesn't make people who already disagree with you more likely to see things your way.
Quote from: jcjohnpaint on November 22, 2024, 08:07:25 PM
I didn't call anyone a Nazi. I base my opinions on the words from Trump's mouth. Sorry, he does talk a lot! I can draw my own opinions. I know how media can be corrupted by party umbrella and donors. Both sides. I appreciate Simms' logic and honesty. I just don't think Trump cares about anything, but himself. I don't think he cares about Nazis and racists. They are just tools to him. Yes, typically dictators are sociopaths and psychotics. The question I have is... will our political system accept it? I don't think so.
Does he have a genius none of understand? It does not matter.
One thing that's true of American politics these days is that the pendulum always swings back. A politician can survive it, they can use their time to shift the course to a great or lesser degree, but it always comes back.
I realize that this is antiquated thinking, but I believe that if you've been found liable for sexual abuse and that your lies incited a riot on the U.S. Capitol building, then you should be disqualified from leading the country.
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on November 22, 2024, 07:03:07 PM
Quote from: WarDamJagFan on November 22, 2024, 02:01:35 PM
You want a secure border? Bipartisan, yes.
You want the Russia/Ukraine conflict to end? Bipartisan, yes.
You don't want our military to be the world's police? Bipartisan support to do so if it is in our national interest.
You despise Washington and want its bloated budget and bureaucracy reduced? Budget issues are caused by bipartisan support. Dems spend and GOPers both spend and reduce revenue with tax cuts. Using the tax code as a bureaucratic example, GOP and Dems both have plenty of plums in it for their wealthy supporters to pay less than you and me. Take them out and the IRS is much more efficient. Apply this approach to almost all government regulations thanks to the power of special interest money in elections. The conservative Supreme Court threw gasoline on the fire when it ruled corporations are "people" in Citizens United that can make unlimited campaign contributions aka legalized bribery.
You acknowledge the fact that most of this country is in terrible health and want to actually look at preventative approaches instead of endless treatments? Guess you are favoring national health insurance as this is the quickest, most efficient and productive way to improve the nation's total health score for less dollars. Aside, supporting science that includes the efficacy of vaccines, good affordable and accessible nutrition, proactive pregnancy care, value of sex education and birth control, allowing doctors to care for their patients without government interference, supporting drug dependency clinics, supporting negotiated drug pricing for Medicare and Medicaid, adequately funding preventative programs, funding school lunch programs, supporting and improving - not dismantling - FDA, NIH, HHS, USDA, etc. Not seeing today's GOPers on board with much of this
Quite frankly then, you're just an uneducated racist homophobic bigot who's scared of a female president. Plenty of homophobic and sexist implications by GOPers starting with Trump.
In the end, our differences are often imaginary, exaggerated or honest differences of opinion as to the best way to proceed. Others are due to a failure to communicate. The absence of civil conversations, the unwillingness to compromise and/or accommodate differing positions, the threat to overrun checks and balances or to take retribution against those who disagree, led by Trump's antics, is the danger to our nation that many are first and foremost concerned about.
And, when it is all said and done, as Jcjohnpait explained succinctly, Trump is truly a madman only interested in prioritizing himself, not you, me or anyone else who voted for him. Starting with he wants to now fire all DoJ staff attorneys who investigated him for Januaryy 6th or contested him in court over his false 2020 election claims (a great example of both his denial of reality and inability to let go of anything that impeded on his ego).
The problem is these "antics" of Trump are always viewed through one lens which is usually through the lens of his political opponents. Trump was in the public spotlight for decades before he decided he was no longer a Democrat and ran for president as a Republican. I don't recall anyone accusing him of being a Hitler wannabe or E Jean Carroll accusing him of rape (until she had a book that needed to be sold). It became accusations galore. Almost all of which were some of the biggest lies we've ever seen in a presidential campaign/term. For almost 4 years, Trump had to watch half the country become convinced he colluded with Russia to defeat Hillary because that was the story on repeat every hour on MSM.
That story, like all lies, collapsed on itself worse than a beach front home on Vilano. So with that being considered, I'm all for Trump being a wrecking ball to fight back given the ugliness politics have shown us over the recent years.
The Russia Collusion Hoax should give any rational, objective person reason to pause the next time those same media members and Washington insiders cook up the next big 24/7 scandal involving Trump. But then again, the media told you all he called white supremacists ''very fine people''. Many of you believed it. Just another lie. In fact, when the only thing you know to do is lie, you'll literally make up a lie about anything just because you think you can. Take this trip down memory lane as an example.... Please also make sure to laugh at the headline "mistakenly" https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2019/10/15/abc-news-airs-knob-creek-kentucky-gun-range-video-as-syria-bombing/3976328002/ (https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2019/10/15/abc-news-airs-knob-creek-kentucky-gun-range-video-as-syria-bombing/3976328002/)
So, do we want a media that actually reports the news instead of play the propaganda arm for the state? Yes. Do we want rational and civil debate? Yes. Do I think Trump voters should distance themselves from family members who voted for someone else? No. Anyone who tries to cut off relationships due to political differences is a fragile minded child.
Do I have my own disagreements with Trump? Yes. When Trump admitted he allowed too much of the Republican party leadership to fill his cabinet his first term, do I believe that? Judging by how things are going so far in his cabinet this time, I'd say it seems entirely reasonable. Same goes for his unwillingess to veto a single spending bill his first term. So yes, I still lay blame of spending on all of Washington.
Lastly, am I the only person in Jacksonville for voted for Donna and Trump? Probably not - but doubt there are that many of us!
Quote from: simms3 on November 21, 2024, 07:08:07 AM
I for one have been genuinely suffering a little bit as of lately and I await the end of this current nightmare.
Please elaborate.
QuoteThe problem is these "antics" of Trump are always viewed through one lens which is usually through the lens of his political opponents. Trump was in the public spotlight for decades before he decided he was no longer a Democrat and ran for president as a Republican. I don't recall anyone accusing him of being a Hitler wannabe or E Jean Carroll accusing him of rape (until she had a book that needed to be sold). It became accusations galore. Almost all of which were some of the biggest lies we've ever seen in a presidential campaign/term.
Plenty of people are well aware of Trump issues long before he became a political figure. Multiple bankruptcies, multiple scandals and lawsuits, multiple investigations into shady business dealings. Flaunting infidelity... "grab em by the pussy". I remember republicans crucifying Clinton for infidelity... but apparently they give trump a pass. Long before he decided to "become a republican" he was a shady huckster selling a brand only concerned with his personal gain.
Regardless... he won the election. Democrats have only themselves to blame for their own hubris and incompetence and the country will pay.
QuoteTrump vows an additional 10% tariff on China, 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/26/trump-vows-an-additional-10percent-tariff-on-china-25percent-tariffs-on-canada-and-mexico.html
Here comes inflation big time! Aside from that, more jobs in the U.S. dependent on global trade, both exports and imports, will likely be lost than gained. It would take years or more to reproduce these products in the U.S., and then at likely much higher prices. There is a reason they are imported. And the tariffed countries will be sure to counter-tariff U.S. exports to their countries costing U.S. jobs.
I will add that the average American will be far more impacted by tariff generated price increases and impacts on the job market than Trump's billionaire administration members who are salivating over his tax cuts to come.
Now add this... One reason so many immigrants come from south of the border is looking for jobs. If you want more to come, just take their jobs away in their home countries.
So, increased inflation, lost U.S. jobs and increased immigration attempts. Someone please explain to me how Trump's plan is supposed to work for the good of the U.S. of A. Thanks.
Quote from: Tacachale on November 22, 2024, 11:38:48 PMSpeaking as someone who works in local politics, blasting politicians, parties, policies, the machine, etc. is one thing, but it never makes sense to disparage your fellow voters. It definitely doesn't make people who already disagree with you more likely to see things your way.
Not really sure if this was directed at me (since you quoted me) or in general. I would say that if it was directed at me, then it's hilarious because people on this very thread have no qualms about calling Trump voters racist, homophobic, misogynist, etc etc and that's ok, but me saying that people have Trump Derangement Syndrome is not ok and is disparaging fellow voters. It's always a one way street. The left can call people deplorables (we gladly take this title), Nazi sympathizers, and the list goes on. Never a problem with that. But the minute one of us says something about the other side, "Hey hey that's going too far..."
I remember when I was firmly on the left. I started on the right and went to the left. Never lost any friends over it. When I left the left to come back to the right, lost tons of "friends". It was a whole hullabaloo. It's always one sided.
This board is a near total liberal echo chamber. That's ok. I disagree with so many on here about so many things, but sticking it out. I suspect that if this were the same board but leaned as far right as it does left, none of the leftists would be left because they just can't handle it.
Quote from: Captain Zissou on November 25, 2024, 03:27:14 PM
Quote from: simms3 on November 21, 2024, 07:08:07 AM
I for one have been genuinely suffering a little bit as of lately and I await the end of this current nightmare.
Please elaborate.
Elaborate about my personal life on a public forum? Nah
I think it's safe to say, though, that many people are suffering financially right now.
^ Simms, looking forward to which SPECIFIC Trump policies will make your life better.
Including the following:
- Reduced labor force due to restricted immigration policies raising costs of labor in farming, construction, medical services, etc.?
- Increased tariffs raising inflation across the board including construction, food, clothing, autos, etc.?
- Increased deficits due to huge spending to "build the wall" while cutting taxes that will lead to increased interest rates for financing?
- Again, too, what regulations do you want to see cut that don't have other consequences that they were designed to initially address?
This isn't right vs. left, this is real world so share with us your take on how this will make our collective lives better over the next 4 years. All I see is hyper inflation and less employment.
Quote from: simms3 on November 26, 2024, 03:18:10 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on November 22, 2024, 11:38:48 PMSpeaking as someone who works in local politics, blasting politicians, parties, policies, the machine, etc. is one thing, but it never makes sense to disparage your fellow voters. It definitely doesn't make people who already disagree with you more likely to see things your way.
Not really sure if this was directed at me (since you quoted me) or in general. I would say that if it was directed at me, then it's hilarious because people on this very thread have no qualms about calling Trump voters racist, homophobic, misogynist, etc etc and that's ok, but me saying that people have Trump Derangement Syndrome is not ok and is disparaging fellow voters. It's always a one way street. The left can call people deplorables (we gladly take this title), Nazi sympathizers, and the list goes on. Never a problem with that. But the minute one of us says something about the other side, "Hey hey that's going too far..."
I remember when I was firmly on the left. I started on the right and went to the left. Never lost any friends over it. When I left the left to come back to the right, lost tons of "friends". It was a whole hullabaloo. It's always one sided.
This board is a near total liberal echo chamber. That's ok. I disagree with so many on here about so many things, but sticking it out. I suspect that if this were the same board but leaned as far right as it does left, none of the leftists would be left because they just can't handle it.
It was directed at War Damn Jags Fan who I quoted. No one here has called other posters names like you're saying. Which was the point; you're reacting to things no one here said. All that does is make them less likely to listen to you.
Nowhere did I find more ardent Trump supporters than in farm country around the U.S. Clearly, rural voters are a major portion of his most zealous base. But, I could never figure out how farmers could reconcile their interest with Trump's plan to expel illegal immigrants that worked the harvests.
Now, they come and say illegal immigrants on farms should be treated differently than those who perform similarly critical jobs that U.S. citizens are not interested in like much of construction, some medical services (e.g. many CNA positions), low level restaurant jobs, etc. Isn't this a bit hypocritical? One rule for Trump's base and another for everyone else?
