Susan's Place Transgender Resources

This will be a long read, but I will include references where appropriate.

Very often a con man will focus your attention on something so that you do not see what he is really doing. To me, it does not make sense to spend millions of dollars and focus the public's attention on 1% of the population who just want to live in peace. And yet, we see attack after attack on transgender people and the LGBTQ+ community at large.

Why? What is he really up to?

The media has reported several times about Trump's claim to "be a dictator on day one". However, what he said was in response to the question of whether he would be a dictator, to which he replied, "Only on day one".

His first actions as President included a flurry of Executive Orders that rescinded civil rights, declared states of emergency, closed the borders, stopped immigration, and declared his version of biology is the only one to be recognized by the government, so many are wondering if he is indeed becoming a dictator.

Trump's vow to only be a dictator on 'day one' follows growing worry over his authoritarian rhetoric - December 7, 2023
https://apnews.com/article/trump-hannity-dictator-authoritarian-presidential-election-f27e7e9d7c13fabbe3ae7dd7f1235c72

[Congressman Jared] Huffman Decries Trump's Dictatorial Power Grabs - January 28, 2025
https://huffman.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/huffman-decries-trumps-dictatorial-power-grabs

So is he becoming a dictator? And how would we know?

"Dictatorships are often characterised by some of the following: suspension of elections and civil liberties; proclamation of a state of emergency; rule by decree; repression of political opponents; not abiding by the procedures of the rule of law; and the existence of a cult of personality centered on the leader. Dictatorships are often one-party or dominant-party states."

"Because of its negative and pejorative connotations, modern authoritarian leaders very rarely (if ever) use the term dictator in their formal titles, instead they most often simply have title of president."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictator#:~:text=Dictatorships%20are%20often%20characterised%20by,personality%20centered%20on%20the%20leader.

Interesting, no?

What do dictators want? Throughout history, it seems that the ultimate goal is world domination.

This is not always achieved through military force, although that was common too. To be a dominant world power one could capitalize on resources. If you have all the resources, everyone else must come to you and you can charge (money or favors) at whatever rate you decide. If you have all the money (real money not just printed paper notes), others must come to you for trade. Even if you do not have all of these things, but a large supply of them, the same thing applies: others will come to you to get what they want or need.

Trump says he still wants to buy Greenland, suggests Canada could become a U.S. state - January 26, 2025
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/26/nx-s1-5275375/trump-greenland-canada-israel-gaza

Why? What is in Canada?

A very large land mass and a producer of oil. That is a lot of resources, plus it would secure our northern border from invasion. That leaves more military folks to patrol the southern border with Mexico.

But Greenland doesn't produce oil, so why Greenland?

A large land mass that is rich in rare earth minerals and uranium. Uranium for nuclear power and weapons. Rare earth minerals are used in the production of computer chips. Does this tie in with his interest in AI and cryptocurrency, both of which are computer-based?

If you look at this map, notice how much territory is occupied by Greenland, Canada, and the U.S.
https://geology.com/world/north-america-satellite-image.shtml

If America owned all of that, maybe renaming the Gulf would make more sense.

Trump says he will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America.'
January 20, 2025
https://apnews.com/article/trump-gulf-of-mexico-bc438f4feca1234475a1adef99344da7

Interior Department Advances Restoration of Historic Names Honoring American Greatness
01/24/2025
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-advances-restoration-historic-names-honoring-american-greatness

Other than Mexico, this includes all of North America.

Well, almost. There is that pesky little island called "Cuba". We have a military base and prison there called "Guantanamo Bay". Perhaps you have heard of it, or maybe by its nickname "Gitmo". Has Trump shown any interest in Cuba?

Trump quickly puts Cuba back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism - 01/20/2025
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/20/donald-trump-inauguration-day-news-updates-analysis/a-quick-reversal-on-cuba-00199531

Marines arrive at Guantanamo Bay as Trump's migrant deportation plan moves ahead at warp speed
Updated: 07:14 EST, 3 February 2025
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14352645/Marines-arrive-Guantanamo-Bay-Trump-migrant-deportation-plan.html

What to know about Guantánamo Bay, the base where Trump will send 'criminal aliens'
Feb 2, 2025
https://ravallirepublic.com/news/nation-world/government-politics/guantanamo-bay-gitmo-trump-immigration-ice/article_d0ac368d-f6e0-5f18-831b-458daee4405d.html

The government of Cuba considers the U.S. military base there "illegal" and "located in illegally occupied Cuba territory."

Then we have Panama in Central America. The Panama Canal is the only east-west passage between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Not only is it a vital shipping lane for passenger and cargo ships, but military traffic also travels through there.

Trump reiterates threat to retake Panama Canal 'or something very powerful' will happen
Updated 11:40 PM EST, Sun February 2, 2025
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/02/americas/panama-china-belt-and-road-initiative-rubio-visits-intl-latam/index.html

Trump refuses to rule out use of military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal
Updated 6:11 PM MST, January 7, 2025
https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-offshore-drilling-gulf-of-america-fa66f8d072eb39c00a8128a8941ede75

Look at the map again. Panama is located at the bottom of the map, the south end of Central America. There are two blank spaces to the right (east) of the Panama Canal. The furthest one is Venezuela, the largest oil producer in that part of the world.

Why is this important?

The U.S. imports oil from Venezuela. Lots of it. The only country that buys more Venezuelan oil than the U.S. is China. If the U.S. controlled the Panama Canal, they could shut down access by China, or charge a very high fee. It would be very expensive for China to haul oil around South America from Venezuela to China.

Trump said that the U.S. will be energy-dominant. He issued an Executive Order to declare an Energy National Emergency. Presidents use "national emergencies" to invoke special powers as a way to bypass Congress.

In this case, he can roll back environmental protections to allow oil drilling in areas that previously were off-limits, such as National Wildlife Refuges. Trump has big plans and his plans include making America a manufacturing powerhouse. That requires a lot of energy.

History has shown that economies thrive when manufacturing is prominent in a country. It has also shown us that the fastest way to build up a manufacturing base is through war. War provides jobs and factories to support the war effort. After a war, countries invest in manufacturing to rebuild a war-torn country.

Only Congress has the authority to declare war. Right now, the Republican party controls both houses of Congress, so it is unlikely they will oppose such a proposal from "His Orangeness". Another thing history has taught us is that we can have the war machine active without a declared war. Such actions are called "conflicts" instead of war and can be initiated by the President without approval from Congress. The U.S. has been involved in many "conflicts" from Vietnam to Ukraine.

Just some things to think about.

Cause  disruption and civil unrest so he can declare marshal law?

Quote from: davina61 on February 03, 2025, 04:45:33 PMCause  disruption and civil unrest so he can declare marshal law?

It wouldn't be the first time a dictator did that.  ;D

I think that President Trump is playing out the board game of Risk.  Experienced players know that the player who dominates the whole of North America will almost inevitably win.  Of course, in Risk, the owner of North America easily gets a foothold in Asia, preventing anyone else from winning.  That might not be easy in real life.

Deport all immigrants, fine that will leave the US to the native tribes!! The blokes an idiot ,the US was made from immigrants

Are drugs and illegal immigrants really swarming into the USA from Canada?:

 Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes Tariffs on Imports from Canada, Mexico and China    February 1, 2025 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-imposes-tariffs-on-imports-from-canada-mexico-and-china/)

In one breath President Trump wants the USA and Canada to become one country and in another breath he pauses tariffs in exchange for Canada strengthening the border between the two countries. 

I think that President Trump is really concerned about Americans fleeing from him to Canada for a better life.

Why does he want what he says he wants?  That is a question you would ask of a reasonable person.  Trump is an amoral malignant narcissist.  He doesn't recognize the concepts of right and wrong.  He doesn't want the thing that he wants for any rational purpose.  He wants them because he wants to be in charge.  He wants to be the boss.  That is his bottom line.  He doesn't want to be the boss so that he can accomplish some purpose.  He wants to be the boss in order to be the boss.

It is ironic, therefore, that he follows orders from Elon Musk.  But Musk is not electable, where as Trump (surprisingly) was.  I think they formed a partnership.  Musk, with his stable of hackers, rigged the election, in return for which Trump will do what he is told.  Musk couldn't fire the staff at USAID who tried to defend the data, for example, but a phone call to Trump was enough to get them fired.

I do not think the USA national election was rigged.  I think the majority of voters voted for the winning candidates. 

I am trying to put some trust and faith into our elections and the voting tallying process.

What bothers me is that some places count their votes weeks after the polls close and there are all these different rules and deadlines for early voting, mail in voting, voter identification, and deadlines for registering to vote (same day registrations?  Ridiculous!) across the states.

There should be uniform election rules across the states, with some procedures to follow if there is some very bad weather or an emergency occurring.

Should vote tallying go on for weeks?  Why wait to count the mail in votes until after the polls close?  Just do not announce vote numbers until after all the polls close in that state!

Showing valid ID is reasonable prior to voting!

However, I am not sure of the best process to follow.  We need to work on this though.


Chrissy

Quote from: MaryT on February 04, 2025, 11:40:17 AMIn one breath President Trump wants the USA and Canada to become one country and in another breath he pauses tariffs in exchange for Canada strengthening the border between the two countries. 

The tariffs are a tool. He can't impose sanctions, so he imposes tariffs. If a country has something to offer that Trump wants, he can make a deal. Give me x and I will lower your tariff. Interestingly, China has a lower tariff than Canada or Germany. Perhaps a deal was made.

Quote from: KathyLauren on February 04, 2025, 12:11:02 PMIt is ironic, therefore, that he follows orders from Elon Musk.  But Musk is not electable, where as Trump (surprisingly) was.  I think they formed a partnership.  Musk, with his stable of hackers, rigged the election, in return for which Trump will do what he is told.  Musk couldn't fire the staff at USAID who tried to defend the data, for example, but a phone call to Trump was enough to get them fired.

THIS.

That is why I asked, "Is Anyone Paying Attention?". Tiny details fill in the gaps and let us see the big picture.

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on February 04, 2025, 12:32:11 PMI do not think the USA national election was rigged.  I think the majority of voters voted for the winning candidates. 

I am trying to put some trust and faith into our elections and the voting tallying process.

What bothers me is that some places count their votes weeks after the polls close and there are all these different rules and deadlines for early voting, mail in voting, voter identification, and deadlines for registering to vote (same day registrations?  Ridiculous!) across the states.

There should be uniform election rules across the states, with some procedures to follow if there is some very bad weather or an emergency occurring.

Should vote tallying go on for weeks?  Why wait to count the mail in votes until after the polls close?  Just do not announce vote numbers until after all the polls close in that state!

Showing valid ID is reasonable prior to voting!

However, I am not sure of the best process to follow.  We need to work on this though.


Chrissy

I have seen enough evidence (not on YouTube) of voting fraud that I do not doubt that EVERY election is rigged.

All of the issues that you listed are accurate and they are the loopholes in the system that allow rigging to happen.

Every ballot should be a paper ballot. You cannot hack a paper ballot.

Each ballot must be printed using the same anti-fraud techniques that banks use for checks and bonds to prevent forgery.

Each ballot must have a trackable serial number tied to a single voter. Any duplicates of that ballot will be invalidated immediately. The voter ID record can show that the person is a valid, legal citizen permitted to vote. In some states, felons are not allowed to vote, so the record would invalidate their Voter ID. The serial number record that is tied to the voter must be encrypted using a blockchain or a similar system. That prevents theft of voter ID records and provides a bulletproof record of where that ballot came from in case of an audit. That way we know that John Doe is a citizen, is eligible to vote, and cast that vote for candidate X.

Every ballot must be counted by hand, not by a machine. Yes, it will take time. The news outlets will just have to wait until the count is official and certified. This isn't a horse race where you get to see who is ahead, and then the long shot rides up from the rear and takes the win. Make the certification of the votes in the Senate a real thing and not just a ceremonial gesture.

Make every vote count. Do away with the Electoral College. I voted for a specific person, not for someone to cast my vote for me. Remove the middleman and reduce some of the fraud. Faithless electors can throw an election and suffer no repercussions because it is not a criminal act. Either make it a criminal act or do away with them altogether.

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 03, 2025, 02:52:58 PMWhy? What is he really up to?

To quote The Oracle in the second Matrix Movie: "What do all men with power want? More power."

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on February 04, 2025, 12:32:11 PMHowever, I am not sure of the best process to follow.  We need to work on this though.

Not to worry.  There probably won't be any more elections, so it's a moot point.

Quote from: KathyLauren on February 04, 2025, 03:13:02 PMNot to worry.  There probably won't be any more elections, so it's a moot point.

That kind of scares me honestly. But I think it scares me more that the majority of US folks are okay with this. Or maybe they didn't know what they were getting themselves into. I know they want to give him a third term. The next step is making the Democrats illegal. It's all happened before.

It would really kind of suck if actual World War 3 was America against everyone else. Because you have this maniac in charge. Literally goes against everything your country is supposed to stand for.

Quote from: Sephirah on February 04, 2025, 03:15:52 PMif actual World War 3 was America against everyone else. Because you have this maniac in charge.

Kind of like... uh... Germany?

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 04, 2025, 03:18:37 PMKind of like... uh... Germany?

Yeah. You don't have to read very far into it to see the similarities, Lori. I know we're on the same page with this. And can see likely outcomes. Only this time it isn't the Jews, it's the Mexicans.

What scares me is that Trump is going to end up alienating the world to the point that everyone is going to suffer... again. Because he literally doesn't care. You're all just cannon fodder to him. And he's going to push things too far. People who used to be side by side end up being enemies because of this narcissistic warmonger. And as the title of your thread alludes to... no one seems to care.

Quote from: Sephirah on February 04, 2025, 03:20:55 PMAnd as the title of your thread alludes to... no one seems to care.

Sometimes I wonder if I should include a lobotomy as part of my transition so I can become an airhead bimbo. Ignorance is bliss.

Until the jackboots kick in your door because they found an old copy of your birth certificate.

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 04, 2025, 03:32:58 PMSometimes I wonder if I should include a lobotomy as part of my transition so I can become an airhead bimbo. Ignorance is bliss.

Until the jackboots kick in your door because they found an old copy of your birth certificate.

I think the problem is more widespread than that, honestly. It's not just the US going through this. Far right wing stuff is happening all over the world. In Europe you have right wing parties vying for governments in many countries. Even in the UK.

I think... and I am loathe to say this. I think it's partly the left's fault. It's like a balancing act. No one wants to be in the middle anymore. It's either one extreme or the other. And.. as much as I want to disagree with this guy, I can't. As the old quote goes: Evil wins when good does nothing. The left did nothing other than to warn people how dangerous the right was. We have the same issue in the UK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0eq7VNCcYY

LMAO! :laugh:

Thought you'd get a kick out of that, Lori ;D

I had read a headline talking about Trump trying to get rid of the constitution, or make it basically just a historical document that no longer applies to how our country is to ran.

A while ago there was a video of a guy who claimed he was running as the first totally honest politician. I will look for that and share it.

Here it is:

Tonight, I will be rewatching an old favorite documentary.

TRIGGER WARNING!   TRIGGER WARNING!   TRIGGER WARNING!
"Everything is a Rich Man's Trick"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oVpt_I9iQQ
TRIGGER WARNING!   TRIGGER WARNING!   TRIGGER WARNING!

This video contains disturbing images. If you are squeamish or do not want to see news film footage of bodies at concentration camps, DO NOT click the link.

This documentary was made by a British historian who explains how the world has been operating and why. He shows actual photos, news films, and other documents to support his claims. If you think that anything he says is questionable, do an internet search and fact-check it yourself. I have.

After watching this video, you might just become a "Conspiracy Theorist". Are you paying attention?

I suppose it is up to interpretation but I believe that a person can be elected to be the USA President only twice; but can serve longer.


Before being elected, a person can fill the remaining term for the president who dies or resigns.  Then she or he may be elected once or twice as President.

After being elected twice, the person cannot be elected as a president again.  However if such a person gets elected as Vice President, she or he may be able to serve as President if the elected president resigns or dies after inauguration.

So in theory, a person may serve about three to three and a half terms if she or he was involved in replacing a president twice.

Or so it seems. . .

I am not a constitutional scholar. 

I think you are right, so I looked it up real quickly:

Section 1 of the 22nd Amendment indicates that "no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once." It was ratified in 1951.

I wonder how close we are to that exact thing occurring right now. Hugs
Mariah

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 03, 2025, 04:52:08 PMIt wouldn't be the first time a dictator did that.  ;D

President Trump said that the USA would not defend NATO countries that did not spend enough on their own defence.  Ironically, NATO members such as Denmark are spending considerably more on defence in "coincidental" response to implied threats of invasion by the USA.

I wonder whether at some stage, President Trump will say that that was his plan all along.

President Trump also said that he believed that the USA would get Greenland because "the inhabitants want to be with us."  Perhaps that was his genuine belief after members of his family visited Greenland.

The Kalaallit, the Inuit of Greenland, are an extension of the indigenous cultures of North America and I believe that their land is the largest territory north of Mexico in which indigenous peoples, as the majority, call the shots.  No offence intended to Americans but I'm sure that the Kalaallit have watched too many Westerns to possibly want to join the USA.

Orange man speak with forked tongue.

Donald Trump Jr.'s visit was 'staged,' says Greenland lawmaker
"We know how they treat the Inuit in Alaska. Make that great before trying to invade us," Pipaluk Lynge tells POLITICO.
Source Link (https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-junior-visit-was-staged-says-greenland-lawmaker/)
POLITICO - Seb Starcevic, Eric Bazail-Eimil and Jack Detsch
January 9, 2025 5:56 pm CET

A senior Greenlandic politician slammed Donald Trump Jr.'s visit to the island as "staged," and warned the United States not to "invade us" given its historical treatment of Alaska's indigenous people.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's eldest son landed on the self-ruling Danish territory Tuesday and spent the day meeting with local residents, who he claimed were supportive of a U.S. takeover. But Lynge said it was a stunt.

"No journalists were allowed to interview him. It was all staged to make it seem like we — the Greenlandic people — were MAGA and love to be a part of the USA," Lynge said.

Local media said that the Trump Jr. camp passed out MAGA hats to residents on the day of the visit, while video footage from the trip showed the president-elect talking to cap-wearing Greenlanders on speakerphone during a lunch event.

His welcome was not entirely warm, Lynge added. "People were curious, but some took pictures giving him [the] finger at the airport ... Some wrote on Facebook: yankee go home," she said.

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

In a different article, it was reported that they gathered up homeless people, and gave them MAGA hats and a free lunch for the photo op.

This is just crazy. Why do with tanks what you can do with baseball caps.

