The Official "Damned Trump" Thread: Phase II

[Sheldon]

The good thing about Trump is that because he is openly greedy and malicious, he just says it. He doesn't pretend he's not.

Like Hitler being open about his antisemitism? Dear oh dear...Trump has also shown open contempt for his oath office, and upholding the constitution. That he has been emboldened by both the impotence of opposition, and by slavering support of breathless followers, is not a good thing, it suggests we should all be paying more attention, as history suggests we may not have endless chances. 

So the war in Ukraine has always been about the control of resources. Western corporations are desperate to get their hands on Russian natural resources, so they will do what they can to weaken Russia in the hope of breaking it up and taking over. (Officials from the EU were saying this as recently as last month.)

But Ukraine has lots of natural resources, too, and ex-President Zelensky has obediently turned these over to BlackRock, Vanguard

, and other corporations. He changed the law so that prime Ukrainian farmland can be sold to foreigners, and now millions of hectares of arable land will profit Larry Fink's shareholders, and the Ukrainian people will never get the benefit of their own resources ever again.

So it's no surprise that Zelensky is offering up the mineral wealth now. Trump wants it, and he'll be happy to deal with Zelensky to get it. Zelensky is happy to turn it over, even though the war is wrapping up. He'll go down in history as the man who impoverished his country, and greedy businessmen will see Biden/Trump as the winners.

So Putin is championing the cause of ordinary Ukrainians now. How deep are you going to dig this hole?
"Fact check: False claim that President Zelensky sold huge amount of land in Ukraine to US companies"
CITATION
In your life have you ever acknowledged being wrong about anything? Just curious...

[Fireball]

The good thing about Trump is that because he is openly greedy and malicious, he just says it. He doesn't pretend he's not.

Like Hitler being open about his antisemitism? Dear oh dear...Trump has also shown open contempt for his oath office, and upholding the constitution. That he has been emboldened by both the impotence of opposition, and by slavering support of breathless followers, is not a good thing, it suggests we should all be paying more attention, as history suggests we may not have endless chances. 

So the war in Ukraine has always been about the control of resources. Western corporations are desperate to get their hands on Russian natural resources, so they will do what they can to weaken Russia in the hope of breaking it up and taking over. (Officials from the EU were saying this as recently as last month.)

But Ukraine has lots of natural resources, too, and ex-President Zelensky has obediently turned these over to BlackRock, Vanguard

, and other corporations. He changed the law so that prime Ukrainian farmland can be sold to foreigners, and now millions of hectares of arable land will profit Larry Fink's shareholders, and the Ukrainian people will never get the benefit of their own resources ever again.

So it's no surprise that Zelensky is offering up the mineral wealth now. Trump wants it, and he'll be happy to deal with Zelensky to get it. Zelensky is happy to turn it over, even though the war is wrapping up. He'll go down in history as the man who impoverished his country, and greedy businessmen will see Biden/Trump as the winners.

So Putin is championing the cause of ordinary Ukrainians now. How deep are you going to dig this hole?
"Fact check: False claim that President Zelensky sold huge amount of land in Ukraine to US companies"
CITATION
In your life have you ever acknowledged being wrong about anything? Just curious...

Bolding mine. That knob got broken by people tweaking it so many times.

[Alan V]

Actually I gave you two options.  Either Trump and Musk are paranoid delusionals OR they are knowingly spreading propaganda to mask their own ill-intentioned efforts.

I know this because I have done my homework.  First, I know how ordinary people view their jobs, even government employees who are no different than anyone else.  In the United States, we uphold very high standards of professionalism.  Second, I know that Trump is a malignant narcissist who doesn't uphold such standards.  And anyone who, at close range, still enables such a person has his own agenda.

Anyway, both sides build fascism, but by blaming only one side we can ignore half the cause.

I believe I called Trump and Musk fascists.  Why other Republicans support them is beyond me.

From Wikipedia: "Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to anarchism, democracy, pluralism, egalitarianism, liberalism, socialism, and Marxism, fascism is at the far right of the traditional left–right spectrum."

They don't check all of the boxes (yet) but they are moving in that direction.

[Belacqua]

Anyway, both sides build fascism, but by blaming only one side we can ignore half the cause.

I believe I called Trump and Musk fascists.  Why other Republicans support them is beyond me.

From Wikipedia: "Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to anarchism, democracy, pluralism, egalitarianism, liberalism, socialism, and Marxism, fascism is at the far right of the traditional left–right spectrum."

They don't check all of the boxes (yet) but they are moving in that direction.

Yes, Trump and Musk are moving toward fascism. So are the Democrats.

[Belacqua]

It's very good news to see that Trump is shutting down the National Endowment for Democracy. This ironically-named institution has done more to obstruct and pervert free and fair elections than just about any other part of the US government.

I mean, it's not like everything is fine now. The anti-democracy agents can take their High Professional Standards over to another office. The CIA is still open, for example.

But any monkey wrench thrown into the workings of tyranny is a good thing.

Trump is still doing evil things, of course. His continuation and extension of Biden's genocidal pro-Israel policy is still enough to get him sent to hell, if there were a hell. (During the "ceasefire," Israel has killed hundreds in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon. Trump's response is to send them bigger bombs.)