Why are farmers surprised? As predicted, much of Trump's base has asked him for things they may come to regret.
QuoteUS farm groups want Trump to spare their workers from deportation
WASHINGTON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - U.S. farm industry groups want President-elect Donald Trump to spare their sector from his promise of mass deportations, which could upend a food supply chain heavily dependent on immigrants in the United States illegally.
So far Trump officials have not committed to any exemptions, according to interviews with farm and worker groups and Trump's incoming "border czar" Tom Homan.
Nearly half of the nation's approximately 2 million farm workers lack legal status, according to the departments of Labor and Agriculture, as well as many dairy and meatpacking workers....
....Mass removal of farm workers would shock the food supply chain and drive consumer grocery prices higher, said David Ortega, a professor of food economics and policy at Michigan State University.
"They're filling critical roles that many U.S.-born workers are either unable or unwilling to perform," Ortega said...
....U.S. Representative John Duarte, a Republican and fourth-generation farmer in California's Central Valley, said farms in the area depend on immigrants in the U.S. illegally and that small towns would collapse if those workers were deported...
...Farmers have a legal option for hiring labor with the H-2A visa program, which allows employers to bring in an unlimited number of seasonal workers if they can show there are not enough U.S. workers willing, qualified and available to do the job.
The program has grown over time, with 378,000 H-2A positions certified by the Labor Department in 2023, three times more than in 2014, according to agency data.
But that figure is only about 20% of the nation's farm workers, according to the USDA. Many farmers say they cannot afford the visa's wage and housing requirements. Others have year-round labor needs that rule out the seasonal visas....
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-farm-groups-want-trump-spare-their-workers-deportation-2024-11-25/
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on November 26, 2024, 07:23:03 PM
Nowhere did I find more ardent Trump supporters than in farm country around the U.S. Clearly, rural voters are a major portion of his most zealous base. But, I could never figure out how farmers could reconcile their interest with Trump's plan to expel illegal immigrants that worked the harvests.
Now, they come and say illegal immigrants on farms should be treated differently than those who perform similarly critical jobs that U.S. citizens are not interested in like much of construction, some medical services (e.g. many CNA positions), low level restaurant jobs, etc. Isn't this a bit hypocritical? One rule for Trump's base and another for everyone else?
Why are farmers surprised? As predicted, much of Trump's base has asked him for things they may come to regret.
QuoteUS farm groups want Trump to spare their workers from deportation
WASHINGTON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - U.S. farm industry groups want President-elect Donald Trump to spare their sector from his promise of mass deportations, which could upend a food supply chain heavily dependent on immigrants in the United States illegally.
So far Trump officials have not committed to any exemptions, according to interviews with farm and worker groups and Trump's incoming "border czar" Tom Homan.
Nearly half of the nation's approximately 2 million farm workers lack legal status, according to the departments of Labor and Agriculture, as well as many dairy and meatpacking workers....
....Mass removal of farm workers would shock the food supply chain and drive consumer grocery prices higher, said David Ortega, a professor of food economics and policy at Michigan State University.
"They're filling critical roles that many U.S.-born workers are either unable or unwilling to perform," Ortega said...
....U.S. Representative John Duarte, a Republican and fourth-generation farmer in California's Central Valley, said farms in the area depend on immigrants in the U.S. illegally and that small towns would collapse if those workers were deported...
...Farmers have a legal option for hiring labor with the H-2A visa program, which allows employers to bring in an unlimited number of seasonal workers if they can show there are not enough U.S. workers willing, qualified and available to do the job.
The program has grown over time, with 378,000 H-2A positions certified by the Labor Department in 2023, three times more than in 2014, according to agency data.
But that figure is only about 20% of the nation's farm workers, according to the USDA. Many farmers say they cannot afford the visa's wage and housing requirements. Others have year-round labor needs that rule out the seasonal visas....
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-farm-groups-want-trump-spare-their-workers-deportation-2024-11-25/
I now live in the mountains of north Georgia. My county went 92% Trump... I really cannot understand why either but on the rare occasion that I attempted to engage someone to at least understand I'm instantly met with naked hostility. I am instantly labeled a "lefty lib" who just doesn't get it. It's true... while not a lefty lib I certainly do not understand the cult of personality that is Trump. He has virtually nothing in common with these folks. I was even told that God had chosen many wicked people in the past to do his bidding. This is Baptist Bible country up here... Trump is most certainly not religious in the least... unless it's for a photo op.
The good news is that really do not talk politics with anyone at all anymore and that has been good for me... :) 8)
Quote from: simms3 on November 26, 2024, 03:22:09 PM
I think it's safe to say, though, that many people are suffering financially right now.
I hear you. Thankfully these upcoming tariffs will really help put cash back in people's wallets. Clearly the markets have hated Biden as well. The S&P is only up 27% this year.
Welcome aboard!
My (faint) hope is there are enough adults in Congress to stop his more wackadoodle nominations and plans.
Quote
btw I heard Trump was nominating Dr. Seuss for the Surgeon General position. ;D
No. No. No. Get your bizarro rumors straight - Surgeon General is Hanibal Lecter, Dr. Seuss is too woke for this Adminstration
Quote from: Charles Hunter on November 27, 2024, 01:35:55 PM
Welcome aboard!
My (faint) hope is there are enough adults in Congress to stop his more wackadoodle nominations and plans.
Quote
btw I heard Trump was nominating Dr. Seuss for the Surgeon General position. ;D
No. No. No. Get your bizarro rumors straight - Surgeon General is Hanibal Lecter, Dr. Seuss is too woke for this Adminstration
Thank you!:) :) :) I'm sure he'll do a much better job!...BTW it seems that my original post has disappeared.
Seeing as how my original post seems to have disappeared I'll reiterate my original sentiments. 1). America is equally racist and stupid. 2). We have'nt improved as much as we'd like to imagine in the nearly 250 years since the ink on The Declaration of Independence was dry. 3). A common criminal won the election at the expense of our common national interest and ignorance was mostly the cause. Good luck to you all.
Illegal immigration has been a hot topic and problem without a solution for a long time. Simply closing the border is unworkable and deporting millions of people is only a temporary solution. Ways back in 1943 the US tried a guest worker program to fill in for Americans who were serving in the war... it worked for awhile but it had some issues that no one was ready to tackle back then. I think a modernized version of this could work today...
Thoughts?
https://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,8733.0.html
http://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/more.php?id=1112_0_4_0
Quote from: sean_ATL on November 27, 2024, 04:02:46 PM
Seeing as how my original post seems to have disappeared I'll reiterate my original sentiments. 1). America is equally racist and stupid. 2). We have'nt improved as much as we'd like to imagine in the nearly 250 years since the ink on The Declaration of Independence was dry. 3). A common criminal won the election at the expense of our common national interest and ignorance was mostly the cause. Good luck to you all.
We had an issue with a spam bot and I think I inadvertently deleted your comment while dealing with that. My apologies, but I reiterate my stance above that it never makes sense to belittle your fellow voters.
Quote from: WarDamJagFan on November 25, 2024, 03:01:32 PM
Lastly, am I the only person in Jacksonville for voted for Donna and Trump? Probably not - but doubt there are that many of us!
You most certainly are not! Donna got significant Republican crossover votes as well as independents. This is why I say it doesn't make sense to belittle your fellow voters— especially on a local level. In a national election our fellow voters are all over the country, but in a local one, they're literally our own neighbors.
Quote from: Tacachale on November 29, 2024, 11:20:06 AM
Quote from: sean_ATL on November 27, 2024, 04:02:46 PM
Seeing as how my original post seems to have disappeared I'll reiterate my original sentiments. 1). America is equally racist and stupid. 2). We have'nt improved as much as we'd like to imagine in the nearly 250 years since the ink on The Declaration of Independence was dry. 3). A common criminal won the election at the expense of our common national interest and ignorance was mostly the cause. Good luck to you all.
We had an issue with a spam bot and I think I inadvertently deleted your comment while dealing with that. My apologies, but I reiterate my stance above that it never makes sense to belittle your fellow voters.
Well I don't think it makes sense to elect people who bankrupt casinos based on their economic policies but here we are.
If Pete Hegseth's nomination gets pulled, DeSatan may be the next in line. Wouldn't be hard to see Lara Trump getting the Senate nod to replace Rubio either.
Is there not some bad blood, really bad blood, between Trump's Chief of Staff and Desantis? Probably would not matter though as kumbaya is probably not a requirement and/or the belief that everyone will just fall in line.
Jump starting this thread again as it has finally arrived... Trump 2.0.
Immigration, ICE and military raids, tariffs, 1/6 pardons, taxes, conquering Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal, renaming the Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali, pursuing perceived enemies, chastising LGBTQ's, rolling back DEI, supporting carbon and undermining green energy and electric vehicles, ignoring climate change, dissing vaccines and science, pulling support from NATO, Taiwan, Ukraine and other allies, promoting himself and his businesses, attacking the media, paling around with fellow billionaires, rehashing 2020 election, unusual cabinet and admin picks, crypto worlds, etc.
Should give this thread a lot to discuss over the next 4 years starting now ;D.
Not a fan of the antics but I'm all for the Greenland play. That one actually seems feasible to a degree.
If we don't see $2 gas, $2 eggs, and our electric bills cut in half by the end of February, this administration will be an epic failure.
Once upon a time I was a E Musk fan... still a SpaceX cheerleader but his little Nazi salute today had me doing a "Wtf did I just see?" Gonna be a interesting 4 years...
I can't wait until January, 2029. The next 4 years is going to be embarassing.
Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 20, 2025, 01:39:03 PM
Not a fan of the antics but I'm all for the Greenland play. That one actually seems feasible to a degree.
Didn't we go to war with Iraq because they invaded Kuwait? Yeah we did.
Trump wants to exploit Greenland for his own personal gain. Greenland wants independence not a substitute for Denmark.
Quote from: vicupstate on January 21, 2025, 06:25:44 AM
Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 20, 2025, 01:39:03 PM
Not a fan of the antics but I'm all for the Greenland play. That one actually seems feasible to a degree.
Didn't we go to war with Iraq because they invaded Kuwait? Yeah we did.
Trump wants to exploit Greenland for his own personal gain. Greenland wants independence not a substitute for Denmark.
Lol, yeah lets equate Kuwait to Greenland... a country with more than 3M people & a legitimate economy vs. an island with 60k residents & the GDP of Alabama. The entire Greenland move is a long-term play... we get most of our rare earth minerals from the east. You know - the stuff that powers quite literally everything. Greenland happens to sit on massive deposits. Add to that oil/gas, EEZ, & shipping routes. Add on that zero ethnic or national claim to Greenland. Greenland was/is a colony.
Greenland would collapse without external support. Not even a debate.
Now, explain how a nearly 80 year old Trump benefits from this?
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-08-16/Graphics-Why-all-eyes-are-on-China-s-rare-earths-JcAndGM6Ri/index.html
https://www.economy.com/greenland/indicators#:~:text=Greenland's%20economy%20depends%20on%20exports,the%20economy%20to%20price%20fluctuations.
As someone who appreciates democracy, one of the scariest things I've ever seen in my life is Elon Musk (X), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Sundar Pichai (Google), and Tim Cook (Apple) all buddying up in a church with Trump for his inauguration. Without exaggeration, this might be the most powerful group of men ever assembled in American history. Collectively, they have obscene troves of data on nearly 100% of voting Americans, control what we see when we search the web, control the algorithms that deliver news to our feeds, control the way that we shop, control the security of our communications, and know who we're friends with and what circles we keep. And they're climbing over each other to curry his favor. The potential for abuse here is nearly unprecedented.