I'm paying as much attention as my stomach can handle. Both my great grand parents immigrated here from Norway and Denmark at the end of the 1800's. I wonder if they saw the writing on the wall back then and decided to leave. They were both city boys and business owners and they sold their businesses and came to North Dakota and started farming.
This is really a ->-bleeped-<- show.

President Trump had huge success in business.  After concentrating on politics, he has survived efforts to incriminate him even when found guilty and even survived at least one assassination attempt.  I think that he really does believe that he is favoured, protected and given a mandate by God as well as the people.

If so, can we be certain that he is wrong?

Years ago, I watched a TV movie called God on Trial, based on Elie Wiesel's play The Trial of God.  The play was set in 1649 but the movie was set in WWII.  Although he did not write the screenplay, Wiesel said that the events in the movie were true and that he had witnessed them himself.

In WWII, Jewish internees, most of whom would soon be killed, debated whether God had broken his covenant with the Jews and changed his allegiance to their enemies.  They discussed, e.g. how the Israelites slaughtered the Midianites at God's command, eventually sparing only the virgin girls.  The internees concluded that God was strong and had been on the side of the Israelites but that He was not good.

While being marched to the gas chamber, one of the internees asked his friend
"Well, we found God guilty.  Now what shall we do?"
"Now", his friend replied, "we pray."

If God is on President Trump's side, at least we can still pray.

Lord Peter Mandelson is now Britain's ambassador to the USA.  Of President Trump, he said
"We have to respect and understand what drives him, what his mandate is to do, and how his allies need to adjust sometimes."
He also described his own past criticisms of President Trump as "ill-judged and wrong".

As Mercutio said with much less justification,
"O calm, dishonourable, vile submission".

And now we have "Trump pardons former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich - Trump commuted Blagojevich's 14-year sentence in 2020. The former governor had served about 8 years on charges stemming from his effort to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat."

If you are not familiar with this dirtbag, read the article here:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-expected-pardon-former-illinois-governor-rod-blagojevich-rcna191566

Now there is talk about appointing this corrupt felon as Ambassador to Serbia.

Birds of a feather.

Quote from: MaryT on February 11, 2025, 06:49:23 PMLord Peter Mandelson is now Britain's ambassador to the USA.  Of President Trump, he said
"We have to respect and understand what drives him, what his mandate is to do, and how his allies need to adjust sometimes."
He also described his own past criticisms of President Trump as "ill-judged and wrong".

As Mercutio said with much less justification,
"O calm, dishonourable, vile submission".

If you're not from the UK... Peter Mandelson is the same kind of snake oil salesman that trump is. He was a Tory (conservative) MP back in the day. He's extremely slippery. Probably the kind of person that is right for that position right now.

Sometimes I think we elected a child. At least that is how his tantrums seem to play out.

His Executive Order resulted in pages from the CDC and FDA websites being removed. A judge ordered them to be restored. The Orange Baby then ordered that statements harshly condemning "gender ideology" will be added to all of the restored pages.

https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,250152.msg2293455.html#msg2293455

After Trump ordered that the "Gulf of Mexico" be renamed the "Gulf of America" the Associated Press said that they will use the original name "Gulf of Mexico" while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.

Trump disinvited the AP from attending the signing of other Executive Orders. ... the wire service called it "alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism."

"The White House Correspondents' Association condemned the administration for a second time after AP reporters were barred from a press conference involving President Trump and India's prime minister on Friday."

And now...

"The White House says it will limit Associated Press journalists' access to the Oval Office and Air Force One, an escalation of a brooding conflict between the Trump administration and the wire service this week.

"The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America," White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said in a post on social media platform X on Friday.

"This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press' commitment to misinformation. While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One," the spokesman added.

Source:
White House limits AP access to Oval Office, Air Force One indefinitely
by Dominick Mastrangelo - 02/14/25 1:28 PM ET
Link to Full Article (https://thehill.com/homenews/5145928-white-house-ap-oval-office-air-force-one/)

The other day, when I commented on the Thread That Cannot be Derailed that I hoped that the record number of visitors to Susan's Place was not the result of FBI or CIA interest, I was mostly joking.

The website of an organization that works to protect LGBTQ+ students has a quick exit path and encourages visitors to clear their browsing history regularly:

Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (https://www.glsen.org/)

That is so sad.  I wonder whether Susan's Place will come to that.  As Lilis commented,

Quote from: Lilis on February 12, 2025, 08:40:10 AMHahaha! 😂🤣 Sorry, glowies, you're not welcome here!
...

If they are just reading, or contributing to the site, no problem. Everyone is welcome here. Even closet homophobic glowies.  ;D

But if they comment or post anything against the TOS, I will ban them faster than they can spell CIA. 

One thing that I know for certain from extensive training in Military Intelligence is that the media, specifically news outlets in any form, are used as weapons of propaganda and misinformation.

I am not saying that they are lying. I am saying that the stories that are the most upfront and in-your-face are not the biggest issues. You must learn to read between the lines. Look past the headlines and see what lies just beyond in the background.

For example, ABC News reported on Feb 14th, 2025:
Here are all the agencies that Elon Musk and DOGE have been trying to dismantle so far
Democrats and unions are fighting DOGE's actions in court.
Source Link (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/elon-musks-government-dismantling-fight-stop/story?id=118576033)

You can read the article, which is somewhat interesting. But what I found very interesting is the descriptions of what Musk's team was after. We know that Trump, Musk, and the rest of his oligarchy pals all have a keen interest in Artificial Intelligence. Why?

AI uses huge databases of information to draw upon to answer queries. We know that these same members of the oligarchy allies have been collecting data on consumers for decades. Between the NSA spying on communications, Facebook/Meta tracking relationships and social preferences, Google Ads tracking consumer metrics, Amazon tracking purchases, and on and on, there is a wealth of data already out there being used for "marketing" (i.e. advertising propaganda).

What if all of these databases were combined? What data is still missing?

Let's look at some of what Musk's team was looking for besides fraud and wasted money:

DOGE employees ... have been going through data systems...

As of Feb. 10, ABC has tracked Musk and his DOGE team gaining access to at least 15 federal agencies. ...

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
The CMS -- a subagency of the Department of Health and Human Services -- has also been collaborating with DOGE since Feb. 5 ...

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
... a federal regulatory agency that enforces financial consumer protection laws. ...

Department of Defense
... begin the process of reviewing the Pentagon's operations. ...

Department of Education
... reports that DOGE gained access to federal student loan data. ...

Federal Aviation Administration
The Department of Transportation and Musk announced that he had access to FAA technologies ...

Internal Revenue Service
The DOGE aide initiated multiple meetings with IRS employees, asking, in part, about the agency's technology, including how audits and compliance are done ...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
... That person was granted access to NOAA's IT systems ...

Treasury Department
The Treasury Department gave Musk and DOGE access to the vast federal payment system responsible for handling trillions of dollars in government expenditures. ...

... a temporary restraining order blocked DOGE from accessing taxpayer records, including the Social Security numbers and bank account information of millions of Americans. ...

In a related story, also reported by ABC News on February 17, 2025:

Top Social Security official steps down after clash with DOGE, sources say
Commissioner Michelle King had served over 30 years with the agency.
Source Link (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/top-social-security-official-steps-after-clash-doge/story?id=118913567)

The top official at the Social Security Administration stepped down after a clash with DOGE employees over access to sensitive personal records, two sources told ABC News.

Sources said that DOGE employees were seeking access to an internal data system which includes sensitive, personal information of Americans.

Nancy Altman, the president of Social Security Works, which works to expand social security, told ABC News the data the Social Security Administration has is expansive.

"It's your entire earnings record. If you're a beneficiary, it's your benefits, it's the name of your spouse and when you got married and if you got divorced, and all kinds of information. And most sensitive, if you've applied for disability benefits, all of your medical records," said Altman.

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

Imagine a government-run Artificial Intelligence system with complete access to all of this information. The system is already built. The data already exists. The question is, "What will they use it for?"

I can guarantee that it will not be anything that benefits the people.

Now watch the movie, "2073". We were warned.

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.

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.

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!

Quote from: Camille58S on February 21, 2025, 11:17:51 AMTrump 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.

Quote from: MaryT on February 21, 2025, 04:09:36 PMI 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.

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?  ;D

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 22, 2025, 05:38:31 PMI 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?  ;D

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.

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

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

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 22, 2025, 08:39:31 PMI 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.

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.

From the Batman movie, The Dark Knight:

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.)

Quote from: MaryT on February 23, 2025, 12:40:37 PMCould 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:

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 22, 2025, 05:38:31 PMI 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.

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 (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/live-updates-trump-musk-doge-russia-tariffs-rcna193938)
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.

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.

Quote from: Sephirah on February 27, 2025, 04:31:06 PMAnd 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. 

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 27, 2025, 04:20:28 PM...
"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.

Quote from: MaryT on February 27, 2025, 05:37:25 PMPresident 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.

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.

Quote from: Lexxi on February 27, 2025, 08:06:55 PMI 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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk0nUUqG_Ag

Tell us how you really feel. Don't hold back. LMAO

The site is being obnoxiously slow for me tonight, but Lori, you need to check this dude out, lol. He is not scared of saying what most people are thinking...

case in point...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3XO_ee9VeY

Fireworks in the White House, I've heard. 

How can the President of the USA possibly think that the President of Ukraine has a mandate to sign over a huge chunk of his country to Russia and also sign over to the US half of the mineral rights in the remainder of the country - all in return for a vague suggestion that the USA might have more reason to help defend what is left of Ukraine if it owned half the mineral rights - especially as President Trump has already emphasised that the defence of Ukraine is going to be Europe's responsibility anyway?

Does President Trump think that he has a mandate to to with the US what he demands that President Zelensky does with Ukraine?  He doesn't, no matter how many blank executive orders he has in his stationery cupboard.

Vice President Vance is right about Ukraine owing the USA - as well as other countries that invested large parts of their budgets in helping Ukraine - gratitude.  Gratitude is also owed by Ukraine to the Biden administration. 

However, Ukraine was fighting to the death against an enemy common to the West and providing an extremely valuable laboratory in which the efficacy of the donated weopons could be tested.  The only conditions imposed on the aid were the rules of engagement under which the weapons could be used.  No suggestion was made that Ukraine would have to pay anything back, least of all half of its mineral rights to one of the countries that helped.

President Zelensky owes no gratitude to the Trump administration and he certainly owes President Trump and Vice President Vance no more respect than they have shown him.

Trump and Putin, two of the world's biggest bullies, decided to work together to beat up the little kid on the playground and take all that he owns.

It smells a lot like the Mafia's "protection" rackets. If you want protection, you will have to pay for it. If you don't pay, we let the other bully take everything from you.

I wish this war was over.

Many people have died.

More will die as the war continues.

Who wants that? 

Why should the war continue?  It should end. 

Stop it. 

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on March 01, 2025, 06:46:54 PMI wish this war was over.

Many people have died.

More will die as the war continues.

Who wants that? 

Why should the war continue?  It should end. 

Stop it. 

The rich do not care about such things.

War is a tool to them. It stimulates the economy, provides manufacturing jobs, generates tax revenues, and the rich get richer. If you can handle seeing disturbing images, watch the documentary JFK to 9/11: Everything is a Rich Man's Trick that I linked above.

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on March 01, 2025, 06:46:54 PMI wish this war was over.

Many people have died.

More will die as the war continues.

Who wants that? 

Why should the war continue?  It should end. 

Stop it. 

It should end immediately but it should end with no strings attached.

Why should the invaded country have to sign over a big chunk of its land AND PEOPLE to the invader while also signing half its remaining minerals over to the USA in return for a mere suggestion that America might have some reason to help defend what's left of the country if it owns massive mineral concessions there?

Its a sad truth, a lesson so many people and nations over the course of history have had to learn and swallow.

Woe to the vanquished, for the spoil go to the victor....

Unfortunately the victor also gets to proclaim what does and doesn't go into the history books as well.

Not that Ukraine is losing by any means, just that they're a small nation, and like many small nations they have to make deals with the big nations or they will be wiped off the map by the larger ones sadly. And all for what, land, power, world domination?

It's definitely a sad time we live in.

I just posted an article on the Department of Homeland Security's change in policy that now allows individuals and groups to be targeted for surveillance based on sexual orientation and gender identity. That article is here: https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,250352.msg2295060.html#msg2295060

I remember that many years ago, there was talk about how wonderful the new 5G wireless networks would be. They are fast, have low latency, and can handle huge loads of data in real time. The big push was aimed at consumers who would be monitored via facial recognition software, tied to a database of their ad preferences, and smart screens would offer custom ads to them as they walked down the street or went shopping.

That became a reality in China. In 2019, Forbes wrote an article describing the Chinese government's efforts to create a complete surveillance system of all of its citizens.
That article is here: Facial Recognition: A Force For Good ... Or Government? by Jon Markham, Forbes, Sep 27, 2019, 05:32 pm EDT (https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmarkman/2019/09/27/facial-recognition-a-force-for-good-or-government/)

From the article (2019):

In China, 5G is already being utilized for a facial recognition program that is rewriting social norms. In Beijing, you can now withdraw money from a bank, pay for food in restaurants, and even check in at the airport with only facial recognition software.

But there is a dark side to these amazing advances. Along with the consumer applications to facial recognition, China is building out an unprecedented surveillance state.

Fast 5G networks will allow millions of surveillance cameras, many equipped with state-of-the-art facial recognition software, to monitor millions of Chinese continuously in real time.

The state began in 2005, an ambitious program called Skynet. The goal was to blanket every urban center with cameras. A decade later, China Daily reported the program completed 100% coverage of Beijing, a sprawling city with 21 million residents.

... The version of the state-surveillance program is already active. Using facial recognition, CCTV cameras will capture "unacceptable" behavior. The individual's face and a description of what they did is displayed on public monitors, inviting public scrutiny and shaming them.

The government is collecting all this information and adding it to a massive database.

Coming soon to a community near you!

Last night, I watched as Donald Trump addressed the joint session of Congress. He spent a lot of time (two hours) talking about how great he is and all of the great things he has done. He also told lies, some of which he had been telling for almost ten years. On the Republican side of the House, every comment was met with a standing ovation from his cult followers. Not one Democrat stood or applauded ever. One Democrat, Rep. Green, was removed from the Chamber by the House Sergeant at Arms for being disruptive.

It was quite a spectacle. Our country is clearly divided. And the way things are going, we will either end up in civil war, or the Democrats will give in to the Red Wave that is sweeping the nation state by state.

After the address, Senator Elissa Slotnik delivered the Democratic response to Trump's address. That was the weakest, most spineless response they could have mustered. It did not address the issues that Trump mentioned in his address, nor did it really offer any substance at all. It was pathetic and not worth watching, so I won't link it here.

Next, Senator Bernie Sanders offered his response to Trump's address. I am no fan of Bernie Sanders. I think he is a kook, and I disagree with much of what he stands for. He is a Socialist and wants the government to provide everything. We are a capitalist society, not a socialist one.

But, Senator Sanders's address hit the nail on the head. His address should have been the official Democratic response. He calls out Trump on specifics of what was and what was not said during the address.

I am no fan of Bernie Sanders, but last night, he earned my respect. Watch his response here:

Trump, Vance and Musk are extraordinarily brazen.

Oderint dum metuant (Let them hate as long as they fear)

was a Roman phrase said to have been used a lot by Caligula.

Caligula got a nasty surprise.

I have stated before (a few times) that what Trump is doing now resembles what Hitler did in Germany in the past. Some think that is a bit of a stretch, yet the signs continue to pop up.

Today, an article appeared on MTN entitled:

Trump Amplifies "No LGBTQ" Symbol Using Nazi-Era Imagery in Military Ad Post
Trump's Truth Social post has a pink triangle overlayed with a prohibition symbol
Link to Full Article (https://meidasnews.com/news/trump-amplifies-no-lgbtq-symbol-using-nazi-era-imagery-in-military-ad-post)
MTN - J.D. Wolf
10 Mar 2025

Trump posted an article to his Truth Social account this weekend featuring a deeply troubling image: a pink triangle—the Nazi-era symbol used to identify and persecute gay men in concentration camps—covered with a red prohibited sign. Historically, the LGBTQ+ rights movement reclaimed the pink triangle as a symbol of resistance, pride, and remembrance.

The article itself titled, "Army recruitment ads look quite different under Trump," published by the Washington Times praises Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for refocusing the military on "lethality" and reversing Biden-era policies that embraced diversity, including ads featuring LGBTQ+ soldiers.

Trump's choice to amplify such an image is particularly alarming given Hegseth's past statements.

He has long opposed LGBTQ+ inclusion in the military, previously criticizing the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Now, under his leadership, Trump appears to be reinforcing the idea that LGBTQ+ individuals are unwelcome in the armed forces—not just through policy but through amplifying symbolic messaging with disturbing historical roots.

Trump's amplification of a Nazi-era symbol to promote this shift sends a message signaling a return to exclusionary policies that many believed were left in the past.

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

Let's keep paying attention.

And now we have "Gestapo" tactics...

On March 11. 2025, The Hill published a news article with headlines:
USDA pauses funding to University of Maine after Trump clash with governor
by Lexi Lonas Cochran
Link to Source Article (https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5189042-usda-university-of-maine-trump-mills-columbia-transgender-athletes-antisemitism/)

Although the story is about an argument between Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills. Trunp threatened to cut off federal funding (which he has no authority to do) if Maine does not comply with his policy concerning transgender athletes in women's sports.

"I'm complying with state and federal law," Mills told Trump after he asked if the governor would comply with his executive order. 

"We are the federal law. You better do it because you're not going to get federal funding," Trump said. 

"See you in court," Mills responded.

And so, this battle will continue to play out. But what caught my attention is the last paragraph of this story:

On Saturday, federal immigration authorities arrested Mahmoud Khalil, one of the leaders of Columbia's pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The detention of Khalil, an immigrant in the country legally who has not been officially charged with any crime, is the first known instance of the Trump administration seeking to deport a student activist over the protests.

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

This administration does not care about Constitutional rights, the law, or even common decency.

We went from a democracy to an oligarchy to a dictatorship in less than 90 days.

Quote from: Lori Dee on March 10, 2025, 12:57:10 PMI have stated before (a few times) that what Trump is doing now resembles what Hitler did in Germany in the past. Some think that is a bit of a stretch, yet the signs continue to pop up.

Here is another sign that Trump is executing Hitler's playbook step by step: The tariffs on Canada. In 1933 Hitler imposed a 1,000 Reichsmark fee on any German who wished to travel to Austria. That was a lot of money back then, equivalent to $8,000 in today's money. That crippled the Austrian tourism industry which was highly dependent on German tourists and prepared the path toward Austia's annexation four years later in 1937.

