Changes under Trump 2.0

[Jim and Dan]

Well, its about 90% certain I have to shut down a federally funded Transitional Living Program for homeless youth largely due to panic and uncertainty in the Federal government. I really thought the City, County and State would come through for us but no one wants to give up more money in this climate. Our federal funding ends in Sept but I think we are going to try to plan a meaningful closure way before then.

In theory the Feds would normally release a RFP in March and then we'd submit a grant in April but we know it's not going to happen. This program has been running since 1986 and housed thousands of young people... I took it over in 2016... Anyway, sorry for the ramble... a lot to process...

That's a bummer Frank, sorry to hear about the potential here. My girlfriend runs a couples shelter in our state and I'm concerned about their status for the same reasons, being that they rely heavily on grants from the federal government. I'm sure this administration sees homelessness as "problematic" and a failure of the individual to not work hard enough to accomplish the American Dream like him and his little business buddies did.

As stated previously, I've stayed far away from politics for the last decade or so, mostly due to disillusionment of the system, but unfortunately I have to pay somewhat attention to it now since I do a lot of business with Canada for my employment. Talking to my suppliers up there, they seem to believe the tariff issue will blow over and is simply a tactic to gain better leverage in trade negotiations and I tend to agree, the economic feasibility of such measures is extremely unsustainable and ultimately a lose-lose situation for everyone...

I still can't believe there are that many people out there that think that jobs are coming back to America, but I guess I underestimate the ignorance of most people...

[Mr. Kamikazi]

[brycickle]

This is a silly thought that I had, or maybe not? Are we going roll back DEI so far that we force the MLB to un-retire the number 42?

[TastyBurrito]

This is a silly thought that I had, or maybe not? Are we going roll back DEI so far that we force the MLB to un-retire the number 42?

Would not be surprised even if they went as far as to remove him from the baseball HOF.

[TastyBurrito]

Trump just revoked Biden's security clearance so Biden won't be getting intelligence briefings.

Totally just being petty and getting revenge for Biden pulling his back in 2021 after Orange Blumpkin was caught with so much Top Secret files that he took without de-classifying.

Everyday I look more and more forward to the news that he died from an aneurysm while taking a shit. 

[TheLurper]

The good news is most of this shit is just executive orders, which can quickly be undone. Ezra Klien pointed out that he'd be more afraid if Trump was moving slowly and working with Congress to accomplish things. Most of this is bluster. I just worry about the elections.


Back to plastic, because the goal of this administration is pollution. Not energy, not lower prices, just pollution seems to be the goal. I'd be fine with outlawing straws for anything but milkshakes and boba. They're kind of stupid.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/08/trump-plastic-straws

NIH Lab Support For Universities Being Reduced.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/02/new-nih-policy-will-slash-support-money-to-research-universities/

Russian Oligarchs Celebrate Trump dropping the task force that sort of put them in check
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-disbands-task-force-targeting-russian-oligarchs-2025-02-06/

USAID attacked, Russia, China, and other authoritarian countries celebrate. Americans also celebrate not realizing how much influence and good will this generates.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/02/06/russia-welcomes-usaid-cuts-calls-agency-machine-for-interfering-a87895

Panama Exits One Belt One Road Initiative (an actual win for the Trump admin)
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3297689/panama-pulls-out-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-president-mulino-says?module=top_story&pgtype=homepage

Victims of Apartheid. Trump has decided White people in S. Africa are the victims and need safe haven in USA. Don't pay attention to the fact that the avg Black S. African family has 5% of the wealth of the avg White S. African family.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-orders-u-s-refugee-resettlement-of-afrikaners/

In preparation to commit international crimes, specifically in Gaza, Trump sanctions the International Criminal Court
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09538259.2024.2318962

Israel and US jerk-off to idea of stealing all of Gaza Destroying the entire country, illegally displacing all people and building the Jersey Shore of the Middle East helps Netanyahu cum in Trump's tiny hands.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5133161-donald-trump-gaza-proposal-israel-takeover/

[augustmoon]

For anyone peddling this “both sides are bad” nonsense:

one side is trying to break the constitution and one side isn’t.  Get with the program or shut the fuck up.

[h00man]

For anyone peddling this “both sides are bad” nonsense:

one side is trying to break the constitution and one side isn’t.  Get with the program or shut the fuck up.

agreed

[TastyBurrito]

Expand Quote

For anyone peddling this “both sides are bad” nonsense:

one side is trying to break the constitution and one side isn’t.  Get with the program or shut the fuck up.

[close]

agreed

Sadly enough, too many people see it as Republicans as being the ones who aren’t trying to break the constitution.

