President Trump 2.0: The NEW one and only politics thread

[wicked]

This is all scripted chaos, and guys like Musk and Stephen Miller are having hours-long erections over it.

 

[Twirling Time]

Courts, schmourts. They want to scoop up anyone who looks brown and put them straight on a bus to Juarez. Or worse.

 

[bigpern23]

TheDemocrats talk about the price of eggs constantly.It just doesn't get any attention. And it shouldn't. The issue now is that two tyrants, one going senile, the other a drug addict, are attempting to destroy this country's democracy and indeed its entire society, education, health, economic stability, the whole thing and the institutions with power to impede them, including institutions they intend to destory, are just going along with it out of cowardice, complacency, and stupidity.

OK, let's ashume you're right and they are (personally haven't heard it from Dems the way I did from Repubes during the campaign, but I'll go on your premise), I guess there is a better question.

How and why are they so much better at connecting that message to the voters than Dems are?

When Republicans were crying about the price of eggs before the election, when they were screaming about Biden's runaway inflation, it moved the needle with voters. Now? Crickets.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

An acquaintance worked at the Buffalo National River …


I lost my dream job yesterday.
I received the notice of termination around 3:00, then was immediately summoned to HQ to sign papers. I was locked out of my government account before I could print off the email.

The decision to terminate was based on my "probationary" status, I was in the first year of a 4 year IRA funded term position. The park had no say, they just received a list of four employees to terminate.

Did those who made the decision know or care that the main objective of my position is to provide preventive search and rescue education, to keep park visitors safe?
Did they know that I have ashisted with at least 20 SARs and a few recoveries over the last five years?
Did they know that I am part of the visitor and resource protection division, and that I spent my days on the frontline, looking out for the safety of park visitors?
Did they know that I have worked in various roles in the park for five years, including my primary positon of river ranger, upper district fee collector, emergency hire interp at BPVC, and ashisted the concessions division and maintenance divisions as well?
Did they know that I stayed in that GS 5 river ranger job, despite opportunities for more permanent positions because I loved looking out for the safety of people on the river, it's a calling of sorts.
Did they know I spent countless hours picking up trash, probably at least 100 mesh bags full over the 5 years?
Did they know I spent countless hot summer days at Grinder's Ferry, talking to campers and pashing out mesh trashbags, and countless hot, dusty evenings at Gilbert, attempting to control the chaos?

Did they know that I truly loved my job? That I wholeheartedly love the river? That the river is home to me?

They had no idea.

The park also lost the one and only interp staff at the Buffalo Point visitor center, the only fee collector for the upper district and one of only three maintenance staff in the middle district. Tough times.

 

[Shelbyville Manhattan]

They lie more and are more brazen about their deceptions. It's why debates aren't a fair fight. When one side is at least in the vicinity of the truth and the other exists in an alternate reality of its own creation, the discussion isn't on level terms.

The GOP's lies are better-suited for reaching the id, e.g. the verbal diarrhea about "eating the pets." Of course, most people operate from the id -- and aren't very discerning or intelligent to begin with, as George Carlin noted when he said, "Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."

OK, let's ashume you're right and they are (personally haven't heard it from Dems the way I did from Repubes during the campaign, but I'll go on your premise), I guess there is a better question.

How and why are they so much better at connecting that message to the voters than Dems are?

When Republicans were crying about the price of eggs before the election, when they were screaming about Biden's runaway inflation, it moved the needle with voters. Now? Crickets.

 

[WriteThinking]

OK, let's ashume you're right and they are (personally haven't heard it from Dems the way I did from Repubes during the campaign, but I'll go on your premise), I guess there is a better question.

How and why are they so much better at connecting that message to the voters than Dems are?

When Republicans were crying about the price of eggs before the election, when they were screaming about Biden's runaway inflation, it moved the needle with voters. Now? Crickets.

I'm gonna try to respond to this.

I don't think Republicans did so much better with messaging, or connecting. I think the U.S. just has a lot more lazy, ignorant, uninformed and, most of all, uncaring/shitty people -- like Trump, et al -- than we ever dreamed possible. They relate to him (and the Republicans), because they are the same type people, not because he did such a great job with messaging. Heck, Trump didn't even really campaign until the last few weeks. He just...never went away (like most former Presidents do) after the end of his first tenure.

The majority of voters were too ignorant and uneducated to realize that inflation and the economy weren't even bad under Biden. All they had to go on was Trump's repeated rhetoric, and Fox News. Well, the Democrats didn't have a nation- or world-wide mouthpiece media outlet that even lied on behalf of its candidate, and didn't even have to worry about their audience realizing it, because they didn't look at or listen to anything else.

Also, the devastation of the Republicans taking the Senate and the House, and having the Supreme Court in their back pocket, can't be overstated as a cause for the Democrats' seeming post-election folding that's been going on. Like everyone who is appalled at what Trump is doing, they've been at a loss as to how to stop him, systemically speaking, because the checks and balances that are supposed to be part of our government just, literally, don't exist under the current regime. There's no way to check him and no way to balance anything.

Seemingly.

I do agree that Democrats should be making MUCH more noise. About everything that's going on. With constituents, in interviews, on TV, amongst themselves, and most importantly, with any Republicans who may listen. Even if they're unsuccessful, systemically, in changing anything, they should be being pains in the neck -- disruptive, intransigent, argumentative, and again, with Republicans, determined and convincing, so that, maybe, some minds, and votes may be changed. They should be trying to defend, delay and disagree about everything Trump has been trying to do.

And any illegal things -- and there have been many by Trump -- should be being blasted from the rooftops, and everything legally possible to do should be being done.

