The future of the US

[kallend 2,129]

I wish more senior Dems would show the same amount of fighting spirit as Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders  and JB Pritzker.

 

So many of them seem to be playing dead.

[JoeWeber 2,896]

2 hours ago, kallend said:

I wish more senior Dems would show the same amount of fighting spirit as Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders  and JB Pritzker.

 

So many of them seem to be playing dead.

They’re as dead as our former democracy. Like them, the rest of us need to start accepting reality and reexamine how and if we’re well positioned to thrive in a nascent autocracy. Trumps reelection cannot be brushed off as a fluke; it’s a fantasy to think the tide is turning; there won’t be a Democratic senate majority in 2026; a majority of Americans who are motivated to vote have a world view antithetical to mine. The sad and simple fact is that we are pitifully confused by the phantom twitch of a missing democracy that, against all desire, is now gone.

[jakee 1,582]

1 hour ago, JoeWeber said:

The sad and simple fact is that we are pitifully confused by the phantom twitch of a missing democracy that, against all desire, is now gone.

The thing that really stands out from Trump 1 to Trump 2 is that they don't even bother to cosplay legitimacy anymore. 

 

Trump 1 was riddled with conflicts of interest and naked profiteering that would have sunk any other President ever, but they still felt the need to present the big table stacked with paper and say "look at all this paper that we promise shows how Trump is no longer in charge of his companies."

In Trump 2, Trump's private business selling Trump Coin for personal profit is openly advertising that the biggest buyers of Trump coin get exclusive access to the President, in the White House, in his official capacity as head of the federal government. 

How do you recover from being that deep into Banana Republic territory?

[JerryBaumchen 1,451]

4 hours ago, kallend said:

I wish more senior Dems would show the same amount of fighting spirit as Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders  and JB Pritzker.

 

So many of them seem to be playing dead.

Hi John,

IMO not 'playing dead' as in they are the walking dead.

A perfect case is Sen. Ron Wyden, [D] Oregon.  He was a young, very energetic US Congressman; but, he would never gamble on a US Senate run.  Until it became a sure opportunity.  I have always supported him & worked on his first run for the US Senate.

However, today all he is, is the same old tired stump speech.  

IMO he knows that the young sharks are after him.  He is now running scared; as he should be.

It is time for him to go; along with Schumer, Murray, etc.

Jerry Baumchen

[nigel99 599]

5 hours ago, jakee said:

The thing that really stands out from Trump 1 to Trump 2 is that they don't even bother to cosplay legitimacy anymore. 

 

Trump 1 was riddled with conflicts of interest and naked profiteering that would have sunk any other President ever, but they still felt the need to present the big table stacked with paper and say "look at all this paper that we promise shows how Trump is no longer in charge of his companies."

In Trump 2, Trump's private business selling Trump Coin for personal profit is openly advertising that the biggest buyers of Trump coin get exclusive access to the President, in the White House, in his official capacity as head of the federal government. 

How do you recover from being that deep into Banana Republic territory?

Having grown up under Mugabe. Even he was more circumspect with his corruption. 

My step dad was very religious and used to say that the acceptance of sin and debauchery was the beginning of an empires collapse. 

Looking at the US, I like he was right to some degree. When you’ve got a president posting AI pictures of himself as the pope, a king and a warrior etc, you’ve hit a comedic level of insanity.

[TriGirl 341]

On 5/7/2025 at 9:16 AM, kallend said:

I wish more senior Dems would show the same amount of fighting spirit as Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders  and JB Pritzker.

 

Hey, John,

Add Pete Buttigieg to that list.  He isn't even in public office right now, but he is still doing interviews and chat shows talking about policy.  He has always been a great orator (IMHO), and I would love to see him go for Senate at least.  Maybe he needs to move his family to Kentucky and challenge either of those seats.

[JoeWeber 2,896]

2 hours ago, TriGirl said:

Hey, John,

Add Pete Buttigieg to that list.  He isn't even in public office right now, but he is still doing interviews and chat shows talking about policy.  He has always been a great orator (IMHO), and I would love to see him go for Senate at least.  Maybe he needs to move his family to Kentucky and challenge either of those seats.

I am a huge fan of Buttigieg but even though Red Kentucky has a D governor do you think they would vote in sufficient numbers for an openly gay man who is also a father of adopted kids? I’d have the guy for President in a heartbeat but the last election has eroded all but all of my faith in a huge swath of my fellow Americans.

