Trump 2.0

[GuitarStv]

The issue is, he by these executive orders are explicitly taking the powers that reside as a legislative power (creating and passing legislation, and budgets and spending) as his power. I don't care if you are Republican or Democrat. All Congress and senators should be pushing hard against this. I just hope they have the guts.

Narrator voice: Republicans do not.

Regrettably, Republicans did not.  I'm Morgan Freeman, and this is the first in our new seven part history of the end of the United States and the beginning of our great country of Trumplandia.  In it we will cover the downfall of democracy, the annexation of Greenland and Canada, the closing of our borders, expulsion of the people who did our menial tasks, and the rise of the constant food insecurity that continues to plague our nation.

[Cassie]

I really believe they want people to protest so they can initiate martial law and trump will be a true dictator.

Trump is thinking of using the Insurrection Act in urban areas. This would mean boots on the ground, ostensibly for rounding up illegal (and "illegal") immigrants.

I hadn’t read that but thanks for sharing this information. I will have to check it out. It truly is a daily horror show.

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

I talked to someone today who said the one thing you can say for him is he's doing what he said he would. So there's that.....

[dandarc]

I talked to someone today who said the one thing you can say for him is he's doing what he said he would. So there's that.....

Not according to my sister. "I voted for him because he said this, not that!"

[ixtap]

I talked to someone today who said the one thing you can say for him is he's doing what he said he would. So there's that.....

Not according to my sister. "I voted for him because he said this, not that!"

I mean, he usually contradicts himself from one moment to the next

[Sailor Sam]

Emails from “OPM” going out to civilian feds offering a deferred resignation. It allows people who agree to the resignation to continue WFH until 30-sep-2025.

Available to all “full time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security…”


Woah. Whoa, even.

[reeshau]

The issue is, he by these executive orders are explicitly taking the powers that reside as a legislative power (creating and passing legislation, and budgets and spending) as his power. I don't care if you are Republican or Democrat. All Congress and senators should be pushing hard against this. I just hope they have the guts.

Andrew Ross Sorkin tried to corner Ted Cruz today into being outraged at having zero notice, rather than the legislated 30-day notice for the firing of the Attorneys General.  Ted wouldn't take the bait: repeated *5 times* "the Executive has the constitution right to control their departments."

It was a trap question, but also a total ass kiss of an answer.  This, from the former most-obstinate-and-incorrigible person in Washington.

[wenchsenior]

Emails from “OPM” going out to civilian feds offering a deferred resignation. It allows people who agree to the resignation to continue WFH until 30-sep-2025.

Available to all “full time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security…”


Woah. Whoa, even.

It's incredible that something like this is even being mailed. They are giving people 1 week to decide to bail based on a brand new 'severance' deal that IS NOT EVEN APPROVED NOR FUNDED BY CONGRESS, given that the government is only funded until the end of March.

It's a scare tactic, and it's just infuriating.

ETA: Oh, apparently this letter actually says the employees accepting this will be working until September, so... there is actually no buyout being offered at all. So it's even more ludicrous than it appears.

[Fomerly known as something]

Emails from “OPM” going out to civilian feds offering a deferred resignation. It allows people who agree to the resignation to continue WFH until 30-sep-2025.

Available to all “full time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security…”


Woah. Whoa, even.

Gosh darn it Sam with you being military and me National Security.  Still waiting for my e-mail.

[OzzieandHarriet]

I talked to someone today who said the one thing you can say for him is he's doing what he said he would. So there's that.....

Not according to my sister. "I voted for him because he said this, not that!"

I mean, he usually contradicts himself from one moment to the next

Another way to put it is that he constantly lies his ass off.

[dandarc]

I talked to someone today who said the one thing you can say for him is he's doing what he said he would. So there's that.....

Not according to my sister. "I voted for him because he said this, not that!"

I mean, he usually contradicts himself from one moment to the next

Another way to put it is that he constantly lies his ass off.

Pointing this out did not help.