You don't want to overreact and say that the country is going to go all Handmaid's Tale, but you look at the protections that Trump is rolling back on day one, and you look at the pardons he's making, and look at some of the unhinged misogynistic shit that Zuckerberg is suddenly and openly saying about Facebook being ruined by feminine energy, and look at the type of behaviors your average vote was willing to overlook or openly endorse in the election - I don't know. Throw in the fact that less than 1% of the population is controlling 35% of the wealth in America, and the fact that the bottom 50% of Americans are fighting for a shocking 1.5% of the wealth - it's not painting a great picture of where we're headed.
The pendulum is swinging back. In 2020, the Democrats were outwardly supported by: the Obamas, the Pelosi Dynasty, Soros, Zuck (self-admitted), Twitter (FBI), Pichai & Tim Cook (essentially every form of media other than Fox).
I doubt Pichai & Cook are really on his team. Elon is the wild card for sure.
Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 21, 2025, 09:20:38 AM
I doubt Pichai & Cook are really on his team.
Totally agree that neither dude screams Team Trump, but also think that China provides a good example of what both companies are willing to acquiesce to in terms of censorship and control in the name of profit.
Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 21, 2025, 08:23:38 AM
Quote from: vicupstate on January 21, 2025, 06:25:44 AM
Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 20, 2025, 01:39:03 PM
Not a fan of the antics but I'm all for the Greenland play. That one actually seems feasible to a degree.
Didn't we go to war with Iraq because they invaded Kuwait? Yeah we did.
Trump wants to exploit Greenland for his own personal gain. Greenland wants independence not a substitute for Denmark.
Lol, yeah lets equate Kuwait to Greenland... a country with more than 3M people & a legitimate economy vs. an island with 60k residents & the GDP of Alabama. The entire Greenland move is a long-term play... we get most of our rare earth minerals from the east. You know - the stuff that powers quite literally everything. Greenland happens to sit on massive deposits. Add to that oil/gas, EEZ, & shipping routes. Add on that zero ethnic or national claim to Greenland. Greenland was/is a colony.
Now, explain how a nearly 80 year old Trump benefits from this?
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-08-16/Graphics-Why-all-eyes-are-on-China-s-rare-earths-JcAndGM6Ri/index.html
https://www.economy.com/greenland/indicators#:~:text=Greenland's%20economy%20depends%20on%20exports,the%20economy%20to%20price%20fluctuations.
There is ZERO difference MORALLY or POLITICALLY between Greenland and Kuwait. We have no more right to take control of it any more than Iraq had a right to Kuwait. We would lose our moral authority if we did. How could we point to Russia about Ukraine if we are doing the same thing with Greenland.
QuoteGreenland would collapse without external support. Not even a debate.
As part of Denmark, they have NATO protection. If they became independent they could join NATO also.
We can and maybe should augment of defense of Greenland and/or trade relations, but taking over from Denmark would be wrong on every level.
Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 21, 2025, 09:20:38 AM
The pendulum is swinging back. In 2020, the Democrats were outwardly supported by: the Obamas, the Pelosi Dynasty, Soros, Zuck (self-admitted), Twitter (FBI), Pichai & Tim Cook (essentially every form of media other than Fox).
I doubt Pichai & Cook are really on his team. Elon is the wild card for sure.
There is no comparison to 2020. Musk alone gave nearly $300 million to Trump's campaign. Soros is a bit player compared to that or what the Koch brothers or Adelson have given. Pelosi is a Speaker of the House, of course she donated to a D candidate. What few safeguards that use to be in place are gone now (Thanks, John Roberts!!). We basically have a pay to play government. Much of it hidden from the public too.
Government of billionaires, by billionaires and for billionaires shall not perish from the earth.
Quote from: Ken_FSU on January 21, 2025, 10:33:34 AM
Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 21, 2025, 09:20:38 AM
I doubt Pichai & Cook are really on his team.
Totally agree that neither dude screams Team Trump, but also think that China provides a good example of what both companies are willing to acquiesce to in terms of censorship and control in the name of profit.
China is easily the biggest "enemy" of these massive tech companies. China won't litigate patent law for example. It's a very purposeful strategy & I believe these corporate CEO's are acting in their best interests rather than supporting Trump but who knows what's really going on.
- Comparing Kuwait to a colony of 60k plp. At least come up with something actually comparable like the Falklands.. something other than the middle east with a littered past?
- I would love to see a country of 60k people with 0% arable land & intense seas, sustain an independent economy (never gonna happen)
Nobody rationale wants to invade Greenland... but Greenland is & has always been a colony without self-determination. The Danish government has a very sketchy past with Greenland that the media doesn't talk about.
It's a very interesting play for the next 100+ years. Not worth a war or souring relations. I have to imagine Trump knows that & is just talking. I don't like the fact he does 'that' either.
HAHAHAHAHA, defending Soros. I love it.
https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/117680/documents/HMKP-118-JU00-20240919-SD006.pdf
"Dear President Trump, listen very carefully. Greenland have been part of the Danish kingdom for 800 years. It's an integrated part of our country. It is not for sale. Let me put it in words you might understand. Mr. Trump, fuck off.
— Danish MP Anders Vistisen, addressing the European Parliament.
"
Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 21, 2025, 12:21:45 PM
- Comparing Kuwait to a colony of 60k plp. At least come up with something actually comparable like the Falklands.. something other than the middle east with a littered past?
- I would love to see a country of 60k people with 0% arable land & intense seas, sustain an independent economy (never gonna happen)
Nobody rationale wants to invade Greenland... but Greenland is & has always been a colony without self-determination. The Danish government has a very sketchy past with Greenland that the media doesn't talk about.
It's a very interesting play for the next 100+ years. Not worth a war or souring relations. I have to imagine Trump knows that & is just talking. I don't like the fact he does 'that' either.
HAHAHAHAHA, defending Soros. I love it.
https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/117680/documents/HMKP-118-JU00-20240919-SD006.pdf
Do we have the right to invade any country smaller than us? Does China? You know we are smaller than China, right? By an order of magnitude actually.
Greenland is doing just fine as it is and they can easily live independently as an economy. There are smaller countries doing just that. Do you think England sustains itself without trade?
Musk gave almost $300 million to ONE candidate in ONE election. Soros has given far less across MULTIPLE candidates in MULTIPLE races across MULTIPLE years. Not at all comparable. And don't get me started on the Koch brothers. What exactly is your beef with Soros. Why is MAGA obsessed with him and how do they not see their own hypocrisy?
Quote from: vicupstate on January 22, 2025, 05:10:53 AM
"Dear President Trump, listen very carefully. Greenland have been part of the Danish kingdom for 800 years. It's an integrated part of our country. It is not for sale. Let me put it in words you might understand. Mr. Trump, fuck off.
— Danish MP Anders Vistisen, addressing the European Parliament.
"Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 21, 2025, 12:21:45 PM
- Comparing Kuwait to a colony of 60k plp. At least come up with something actually comparable like the Falklands.. something other than the middle east with a littered past?
- I would love to see a country of 60k people with 0% arable land & intense seas, sustain an independent economy (never gonna happen)
Nobody rationale wants to invade Greenland... but Greenland is & has always been a colony without self-determination. The Danish government has a very sketchy past with Greenland that the media doesn't talk about.
It's a very interesting play for the next 100+ years. Not worth a war or souring relations. I have to imagine Trump knows that & is just talking. I don't like the fact he does 'that' either.
HAHAHAHAHA, defending Soros. I love it.
https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/117680/documents/HMKP-118-JU00-20240919-SD006.pdf
Do we have the right to invade any country smaller than us? Does China? You know we are smaller than China, right? By an order of magnitude actually.
Greenland is doing just fine as it is and they can easily live independently as an economy. There are smaller countries doing just that. Do you think England sustains itself without trade?
Musk gave almost $300 million to ONE candidate in ONE election. Soros has given far less across MULTIPLE candidates in MULTIPLE races across MULTIPLE years. Not at all comparable. And don't get me started on the Koch brothers. What exactly is your beef with Soros. Why is MAGA obsessed with him and how do they not see their own hypocrisy?
Pure comedy. Needed this lol.
Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 22, 2025, 09:58:49 AM
Quote from: vicupstate on January 22, 2025, 05:10:53 AM
"Dear President Trump, listen very carefully. Greenland have been part of the Danish kingdom for 800 years. It's an integrated part of our country. It is not for sale. Let me put it in words you might understand. Mr. Trump, fuck off.
— Danish MP Anders Vistisen, addressing the European Parliament.
"Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 21, 2025, 12:21:45 PM
- Comparing Kuwait to a colony of 60k plp. At least come up with something actually comparable like the Falklands.. something other than the middle east with a littered past?
- I would love to see a country of 60k people with 0% arable land & intense seas, sustain an independent economy (never gonna happen)
Nobody rationale wants to invade Greenland... but Greenland is & has always been a colony without self-determination. The Danish government has a very sketchy past with Greenland that the media doesn't talk about.
It's a very interesting play for the next 100+ years. Not worth a war or souring relations. I have to imagine Trump knows that & is just talking. I don't like the fact he does 'that' either.
HAHAHAHAHA, defending Soros. I love it.
https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/117680/documents/HMKP-118-JU00-20240919-SD006.pdf
Do we have the right to invade any country smaller than us? Does China? You know we are smaller than China, right? By an order of magnitude actually.
Greenland is doing just fine as it is and they can easily live independently as an economy. There are smaller countries doing just that. Do you think England sustains itself without trade?
Musk gave almost $300 million to ONE candidate in ONE election. Soros has given far less across MULTIPLE candidates in MULTIPLE races across MULTIPLE years. Not at all comparable. And don't get me started on the Koch brothers. What exactly is your beef with Soros. Why is MAGA obsessed with him and how do they not see their own hypocrisy?
Pure comedy. Needed this lol.
Typical MAGA response to being exposed to the facts.
Let's update....
Trump is dismantling, in 7 days, up to 200 years of precedents, the rule of law, government institutions, nonprofit and for-profit institutions, long held relationships with allies, checks and balances on his power and decision making, our justice system, medical research, social safety nets, educational infrastructure, military recruitment and retention, protections against discrimination, social and political norms, environmental protections, our immigrant labor force, a woman's right to choose, standards for competence and ethical behavior, etc.
He is delivering on the worst fears of much of this country and many of those who voted for him are sure to suffer as well under his presidency. At the rate he is going, I can't imagine there will be many left that will be happy with his administration and legacy. Hopefully, the midterms will reflect that and we at least get a Congress that will serve to exercise its rights to check his power, not the current one that lays down for all of his actions, regardless of how dangerous or out of bounds they may be.
Trump won with a 1.5% margin and less than 50% of the vote. Not a mandate. According to most pundits, he won based on fighting inflation, not because of the diehard MAGA agenda. Yet, he has done little to address inflation and a lot to implement the MAGA agenda including closely implementing the 2025 Plan that he claimed he had nothing to do with and did not endorse.
Trump lives within his own mind that only values loyalty to him and promotes his ego and quest for unquestioned power. Everything he does serves that purpose. How far will he be able to go with this?
Quote from: vicupstate on January 21, 2025, 06:25:44 AM
Quote from: Jax_Developer on January 20, 2025, 01:39:03 PM
Not a fan of the antics but I'm all for the Greenland play. That one actually seems feasible to a degree.
Trump wants to exploit Greenland for his own personal gain. Greenland wants independence not a substitute for Denmark.