[nigel99 599]

3 hours ago, JoeWeber said:

I am a huge fan of Buttigieg but even though Red Kentucky has a D governor do you think they would vote in sufficient numbers for an openly gay man who is also a father of adopted kids? I’d have the guy for President in a heartbeat but the last election has eroded all but all of my faith in a huge swath of my fellow Americans.

We need the republic of Joe :)

If we follow the Trump model we can get a C130 donated by a foreign government 

[JerryBaumchen 1,451]

On 5/12/2025 at 5:43 PM, JoeWeber said:

I am a huge fan of Buttigieg but even though Red Kentucky has a D governor do you think they would vote in sufficient numbers for an openly gay man who is also a father of adopted kids? I’d have the guy for President in a heartbeat but the last election has eroded all but all of my faith in a huge swath of my fellow Americans.

Hi Joe,

As am I; ever since his standout performance back in the 2020 'debates.'

Buttigieg holds town hall in Iowa amid speculation of presidential ambitions

Jerry Baumchen

[kallend 2,129]

At least 21 people have died after severe storms swept through the central United States, with possible tornadoes touching down in Missouri and Kentucky, according to authorities.

Fourteen people were killed in Kentucky, according to Gov. Andy Beshear. 

The National Weather Service office in Jackson, Kentucky was among those forced to stop staffing overnight shifts following the U.S. DOGE  efforts to shrink the federal government.

Thanks, Elon.

[JoeWeber 2,896]

20 minutes ago, kallend said:

At least 21 people have died after severe storms swept through the central United States, with possible tornadoes touching down in Missouri and Kentucky, according to authorities.

Fourteen people were killed in Kentucky, according to Gov. Andy Beshear. 

The National Weather Service office in Jackson, Kentucky was among those forced to stop staffing overnight shifts following the U.S. DOGE  efforts to shrink the federal government.

Thanks, Elon.

Happens anyway and 21 isn’t a big number. Until it gets into several hundred dead or more no one will see dots worth connecting, if even they can be. As long as Kentucky can’t access blue state dollars to ease the pain, we’re good.

[JerryBaumchen 1,451]

Hi folks,

Looks like some part of the future is folks going to where they are wanted:  Blue Land of Enchantment lures unhappy Texans : NPR

Mac Davis -Texas In My Rear View Mirror

Jerry Baumchen

[wmw999 2,565]

2 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi folks,

Looks like some part of the future is folks going to where they are wanted:  Blue Land of Enchantment lures unhappy Texans : NPR

Mac Davis -Texas In My Rear View Mirror

Jerry Baumchen

This Texan went to a blue buckle on the blue belt; western Massachusetts!

Wendy P.

[nigel99 599]

4 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi folks,

Looks like some part of the future is folks going to where they are wanted:  Blue Land of Enchantment lures unhappy Texans : NPR

Mac Davis -Texas In My Rear View Mirror

Jerry Baumchen

New Mexico is a lovely state, I’m not surprised. 

[kallend 2,129]

The Big Ugly Bill contains the following provision,  hidden in the thousand+ pages:

“No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued….”

Translated: No federal court may enforce a contempt citation.

Obviously, courts need appropriated funds to do anything because Congress appropriates money to enable the courts to function. To require a security or bond to be given in civil proceedings seeking to stop alleged abuses by the federal government would effectively immunize such conduct from judicial review because those seeking such court orders generally don’t have the resources to post a bond.

Hence, with a stroke, the provision removes the judiciary’s capacity to hold officials in contempt.

As U.C. Berkeley School of Law Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law Erwin Chemerinsky notes, this provision would eliminate any restraint on Trump.

“Without the contempt power, judicial orders are meaningless and can be ignored. There is no way to understand this except as a way to keep the Trump administration from being restrained when it violates the Constitution or otherwise breaks the law. …"

[kallend 2,129]

And the bullying continues:

Homeland Security Secretary Noem said DHS has revoked Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification. This means Harvard may no longer enroll foreign students, and existing foreign students must transfer or risk losing their legal status.   DHS said that Harvard had created an "unsafe campus” by allowing anti-American agitators, many of them foreign students.

[JoeWeber 2,896]

1 hour ago, kallend said:

The Big Ugly Bill contains the following provision,  hidden in the thousand+ pages:

“No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued….”

Translated: No federal court may enforce a contempt citation.