[OzzieandHarriet]

Emails from “OPM” going out to civilian feds offering a deferred resignation. It allows people who agree to the resignation to continue WFH until 30-sep-2025.

Available to all “full time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security…”


Woah. Whoa, even.

It's incredible that something like this is even being mailed. They are giving people 1 week to decide to bail based on a brand new 'severance' deal that IS NOT EVEN APPROVED NOR FUNDED BY CONGRESS, given that the government is only funded until the end of March.

It's a scare tactic, and it's just infuriating.

ETA: Oh, apparently this letter actually says the employees accepting this will be working until September, so... there is actually no buyout being offered at all. So it's even more ludicrous than it appears.

Well, you know who is running OPM right now ... Elon Musk.

[Sailor Sam]

Emails from “OPM” going out to civilian feds offering a deferred resignation. It allows people who agree to the resignation to continue WFH until 30-sep-2025.

Available to all “full time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security…”


Woah. Whoa, even.

It's incredible that something like this is even being mailed. They are giving people 1 week to decide to bail based on a brand new 'severance' deal that IS NOT EVEN APPROVED NOR FUNDED BY CONGRESS, given that the government is only funded until the end of March.

It's a scare tactic, and it's just infuriating.

ETA: Oh, apparently this letter actually says the employees accepting this will be working until September, so... there is actually no buyout being offered at all. So it's even more ludicrous than it appears.

Well, you know who is running OPM right now ... Elon Musk.

The subject line of the email is “A Fork in the Road.”


…..same subject line as the email Elon sent out when he bought Twitter. Which 100% backs up the OPM leak email about non-feds taking over and setting up all-fed email servers.

Gosh darn it Sam with you being military and me National Security.  Still waiting for my e-mail.

I know, rite! Specifically called out for retention.

[Fru-Gal]

I'm having trouble.

[Travis]

Emails from “OPM” going out to civilian feds offering a deferred resignation. It allows people who agree to the resignation to continue WFH until 30-sep-2025.

Available to all “full time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security…”


Woah. Whoa, even.

It's incredible that something like this is even being mailed. They are giving people 1 week to decide to bail based on a brand new 'severance' deal that IS NOT EVEN APPROVED NOR FUNDED BY CONGRESS, given that the government is only funded until the end of March.

It's a scare tactic, and it's just infuriating.

ETA: Oh, apparently this letter actually says the employees accepting this will be working until September, so... there is actually no buyout being offered at all. So it's even more ludicrous than it appears.

Well, you know who is running OPM right now ... Elon Musk.

The subject line of the email is “A Fork in the Road.”


…..same subject line as the email Elon sent out when he bought Twitter. Which 100% backs up the OPM leak email about non-feds taking over and setting up all-fed email servers.

Gosh darn it Sam with you being military and me National Security.  Still waiting for my e-mail.

I know, rite! Specifically called out for retention.

The first round of OPM guidance memos for taking action on Executive Orders were written by Project 2025 authors (literally, their names were in the pdf meta data) who are now Presidential advisors or actually working at OPM.  There's a good chance that they also authored all of his EOs in the first place. The talking points and the letter of the EOs have not entirely been in sync (but come right out of P2025 essays), probably because someone who didn't actually consider the effects on how government functions wrote them.

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-lackeys-office-personnel-management-opm-neuralink-x-boring-stalin/

Today's EO to the DoD bans transgender troops because not being honest with yourself about your gender identity means you cannot lead a truthful and honorable military career.

[OzzieandHarriet]

I'm having trouble.

So am I. I just emailed our senators and congress person, for whatever good that does.

[Fomerly known as something]

Emails from “OPM” going out to civilian feds offering a deferred resignation. It allows people who agree to the resignation to continue WFH until 30-sep-2025.

Available to all “full time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security…”


Woah. Whoa, even.

It's incredible that something like this is even being mailed. They are giving people 1 week to decide to bail based on a brand new 'severance' deal that IS NOT EVEN APPROVED NOR FUNDED BY CONGRESS, given that the government is only funded until the end of March.

It's a scare tactic, and it's just infuriating.