Actually...Greenland is in a very important strategic position for national security and future trade. They had a great article about this in National Geographic a couple years ago. Basically, the sea ice in the arctic prevents it from being a useful waterway for most of the year, but if ice keeps melting then it could become an important navigation route.
This makes Russia's vast arctic coastline a much better launching point for potential attacks than it currently is. It also becomes an important trade route for moving oil from Alaska, Canada, etc. so it's an important supply line in the case of potential conflicts.
The Panama Canal is in a similarly important position, and if Panama were to ally with China it gives them a ton of leverage they could use against us in the case of a conflict or trade war. So these are not pointless power grabs for personal gain.
Trump (who I did not vote for btw) has a tendency to go into negotiations with some outlandish ask to anchor the conversation in his favor. It's just like haggling for a used car. You may come in with a lowball offer knowing that they will refuse, but in the process you give the other party a chance to save face because in the end they can say, "At least I talked him up from the original offer."
Who knows? Trump's end game may be just long-term leases for naval stations in Greenland and Canada. I can't say for sure. The unpredictability gives him an edge in dealing with other nations, but it can also backfire by hurting relationships with our allies. We shall see.
The Panama Canal is of vital strategic importance. Until the shooting starts. It would take only a few cruise missiles to destroy the locks.
Little known fact... the Panama Canal was originally destined to be built in Nicaragua. Why wasn't it? See the amazing story below.
Today, that option could be revisited and we would then have competing canals and a back up.
QuoteA Stamp that Changed History: How the Panama Canal was Almost the Nicaragua Canal
....In the early 1900s, American politicians wanted to build a canal to bridge the distance between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but they were divided on where to build it – in Panama, or in Nicaragua. Many members of Congress originally viewed Nicaragua as a safer choice when planning where to construct a canal. One reason for this was because the French had been working on just such a canal in Panama for the previous twenty years, to little success. The problems the French had run up against included a regular summer rainy season and deadly diseases such as yellow fever and malaria.[2]
There was also the question of foreign diplomacy; Panama had recently split from Colombia and, at the end of 1903, declared itself an independent nation. If America decided to pursue a project in Panama, it could jeopardize the U.S.'s diplomatic relationship with Colombia, which would not be pleased with an American business deal in a recently lost territory.[3] In contrast, Nicaragua was politically stable and construction on the canal would have been easier, due to a lake in the middle of the proposed canal zone.
The debate of where to build this canal tied Congress up for years. In 1902, a French engineer by the name of Philippe Buanu-Varilla decided to lobby Congress to continue their construction of the Panama Canal, instead of starting a new one in Nicaragua. Buanu-Varilla had, in fact, not only been an engineer on the French Panama Canal project for the past twenty years, but had also been an investor in the original project. Interested in preserving his work and stake in the project, he worked with an American named William Nelson Cromwell to lobby Congress to carry on with the Panama Canal.[4]
One of the ways Cromwell and Buanu-Varilla planned to convince Congress to move forward with a canal in Panama instead of Nicaragua was by mailing each member of the Senate a Nicaraguan stamp.[5] This stamp, one of a series, was released in 1900[6] and depicted the building of the railroad industry in Nicaragua, all in the foreground of a beloved national symbol: the local volcano Mt. Momotombo. The problem with the stamp, however, was with how Mt. Momotombo was drawn. With smoke spewing out the top, the volcano appeared active thereby giving the viewer the idea that it could possibly erupt!
The implication of Buanu-Varilla sending these stamps was clear: did Congress want to build a canal in a place where it could be destroyed by an active volcano? This concern was compounded by a recent volcano explosion on the Caribbean island of Martinique in 1902 that killed 30,000 people, making people wary of the uncertainty and danger around volcanic areas.[7] In the end, Congress voted to continue work on the Panama Canal for numerous reasons – including duration of time crossing the canal, the amount of land needed, and yes, even volcanic activity[8] – and thus, in 1904[9], history was made in part due to this stamp!...
(https://postalmuseum.si.edu/sites/default/files/blog/nicaragua-10c-stamp1.jpg)
https://postalmuseum.si.edu/a-stamp-that-changed-history-how-the-panama-canal-was-almost-the-nicaragua-canal
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on January 28, 2025, 04:52:08 PM
Little known fact... the Panama Canal was originally destined to be built in Nicaragua. Why wasn't it? See the amazing story below.
Today, that option could be revisited and we would then have competing canals and a back up.
That's actually been seriously discussed. Nicaragua just cancelled a deal China to do just that last year. The farmers and others protested because of the they didn't want to give up their property and because of the environmental impact.
https://apnews.com/article/nicaragua-chinese-canal-concession-cancelled-a6a0d262889ade3549246a987180c519
Quote from: Charles Hunter on January 28, 2025, 02:16:20 PM
The Panama Canal is of vital strategic importance. Until the shooting starts. It would take only a few cruise missiles to destroy the locks.
That's true, but destroying the canal would be a serious blow to the Chinese economy, too. I don't think either the US or China would want that even if there were a conflict. As far as other countries, I don't get the feeling they'd want to challenge the big boys, but I'm just some guy on the internet. Who knows?
Lost in the shock and awe of Trump II ... Senator Menendez (D) sentenced to 11 years... couldn't happen to a bigger asshole except possibly Trump himself...
https://abcnews.go.com/US/bob-menendez-sentencing-corruption-case/story?id=118186976
Quote from: BridgeTroll on January 29, 2025, 05:40:24 PM
Lost in the shock and awe of Trump II ... Senator Menendez (D) sentenced to 11 years... couldn't happen to a bigger asshole except possibly Trump himself...
https://abcnews.go.com/US/bob-menendez-sentencing-corruption-case/story?id=118186976
At least with this the whole Democratic Party isn't rushing to his defense and accusing the judge, prosecutor, and anyone else involved of being evil and on a witch hunt.
(https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/hlV6Ey_BtOPpHLOGjBMR5w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/thedailybeast.com/002eb31db4943c84942ac7a4d3024151)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/susie-wiles-shoots-daggers-at-trump-during-unhinged-gaza-press-conference/
Some actual factual polling data of the Palestinians themselves... we seldom hear what the common folks think. Here it is...
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/what-gazans-want#
QuoteIn the weeks since Israel's fragile January 19 cease-fire and hostages-for-prisoners deal with Hamas, the issue of what should happen to Gaza and its 2.1 million inhabitants has come starkly into view. The war has reduced much of Gaza to ruins, with its schools, hospitals, civilian infrastructure and ecology now largely destroyed and a huge portion of its population lacking adequate shelter. The constant threat of the cease-fire's breakdown has fueled its own daily dread of further devastation. Even as U.S. President Donald Trump has floated chimerical ideas about an eventual U.S. "takeover" of Gaza and the permanent relocation of its population, external powers have made little progress on formulating a strategy for governance and security in the territory now.
Strangely absent from this debate are Gazans themselves. It is reasonable to assume that more than 15 months of pulverizing conflict have changed the perceptions of ordinary civilians in the territory about what they want for their future, how they see their land, who they think should be their rulers, and what they consider to be the most plausible pathways to peace. Given the extraordinary price they have paid for Hamas's actions on October 7, 2023, Gazans might be expected to reject the group and favor a different leadership. Similarly, outside observers might anticipate that after so much hardship, Gazans would be more prepared to compromise on larger political aspirations in favor of more urgent human needs.
In fact, a survey we conducted in Gaza in early January, shortly before the cease-fire came into effect, tells a more complicated story. The representative survey was formulated by the research group Artis International and Oxford University's Changing Character of War Centre and carried out by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR). Using census data and sampling people in shelters based on the locations of their original homes to ensure geographic diversity, the survey comprised 500 face-to-face interviews with Gazans—248 women and 252 men—ranging in age from 18 to 83. The margin of error was plus or minus four percentage points...
A little bit of history...
https://jeffjacoby.com/28384/franklin-pierce-lusted-for-foreign-territory
Quote'I NEVER imagined," former NATO secretary general Anders Rasmussen wrote in a Wall Street Journal column last week, that "I would hear a US president declare his intentions to 'expand our territory,' as Donald Trump did in his inaugural address."
I never imagined we would have a president that would think he is above the law... wanting to impeach judges who rule against him, removing prosecutors and investigators who take on him or his ilk, pardoning violent criminals that attacked our capitol and tried to block the peaceful transfer of power, directing the dropping of charges against those who have massive evidence demonstrating their crimes..
I never imagined we would have a president that would turn over the reigns of government to an unelected immigrant that bought his influence for over $250 million and has conflicts of interests at every turn unchecked by anyone.
I never imagined we would have any party in Congress sit on their hands while a president runs roughshod over decades and centuries of longstanding precedents, institutions, relationships, partnerships, policies, procedures, etc. and doesn't make any effort to exercise their constitutional obligation to provide independent oversight and checks and balances on the Executive Branch.
I never imagined filling our Cabinet and other appointed positions with so many unqualified and dangerous individuals.
I never imagined wholesale elimination, with no due diligence or rational process, of valuable and life saving positions throughout our government.
I never imagined the callous and mean-spited firing of thousands of career employees with little or no notice and for no stated reasons, often with a terse email at any time.
I never imagined the heartless freezing of government funding, with no advance notice, in the middle of contractual obligations and moral promises with no compunction or guilt for so doing or care for the consequences to innocents therefrom.
I never imagined the the demonization of so many elements of our population by a president and his henchmen, ranging from minorities to disabled people to public service employees to legitimate immigrants to so many others.
I never imagined a president betraying our global partners and closest allies with broken obligations, dismantled partnerships and withdrawn long standing support, opening the door for our adversaries to move in to take our place.
I never imagined a president not standing up to the likes of Putin who invaded another country for no reason other than for his personal ego or, worse, and, instead, endorsing such a dictator as someone to be admired.
I never imagined a president damaging our economy with unfettered tarriffs and creating world-wide trade wars that will also fan inflation.
I never imagined a president that would unabashedly work to personally enrich himself while in office with crypto memes and countless other plays on himself.
I never imagined a president that would demand nothing more than undying loyalty to him as the only qualification to work in government and would instantly remove anyone who would think otherwise regardless of value, stature, or necessity.
I never imagined a president that would dismantle checks and balances on his administration including, aside from prosecutors and investigators in the DOJ and FBI, inspector generals across the board and the ethics commission, the latter only confirming there are no ethics in this administration.
I never imagined a president that would permit an unauthorized individual to penetrate every corner of government, and without security clearances or other legally required protocols, to access top secret, private, confidential, secure or otherwise restricted information relating to the safety and security of our national interests and/or privacy of its everyday citizens.
I never imagined a president who thought he was God over every aspect of our lives, even lowering himself to appoint himself chair of the Kennedy Center so he can control artistic expression.
I never imagined a president would take control of the National Archives so he can determine what records are saved documenting the incompetencies, damage and dangers of his legacy.
I never imagined a president that puts his ego and self-interests first, and everything else way behind.
I never imagined this country could elect such a president, a convicted felon, no less, that is all this and worse and, thus, fear for this country's future.
I never imagined that, as a result, I would meet so many life long Americans seriously looking at moving from this country.
I never imagined all this could happen in only 60 days and wonder... what next?
Beautifully said, jaxlongtimer. Thank you.
I subscribe to the Meidas substack. This is from an email to subscribers this morning:
Quote
I'll keep this short. We recently received more death threats and cyberattacks from Trump supporters. They appear designed to intimidate us as we passed 4 million subscribers on YouTube.
We've reported before on other death threats, bot attacks, cyberattacks, and harassment. The volume of this behavior usually picks up when we pass certain milestones, as we just did. In the past, we've even had MAGAs show up at the homes of staff members to try to instigate altercations.
