America

[Son of Mathonwy]

Is America great yet?

Meanwhile, in the least surprising news about this shitshow of a shit-ass shitministration yet, the fash oompaloompa isn't being told shit about shit, ensuring he knows shit about fuck.

https://newrepublic.com/post/193235/don ... -lithuania


Meanwhile meanwhile, former senator for North Dakota, Ray Holmberg, has been handed a 10 year sentence for being a massive nonce. Care to guess which party he's affiliated with?

Meanwhile meanwhile meanwhile

Trump's apparent ignorance of important events might just be him feigning ignorance in order to avoid difficult questions. His initial reaction to the Signal chat was surely this - as it was all over the news and Trump loves his news.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Child labour, yay!

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... hild-labor

[Son of Mathonwy]

I hope the newly sworn-in Greenland government are decent and strong people, because I can see a lot of bribes and/or threats coming their way.

[Which Tyler]

Child labour, yay!

Well someone's got to do the shit-work the immigrants did before being kicked out or pushed into hiding

I hope the newly sworn-in Greenland government are decent and strong people, because I can see a lot more bribes and/or threats coming their way.

FTFY

[morepork]

Is America great yet?

Meanwhile, in the least surprising news about this shitshow of a shit-ass shitministration yet, the fash oompaloompa isn't being told shit about shit, ensuring he knows shit about fuck.

https://newrepublic.com/post/193235/don ... -lithuania


Meanwhile meanwhile, former senator for North Dakota, Ray Holmberg, has been handed a 10 year sentence for being a massive nonce. Care to guess which party he's affiliated with?

Meanwhile meanwhile meanwhile

Have Nact killed the treaty of Waitangi yet? Smaller bully pulpit, but smells the same.

[Which Tyler]

Trump says he’s considering ways to serve a third term as president

[Son of Mathonwy]

Virginia Guiffre in critical or terminal condition after collision. She worked at Mar-A-Lago before coming to the attention of Epstein and Maxwell.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... nce-andrew

[Son of Mathonwy]

It seems slightly crazy to us in the UK but this record-breaking 25 hour senate speech is at least a visible sign of resistance, and hopefully an inspirational one:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... eech-trump

[Mikey Brown]

Slightly crazy? Even with those big pauses I can’t even comprehend it.

It’s seriously saying he stood there and spoke for a solid day? Did he take breaks? Why are they applauding the achievement in this way? Was he just pissing and shitting in his pants the whole time?

It certainly shows some incredible determination, but who is this effort actually reaching? I don’t get this at all.

[Stom]

Slightly crazy? Even with those big pauses I can’t even comprehend it.

It’s seriously saying he stood there and spoke for a solid day? Did he take breaks? Why are they applauding the achievement in this way? Was he just pissing and shitting in his pants the whole time?

It certainly shows some incredible determination, but who is this effort actually reaching? I don’t get this at all.

American politics...this is what's called a filibuster, and it's basically just talking so long that the bill cannot be passed. It's appalling. But then again, most of American politics is appalling, so...

[Mikey Brown]

Slightly crazy? Even with those big pauses I can’t even comprehend it.

It’s seriously saying he stood there and spoke for a solid day? Did he take breaks? Why are they applauding the achievement in this way? Was he just pissing and shitting in his pants the whole time?

It certainly shows some incredible determination, but who is this effort actually reaching? I don’t get this at all.

American politics...this is what's called a filibuster, and it's basically just talking so long that the bill cannot be passed. It's appalling. But then again, most of American politics is appalling, so...

I guess I hadn’t considered that would be done for anything approaching this sort of time. Like many things in the US, the scale of it just seems to completely out of sync with the world.

All the “checks and balances” just seem to lead to even more insane behaviour.

[Croft_No.5]

As I understand it, this wasn't a Filibuster as there is no bill involved. Hisintention is to let Democrats in the US knwo there are still folk willing to stand up for their views. But definitely insane means of generating media coverage.

[morepork]

Y'all should be aware that the previous record holder for length of speech, intended to be an actual fillibuster, was Strom Thurmond, that paragon of racist democrat-turned republican who did everything he possibly could to block the passage of the Civil Rights Act in '64. Booker's effort was more than a little symbolic.

[Son of Mathonwy]

As I understand it, this wasn't a Filibuster as there is no bill involved. Hisintention is to let Democrats in the US knwo there are still folk willing to stand up for their views. But definitely insane means of generating media coverage.