ETA: Oh, apparently this letter actually says the employees accepting this will be working until September, so... there is actually no buyout being offered at all. So it's even more ludicrous than it appears.

Well, you know who is running OPM right now ... Elon Musk.

The subject line of the email is “A Fork in the Road.”


…..same subject line as the email Elon sent out when he bought Twitter. Which 100% backs up the OPM leak email about non-feds taking over and setting up all-fed email servers.

Gosh darn it Sam with you being military and me National Security.  Still waiting for my e-mail.

I know, rite! Specifically called out for retention.

The first round of OPM guidance memos for taking action on Executive Orders were written by Project 2025 authors (literally, their names were in the pdf meta data) who are now Presidential advisors or actually working at OPM.  There's a good chance that they also authored all of his EOs in the first place. The talking points and the letter of the EOs have not entirely been in sync (but come right out of P2025 essays), probably because someone who didn't actually consider the effects on how government functions wrote them.

Today's EO to the DoD bans transgender troops because not being honest with yourself about your gender identity means you cannot lead a truthful and honorable military career.

I wonder how that’s going to trickle down to civilians.  We have a Transgendered person with a TS clearance in my office.  None of us cares, as in it’s their choice.  But they are good employee I hope they still get to go to work every day far into the future should they choose.  Also do they no longer have to wear a tie?

[LennStar]

Trump is slapping tariffs on Taiwan. If there's one way to increase the cost of anything with electronics (computers, cars, phones, etc.), this is definitely the way to do.

America's going to be paying A LOT more for electronics than the rest of the world.

If only someone had forseen this and there was a thread full of thoughts on how to pull ahead purchases in advance of the tariffs...
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/do-you-have-a-pre-tariffs-shopping-list/

This is an interesting opportunity for Canada. Data centers suddenly became VERY expensive to build in America.

If you also do data protection on EU levels.
Because Trump also ended the fig leaf that allowed EU citizen's data to be saved on American servers. It should now be illegal again to do that, the same guys who brought down the first version have already send out their post to the court.

I really believe they want people to protest so they can initiate martial law and trump will be a true dictator.

Trump is thinking of using the Insurrection Act in urban areas. This would mean boots on the ground, ostensibly for rounding up illegal (and "illegal") immigrants.

From Hitler coming into power, it took 28 days to a burning Reichstag - would be your Senate. The following law for "the protection of citizens and state" made him effectivly dictator and lasted until the end of the third Reich.
First ones to go were the communists and socialists, but I guess in your case it will be climate scientists. 
The next and last step was the "Ermächtigungsgesetz", another 4 weeks later. It allowed Hitler to pass laws without parliament. The parliament enacted it - with more than 100 members (the communists and socialists) missing, who were in "protective custody" or had fled.

I don't think it will happen in that way in the US, mostly because your resistance is a lot lower so less drastic things will happen, but so far you have been following the playbook nicely. My hope at this point is that there is no actual big armed group that is his personal army. But then again, all the MAGAs who say they need their weapons to protect themselves from a dictatorial state...


EDIT: In case you want to train, here is a game (I haven't touched it so far) about being the Socialists in the Weimar Republic, the goal is to prevent Hitler from coming into power: https://red-autumn.itch.io/social-democracy

[Just Joe]

I talked to someone today who said the one thing you can say for him is he's doing what he said he would. So there's that.....

I can't bring myself to watch FoxNews - are any of the conservatives up in arms about the sloppy application of his EO i.e. broad orders that may or may not have unwanted knock on effects?

I'm sure any collateral chaos is a feature, not a bug. 

[partgypsy]

I request that everyone write to their Congress people and senators to ask them to push back the president seizing power that as per constitution, resides in the legislative branch. And if they are not willing to do that, they are violating their vow to uphold the constitution, and should resign.

[NorCal]

I request that everyone write to their Congress people and senators to ask them to push back the president seizing power that as per constitution, resides in the legislative branch. And if they are not willing to do that, they are violating their vow to uphold the constitution, and should resign.

