Is Anyone Paying Attention?

[Sephirah]

It's Skynet, but under another name. The irony is, Arnold Schwarzenegger is very anti-Trump and all this BS.

And this dude was a republican governor. Who, by all acounts, did a decent job. As an immigrant. So... go figure.

[MaryT]

Try not to understand things too well.

"One of these days, thought Winston with sudden deep conviction, Syme will
be vaporized. He is too intelligent. He sees too clearly and speaks too
plainly. The Party does not like such people. One day he will disappear.
It is written in his face."

From 1984.

[Camille58S]

Trump saying that he's only going to be a dictator for one day is like Jeffry Dahmer saying he is only going to eat one person. I hate to sound so crude, but the man is who he is! He loves power. That is all he cares about. And, yes, if you want to understand Trump's rise to power, read about Hitler's rise. They are so similar it is frightening! Remember, in 2016, we hoped that he would grow into the job when he got elected? Many Germans felt the same way about Hitler. But he can't. That would go against everything he has done his entire life. I wish I knew what is going to come of this, but I don't. Maybe someone from the grownup side of the Republican Party will stand up to him. Wait, didn't we say that 8 years ago also? Oh well, like I always say, denial is a happy place!

[MaryT]

Trump saying that he's only going to be a dictator for one day is like Jeffry Dahmer saying he is only going to eat one person. I hate to sound so crude, but the man is who he is! He loves power. That is all he cares about. And, yes, if you want to understand Trump's rise to power, read about Hitler's rise. They are so similar it is frightening! Remember, in 2016, we hoped that he would grow into the job when he got elected? Many Germans felt the same way about Hitler. But he can't. That would go against everything he has done his entire life. I wish I knew what is going to come of this, but I don't. Maybe someone from the grownup side of the Republican Party will stand up to him. Wait, didn't we say that 8 years ago also? Oh well, like I always say, denial is a happy place!

Now that Presidents Trump and Putin are negotiating the future of Ukraine over the heads of the Ukrainians, President Trump has decided that in whatever remains of the Ukraine after Russia has taken its share, the USA should take a large share of Ukraine's mineral resources, especially rare earths, as payment for past military aid.  When the aid was given by the USA and other countries, there was the impression that it was a free donation to help a bullied nation fight an invader and common enemy.  This is still the impression in Western Europe. 

In the circumstances, it is inevitable that the Secret Protocol of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, in which Poland and other parts of Europe were divided between Germany and the USSR, should be brought to mind.  (To be fair, the Soviet fear of Poland at that time was not entirely unjustified.  One of the less publicised 20th C wars was the Polish invasion of Ukraine after WWI, taking advantage of continued fighting between the Red and White armies in what became the USSR.  The battle-hardened Russians managed to drive back the Poles, who called to France and Britain for help, relying on their promise to protect Poland.  Britain refused but France sent a force to deter the Russians from entering Poland.) 

I wonder how it will play out this time. 

Timing and secrecy can make all the difference.  Shortly after Germany invaded Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany.  Not long afterwards, the Soviets invaded Poland.  To Britain and France, it might have looked like a spontaneous counter to the German invasion.  The Secret Protocol was only revealed during the Nuremberg Trials.  If Britain and France had known about it beforehand, would they still have declared war on Germany?  If they had, they would also have had to declare war on The USSR.  For better or worse, WWII might not have happened at all.

What could trigger a world war this time?  I don't think that Russia would be any happier than Ukraine about the USA getting a share of Ukraine's minerals.  Or, perhaps, it will start over Trumpland, aka Gaza.  Or will it start because Denmark is determined that the USA will not invade Greenland without shedding Danish blood?  If it does start, it will probably be over something that I have not even thought of.

[Lori Dee]

I don't think that Russia would be any happier than Ukraine about the USA getting a share of Ukraine's minerals.  Or, perhaps, it will start over Trumpland, aka Gaza.  Or will it start because Denmark is determined that the USA will not invade Greenland without shedding Danish blood?  If it does start, it will probably be over something that I have not even thought of.

It is the mineral resources that make Greenland so irresistible. If he can get Ukrainian resources in a deal where he looks like a hero for stopping the war, he will do it. Ukraine's resources might be easier to get, but Greenland is much closer and much bigger.

