We Doing This Shit Again? (Trump Admin Meltdown II)

[Nonlinear FC]

And while that may be true, this guy is not that much older than us. He's not part of that type of cohort. He was in the military and after leaving that he surrounded himself with police and fire fighter friends in Jacksonville and to be blunt... They are racist as fuck.

It's really confounding on a lot of levels, especially given how he was brought up.

[The Sybian]

Because MAGA loves Big Pharma, except all vaccines are evil because they come from Big Pharma which is evil… nothing they do makes any sense. The problem is Trump allows way too many people access, and takes on their cause. Either too dumb to understand issues or too lazy to care. He can spout conflicting beliefs, often in the same sentence.

[L-Jam3]

Dumb and lazy are not mutually exclusive.

[Brontoburglar]

sometimes I think those of us who are well-read on current events don't realize just how many people aren't, and how effective the "flooding the zone with shit" strategy works on people who aren't

(and again, that's not excuse making. just a possible simple explanation)

[The Sybian]

sometimes I think those of us who are well-read on current events don't realize just how many people aren't, and how effective the "flooding the zone with shit" strategy works on people who aren't

(and again, that's not excuse making. just a possible simple explanation)

You are 100% correct, but I find the ignorant people are the loudest.

[Nonlinear FC]

That's what I really mis-read or didn't factor in properly in the last election. To be charitable, the niece (teacher) I was talking about is not especially bright. The fact that she likely voted for DeSantis and is bemoaning censorship in education is... It is what it is.

[The Sybian]

That's what I really mis-read or didn't factor in properly in the last election. To be charitable, the niece (teacher) I was talking about is not especially bright. The fact that she likely voted for DeSantis and is bemoaning censorship in education is... It is what it is.

If she complains again, just ask why she voted for it.

Reading the White House website, it's beyond Orwellian double speak. Removing anti-discrimination laws to end illegal discrimination. Actually, I guess if you remove the prohibitions, you do end "illegal" discrimination, because now it is perfectly legal to discriminate. It looks like this only affects federal jobs, not private sector, but I haven't read to deeply yet, and I'm sure Congress with try to expand this.

[Nonlinear FC]

I was only told about it after the fact. I would've had to just walk away because it would've started a thermonuclear war and we all agreed not to go there.

[sancarlos]

[EnochRoot]

I see more assassinations and disrupted dinners in and around Capitol Hill in the future.

[mister d]

I was actually wondering about this yesterday ... are there prohibitions on non-campaigning political advertising or, if the Dems chose, could they run ads during whatever shows people usually watch to get messages out about Medicare, civil rights, etc, etc every time this admin pulls more shit? You can't control what Fox or CNN or local news focus on but you can control what you put in everyone's faces. I assume (financially) it couldn't be a full saturation campaign like election year Octobers, but would still be a means of dropping info into people's brains that they aren't actively seeking out.

(If the answer to the first sentence is "nope, can't do it", well then fuck off me.)

[Nonlinear FC]

My wife works on a project that rolls up under HHS. The agency she works with just asked for a "quick meeting" tomorrow. This isn't my wife's only project, but it's a pretty big chunk of her hours.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... department

[The Sybian]

My fear is Trump will remove FEMA, then pick and choose who he gives disaster relief to based on who voted for him. Red States will still get the aid. He isn’t capable of complete sentences or complete thoughts, but I think he was trying to say he likes Oklahoma because every district voted for him.

[DSafetyGuy]

My fear is Trump will remove FEMA, then pick and choose who he gives disaster relief to based on who voted for him. Red States will still get the aid. He isn’t capable of complete sentences or complete thoughts, but I think he was trying to say he likes Oklahoma because every district voted for him.

California would cite they have more Trump voters in the four counties most affected by the recent fires than the total number of registered voters in Oklahoma.

[The Sybian]

My fear is Trump will remove FEMA, then pick and choose who he gives disaster relief to based on who voted for him. Red States will still get the aid. He isn’t capable of complete sentences or complete thoughts, but I think he was trying to say he likes Oklahoma because every district voted for him.

California would cite they have more Trump voters in the four counties most affected by the recent fires than the total number of registered voters in Oklahoma.