Agreed. This is particularly true for people that are individually impacted.  You should be blowing up the phones of your representatives (house and senate) if you’re at risk of losing a job, funding, etc.

This is even more important if you have Republican representatives. The only two potential checks on executive power are the courts and republican representatives that are more afraid of their constituents than they are of Donald Trump

[GuitarStv]

I request that everyone write to their Congress people and senators to ask them to push back the president seizing power that as per constitution, resides in the legislative branch. And if they are not willing to do that, they are violating their vow to uphold the constitution, and should resign.

Agreed. This is particularly true for people that are individually impacted.  You should be blowing up the phones of your representatives (house and senate) if you’re at risk of losing a job, funding, etc.

This is even more important if you have Republican representatives. The only two potential checks on executive power are the courts and republican representatives that are more afraid of their constituents than they are of Donald Trump

I like the idea, but suspect that the overwhelming majority of Republican constituents support most of what's going on.  This will be an uphill battle.

[ChpBstrd]

EDIT: In case you want to train, here is a game (I haven't touched it so far) about being the Socialists in the Weimar Republic, the goal is to prevent Hitler from coming into power: https://red-autumn.itch.io/social-democracy

That game is awesome. I lost, perhaps due to not understanding parliamentary democracy very well or due to thinking of the far-left as a politically lethargic navel-gazing element as it is in the U.S.

[MustacheAndaHalf]

How was it again that he managed to run a casino in Atlantic City into bankruptcy?

Maybe I'm missing additional context, and this is rhetorical.  Trump owned one casino, and bought another very close by (maybe across the street, I forget).  He modernized the larger casino he just bought, causing customers to lose interest in the older casino.  He bankrupted his own casino, competing with himself.

[NorCal]

I request that everyone write to their Congress people and senators to ask them to push back the president seizing power that as per constitution, resides in the legislative branch. And if they are not willing to do that, they are violating their vow to uphold the constitution, and should resign.

Agreed. This is particularly true for people that are individually impacted.  You should be blowing up the phones of your representatives (house and senate) if you’re at risk of losing a job, funding, etc.

This is even more important if you have Republican representatives. The only two potential checks on executive power are the courts and republican representatives that are more afraid of their constituents than they are of Donald Trump

I like the idea, but suspect that the overwhelming majority of Republican constituents support most of what's going on.  This will be an uphill battle.

The hardcore MAGA types love it.  But hardcore MAGA types aren't the only constituents that vote.

Just looking at my state of Colorado, here's some examples where Republicans might care.

Congressional District 3 is the Western Slope of Colorado and elected a Republican by about 5 percentage points.  It's a solidly Republican district, but not unquestionably so.  Trump's pause on IRA disbursements just cost CD 3 about $400M in funding mostly for conservation and infrastructure on the Colorado River.  Both Democrats and Republicans in the district care a lot about the Colorado River. 

Congressional District 8 elected a Republican by only a couple thousand votes.  It also happens to be home to a college that gets a lot of grant funding, and a major Vestas factory for wind farm parts.  Representative Gabe Evans should be caring a lot about these executive orders.  I believe he's managed to avoid comment so far. 

What these representatives hear from their constituents will likely represent the actual practical limits of Trump's power.

I'm less concerned with my representative, as she's one of the most liberal of liberal representatives in the House. 

[englishteacheralex]

Emails from “OPM” going out to civilian feds offering a deferred resignation. It allows people who agree to the resignation to continue WFH until 30-sep-2025.

Available to all “full time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security…”


Woah. Whoa, even.

My husband got this email and is livid at the disinformation involved. He works for the VA. Last week was intense. This week is also intense. Where is all this leading?

[LennStar]

EDIT: In case you want to train, here is a game (I haven't touched it so far) about being the Socialists in the Weimar Republic, the goal is to prevent Hitler from coming into power: https://red-autumn.itch.io/social-democracy

That game is awesome. I lost, perhaps due to not understanding parliamentary democracy very well or due to thinking of the far-left as a politically lethargic navel-gazing element as it is in the U.S.