We previously had to alert local police of potential swatting attempts to prevent dangerous situations at our homes. We've had to warn food delivery services about fake orders sent to our homes. We've had MAGA supporters impersonate us when calling the police, falsely claiming we committed crimes against family members in an effort to provoke altercations.
Recently, MAGAs have continued to threaten our safety and our lives, and we just avoided another hacking attempt targeting a new hire at the network.
As I write this, it's odd to reflect on how this has become a normal part of my and my brothers' lives. Sometimes we receive so many threats that I almost feel numb to them. It's just part of the day.
When you have a criminal as the president, it enables other criminals to act like criminals. You could call it trickle-down criminality.
I understand that the MeidasTouch Network is despised by the Trump regime, and that makes us a target. There is no independent media network with our reach, size, and influence at this point.
It's not surprising—Trump has attacked our hosts before with hundred-million-dollar lawsuits.
Trump even attacked us in his criminal filings and blamed us for his criminal conviction.
Cmon JLT really??? This is EVERYTHING THAT HE AND MAGA have been saying for years... His behavior has been on display for all to see for a couple decades... I don't understand how you "can't imagine " what has been demonstrated, said, stated, shown, quoted, and even very clearly voted for.
Here is what I cannot imagine... the complete capitulation, impotence, disarray, confusion, dismay, ....impotence... oh I said that already of the democrats...pathetic is an apt description of their current state... :o ???
Since I agreed with JLT, I speak for myself and will let JLT do likewise. For me, the "can't imagine" is that a US President would do these and say these things. With JLT's third-from-the-bottom point - that the US would elect such a troll. Yeah, I can believe that the Orange Ogre had done and said these things, and will still say end do even more outrageous things - both in the sense of quantity and absurdity.
And, as a lifelong Democrat, I, too am appalled at the slow and weak reaction to this usurpation of power.
I agree with all the above posts. Elon Musk to have access to IRS files, but Trump won't disclose his is par for the MAGA regime.
Something is afoot, responding to FB recommendations to print my Social Security account information, I have been unable to sign into my SS Account all day. I get this "We cannot process your request at this time. Please try again later."
Quote from: BridgeTroll on February 18, 2025, 04:57:33 PM
Cmon JLT really??? This is EVERYTHING THAT HE AND MAGA have been saying for years... His behavior has been on display for all to see for a couple decades... I don't understand how you "can't imagine " what has been demonstrated, said, stated, shown, quoted, and even very clearly voted for.
Here is what I cannot imagine... the complete capitulation, impotence, disarray, confusion, dismay, ....impotence... oh I said that already of the democrats...pathetic is an apt description of their current state... :o ???
Trump is following the 2025 Plan that he denied having any knowledge of and that he stated he would not be adhering to. Much of his voting block was voting on the economy, not the "MAGA" agenda, certainly not to the degree he is executing now. And I don't know anyone who voted for Elon Musk to run the country. One Democratic senator, today, said Trump was executing the "great betrayal" to his own supporters. If correct, then Trump is "surprising" those who voted for him.
Not going to say the Democrats are saints but they don't have majorities in either house of Congress so they are limited in what they can do other than to speak out. Could they be speaking louder, perhaps. One partisan said today that Democrats need to respond within 24 hours to events and do so more forcefully on social media... basically following the Trump playbook sans the lies and fabrications. Court cases are the other avenue but many judges are MAGA loyalists. Others are still hearing precedent setting cases and sometimes not finding against Trump, at least on an emergency basis as happened today.
The ultimate check on Trump is voters speaking up and indicating their distaste for Trump and Republicans rubber stamping his agenda. What is truly disgusting is Republicans intimidated by being "primaried" vs. looking out for the best interests of the Country and their constituents. Their lack of pushback and silence in the face of Trump and Musk is reminiscent of the rise of how other dictators in history cemented their powers.
Still surprised that you are shocked by the above... it was all very predictable. You seem to be letting democrats off the hook... from Bidens terrible immigration policies, democrats social engineering policies, abandonment of the middle class, deficit spending and manyothers... all of these issues created Trump and MAGA. The misread of the American public anger and the MAGA response was epic...
Wow... quite the unseemly spectacle yesterday... I remember when we used to be the good guys. Clearly we are rushing in to claim bully status along with Russia and China...
Truly awful day for democracy and diplomacy.
Have never seen anything like this in my life.
The speed at which we are alienating the world and trashing our global reputation is truly staggering.
And now it has 'paused' military aid to Ukraine.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/analysis-us-military-aid-pause-is-a-blow-to-ukraine-but-not-fatal-for-now/ar-AA1AdK5u
1. Pretend Zelensky is an evil dictator who invaded himself
2. Propose a toothless solution for peace where we get the Ukraine's natural resources, Russia gets to keep stolen territory, and Ukraine gets no guarantee of security
3. Make a show of emasculating Zelensky at the White House as Russian state media looks on smiling
4. Pause aid to Ukraine
5. Enact tariffs on Canada and Mexico
6. Ease trade restrictions with Russia
(https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/01/14/this-is-fine_custom-b7c50c845a78f5d7716475a92016d52655ba3115.jpg?s=1100&c=50&f=jpeg)
6. Stop cyber defense against Russia
The speech tonight should be absolutely spellbinding... lies, absurd exaggeration, self congratulations... I normally don't bother to watch these things but this will be like watching a train wreck... meanwhile the stock market plummets, prices skyrocket, and most of our friends and allies are disgusted and dismayed. The free world quakes while totalitarian governments cheer.... truly a bizarro world...
Quote from: BridgeTroll on February 19, 2025, 06:54:55 AM
Still surprised that you are shocked by the above... it was all very predictable. You seem to be letting democrats off the hook... from Bidens terrible immigration policies, democrats social engineering policies, abandonment of the middle class, deficit spending and manyothers... all of these issues created Trump and MAGA. The misread of the American public anger and the MAGA response was epic...
As I said before, Dems are not saints. No one is in today's world.
That said, many of the issues you highlight have been greatly exaggerated by Trump & Co. Not saying there aren't underlying issues but not necessarily anywhere to the hyperbolic degree Trump would have people believe.
To add, at this point, Trump is far more guilty at social engineering, abandonment of the middle class, deficit spending, inflation, wrecking the economy and America's standing in the world and "many others" compared to anything Biden or any other Democratic president could ever be accused of.
The destruction of USAID will also, in the long term, drive many more people to try and immigrate to the U.S. as their native societies regress. USAID, by creating incentives for people to live in their native countries, should have been Trump's #1 way to stem illegal immigration. Now, it will be the opposite.
Russia and China have to be licking their chops at Trump's dismantling of American "greatness" - just the opposite of MAGA.
Trump continues to escalate his danger to democracy by demonizing and threatening his opponents, judges, lawyers, critics, the media, etc. His speech today at the Dept. of Justice demonstrates just how dangerous he is. How anyone can defend Trump and not see parallels to the path Hitler took toward dictatorship is becoming hard to understand.
QuoteTrump calls his opponents 'scum' and lawbreakers in bellicose speech at Justice Department
President Donald Trump on Friday walked into the Department of Justice and labeled his courtroom opponents "scum," judges "corrupt" and the prosecutors who investigated him "deranged."
With the DOJ logo directly behind him, Trump called his political opponents lawbreakers and said others should be sent to prison.
....In remarks that were by turns dark, exultant and pugnacious, Trump vowed to remake the Justice Department and retaliate against his enemies, some of whom he called "thugs."
It was, even by Trump's standards, a stunning show of disregard for decades of tradition observed by his predecessors, who worried about politicizing or appearing to exert too much control over the nation's most powerful law enforcement agency. Trump, instead, called himself the "chief law enforcement officer in our country" and accused the DOJ's prior leadership of doing "everything within their power to prevent" him from becoming the president....
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/14/trump-doj-speech-prison-opponents-00231438
Lol... a completely predictable clown show. As a former professional military man... I am embarrassed for these morons...
Here's the Atlantic article...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/ar-AA1ByMHr
Wow!!!! Pretty crazy story. I'm not a political guy but this seems a lot worse than the Hillary Clinton email thing years ago. That was all over the news then.
Quote from: thelakelander on March 25, 2025, 09:56:32 AM
Wow!!!! Pretty crazy story. I'm not a political guy but this seems a lot worse than the Hillary Clinton email thing years ago. That was all over the news then.
It may or may not be but... these are the very clowns who were vociferously calling for Clinton to be prosecuted for using her personal home email server for classified communications. (BTW... I happen to agree) What it shows over the past years is the lackadaisical attitude towards classified information amongst the very people who have access to the most sensitive stuff in the world. If rank and file military folks were that careless they would be in the brig...
It was completely unacceptable for Clinton, Biden, Trump, and this gaggle of bozos to treat this stuff as they obviously do...
With no apologies to Trump apologists...
Trump's seeking unfathomable vengeance against every person, institution, organization, government entity, judge, lawyer/law firm, media outlet, company, nonprofit, university, immigrant, foreign government officials, etc. that disagreed with him or failed to provide unfettered loyalty to him is a clear threat to our constitutional right to free speech and to speak in opposition without penalty.
His thumbing at judges orders, the rule of law and due process is further evidence of movement toward dictatorial power. That the GOP and select judges are not standing in his way is undermining the checks and balances our founding fathers counted on to sustain our democracy and all such persons should be shamed and more for enabling him.
Living in fear of our country's future is now legitimatized. The irreparable damage to our country's democracy, credibility, reputation and standing in the world will take our lifetimes and much more to restore, if ever again. How anyone could support him and his administration at this point is a true wonderment. No one is immune from the danger he brings to all of us.
Just another dangerous log on the fire:
Quote'Homegrowns are next': Trump hopes to deport and jail U.S. citizens abroad
President Trump says his administration is actively exploring a proposal to detain U.S. citizens and send them to prisons in El Salvador....
....El Salvador is already holding hundreds of people in a maximum-security prison. They were flown from the U.S. in recent weeks after being detained for allegedly lacking legal status or having gang affiliations.
Critics say many of those individuals were deported with limited or no due process, some in defiance of court orders by U.S. judges....
...The proposal has drawn condemnation from some legal scholars, who said it would represent an unprecedented encroachment on the civil liberties of U.S. citizens.
"It's obviously unconstitutional, obviously illegal. There's no authority in any U.S. law to deport U.S. citizens and certainly not to imprison them in a foreign country," said David Bier of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Washington, D.C.
"The problem of course is [Trump] already has illegally deported hundreds of people by just not giving the courts an opportunity to stop him," Bier added. "I think that's the real fear, now that he is going to try to evade judicial review of deportations of U.S. citizens."...
...But numerous legal scholars contacted by NPR described the policy idea as crossing a bright line in the U.S. government's treatment of American citizens....
...Some judges and legal scholars are clearly concerned that the Trump administration could move forward with the proposal despite legal and constitutional barriers.
In a statement released last week, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the Trump administration's legal arguments around deportation cases suggest the U.S. government already believes it "could deport and incarcerate any person, including U.S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene."
Speaking last week with NPR, Laurence Tribe, a Harvard University professor emeritus of constitutional law, offered a similar warning:
"What that means is that literally any of us, whether we are from Venezuela or were born in the United States, whether we are immigrants or not, whether we are citizens or not, any of us is vulnerable to basically being kidnapped by masked agents of the United States government who don't tell us why they're picking us up, perhaps never to be seen again because we're located somewhere in a dungeon, a prison cell, rotting away, whether it's in El Salvador or anywhere else in the world," Tribe said...