Exactly, it was like a filibuster but didn't block anything. So whether it inspires anyone or is an indicator of the Democrats being out of touch is anyone's guess.

[Stom]

As I understand it, this wasn't a Filibuster as there is no bill involved. Hisintention is to let Democrats in the US knwo there are still folk willing to stand up for their views. But definitely insane means of generating media coverage.

Yeah...so was pointless...like most of what the dems and other mainstream "left leaning" parties do nowadays.

God, we need new political parties across the globe, really, backed by young, democratically inclined rich individuals.

In Hungary there's Tisza, but he's not exactly democratically inclined...

[Which Tyler]

Doesn't the Senate do more stuff than "pass bills" though?
It spoiled an entire day of Senate activity - it may not technically be a fillibuster, and may not have stopped any bills, but it's not "nothing"

[Stom]

Doesn't the Senate do more stuff than "pass bills" though?
It spoiled an entire day of Senate activity - it may not technically be a fillibuster, and may not have stopped any bills, but it's not "nothing"

Sure, it's not nothing...but I still feel like the dems have completely shown they have no backbone.

I still remember the "nods" I got from a politician friend (and former leader of the opposition) here in Hungary when I tried to say that he needed to use "dirty" tricks to at least get close to Fidesz...

And I feel that's the problem: most politicians have no idea how to get into power, and then no idea how to govern when they get there. And so only the pigeons playing chess and the truly dangerous right-wing nutjobs remain.

[Son of Mathonwy]

Well he did it. A piece of theatre for his domestic audience and a collection of made-up numbers to justify his tariffs.

1) A big driver of this - perhaps the main one for Trump - is that this raises billions in tax revenue from ordinary Americans which he can then spend giving tax breaks to the rich.
2) Prices will shoot up in the States. Hopefully the stock markets will tank along with Trump's ratings.
3) There will be reciprocal tariffs from most of those hit, particularly the EU and China. US companies will find it noticeably harder to sell to those countries/regions.
4) The UK's softly, softly approach. Who knows what's going on in the negotiations for a trade deal, so it's hard to say if it makes sense to retaliate immediately. But according to Trump, the 10% we're being hit with is not a so-called 'reciprocal' tariff - it's the minimum, the penalty for daring to export the the US. So it's difficult to see what we can negotiate to get rid of it. I just hope that we're acting like grown-up negotiators behind the scenes and that ALL options, including tariffs and increased tax on tech companies are really on the table. I fear a pathetic sell-out, involving outrageous concessions, just to get rid of the 10%.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ration-day

[Mikey Brown]

I’m so curious if he has any deep understanding of what or why he’s actually doing these things. Pure malice, ineptitude or just following the lead of his handlers?

Are your everyday, hard-working, Trump-voting Americans on board with all this?

[Son of Mathonwy]

I’m so curious if he has any deep understanding of what or why he’s actually doing these things. Pure malice, ineptitude or just following the lead of his handlers?

Are your everyday, hard-working, Trump-voting Americans on board with all this?

Apparently he was keen on tariffs last time but was talked down by sane advisors. No sane advisors this time.

I'm thinking the everyday Americans will not like the massive price rises. True faith MAGAites will believe their prophet will lead them from the economic wilderness but the average Trump voter might have some regrets.

[Son of Mathonwy]

I’m so curious if he has any deep understanding of what or why he’s actually doing these things. Pure malice, ineptitude or just following the lead of his handlers?

Are your everyday, hard-working, Trump-voting Americans on board with all this?

Apparently he was keen on tariffs last time but was talked down by sane advisors. No sane advisors this time.

I'm thinking the everyday Americans will not like the massive price rises. True faith MAGAites will believe their prophet will lead them from the economic wilderness but the average Trump voter might have some regrets.

Yeah, well, fuck them. Perfectly happy to vote for a fascist, and let the marginalised get shat on, until they realise that they were also among those slated to be marginalised.

Especially when these fuckers come crawling over, asking "we good?" No, we are not fucking good. How about you suck the shit directly from my ass with a straw.

Yep, believe it or not, they are adults and as adults they need to take responsibility for their actions and the flyer they took on Trump. They know him even better than we do, so there's no excuse. What, tariffs don't work the way Trump said they do? Oh no, reality bites, fucking hard.

However, my main interest in their pain is that it causes them to turn on Trump. It's the best hope of getting out of this with civilization intact.