Glad to hear, try again! You will get better.

But I have to correct: It's of course not the Communists or Socialists but the Social Democrats (non-communistic worker party). Left from center but not far or even extreme left.

Meanwhile Germany is playing that game in RL. Today the CDU (basically the same party that helped Hitler come into power (Zentrum)) got an anti-immigrant packet through because of the votes of the AfD.
On the Holocaust memorial day. 

I can't eat as much as I want to throw up.

[ChpBstrd]

EDIT: In case you want to train, here is a game (I haven't touched it so far) about being the Socialists in the Weimar Republic, the goal is to prevent Hitler from coming into power: https://red-autumn.itch.io/social-democracy

That game is awesome. I lost, perhaps due to not understanding parliamentary democracy very well or due to thinking of the far-left as a politically lethargic navel-gazing element as it is in the U.S.

Glad to hear, try again! You will get better.

But I have to correct: It's of course not the Communists or Socialists but the Social Democrats (non-communistic worker party). Left from center but not far or even extreme left.

Meanwhile Germany is playing that game in RL. Today the CDU (basically the same party that helped Hitler come into power (Zentrum)) got an anti-immigrant packet through because of the votes of the AfD.
On the Holocaust memorial day. 

I can't eat as much as I want to throw up.

Yea the discouraging part of the game is that even if you play it in a competent way, you'll still probably lose because the Great Depression was coming, people love to scapegoat, the military and police inherently attract right-wingers, and because the ideology is full of contradictions that keep peeling off supporters.

And yet I think I played the game much more competently than the Democratic Party in the U.S. has played their hand. That's the even more discouraging part.

The tendency toward fascism seems to be sweeping the democracies of the world, perhaps facilitated by causes that transcend borders such as social media replacing broadcast media, anti-organizational attitudes on the left, cynical cultural memes that define Generation X, and corrupted political systems that no longer inspire loyalty. Nowhere is safe.

I will renew my efforts to learn passable basic Spanish this year, and perhaps take a vacation to a Spanish-speaking country, while learning how to move a portfolio into a different country/currency. Those seems like the most efficient initial steps to expand my options to be a hyper-mobile global citizen / moneyed refugee who can perhaps escape two or three nations' descent into fascism. It was the correct thing to do in 1933, when the fools were voting foolishly, and it can only be helpful now. But I think one has to plan for multiple contingencies today, rather than just escaping across the ocean to one place one single time. E.g. Maybe Australia falls for the same reasons the U.S. and Europe did and so you have to make a 2nd move to Chile, or something like that.

[Fru-Gal]

Up until last week I would be the first to say that even with all the confusion, the US is the best place to be, globally. I still think territory-wise there is just so much land to go off-grid to in America.

What’s changing my mind is if Trump succeeds in quickly crashing our economy. However, if he does that, the global effects will be massive, so again, there may not be a better place to go to.

Also, being a refugee is going to be difficult if everyone’s trying to go to the same places or pass through the same border control points.

[GuitarStv]

EDIT: In case you want to train, here is a game (I haven't touched it so far) about being the Socialists in the Weimar Republic, the goal is to prevent Hitler from coming into power: https://red-autumn.itch.io/social-democracy

That game is awesome. I lost, perhaps due to not understanding parliamentary democracy very well or due to thinking of the far-left as a politically lethargic navel-gazing element as it is in the U.S.

I've tried a couple strategies and can't figure out a winnable path.  Is there one?

[LennStar]

EDIT: In case you want to train, here is a game (I haven't touched it so far) about being the Socialists in the Weimar Republic, the goal is to prevent Hitler from coming into power: https://red-autumn.itch.io/social-democracy

That game is awesome. I lost, perhaps due to not understanding parliamentary democracy very well or due to thinking of the far-left as a politically lethargic navel-gazing element as it is in the U.S.

I've tried a couple strategies and can't figure out a winnable path.  Is there one?

There definitely is, since people are doing it ;) (See the subreddit).
I saw that game in an article, and there the author won by heavily compromising with the less radical right.

