U.S. Politics

[SDcomics]

Jesus. Next time can you just call me so I can tell you "well, they fucked around and found out" or some other shallow yet supportive bullshit? I don't believe in violence and wish it wasn't necessary, but basically... Fuck yeah. You left out the part where he was wearing his "please body slam me" shirt.

LOL. I know, right? This "violence is never the answer" line might actually work if everyone else on the planet believed that too, BUT CLEARLY THEY DON'T. The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Our response? "Violence is never the answer!" Good Lord, if that were how the US handled it everyone west of the Mississippi would be speaking Japanese now.

When you're attacked you have every right in the world to defend yourself. It would be idiotic not to. It's just common sense.

 

[SDcomics]

I was pretty encouraged by that article. We have a ton of tools at our disposal. Our situation is also unique because our would-be dictator is 79.

I think assuming Trump will die soon is false hope (his father died at 93), but he doesn't have more than 15 years left.

I don't think Trump's Father ate a lot of McDonald's or spent many nights staying up to 4 in the morning rage posting. That's gotta take a toll on the physical and mental health.

FYI, Fred Trump was diagnosed with dementia at age 86. I think the Donald may get it a lot sooner.

 

[SDcomics]

The Democrats will most likely take control of the House and maybe the Senate in the midterms. The Republicans are so unpopular right now they can't even hold a town hall in their own backyards without getting booed off the stage. They're safer in DC than they are in their home states. At least in the capital they have the National Guard to protect their worthless asses.

If the Democrats do take control of the house, Trump will be impeached. No question. If the Democrats take the Senate too, he may very well be found guilty in a trial and removed from office. The Epstein Files will be made public. The proverbial shit will hit the proverbial fan.

Trump is a fucking idiot, but he's just smart enough to know that he's in a world of shit right now. The stupid tariffs, the cuts to Medicaid, the tax cuts for billionaires ... his agenda sucks and it's not playing well in Peoria. Or anywhere else for that matter. Every current poll shows he is deeply unpopular.

A US President has no authority to delay or cancel an election. This power is constitutionally reserved for Congress and cannot be changed by presidential decree. And Congress can only delay an election by passing new legislation. It has to be noted that no Federal election has ever been delayed or canceled, not even in times of severe national crisis. The Civil War, both World Wars, the Great Depression, two pandemics ... the elections have always go on as scheduled.

Trump thinks he can do pretty much whatever the hell he wants (And up to now that's been the case) so he will order his stooges in Congress to cancel or postpone the election. Congress, because they're boot licking , sniveling, spineless assholes, will do it even though there's no good reason to.

California, because we're NOT boot licking, sniveling, spineless assholes, will secede from the Union and take the world's 4th largest economy with us. Washington and Oregon will most likely join.

Our political values differ so greatly from the red states that it's like they're from a different planet. Translation: We're not a bunch of bible thumping, assault rifle toting, stupid drunken red necks. We believe in equality and social justice.

Trump won't allow us and our 4th largest economy to leave. The National Guard will have huge incidents of desertion, but he may still have enough of an army to send over here.

And then there'll be a fight.

Don't misunderstand me. I don't want to see any of this happen. The first Civil War killed more Americans than World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam COMBINED. Another one would be catastrophic. This is a nightmare scenario.

But I can see it. The sad fact is, you can let someone punch you in the face as hard as they can and then do nothing. Chances are they're going to keep punching. Or ... you can punch them back. You may not win, but at least they'll know they've been in a fight.

 

[canprime]

The Democrats will most likely take control of the House and maybe the Senate in the midterms. The Republicans are so unpopular right now they can't even hold a town hall in their own backyards without getting booed off the stage. They're safer in DC than they are in their home states. At least in the capital they have the National Guard to protect their worthless asses.

If the Democrats do take control of the house, Trump will be impeached. No question. If the Democrats take the Senate too, he may very well be found guilty in a trial and removed from office. The Epstein Files will be made public. The proverbial shit will hit the proverbial fan.

Trump is a fucking idiot, but he's just smart enough to know that he's in a world of shit right now. The stupid tariffs, the cuts to Medicaid, the tax cuts for billionaires ... his agenda sucks and it's not playing well in Peoria. Or anywhere else for that matter. Every current poll shows he is deeply unpopular.

