The Official "Damned Trump" Thread: Phase II

[Angrboda]

In hindsight, I suspect that Trump's Iran war was intended to give him a political win by curbing Iran's push for a nuclear weapon. But the Iranian push for nuclear is wholly imaginary. The only win would be through propaganda convincing voters that Iran was a nuclear threat even though they objectively were not. Though that argument might well appeal to his core constituency, the low-information voter.

[Angrboda]

Reading on Fox News, they're saying that the IRGC has asserted greater control, limiting access to Khameini and controlling the levers of power. So much for a quick end to the war. The IRGC doesn't care about the consequences for greater Iran.

[Angrboda]

An opinion piece in ScotusBlog suggests that the court's shadow docket intervention in 2016 didn't differ significantly from prior internal discourse within the court. I guess my thinking in how it differed was in the way Roberts put his thumb on the scale of justice in terms of favoring conservative policy through a mechanism which granted extraordinary relief. Whether Roberts was right or wrong about the potential harm to fossil fuel dependent industries or not, the implementation of the relief was fundamentally different from that granted by liberal courts who likewise put their thumbs on the scale of justice, but did so only after full deliberation and process had been exhausted. So, to my mind, the difference is not so much in the terms of process, which ScotusBlog writes are not substantial, but rather in Roberts' forceful appropriation of the power to dictate national policy absent actual deliberative review of the legality and impact of policy. And in that, we see that Roberts has continued to appropriate the power to determine national policy in ways that favor conservatism's viewpoint without the check of deliberative process and argument. Essentially, in the 2016 decision, as well as decisions against Biden and in favor of Trump, we see a chief justice who, alongside Trump as king, has appointed himself as emperor. Am I overstating this, or am I wrong in my particulars?

[Angrboda]

Projections suggest there will be millions of dead men, women and children as a result of his budget cuts, which were made without direct congressional approval. A study published in The Lancet, the London-based medical journal, found that Trump administration cuts in U.S.A.I.D. funding “would result in approximately 1,776,539 all-age deaths and 689,900 deaths in children younger than 5 years” in 2025 alone.

“Over the remainder of the period,” the study continues, “the complete defunding of U.S.A.I.D. would cause an estimated 2,450,000 all-age deaths annually, leading to a total of 14,051,750 excess all-age deaths and 4,537,157 excess under-5 deaths by 2030.”

‘Easily the Worst President in U.S. History’

[Angrboda]

Trump and Republicans will be reading bible verses in a marathon event this week. Well, as long as they've got nothing better to do. /s

[awty]

The latest refund/rebate plan is so much winning for us.

Tariffs were imposed and were paid for by businesses who had to purchase parts and other goods.

Those businesses raised their prices to recoup some of the expense, so the consumer (us) paid those tariffs.

SCOTUS said the tariffs were illegal and ordered them be retuned. Soooooo - the business who had already recouped some, if not all, of the expense get paid twice.

The consumer who had been promised a rebate or two is, again, getting not only the short straw but a kick in the ass to go with it.

C'mon DOGE ck - we need you.

sigh

[Angrboda]

The first is an allegation that Patel was viewed as a “threat to public safety,” including concerns about how he would respond in the event of a domestic terror attack. The phrase “threat to public safety” was not in The Atlantic’s report.

The second is that an allegation that he once had his security detail shut down the FBI Association Store so he could shop alone, and complained that the merchandise “wasn’t intimidating enough.” The claim that the merchandise was not sufficiently intimidating was published; that the store was shut down by his detail was not.

That means that the letter, which came from a personal attorney for Patel rather than from the FBI’s own counsel, effectively put what it describes as false and defamatory statements into public circulation.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/keystone-k...ing-claims

[Angrboda]

Trump has extended the ceasefire indefinitely. Vance will be staying home. Iranians are refusing to negotiate.

Yeah, this war is ending soon. /s

[Angrboda]

The DOJ is investigating the Southern Poverty Law Center, claiming that by paying informants they were indirectly aiding extremist organizations.

Just when you think they've reached the bottom of the barrel, they unveil a whole other level of partisan corruption.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The DOJ is investigating the Southern Poverty Law Center, claiming that by paying informants they were indirectly aiding extremist organizations.

Just when you think they've reached the bottom of the barrel, they unveil a whole other level of partisan corruption.

That’s what we get for thinking there’s a bottom.

Boru