[GuitarStv]

EDIT: In case you want to train, here is a game (I haven't touched it so far) about being the Socialists in the Weimar Republic, the goal is to prevent Hitler from coming into power: https://red-autumn.itch.io/social-democracy

That game is awesome. I lost, perhaps due to not understanding parliamentary democracy very well or due to thinking of the far-left as a politically lethargic navel-gazing element as it is in the U.S.

I've tried a couple strategies and can't figure out a winnable path.  Is there one?

There definitely is, since people are doing it ;) (See the subreddit).
I saw that game in an article, and there the author won by heavily compromising with the less radical right.

Oh.  Fuck that.  I'm a man of the people.

[dandarc]

EDIT: In case you want to train, here is a game (I haven't touched it so far) about being the Socialists in the Weimar Republic, the goal is to prevent Hitler from coming into power: https://red-autumn.itch.io/social-democracy

That game is awesome. I lost, perhaps due to not understanding parliamentary democracy very well or due to thinking of the far-left as a politically lethargic navel-gazing element as it is in the U.S.

I've tried a couple strategies and can't figure out a winnable path.  Is there one?

There definitely is, since people are doing it ;) (See the subreddit).
I saw that game in an article, and there the author won by heavily compromising with the less radical right.

Oh.  Fuck that.  I'm a man of the people.

Rock on Kennedy.

[Travis]

Emails from “OPM” going out to civilian feds offering a deferred resignation. It allows people who agree to the resignation to continue WFH until 30-sep-2025.

Available to all “full time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security…”


Woah. Whoa, even.

My husband got this email and is livid at the disinformation involved. He works for the VA. Last week was intense. This week is also intense. Where is all this leading?

Gutting the federal workforce. Whether its to make the survivors make due with fewer people, or restaff with new hires who go through a loyalty screening we'll have to wait and see. None of this is being done in the workforce's interest or consideration.

[Fru-Gal]

Well, Canada is taking him seriously. Retaliatory tariffs are going to happen,  just like last time.  Plus a lot of grass roots boycotts.

Yeah if he brings in the tariffs I'll be cancelling a lot of stuff that I currently buy from/through the US.  I'm already deleting my social media accounts, or migrating to federated/non-corrupt-billionaire services like Mastodon.  Not going to give Zuckerberg, Musk or any of the others currently bellying up to the trough any more power than they already don't deserve.

As stunning as it has been to see the tech Titans standing at attention* during the inauguration, this morning I had a thought. What if they are all understanding that there is no more growth ahead for them? That the tide of public sentiment is turning? And people are realizing that the tools for federated social media or their own LLMs and other services are at their fingertips? That with AI anyone can create applications for themselves? Maybe that’s why they need to do this regulatory capture and tax breaks? Because there is no more growth ahead for them?

* The wealthy have always bought the government that they wish for. It’s just never been quite as in your face.

I just wanna point out that what I wrote after the inauguration is already looking to be coming true.

[Cassie]

There’s a nationwide movement called Indivisible that is meeting all over the country to fight the Trump administration. I signed up to go to a meeting. If they need volunteers I’m available. They send out texts if you sign up telling you who to call and what to say to let your legislators know what you think about what’s happening.

[OzzieandHarriet]

This was the concluding paragraph in an email I received today from one of our senators:

Since these actions were announced, I’ve heard from constituents across [state] alarmed by their impacts and trying to figure out the extent of the damage. They are facing uncertainty and confusion. With MAGA Republicans in control of both houses of Congress, our best recourse in the short term will be in the courts. We have already seen lawsuits filed by the National Treasury Employees Union, the American Federation of Government Employees, the AFSCME, and others. I wholeheartedly back the legal efforts these unions, states, and others are undertaking, and I will do all I can to support them. And every day, I will continue working to shine a light on the harm this Administration is already inflicting on the country and, wherever I can, to stop it.

I guess shining a light on it is good, but the problem is a big chunk of the country is seeing an entirely different light.