[Puja]

I’m so curious if he has any deep understanding of what or why he’s actually doing these things. Pure malice, ineptitude or just following the lead of his handlers?

I suspect that he is genuinely as stupid as he looks and is doing this out of a 5 year old's misunderstanding of international economics vs corporate economics - he sees US and the dollar's hegemony of international trade as an unused lever of power and believes that he is a genius for spotting and the people before him who didn't use it were imbeciles or weaklings. There is a chance that he's secretly clever and seeing it as a way to transfer more money from the poor to the rich, but I doubt it.

My concern over this is that he may end up being proven right, at least in the theory that the US position in the world is strong enough that the normal rules don't apply to it, and that the economy won't crash, simply because there's too many people and nations that would be properly fucked if it did. Too big to fail.

Doesn't the Senate do more stuff than "pass bills" though?
It spoiled an entire day of Senate activity - it may not technically be a fillibuster, and may not have stopped any bills, but it's not "nothing"

Sure, it's not nothing...but I still feel like the dems have completely shown they have no backbone.

I still remember the "nods" I got from a politician friend (and former leader of the opposition) here in Hungary when I tried to say that he needed to use "dirty" tricks to at least get close to Fidesz...

And I feel that's the problem: most politicians have no idea how to get into power, and then no idea how to govern when they get there. And so only the pigeons playing chess and the truly dangerous right-wing nutjobs remain.

Puja

[Galfon]

Are your everyday, hard-working, Trump-voting Americans on board with all this?

Can't get my head round how getting importers and consumers to effectively pay more into the state coffers with the import levy can prove popular with a large slice of the electorate who voted for him last time ( as the more expensive, more luxury items eg cars from Europe will be in their sphere ), or if it doesn't get ditched in a few months the cross-border shenanigans with Mexico and Canada thst would naturally ensue, and the natural rise in thefts, and then insurance....nah, it's all been checked out/ planned in.Sorted
Maybe he's just scooping as much in while he's there, short-term, to help fund more forays in the Arctic region

[Son of Mathonwy]

Are your everyday, hard-working, Trump-voting Americans on board with all this?

Can't get my head round how getting importers and consumers to effectively pay more into the state coffers with the import levy can prove popular with a large slice of the electorate who voted for him last time ( as the more expensive, more luxury items eg cars from Europe will be in their sphere ), or if it doesn't get ditched in a few months the cross-border shenanigans with Mexico and Canada thst would naturally ensue, and the natural rise in thefts, and then insurance....nah, it's all been checked out/ planned in.Sorted
Maybe he's just scooping as much in while he's there, short-term, to help fund more forays in the Arctic region

He probably say those nasty foreign companies are raising their prices to rip off honest American folk.

The question is, are there enough ignorant voters for him to get away with it? A Fox News viewer is unlikely to encounter the truth on this.

[Son of Mathonwy]

I’m so curious if he has any deep understanding of what or why he’s actually doing these things. Pure malice, ineptitude or just following the lead of his handlers?

I suspect that he is genuinely as stupid as he looks and is doing this out of a 5 year old's misunderstanding of international economics vs corporate economics - he sees US and the dollar's hegemony of international trade as an unused lever of power and believes that he is a genius for spotting and the people before him who didn't use it were imbeciles or weaklings. There is a chance that he's secretly clever and seeing it as a way to transfer more money from the poor to the rich, but I doubt it.

My concern over this is that he may end up being proven right, at least in the theory that the US position in the world is strong enough that the normal rules don't apply to it, and that the economy won't crash, simply because there's too many people and nations that would be properly fucked if it did. Too big to fail.

Puja

The contents of Trump's brain will always be a matter of great uncertainty but I think there's a good chance he's grasped the fact that tariffs are a tax on the ordinary consumer that he can pretend is not a tax at all.

If he backs down from these tariffs - on the big players (the EU and China) - he might avoid a big impact to the US economy and his popularity. Otherwise I don't think any illusions of American exceptionalism will help him. There's no way either the EU or China will back down from raising their own economic defences, so not only will prices shoot up in the states but US businesses will struggle to sell to the EU and China. It will not be pretty.

I guess I wouldn't put it past Trump from riding through the carnage like it's a war and he's George fucking Washington, because USA!! but even those MAGA morons (or enough of them? ) will see the light as their wealth turn to shit.