He's heading in that direction fast, everyday - ignoring  / overruling Judges rulings, calling Vietnam hero awards 'DEI medals', discussing with Putin how they will share out land and power plants, revoking secret service protections as revenge - in the last couple of days.  How will it look in 6 months? 2 years?

Conservative former federal judge says Trump has 'declared war' on US rule of law
J Michael Luttig said a constitutional crisis is brewing due to Trump's defiance of a court order over deportations
Link to Full Article (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/trump-court-order-immigration-constitutional-crisis)
The Guardian - Martin Pengelly in Washington
Wed 19 Mar 2025 10.20 EDT

Donald Trump has "declared war on the rule of law in America" and is pitching the country into a constitutional crisis, a prominent former conservative federal judge said.

"The president of the United States has essentially declared war on the rule of law in America," J Michael Luttig told MSNBC. "In the past few weeks ... the president himself has led a full-frontal assault on the constitution, the rule of law, the federal judiciary, the American justice system and the nation's legal profession.

"When the president of the United States wages a war on the rule of law and the federal judiciary alley, America is in a constitutional crisis. The constitutional role of the president is to faithfully execute the laws. Needless to say, the president is doing anything but that at the moment. Most constitutional scholars have long agreed that a constitutional crisis exists at least when the president defies a court order. That's essentially what the president is doing today and what it appears he intends to do in the future."

"Never before has an American president even thought to utter one single one of the words against the federal judiciary that this president has uttered every day."

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

And this is not just the American Justice system. On February 6,2025, Trump signed an Executive Order,  IMPOSING SANCTIONS ON THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court/).

Pay attention and be safe out there.

All NATO European countries seem to be boosting their defence spending, even though they are having to borrow many billions to do it.  Britain is dismantling its beloved NHS and benefit system to get some money.  Perhaps President Trump had a point that we weren't paying our way. 

Ironically, the real fear that is prompting us is that we might be fighting on at least two fronts.  After all, Canada is also a NATO member.

The whole world is falling into madness.

I think that only Elon Musk has method in it.   

Good point MaryT - I'm reading 'Character limit' about the Twitter takeover of 2022 and much of this is Musk's playbook.   

So I am no longer a woman?

No way!


Chrissy

Quote from: MaryT on March 19, 2025, 04:01:50 PMAll NATO European countries seem to be boosting their defence spending, even though they are having to borrow many billions to do it.  Britain is dismantling its beloved NHS and benefit system to get some money.  Perhaps President Trump had a point that we weren't paying our way. 

Ironically, the real fear that is prompting us is that we might be fighting on at least two fronts.  After all, Canada is also a NATO member.

The whole world is falling into madness.

I think that only Elon Musk has method in it.   

To be fair, that's not why Starmer is getting rid of NHS England. It's a bloated subsidiary of what the NHS was originally founded on. They're taking it back to government control, which is what it was at the start. A lot of the government is massively bloated with people who do nothing but get thousands per year to sit scratching their keister. The Tories outsourced most of the NHS to these satellite bodies, who couldn't even work out how to get an IT system working properly. It's paying lots of middle managers taxpayer money to do nothing productive.

And as an ex-military lass... yeah, the UK has been basically stripping military spending for years. My brother, when he was in the army, was literally told to beg, borrow or steal gear in order to be combat ready. It was, and is shameful.

UK's Civil Service to reduce spending by 15%.  The NHS to be dismantled and replaced with a more, ahem, efficient centralised entity.  £5 billion to be saved by benefit cuts by 2030.  Tens of thousands of potential job losses.  Government will be just as efficient as before, says Starmer, because of AI and other technology.  He's probably right.  It couldn't be much less efficient, anyway.  At least we'll have more money to spend on a massively increased defence budget.

We'll need it if the street prophets (we don't have any wilderness for prophets to cry in) are right. 

Russia and Western Europe keep each other occupied while the USA annexes Canada and Greenland to PROTECT them.  Then the USA keeps President Trump's promise of vengeance against China that he made during his previous term.  The US has its work cut out, having lost the war in all of the previous scenarios. 

China weaponises the Yellowstone supervolcano.  That's OK because the survivors can now move to Canada.  The USA's campaign is to make China unsurvivable, as so much of their defence capability is safely underground.

All very risky but it has to be done because Mr Musk MUST have sole control of the new quantum computing technology.  It can be presumed that Chinese agents have already obtained the technology and China must be stopped from developing it.

My money's on China to win.  To have the most influence, Mr Musk needed a thuggish administration to take his "advice".  However, a lowbrow administration cannot have the necessary intelligence and finesse that will be needed.

Of course, street prophets can be wrong.

President signs order against law firm for challenging his trans healthcare ban
It's just his latest attempt to hassle law firms that oppose his illegal and unconstitutional actions.
LGBTQ Nation - By Daniel Villarreal, Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Link to Full Article (https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/03/president-targets-law-firm-for-challenging-his-unconstitutional-trans-healthcare-ban/)

The president has signed an executive order targeting the law firm Jenner and Block because it is involved in a court case challenging his executive order banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The law firm denounced the order, but it's just the latest example of the president persecuting legal firms that oppose his illegal actions.

Jenner and Block are working on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to block the president's ban on gender-affirming care.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the gender-affirming care ban. The lawsuit accused the president of trying to "unconstitutionally usurp congressional authority by withholding lawfully appropriated federal funds." The lawsuit also said that the president sought to violate the rights of trans youth by "depriving them of necessary medical care" solely on the basis of their gender assigned at birth and their transgender status, PBS reported.

Gender-affirming care is endorsed by almost all major U.S. medical associations as safe, effective and essential to trans kids' well-being.

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

This is not how a leader behaves. This is how a dictator behaves.
Somebody needs a Fitness For Duty Mental Health Evaluation.

We are in a dictatorship.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/26/university-of-sussex-fined-freedom-of-speech-investigation-kathleen-stock (https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/26/university-of-sussex-fined-freedom-of-speech-investigation-kathleen-stock) 

The University of Sussex has been fined £585,000 for having a policy syatement that transphobic propaganda will not ne tolerated.  So

Banning racist propaganda is good;

Banning homophobic propaganda is good;

Banning transphobic propaganda violates freedom of speech.

The UK isn't as trans-hostile as the USA yet but it's getting there.

Quote from: Lori Dee on March 25, 2025, 09:07:18 PM....
This is not how a leader behaves. This is how a dictator behaves.
Somebody needs a Fitness For Duty Mental Health Evaluation.

True but he has surrounded himself with equally unfit henchmen so it will not be easy.

Quote from: MaryT on March 24, 2025, 07:44:25 AMUK's Civil Service to reduce spending by 15%.  The NHS to be dismantled and replaced with a more, ahem, efficient centralised entity.  £5 billion to be saved by benefit cuts by 2030.  Tens of thousands of potential job losses.  Government will be just as efficient as before, says Starmer, because of AI and other technology.  He's probably right.  It couldn't be much less efficient, anyway.  At least we'll have more money to spend on a massively increased defence budget.

We'll need it if the street prophets (we don't have any wilderness for prophets to cry in) are right. 
....

A £2.2 billion increase in UK defence spending has been announced.

Even so,

We're doomed! (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=private+dad%27s+army+we%27re+doomed#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:bd5c4671,vid:sxqvwkmTNy8,st:0)

Now why do I hear corporal Frazier??

Quote from: MaryT on March 26, 2025, 11:03:14 AMA £2.2 billion increase in UK defence spending has been announced.

Even so,

We're doomed! (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=private+dad%27s+army+we%27re+doomed#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:bd5c4671,vid:sxqvwkmTNy8,st:0)

Yeah, to be fair, that's kind of a halfway measure of what's actually needed. They're apparently going to save that much by making terminally ill people look for work. Which is absurd. But even so... ever since the Falklands war back in the 80s, we've been stripping military spending for other things... and committing to more actions (sometimes on the coat-tails of the US, who've kind of turned round and stabbed people in the back under the Mango Mussolini). Putting more and more lives at risk because of woefully underfunded services. This has, if anything, been a massive wake up call.

There's a quote from the TV mini-series "Chernobyl" that I really like. It's Mikhail Gorbachev explaining to a room of people, after they were forced to explain that it had actually happened. He said "Our power is based on the perception of our power." And that's how it's been with the UK for years. Our armed services are absurdly underfunded for the tasks they're being asked to undertake. If there's one good thing Trump has done it's to make other countries look at their own house. And step it up.

I am biased because I am an ex-military lass, as was my brother. So I know firsthand how this affects people in that situation. And more spending on our armed forces is long overdue. Because the men and women being asked to potentially lay down their lives deserve it.

Welp history is going to repeat itself... Sadly.

Do you think it will be forced de-transition, internment/concentration camps, or extermination?

Quote from: Robbyv213 on March 31, 2025, 04:31:35 PMDo you think it will be forced de-transition, internment/concentration camps, or extermination?

None of the above. The people won't stand for it. Even members of the GOP are beginning to question some of the BS. You can only bend something so far before it breaks.

My biggest concern is rioting in the streets like we had with the COVID lockdowns across the country. We had police stations overrun, courthouses burned, and parts of cities destroyed. That would only provide an excuse for Martial Law.

Hopefully, the Democrats will get active and recruit some of the less-far-right GOP to help them thwart this madness.

I hope Lori is right. I hope there is a survivable worst case. But I don't think Robby was joking. And I don't think it was hyperbole. The Yellowstone Supervolcano Sabotage might be our last best hope.

I was joking in a dark sense knowing my luck one of those would be in my future. At least it would take my choice away from me having to struggle and go through all this shadow work and self reflection to discover that I have been gaslighting myself and that I am truly trans and then I get to under go the most difficult of paths anyone can take and transition.

It's kind of like suicide by cop. You don't want to kill yourself for what ever reason or you can't go through with it on your own, so you commit a crime where no one gets hurt and then you point a toy gun, something that looks like a gun or an unloaded gun at a cop so they shoot you and hopefully you do survive...

Anyways. Realistically I feel most of these executive orders that are being passed are things he said he would do to please his voters. He may not want to or even care about these issues, he may be doing it knowing that they won't stand up in the supreme Court. That way he looks like he tried to his voters but In reality he did it in a way that they would never become laws federally, and if one or two slips through the cracks then that's the lesser evil in his eyes. All so he can maintain his stance and image that got him elected.

But then I wake up from my day dream and get depressed even more since either way it's not doing anything positive for all of us.

Let's be honest. I really doubt Trump is going to do what he wants. People are turning agaisnt him and he caused the economy to crash, and I feel like people are waking up. I just hope Trump and The whole MAGA movement will be a cautionary tale for the future. The thing is we should have seen this coming but we didn't and that makes me sad.

Quote from: Princess Rachel Ann on April 04, 2025, 07:38:33 PMLet's be honest. I really doubt Trump is going to do what he wants. People are turning agaisnt him and he caused the economy to crash, and I feel like people are waking up. I just hope Trump and The whole MAGA movement will be a cautionary tale for the future. The thing is we should have seen this coming but we didn't and that makes me sad.

Part of me agrees with you, Rachel and the non-American in me is like "well duh!". But the thing is... like Jonathan Pie explains... people get sick of stuff. They want change, even if that change means the most unhinged lunatic this side of a padded cell. And when one side in a two sided system basically leaves people so disenfranchised and lost that they are willing to vote for a Hitler wannabe... the republicans and trump didn't win anything. The democrats lost it. It wasn't Trumps election to win. He got in because literally less people cared about the Democrats and Kamala Harris.

The only way to beat these kind of people is to give the right-minded, switched on people in your country an alternative. Instead of the lesser of two evils, you need the greater of two goods. That's the only way it's going to work. Or have more than a two party system. And run ads that aren't basically hit pieces trying to snipe at the other people.

Quote from: Sephirah on April 04, 2025, 07:55:51 PMPart of me agrees with you, Rachel and the non-American in me is like "well duh!". But the thing is... like Jonathan Pie explains... people get sick of stuff. They want change, even if that change means the most unhinged lunatic this side of a padded cell. And when one side in a two sided system basically leaves people so disenfranchised and lost that they are willing to vote for a Hitler wannabe... the republicans and trump didn't win anything. The democrats lost it. It wasn't Trumps election to win. He got in because literally less people cared about the Democrats and Kamala Harris.

The only way to beat these kind of people is to give the right-minded, switched on people in your country an alternative. Instead of the lesser of two evils, you need the greater of two goods. That's the only way it's going to work. Or have more than a two party system. And run ads that aren't basically hit pieces trying to snipe at the other people.

Very true. We have 3rd parties but they don't mean much, there are basically 2 main ones. I do hope that we do get someone like that in the future, but who knows who that will be. It does make me sad and I feel there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but I guess that's me trying to be positive, and I hope we don't end up Like Titan in Megamind, Under New Management. Also, yes we need to stop the attack ads.

Quote from: Princess Rachel Ann on April 04, 2025, 08:06:11 PMVery true. We have 3rd parties but they don't mean much, there are basically 2 main ones. I do hope that we do get someone like that in the future, but who knows who that will be. It does make me sad and I feel there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but I guess that's me trying to be positive, and I hope we don't end up Like Titan in Megamind, Under New Management.

I think there are too many decent, kind, forward-thinking, globally minded folks in the US to let that happen, Rachel. Y'all just got kind of swept up in a monumental tidal wave of utter lunacy. And it's the orangutan at the top who's basically being enough of a wrecking ball that even Miley Cyrus would be envious. I think Trump will eventually do enough cretinous stuff that, rather like the first time he got elected, people will try to put him in jail... again. If you give someone enough rope, they will eventually hang themselves.

He's likely to want to take as many people down with him as he can before that happens but... yeah. Maybe this is the chance for someone to step up and offer an alternative. So that next time they can literally say "Well, it won't be as bad as what we've had!"

Quote from: Sephirah on April 04, 2025, 08:13:22 PMI think there are too many decent, kind, forward-thinking, globally minded folks in the US to let that happen, Rachel. Y'all just got kind of swept up in a monumental tidal wave of utter lunacy. And it's the orangutan at the top who's basically being enough of a wrecking ball that even Miley Cyrus would be envious. I think Trump will eventually do enough cretinous stuff that, rather like the first time he got elected, people will try to put him in jail... again. If you give someone enough rope, they will eventually hang themselves.

He's likely to want to take as many people down with him as he can before that happens but... yeah. Maybe this is the chance for someone to step up and offer an alternative. So that next time they can literally say "Well, it won't be as bad as what we've had!"

Most certainly. I hope we do get a  decent president this coming time, and I hope we get a decent alternative. I think people are slowly getting sick of orange man's BS. Of course I am trying to be positive here but I admit that it's hard.

Quote from: Princess Rachel Ann on April 04, 2025, 08:34:20 PMMost certainly. I hope we do get a  decent president this coming time, and I hope we get a decent alternative. I think people are slowly getting sick of orange man's BS. Of course I am trying to be positive here but I admit that it's hard.

Hang in there. I will say this, from someone not in the US... the rest of the world doesn't blame the people of the US for the magnificently stupid stuff Trump is doing. It's firmly at his door. You folks are probably going to get hurt by this tariff stuff more than any other country. Because like 99% of the things you buy will end up being more expensive. He ate too much cheese one night, went to sleep, and dreamed this crap up. And you all are going to suffer for it. Stay positive, Rachel. Things don't last forever. Whoever replaces this madman, though, they'll have a ferociously hard job trying to repair the damage he's already done... and he's not even a hundred days in yet. That's the scary part.

Quote from: Sephirah on April 04, 2025, 08:41:22 PMHang in there. I will say this, from someone not in the US... the rest of the world doesn't blame the people of the US for the magnificently stupid stuff Trump is doing. It's firmly at his door. You folks are probably going to get hurt by this tariff stuff more than any other country. Because like 99% of the things you buy will end up being more expensive. He ate too much cheese one night, went to sleep, and dreamed this crap up. And you all are going to suffer for it. Stay positive, Rachel. Things don't last forever. Whoever replaces this madman, though, they'll have a ferociously hard job trying to repair the damage he's already done... and he's not even a hundred days in yet. That's the scary part.

I'm glad noone blames us. And your right whoever will replace trump will have a hard time getting stuff fixed.

This just in...
Trump directs agencies to quietly repeal regulations — without public notice
The memo appears to rely on a misinterpretation of a recent Supreme Court ruling.
Link to Full Article (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/10/federal-agencies-public-notice-comment-trump-administration-00284499)
Politico - Hassan Ali Kanu
04/10/2025 03:13 PM EDT

President Donald Trump has instructed federal agencies and their assigned DOGE teams to repeal any existing regulations that are inconsistent with his priorities without providing advance notice or going through the traditional public input process.

The move accelerates the White House's sprawling efforts to dismantle the federal regulatory machine, although Trump's directive to skip the notice-and-comment process will likely face legal challenges. It also may squeeze out contrarian voices — such as civil rights advocates, labor unions and environmentalist groups — from weighing in on the administration's deregulatory campaign.

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

This guy just wants chaos. I'm convinced of it. I am sick of seeing his face plastered on YouTube thumbnails. He probably gets off on it.

And, the VA no longer guarantees confidentiality when talking to a therapist. Darn, I really liked Sarah.

Quote from: Mrs. Oliphant on April 12, 2025, 06:44:17 PMAnd, the VA no longer guarantees confidentiality when talking to a therapist. Darn, I really liked Sarah.

Therapists can be incredibly courageous, Annika. Don't give up on her yet. The state might be moronic but the people on the front lines can surprise you. I thought of becoming a therapist at one point. A lot of stuff stopped that happening, but I know if I had, I'd rather lose my job than lose the confidence of the people who went out of their way to put their trust in me. That's what makes good therapists quite special.

Quote from: Sephirah on April 12, 2025, 06:50:47 PMThat's what makes good therapists quite special.

Thanks, Sephirah. Sarah is special. So I will keep sharing my journey with her (if Donald is listening in he won't understand a single word I'm saying, anyway). You would have been a great therapist. In fact, you already are.

Quote from: Mrs. Oliphant on April 12, 2025, 07:06:51 PMThanks, Sephirah. Sarah is special. So I will keep sharing my journey with her (if Donald is listening in he won't understand a single word I'm saying, anyway). You would have been a great therapist. In fact, you already are.

You're a sweetheart, Annika. I don't have the energy to do it professionally but... I can give support for free here, when I can. And that's enough for me. :)

Also, yeah, he won't be around forever. He comes in, screws everything up, gets all the attention, then goes golfing. People like Sarah are in it for the long haul. It takes a special kind of someone to want to share in the pleasure and pain of someone else. And to offer guidance.