[WashingtonNECKTIE]

For anyone peddling this “both sides are bad” nonsense:

one side is trying to break the constitution and one side isn’t.  Get with the program or shut the fuck up.

(R) - "you just can't handle it when democracy doesn't work for you"

[TheLurper]

Polls on the first few weeks of Trump. I can't really interpret the meaning of these because there isn't enough comparative data to what polls usually turn up in the first few weeks of a presidency and I have no idea how long it usually takes from policy failures to public learning about these failures to the public shifting opinions.

While PEW is pretty good, media (legacy and social media) are terrible with statistics. They look at short term changes which are just noise and seem to misunderstand what they are reporting.


But, the polls do show we are living in two different worlds and maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but I'm surprised how much Republicans love Musk.

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/02/07/public-anticipates-changes-with-trump-but-is-split-over-whether-they-will-be-good-or-bad/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-approval-opinion-poll-2025-2-9/

[Mongo Lloyd]

I think legacy media reporting, and relaxed “sanewashing” media reporting of Trump’s policies really has people living in an ignorant self contained bubble. Obviously it’s by design, but it’s also effective.

Until it hits their own medical coverage, bank account, or openly oppresses their personal freedoms, then they will continue to believe everything is golden (or orange).

Meanwhile, the rest of us have empathy, care about others and see things for what they are in actuality.

[sexualhelon]

Expand Quote

For anyone peddling this “both sides are bad” nonsense:

one side is trying to break the constitution and one side isn’t.  Get with the program or shut the fuck up.

[close]

(R) - "you just can't handle it when democracy doesn't work for you"

I think both sides have taken part in that. You can argue one side is better than the other but I think the apple is mostly rotten at this point.

[WashingtonNECKTIE]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

For anyone peddling this “both sides are bad” nonsense:

one side is trying to break the constitution and one side isn’t.  Get with the program or shut the fuck up.

[close]

(R) - "you just can't handle it when democracy doesn't work for you"

[close]

I think both sides have taken part in that. You can argue one side is better than the other but I think the apple is mostly rotten at this point.

I don't disagree.
What we're seeing is one ideology taking that and running with it; "the Constitution doesn't work" -  in essence, pushing (USA's democracy) to it's limits.

The Constitution has become a document to be challenged, rather than adhered to

(edit)

[botefdunn]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

For anyone peddling this “both sides are bad” nonsense:

one side is trying to break the constitution and one side isn’t.  Get with the program or shut the fuck up.

[close]

(R) - "you just can't handle it when democracy doesn't work for you"

[close]

I think both sides have taken part in that. You can argue one side is better than the other but I think the apple is mostly rotten at this point.

[close]

I don't disagree.
What we're seeing is one ideology taking that and running with it; "the Constitution doesn't work" -  in essence, pushing (USA's democracy) to it's limits.

The Constitution has become a document to be challenged, rather than adhered to

(edit)

What people are proposing moving forward, both in terms of ethics and policies, is pretty drastically different. Trump is clearly calling  for all authority to reside within his office, with little or no real oversight. That's a major difference. 
I don't think it's even accurate to refer to trump's rule as ideological, since he seems totally unconcerned with consistency. If there's an authority or school of thought other than his own that he respects, I'm unaware of it.

[Plan9Customs]

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asian-eu-steelmakers-shares-fall-after-trump-escalates-tariffs-2025-02-10/

Can’t say if it will help the steel industry, but as someone that works in the collision industry and also does fabrication work, this is going to cause a lot of cars to be totaled for things that normally wouldn’t come close. I also know that parts will take a huge cost leap as well as steel/aluminum so basically last time he pulled this dipshit move his first term a 20’ stick of .065 1.25” erw went from $15 to $50+ so be ready to eat a huge cost on anything that has any type of metal(cars, fences, gates, motorcycles, bikes,  scooters, computers, etc, etc, etc.). Fortunately, I knew he’d pull this shit again so I stocked up sheet metal and tubing before this went down again and also bought a tig since all the electronics are coming from out of country(yes even on the US made).
 Fuck this imbecile and make sure to direct you anger accordingly.

[TastyBurrito]

President Musk and Vice President Trump just shut down the CFPB.

Keep an eye out on your credit cards, bank statements, mortgages, etc.

Federal financial protection for consumers are gone. It's now free reign to fuck us over with fees if they want.

Also, it's no longer illegal to bribe foreign officials.

Everyday is like waking up to finding a new way to get fucked in ass.

[TheLurper]

It is crazy that they are shutting shit down, when they don't have the authority to do so. Just as Musk doesn't have access to sensitive government data from position in his temporary organization (it is not a department of the government).

