Scrutable

Apparently they were challenged, but the head of the department recently appointed by Trump said to let them in.

bjn wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 5:46 pm Apparently they were challenged, but the head of the department recently appointed by Trump said to let them in.

Audacious, but hard to imagine permitting such a security breach is lawful. Wonder if he already has a presidential pardon in his pocket.

Interesting that I've got a "I have $150 m and would like to find investment opportunities", but not from a "Nigerian Prince", but from an "American Congresswoman"
Yes, the country's gone to pot!

Techdirt goes into the details, calling it “a cyber attack or worse”, others are calling it a coup by stealth.


https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/03/mus ... -or-worse/

It is a coup. It's becoming clearer as each day passes and more fuckrie goes on.

USAID shut down on Sunday night with no warning.

Seems like the department of education is going to get it as well.

Also, laws don’t apply to Trump…

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-al ... ng-freeze/

I assume that with USAID they’re trying to see what they can get away with. It was enacted and is funded by Congress. So a President shouldn’t be able to shut it down unilaterally. But Congress has a Republican majority, as does the Supreme Court. So will they try to stop him?

USAID is an easy target as very few US voters care about it. If they get away with it they’ll go after other parts of the government.

Dismantle the US government department by department. At the very least make them useless, he’s made the National Labor Relations Board toothless by firing enough board members so it is no longer quorate and so cannot carry do any work.

Woodchopper wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 12:27 pm I assume that with USAID they’re trying to see what they can get away with. It was enacted and is funded by Congress. So a President shouldn’t be able to shut it down unilaterally. But Congress has a Republican majority, as does the Supreme Court. So will they try to stop him?

USAID is an easy target as very few US voters care about it. If they get away with it they’ll go after other parts of the government.

Do you listen to Pod Save America by any chance? This was exactly their take on today's pod.

Laws don't apply because who can bring a law suit?

The Deot of Justice won't, obviously. Who else can have standing to bring a case? And who would bother when any case eould just drag on for years until SCOTUS makes a ridiculous ruling?

The loss of USAID is bad of course, but ultimately I can't see how they can shut down things voters care about... Trump may not need to worry about his re-election prospects, but the GOP do. I'd imagine seeing kids sent home because Trump/Musk closed the dept of education would be a non-starter to congress.

Same is true here. If UK Gov pulled the plug on foreign aid, I expect most folks would be just fine with that.

TopBadger wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 2:32 pm I'd imagine seeing kids sent home because Trump/Musk closed the dept of education would be a non-starter to congress.

Closing the D of Ed would not result in schools closing. Most school funding comes from state and local taxes, and schools are managed locally with state supervision. There are federal rules and programs that create mandates on these state and local functions, sometimes with a bit of extra funding but not always, and getting rid of those mandates in red states that don't agree with them is why Republicans talk about abolishing the D of Ed. If it happens, schools won't close, but you might lose things like free school lunches for poor kids, sports for girls, and programs for kids with special needs. (I'm not sure about those specific examples, but that sort of thing.) Which would be unpopular with lots of people but not universally.

bolo wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 3:04 pm

TopBadger wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 2:32 pm I'd imagine seeing kids sent home because Trump/Musk closed the dept of education would be a non-starter to congress.

Closing the D of Ed would not result in schools closing. Most school funding comes from state and local taxes, and schools are managed locally with state supervision. There are federal rules and programs that create mandates on these state and local functions, sometimes with a bit of extra funding but not always, and getting rid of those mandates in red states that don't agree with them is why Republicans talk about abolishing the D of Ed. If it happens, schools won't close, but you might lose things like free school lunches for poor kids, sports for girls, and programs for kids with special needs. (I'm not sure about those specific examples, but that sort of thing.) Which would be unpopular with lots of people but not universally.

Closing after school clubs or early morning breakfast clubs would result in parents having to be home for kids who aren't getting the childcare that was being provided through schools.