I see my VA psychologist on Monday. She is a rebel. She has no problem with bucking the system.

She explained that the VA cannot force her to violate confidentiality without a court order. What people forget is that all VA Healthcare professionals belong to professional medical associations. They have their own rules and regulations, and if they violate those rules, they can lose their license or their certification. Not to mention a violation of HIPPA. That is grounds for a major lawsuit.

When the VA took down all of the Pride posters, she had a rainbow flag sticker on her laptop. She would often quote a VA policy and wink and point to the sticker.  :laugh:

Quote from: Lori Dee on April 12, 2025, 08:53:14 PMI see my VA psychologist on Monday. She is a rebel. She has no problem with bucking the system.

She explained that the VA cannot force her to violate confidentiality without a court order. What people forget is that all VA Healthcare professionals belong to professional medical associations. They have their own rules and regulations, and if they violate those rules, they can lose their license or their certification. Not to mention a violation of HIPPA. That is grounds for a major lawsuit.

When the VA took down all of the Pride posters, she had a rainbow flag sticker on her laptop. She would often quote a VA policy and wink and point to the sticker.  :laugh:

She sounds rather awesome, Lori. You don't go into the field of helping people being concerned with helping the system. If you do, you're in the wrong job.

Quote from: Sephirah on April 12, 2025, 09:02:43 PMShe sounds rather awesome, Lori. You don't go into the field of helping people being concerned with helping the system. If you do, you're in the wrong job.

She truly is. It was freaky how much we have in common. I mean more than just freaky, it was scary. She said something to me at the same time that I was thinking it. I said, "Get out of my head, woman!".

Over the years, I have learned that we are both geeky nerds, so we have a matching kind of crazy. Then I found out that she was born 3 days after me. So we are both Virgos too. But having an ally like that is awesome. She doesn't just read my mind, she reads my emotions very well. When I explain something, she gets it. She knows exactly what I mean. That is the best kind of therapist.

Quote from: Lori Dee on April 12, 2025, 09:10:38 PMShe truly is. It was freaky how much we have in common. I mean more than just freaky, it was scary. She said something to me at the same time that I was thinking it. I said, "Get out of my head, woman!".

Over the years, I have learned that we are both geeky nerds, so we have a matching kind of crazy. Then I found out that she was born 3 days after me. So we are both Virgos too. But having an ally like that is awesome. She doesn't just read my mind, she reads my emotions very well. When I explain something, she gets it. She knows exactly what I mean. That is the best kind of therapist.

1000%. You are extremely lucky, Lori. A therapist is someone who should be a friend, who just happens to know more about some stuff than you might do but never uses that against you. If you ever feel intimidated by them, there's something wrong. And I'd venture most of these people probably view the Great Orange Hope with the same contempt as most everyone else.

User with Russian IP address tried to log into NLRB systems following DOGE access, whistleblower says
Link to Full Article (https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2025/04/user-russian-ip-address-tried-log-nlrb-systems-following-doge-access-whistleblower-says/404574/)
NextGov/FCW - David DiMolfetta, Cybersecurity Reporter
April 15, 2025 12:45 PM ET

A user with a Russian IP address tried to log into National Labor Relations Board systems just minutes after the Department of Government Efficiency moved to access and extract troves of sensitive data from inside the agency, according to an extensive whistleblower disclosure released Tuesday.

The whistleblower provided forensic evidence and internal documentation to Congress and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, accusing DOGE of exfiltrating large volumes of confidential data and disabling various security monitoring systems used to scan for malicious behavior in NLRB's networks...

The user attempting to log in relied on a newly created DOGE email account and the attempts were "near real-time," according to the disclosure.

The login attempts were blocked, but the person used a correct username and password, suggesting that adversaries may already be testing entry points potentially exposed by DOGE's activities across the government.

The whistleblower claims DOGE engineers used secretive and suspicious methods to pull sensitive information from the NLRB's systems. They shut off security tools that track activity, deleted evidence of what they accessed and used software that made their work nearly invisible...

Security experts told NPR those tactics resemble the playbook of foreign hackers and not federal workers.

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

The whistleblower said that " after he raised concerns internally about DOGE's inroads into the agency, he received a physically taped threat on his door containing personal information and overhead photos of him walking his dog."

This is what happens when you elect a dictator.

Sometimes I read the news and think, "Wait. What?"

For example, we have this story:
Russia introduces 'ideological' visa for homophobic Westerners
https://76crimes.com/2025/04/23/russia-ideological-visa-homophobic/

I'll let you read the story for yourself, but:
Russia has long made homophobia and opposition to LGBT+ rights a soft-power tool, and its latest step in this direction is presidential Decree No. 702, signed on August 19, 2024, instituting an "ideological" visa for foreign citizens who share supposed "traditional Russian spiritual and moral values" but live in LGBTQ-friendly countries. The new policy aims to promote the country as a refuge for homophobes and transphobes in Western countries with more liberal attitudes toward LGBT people. ... The move comes after the Russian government has placed the so-called 'international LGBT movement' on its list of terrorists and extremist organizations.

Between September and December 2024, about 200 people, mainly from the United States, France, Canada, Italy and Germany, have reportedly moved to Russia under this program.

My concern is, what if all homophobes/transphobes were to leave and go to Russia? That would leave countries mostly inhabited by LGBTQ people and their allies. Would that make those countries "terrorists and extremist organizations" subject to attack? Not likely to happen. The most conservative people I know don't trust the Russian government.

Then we have:

Trump administration looking at $5,000 'baby bonus' to incentivize public to have more children
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administration-5000-baby-bonus-incentivize-public-children/story?id=121094707
The White House has been fielding proposals aimed at persuading people to marry and have children, an effort being pushed by outside groups focused on increasing the nation's birth rate after years of decline.

We know that his intention is for more women to stay home and stay pregnant. But if this is such an important issue, would he then be open to polygamy?

I think the reason for the decline in birth rate has nothing to do with LGBTQ and is more about women needing to go to work so they can afford things like eggs and daycare for the 1.5 children they have now. Will the White House then increase WIC benefits to help pay to raise more children? Elon Musk can afford it, but many single moms cannot. What about the proposals to cut Medicaid funding? Who is going to pay to raise these kids? Has any thought gone into this at all?

I am just over here shaking my head.  :icon_no:

RFK Jr threatens ban on federal scientists publishing in top journals
US health secretary calls leading medical journals such as Lancet 'corrupt' and pushes to create state-run alternatives
Link to Full Article (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/28/rfk-jr-medical-journals)
The Guardian - Joseph Gedeon
Wed 28 May 2025 11.31 EDT

Robert F Kennedy Jr has threatened to ban government scientists from publishing in the world's leading medical journals, which he branded "corrupt", and to instead create alternative publications run by the state.

"We're probably going to stop publishing in the Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Jama and those other journals, because they're all corrupt," the US health secretary said on the Ultimate Human podcast. He accused the publications of being controlled by pharmaceutical companies.

Instead, Kennedy outlined plans to launch government-run journals that would become "the preeminent journals" because National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding would anoint researchers "as a good, legitimate scientist".

The three publications Kennedy targeted are among the most influential medical journals globally, established in the 19th century and now central to disseminating peer-reviewed medical research worldwide. The Lancet and Jama each report more than 30m annual website visits, while the New England Journal of Medicine claims more than 1 million weekly readers.

Kennedy has similarly accused the agencies he now oversees – including the NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – as "sock puppets" for the pharmaceutical industry.

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

"... to instead create alternative publications run by the state."

As in other dictatorships, only "approved" science may be published. Any research published elsewhere will be considered "quackery" and illegitimate.

Quote from: Lori Dee on May 29, 2025, 11:15:06 PMRFK Jr threatens ban on federal scientists publishing in top journals
US health secretary calls leading medical journals such as Lancet 'corrupt' and pushes to create state-run alternatives
Link to Full Article (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/28/rfk-jr-medical-journals)
The Guardian - Joseph Gedeon
Wed 28 May 2025 11.31 EDT

Robert F Kennedy Jr has threatened to ban government scientists from publishing in the world's leading medical journals, which he branded "corrupt", and to instead create alternative publications run by the state.

"We're probably going to stop publishing in the Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Jama and those other journals, because they're all corrupt," the US health secretary said on the Ultimate Human podcast. He accused the publications of being controlled by pharmaceutical companies.

Instead, Kennedy outlined plans to launch government-run journals that would become "the preeminent journals" because National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding would anoint researchers "as a good, legitimate scientist".

The three publications Kennedy targeted are among the most influential medical journals globally, established in the 19th century and now central to disseminating peer-reviewed medical research worldwide. The Lancet and Jama each report more than 30m annual website visits, while the New England Journal of Medicine claims more than 1 million weekly readers.

Kennedy has similarly accused the agencies he now oversees – including the NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – as "sock puppets" for the pharmaceutical industry.

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

"... to instead create alternative publications run by the state."

As in other dictatorships, only "approved" science may be published. Any research published elsewhere will be considered "quackery" and illegitimate.

That's... really creepy and unsettling. A guy who is related to JFK should know better. What's the going rate for a soul these days?

Trump deploys National Guard after clashes in LA
Link to Full Article (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gkyggekgyo)
BBC News - Regan Morris, Jaroslav Lukiv
June 7, 2025

US President Donald Trump is deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen in Los Angeles to deal with unrest over raids on undocumented migrants.

The Californian city saw a second day of unrest on Saturday as residents of a predominantly Latino district clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) federal agents. Tear gas and batons were used to disperse crowds in the Paramount district.

As many as 118 arrests were made in LA this week as a result of ICE operations, including 44 on Friday. California Governor Gavin Newsom has condemned the raids as "cruel".

Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth wrote on X that his department was "mobilising the National Guard IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles".

"And, if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilised - they are on high alert," he added.

Trump hit out at the governor on his Truth Social platform, saying that if he and [Mayor] Bass could not do their jobs, "then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!"

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

Are we seeing the beginnings of Martial Law?

California has openly defied Trump in many ways. The State continues to pass laws to protect its LGBTQ citizens, as well as refusing to cooperate with Federal agencies working to illegally deport citizens. It looks like things might be coming to a head.

Be aware. Let's be safe out there.

And now he has sent troops in, thin end of the wedge. He needs taking out!

We are rapidly approaching a flashpoint.

Last week, while in Colorado and away from my computer, I had plenty of time to watch television, which is something I rarely do. I watched live broadcasts of the protests in California, press conferences from the Governor, Gavin Newsom, Mayor Bass of Los Angeles, and their top law enforcement officials (city police and county sheriff). I watched the events unfold.

Trump gave Immigration Enforcement from the federal government (ICE) the order to round up and deport "the most violent illegal aliens" in the country. He specified numerous times that he was going after "the worst of the worst," and no one complains about that. He was disappointed that ICE was unable to find and deport the number of offenders that he perceived should be deported, and instructed them to deport 3,000 people a day.

ICE officers, in their attempt to meet this quota, began mass deportations all over the country. However, instead of only targeting "the most violent" offenders, innocent people were being scooped up in these ICE raids, including U.S. citizens, students who are here legally, children who are here receiving medical treatment, and more. This triggered the backlash and outrage. Lawsuits were filed, and in true Trump fashion, the laws were ignored, the court orders were ignored, and judges and lawyers were targeted and sanctioned for having the gall to oppose our Dictator-In-Chief.

The outrage spread from city to city, and peaceful protests began to spread across the country. Agitators took advantage and began attacking police and their vehicles. According to Trump, these were "paid insurrectionists". How would he know that? Who has the financial means to hire groups of people to carry out such activity?

Both the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Police Chief stated that these are not people protesting, but rather agitators who are not even local to the area. They come to create chaos by involving themselves in peaceful protests and use them as an excuse to attack law enforcement, vandalize the city, and loot whatever businesses they can. Of course, non-local politicians seized upon these images to imply that the entire city was under attack. The truth is that the protests in Los Angeles were limited to one square mile in the downtown area. (The city is spread out over more than 500 square miles.)

Trump saw an opportunity and decided to place the California National Guard under federal control against the wishes of the Governor (the Commander of the National Guard), the Police Chief, and the Mayor of the city. The proper procedure is for the police to use the tools they have available to control the crowd and keep it peaceful. When that is not enough, they call for support from neighboring cities and the County Sheriff. That puts over 8,000 law enforcement officers in the area against about 1,000 protestors and less than 100 agitators. They had things under control. If they did not, the Mayor, the Police Chief, and the County Sheriff would contact the Governor and request that THE GOVERNOR deploy National Guard troops to assist in crowd control.

Instead, Trump took over the National Guard without authority and mobilized them "to protect federal buildings and employees". 4000 troops were deployed, and they stood in front of TWO federal buildings and did nothing else. Immediately, Trump began boasting that his quick actions prevented the entire city from burning. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Amid protests by local and state officials that Trump had usurped their authority over the National Guard and the subsequent lawsuit in the court, Trump decided to mobilize the U.S. Marines. Why? Because if he lost the court case (and the court ruled his actions were illegal), he would still be able to control a military force in the area. 700 Marines were deployed, again, against the wishes of the state and local officials. This further inflamed the citizens, causing the protests to become more widespread and vocal.

The problem is that the military armed forces are not trained in crowd control and dealing with civil unrest. The military is trained to target and kill enemies. Local law enforcement is highly trained and equipped to handle civil unrest, no matter how violent it becomes. They had it under control.

Why does any of this matter?

A judge ruled that Trump's deployment of federal troops against U.S. citizens was illegal. That decision was appealed, and it goes to court again today. If Trump loses the case, it will likely end up going to the Supreme Court. If he wins the case, it is a signal that he can deploy any number of military forces to any city or state for any reason.

The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law that limits the powers of the federal government in the use of federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies within the United States. There are exceptions. One of those is the use of the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the employment of the land and naval forces of the United States in cases of insurrection.

Now we can see why Trump & Company insist on calling the agitators "insurrectionists". The court and officials have clearly stated that protected First Amendment peaceful protests are not an insurrection. The protests have been "mostly peaceful" in that out of thousands of people engaged in the protests, very few have engaged in violence.

Trump recently gave the order to ICE to step up immigration enforcement raids in "sanctuary cities in blue states". This is rapidly becoming a red vs blue situation where the federal government is attempting to invade Democrat-led states. And he may be able to use active-duty military forces to do this.

The Second Amendment states that the States have a right to self-defense through a militia. The militia was just its citizens who were armed and could defend the state as needed. Over time, the National Guard became the state-controlled militia so that there was no need to call upon the citizens that the state was trying to protect.

Now we have a situation developing where the state's militia has been taken over by the oppressive federal government. If the federal government decides that it wants (or needs) to invade a sovereign state, the state has no military force to oppose it. It has armed law enforcement that might be able to be called up, but as I pointed out earlier, law enforcement is not trained in combat tactics, just like the armed forces are not trained in controlling civil unrest.

How does this concern the LGBTQ community?

What is happening is happening to citizens of all genders, races, and religions. But you can't see gender identity. You can't see religious views, but ICE has raided houses of worship. Races are easier to target, and we have seen immigrants being arrested at the courthouse where they were instructed to go to legally pursue their legal immigration status. Immigrants have even gone to scheduled meetings for this purpose, had their legal status terminated at the meeting, and were immediately arrested as they left the building.

The outrage is building, as we have seen with over 2,000 "No Kings Day" protests all across the United States. The citizens are fed up. Politicians, judges, and lawyers are fighting this out in the courts, and they are being arrested, sanctioned, and killed.

We are rapidly approaching a flashpoint. Where this is headed is yet to be seen, but it could become very dangerous for all of us.

Pay attention, stay aware, and stay safe.

Quote from: Lori Dee on June 17, 2025, 11:45:20 AMWhere this is headed is yet to be seen, but it could become very dangerous for all of us.

Our fate is (or soon will be) in the hands of the Supreme Court (unless 9th Circuit overturns the original ruling). It wasn't that long ago I took comfort knowing much of my fate was in the hands of the courts. Those were the days.

The weird thing is, I've been following a YouTuber for a while now. He's like Southern, giant beard, defending the madness that got voted in... and even he is like "Yeah this is kind of more than just left wing nonsense. And... this moron has just been screwing things up left and right..." Even though he defended his election win to the hilt.

You can't just requisition the standing domestic army for your own needs.

If it doesn't boil over because the Orange-utan wants to go out in a blaze of glory, after having screwed over the whole world, it will end up with him leaving as history's second or third greatest example of what not to do. Assuming they can drag him out of the White House a second time, without stealing anything.

Hang on, you folks in the US. The people in the rest of the world don't hate you, only this chimpanzee you elected. You are suffering just as much as everyone else. You can make it right in a few years when you see once again what an incompetent buffoon he is. And this time, he won't be able to sleaze his way back. This can all be fixed.

As Churchill said: "When you're going through hell, keep going."

I have to question the timing of all of this. Why now?

Millions of people are in the streets celebrating Pride peacefully around the world. And there is nothing he can do about it. So, find an excuse to insert massive numbers of federal agents to target Democratic cities. The situation changed from celebrating Pride to protesting immigration raids. Orange Man never admits to any wrongdoing and instead will double down. Weaponize the militia and counter the Pride parades with a grand military parade (that no one wanted) to stroke an ego at the cost of $45 million.

The problem is that every time he has been found in the wrong, he doubles down. That is leading us in a scary direction.

Quote from: Lori Dee on June 17, 2025, 05:19:41 PMI have to question the timing of all of this. Why now?

Millions of people are in the streets celebrating Pride peacefully around the world. And there is nothing he can do about it. So, find an excuse to insert massive numbers of federal agents to target Democratic cities. The situation changed from celebrating Pride to protesting immigration raids. Orange Man never admits to any wrongdoing and instead will double down. Weaponize the militia and counter the Pride parades with a grand military parade (that no one wanted) to stroke an ego at the cost of $45 million.

The problem is that every time he has been found in the wrong, he doubles down. That is leading us in a scary direction.

I suspect because he doesn't like being outside the news. Iran and Israel are literally destroying each other with missile barrages. There's a real possibility that Threads could happen within the next year or two. Loads of people dying. The world is quite honestly on the brink of WW3. But Trump can't stand a world where the focus isn't on him. So he has to make everything about him. Because he knows that when it comes down to it... and I kind of feel bad for saying it, US folks are insular first. What happens there matters more than what happens in the rest of the world. And this clown knows that. He plays on it. If he can make everything all about him then who cares that other parts of the world are obliterating each other? If he isn't involved in the stuff going on in the wider world, he ignores it, and gets all you folks to ignore it. By doing really stupid stuff to keep you focused on your own country and just how much he's ruining it. No publicity is bad publicity.