...But some legal experts interviewed for this story said deporting Americans to serve prison time in foreign countries would cross an alarming new line, effectively stripping U.S. citizens of constitutional and legal protections...
...Bier, of the Cato Institute, said he has been "shocked" by the lack of pushback against Trump's proposal from Republican leaders and members of the conservative legal movement.
"It's unthinkable. It's absolutely a reflection of where Donald Trump has taken the Republican Party and the conservative movement," he said.
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/16/nx-s1-5366178/trump-deport-jail-u-s-citizens-homegrowns-el-salvador
And another...
QuoteFormer cybersecurity agency chief Chris Krebs leaves SentinelOne after Trump targets him in executive order
A week ago, President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Chief Chris Krebs, and calling on the government to suspend the security clearances of any entities with whom he's associated. The order specifically named SentinelOne
, Krebs' employer.
On Wednesday, Krebs announced his resignation from SentinelOne, a cybersecurity company with a $5.6 billion market cap. While Krebs said the choice was his alone, his swift departure is the latest example of the effect Trump is having on the private sector when it comes to pressuring people and institutions that he personally dislikes...
....Krebs served as the first CISA director from 2018 until he was fired in November 2020 after declaring that the presidential election, which Democrat Joe Biden won, was "the most secure in American history." CISA is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
In his executive order on April 9, which took the extraordinary approach of going after a specific individual, Trump called Krebs a "bad-faith actor who weaponized and abused his Government authority."
"Krebs' misconduct involved the censorship of disfavored speech implicating the 2020 election and COVID-19 pandemic," the order said. "Krebs, through CISA, falsely and baselessly denied that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen, including by inappropriately and categorically dismissing widespread election malfeasance and serious vulnerabilities with voting machines."
Trump directed the attorney general, director of national intelligence and "all other relevant agencies" to suspend "any active security clearances held by individuals at entities associated with Krebs, including SentinelOne, pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest."...
...The demands on SentinelOne resemble campaigns that President Trump has waged against law firms and universities that he's tried to strongarm into making significant changes in how they operate or else lose government contracts or funding....
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/16/former-cisa-chief-krebs-leaves-sentinelone-after-trump-exec-order.html
Echoes of Nazi Germany:QuoteFirst they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
—Martin Niemöller
This quote is attributed to the prominent German pastor Martin Niemöller. It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a poem.
After World War II, Niemöller openly spoke about his own early complicity in Nazism and his eventual change of heart. His powerful words about guilt and responsibility still resonate today.
^This man gets it.
Openly defying judges, defunding dissenting universities, cutting the United States off from its allies and neighbors, openly discriminating against racial and sexual minorities, attempting to erase our civil rights history, nabbing students with dissenting political views off the streets, intentionally destabilizing the economy, planning a third term, and extrajudicially erasing people forever to third-world gulags.
We are on a very, very dark path now.
It's a very cliche statement that's been around forever, because it's true: Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
The judges and Congress members who are too meek to stand up to what's going on today will eventually find themselves at CECOT at this rate.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on March 25, 2025, 11:00:08 AM
Quote from: thelakelander on March 25, 2025, 09:56:32 AM
Wow!!!! Pretty crazy story. I'm not a political guy but this seems a lot worse than the Hillary Clinton email thing years ago. That was all over the news then.
It may or may not be but... these are the very clowns who were vociferously calling for Clinton to be prosecuted for using her personal home email server for classified communications. (BTW... I happen to agree) What it shows over the past years is the lackadaisical attitude towards classified information amongst the very people who have access to the most sensitive stuff in the world. If rank and file military folks were that careless they would be in the brig...
It was completely unacceptable for Clinton, Biden, Trump, and this gaggle of bozos to treat this stuff as they obviously do...
The mental acrobatics Trumptards perform in order to implicate Clinton and Biden in the Never-ending sh!tshow that is the current Administration while absolving Trump never ceases to amaze me. Obviously critical thinking skills are non-existent among them but some are giving North Korean illiterate peseant vibes. As a Navy Vet I've never been sooo ashamed of my country and we're in serious trouble! I'm sure spies from all over the world have descended on the capital to feast on the abundance.
Quote from: sean_ATL on April 22, 2025, 01:30:34 AM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on March 25, 2025, 11:00:08 AM
Quote from: thelakelander on March 25, 2025, 09:56:32 AM
Wow!!!! Pretty crazy story. I'm not a political guy but this seems a lot worse than the Hillary Clinton email thing years ago. That was all over the news then.
It may or may not be but... these are the very clowns who were vociferously calling for Clinton to be prosecuted for using her personal home email server for classified communications. (BTW... I happen to agree) What it shows over the past years is the lackadaisical attitude towards classified information amongst the very people who have access to the most sensitive stuff in the world. If rank and file military folks were that careless they would be in the brig...
It was completely unacceptable for Clinton, Biden, Trump, and this gaggle of bozos to treat this stuff as they obviously do...
The mental acrobatics Trumptards perform in order to implicate Clinton and Biden in the Never-ending sh!tshow that is the current Administration while absolving Trump never ceases to amaze me. Obviously critical thinking skills are non-existent among them but some are giving North Korean illiterate peseant vibes. As a Navy Vet I've never been sooo ashamed of my country and we're in serious trouble! I'm sure spies from all over the world have descended on the capital to feast on the abundance.
"Mental acrobatics " implies some level of mental prowess... it looks to me like Mental delusion. The President's cabinet is a junk drawer of mental midgets and incompetence... God help us...
LOL that's the part I don't understand...there is more effort being put into defending Trump's foolishnes than actually running the most powerful country on earth.
The concerned chorus grows daily...
QuoteHundreds of scholars say U.S. is swiftly heading toward authoritarianism
WASHINGTON — A survey of more than 500 political scientists finds that the vast majority think the United States is moving swiftly from liberal democracy toward some form of authoritarianism.
In the benchmark survey, known as Bright Line Watch, U.S.-based professors rate the performance of American democracy on a scale from zero (complete dictatorship) to 100 (perfect democracy). After President Trump's election in November, scholars gave American democracy a rating of 67. Several weeks into Trump's second term, that figure plummeted to 55.
"That's a precipitous drop," says John Carey, a professor of government at Dartmouth and co-director of Bright Line Watch. "There's certainly consensus: We're moving in the wrong direction."
...In a competitive authoritarian system, a leader comes to power democratically and then erodes the system of checks and balances. Typically, the executive fills the civil service and key appointments — including the prosecutor's office and judiciary — with loyalists. He or she then attacks the media, universities and nongovernmental organizations to blunt public criticism and tilt the electoral playing field in the ruling party's favor....
....Another way to measure authoritarianism, according to Levitsky, is whether publicly opposing the government comes with a cost. He says — under Trump — it does. For instance, Trump has issued executive orders barring lawyers with firms he doesn't like from entering government buildings and representing government contractors.
Fear of government retribution is now spreading through society. A scholar who spoke to NPR for this story later asked not to be quoted, saying he feared the Trump administration might try to punish him by slashing research grants he's working on. In a recent NPR series on free speech, many people did not want to be identified by name....
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/22/nx-s1-5340753/trump-democracy-authoritarianism-competive-survey-political-scientist
Quote from: sean_ATL on April 22, 2025, 01:30:59 PM
LOL that's the part I don't understand...there is more effort being put into defending Trump's foolishnes than actually running the most powerful country on earth.
Because... it's about loyalty and ring kissing. You MUST be loyal... above all else... and you MUST kiss the ring. All else is secondary. Including the rule of law and the Constitution... we see it virtually every day yet still shake our collective heads in disbelief...
If you were not scared by Trump's threat to our democracy before, this, below, in his own words, should worry you now. Deflecting to his lawyers is pure BS. Following the Constitution is the law of the land, no lawyers needed for that simple commitment.
He didn't let off any of his adversaries for relying on others, so why should he get a free pass. We all know he is in total control of his loyalists in every corner so how can he conveniently say he isn't when the heat gets turned up on him.
Where are the posters here who said Trump was not a threat to our country? I would like to hear how they cover for him after 100 days.
QuoteTrump, asked if he has to 'uphold the Constitution,' says, 'I don't know'
President Donald Trump argued in an interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press" that fulfilling his ambitious campaign promise to rapidly carry out mass deportations may take precedence over giving immigrants the right to due process under the Constitution, as required by courts...
...."But even given those numbers that you're talking about, don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?" Welker asked.
"I don't know," Trump replied. "I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said."
The Supreme Court has already made it clear to the Trump administration in three different recent decisions that it has to allow basic due process rights for immigrants based on the long-standing understanding of the laws...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-asked-uphold-constitution-says-dont-know-rcna204580
Cmon... it's a really old out of date document...
Quote from: BridgeTroll on May 05, 2025, 01:29:00 PM
Cmon... it's a really old out of date document...
LOL, it's not the only thing old and out of date/out of touch in DC right now.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on May 05, 2025, 01:29:00 PM
Cmon... it's a really old out of date document...
Well, not all of it. The MAGAts love the parts about only white male property-owners having rights.
Whether you are a fan of Harvard or not, this action below against a private university is over-the-top and indicative of authoritarian steps to control thought and education and constrain opposition to the administration.
They are, at best, taking the actions of a very few, and using that to indict an entire institution and its constituents. No sorting out the wheat from the chaff. Just building an excuse to execute their agenda and steamroll anyone in their way.
Exporting our educational assets helps with our trade balance, enriches our society, supports our advancements with the added "brainpower", and helps promote American values and interests in other countries when these students return as their future leaders. (Ironically, Elon Musk came to the U.S., allegedly, as a student.)
The explanation offered by Noem for this action is clearly greatly exaggerated rhetoric with little or no support. Pure vengeance and retribution, as already demonstrated by Trump in so many other arenas.
QuoteHarvard blocked by Trump administration from enrolling international students
The Trump administration blocked Harvard University on Thursday from enrolling future international students and retaining currently enrolled foreign students.
The Department of Homeland Security said it revoked Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification because the private school's leadership "has created an unsafe campus environment by permitting anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals, including many Jewish students, and otherwise obstruct its once-venerable learning environment."
"Many of these agitators are foreign students," DHS said.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who ordered the revocation, said, "Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country."
Harvard called the revocation "unlawful."
"We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University – and this nation – immeasurably," the university said in a statement.....
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/22/trump-harvard-students-international.html
Watching the Trump/Musk divorce happen is simply hilarious... two idiotic teenagers having a public spat. Utterly predictable... I can't take my eyes off... ;D ::) ;D :o ;D ::)
It's literally embarrassing... that this insecure, self absorbed, idiot is our president. My prediction is that in three years you won't be able to find ANYONE who voted for him...
Quote from: BridgeTroll on June 05, 2025, 04:19:31 PM
It's literally embarrassing... that this insecure, self absorbed, idiot is our president. My prediction is that in three years you won't be able to find ANYONE who voted for him...
I think you underestimate the fealty of his cult. They will blame Democrats, Musk, Epstein (for faking the DJT entries in his log), any Republicans who don't toe the MAGA line ... anyone BUT the Orange Ogre and themselves. Sure, some will come out of their coma, but there will still be a core group that will worship him.
Quote from: Charles Hunter on June 05, 2025, 04:27:23 PM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on June 05, 2025, 04:19:31 PM
It's literally embarrassing... that this insecure, self absorbed, idiot is our president. My prediction is that in three years you won't be able to find ANYONE who voted for him...