[Omy]

An acquaintance of mine who voted for this administration is extremely upset that their friends (who are here legally for asylum) are in a state of panic because the administration has cancelled/halted all refugee programs. These people are here legally and are working, but with the strike of a pen have essentially lost their "legal" status.

When it becomes real to the supporters of this administration that lack of regulations means THEIR air and rivers become more polluted, or tariffs mean THEIR food and goods become more expensive, or the programs they depend on disappear, they will eventually see the light.

It might take awhile for the "me and mine" group to get it, but at the speed these EOs are wreaking havoc with people's lives it might be sooner than we think. My acquaintance has already started calling their representatives and is encouraging friends to do the same.

[LennStar]

If it would not mean that so many innocent people would suffer, I would be 100% for Trump voters to "enjoy" the results of the whatever-was-the-name 2025 for a full decade.

You have been told, you chose to ignore. Now -literally- suffer the consequences.

[ChpBstrd]

An acquaintance of mine who voted for this administration is extremely upset that their friends (who are here legally for asylum) are in a state of panic because the administration has cancelled/halted all refugee programs. These people are here legally and are working, but with the strike of a pen have essentially lost their "legal" status.

When it becomes real to the supporters of this administration that lack of regulations means THEIR air and rivers become more polluted, or tariffs mean THEIR food and goods become more expensive, or the programs they depend on disappear, they will eventually see the light.

It might take awhile for the "me and mine" group to get it, but at the speed these EOs are wreaking havoc with people's lives it might be sooner than we think. My acquaintance has already started calling their representatives and is encouraging friends to do the same.

Republicans in the Arkansas legislature repealed rules that protected the Buffalo National River from hog farm runoff. As a result, the crystal clear waters I remember from 20 years ago have a murky green tone now - exactly as the environmentalists warned would happen. This river runs through deepest-red rural parts of Arkansas, and its degradation did not mean a thing to the residents there. Instead, my memory of how it used to be has been questioned.

When the inflation hits, it can always be blamed on the opposition. Or maybe Jerome Powell will get a kick in the seat on his way out. Most people will believe whatever narrative the media (Youtube, X, FoxNews, WSJ, etc.) tell them about the cause of the problem, so if you control the media, you control the politics. A subset of people select their problems based on what these media tell them are the problems.

[ixtap]

An acquaintance of mine who voted for this administration is extremely upset that their friends (who are here legally for asylum) are in a state of panic because the administration has cancelled/halted all refugee programs. These people are here legally and are working, but with the strike of a pen have essentially lost their "legal" status.

Trump has always been clear that he only wants rich immigrants and the whole team doubled down on cancelling legal immigration when they went after the Haitians during the campaign. Vance even said he just choses to call them illegal immigrants because he doesn't like the program that grants them legal status.

[sixwings]

An acquaintance of mine who voted for this administration is extremely upset that their friends (who are here legally for asylum) are in a state of panic because the administration has cancelled/halted all refugee programs. These people are here legally and are working, but with the strike of a pen have essentially lost their "legal" status.

When it becomes real to the supporters of this administration that lack of regulations means THEIR air and rivers become more polluted, or tariffs mean THEIR food and goods become more expensive, or the programs they depend on disappear, they will eventually see the light.

It might take awhile for the "me and mine" group to get it, but at the speed these EOs are wreaking havoc with people's lives it might be sooner than we think. My acquaintance has already started calling their representatives and is encouraging friends to do the same.

Republicans in the Arkansas legislature repealed rules that protected the Buffalo National River from hog farm runoff. As a result, the crystal clear waters I remember from 20 years ago have a murky green tone now - exactly as the environmentalists warned would happen. This river runs through deepest-red rural parts of Arkansas, and its degradation did not mean a thing to the residents there. Instead, my memory of how it used to be has been questioned.

When the inflation hits, it can always be blamed on the opposition. Or maybe Jerome Powell will get a kick in the seat on his way out. Most people will believe whatever narrative the media (Youtube, X, FoxNews, WSJ, etc.) tell them about the cause of the problem, so if you control the media, you control the politics. A subset of people select their problems based on what these media tell them are the problems.