That's why now. Because people different to his demographic are easy targets. To keep your attention away from what actually matters. And... a lot of folks lap it up.

Quote from: Sephirah on June 17, 2025, 06:05:24 PMI suspect because he doesn't like being outside the news.

THIS.

And yes, now we see him inserting himself into that world stage. At first, Marco Rubio clearly stated that the U.S. was not involved in any way, shape, or form. Then Trump implies that he knew about it all along. Then he states that he gave Iran 60 days to decide about the nuclear negotiations, and then it was day 61, implying that he had something to do with it. He likes to take credit for things that he had nothing to do with.

When Iran threatened to attack any country that is helping defend Israel, Trump's Administration then began a propaganda campaign informing the public that Americans live in Israel and there are American troops stationed throughout the area. He wants a war and will use any excuse to have one, in some foreign country or our own. He doesn't care.

Quote from: Lori Dee on June 17, 2025, 08:17:00 PMTHIS.

And yes, now we see him inserting himself into that world stage. At first, Marco Rubio clearly stated that the U.S. was not involved in any way, shape, or form. Then Trump implies that he knew about it all along. Then he states that he gave Iran 60 days to decide about the nuclear negotiations, and then it was day 61, implying that he had something to do with it. He likes to take credit for things that he had nothing to do with.

When Iran threatened to attack any country that is helping defend Israel, Trump's Administration then began a propaganda campaign informing the public that Americans live in Israel and there are American troops stationed throughout the area. He wants a war and will use any excuse to have one, in some foreign country or our own. He doesn't care.

He is all bark and no bite. He is quite happy to make himself as the king of the hill, threatening everyone but doing literally nothing. I am sorry, Lori, but it makes the US look a shadow of the powerhouse it used to be. You used to be the folks the world held in massive regard. Who would wade in and this kind of petty crap would just end. Trump just talks and everyone think's he's a joke. Because he likes to pretend that he's not a joke.

If you can... please come back to the US that had the special relationship with the UK. That everyone could count on. That you folks gave a damn about everything outside yourself without making it seem like a circus. That the folks people like Lori and Ash signed up for. And Devlyn. The world wants you to get back to that. To be the good folks again. :) To believe in the things your country was founded on. You can do it. You just need to cut out this orange rot. :P

Quote from: Sephirah on June 17, 2025, 08:29:30 PMThe world wants you to get back to that. To be the good folks again. :) To believe in the things your country was founded on. You can do it. You just need to cut out this orange rot. :P

I would venture a guess that the majority of Americans are just what you describe. Most are good people who are helpful, friendly, and courteous. Their main concern is not "men" in women's sports, but how they will make next month's mortgage payment. Many on the far right allowed their extremist views to fuel the election in the wrong direction. They used social media, chatbots, and foreign agents to spread their message of hate and make it seem like that is the majority consensus. Many are waking up and saying, "This is not what we voted for!" Many of those I have talked to said they were voting for reduced taxes and lower egg prices, not the anti-trans issues. Even politicians within the GOP are beginning to see their party platform as a bit extreme.

So, how did this happen? As I stated in an earlier post here, I have seen evidence that EVERY election is rigged. It is specifically designed so that top government positions are awarded to the highest donor. There are ways to prevent that from happening, but no one who can stop it is willing to sacrifice their golden goose.

NBC News (DEC 5, 2024) - Elon Musk spent a quarter-billion dollars electing Trump, including financing mysterious 'RBG PAC' (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/elon-musk-spent-quarter-billion-dollars-electing-trump-financing-myste-rcna182922)

BBC News (Jun 6, 2025) - Musk later went on to campaign for the president there and even gave away a few $1m cheques to voters. (https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/clyq9jeyzllo)

CalMatters (Jun 17, 2025) - Elon Musk gave $1 million to Donald Trump voters. California lawmakers want to ban that (https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/california-elon-musk-voting-lotteries/)

Musk gave out $1 million checks to swing state voters in the presidential election last year and then in Wisconsin a few months later.

It will take a major revolution to make it stop, and maybe another after that to repair the damage. Sometimes I doubt I will live long enough to see it happen.

Every American person I've ever met, Lori, is not the horrible demon the world is trying to make you out to be. And that's the point. The decent people got dragged along for the ride.

In a few years, Trump will be a stain on the White House carpet. He will be a giant Athlete's Foot stain in history.

I, as most of the people in the UK, still feel that bond with our American cousins across the pond. Nothing is kind of going to remove that because of the decades, nay centuries of history we have together. No blow hard mafia boss can lose that. In the UK we feel bad just because the great orange chimpanzee is trying to control the world.

Y'all will always be our cousins across the pond <3

Quote from: Sephirah on June 17, 2025, 09:19:34 PMY'all will always be our cousins across the pond <3

"England and America are two countries separated by a common language." (George Bernard Shaw)

 ;D

Wildfires, flooding, storms, tornadoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

Wake up, people. Mother Nature is not happy.

Ice given access to Medicaid data in move critics call a privacy betrayal
Officials let ICE access health data to locate migrants, alarming experts who warn of civil rights and health risks
Link to Full Article (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/17/ice-access-medicaid-data-personal-information)
The Guardian - Jessica Glenza
Thu 17 Jul 2025 16.36 EDT

Medicaid officials have reportedly made an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) to allow agents to examine a database of Americans' personal information – including home addresses, social security numbers and ethnicities.

The data sharing agreement will allow Ice to find "the location of aliens", according to an agreement obtained by the Associated Press. Medicaid is the nation's single largest health insurer, providing coverage for 79 million low-income, disabled and elderly people.

"This is about the weaponization of data, full stop," said Pramila Jayapal, a Democratic US representative from Washington state, who has worked extensively on US healthcare, in a statement on social media.

"Trump said he would go after the 'worst of the worst' immigrants, yet now is giving ICE EVERYONE's Medicaid data, even as ICE targets US citizens. Oh, and undocumented immigrants can't even enroll in Medicaid."

Trump administration officials reportedly overrode the warnings of career civil servants who said such a data sharing arrangement would violate multiple statutes at the insistence of top aides to the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.

"Multiple federal statutory and regulatory authorities do not permit CMS to share this information with entities outside of CMS," Medicaid's deputy director, Sara Vitolo.

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

Ben D'Avanzo, a healthcare strategist at the National Immigration Law Center, posted on social media, "This is a privacy violation of unprecedented proportions and betrayal of trust, as the government has explicitly said, for decades, that this information will never be used for immigration enforcement."

That is because "undocumented immigrants can't even enroll in Medicaid."

And yet, here we are. The wealthy elite are breaking the law, targeting the lowest-income citizens. This is not about immigration.

Who will they target next?

"The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth." - George Orwell.

That sums up Trump.

I just wanted to pop in here and agree with y'all. I loathe the guy. He's a grifting buffoon who has not been a successful businessman. The trump persona his acolytes worship is one that was created in a fake "boardroom" for a fake reality TV show.

He's a sick man, a cheat, a criminal, bigot, and on and on.

And the worst thing: people I care about think he's a good leader. There are people in my life who I've known for 40+ years but have pretty much cut ties with over this. There's a special kind of frustration that comes from knowing that your friends and family support a fascist dictator, and also support policies that are going to bring our country to its knees.

I just wish people would educate themselves. Read some Noam Chomsky, for chrissakes. Maybe some Robert Reich while you're at it.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been slowly creeping into our internet searches, but the pace is rapidly accelerating to even further invasions into our private lives. Web browsers are now powered by AI, which collects information about you and what your interests are. They have been doing this for years.

Companies are using AI to process data that it has collected about YOU and use that to feed customized ads. It has gone even further. Now they are using AI to not only decide what you might like, but what you can afford, and adjust prices accordingly.

Delta plans to use AI in ticket pricing draws fire from US lawmakers (https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/delta-plans-use-ai-ticket-pricing-draws-fire-us-lawmakers-2025-07-22/)

We live in an online world, where all of our data and many of our social interactions exist online. We are aware of the ongoing threat of hackers who work to steal our data and even our identity. What if those hackers are not human? What if they are an army of computers?

Carnegie Mellon Researchers Demonstrate That LLMs Can Autonomously Plan and Execute Real-World Cyberattacks (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250724351815/en/Carnegie-Mellon-Researchers-Demonstrate-That-LLMs-Can-Autonomously-Plan-and-Execute-Real-World-Cyberattacks)

Now, in Arizona, we have a charter school that will be using an AI curriculum to teach kids in fourth through eighth grades.

This School Will Have Artificial Intelligence Teach Kids (With Some Human Help) (https://www.edweek.org/technology/this-school-will-have-artificial-intelligence-teach-kids-with-some-human-help/2025/01)

Why is this a problem? That depends on who programmed the AI model. With Trump's intense interest in AI, he has decided that AI models that include "ideological bias", such as DEI, will not be able to do business with the federal government. We have already seen school districts, cities, counties, and states cave to Trump's agenda to ensure they receive their funding.

PREVENTING WOKE AI IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - Executive Orders, July 23, 2025 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/preventing-woke-ai-in-the-federal-government/)

Trillions of dollars are now being invested in AI development for everything from scientific research to deciding what federal regulations to get rid of.

DOGE reportedly using AI tool to create 'delete list' of federal regulations (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/26/doge-ai-tool-delete-list-federal-regulations)

AI Datacenters use huge amounts of energy. This is why Trump is cutting environmental regulations that interfere with energy production. Those regulations have been in place for over a decade to protect our environment... because, you know, Global Warming Climate Change.

AI in Wyoming may soon use more electricity than state's human residents (https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/07/ai-in-wyoming-may-soon-use-more-electricity-than-states-human-residents/)

And if you think that SkyNet was fiction, or that it is something far-off in the future, guess again.

China is building a constellation of AI supercomputers in space — and just launched the first pieces (https://www.livescience.com/technology/computing/china-is-building-a-constellation-of-ai-supercomputers-in-space-and-just-launched-the-first-pieces)

Back in February of this year, I began warning of certain things that indicated we were headed toward a dictatorship.

Today, six months later, the media is catching on. Here are a couple of interesting articles:

Trump's authoritarian streak
Link to full Article by Axios (https://www.axios.com/2025/08/02/trump-authoritarian-jobs-report-bls-economy)

The Trump administration takes a very Orwellian turn
Link to Full Article by CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/02/politics/the-trump-administration-takes-a-very-orwellian-turn)

 :o  :laugh:

Quote from: Lori Dee on August 02, 2025, 12:57:49 PMBack in February of this year, I began warning of certain things that indicated we were headed toward a dictatorship.

Today, six months later, the media is catching on. Here are a couple of interesting articles:

Trump's authoritarian streak
Link to full Article by Axios (https://www.axios.com/2025/08/02/trump-authoritarian-jobs-report-bls-economy)

The Trump administration takes a very Orwellian turn
Link to Full Article by CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/02/politics/the-trump-administration-takes-a-very-orwellian-turn)

 :o  :laugh:

The sad thing about this is... literally everyone else in the world could see this before you folks even went to the polls and he got voted in. Countries were drawing up plans for how to deal with this guy before you even voted. Just because we all remember the chaos of the first time. Which... amazingly half your country forgot. I still don't understand why. And since then he's just dragged the world along in his unhinged house of horrors. Sometimes it literally is a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees.

Quote from: Sephirah on August 02, 2025, 06:38:17 PMThe sad thing about this is... literally everyone else in the world could see this before you folks even went to the polls and he got voted in. Countries were drawing up plans for how to deal with this guy before you even voted. Just because we all remember the chaos of the first time. Which... amazingly half your country forgot. I still don't understand why. And since then he's just dragged the world along in his unhinged house of horrors. Sometimes it literally is a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees.

I just want to clarify that it wasn't half the country. Only 65% of eligible voters actually voted. Literally more people didn't vote at all than voted for him. And most of the people who did vote for him didn't forget; a large percentage of them actually want this - or thought they did. A lot of that desire is really about being so vehemently opposed to "the other side" that they'll vote for anyone but "them," even if it ends up hurting them in the end. And much of their hatred of the opposition is based on lies they've been fed.

So I think a significant majority of us knew very well what we'd be getting. Many of us did what we could to prevent it, but far too many did nothing at all and thereby allowed it.

The people I talked to who voted for him did not vote for this. They had concerns about the egg prices and gas prices. Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine on Day One. They wanted that.

He said the way to drop gas prices was to drill, baby, drill. So he scrapped EPA and other regulations so the oil companies can drill for oil in protected wilderness areas.

He said he would secure the borders to stop the illegal immigration of violent criminals. Nobody expected that he would deport U.S. citizens and foreign students who came here legally.

We saw, even before the election, who his cabinet members would be: people whose only qualification for the job is loyalty to Trump. The rigging of the election and the dismantling of democratic protections once in office were planned during his first term. It took time to move the right people into position to make it all happen. And that takes A LOT of money. Elon Musk's $200 million donation helped make that happen.

Now that he is in power, he no longer needs Musk or his money. He is currently making billions of dollars while in office.

For Sale: Trump is leveraging power of his office to reap profits for family businesses
https://apnews.com/article/trump-businesses-trump-organization-white-house-conflicts-of-interest-b970b5681b27f86dcd461ff473be23fa

The latest in political battles involves gerrymandering, where the controlling party in a State redraws the voting districts to favor their party. This gives them more party voters and thus more seats in Congress, the Senate, and even at the State, County, and local levels. Typically, maps are redrawn every ten years after the census. The last one was five years ago in 2020.

The GOP is beginning to realize that a majority of voters do not approve of Trump's shenanigans. Trump made a phone call to Texas Governor Abbott and told him he wanted five more Republican seats in the House of Representatives, ensuring a GOP majority would be maintained.

Gov. Abbott convened a special session of the State Assembly to redraw the voting district maps to make that happen. Democrats, knowing the GOP has the majority, fought back the only way they could, and left the state. With the Democrats absent, the State Assembly did not have a quorum to pass a vote on the new maps. The Governor ordered arrest warrants for the absent Dems. But since they are out of state, they are outside the state's jurisdiction.

Democratic California and New York Governors have decided to fight back. They say that if Texas can redraw its maps, then so can they, and they will neutralize the effect of Texas's vote. Now, the GOP Missouri Governor is considering joining the fight.

Why does this matter?

Members of many democratic minority advocacy groups are condemning Texas's move as racist. In many cities across America, people of color are represented by the Democratic Party. By gerrymandering the voting districts, the effect is that these minority groups will lose representation in Congress.

But this is not a racist act. It may have racist effects, but the motivation is strictly a power grab to keep Trump and his cronies in power. Why? Because if the Democrats take control of the House and Senate during the mid-term elections, I predict there will be numerous articles of impeachment filed. Not just upon Trump, but on his highly unqualified appointees as well. The Trump dictatorship will begin to crumble, and quickly.

How does this pertain to the LGBTQ Community?

Human rights are human rights. Women, people of color, and immigrants have fought a long, hard battle to secure these rights. These rights, in many cases, have been enshrined in amendments to our Constitution. The LGBTQ community was also making headway in the same direction, until the GOP began openly attacking us and our rights.

We represent less than 2% of the population, so even if every one of us were to become a loud activist, we could still easily be ignored by the Establishment. However, our rights are human rights too. By supporting those who have the numbers and are the loudest about civil rights, we can both win.

I don't know how this gerrymandering battle will play out. It will depend on how many states get involved. Most people agree that gerrymandering is wrong. Many democratic states have given the redistricting power to independent commissions so that fairness prevails. GOP-led states have a history of rejecting this. They want to keep the power as a tool to stay in power.

Now, we have a bill going to be proposed as federal law to ban gerrymandering in all states. While the GOP has the majority in the House and Senate, that bill will not likely pass.

Trump seizes control of Washington DC police and deploys national guard
President claims US capital 'overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals ... and homeless people'
Link to Full Article (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/11/trump-washington-dc-crime)
The Guardian - David Smith in Washington and George Chidi
Mon 11 Aug 2025 12.09 EDT

Donald Trump has ordered the national guard to Washington DC and seized control of the city's police force, describing a "lawless" city in ways that are sharply at odds with official crime statistics.

The US president's move was swiftly condemned as a "disgusting, dangerous and derogatory" assault on the political independence of a racially diverse city. The federal takeover is expected to be in effect for 30 days, the White House confirmed to the Guardian.

Speaking at a White House press conference on Monday, Trump said he was taking "a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse. This is liberation day in DC and we're going to take our capital back."

The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, who was among officials joining Trump on the podium, said 800 national guard troops would take to the streets of Washington over the coming week. "They will be strong, they will be tough and they will stand with their law enforcement partners," he said.

Trump, who lost the presidential election in DC to Democrat Kamala Harris by 86 percentage points, added that he may send in the military "if needed".

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

The Democrats claim that this is a distraction from the Epstein Files. Trump claims that the intent is to root out crime, clean up the city, and make the Capitol beautiful again. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says this is an unprecedented power grab.

Well, not exactly unprecedented...

Hitler pledged to restore prosperity, create civil order (by crushing industrial strikes and street demonstrations by communists and socialists), eliminate the influence of Jewish financiers, and make the fatherland once again a world power.
Source (https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/how-did-adolf-hitler-happen#:~:text=Hitler%20pledged%20to%20restore%20prosperity,once%20again%20a%20world%20power.)

His vision of Berlin as a city full of bloated marble architecture and grandiose boulevards broader than the Champs Élysées reflected his idea that Berlin would become the center of his global Third Reich.
Source (https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4437258&page=1#:~:text=His%20vision%20of%20Berlin%20as,of%20his%20global%20Third%20Reich.)

Oh, and he is spending around $200 million to build a big, beautiful ballroom at the White House.

I didn't vote for that. No one did.

Quote from: Lori Dee on August 11, 2025, 05:32:27 PMThe Democrats claim that this is a distraction from the Epstein Files. Trump claims that the intent is to root out crime, clean up the city, and make the Capitol beautiful again. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says this is an unprecedented power grab.

If 'rooting out crime' truly is a goal of the current administration, all he needs to do is leave, and take his team of sycophants with him.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

Quote from: Jessica_Rose on August 11, 2025, 06:10:42 PMIf 'rooting out crime' truly is a goal of the current administration, all he needs to do is leave, and take his team of sycophants with him.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

True. And it is more than distracting from the Epstein Files. Right now in Texas, the Dems have walked out on redistricting proposals and even vowed to do their own gerrymandering to counter any gains the GOP might get in Congress.

I wonder if he thinks the People are ready to throw him out, and is preparing to defend his throne with police and military force. As the Instigator-in-Chief of January 6th, he knows how that could go down. And a future Democratic President could just pardon everyone involved... just like he did.

