Random Politics Thread

[Virtual ghost]

Trump: ‘I’d like to be pope’

 

[The Cat]

Trump: ‘I’d like to be pope’

Looks like someone finally got around to binging the Borgias. I gotta say I'm not looking forward to him stumbling upon Game of Thrones.

 

[Coriolis]

What's weird is, Trump is bragging about it. He really just cares about showing how much of an influence he is, even if it proves him unpopular.

Dark days for Canada though, our economy is going to go even farther down the toilet under more Liberal deficit spending.

It's like kids who act out to get attention. Even though the attention is negative, it satisfies the urge.

 

[SensEye]

Childish is an appropriate description for much of Trump's behavior. I tried to watch some of his campaign rally in Michigan the other day, but I just couldn't stomach it. He has no practical need for campaign rallies of course, he just won the election, but his ego needs to be fed so he has to get out in front of his MAGA lackeys and hear their cheers as he brags. He is very much like a spoiled child throwing his own birthday party.

I also saw a clip where he gave an interview with some ABC guy. Trump was basically calling him a nobody and fake news. The interviewer tried to take him to task on photoshopping the tattoos on Garcia's knuckles but when Trump denied it the interviewer immediately chickened out and moved on to the next topic. That was the end of the clip. Trump gets off so easy despite providing scads of ammunition for his critics daily. I mean can't somebody just prove this photoshop business? Didn't a Democrat just interview the guy a week or so ago. What the heck did his hands look like? If you have the POTUS telling bold face lies on tv, you'd think it would be newsworthy.

 

[Totenkindly]

I also saw a clip where he gave an interview with some ABC guy. Trump was basically calling him a nobody and fake news. The interviewer tried to take him to task on photoshopping the tattoos on Garcia's knuckles but when Trump denied it the interviewer immediately chickened out and moved on to the next topic. That was the end of the clip. Trump gets off so easy despite providing scads of ammunition for his critics daily. I mean can't somebody just prove this photoshop business? Didn't a Democrat just interview the guy a week or so ago. What the heck did his hands look like? If you have the POTUS telling bold face lies on tv, you'd think it would be newsworthy.

My understanding is that yes, that's how they know it is a hoax -- the prisoner was interviewed the day before, and in that footage and in the press pics from El Savador, he had no tattoos there.

My understanding was also the interviewer had pushed it to whatever degree he could. What do you do with a sitting president, aside from getting into a screaming brawl on camera and finding yourself being investigated by the DoJ? I think it was clear to anyone watching that Trump was either lying off his ass or completely inept and deluded -- which ruins any credibility he didn't have anyway. But do the MAGAs care? No. But maybe some of the independent voters might. Or they might not. It's not like all of this wasn't readily available info about Trump's plans for his term, before the election, but no one gave a shit.

 

[Red Herring]

 

[Coriolis]

My understanding is that yes, that's how they know it is a hoax -- the prisoner was interviewed the day before, and in that footage and in the press pics from El Savador, he had no tattoos there.

My understanding was also the interviewer had pushed it to whatever degree he could. What do you do with a sitting president, aside from getting into a screaming brawl on camera and finding yourself being investigated by the DoJ? I think it was clear to anyone watching that Trump was either lying off his ass or completely inept and deluded -- which ruins any credibility he didn't have anyway. But do the MAGAs care? No. But maybe some of the independent voters might. Or they might not. It's not like all of this wasn't readily available info about Trump's plans for his term, before the election, but no one gave a shit.

Yes, that is the problem. Too many people don't care about the facts. We have always been able to see this in the smaller decisions many folks make in daily life: to smoke when it has been shown to be harmful; to spend money on a brand name when they know a competitor item is a better value; to date someone whose behavior raises significant red flags. People do what makes them feel good in the moment, even if they end up shooting themselves in the foot. Problem is, when this drives their votes, they are hurting those around them, too, starting with their own families.

I heard an interview with Tim Walz recently. He made the comment that the Democrats' values are right where they need to be: supporting the working/middle class, ensuring opportunity for all, managing immigration fairly for everyone, supporting democracy around the world e.g. in places like Ukraine. The problem, he said was one of messaging, which I agree with.* Democrats, or more broadly, progressives, are not simply having to measure their positions against more conservative positions in legitimate differences of opinion. They are having to work against a massive campaign of lies, gaslighting, and manipulation. It takes 10 seconds to throw out a blatant falsehood, and many minutes to explain why it is false. Many people will run with the 10 seconds and not even stay around for the explanation. Whoever figures out how to cut through this will have the key to reversing our current predicament.

*I would add another part of the problem is converting those values into effective solutions. We are seeing now just how effective some of them have been, now that they are being reversed or cut off. Democrats did not try to play tyrant, though, and worked within the system which allowed Republicans to sabotage anything helpful and good for political points.

 

[SensEye]

My understanding is that yes, that's how they know it is a hoax -- the prisoner was interviewed the day before, and in that footage and in the press pics from El Savador, he had no tattoos there.

My understanding was also the interviewer had pushed it to whatever degree he could. What do you do with a sitting president, aside from getting into a screaming brawl on camera and finding yourself being investigated by the DoJ?

Yeah I guess it's all part of the bigger problem. The media has been disenfranchised in general, so everybody just believes whatever they want to believe, confirmed by whatever convenient source they favor.

I see Musk has now revised DOGE savings down from $2 trillion, first to $1 trillion, now to $160 billion. And even that $160 billion is 'projected' for 2026. Another great deception from team Trump that somehow people won't notice. Similar to all of Trump's foreign policy failures (no peace in Gaza, no peace in Ukraine).

I think the next big fiction to drop will be the trade 'deals' which will not be deals at all but at best some letters of understanding or something. I predict there will be zero actual deals of any substance at the end of the 90 days. Trump/Lutnick will just say they exist, and people won't care to know more.

There is going be a price to be paid at some point for all this willful ignorance, it's just a matter of when and how big it is going to be.

 

[Virtual ghost]

JD Vance admits Putin’s war in Ukraine won’t end ‘anytime soon’

Britain and France do a tiny fist bump as Trump shifts against Putin


As we all knew: this mess wouldn't end anytime soon.

 

[Virtual ghost]

White House posts AI image of Trump as pope

For those that missed the mentioned picture.

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Coriolis]

Yeah I guess it's all part of the bigger problem. The media has been disenfranchised in general, so everybody just believes whatever they want to believe, confirmed by whatever convenient source they favor.

I see Musk has now revised DOGE savings down from $2 trillion, first to $1 trillion, now to $160 billion. And even that $160 billion is 'projected' for 2026. Another great deception from team Trump that somehow people won't notice. Similar to all of Trump's foreign policy failures (no peace in Gaza, no peace in Ukraine).

I think the next big fiction to drop will be the trade 'deals' which will not be deals at all but at best some letters of understanding or something. I predict there will be zero actual deals of any substance at the end of the 90 days. Trump/Lutnick will just say they exist, and people won't care to know more.

There is going be a price to be paid at some point for all this willful ignorance, it's just a matter of when and how big it is going to be.

There are plenty of media outlets that still do responsible journalism, focused on issues that directly impact the country, and based on verifiable facts. Problem is, they have a hard time capturing people's attention when they need to compete with sensationalism and pandering in the interest of profits. There is an entire industry dedicated to holding the attention of the public on anything but the hard facts and analysis they need to make proper sense of events in the world today. There are a few groups trying to figure out how to cut through this, but not enough. My instinct is that it will be based on real-life, face-to-face contact, where people who have purged themselves of the kool-aid - or never imbibed to begin with - are able to reach out to personal connections who trust them.