I think you underestimate the fealty of his cult. They will blame Democrats, Musk, Epstein (for faking the DJT entries in his log), any Republicans who don't toe the MAGA line ... anyone BUT the Orange Ogre and themselves. Sure, some will come out of their coma, but there will still be a core group that will worship him.
Yep. Includes the conspiracy lovers that can't be convinced by black and white facts, ones too lazy to question the BS they are fed by Fox, Trump, DeSantis, etc., are simpletons looking for scapegoats rather than thoughtful solutions to complex problems, or people who don't bother to be well informed about the world around them and how interdependent they are with it.
Amazing how many "sheep" walk on two legs!
Wow, this has been a wild couple of weeks. The wins just keep on coming!
Here are some two-legged sheep conspiracies from a Trump cultist still in a coma:
- Iran's nuclear program is obliterated. Those bunker busters are no joke
- Peace is pending for Iran & Israel. Potential expansion of the Abraham Accords could truly bring peace in the middle east.
- Peace deal signed between the Congo & Rawanda
- All NATO members to pay 5% GDP for defense
- Looks like Harvard IS ran by antisemites
- Supreme court rulings on lower court nationwide injunctions. No more
- Supreme court rulings on Birthright Citizenship
- Supreme court ruling in favor of parental rights
- Trade deals galore.
- Inflation still slowing. Tariffs work!
- Stock market hitting all time highs
- Gas prices are down and still dropping
- The democratic party continues to implode
- The mainstream media continues to implode
- The Big Beautiful Bill is moments away
That's just the last couple of weeks and isn't everything.
This guy is going to get the Nobel Peace prize.
Lol
Here is another list to consider, in no particular order, one not so funny, unfortunately.
* Destroying education, K to graduate school, by killing grants and pressuring universities (see resignation of UVa president, Harvard, Columbia, etc.)
* Treating immigrants like animals (see plans for Alligator Alcatraz) unless they are whites from South Africa
* Taking revenge on those who don't fall in line (see Elon Musk and Senator Tillis, firing prosecutors of the Jan. 6th riots, etc.)
* Taking money from the poor by killing Medicaid and SNAP programs (see big beautiful bill)
* Giving money to the rich by giving them more tax breaks (see big beautiful bill)
* Enriching himself as he exploits the office of the president (see Trump phone, crypto, Boeing 747 "gift", etc.)
* Using Federal agencies to investigate anyone who gets in his way (too many to list. See Pam Bondi)
* Burning bridges with our allies including Canada (again), Denmark-Greenland, and Spain
* Running up the deficit with a big beautiful bill (trillions of dollars more)
* Destroying the environment (see putting roads through protected wilderness and selling off preservation lands for development)
* Destroying green energy and innovation putting many out of business and out of jobs while raising future electric costs (see big beautiful bill removing tax credits and proposing taxes instead)
* Wasting money on a military parade to celebrate his birthday (modeled on Russia, China and North Korea)
* Creating chaos in the business world with ever changing tariffs
* Undermining US credibility by bombing Iran while simultaneously negotiating with them (plus, not consulting with Congress, per the Constitution)
* Dismantling the intelligence community or simply ignoring them.
* Killing people by undermining the health sciences (see new fake vaccine committee, cuts to NIH, CDC, FDA and medical research, etc.)
* Ignoring the Constitution (see pursuing denial of birthrights even though its clearly spelled out in the constitution)
* Going after public television and radio (see defunding bill)
* Putting farmers out of business by cutting USDA, removing their migrant harvesters, raising their equipment costs with tariffs and eliminating their export customers with trade wars.
* Pardoning corrupt and violent criminals while going after "criminal" migrants that have no criminal records outside of their immigrant status.
* Allowing an incompetent secretary of defense to diminish our military with political priorities over military ones (see renaming ships and military bases as a top priority and firing generals that supported DEI or questioned Trump's decisions)
* Diminishing foreign tourism to the US and one of our biggest exports, education of foreign students, with intimidation tactics.
* Forfeiting US influence around the world to Russia and China (see elimination of USAID)
* Supporting our enemies (see Vladimir Putin)
* Going after minorities and LGBTQ (see elimination of DEI and anything that remotely celebrates these groups)
* Supporting censorship and ensuring closed minds (schools will now have a full time job sanitizing education so no parent objects to anything)
* Further corrupting politicians with more political campaign dollars (see case for unlimited contributions)
* Endangering the public (see cuts to the FAA and National Weather Service. Just this week, Defense Dept. cut off sharing invaluable satellite data on hurricanes with the NWS. No reason given.)
* Leaving disaster victims in the cold (see FEMA dismantling)
* Denying climate change and killing off any programs to deal with it.
* Flouting the legal system (ignoring judicial orders, threatening judges, indicting judges, etc.)
* Reallocating resources and personnel to deporting migrants while draining same resources that were supposed to pursue organized crime, terrorists, foreign threats, etc.
No doubt we could add many more "accomplishments" to the list. And, to think we have 3.5 years more of this (if the Country survives that long).
Crybaby Trump doesn't like the economic statistics so he fires the statisticians at BLS and data collectors who input into the CPI rather than addressing the underlying issue: his policies and edicts.
Acting more like a dictator everyday. I was criticized before on this board for making that analogy, but it is becoming clearer everyday that is the only way to describe his childish, impetuous mercurial and authoritarian behavior... unless one considers that his temper is an indication at his age of early stage dementia. Shades of what he accused Biden of? Either way, this country is in big trouble.
QuoteTrump news at a glance: 'credibility' of US economics data at risk, say experts, as president fires labor official
Trump's own former statistics chief denounces move as 'groundless' and 'dangerous'.
After Donald Trump ordered the firing of a federal government official in charge of labor statistics, experts and opposition politicians have expressed alarm that the "credibility" of US economic data was at risk.
The US president claimed without evidence that Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of labor statistics, had "rigged" job numbers "in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad", after data showed jobs growth stalled this summer, prompting accusations that the president was "firing the messenger".
Bill Beach, a former Heritage Foundation economist who was picked by Trump in 2018 to oversee labor statistics, denounced what he called the "totally groundless firing".
"Politicizing economic statistics is a self-defeating act," said Michael Madowitz, the principal economist at the Roosevelt Institute's Roosevelt Forward, who added that "credibility is far easier to lose than rebuild, and the credibility of America's economic data is the foundation on which we've built the strongest economy in the world".
Senate Democrat Ron Wyden said "this is the act of somebody who is soft, weak and afraid to own up to the reality of the damage his chaos is inflicting on our economy".
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trump orders firing of jobs report official after hiring slows
Donald Trump ordered the firing of the federal government official in charge of labor statistics, hours after data revealed jobs growth stalled this summer, prompting accusations that he was "firing the messenger".
The US president claimed that Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of labor statistics, had "faked" employment figures in the run-up to last year's election in an effort to boost Kamala Harris's chances of victory.
Trump later claimed: "Today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad."
He produced no evidence for these allegations and insisted that the US economy was, in fact, "BOOMING" on his watch.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/02/trump-news-at-a-glance-credibility-of-us-economics-data-at-risk-say-experts-as-president-fires-labor-dept-official
^ Below from Trump's own appointee... No one will believe anything his administration does... it will all just be dangerous propaganda. Good luck to investors trying to read the economy.
Professional, nonpartisan, competent-based positions in government - all being replaced by self-serving incompetent political hacks that unquestionably bow to the feet of Trump and kiss his a** vs. serving the public interests.
Running off cutting edge researchers, scientists, doctors, educators... Summarily firing government workers that are checks and balances... Viciously attacking the media, universities, judges, critics... Undermining election laws and creditability of officials... Demonizing minorities, immigrants, political opponents.... Stoking fervent nationalism... Spewing lying propaganda 24/7... Banning books... Promoting Christian nationalism by putting religion at the center of everything... Abridging due process for those arrested by ICE... Summarily arresting citizens without cause... Using the military for civilian law enforcement... Rolling back laws, regulations and precedents to exert more power... Tolerating white nationalists... Having a compliant party apparatus...
all pages from the Nazi playbook. To add, destroying international alliances and cooperation... supporting foreign dictators... implementing over-the-top tariffs and a regressive tax bill... eliminating social safety nets... reducing important portions of the labor force due to immigration over-enforcement... increasing economic inefficiencies with chaotic polices....
Destroying our 250 year old country with a thousand knife cuts in months.
QuoteFormer Trump statistics chief slams Friday firing of Erika McEntarfer
Bill Beach said the president's suggestions that the jobs report was rigged betrayed a misunderstanding in how those numbers are assembled.
The head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics from President Donald Trump's first term is panning his Friday firing of Erika McEntarfer, who oversaw a July jobs report that rankled the president and suggested a slowdown in the economy.
Bill Beach, who Trump tapped for the top job at BLS in 2017, said Sunday that the president's suggestions that McEntarfer had rigged the jobs report betrayed a misunderstanding in the data collection and reporting standards at the bureau, which compiles statistics on critical economic factors including inflation and employment.
"There's no way for that to happen," Beach told CNN's Kasie Hunt on "State of the Union." "The commissioner doesn't do anything to collect the numbers. The commissioner doesn't see the numbers for until Wednesday before they're published. By the time the commissioner sees the numbers, they're all prepared."
Trump fired McEntarfer after BLS' monthly jobs report for July showed that the economy had added just 73,000 jobs, coming in under expectations. He also took issue with the agency's major revisions to job numbers from May and June. Employment only increased by 33,000 jobs in those two months, the government said Friday, down by 258,000 from previous estimates. Revisions to preceding job reports are routinely issued when a new one comes out.
The president also suggested McEntarfer had led an effort to inflate job statistics to aid former Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election.
McEntarfer, Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social, would "be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified."
But Beach told Hunt on Sunday that the bureau's estimates are far better now than in previous decades. And the president's firing of McEntarfer "undermines credibility" in the statistical system, he said.
"Suppose that they get a new commissioner and this person, male or female are just the best people possible. And they do a bad number. Well, everybody's going to think, well, it's not as bad as it probably really is because they're going to suspect political influence."
Larry Summers, who led the Treasury Department under former President Bill Clinton, told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that the firing "is the stuff of democracies giving way to authoritarianism."
"I mean, this is way beyond anything that Richard Nixon ever did, Summers said on "This Week." "I'm surprised that other officials have not responded by resigning themselves as took place when Richard Nixon fired people lawlessly."
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/03/trump-labor-statistics-chief-fired-unemployment-00490988
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GyuZjA8XEAA0mM9?format=jpg&name=small)
We have PEACE in the Middle East!? :o
I can't believe its really happening. Could anyone else on planet Earth have pulled this off?
^ All good for now, or so it appears. Definitely remain some unaddressed issues that make the peace fragile.
Although clearly no Trump fan, Trump gets some deserved credit.
I do wonder if his loyalty to Netanyahu for the 2 years of this war might also have helped prolong it. In the beginning, unqualified support of Netanyahu made sense as Hamas committed terrible atrocities. Supposedly, Israel's bombing in Qatar crossed a line in their relationship and kicked off the signaling that Netanyahu's unfettered U.S. support was no longer. This forced Netanyahu to seriously negotiate. Hamas was clearly losing on the field of battle with no good outcome in site forcing their hand. Enter the U.S. and Arab nations to step in and deliver this peace.
It will definitely take the entire region to jump in and help to maintain this agreement. Seeing all of the world leaders piled up on the stage during the signing really shows that there is a solid coalition of countries that want to help. Or at least give the impression of helping (more likely cashing in on the rebuilding of Gaza). ;) Peace is very good for business.