That's why I think his eye on the Panama Canal is not focused there. Just a short distance away are the vast oil fields of Venezuela.

We will see what happens.

[Lori Dee]

I am still trying to work out why there has been little mention of Trump's other plans.

He cut the Department of Defense budget but wants to build an Iron Dome Missile Defense System. And he created the Space Force. Well, I think his buddy Elon may be running NASA soon. And if NASA becomes militarized under the direction of Space Force in the Pentagon.

Then consider the extreme interest in AI. As @Sephirah pointed out, it is SkyNet just under a different name.

Where is Sara Connor now that we need her? 

[Sephirah]

I am still trying to work out why there has been little mention of Trump's other plans.

He cut the Department of Defense budget but wants to build an Iron Dome Missile Defense System. And he created the Space Force. Well, I think his buddy Elon may be running NASA soon. And if NASA becomes militarized under the direction of Space Force in the Pentagon.

Then consider the extreme interest in AI. As @Sephirah pointed out, it is SkyNet just under a different name.

Where is Sara Connor now that we need her? 

This is just... I know the Tangomeister has always been anti-establishment... mostly because they tried to put him in jail for being a complete shyster and probably the worst dregs of humanity. He controls the narrative these days. Which is probably the only reason he wants to reclaim his fingernails in the doors of the White House, after y'all tried to drag him out last time.

This sociopath won't be happy until he goes down in history next to names such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. He is that kind of broken. The only difference this time is that he didn't have to justify winning an election based on whatever metrics he could come up with. No... this time.. most of the people supposedly allied to the principles of democracy and freedom... you voted for this dumbass. You gave him the power.

When he breaks the world... remember the allies you threw under the bus.

[Lori Dee]

I have been trying to find my old T-shirt that says:

"Don't Blame Me. I didn't vote for him."

[Sephirah]

I have been trying to find my old T-shirt that says:

"Don't Blame Me. I didn't vote for him."

That's the thing. I feel sorry for everyone who has to just deal with all the juiced up fratbros who put him into office. More than half your country needs a wakeup call. Probably more than half of all countries need a wakeup call.

Populism is trying to get a foothold everywhere. Because it's alwauys easier to blame.

[MaryT]

Could someone have enough megalomania to find unbearable the thought that the world might continue to exist after he or she relinquishes power, even through his or her own death?

Some of President Trump's actions make me think that he actually wants a war of nuclear annihilation.  It wouldn't require a world war.  It would only require a country with many nuclear weapons engaging in a war that it cannot win without using them.

[Lori Dee]

From the Batman movie, The Dark Knight:

[MaryT]

That's President Trump.  Orange face instead of white but still The Joker.  Where is Batman when you need him?  (And Sarah Connor, of course.)

[Sephirah]

Could someone have enough megalomania to find unbearable the thought that the world might continue to exist after he or she relinquishes power, even through his or her own death?

In Trump's case it isn't just megalomania. It's the worst one-two punch of megalomania combined with extreme narcissism. Everything has to be about him. And I can very much see him pushing a figurative big red button if he thinks there's no other option other than to become irrelevant.

He is the Agent Smith of the modern age.

To go back to this quote, though:

I am still trying to work out why there has been little mention of Trump's other plans.

I think most people are too focused on the havoc he's trying to wreak in the rest of the world to focus on the stuff he's doing in your own country. People can only stomach so much insane.

[Lori Dee]

And this just in from NBC News:

Democratic lawmakers investigate DOGE 'security failures' that they warn 'pose a grave threat' to U.S.
Source Article
NBC News - Rebecca Shabad
27 Feb 2025

Democratic lawmakers are investigating DOGE for what they call "alarming security failures" involving personal and national security information.

They wrote in a letter to Elon Musk today that his DOGE employees "fed sensitive data into artificial intelligence software, ordered an unauthorized email server to be connected to the government network, and have accidentally been given 'write' access to the U.S. Treasury payment system."