I'm rather tired of an obviously two tiered justice system. This is against the law and the punishment is nothing:
https://www.propublica.org/article/usaid-trump-musk-destruction-may-have-broken-law

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/no-one-is-above-the-law-federal-court-blocks-musk-and-doge-from-accessing-sensitive-government-data-orders-employees-to-destroy-all-copies-and-downloads/

https://www.aft.org/press-release/unions-sue-over-elon-musks-unprecedented-and-illegal-hack-americans-private-data#:~:text=The%20suit%20alleges%20the%20Department,to%20some%20of%20the%20government's

All we have is the court system to protect America until the mid-terms. The Supreme Court will fuck us, but how blatantly will they sell out America? The Dems better be thinking really hard about the mid-terms and they better not say, "America is already great" at any point during the next election. We need a congress that is going to stand up to this idiot.

Trump wants 500 billion of rare earth from Ukraine. Trump's followers soo stupid that they think this is new. This war has always been about 1) a fuck you to Russia and letting them decimate themselves 2) American business salivating at the opportunity to "rebuild" Ukraine 3) protecting of borders and an ally. Why are conservatives pretending America has been a benevolent hegemon post Cold War? We were always out for ourselves, we just didn't say the quiet part out loud. We couched our deeds in good sentiment not overt greed. We are becoming overtly belligerent. Someone to make China look good.
https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-demands-500b-in-rare-earths-from-ukraine-for-support/

[TastyBurrito]

Also asking $500B in rare Earth in exhange for help is why he got impeached the first time — Quid Pro Quo!

He’s burning bridges with every fucking ally country we have.

[Atiba Applebum]

Also asking $500B in rare Earth in exhange for help is why he got impeached the first time — Quid Pro Quo!

He’s burning bridges with every fucking ally country we have.

It’s not even that he’s burning bridges, he’s shrinking americas sphere of influence but gutting everything we do to help countries aboard.   Guess which country that is Already involved in massive infrastructure projects south of the equator is going to fill that void?   And all his bitcoin encouragement is just creating an alternative to the US dollar for people to embrace so that the Us can’t use it as a cudgel against them anymore.   He wants to go back to 1870-1912 so bad and America is basically going to shrink back down to that


The getting rid of the penny thing I used to like bc it was always one of those dumb bits of government waste that was kept around bc it kept jobs in some district for some congressman.   

[Sick_McCrank_]

Maybe now is the time to abolish the two party system.
People should work together and not against each other. Pretty basic understanding of a working society. USA is so weird.

[Jehoshaphat Augustus]

All we have is the court system to protect America until the mid-terms. The Supreme Court will fuck us, but how blatantly will they sell out America? The Dems better be thinking really hard about the mid-terms and they better not say, "America is already great" at any point during the next election. We need a congress that is going to stand up to this idiot.

We absolutely need to relinquish this antiquated 2 party system.

I've seen Al Green file impeachment motions, Elizabeth Warren & Chuck Schumer protesting elon musk but where is the rallying and concentrated planning for what's happening in 4 years? Where is the desire to find and promote a strong front runner early? I honestly feel we are seeing the death of the democratic party (as we know it) due to the dismantling that Trump will be doing. The supreme court is now set up to continue to lawfully fuck us in the same way.

So what happens in ~ a year when bird flu doesn't go away and then another virus with "half the brutality" of covid comes simultaneously? What if we are battling a virus and "our" food also is battling a different virus? 







This piece of shit is gonna just deny what's happening while getting top notch priority health care for himself. That's why he respects Kim Jong Un and North Korea so much.

[TastyBurrito]

https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-major-social-security-warning-fraud-billion-week-lost-2029244

President Musk is now "claiming" loads of fraud sound in Social Security. He's going to nix it and use it for his own selfish deeds. And red state bootlickers will refuse to believe that SS has ZERO effect on budget because it's OUR money. So to lose it to own the libs isn't just shooting themselves in the foot, it's shooting themselves in the face. I've been paying into SS for 20+ and to suddenly lose that is going to piss the ever living fuck out of me.

[TheLurper]

@Jehoshaphat Augustus

We need NGOs and think tanks to start being more aggressive, but I feel we are an inherently weak position. Businesses have money to drive anti-democratic action and religious fervor is nearly impossible to compete with.

That being said, Dems have been in far worse electoral positions. Although, it is really sad to lose to someone as worthless, shifty, and openly corrupt as Trump.