Exactly this. Americans won't be able to even tell what is real after 4 years of this shit. I wouldn't expect any kind of logical reaction at this point, it'll be what they are told on right wing social media platforms.

[jeninco]

I request that everyone write to their Congress people and senators to ask them to push back the president seizing power that as per constitution, resides in the legislative branch. And if they are not willing to do that, they are violating their vow to uphold the constitution, and should resign.

Agreed. This is particularly true for people that are individually impacted.  You should be blowing up the phones of your representatives (house and senate) if you’re at risk of losing a job, funding, etc.

This is even more important if you have Republican representatives. The only two potential checks on executive power are the courts and republican representatives that are more afraid of their constituents than they are of Donald Trump

I like the idea, but suspect that the overwhelming majority of Republican constituents support most of what's going on.  This will be an uphill battle.

The hardcore MAGA types love it.  But hardcore MAGA types aren't the only constituents that vote.

Just looking at my state of Colorado, here's some examples where Republicans might care.

Congressional District 3 is the Western Slope of Colorado and elected a Republican by about 5 percentage points.  It's a solidly Republican district, but not unquestionably so.  Trump's pause on IRA disbursements just cost CD 3 about $400M in funding mostly for conservation and infrastructure on the Colorado River.  Both Democrats and Republicans in the district care a lot about the Colorado River. 

Congressional District 8 elected a Republican by only a couple thousand votes.  It also happens to be home to a college that gets a lot of grant funding, and a major Vestas factory for wind farm parts.  Representative Gabe Evans should be caring a lot about these executive orders.  I believe he's managed to avoid comment so far. 

What these representatives hear from their constituents will likely represent the actual practical limits of Trump's power.

I'm less concerned with my representative, as she's one of the most liberal of liberal representatives in the House.

Ditto, but Hick just voted in favor of several (wildly unqualified) Trump Appointees. I just sent him an email urging that he vote against Kennedy (barf!), Tulsi, and Patel.

[NorCal]

My wife works in the regulatory world. She just got word that the EPA just laid off all employees in their first year of hire.

[Kris]

"Obviously it is not standard to have aircraft collide. I want to be clear on that." -- Sean Duffy, our new secretary of transportation.

[Glenstache]

"Obviously it is not standard to have aircraft collide. I want to be clear on that." -- Sean Duffy, our new secretary of transportation.

And, not to be outdone, Trump blames the crash on Biden and DEI hires.

Trump, in a press briefing, boasted about an executive order he issued last week ending diversity, equity and inclusion hiring within the Federal Aviation Administration, and suggested without proof that people with “severe intellectual disabilities” had been hired as air traffic controllers under the Obama and Biden administrations. He said only “naturally talented geniuses” would be hired for the job under his new policies. He later said “we don’t know that necessarily (the crash) is even the controller’s fault.”

When asked how he could have determined diversity hiring practices were to blame for the crash without evidence, Trump said, “because I have common sense. And, unfortunately, a lot of people don’t.”

... and I'm sure RFK blames it on vaccine side effects... somehow.

[sixwings]

They just need to deregulate more, let the companies figure out their own safety standards, duh!

[Scandium]

They just need to deregulate more, let the companies figure out their own safety standards, duh!

Similar to the libertarian method; if the airline skimps on maintenance and cause a crash that kills 250 people. Well, then you just won't fly that airline again. Duh! It's a slight bummer that you're dead, but at least other people will now know to pick another airline.. The price of freedom. 

[Fru-Gal]

What I'm wondering is has there been no mention of possible intent? Or is it clear from the recordings that this was an accident?

I swear to God all this plane stuff makes me so much happier to be on trains.

[OzzieandHarriet]

What I'm wondering is has there been no mention of possible intent? Or is it clear from the recordings that this was an accident?

I swear to God all this plane stuff makes me so much happier to be on trains.

You mean the plane crash last night? It sounds like it was an accident caused by the military trainees flying the helicopter, but with this bunch running things we may never know the truth.