"DOGE employees do not appear to fully understand much of the information to which they have been given unfettered access, and given the cavalier and incompetent ways that they have handled this data, these individuals represent a clear threat to national security and the nation's economy," said the letter, spearheaded by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

The other signatories include Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., ranking member on the House DOGE subcommittee, as well as Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.

The letter asks that Musk respond to their requests by March 6, including disclosing who is responsible for enforcing security protocols related to DOGE's website as well as details surrounding the security clearance process for DOGE employees.

-----------------------------------

BOLD emphasis added by me.

[Sephirah]

And apparently after calling Zelinskiyy a dictator, he's made a deal with him for minerals or whatever. This dude doesn't care about the stability of the world. Made a bigger U-turn than a driver's ed cheerleader just wanting to get back to her sorority party.

Once a shyster, always a shyster.

Like I said before, he only cares about anarchy and making himself a legacy, so that history will never forget him.

Yeah history will never forget you... but probably not for the reasons you think.

[MaryT]

And apparently after calling Zelinskiyy a dictator, he's made a deal with him for minerals or whatever. This dude doesn't care about the stability of the world. Made a bigger U-turn than a driver's ed cheerleader just wanting to get back to her sorority party.

Once a shyster, always a shyster.

Like I said before, he only cares about anarchy and making himself a legacy, so that history will never forget him.

Yeah history will never forget you... but probably not for the reasons you think.

President Zelensky is signing over mineral rights but he only seems to have been given "maybes" in return. 

Why would he do that?  He is a very desperate man who, especially since President Trump assumed office, has a life expectancy in which no insurer would invest.  Yet he may be trying to do one last thing to save at least part of Ukraine from Russia.  By creating a map of the USA's mineral interests in Ukraine, he has created an area that the USA, he hopes, might help to defend against Russian invasion.

As hopes go, I think that it is not only desperate but vain.  President Trump has made it clear that it will be Europe's job to protect whatever is left of Ukraine (and by extension America's mineral concessions) after Russia has taken its share of the country.

Russia will be even less happy about the USA having these minerals than they were about Ukraine having them.  I think that President Trump might be forgotten by history.  I think that there is a real risk that there might be no more history. 

[MaryT]

...
"DOGE employees do not appear to fully understand much of the information to which they have been given unfettered access, and given the cavalier and incompetent ways that they have handled this data, these individuals represent a clear threat to national security and the nation's economy," said the letter, spearheaded by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
...

Surely the majority who voted for President Trump did not give him a mandate for all this.  They probably expected something like his first term in office.  The chaos he and Musk have caused in the fist seven weeks of his new administration make it clear that what is taking place is a revolution with effects potentially as extreme as those that took place in France and Russia in previous centuries.

[Sephirah]

President Zelensky is signing over mineral rights but he only seems to have been given "maybes" in return. 

Why would he do that?  He is a very desperate man who, especially since President Trump assumed office, has a life expectancy in which no insurer would invest.

Of course he's a desperate man. He's presiding over a relatively small country that has been invaded by one of the world's superpowers. He's doing it for the people of his country. Because he doesn't want to lose what they have. As any other leader would do. This is why Europe is standing beside them, with no caveats. Because most of us have been through the whole Nazi thing already. And Russia is trying to pull the same thing. Some people in the world still see the value of freedom, and that isn't in dollar signs.

The fact that the Great Orange Hope would even target this shows what kind of a ruthless, mercenary gringo he is. Especially after the mental outburst he had not so long ago.

[Lexxi]

I absolutely think the election was rigged. trump even stood on a stage and bragged about how he had elon musk go to Pennsylvania and "figure" out the election machines so he'd have enough votes to win. That's why he wasn't campaigning all that hard and was telling people he didn't need their votes. Because he knew the fix was in process. And miraculously he ended up winning in every swing state.

[Sephirah]

I absolutely think the election was rigged. trump even stood on a stage and bragged about how he had elon musk go to Pennsylvania and "figure" out the election machines so he'd have enough votes to win. That's why he wasn't campaigning all that hard and was telling people he didn't need their votes. Because he knew the fix was in process. And miraculously he ended up winning in every swing state.

It's only rigged if he loses, Lexxi. That's the takeaway from all this.

Trigger warning, the is a lot of swearing in this video. Don't watch it if you're sensitive to that.