Obviously, courts need appropriated funds to do anything because Congress appropriates money to enable the courts to function. To require a security or bond to be given in civil proceedings seeking to stop alleged abuses by the federal government would effectively immunize such conduct from judicial review because those seeking such court orders generally don’t have the resources to post a bond.

Hence, with a stroke, the provision removes the judiciary’s capacity to hold officials in contempt.

As U.C. Berkeley School of Law Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law Erwin Chemerinsky notes, this provision would eliminate any restraint on Trump.

“Without the contempt power, judicial orders are meaningless and can be ignored. There is no way to understand this except as a way to keep the Trump administration from being restrained when it violates the Constitution or otherwise breaks the law. …"

If you are simply plain sick and tired of our clumsy system of checks and balances this is great news! With all of our extra time we can start work on our "All Areas of Endeavors Meritocracy" handbook so no more scrawny  yo's like me are NFL centers to the detriment of everyone everywhere in all countries past, present, and future.

I'll tell you what, you fools can plan for the future or moan or whatever makes you happy but I'm locating abandoned Castles and buying up the surrounding farm land. 

[jakee 1,582]

2 hours ago, kallend said:

And the bullying continues:

Homeland Security Secretary Noem said DHS has revoked Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification. This means Harvard may no longer enroll foreign students, and existing foreign students must transfer or risk losing their legal status.   DHS said that Harvard had created an "unsafe campus” by allowing anti-American agitators, many of them foreign students.

They did such great work on the committee to find out how to weaponise the federal government.

[nigel99 599]

9 hours ago, kallend said:

The Big Ugly Bill contains the following provision,  hidden in the thousand+ pages:

“No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued….”

Translated: No federal court may enforce a contempt citation.

Obviously, courts need appropriated funds to do anything because Congress appropriates money to enable the courts to function. To require a security or bond to be given in civil proceedings seeking to stop alleged abuses by the federal government would effectively immunize such conduct from judicial review because those seeking such court orders generally don’t have the resources to post a bond.

Hence, with a stroke, the provision removes the judiciary’s capacity to hold officials in contempt.

As U.C. Berkeley School of Law Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law Erwin Chemerinsky notes, this provision would eliminate any restraint on Trump.

“Without the contempt power, judicial orders are meaningless and can be ignored. There is no way to understand this except as a way to keep the Trump administration from being restrained when it violates the Constitution or otherwise breaks the law. …"

I saw a pretty interesting analysis comparing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ (WTF kind of name is that anyway), with some of the power consolidation in Germany. I can’t find the original link and think this is the correct Wikipedia article they referred to in their analysis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleichschaltung

Edited May 23 by nigel99

[kallend 2,129]

Junk science from RFK Jr will make our children healthier, right?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/05/29/maha-rfk-jr-ai-garble/

[kallend 2,129]

Habeas Corpus ignored,

Judges threatened,

Masked, unidentified government agents grabbing people off the streets,

National Guard called out.

Can Martial Law be far behind?

[JoeWeber 2,896]

1 hour ago, kallend said:

Habeas Corpus ignored,

Judges threatened,

Masked, unidentified government agents grabbing people off the streets,

National Guard called out.

Can Martial Law be far behind?

Seems likely. Who knows, maybe something galvanizing like the Kent State shootings will happen. It's a sad thought but that might be what it takes to wake up some republican politicians.

[gowlerk 2,262]

2 hours ago, kallend said:

Habeas Corpus ignored,

Judges threatened,

Masked, unidentified government agents grabbing people off the streets,

National Guard called out.

Can Martial Law be far behind?

Definitely an inflection point, perhaps leading to a turning point one way or another.  We are living in interesting times.

[wmw999 2,565]

55 minutes ago, JoeWeber said:

Seems likely. Who knows, maybe something galvanizing like the Kent State shootings will happen. It's a sad thought but that might be what it takes to wake up some republican politicians.

I'm not sure the MAGA crowd would see that as anything but a confirmation of their power, and power is the aphrodisiac. Think Kyle Rittenhouse.

Wendy P.

[JoeWeber 2,896]

30 minutes ago, wmw999 said:

I'm not sure the MAGA crowd would see that as anything but a confirmation of their power, and power is the aphrodisiac. Think Kyle Rittenhouse.

Wendy P.

Read it and listen to it and weep. They're just itching to kill a US citizen. 

https://www.rawstory.com/tom-homan-protests/