A US President has no authority to delay or cancel an election. This power is constitutionally reserved for Congress and cannot be changed by presidential decree. And Congress can only delay an election by passing new legislation. It has to be noted that no Federal election has ever been delayed or canceled, not even in times of severe national crisis. The Civil War, both World Wars, the Great Depression, two pandemics ... the elections have always go on as scheduled.

Trump thinks he can do pretty much whatever the hell he wants (And up to now that's been the case) so he will order his stooges in Congress to cancel or postpone the election. Congress, because they're boot licking , sniveling, spineless assholes, will do it even though there's no good reason to.

California, because we're NOT boot licking, sniveling, spineless assholes, will secede from the Union and take the world's 4th largest economy with us. Washington and Oregon will most likely join.

Our political values differ so greatly from the red states that it's like they're from a different planet. Translation: We're not a bunch of bible thumping, assault rifle toting, stupid drunken red necks. We believe in equality and social justice.

Trump won't allow us and our 4th largest economy to leave. The National Guard will have huge incidents of desertion, but he may still have enough of an army to send over here.

And then there'll be a fight.

Don't misunderstand me. I don't want to see any of this happen. The first Civil War killed more Americans than World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam COMBINED. Another one would be catastrophic. This is a nightmare scenario.

But I can see it. The sad fact is, you can let someone punch you in the face as hard as they can and then do nothing. Chances are they're going to keep punching. Or ... you can punch them back. You may not win, but at least they'll know they've been in a fight.

After seeing all the coverage around Trump this past week, and the fact no one saw him publicly from Tuesday until Saturday, combined with how he actually looked in the video on Saturday with his grand daughter I wonder if he'll even be around to interfere in the midterms.

I can only be appreciative of the fact that it must be pretty bad when he isn't out in public constantly, let alone for 4 days!!! The other thing is that it must be health related to be absent for that long, let alone 24 hours. He can't be out of the spotlight for more than a couple hours, and to not be in the media (not counting posting on social media, actual physical appearances) is pretty much unheard of with him. So I believe it has to be medical.

Much like other older world leaders it doesn't matter to your body how great your healthcare is if it wants to shut down.

 

[Misfit]

He is a rather vain individual so if he can’t hide things like the bruising on his hands I could see him staying out of the spotlight. He’s also very lazy and after he got away with largely doing as he pleased the first time around I always assumed we would have stretches this term where the country was left wondering where he is.

 

[Damien]

TLDR: It just seems to be the general attitude of America, and the Western World, that someone else should do it, and no one else is actually going to do it.

It's complicated. Not to parrot the 'alpha male' manosphere bullshit, because I don't mean it that way at all; but some people are just followers. They'll whinge and bitch that 'violence is bad, hyuck hyuck' but many of them will still follow the leader if it does come to violence because they're too cowardly NOT to do violence if that's what everyone else is doing. Most revolutions and even civil wars in history weren't started by a massive consensus on one side all agreeing and deciding to go do some violence. It just starts. It starts with a single event, or a small group of people that trigger a reaction, and suddenly everyone has to choose a side (or sees that there is a side to choose). Not saying that WILL happen, but it's -how- it would happen.

And with Trump wanting to deploy even more service members and kitted-out cops onto the streets to cause trouble and try to make people afraid; would it really be surprising if one of those cops or service members gets their head sawed off and displayed somewhere when they go too far, 'get scared for their lives' and do something stupid to the wrong group of people?

The LA Rodney King riots didn't happen because all those people got together beforehand and said 'let's do a riot.' Small acts and events just kept escalating. 12,000 people were -arrested- for the riots and events directly related to the riots. Meaning, a lot more than 12,000 people were involved. Because of one unjust event that a few people got so angry about they started breaking shit. This is echoed back throughout history. Never underestimate what can happen if even just a few people with less predisposition against violence, or when pushed too far, say 'fuck it.'



As to your personal story; nah, dude. Your friends are being cunts, to be honest with you. To tell someone 'violence is never the answer' in a situation where you had to defend yourself or possibly get seriously hurt/killed? You need a better quality of friend.