The war itself was also a major player. Without Israel destroying Hamas, and greatly debilitating the Houthis, Hezbolla, Iran and other Iran proxies, this wouldn't be able to happen. The middle east responds to strength only, which Israel (and Trump) fully understand. And with a weakened and isolated Iran, the money flow to Hamas and the likes is snuffed out.
I think the middle east in general is tired of the never ending conflicts and is ready to fully enter the world economy. Iran and its proxies have been a thorn poking holes in every chance for peace the region has had. Regardless of their religious beliefs and fervent hatred for the Jews, its time for them each to focus inward on the Jihadis in their own countries and squash them before they cause more problems.
Fingers crossed for a future deal with Iran to bring them to the modern age and really solidify peace in the region.
If there is truly lasting peace, I will be fine giving the Trump team some credit for it. I'm not opposed to it. What occurred in Gaza over the last two years, however, is truly disgusting. It was FAR MORE than just snuffing out Hamas leaders. It was the destruction of an entire country and tens of thousands of innocent people. October 7th was disgusting too, of course, but Israel is not some innocent player here. They have a great deal of atrocities they have committed.
To those of you who voted for Trump... is this what you wanted?
Got in an argument with old friend who is MAGA and all I can say is he is now a psychopath. Our argument ended when he said all who defy trump should be hunted down and killed.
Quote from: jcjohnpaint on January 09, 2026, 06:21:00 PM
Got in an argument with old friend who is MAGA and all I can say is he is now a psychopath. Our argument ended when he said all who defy trump should be hunted down and killed.
This is not uncommon... especially to my now 3 year move to North Georgia. I simply don't discuss current events or politics... even with people I am friends.
Farmers voted for Trump. Between the immigration crackdown on their workers, tariffs on their equipment and supplies, retribution by other countries they sell to over Trump's protectionist policies and the significant cutbacks in USDA support, they are getting their due.
Developers and contractors voted for Trump. Between the immigration crackdown on their workers, tariffs on their building supplies and Trump slowing down the economy but not inflation, they are getting their due.
Many of the "down and out" voted for Trump. Between the slowing down of the economy but not inflation, the cut backs in social services, food subsidies, Medicaid and Obamacare, they are getting their due.
Some minority groups voted for Trump. Between the harsh over-enforcement and stereotyping with respect to immigration, the slandering and demonization of such minority groups, the slowing down of the economy but not inflation, the cut backs in social services, food subsidies, Medicaid and Obamacare, they are getting their due.
Trump takes from the poor and gives to the rich, starting with himself, increasing the economic division in this country.
Yet, much of these groups still blindly support Trump like zombies. If any of these things happened under a Democrat president, they would be, literally, up in arms (see January 6th). Hard to understand.
I can say I know a lot of Republicans who voted for him are very unhappy. I think the MAGA left are not going to leave his side. His poll numbers are historically low and dropping by the day. I just hope we get a better Republican Party from all this.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on January 09, 2026, 04:47:11 PM
To those of you who voted for Trump... is this what you wanted?
Obviously not a Trump voter myself but many friends, family and colleagues are. There's a definite divide between the true believers and the less fervent supporters that's getting wider. The former could find out he was Slavelord of Epstein Island and never shake their support, but he won't be able to maintain the coalition he's got now with them alone.
How many countries has he attacked? Iran, Syria, Nigeria, Venezuela... threatening Canada, Denmark, Mexico, Columbia to name a few... Maduro was/is a thug and he should be arrested. I'm gonna give him credit there. My 401ks and other retirement savings are doing well... I grudgingly give him credit. The border seems secure for now... I hate his methods and tactics but... ICE seems to be a paramilitary group similar to the notorious "brownshirts". Vance scares me more than Trump... if that's possible
Trump has dementia and doesn't know what the hell is going on at this time. JD Vance is a sober fascist.
Also most fascist regimes start with an uptick. It is what eventually comes that counts. It will not be good.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on January 10, 2026, 05:40:10 PM
I'm gonna give him credit there. My 401ks and other retirement savings are doing well... I grudgingly give him credit.
Where else exactly would all that capital go to? 401ks and US markets do well because they're too important to fail. Pretending everything is OK ensures continued market success, which is in everyone's best interest.
Quote from: fsu813 on January 11, 2026, 12:13:35 PM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on January 10, 2026, 05:40:10 PM
I'm gonna give him credit there. My 401ks and other retirement savings are doing well... I grudgingly give him credit.
Where else exactly would all that capital go to? 401ks and US markets do well because they're too important to fail. Pretending everything is OK ensures continued market success, which is in everyone's best interest.
I feel that if I am going to criticize the many things that are wrong... I also have to acknowledge things that are going well. I'm well aware that not everything is Ok...
Quote from: fsu813 on January 11, 2026, 12:13:35 PM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on January 10, 2026, 05:40:10 PM
I'm gonna give him credit there. My 401ks and other retirement savings are doing well... I grudgingly give him credit.
Where else exactly would all that capital go to? 401ks and US markets do well because they're too important to fail. Pretending everything is OK ensures continued market success, which is in everyone's best interest.
If not for AI boosting the tech stocks (for which Trump deserves zero credit) that make up over 40% of the market today, the market would not look nearly as good. If you are not in an index fund or tech stocks, you probably aren't enjoying much of a return.
Trump can also boost stocks with some short term policies that are going to cost all of us dearly down the road... like deficit spending to prop up the economy (ironically, what he accused Biden of doing during COVID) as a result of his significant tax cuts for the rich and corporations while still spending crazily on defense, DHS, and other pet projects that are going to result in the return of interest rate increases.
When the dust settles in the next few years, we are going to see significant consequences from the gutting of the IRS, the destruction of global trading and alliances with the U.S., the runup in deficits, the removal of affordable labor availability and economic contributions of immigrants, the cost of climate change that he refuses to deal with, and the deconstruction of our world leading educational and research institutions that produce most of the productivity advances that power our economy. History will not be kind to this administration.
Anyone taking a longer view than a few months or so, can see the train coming down the tracks toward us.
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on January 11, 2026, 08:09:33 PM
Quote from: fsu813 on January 11, 2026, 12:13:35 PM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on January 10, 2026, 05:40:10 PM
I'm gonna give him credit there. My 401ks and other retirement savings are doing well... I grudgingly give him credit.
Where else exactly would all that capital go to? 401ks and US markets do well because they're too important to fail. Pretending everything is OK ensures continued market success, which is in everyone's best interest.
If not for AI boosting the tech stocks (for which Trump deserves zero credit) that make up over 40% of the market today, the market would not look nearly as good. If you are not in an index fund or tech stocks, you probably aren't enjoying much of a return.
Trump can also boost stocks with some short term policies that are going to cost all of us dearly down the road... like deficit spending to prop up the economy (ironically, what he accused Biden of doing during COVID) as a result of his significant tax cuts for the rich and corporations while still spending crazily on defense, DHS, and other pet projects that are going to result in the return of interest rate increases.
When the dust settles in the next few years, we are going to see significant consequences from the gutting of the IRS, the destruction of global trading and alliances with the U.S., the runup in deficits, the removal of affordable labor availability and economic contributions of immigrants, the cost of climate change that he refuses to deal with, and the deconstruction of our world leading educational and research institutions that produce most of the productivity advances that power our economy. History will not be kind to this administration.
Anyone taking a longer view than a few months or so, can see the train coming down the tracks toward us.
Agree with all of this but as I said... MY retirement funds are doing well... short sighted or not. Happy Maduro is gone. Now let's see what happens. I don't hear much complaining about the border being much better controlled. Hate the brownshirt tactics targeting ethnic minorities and protesters. Hate the constant drumbeat of lies coming from the administration... the steady stream of verbal sewage coming out of Washington is nauseating.
Trump is encouraging Iranian protestors facing death and imprisonment... while simultaneously justifying the same for American protestors...positively bizarre...
He is a real man of mystery. ::)
What isn't surprising at all is that none of his supporters on this site are willing to defend his actions one year in... as I asked a few posts ago... Is this what you voted for?
It has been a disaster. It would be funny if it wasn't genuinely the most concerned I have ever been about the American experiment.
I consider myself a Patriot. I love America. I love our country. I believe that there are aspects of our country that are truly special and "exceptional." We have a long history of sins and evil actions as well. Nuance is key. Throughout that, however, there is so much beauty in our country, it's people, it's diversity, and it's success.
What is truly sad to me is that the group that ran on their supposed "love of country" seem to hate SO much about what makes our country great. They see core aspects of our countries success as detrimental to it. The fabric of the country used to be held together by the idea that anyone who was an American citizen, native born or naturalized, was equally American. America as a set of values and an idea has been nearly universally accepted by the population as long as I can remember. We are now entering an era where what used to be a fringe idea is now becoming mainstream: That Native-born populations, or even populations of people with roots going back several generations are somehow "More American" than others.
This is not workable.
The current administration has failed or stumbled on nearly every single metric that they ran on, and have also introduced new problems that none of us voted for.
I know that many 3 Time Trump voters don't support all of the actions and are perhaps embarassed about SOME of the actions...but what is disheartening is that I would say 9/10 of them still would insist that what we have now is still better than "the alternative." I can't find the words to express how disheartening that is.
We are quickly backsliding in the direction of authoritarianism, against due process, the rule of law, local rule, etc while also hollowing out so much of what it meant to be "American." It is truly sad because it is destroying our already faltering image globally, severing partnerships that have made us the dominant world power, and abandoning the values that, despite our flaws, made us the stabilizing force in the democratic world.
Long rant but a lot to just say...boy do I agree with you.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on January 14, 2026, 09:29:24 AM
What isn't surprising at all is that none of his supporters on this site are willing to defend his actions one year in... as I asked a few posts ago... Is this what you voted for?
So much winning
Well, as I tell my friends and family that still support him, "I will fight that dumb bronze fucker and all the cowards he rode in on until I die!".
Quote from: jcjohnpaint on January 14, 2026, 04:48:43 PM
Well, as I tell my friends and family that still support him, "I will fight that dumb bronze fucker and all the cowards he rode in on until I die!".
"dumb, bronze fucker;" hee hee, LOL, ha ha, (slapping my knee).
Meanwhile in Minneapolis... protestors are playing directly into Trump's hands. I believe martial law is his ultimate game to stay as president for another term and Minneapolis will be a perfect place to practice for that eventuality... the violent protest must stop as Trump will simply escalate.
Just as Russel Vought and Stephen Miller planned. Not much we can do when Congress supports all these legal acts. It was only a matter of time before this happened. Honestly, I am surprised it didn't happen earlier. All hell is about to break loose in this country.
Ironic that Trump criticizes Iran for cracking down on protesters while he does the same here. He manages to take hypocrisy to new levels daily.
Soooo hilarious... Oh. MY GOD!! Extorting other peoples awards now.. :o ::)
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/afa2f7529b4aef7e02f038826db1133385d8725a/198_1479_1586_1269/master/1586.jpg?width=620&dpr=2&s=none&crop=none)
And... of course the first ever and probably only... FIFA peace prize
^ What kind of person would want to accept this gift... a recognition of another person that has no relation to you? This guy cannot steal enough thunder (and maybe more) from others.
Give her credit for framing it in his favorite color, gold. And, the blue background matches the drapes. She knows how to read her audience.
According to reports, however, that may not have been enough as other than a free lunch, he offered her nothing in return.
I'm sure it's only me but... not since 9/11 have I had this need to check the news like every hour to find out what idiotic statement Trump made... or who he insulted, threatened or pardoned... probably just me tho...
Or if WW3 has started.