They can cite all they want, Trump sees the entire state as his enemy, and LA as a Liberal hell-hole. Plus he hates Newsome, but now that Junior broke up with Newsome’s ex-wife, they have something in common.

[Brontoburglar]

fwiw, that argument worked in 2018

[DaveInSeattle]

but now that Junior broke up with Newsome’s ex-wife, they have something in common.

Not that I follow the Trump Family soap opera closely...but...they did? When did that happen?

[sancarlos]

but now that Junior broke up with Newsome’s ex-wife, they have something in common.

Not that I follow the Trump Family soap opera closely...but...they did? When did that happen?

I don’t follow it closely either, but Junior has been canoodling publicly with another woman and now the ex is living solo in Greece as our official new ambassador. Soooo… conclusions drawn.

[The Sybian]

but now that Junior broke up with Newsome’s ex-wife, they have something in common.

Not that I follow the Trump Family soap opera closely...but...they did? When did that happen?

I don’t follow it closely either, but Junior has been canoodling publicly with another woman and now the ex is living solo in Greece as our official new ambassador. Soooo… conclusions drawn.

I only heard about it when Trump first floated her as ambassador to Greece. Article implied it was a deal to keep her quiet and ship her out of the country to get distance. She is fucking batshit crazy and seems volatile, don’t makes sense.

[sancarlos]

The hits just keep coming...

[L-Jam3]

Ok, real shit here. Considering the vast prevalence of firearms here in America, the level of hateful discourse, and considering there was an attempt already… it’s not a zero chance, right?

I’m just hoping that if it does happen it’s not a POC.

[EnochRoot]

The hits just keep coming...

There is simply no credible argument that holds up that suggests FEMA is not one of the most well-centered, politically un-aligned entity in the US gov't.

"FEMA is not good" dates back to Articles of Confederation horse shit.

[EnochRoot]

If I'm Anthony Fauci, I take my family and leave the country. Immediately.

Holy shit Trump is such a dark person.

[mister d]

Probably more troubling that this clearly isn't Trump; he's too dumb and lazy to even speak to all but a fraction of the shit they're working on.

[P.D.X.]

There is simply no credible argument that holds up that suggests FEMA is not one of the most well-centered, politically un-aligned entity in the US gov't.

If I remember my right-wing conspiracies correctly I'm pretty sure FEMA are the ones who are going to set up the camps for US citizens when the UN inevitably invades and occupies the country. (Actually it might even be dumber than that). That's where this is coming from.

[Jerloma]

At the grocery store this morning, a dozen eggs were between 9-11 dollars. While the irony of him promising eggs prices will drop on day 1 isn't lost on me, economically speaking, how does that happen in 1 week? It feels like a practical joke.

[A_B]

4.99 here.

[The Sybian]

At the grocery store this morning, a dozen eggs were between 9-11 dollars. While the irony of him promising eggs prices will drop on day 1 isn't lost on me, economically speaking, how does that happen in 1 week? It feels like a practical joke.

Price gouging after a bird flu epidemic meant reduced supply. I paid $4.50 yesterday, which is high, but not crazy.

[Jerloma]

Huh. Maybe I was looking at 2 dozen cartons.

[Giff]

2.99 at Kroger today with a sign saying prices might be high due to bird flu. They didn’t put a sign up when they were price gouging.

[rass]

He shoulda picked a fight with a country that’s easier to spell. Or at least harder to misspell.

[The Sybian]

In case you missed this one:

Sooo, this is really going to hurt my job security and future job prospects. Fortunately my company is based in California with the biggest headcount in CA, NY and NJ, so state laws will still matter. I’d say the Federal government could ban states from giving greater rights, but with this Supreme Court, anything is possible.

I knew he was talking about eliminating enforcement agencies like the OFCCP that audits government contractors to make sure they comply with anti discrimination laws, but this is fucking madness! We are going back to Jim Crow!