When he does a good thing, though, we are allowed to say it's good.

[Fake Messiah]

Trump: “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One.”

BREAKING: US inflation heats up to 3%, higher than expected.

Many commonly purchased goods and services got more expensive in January, driving inflation in the wrong direction and to its highest rate since June of last year.

Consumer prices rose 0.5% from December — the fastest pace since August 2023 — resulting in an annual inflation rate of 3% for the 12 months that ended in January, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

US stocks dropped Wednesday, with investors concerned that inflation has reversed its recent progress and could lead to higher interest rates. The Dow was around 395 points lower at the opening bell, with the S&P 500 down 1% and the Nasdaq Composite declining by 1.1%. The 10-year Treasury yield surged to 4.6% on the hotter-than-expected data.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/12/busin...index.html

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The United States State Department is now planning to spend $400 million in taxpayer money to buy Tesla Cybertrucks.

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/elon-musk...-contracts

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After insisting in her confirmation hearings that she won't politicize or weaponize the DOJ, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announces a retaliatory investigation into NY Governor Kathy Hochul, AG Letitia James, and Mark Schroeder.

Disgraceful.

https://www.latintimes.com/pam-bondi-tru...ion-575490

[Alan V]

I believe I called Trump and Musk fascists.  Why other Republicans support them is beyond me.

From Wikipedia: "Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to anarchism, democracy, pluralism, egalitarianism, liberalism, socialism, and Marxism, fascism is at the far right of the traditional left–right spectrum."

They don't check all of the boxes (yet) but they are moving in that direction.

Yes, Trump and Musk are moving toward fascism. So are the Democrats.

By definition, that is not true.  You need to use another word if you think some Democrats are extremists. Democrats are not opposed to democracy, pluralism, egalitarianism, and even socialism in many cases, though few are anarchists or Marxists.

My main point is that Trump and Musk are now undermining Democratic institutions because of their authoritarian leanings. They are trying to purge Democrats from the government and Democratic initiatives from the laws and replace them with Trump loyalists and preferences. It is Trump's threatened revenge. Were Democrats ever doing anything similar, or were they in fact trying to apply the laws for accountability (as they should)? It is not "mere politics" if they were working within the laws.

If Trump wants to change the government, there are legal ways to do it without eroding or overturning Democratic institutions.

[Belacqua]

Yes, Trump and Musk are moving toward fascism. So are the Democrats.

By definition, that is not true.  You need to use another word if you think some Democrats are extremists.  Democrats are not opposed to democracy, pluralism, egalitarianism, and even socialism in many cases, though few are anarchists or Marxists.

My main point is that Trump and Musk are now undermining Democratic institutions because of their authoritarian leanings.  They are trying to purge Democrats from the government and Democratic initiatives from the laws and replace them with Trump loyalists and preferences.  It is Trump's threatened revenge.  Were Democrats ever doing anything similar, or were they in fact trying to apply the laws for accountability (as they should)?  It is not "mere politics" if they were working within the laws.

If Trump wants to change the government, there are legal ways to do it without eroding or overturning Democratic institutions.

So Democrats are non-fascist by definition, not according to what they do? 

So they would allow free and fair primary elections. They wouldn't conspire with social media moguls to police what we can say on line. They wouldn't lie through their teeth to justify war. They wouldn't instigate a coup in another country in order to control that country's government. They wouldn't use US intelligence officials to lie in order to influence a US election.

Well, since you say they're nice folks, maybe they'll stop doing those things.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

It's very good news to see that Trump is shutting down the National Endowment for Democracy. This ironically-named institution has done more to obstruct and pervert free and fair elections than just about any other part of the US government.

I mean, it's not like everything is fine now. The anti-democracy agents can take their High Professional Standards over to another office. The CIA is still open, for example.

But any monkey wrench thrown into the workings of tyranny is a good thing.

Trump is still doing evil things, of course. His continuation and extension of Biden's genocidal pro-Israel policy is still enough to get him sent to hell, if there were a hell. (During the "ceasefire," Israel has killed hundreds in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon. Trump's response is to send them bigger bombs.)

When he does a good thing, though, we are allowed to say it's good.

This is simply further evidence of Trump's stupidity. If he really understood what the NED was doing, he would have increased its funding, not decreased it. As a promoter of fascism and an opponent of free and fair elections, one would have expected Trump to cradle the NED to his fat orange bosom.

Boru

[Fake Messiah]

So Democrats are non-fascist by definition, not according to what they do? 

So they would allow free and fair primary elections. They wouldn't conspire with social media moguls to police what we can say on line. They wouldn't lie through their teeth to justify war. They wouldn't instigate a coup in another country in order to control that country's government. They wouldn't use US intelligence officials to lie in order to influence a US election.

Well, since you say they're nice folks, maybe they'll stop doing those things.

Ah, yes, the Kremlin's old "both parties are bad" fallacy.

One side is imperfect, but trying to improve life for all Americans.

The other side is letting oligarchs buy power, defunding children's cancer research, lacks empathy, lacks any plan to better your life, is rooted entirely in fear, and is bringing back polio.