Interesting comments and views.

Quote from: Lori Dee on August 11, 2025, 06:35:17 PMI wonder if he thinks the People are ready to throw him out, and is preparing to defend his throne with police and military force.

And, just as predicted...

Republican-led states to send hundreds more National Guard troops to D.C.
National Guard troops in Washington may soon carry weapons, a reversal of their initial orders.
Link to Full Article (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/08/16/west-virginia-national-guard-dc-deployment/)
The Washington Post - Gaya Gupta and Karen DeYoung
Updated
August 16, 2025 at 4:57 p.m. EDT

Three Republican-led states, responding to a Trump administration request, said Saturday they will send up to 750 National Guard troops to join 800 already mobilized in D.C.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said he would deploy 200 troops "to stand with President Trump as he works to restore law and order to our nation's capital." Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine pledged 150, according to local news reports.

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

What exactly are they protecting that they need so many guns?

Who is the enemy? A bunch of unarmed protesters? Justice Dept employees throwing sandwiches?

Is anybody old enough to remember Kent State? (Trigger Warning if you plan to Google it.)
Is anybody paying attention?

Mississippi becomes fourth state to send National Guard troops to DC in expanding federal crackdown
https://apnews.com/article/washington-dc-federal-police-takeover-national-guard-fb91f9884c928b98036754885a7c0180

Nobody seems to know why DC needs so many federal agents from the DEA, ICS, FBI, Secret Service, plus the DC police, and now hundreds of National Guard troops. Yes, crime is bad. No, crime is not THAT bad.

The Texas Democrats have returned to Texas, ending their walkout to prevent gerrymandering of the state's voter district maps. California and other states have now vowed to gerrymander their own state maps to counteract the GOP power grab. Texas, at the request of Donald Trump to "get five more" GOP seats in the House, has sparked protests all over the country. The GOP knows its majority in Congress is only held by a slim margin, and they could easily lose that majority in the mid-term elections. It has happened before, and when the Democrats took control last time, Donald Trump was impeached... twice.

The next step being taken by Trump to retain his throne goes beyond rigging voting maps and deploying hundreds of armed federal agents. Now he is promising to issue an Executive Order to ban mail-in ballots. He has no authority to do so, but that hasn't stopped him before. This will be challenged in the courts, but in the meantime, the MAGA base will spread more disinformation about ballot security and election fraud.

Trump says lawyers are drafting executive order to end mail-in voting
Announcement comes days after Putin allegedly told Trump US elections were rigged because of postal ballots
Link to Full Article (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/18/trump-mail-in-ballots-voting-machines-2016-midterms)

I wonder how much the People will put up with. Nationwide protests are not working. Democrat legislature walkouts are not working. It will be up to the People to do something, and the mid-term elections should prove interesting.

It to stop demonstrations against his corrupt leadership, remember how they caught Al Capone? maybe he could be taken down  on tax swindles!

Wow. Just. Wow.

This article fits this thread perfectly. I wish I could quote the entire article, but I can't. Please read:

Trump's remarkable statement against states' rights
Analysis by Aaron Blake
Aug 18, 2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/18/politics/mail-voting-trump-states-rights-analysis

In the very first post of this thread, back on February 3, I mentioned Trump's desire to take the Panama Canal. I also mentioned that by doing so, he could control the flow of oil coming out of Venezuela.

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 03, 2025, 02:52:58 PMTrump refuses to rule out use of military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal
Updated 6:11 PM MST, January 7, 2025
https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-offshore-drilling-gulf-of-america-fa66f8d072eb39c00a8128a8941ede75 (https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-offshore-drilling-gulf-of-america-fa66f8d072eb39c00a8128a8941ede75)

Look at the map again. Panama is located at the bottom of the map, the south end of Central America. There are two blank spaces to the right (east) of the Panama Canal. The furthest one is Venezuela, the largest oil producer in that part of the world.

Why is this important?

The U.S. imports oil from Venezuela. Lots of it. The only country that buys more Venezuelan oil than the U.S. is China. ...

Trump said that the U.S. will be energy-dominant. He issued an Executive Order to declare an Energy National Emergency. Presidents use "national emergencies" to invoke special powers as a way to bypass Congress.

...

Only Congress has the authority to declare war. Right now, the Republican Party controls both houses of Congress, so it is unlikely they will oppose such a proposal from "His Orangeness". Another thing history has taught us is that we can have the war machine active without a declared war. Such actions are called "conflicts" instead of war and can be initiated by the President without approval from Congress. The U.S. has been involved in many "conflicts" from Vietnam to Ukraine.

Just some things to think about.

Trump uses his keywords to justify his actions (legal or not). He uses "illegal immigration" and "dangerous criminals" to deport people he doesn't like. He uses protests and "rampant crime" as excuses to deploy National Guard troops and federal agents to cities he wants to control.

US destroyers head toward waters off Venezuela as Trump aims to pressure drug cartels
Link to Source Article (https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-destroyers-maduro-drug-cartels-e33794ebc24d9031e536d132ce205b4c)
Associated Press -  MIKE PESOLI, AAMER MADHANI and JORGE RUEDA
Updated 1:33 PM MDT, August 19, 2025

The United States is deploying three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela as part of President Donald Trump's effort to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels, according to a U.S. official briefed on the planning.

Coincidence?
My question is, "What threat?"

Donald Trump Says No Migrants Have Entered in Past Month
Link to Source Article (https://www.newsweek.com/trump-southern-border-illegal-immigration-no-migrants-2092579)
Newsweek -Nick Mordowanec
Published Jun 30, 2025 at 5:01 PM EDT

After briefly mentioning "solving" inflation, Trump reverted to the border and how numbers have drastically decreased since he reentered office.

"... so much of my time is spent on the border," Trump said. "You know, last month, we had no people coming.

It is illegal to fire weapons into a sovereign country without that country's permission. Maybe he is helping his friends in Venezuela get rid of those nasty drug cartels.

Magicians use sleight of hand to perform their tricks. They have you watching their right hand so that you don't see what their left hand is doing.

Let's keep paying attention.

There are a surprising number of trans people who are MAGAs. It baffles me. There are at least a few here. They participate in other discussions but tune out when this stuff is brought up.

They stick with the "at least he closed our borders" (not true) and "at least he'll fix the economy" (also not true) logic, not to mention "he'll cut taxes in my income bracket", which is a big one and IS true, except for those who think he's cutting theirs but he's either not doing it or the breaks are scheduled to expire in a couple of years - nice trick.

But a lot of it is racism and misogyny. Many folks were "activated" when Obama got elected. That was a bridge too far, but Hillary ran and people completely lost it. What's next, a trans person running for president?

Quote from: Courtney G on August 24, 2025, 08:25:07 PMWhat's next, a trans person running for president?

With an all LGBTQ Cabinet.  :laugh:

We would need to add another option to the 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline for MAGA followers.

"If you are or were a MAGA supporter, press 3."
....

< click >

 :laugh:

Trump says he could rename Department of Defense to Department of War soon
Link to Source Article (https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5469171-trump-rename-department-war/)
The Hill - Brett Samuels
08/25/25 1:45 PM ET

President Trump indicated on Monday that he could move soon to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War.

"Pete Hegseth has been incredible with the, as I call it, the Department of War. You know, we call it the Department of Defense, but between us, I think we're going to change the name," Trump said during a meeting with South Korea's president.

"You want to know the truth, I think we're going to have some information on that maybe soon," he added.

Trump argued it was called the Department of War during U.S. victories in World War I and World War II.

"Defense is a part of that," Trump said. "But I have a feeling we're going to be changing. Everybody likes that. We had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War."

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

"Trump argued it was called the Department of War during U.S. victories in World War I and World War II." ... when we were AT WAR.

He has sent warships to Venezuela to "crack down" on "drug cartels".
He has sent National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles to "crack down" on "crime".
He has deployed the National Guard to the Capital to "crack down" on "crime".
He has threatened to send troops to Democratic states to "crack down" on "crime".

Is he signalling his intentions?
If it looks like a dictator, walks like a dictator, sounds like a dictator...

Keep paying attention.

Quote from: Courtney G on August 24, 2025, 08:25:07 PMThere are a surprising number of trans people who are MAGAs. It baffles me.

In another now defunct forum I was in some years back I could not get why some post-ops were Tea-Partiers.

In a different mailing list back before marriage equity became law, there were a number post-ops married to men who were against legalization of same sex marriage ...

And back then, in yet an different forum, I got called a "skin -Tvestite" because, although post-op, I stayed legally married to a woman when they could not marry a woman...

We come in all stripes...

- Karen

Quote from: Lori Dee on August 24, 2025, 08:46:14 PMWith an all LGBTQ Cabinet.  :laugh:

 :laugh:

Not sure if you want to vote for a man or a woman? Vote for a trans person, it's two-for-one!

Love always -- Jessica Rose

Trump administration to take control of Washington Union Station
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-take-control-washington-union-station-2025-08-27/
Reuters - August 27, 202511:39 AM MDT

Another "crackdown" on crime.

The Administration has threatened to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago for ... reasons. Gov. JB Pritzker said, "Let me answer that question: This is not about fighting crime. This is about Donald Trump searching for any justification to deploy the military in a blue city, in a blue state, to try and intimidate his political rivals... Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here."
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/illinois-governor-jb-pritzker-speech-news-conference-full-text-trump/

In response, we learn:

Trump's planned Chicago blitz would use naval base to house ICE agents, possibly National Guard
Federal agents would operate out of Naval Station Great Lakes near North Chicago through September, according to an email from a Navy captain who said there were "a lot of concerns and questions" about the plan.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2025/08/27/donald-trump-chicago-downtown-ice-immigration-national-guard-brandon-johnson-jb-pritzker

"These operations are similar to what occurred in Los Angeles earlier this summer. Same DHS team," wrote Yargosz, the commanding officer of Naval Station Great Lakes. "This morning I received a call that there is the potential to also support National Guard units. Not many details on this right now. Mainly a lot of concerns and questions."

This could get ugly.
Keep paying attention and be safe.

In one of my favorite books, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, author Richard Bach describes a Messiah's Handbook.

He says to hold the book (or any book) in your hands, close your eyes, and focus on a problem. Hold the thought in your mind, then open your eyes and read from one of the pages for your answer.

It is at this point that I would like to quote the entire last page of the Messiah's Handbook, because it applies to this thread:

"Everything in this book may be wrong."

In other words, take it with a grain of salt.  ;)

So, am I just throwing out conspiracy theories, or is something really wrong in Denmark? I mean, Greenland. Remember Greenland?

US tells Denmark to 'calm down' over alleged Greenland influence operation
Link to Full Article (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j9l08902eo)
BBC - Paul Kirby
August 27, 2025

The US has told Denmark to "calm down" after the top US diplomat in Copenhagen was summoned over claims that Americans had been conducting covert operations in Greenland.

Denmark's public broadcaster DR quoted sources as saying the aim was to infiltrate society and promote its secession from Denmark to the US, although it was unable to clarify who the men were working for.

Danish intelligence warned Greenland was being targeted by "various kinds of influence campaigns".

US President Trump has said several times he wants to annex Greenland, a semi-autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark...

On a visit to Greenland a few months ago, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned the US that "you cannot annex another country".

Danes have been shocked by Trump's determination to control its semi-autonomous territory. The US president said this year he would not rule out seizing it by force.

Denmark's PET security and intelligence service said in its assessment that influence campaigns would aim to "create discord in the relationship between Denmark and Greenland".

This could be done by exploiting "existing or invented disagreements" either with "traditional, physical influence agents or via disinformation"...

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

This propaganda campaign has been going on for months while we were focused on everything except Greenland. Read the full article (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j9l08902eo) for more details.

Judge rules Trump illegally deployed National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer said sending the California National Guard and the U.S. Marines to the city violated a 19th century law.
Link to Full Article (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-rules-trump-illegally-deployed-national-guard-l-rcna224779)
NBC News - Alicia Victoria Lozano, Ryan J. Reilly and Megan Lebowitz
Sept. 2, 2025, 7:52 AM MDT

A federal judge in California on Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration violated a 19th-century law when it mobilized 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in June.

"The evidence at trial established that Defendants systematically used armed soldiers (whose identity was often obscured by protective armor) and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and otherwise demonstrate a military presence in and around Los Angeles," U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said.

"In short, Defendants violated the Posse Comitatus Act," he said.

The judge's ruling strikes a blow to President Donald Trump's push to deploy troops to city streets as part of an effort to fight crime, ... Trump first deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles before sending soldiers into Washington, D.C. ... The president has indicated his interest in deploying troops to other cities as well.

The 1878 statute prohibits the president from using the military as a domestic police force without approval from Congress.

The judge wrote that Trump's intention to call National Guard troops into federal service in other cities would be "creating a national police force with the President as its chief."

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

In the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, the Thought Police are the secret police of the superstate, who discover and punish thoughtcrime (personal and political thoughts unapproved by the régime). Using criminal psychology and omnipresent surveillance (via informers, telescreens, cameras, and microphones), the Thought Police monitor the citizens and arrest all those who have committed thoughtcrime in challenge to the status quo authority of the Party and of the régime of Big Brother.

But that was just fiction, right?


Pete Hegseth tells Pentagon staff to hunt for negative Charlie Kirk posts by service members
Several people have already been relieved of their jobs because of their posts on social media, defense officials told NBC News.
Link to Full Article (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/hegseth-pentagon-staff-negative-charlie-kirk-posts-service-members-rcna230915)
NBC News - Courtney Kube and Carol E. Lee
Sept. 12, 2025, 4:43 PM MDT

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told his staff to identify any members of the military who have mocked or condoned the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk so that they can be punished, two defense officials told NBC News.

Several service members have been relieved from their jobs because of such posts, the officials said, adding that Hegseth's directive also pertains to others associated with the Defense Department. It's unclear exactly how many people have been disciplined.

Hegseth and other senior Pentagon leaders posted messages on X this week calling on the public to report any posts that could be interpreted as negative about Kirk or unsympathetic about his murder.

Many social media users have heeded the call, assisting Hegseth and the Pentagon in finding and flagging posts. Dozens of service members and civilian Pentagon employees have had their posts highlighted and collected under the hashtag #RevolutionariesintheRanks.

Some of the posts in that collection don't necessarily condone or mock Kirk's murder but have been viewed as unfavorable — including one that read, "I don't give a s--- about Charlie Kirk."

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

You would think that the Department of Defense (the Pentagon) would have more important things to do, like defending the country, monitoring what is happening in Ukraine, or making battle plans for the huge military threats in the Caribbean from Venezuela.

Nope. They are all on Facebook, X, TikTok, and other social media sites looking for servicemembers who posted something unapproved by the regime so they can be punished.  Some of these servicemembers are stationed in very dangerous parts of the world and are using social media to stay in touch with family members back home. These same people are prepared to give their lives to defend our First Amendment rights, rights that apparently they do not have themselves.

I find this behavior coming out of Washington, D.C. to be disgusting, but disgusting behavior seems to be the new normal for this Administration. But to flag servicemember social media posts with the hashtag #RevolutionariesintheRanks is just unforgivable.



Excuse me, but there are some Federal Agents at my door that want to talk to me about this post. 🤡

We are currently living in a dystopian world. I believe this is only going to get worse.
However....😁 We could highlight and report all right wing extremist posts and just flood him with those posts.

Maybe it's time to be a revolutionary.

He was a civilian

This is insanity

Anyone who agrees with this is an idiot, and doesn't love their country as much as they think they do

With Trump's declaration that the Defense Department be renamed to the Department of War, one must wonder what he is up to.

White House pretends Pete Hegseth's mystery meeting is normal. It really isn't.
There are roughly 800 generals and admirals spread out over the globe. Hegseth ordered them to gather on short notice next week, for reasons unknown.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-house-pretends-pete-hegseths-mystery-meeting-normal-really-isnt-rcna233903
MSNBC - Steve Benen
Sept. 26, 2025, 9:27 AM MDT

Modern military communications equipment makes it rather easy for the Pentagon to interact with personnel stationed anywhere on the planet, a fact that made it all the more unusual when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent a curious invitation to U.S. military leaders abroad. The Washington Post reported:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/09/25/hegseth-generals-quantico-meeting/
Even top generals and their staffs don't know the reason for the meeting.

The scope of the order is striking. "There are about 800 generals and admirals spread across the United States and dozens of other countries and time zones," the Post added. "Hegseth's order, people familiar with the matter said, applies to all senior officers with the rank of brigadier general or above, or their Navy equivalent, serving in command positions and their top enlisted advisers. Typically, each of these officers oversees hundreds or thousands of rank-and-file troops."

Making matters just a bit worse, the White House is acting as if this were somehow routine.

The aforementioned report added, "None of the people who spoke with The Post could recall a defense secretary ever ordering so many of the military's generals and admirals to assemble like this."

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

Is this a mass firing of top military leaders?
Are they making plans to invade Venezuela?
Are they preparing to deploy "spare" troops to American cities?
Do they have so little work to do that they can all just hang out with Trump for dinner?
Is he expanding his "Secret Police" force to prepare for a coup, or the upcoming 2026 mid-term elections?

Nobody knows. But we are paying attention. 🫤

I just watched his speech to the UN.

All I can do is shake my head and sigh. The speechwriters must go home and literally cry themselves to sleep. This guy is so up his own backside it's unreal.

The U.S. government's fiscal year ends on September 30, and so far, Congress has not passed a bill to keep it funded. While the Democrats and Republicans are busy pointing fingers and accusing each other of being responsible for a government shutdown, few people are noticing what else is happening at the White House.

The New York Times published a newsletter entitled, On Shutdown, Democrats Turn to Simple Strategy: Do Something.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/us/politics/democrats-government-shutdown.html

In that article was an interesting bit:

But the Trump administration has made clear that this is a shutdown like no other.

Typically, presidents want to avoid shuttering the federal government, fearing negative effects on the economy, in no small part because millions of federal employees would be put out of work — plus a litany of other wide-ranging consequences.

For the Trump administration, the shutdown is not a problem but an opportunity. By forcing a shutdown Democrats will be handing Trump the ability to push one of his major goals: A total gutting of the federal government.

Since he entered his second term, Trump has been trying — and been repeatedly blocked by the courts — to slash federal jobs, cut services and abolish agencies. He's planning to use the shutdown go even further.

A memo released by the White House this week instructed federal agencies to prepare for mass firings in the event that the government runs out of funding on Sept. 30, the close of the fiscal year.

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

September 30th is Tuesday, the day when all of the 800+ senior military officers and their enlisted advisers are to meet with Secretary of Defense Hegseth in Quantico, Virginia, for a mysterious meeting. Some speculation (misinformation/propaganda releases) has indicated that the Secretary will be giving a rallying speech about the new "Warrior Ethos" of the War Department.