So my initial reactions to headlines was overblown panic, and if anything, this has dominated my work time the past week. What a fucking shit show. My company does a lot of government contract work, and we are in the middle of an OFCCP audit and were notified of two more coming this year. The OFCCP will still oversee protections for veterans and disabled people, just not gender and race. OTOH, Project 2025 called for eliminating OFCCP. Just had a call with the head of our EEO reporting, who oversees the audits, and she is freaking out (actually, the same person who had me thinking she is a Trumper I mentioned a couple weeks ago). Enforcement is on hold for 90 days until the agency can provide guidance, but there is a good chance companies will be fined or lose contracts for doing what they were required to do for the past 60 years, meaning protecting minorities and women from discrimination. We need EEO statements on job postings and we have an EEO statement from our CEO posted numerous places, but they are all potentially in violation of the new EO. Well, not exactly in violation, but something the OFCCP could sanction us for, as saying we value diversity is now an actionable offense. Fucking crazy.

On the plus sides, I got a lot of digs in and made my coworker realize how horrible Trump is. Now I'm thinking she is just not up on politics and thinks there is some good with the bad and she was cautiously optimistic. She did mention her friend with a trans child and said she feels horrible because her friend is rightfully terrified of Trump. So my colleague is panicking about getting fined or losing contracts if we don't immediately scrub the language. I told her Trump ordered the relevant agencies to each select 9 targets to enact enforcements on, and they are all going to be household names and major Harris campaign donors. She was shocked, but I explained all the ways Trump uses his power to exact revenge on anyone who dares to stand up to him. She slowly realized this, and said that explains why Zuckerberg, Bezos, and the rest paid Trump millions, act like his lapdogs, and immediately publicly decried their DEI programs. Its disgusting, and nothing is going to be done to slow him down. He is extorting everything and everyone for his personal gain, or to erode opposition and oversite of what he is doing. Clear roadmap to lead us down the road to dictatorship or an oligarchy. Frightening.

[EnochRoot]

Question. So ‘News Nation’ enjoys this ‘Center’ reputation on the political bias scale.

What’s that even mean today? Where is the truth on the scale? As far as I know it’s TBD.

[cerranoredux]

The groundwork was laid when Trump said “I’m the only one who can fix it.” While one can’t run for president without that egotistical notion to one degree or another, every nominee, every executive aaction, every ice raid, every committee reassignment, every firing, every tariff threat, all of these things serve to consolidate the power of the federal government under one man through fear, and at the same time serves to invite a national security crisis (not just “illegals invasion emergency”) but a real honest to god crisis with serious impacts on every day life for the average person, which will be used to declare a nationwide emergency (think Reichstag) that will permit Trump to go full dictator legally. All of this is pre-enabling. We are in a very dark place where even being a white man is no cloak of protection depending on what comes out one’s mouth.

Teaching government is really teaching history at this point.

[tennbengal]

I only dipped my toe into yesterday’s horror but the funding freezes in higher education would pretty much end universities and colleges, right? Not to mention student loans being affected/ended?

And the gutting of science funding for NIH and pulling out of WHO will literally kill a lot of people.

[A_B]

Motherfucking google going with "gulf of America"

fuck all these people. have fun in whatever 2028 argentina is.

[Nonlinear FC]

Well, I can tell you that we are officially losing sleep over the future of my wife's job. Her main contracts are with HHS and Education, and no one has any idea what is happening with all of these freezes and pre-announcements about stop-work orders.

[Jerloma]

Yeah, I'd be very surprised if I still have a job in a year. I'm currently on steering committees for two (now frozen) federal grant-funded projects - one to advance health equity by ensuring that local providers are meeting their non-English speaking clients' language needs and another to reform the juvenile detention system (aka "advancing Marxist equity). I can't imagine either of those things align with "Presidential priority."

[tennbengal]

I am so sorry, guys. It's beyond horrible.

So much of the circle of people I know/am friends with we met over the years while my kids went through Friends School are losing their jobs. So many what would have otherwise been unassailably safe public sector jobs are just gone.

I keep thinking there will be some backstop to it (maybe the gutting of universities will be a bridge too far?) but...nope. No backstops. Just fullblown dictatorship stuff. Literally, we will be in a war soon if only because he will have to in order to distract from the collapse of the economy.

[Jerloma]

This quote from The Demon Haunted World written 30 years ago is eerily prophetic...

“Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time—when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.”