 

[Ru1977]

Your friends are being cunts, to be honest with you.

Sometimes people just need to be told, especially from a friend:

 

[TheSameIdiot]

Simulacra is my word of the decade.

https://bsky.app/profile/mtsw.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3lxpdh26wb22s

If the Democrats do take control of the house, Trump will be impeached. No question. If the Democrats take the Senate too, he may very well be found guilty in a trial and removed from office.

Impeachment requires 2/3 of the Senate. I can't see a world where 15ish Republican Senators join their Democratic colleagues. That Republican Party is long gone.

 

[docsilence]

Yeah. There hasn't been a Republican with integrity since... I mean possibly in my lifetime, but certainly no one active right now. Romney loved to flirt with the idea of being a hero but he always proved to be milquetoast. Collins and Murkowski do performative shock and always vote party lines. You even get moderately scumbag ex-Republican senators talking and they clearly got out when they realized their colleagues no longer even pretended to have integrity. You've either got cult morons or sociopaths who know they can increase power by harming other people.

A lot can be said about the incompetence of Democrats but half the reason they can't get anything done is they all believe in different things and can't get their shit together to swim upstream as one. Republicans just do what they're told and then pretend they didn't mean to hit you, I'm sorry baby, now make me dinner.

 

[Damien]

Yeah. There hasn't been a Republican with integrity since..

I don't think it's that. Just in terms of self-preservation and pleasing the donors, I think plenty of Republicans are not just willing, but DESIRING to get rid of Trump. He's not just destroying the country, he's potentially hurting their bank accounts and future electability if the Trump Regime does crumble. This isn't like say... George Jr. where the Repubs that supported him can kind of maintain anonymity and go on being elected. If Trump's cult falls apart, a lot of politicians are going to be asked to explain themselves, and they know that.

I think what's actually stopping Repubs from speaking out against Trump or holding him accountable is base level fear. Trump is a literal cult leader with an army of poorly-educated, Christo-fascist psychos ready to do his bidding. They've already shown they are not only willing, but able and ready, to murder politicians on his behalf. No one in that group right now wants to be seen as a 'traitor to the cause.'

 

[docsilence]

I don't think it's that. Just in terms of self-preservation and pleasing the donors, I think plenty of Republicans are not just willing, but DESIRING to get rid of Trump. He's not just destroying the country, he's potentially hurting their bank accounts and future electability if the Trump Regime does crumble. This isn't like say... George Jr. where the Repubs that supported him can kind of maintain anonymity and go on being elected. If Trump's cult falls apart, a lot of politicians are going to be asked to explain themselves, and they know that.

I think what's actually stopping Repubs from speaking out against Trump or holding him accountable is base level fear. Trump is a literal cult leader with an army of poorly-educated, Christo-fascist psychos ready to do his bidding. They've already shown they are not only willing, but able and ready, to murder politicians on his behalf. No one in that group right now wants to be seen as a 'traitor to the cause.'

Fair point. I mean, we had a Democrat, her husband, and their dog assassinated last month and nobody did a damned thing about it. They brought a noose with Pence's name on it to the Capitol. Which brings us back to "does this only end in violence."

 

[SDcomics]

Fair point. I mean, we had a Democrat, her husband, and their dog assassinated last month and nobody did a damned thing about it. They brought a noose with Pence's name on it to the Capitol. Which brings us back to "does this only end in violence."

Yep. Civil War.

God, I hope I'm wrong. Please let me be wrong.

 

[Goldbug]

National Guard spreads 380 cubic tons of mulch in DC

abcnews.go.com

The DC National Guard has spread a lot of mulch, 380 cubic tons, and picked up trash in Washington, D.C., amid the Trump admin's push to combat crime in the nation's capital.

Troops are mostly staying in hotels and have access to hot meals around the clock, officials said.

The administration said it's not tallying the cost of all this yet and has no idea how much it will cost the federal government.

Trump says George Soros should be charged with RICO​

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said billionaire George Soros and his son should be charged under the RICO Act.

"George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America," Trump wrote on his social media platform.

"Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country! That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends. Be careful, we’re watching you!" Trump added.

Soros' Open Society Foundations said Trump's accusations are "outrageous and false."

"The Open Society Foundations do not support or fund violent protests. Our mission is to advance human rights, justice, and democratic principles at home and around the world," the statement read. "We stand for fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, including the rights to free speech and peaceful protest that are hallmarks of any vibrant democracy."

He survived Nazism and knows what it is personally & helped fight communism during the cold war. It is astounding how the right-wing nut jobs have vilified him.

 

[altcunningham]

The Democrats will most likely take control of the House and maybe the Senate in the midterms. The Republicans are so unpopular right now they can't even hold a town hall in their own backyards without getting booed off the stage. They're safer in DC than they are in their home states. At least in the capital they have the National Guard to protect their worthless asses.

If the Democrats do take control of the house, Trump will be impeached. No question. If the Democrats take the Senate too, he may very well be found guilty in a trial and removed from office. The Epstein Files will be made public. The proverbial shit will hit the proverbial fan.

Trump is a fucking idiot, but he's just smart enough to know that he's in a world of shit right now. The stupid tariffs, the cuts to Medicaid, the tax cuts for billionaires ... his agenda sucks and it's not playing well in Peoria. Or anywhere else for that matter. Every current poll shows he is deeply unpopular.

A US President has no authority to delay or cancel an election. This power is constitutionally reserved for Congress and cannot be changed by presidential decree. And Congress can only delay an election by passing new legislation. It has to be noted that no Federal election has ever been delayed or canceled, not even in times of severe national crisis. The Civil War, both World Wars, the Great Depression, two pandemics ... the elections have always go on as scheduled.

Trump thinks he can do pretty much whatever the hell he wants (And up to now that's been the case) so he will order his stooges in Congress to cancel or postpone the election. Congress, because they're boot licking , sniveling, spineless assholes, will do it even though there's no good reason to.

California, because we're NOT boot licking, sniveling, spineless assholes, will secede from the Union and take the world's 4th largest economy with us. Washington and Oregon will most likely join.

Our political values differ so greatly from the red states that it's like they're from a different planet. Translation: We're not a bunch of bible thumping, assault rifle toting, stupid drunken red necks. We believe in equality and social justice.

Trump won't allow us and our 4th largest economy to leave. The National Guard will have huge incidents of desertion, but he may still have enough of an army to send over here.

And then there'll be a fight.

Don't misunderstand me. I don't want to see any of this happen. The first Civil War killed more Americans than World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam COMBINED. Another one would be catastrophic. This is a nightmare scenario.

But I can see it. The sad fact is, you can let someone punch you in the face as hard as they can and then do nothing. Chances are they're going to keep punching. Or ... you can punch them back. You may not win, but at least they'll know they've been in a fight.

Appreciate you taking the time to break this down. I'm always team punch back. It's funny that when when we were kids, it was indoctrinated that we were also still the problem in a bully situation and got suspended or punished by the System for it at best. Maybe that was the Pavlovian point.

My main concern is even with the 2A, how do people really outmaneuver and outgun the state's resources.

 

[Damien]

My main concern is even with the 2A, how do people really outmaneuver and outgun the state's resources.

You probably don't.
But there are 236 million adults in the US, not including undocumented migrants that would mostly not be siding with a fascist anti-immigration government. The entire US military is under 3 million, including non-combat roles. People forget how much power they have until they start to wield it. There's a LOT more of us than there are of them, and so the only way the US government could 'win' in this scenario is to Gaza the United States, and admit that they are genocidal fascist psychopaths to the entire world. Then everything changes.

What's interesting is seeing the rift developing in the fundamental Right. People who still support Trump will do so saying that he'd 'never do this' or 'never do that.' And while it's certainly happening WAY too slowly, it's important to remember that every time Trump crosses a new line, he does bleed off cult members that finally found their step too far. Even people still supporting the government are actively questioning 'should we be doing this' and saying 'I don't think this or that is the right thing to do.'
Lots of those people are hardline racist losers, don't get me wrong. But how many Christian, straight, white people can the Trump administration disappear or kill before they even lose the racists? Impossible to say until it happens.