[TheLurper]

Bribing foreign officials no longer a crime. Unfucking real. This is one of the best laws on the books and needs to be enforced.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/us/politics/trump-fcpa-bribery-law-corruption.html

Democrats learn, party affiliation doesn't matter, only how much you lick Trump's nuts as Feds drop case against corrupt NYC mayor
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/nyregion/eric-adams-charges-doj-trump.html

Same as 1.0 Trump has lots of conflicts of interest, but this time around we get conflicts of interests of the world's richest man whose wealt came from the American government subsidizing or funding nearly everything he's done.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/17/us/politics/trump-conflicts-of-interest.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/us/politics/elon-musk-companies-conflicts.html

Musk steals 80 million from NY. Reminder, congress controls the purse, not the executive branch.
https://apnews.com/article/fema-migrant-funding-new-york-hotels-immigration-elon-musk-doge-268ca7eda43011a501dfad0fa88a4775
https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/shelter-services-program/fy24-awards/ssp-a

Yale educated lawyer who happens to hate cross dressers but LOVES wearing make-up and is our vice president, believes the executive branch is above the judicial branch.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/10/jd-vance-judges-trump


Congress, run by Republicans, is sitting on its balls and doing nothing, but the courts are pushing back against Trump's illegal moves. I can only imagine how much money we will spend on lawsuits and golfing over the next 4 years.
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/12/nx-s1-5294666/trump-white-house-constitutional-crisis-judges

[roba]

@Jehoshaphat Augustus

We need NGOs and think tanks to start being more aggressive, but I feel we are an inherently weak position. Businesses have money to drive anti-democratic action and religious fervor is nearly impossible to compete with.

That being said, Dems have been in far worse electoral positions. Although, it is really sad to lose to someone as worthless, shifty, and openly corrupt as Trump.

literally 1984

[Burt Ward]

It's truly quite unsettling to watch all this go down from the very far away, yet seemingly inextricably linked land fucken down under, cunt. The opposition leader here is pretty keen on working from the Trump playbook, but he's really only likeable to dumbest of hardline conservatives, so we should be safe from him. Mind you, the Labor party, our version of the democrats, I guess, are a feckless bunch indeed, so who fucken knows. Here's a picture of him. Makes Trump look handsome.



Anyway, good luck over there. I hope something gives soon, for the whole world's sake.

[sexualhelon]

It's truly quite unsettling to watch all this go down from the very far away, yet seemingly inextricably linked land fucken down under, cunt. The opposition leader here is pretty keen on working from the Trump playbook, but he's really only likeable to dumbest of hardline conservatives, so we should be safe from him. Mind you, the Labor party, our version of the democrats, I guess, are a feckless bunch indeed, so who fucken knows. Here's a picture of him. Makes Trump look handsome.



Anyway, good luck over there. I hope something gives soon, for the whole world's sake.

Somehow reminds me of a Goomba

[TheLurper]

RFK jr was voted in. He will be terrible and will somehow make American health even worse, but the small consolation prize is the possible removal of food dyes and watching Republicans twist between the tobacco companies that own them and our food supply. RJ Reynolds isn't going to enjoy anything that reduces profit. Also, it'll be interesting to see Republicans talk about eating healthy. I lived in rural America for a bit, many of adult men wouldn't eat vegetables.
https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/02/a-sicker-america-senate-confirms-robert-f-kennedy-jr-as-health-secretary

Just like 1.0 Trump and cronies to delete important data
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/02/queer-friendly-data-on-car-crash-deaths-removed-from-nhtsa-website/


Bush Jr was dumb and Cheney was evil. But, this is a million times worse. Trump is dumb and insanely greedy. Musk is evil, but has no moral good he is shooting for, just pain for others and internet lols.

[Mongo Lloyd]

RFK jr was voted in. He will be terrible and will somehow make American health even worse, but the small consolation prize is the possible removal of food dyes and watching Republicans twist between the tobacco companies that own them and our food supply. RJ Reynolds isn't going to enjoy anything that reduces profit. Also, it'll be interesting to see Republicans talk about eating healthy. I lived in rural America for a bit, many of adult men wouldn't eat vegetables.
https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/02/a-sicker-america-senate-confirms-robert-f-kennedy-jr-as-health-secretary

Just like 1.0 Trump and cronies to delete important data
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/02/queer-friendly-data-on-car-crash-deaths-removed-from-nhtsa-website/


Bush Jr was dumb and Cheney was evil. But, this is a million times worse. Trump is dumb and insanely greedy. Musk is evil, but has no moral good he is shooting for, just pain for others and internet lols.

This is what gets me. A country that is owned by business execs and CEO’s are not going to be thrilled by the outcome of the legislation if the result is no one is spending what precious money they have. I’m hoping enough people protest with the dollar, and assume a thrifty role enough that it hurts big businesses across the board. I don’t pretend to know if the tax cuts counter balance this for them, but I can’t imagine a populace not being able to afford basic wares is going to bode well for the bottom line.