 

[WriteThinking]

I wonder how RFK Jr. would tackle this. Or if he would do so at all. I guess maybe we'll find out.

In rural West Texas, a measles outbreak grows with no end in sight

 

[garrow]

They lie more and are more brazen about their deceptions. It's why debates aren't a fair fight. When one side is at least in the vicinity of the truth and the other exists in an alternate reality of its own creation, the discussion isn't on level terms.

The GOP's lies are better-suited for reaching the id, e.g. the verbal diarrhea about "eating the pets." Of course, most people operate from the id -- and aren't very discerning or intelligent to begin with, as George Carlin noted when he said, "Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."

Aaaaand they get away with it! Trump's Haitian pet-eating lie was incredibly racist (originally from neo-Nazi sources) and he suffered no damage from it. None!

That horribly racist joke about Puerto Rico at his closing hate rally? No damage!

 

[Starman]

An acquaintance worked at the Buffalo National River …


I lost my dream job yesterday.
I received the notice of termination around 3:00, then was immediately summoned to HQ to sign papers. I was locked out of my government account before I could print off the email.

The decision to terminate was based on my "probationary" status, I was in the first year of a 4 year IRA funded term position. The park had no say, they just received a list of four employees to terminate.

Did those who made the decision know or care that the main objective of my position is to provide preventive search and rescue education, to keep park visitors safe?
Did they know that I have ashisted with at least 20 SARs and a few recoveries over the last five years?
Did they know that I am part of the visitor and resource protection division, and that I spent my days on the frontline, looking out for the safety of park visitors?
Did they know that I have worked in various roles in the park for five years, including my primary positon of river ranger, upper district fee collector, emergency hire interp at BPVC, and ashisted the concessions division and maintenance divisions as well?
Did they know that I stayed in that GS 5 river ranger job, despite opportunities for more permanent positions because I loved looking out for the safety of people on the river, it's a calling of sorts.
Did they know I spent countless hours picking up trash, probably at least 100 mesh bags full over the 5 years?
Did they know I spent countless hot summer days at Grinder's Ferry, talking to campers and pashing out mesh trashbags, and countless hot, dusty evenings at Gilbert, attempting to control the chaos?

Did they know that I truly loved my job? That I wholeheartedly love the river? That the river is home to me?

They had no idea.

The park also lost the one and only interp staff at the Buffalo Point visitor center, the only fee collector for the upper district and one of only three maintenance staff in the middle district. Tough times.

They know all that, and they don't give a fork.

No, wait; they DO give a fork -- THEY LIKE IT!!

The last paragraph there is key: they know that when the park loses its final staff member, for all intents the park will die. Nobody voted to close the park, but they will manage to smash it out of existence. If and when a more enlightened regime takes over the government there will be nothing left to save. It will be gone forever.


As always, the cruelty is the point; not only cruelty, but sneering brutality. They get a surging hard-on out of crushing peoples' dreams, shipping on peaceful and inspiring places, of jamming their decks in the faces of people who appreciate beauty.

400 million guns waiting for Luigi

 

[LanceyHoward]

An acquaintance worked at the Buffalo National River …


I lost my dream job yesterday.
I received the notice of termination around 3:00, then was immediately summoned to HQ to sign papers. I was locked out of my government account before I could print off the email.

The decision to terminate was based on my "probationary" status, I was in the first year of a 4 year IRA funded term position. The park had no say, they just received a list of four employees to terminate.

Did those who made the decision know or care that the main objective of my position is to provide preventive search and rescue education, to keep park visitors safe?
Did they know that I have ashisted with at least 20 SARs and a few recoveries over the last five years?
Did they know that I am part of the visitor and resource protection division, and that I spent my days on the frontline, looking out for the safety of park visitors?
Did they know that I have worked in various roles in the park for five years, including my primary positon of river ranger, upper district fee collector, emergency hire interp at BPVC, and ashisted the concessions division and maintenance divisions as well?
Did they know that I stayed in that GS 5 river ranger job, despite opportunities for more permanent positions because I loved looking out for the safety of people on the river, it's a calling of sorts.
Did they know I spent countless hours picking up trash, probably at least 100 mesh bags full over the 5 years?
Did they know I spent countless hot summer days at Grinder's Ferry, talking to campers and pashing out mesh trashbags, and countless hot, dusty evenings at Gilbert, attempting to control the chaos?

Did they know that I truly loved my job? That I wholeheartedly love the river? That the river is home to me?

They had no idea.

The park also lost the one and only interp staff at the Buffalo Point visitor center, the only fee collector for the upper district and one of only three maintenance staff in the middle district. Tough times.

I think what is going to happen is that the laid off workers will be replaced by contractors, just as much of our military has been outsourced to firms like Blackwater. But this allows the administration to declare a victory.

Much the same thing happened in the Clinton administration. Clinton put Gore in charge of a committee to make the government more efficient. Then Clinton took credit for reducing the number of Civil Servant employees through attrition to levels last since in the Eisenhour administration They Clintionites did not explain it as because that it was because the replacement labor was provided by body shops,

 

[garrow]

Happy President's Day! The current one is in thrall to an international tech bro ghoul misogynistic abuse network.

Trump administration pressures Romania to lift restrictions on Tate brothers

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

So to be clear, Mayor Prime skips MLK events in NYC to attend the inauguration. His lawyers (who are a lawyer for Trump and one for Elon) say that the prosecution should be dropped, not because the allegations lack merit but because they are distracting him from fighting crime and illegal immigration. They have a meeting in which he basically says that he will do whatever the administration wants as long as they drop the charges against him. The government lawyers working on the case are admonished for taking notes by their bosses and the charges are dropped. I'm glad that the swamp is drained.

And these sick forks are just getting started.