He will be making a video of the speech to be released a few days later...

So, why do all of the top brass need to be there in person?

Wouldn't that be a security risk to have all of the Generals, Command Sergeant Majors, and Admirals in one location together?

If the government shuts down, what will our military be ordered to do?

Quote from: Lori Dee on September 27, 2025, 09:40:19 PMThe U.S. government's fiscal year ends on September 30, and so far, Congress has not passed a bill to keep it funded. While the Democrats and Republicans are busy pointing fingers and accusing each other of being responsible for a government shutdown, few people are noticing what else is happening at the White House.

The New York Times published a newsletter entitled, On Shutdown, Democrats Turn to Simple Strategy: Do Something.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/us/politics/democrats-government-shutdown.html

In that article was an interesting bit:

But the Trump administration has made clear that this is a shutdown like no other.

Typically, presidents want to avoid shuttering the federal government, fearing negative effects on the economy, in no small part because millions of federal employees would be put out of work — plus a litany of other wide-ranging consequences.

For the Trump administration, the shutdown is not a problem but an opportunity. By forcing a shutdown Democrats will be handing Trump the ability to push one of his major goals: A total gutting of the federal government.

Since he entered his second term, Trump has been trying — and been repeatedly blocked by the courts — to slash federal jobs, cut services and abolish agencies. He's planning to use the shutdown go even further.

A memo released by the White House this week instructed federal agencies to prepare for mass firings in the event that the government runs out of funding on Sept. 30, the close of the fiscal year.

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

September 30th is Tuesday, the day when all of the 800+ senior military officers and their enlisted advisers are to meet with Secretary of Defense Hegseth in Quantico, Virginia, for a mysterious meeting. Some speculation (misinformation/propaganda releases) has indicated that the Secretary will be giving a rallying speech about the new "Warrior Ethos" of the War Department.

He will be making a video of the speech to be released a few days later...

So, why do all of the top brass need to be there in person?

Wouldn't that be a security risk to have all of the Generals, Command Sergeant Majors, and Admirals in one location together?

If the government shuts down, what will our military be ordered to do?

It wouldn't surprise me if he fired a lot of them.

And now we know.

Trump calls for using US cities as a 'training ground' for military in unusual speech to generals
https://apnews.com/article/trump-hegseth-generals-meeting-military-pentagon-0ecdcbb8877e24329cfa0fc1e851ebd2
Associated Press - BEN FINLEY, KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and EVAN VUCCI
Updated 4:10 PM MDT, September 30, 2025

President Donald Trump on Tuesday proposed using American cities as training grounds for the armed forces and spoke of needing U.S. military might to combat what he called the "invasion from within."

The dual messages underscored the Trump administration's efforts not only to reshape contemporary Pentagon culture but to enlist military resources for the president's priorities and for decidedly domestic purposes, including quelling unrest and violent crime.

"We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military," Trump said. He noted at another point: "We're under invasion from within. No different than a foreign enemy but more difficult in many ways because they don't wear uniforms."

He said military leaders should "do the honorable thing and resign" if they don't like his new approach.

Trump encouraged the audience at the outset of his speech to applaud as they wished. He then added, "If you don't like what I'm saying, you can leave the room — of course, there goes your rank, there goes your future."

Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the meeting "an expensive, dangerous dereliction of leadership."

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

My concern with this behavior is "Why now?" He didn't do this during his first term. But he learned from his first term.

He wants military troops "training" in major (Democrat) cities; he wants them now, so that people will become accustomed to seeing armed soldiers patrolling the streets. And then, when the mid-term elections do not go his way, he will once again declare the elections were rigged. There could be massive protests, and he might need military force to stay in power. He is staging the resources that he may need.

In any other country, we would call that a "coup".

North Carolina governor calls for passage of red flag law after deadly mass shooting
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/02/nx-s1-5559639/north-carolina-governor-calls-for-passage-of-red-flag-law-after-deadly-mass-shooting (TRIGGER WARNING)
NPR - Nikolai Mather
October 2, 20254:45 AM ET

Authorities identified victims of a mass shooting over the weekend at a beachfront restaurant in Southport, North Carolina. And now the state's governor is calling for tighter restrictions on who can own a gun.

Authorities detained a suspect that night - Nigel Max Edge, a Marine veteran who once served as a scout sniper in Iraq.

Authorities say Edge didn't have a significant criminal history, but his neighbors say that he has an extensive gun collection. Edge also told officials he sustained a traumatic brain injury in Iraq. North Carolina Republicans recently passed a crime bill that places new restrictions on defendants suspected of having a mental illness. It's called Iryna's Law after the brutal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte that drew attention from the White House. The suspected killer has a history of mental illness. Democrats wanted to add a provision which would allow authorities to temporarily seize firearms from potentially dangerous individuals.

There are people in our community who people know are a risk - a risk to others, a risk to themselves - and they should not have firearms.

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

We see this time and again, where people think banning guns will stop violent crime. It won't. Violent crime is already illegal, with extra penalties if using a firearm.

I have had a few discussions with Senator Thune (South Dakota) about red flag laws. They are unconstitutional and can be abused to strip people of their right to defend themselves.

Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that your right to defend yourself can be taken away, your property confiscated, because your neighbor thinks you are "potentially dangerous".

The 2nd Amendment is clear: "The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Period.

There is no requirement to attend a class, obtain a permit, submit to a background check, or mental evaluation. It is only through "due process" (a legal hearing) and a court order signed by a judge that any rights can be restricted.

Taking the word of some disgruntled person and using that to justify "temporarily" confiscating your personal property is unconstitutional. We are innocent until proven guilty, not before.

And now, with this Administration obsessed with mental illness as an excuse to strip away transgender rights to defense, we need to pay attention.

As we saw earlier this year, the White House says they are thinking about something, and lackeys in the State Houses start passing laws along those lines.

As other states follow suit, it can rapidly spread until there is no need for a federal law because a majority of states have already enacted one, even if it is illegal, unconstitutional, or outright discriminatory.

We have seen this with transgender sports bans, bathroom bans, and gender-affirming care for minors.

Quote from: Lori Dee on October 02, 2025, 08:52:06 PMWe see this time and again, where people think banning guns will stop violent crime.

Fewer guns in society would mean fewer heat of the moment shootings and fewer accidental shootings, if nothing else.

Red flag laws are common sense IMO. In this day and age in the US, very few actually NEED guns after all.

- Karen

Quote from: Karen_A on October 02, 2025, 09:53:30 PMFewer guns in society would mean fewer heat of the moment shootings and fewer accidental shootings, if nothing else.

Red flag laws are common sense IMO. In this day and age in the US, very few actually NEED guns after all.

- Karen

I respect your opinion. Removing the tool only means they will use something else. We saw this in the UK when guns were removed and stabbings increased. Removing guns only decreases gun violence, not violence overall. Accidental injuries are rare and usually due to the operator failing to follow basic safety instructions.

It is not a matter of need. People don't need cars or alcohol, and yet no one calls for bans when a drunk driver kills an entire family.

It isn't even about guns, per se. Humans have an inherent right to self-defense, by whatever means. The Supreme Court rulings have made it clear that the 2nd Amendment does not only apply to firearms, but to any form of "bearable arms". That could be a pistol, a knife, a broken beer bottle, or a chainsaw.

I respect your and others' right to dislike guns. Not everyone likes them. The right does not say you must have one, but you can if you want to. It is a freedom of choice.

Don't blame the tool. I have handled hundreds of weapons over 50 years, and not once did any of them injure a single person. They don't load and fire themselves. Blame the person responsible. Hold them accountable. That's what our legal system is for.

Thanks for chiming in. Your opinion matters.

Quote from: Lori Dee on October 02, 2025, 10:18:32 PMI respect your opinion. Removing the tool only means they will use something else. We saw this in the UK when guns were removed and stabbings increased. Removing guns only decreases gun violence, not violence overall. Accidental injuries are rare and usually due to the operator failing to follow basic safety instructions.

It is not a matter of need. People don't need cars or alcohol, and yet no one calls for bans when a drunk driver kills an entire family.

It isn't even about guns, per se. Humans have an inherent right to self-defense, by whatever means. The Supreme Court rulings have made it clear that the 2nd Amendment does not only apply to firearms, but to any form of "bearable arms". That could be a pistol, a knife, a broken beer bottle, or a chainsaw.

I respect your and others' right to dislike guns. Not everyone likes them. The right does not say you must have one, but you can if you want to. It is a freedom of choice.

Don't blame the tool. I have handled hundreds of weapons over 50 years, and not once did any of them injure a single person. They don't load and fire themselves. Blame the person responsible. Hold them accountable. That's what our legal system is for.

Thanks for chiming in. Your opinion matters.

I agree with Karen. And you probably knew I would, lol. If knife crime becomes a thing, ban knives too. If children can't be responsible for having toys... take those toys away from them. But then the UK tends to ban pretty much everything. Our cops don't carry guns unless they're part of a very tightly regulated branch of the police. As a result... neither do most criminals. And more people tend to survive as a result.

"Something else" tends to be less lethal, statistically.

I get that the love affair with guns in the US is something a lot of other folks don't really understand, and that most folks aren't homicidal by nature. As a Brit... I had at least a sidearm for my whole career in the Navy, but I don't own a gun. Because I don't see myself going to war with my next door neighbour. Most people here don't. I think it's just a fundamental difference of worldview so there isn't a simple answer.

Ahem.
https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

I remember when this was published on the internet. There were memes of soldiers kicking in people's doors in the UK to confiscate their silverware.

It starts with guns, then knives, then what?

"International Comparisons

Lower Homicide Rates: The UK generally has a much lower homicide rate compared to countries like the United States and Canada.

Higher Other Violent Crimes: Despite fewer homicides, the UK often experiences high rates of other violent crimes, such as those involving knives and other weapons." ~ Google search


Where there's a will, there's a weapon. Don't blame the weapon, blame the criminal.

This is true, but you're less likely to be killed from a fruit knife than a bullet. ;)

As I said, in the UK we ban most everything. It only takes one incident for a massive public outcry and our laws to be changed. We tend to see one life as a tragedy... more than one life as an act of Parliament.

We are world champions at throwing dinner plates at each other, though. Just ask most spouses. :P

I am sure crimes involving harsh language have probably increased by several thousand percent, lol. But at least people don't end up in coffins, so... it's a net win.

We have recently had a thing with a couple of people killed in what the UK is calling a terror attack. In the US it would have probably been called a "Thursday". That's kind of my point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfr6hFcYxeg

Even the PM went there to speak about it.

You kind of have to look at the weapon when the weapon is made easy for people to wield. The law of averages says that it isn't likely to end well. Because you can't trust everyone to be responsible.

Quote from: Lori Dee on October 02, 2025, 10:18:32 PMIt is not a matter of need. People don't need cars or alcohol,

Awfully hard to earn a living in many places if you don't own a car. Driving drunk can (and should) get your driving license suspended and if it persists revoked ... Diving under the influence is a danger to others... So is an unstable person with a gun... and a gun is not needed to get to work.

- Karen

I did not write this article, but it is worth reading.

I found it interesting that the last sentence is:

"What is at stake for the rest of us?  It's time to pay attention."

Trump's Outline of a Domestic War
The real message from Quantico

https://www.justsecurity.org/121940/trumps-domestic-war-active-duty/
Just Security - Janine Davidson, Ph.D.
Published on October 6, 2025

In my very first post in this thread, back in February, https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,250087.msg2292494.html#msg2292494

I quoted a headline from the Associated Press:

Trump refuses to rule out use of military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal - Updated 6:11 PM MST, January 7, 2025

Quote... Venezuela, the largest oil producer in that part of the world.

Why is this important?

The U.S. imports oil from Venezuela. Lots of it. The only country that buys more Venezuelan oil than the U.S. is China. If the U.S. controlled the Panama Canal, they could shut down access by China, or charge a very high fee. It would be very expensive for China to haul oil around South America from Venezuela to China.

Trump said that the U.S. will be energy-dominant. He issued an Executive Order to declare an Energy National Emergency. Presidents use "national emergencies" to invoke special powers as a way to bypass Congress.

Today, The Guardian reports:
President Petro accuses US of killing Colombians in attacks on 'narco-boats'
Gustavo Petro demands US release names of victims: 'A new theatre of war has opened up: the Caribbean'
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/09/gustavo-petro-colombia-boats-us-military
The Guardian - Tom Phillips and Harriet Barber
Thu 9 Oct 2025 08.18 EDT

The last paragraph:

Writing on Wednesday, [Colombia's president, Gustavo] Petro claimed "the war" playing out in the Caribbean Sea was not about drug smuggling but about oil, a commodity of which Venezuela boasts the world's largest reserves. "The world must stop this," Petro added. "This aggression is aimed at the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean."

Little by little, the pieces of the puzzle begin to show the Big Picture.

Keep paying attention and be safe out there.

I'm not the most politically savvy so I don't have any answers to why this is happening and how we could stop this (other than vote and speak up wherever you can in protests).

It's frightening to see what's happened in the US, what has happened already in Brazil, Argentina, Hungary, Italy etc... the rise of and election of populist politicians with far right, anti democratic and libertarian views. The play is always the same - distrust other voices except mine. Reduce the state and judiciary, demonise minority targets. Create a dynamic of "others".

Here in the UK the surge in popularity of the Reform party stems from long term stagnation in living standards. This creates a febrile environment where people seek to blame others for their own dissatisfaction with life.

Trump is extreme stuff on top of this all, deploying the military against fellow Americans. Blatant disregard for anything approaching consensus and winnings to be vile and disrespectful to groups who struggle to fight back.

We, and I'm proud to able to use that word, have to hold together. We have to find ways to bring more progressive and democratic voices to the forefront of our society as soon as possible.

Thank you for starting this important thread @Lori Dee

Quote from: IsobelWoods on October 10, 2025, 07:49:07 AMThank you for starting this important thread

Thanks, Isobel.

Personal safety is something we should all be concerned with. A big part of that is "situational awareness," or paying attention to what is going on around you. Before I left South Dakota, then-Governor Kristi Noem attempted to rule the state by Executive Order (the same playbook used by Trump). Then, the legislature began passing anti-transgender state laws. Initially, these appeared in the news, and there was a significant public outcry against them. Then, suddenly, the media stopped covering them, and they were being passed quietly. And now, Noem (with no experience or credentials) was appointed as Director of Homeland Security.

The average person is unaware of things the government does in the background. And admittedly, some of my posts here may sound like a Conspiracy Theorist on steroids. But I have a unique skillset and background experience that helps me see what is going on. My intent is not to alarm anyone, but to get people to pay attention so they can prepare to take actions for their own personal safety. Some will, and some won't. That is a personal decision.

But for those who, like me, wonder "why did they do that?", my effort here is to show the links between events that do not always show up in the news. It is always best to make informed decisions, rather than to respond emotionally.

I stated in an earlier post that when Donald Trump says he is thinking about doing something, he is already doing it.

Trump confirms the CIA is conducting covert operations inside Venezuela
https://apnews.com/article/trump-cia-covert-operations-venezuela-ecb477ac7f07d5beaf48d44dee75c5e5
Associated Press -  AAMER MADHANI
Updated 7:16 PM MDT, October 15, 2025

President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and said he was weighing carrying out land operations on the country.

The acknowledgement of covert action in Venezuela by the U.S. spy agency comes after the U.S. military in recent weeks has carried out a series of deadly strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean.

Trump added the administration "is looking at land" as it considers further strikes in the region.

Trump made the unusual acknowledgement of a CIA operation shortly after The New York Times published that the CIA had been authorized to carry out covert action in Venezuela.

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

"Trump added the administration 'is looking at land' as it considers further strikes in the region."
Like Panama? Remember Panama?

The CIA has a long history of "covert operations" in foreign countries where the White House desires regime change. Sometimes these involve political assassinations, and sometimes they involve more "diplomatic" methods.

As any of our veterans here know, the first thing done before sending in troops is to gather intelligence data on the ground. Operatives will infiltrate the society and look at things like local security, military assets, public opinion, supply routes, deployment of local and national militia, etc.

All of this is already happening. The next step will depend on what that intelligence data reveals and if there is an opportunity to act.

South American countries have appealed to the United Nations to take action. Trump refuses to acknowledge the authority of the International Criminal Court and has signed an Executive Order imposing sanctions against it.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court/

At some point, it will be up to the People of the United States to do something, and it will require support from the international community to help us do it. Not everyone agrees that what is being done is criminal, but most people believe in right and wrong and the concept of justice.

The US has F'd with loads of South American countries over the years, just because they can. My best friend comes from Colombia... I have a lot of insight on how the US has meddled in that country and those around it back in the 80s and 90s, to put people in charge who were sympathetic to the US cause.

The people of those countries aren't really happy about it. Rightly so. You're undermining their sovereignty. The US has enough issues in its own backyard. Stop trying to meddle in other countries, however pseudo stealthily. Often under the pretense of something else. The CIA could probably have grounds for being tried on war crimes for the stuff they've pulled over the years. There's a reason they don't operate on domestic soil. No one would stand for it. It's a very shady organisation.

Let these countries sort themselves out, or not. For someone who purports to be tired of being the police of the world... stop trying to be the police of the world. Literally no one will care, lol. Trump, you're not Regan, or HW Bush, or Clinton, stop trying to be, just because your current efforts haven't lauded you as the world saviour you think you should be. Just sayin'.

Quote from: IsobelWoods on October 10, 2025, 07:49:07 AM]Here in the UK the surge in popularity of the Reform party stems from long term stagnation in living standards. This creates a febrile environment where people seek to blame others for their own dissatisfaction with life.

You are far more savvy than you think you are, Isobel. That is exactly what it is. It's why Trump was elected for a second time, and why Hitler got made leader of the government in Germany in August, 1934. People ignore stuff that's gone before because they think that they can defy the definition of insanity. To do the same thing again and get different results. That's what populism is. It's telling people what they want to hear.

If you listen to any of these people, they have no long term plan for how this will be achieved. Only what will happen in the next few months. Farage is one of Trump's best friends. Had not the leader of Reform stepped down and urged him to stand during the general election... he would have been on a plane to be part of Trump's campaign. He's literally said as much. They are birds of a feather. They are charismatic, like Hitler was. They tell people what they think they want to hear. And people lap it up. Because they just want to blame someone else. In the case of Hitler it was the Jews. In the case of Trump and Farage, it's immigrants. They are the same evil. These cretins forget the fact that most of the important jobs in both countries are staffed by people who have been invited to come here from overseas.