Laides and Gentlemen, Trump's new state department appointee.

headshot wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 1:22 pm

Woodchopper wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 12:27 pm I assume that with USAID they’re trying to see what they can get away with. It was enacted and is funded by Congress. So a President shouldn’t be able to shut it down unilaterally. But Congress has a Republican majority, as does the Supreme Court. So will they try to stop him?

USAID is an easy target as very few US voters care about it. If they get away with it they’ll go after other parts of the government.

Do you listen to Pod Save America by any chance? This was exactly their take on today's pod.

Nope, seems to be the conventional wisdom.

Trump says Palestinians should get out of Gaza. Is he going to be rewarded br Bibi with some nice sea side property as a reward after the ethnic cleansing occurs?

Holy f.ck. Don’t worry, it’s only against the Geneva Convention.

Gaza-lago...

The guy just sees the world as one big real estate deal.

Absolutely mental and outrageous idea!

bjn wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 10:54 pm Trump says Palestinians should get out of Gaza. Is he going to be rewarded br Bibi with some nice sea side property as a reward after the ethnic cleansing occurs?

This is one of those things Trump says for effect. It's not going to happen because no one will take the Palestinians. That no one includes Trump himself in the USA, unsurprisingly.

IvanV wrote: Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:19 am

bjn wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 10:54 pm Trump says Palestinians should get out of Gaza. Is he going to be rewarded br Bibi with some nice sea side property as a reward after the ethnic cleansing occurs?

This is one of those things Trump says for effect. It's not going to happen because no one will take the Palestinians. That no one includes Trump himself in the USA, unsurprisingly.

He was very careful to say “neighbouring countries”. Presumably not including Israel.

lpm wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 2:18 pm Laws don't apply because who can bring a law suit?

The Deot of Justice won't, obviously. Who else can have standing to bring a case? And who would bother when any case eould just drag on for years until SCOTUS makes a ridiculous ruling?

In the case of Musk moving in on the national payments, a union has gone to court over it. But the fact that it is a union going to court over it, suggests that this is a case that it might be difficult to stop, and maybe that case will just be swatted out. It's a case where really it ought to be stopped and then litigated, rather than the other way around. This is the most worrying thing that is currently going on.

In the case of the broad federal disbursements that Trump tried to order to be stopped, which a judge then put a temporary stay on, Trump rescinded the memo. But Trump then, a few days later, said that this is no impediment to the agencies themselves that make those payments stopping them. So presumably where those agencies are now under the effective control of Trump loyalists, they might do that. Though of course those agencies will still have particular legal obligations. So where that leaves us, I'm not sure.

Grumble wrote: Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:41 am

IvanV wrote: Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:19 am

bjn wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 10:54 pm Trump says Palestinians should get out of Gaza. Is he going to be rewarded br Bibi with some nice sea side property as a reward after the ethnic cleansing occurs?

This is one of those things Trump says for effect. It's not going to happen because no one will take the Palestinians. That no one includes Trump himself in the USA, unsurprisingly.

He was very careful to say “neighbouring countries”. Presumably not including Israel.

I don't think Trump considers Israel to be a neighbouring country to Gaza, to him it's part of Israel (as is the West Bank, the Golan Heights and probably Beirut, Damascus and the Suez Canal!)

The Arab community in Dearborn, Michigan must be so proud of their their voting records.

IvanV wrote: Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:19 am

bjn wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2025 10:54 pm Trump says Palestinians should get out of Gaza. Is he going to be rewarded br Bibi with some nice sea side property as a reward after the ethnic cleansing occurs?

This is one of those things Trump says for effect. It's not going to happen because no one will take the Palestinians. That no one includes Trump himself in the USA, unsurprisingly.

Yes, I tend to get carried away because Trump makes free to say the unsayable, which is probably what he intends. Must remember to consider, what outrageous (but less outrageous than barefaced ethnic cleansing and theft of land) does he actually want here?