But the UK has form for that. When we wanted to rebuild after the horrific bombings after WW2, we basically begged people to come here from Commonwealth countries to rebuild Britain, then put up signs saying they weren't welcome anymore. Caribbean folks incentivised to help rebuild were ostracised once the work was done. Check this (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3w4q1ee1p4o) link to learn more.

A lot of people can be very horrible.

US 'on a trajectory' toward authoritarian rule, ex-officials warn
A network of former intelligence and security officers says democratic decline is accelerating under Trump's rule
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/16/trump-authoritarianism-warning
The Guardian - Lauren Gambino
Thu 16 Oct 2025 16.29 EDT

The United States is "on a trajectory" toward authoritarian rule, according to a sobering new intelligence-style assessment by former US intelligence and national security officials, who warn that democratic backsliding is accelerating under the Trump administration – and may soon become entrenched without organized resistance.

The report, titled Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline, was released on Thursday by the Steady State, a network of more than 340 former officers of the CIA, the NSA, the state department and other national security agencies.

"We wrote it because the same tools we once used to assess foreign risks now show unmistakable warning signs at home," the group said in a statement upon its release.

The authors conclude with "moderate to high confidence" that the US is moving toward what scholars call "competitive authoritarianism", a system in which elections and courts continue to function, but are "systematically manipulated" to consolidate executive power and weaken checks and balances. According to the assessment, these trends are increasingly visible in the US, as part of a broader effort by Donald Trump in his second presidential term to "ensure loyalty and ideological conformity" across the federal government.

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

Keep reading...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/16/trump-authoritarianism-warning

I found it interesting that the report says:

"Among the key indicators of democratic decline identified in the report: the expansion of executive power through unilateral decrees and emergency authorities; the politicization of the civil service and federal law enforcement; attempts to erode judicial independence through strategic appointments and "noncompliance" with court rulings or investigations; a weakened and increasingly ineffective Congress; partisan manipulation of electoral systems and administration; and the deliberate undermining of civil society, the press and public trust."

I posted a very similar statement on February 03, 2025, in the very first post in this topic. https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,250087.msg2292494.html#msg2292494

Am I a prophet? No. I am paying attention.

Keep your eyes and ears open, and be safe out there.

Quote from: Lori Dee on October 16, 2025, 11:21:11 PMUS 'on a trajectory' toward authoritarian rule, ex-officials warn
A network of former intelligence and security officers says democratic decline is accelerating under Trump's rule
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/16/trump-authoritarianism-warning
The Guardian - Lauren Gambino
Thu 16 Oct 2025 16.29 EDT

The United States is "on a trajectory" toward authoritarian rule, according to a sobering new intelligence-style assessment by former US intelligence and national security officials, who warn that democratic backsliding is accelerating under the Trump administration – and may soon become entrenched without organized resistance.

The report, titled Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline, was released on Thursday by the Steady State, a network of more than 340 former officers of the CIA, the NSA, the state department and other national security agencies.

"We wrote it because the same tools we once used to assess foreign risks now show unmistakable warning signs at home," the group said in a statement upon its release.

The authors conclude with "moderate to high confidence" that the US is moving toward what scholars call "competitive authoritarianism", a system in which elections and courts continue to function, but are "systematically manipulated" to consolidate executive power and weaken checks and balances. According to the assessment, these trends are increasingly visible in the US, as part of a broader effort by Donald Trump in his second presidential term to "ensure loyalty and ideological conformity" across the federal government.

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

Keep reading...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/16/trump-authoritarianism-warning

I found it interesting that the report says:

"Among the key indicators of democratic decline identified in the report: the expansion of executive power through unilateral decrees and emergency authorities; the politicization of the civil service and federal law enforcement; attempts to erode judicial independence through strategic appointments and "noncompliance" with court rulings or investigations; a weakened and increasingly ineffective Congress; partisan manipulation of electoral systems and administration; and the deliberate undermining of civil society, the press and public trust."

I posted a very similar statement on February 03, 2025, in the very first post in this topic. https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,250087.msg2292494.html#msg2292494

Am I a prophet? No. I am paying attention.

Keep your eyes and ears open, and be safe out there.

Literately everyone outside the US could see that after his first foray into the POTUS toy box. And they had to drag him out, kicking and screaming. The dude is probably the biggest narcissist the world has ever known. What makes everyone else sad is that he got another chance, amid a seemingly infectious amnesia over why being a racist bigot is, by and large, not a good idea. As the saying goes... if the US sneezes, the world catches a cold. Putting this dude back in power wasn't just a sneeze. It was full on Covid 24.  He is what psychology would classify as a "Dark Empath". Trust me that's not a good thing. It's a term applied to many serial killers.

Drug traffickers are criminals. Under U.S. law, everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The Coast Guard and Border Patrol routinely arrest drug traffickers, and then they get their day in court, and the sentence is imposed by the court, not by any law enforcement officers.

Execution for any crime without a trial is prohibited in all U.S. states and by the federal government under the Constitution. This is guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, which protect the right to due process.

However, Donald Trump has decided that he, as the chief law enforcement officer in the country, does not need to be bothered by things like basic human rights.

He has deployed warships, the CIA, B-1 bombers, and missile-carrying drones to summarily execute suspected drug traffickers without an arrest or trial. Apparently, the U.S. Coast Guard is not getting the job done well enough to suit him. He has now deployed the US Navy's 'most lethal combat platform,' to get the job done.

US Navy's 'most lethal combat platform,' the carrier USS Gerald R Ford, is being sent to the Caribbean
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/25/americas/aircraft-carrier-uss-gerald-ford-profile-intl-hnk-ml
CNN - Brad Lendon - October 25, 2025

Apparently, this is perfectly acceptable to the United Nations. The International Criminal Court remains silent. No elected representatives in Congress have filed criminal charges for extrajudicial executions (murders).

The longer he is allowed to do these things, the more he will do.

He illegally deployed the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles. A judge ruled the action was illegal. He continued to deploy military troops on U.S. soil in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. No one is holding him accountable.

This man is dangerous. When he is permitted to execute anyone he dislikes, he will soon tire of drug traffickers and turn his attention to others that he doesn't like. Guess who that might be?

Those who have the authority to act need to grow a spine and act.
Silence is acquiescence.

See also the Financial Times article:
'We're going to kill them': doubts grow over legality of US strikes in Caribbean
Critics accuse Trump administration of carrying out extrajudicial killings of alleged drug traffickers
https://www.ft.com/content/667c19ab-e59c-4b1f-8a11-4af00ae44162
Financial Times - Steff Chávez in Mexico City, James Politi and Stefania Palma in Washington
October 25, 2025

I am very conflicted about this, honestly. The thing is, Trump is just doing overtly what the CIA and DEA have been doing in many South American countries, covertly, for well over 40 years. He just wants the world to know what he's doing because the guy thinks he can do no wrong. It's a show of machismo and bravado because that is Trump's MO. I think he's compensating for something.

Pablo Escobar, in Colombia back in the 80s and 90s, he literally got to build his own prison when he "surrendered" to the Colombian Government so that he wouldn't be extradited to the US. It was more like a holiday camp and he made more money then than he ever did when he was a free man.

My best friend is Colombian and I know quite intimately how horrific the cartels can be, and how they affect innocent people wanting to live their lives. In both North and South America. She and her family fled to the UK to avoid a literal death sentence from the drug cartels there. It is very, very hard for me to have sympathy for these people. And, honestly, I might do the same in Trump's position.

You are right, though. You have to give everyone the same rights. Even if they have more money than most moderate sized countries and can dodge the law with an army of lawyers. Sometimes the law doesn't work. It can be manipulated and corrupted and abused. My head knows it's wrong, but my heart kind of doesn't. That's my own bias though. The drug trade has ruined probably more lives than all the wars ever fought. It is an insidious thing that creeps into the bones of a country. Putrefying everything.

Trump is trying to do what Clinton, HW Bush and Regan tried to do, only he isn't trying to do it in secret.

@Lori Dee  @Sephirah

Dear Lori and Sephirah;
Trump is not the only President that has taken military actions to kill non-combatants including American citizens that did not have a trial or legal recourse.  Presidents Bush and also Obama directed deadly "DRONE" air strikes that much exceeded what President Trump has done with the blowing up of the DRUG BOATS in the Caribbean coming from Venezuela.
    https://www.newsweek.com/strikes-during-obamas-presidency-killed-many-117-civilians-545080

While this was happening I did not see or hear the negative outcry that we are seeing and hearing regarding Trump's actions of blowing up the Drug Boats.

In my opinion all of these actions by all of the Presidents... Bush, Obama, and Trump are justified and protecting America's interests in keeping our country safe from drugs and from terrorism.

Danielle [Northern Star Girl]

Quote from: Sephirah on October 25, 2025, 07:41:18 PMYou are right, though. You have to give everyone the same rights.

That is my main point.

The "War on Drugs" has been going on for about a century. Nobody is going to win. As long as people want drugs and are willing to pay for them, they will find a way in. And yet, we are told that the borders are closed and no one is getting in. So, how are they bringing drugs in by boat?

There are a lot of causes that governments throw a ton of money and manpower at, and never solve the problem. This action by Trump is not about drugs. The consensus in the international community is that the goal is regime change in Venezuela, with the "side effect" of access to the world's richest oil reserves.

When a dictator is allowed to violate their own laws and Constitutional rights for any reason, that opens a loophole. If he can get away with murder (over 40 people now) with the made-up justification that they are terrorists, that is a problem. He has submitted no evidence publicly to show they were drug traffickers. Innocent until proven guilty.

Earlier, I reported that he had accused various "radical left" advocacy groups, including lawyers, of supporting terrorism because they supported LGBTQ advocacy groups. If no one stops him now, who will stop him when he starts executing lawyers because of the people they defended in court? Who will stop him when he declares open season on any of us?

That may seem extreme, but before he was elected, I thought that his threats against transgender people were extreme. I was convinced that his Executive Orders would be ruled illegal and quashed.

And yet, here we are.

(P.S. Thank you for your personal perspective on this. Much appreciated. 😘)

"Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool".

You are right, I don't think the war on drugs is a war that can be won. As long as people are willing to pay extreme amounts of money for a quick fix. People will always find a way. It has been, and will always be so. And yeah it can be used as an excuse to just bomb the stuffing out of somewhere. Someone needs to invent something that stops people's addictive tendencies. That would kill the whole deal overnight.

It would not surprise me if it was a smokescreen, honestly. Again... this is nothing new. Colombia, Mexico... Presidents who "get on well" with the US are always more valuable than those who don't. It's been that way for a long, long time. There is sometimes a lot of puppeteering goes on. Often gathering the ire of the people who feel like they don't really have a say.

But I also agree with you, Danielle. There's a saying: "Evil triumphs when good does nothing." I guess you have to define both but you get my point. I recently watched a TV show called "Narcos". Which kind of explains some of what my friend has been telling me for years. Different groups of people don't play by the same rules. If someone wants to be a nasty, greedy megalomaniac, they don't care about gentlemanly agreements. Or morality. Because some folks see something as "right"... it means nothing when the people you're trying to deal with don't even care about it. They aren't reading from the same rulebook, and if you try and apply your own standards to it, you're only ever going to be chasing an angry dragon, as it were.

There is kind of a case for saying "If you want to wrestle a pig, you have to get in the mud."

If this is about drugs then... okay. IF that's what it is. If it isn't then it will come out. History will judge him. Trump's whole mindset about trans folks, I think the guy is a lunatic. As unhinged as a post-apocalyptic doorframe. But I don't want to equate them to the same thing. That's a slippery slope argument. And while I get where you're coming from... I think you have to take each thing as its own thing.

I honestly think the rest of the world is just trying to weather the storm for another few years until he literally can't get back in charge of anything, while trying to deal with the fallout from it. Namely wannabe groups trying to do the same thing.

The important thing here isn't what Trump is doing, it's that people are letting him do it. Like you say, he basically seems to be able to do what he wants these days. Like destroy a chunk of the White House. You can't blame Trump for being Trump if there's literally no one in your country who is in a position to tell him he's being a big manbaby. THAT is the area you have to be concerned with. Trump is going to Trump. He did it the first time round. If you're going to let him back in... then put people in place to limit how much power he has. Or any president in future can have. Maybe he will be a lesson for the future. We can hope. Maybe y'all need a version of the Magna Carta. 810 years late, but better late than never!

Quote from: Northern Star Girl on October 25, 2025, 08:06:36 PM@Lori Dee  @Sephirah

Dear Lori and Sephirah;
Trump is not the only President that has taken military actions to kill non-combatants including American citizens that did not have a trial or legal recourse.  Presidents Bush and also Obama directed deadly "DRONE" air strikes that much exceeded what President Trump has done with the blowing up of the DRUG BOATS in the Caribbean coming from Venezuela.
    https://www.newsweek.com/strikes-during-obamas-presidency-killed-many-117-civilians-545080

While this was happening I did not see or hear the negative outcry that we are seeing and hearing regarding Trump's actions of blowing up the Drug Boats.

In my opinion all of these actions by all of the Presidents... Bush, Obama, and Trump are justified and protecting America's interests in keeping our country safe from drugs and from terrorism.

Danielle [Northern Star Girl]

Thanks for pointing this out.

This is disgusting and un-American. Scroll down to the slider below the "Major Events Timeline" and scroll to the right until you get to the 2020s. https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-white-house/

That ANY administration could be so cruel, so childish and so petty is beyond comprehension. These are vile and disgusting people, from the top down. If you abide this, you're not paying attention, or you're hollow inside.

They are degrading their own integrity, respect, and dignity. They have been lying to the American people on a wide variety of topics for a very long time.

In response to the timeline mentioned above:

White House responds to weird Republican outrage over Transgender Day of Visibility coinciding with Easter
https://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender-day-of-visibility#rebelltitem1
The Advocate - Christopher Wiggins
March 31 2024 1:56 PM EST (Notice the date)

Republican politicians and right-wing media figures have falsely accused President Joe Biden of attempting to replace the Christian celebration of Easter with Transgender Day of Visibility. This year, TDOV, observed annually on March 31 since its inception in 2009, coincided with Easter Sunday, sparking a wave of misleading accusations against the Biden administration amid demonstrations of what many pointed out was conservatives' hypocrisy.

In response, a spokesperson for the White House called the strange attacks "unsurprising" coming from certain politicians.

Easter's date varies each year, falling on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox, while Transgender Day of Visibility is fixed, regardless of the day of the week it falls on. On Friday, Biden issued a proclamation acknowledging the day as he has done in previous years.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson mocked the faux outrage on X.

"Thank you @POTUS, for shining a light on Trans Day of Visibility! And to the clueless critics who can't grasp the concept of calendars, let me help you out. TDOV is celebrated every year on March 31," she wrote.

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

They have been clueless for over a year and a half.

@Courtney_G

What evidence is there that these are "drug boats?" I haven't seen any.

Quote from: Pema on October 28, 2025, 02:49:00 PMWhat evidence is there that these are "drug boats?" I haven't seen any.

No evidence has been presented publicly. However, one of the destroyed crafts was a semi-submersible. This type of craft was specifically designed for drug smuggling and cannot be used for fishing like other boats. When the semi-submersible was hit, two out of four passengers survived and were taken into custody.

@Lori Dee  @Pema

Lori, you are correct regarding the submersible boats.
On top of that, the MANY "go fast boats" that were also sunk, were shown with 4 very powerful outboard motors
mounted on the transom....  heading for the USA coast at break-neck speed... certainly not a boat
that is even remotely and/or properly equipped for fishing.
Danielle

Quote from: Lori Dee on October 28, 2025, 04:17:28 PMNo evidence has been presented publicly. However, one of the destroyed crafts was a semi-submersible. This type of craft was specifically designed for drug smuggling and cannot be used for fishing like other boats. When the semi-submersible was hit, two out of four passengers survived and were taken into custody.

Quote from: Pema on October 28, 2025, 02:49:00 PMWhat evidence is there that these are "drug boats?" I haven't seen any.

Could you please point me to sources for that information? I'm very interested. Thank you.

This article discusses narco-submarines and "go-fast boats".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narco-submarine

Quote from: Pema on October 28, 2025, 06:28:11 PMCould you please point me to sources for that information? I'm very interested. Thank you.

@Pema
Dear Pema:...
Please take some more of your time to read various newspapers, watch television network NEWS and Cable NEWS stations, also let your fingers do the walking with creative and specific SEARCHES on Google, YouTube and elsewhere on the Internet. 

The Following is what I found on Youtube with a quick 30 second search... 
....enjoy the video, lots of information, and it is NOT Fake News.

Danielle [Northern Star Girl]
                  https://youtu.be/kdU0h8SP1Jo?si=N6FoX2S0Amn5-lM1

Thank you, Lori, but I meant more specifically what you said here:

Quote from: Lori Dee on October 28, 2025, 04:17:28 PMone of the destroyed crafts was a semi-submersible. This type of craft was specifically designed for drug smuggling and cannot be used for fishing like other boats.

and what Danielle said here:

Quote from: Northern Star Girl on October 28, 2025, 04:37:03 PMheading for the USA coast at break-neck speed

Thank you, Danielle, I did search quite a bit for news on the attacks, and I never found anything that offered anything more than what the US administration has said. I have no idea who the man is in the video you provided or why he'd be a reliable source.

There's no way I can take the US government's account of these incidents at face value. Their history of falsehoods predates this administration and has been taken to entirely new levels with this crew. I am very open to information provided by, for example, international investigators.

The Wikipedia article I linked lists a history of narco-submarines, along with how we know these things due to them being captured or found abandoned. This is all pre-2025, before someone decided to blow them up instead of capturing them.

I found it interesting how many metric tons of cocaine these boats can carry, and how the Coast Guard and other nations' navies have successfully captured the traffickers without loss of life. I have no problem with sinking tons of cocaine and fentanyl into the ocean (sorry, fishies), I just feel that the humans should face trial. They could provide valuable information, then let the cartels deal with them in the prison yard.

Can you imagine having to tell your druglord boss that you lost thousands of pounds of his cocaine, worth hundreds of millions of dollars? I am pretty sure what happens next is not nearly as mild as Hollywood shows it in the movies.

Trump tells US troops he is ready to send 'more than the National Guard' into cities
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-tells-us-troops-he-is-ready-send-more-than-national-guard-into-cities-2025-10-28/
Reuters - October 28, 202510:39 PM MDT

U.S. President Donald Trump has told U.S. troops he was prepared to send "more than the National Guard" into U.S. cities if needed, in the latest demonstration of his willingness to escalate a confrontation with Democratic-led local governments that oppose the deployments.

"We have cities that are troubled ... and we're sending in our National Guard. And if we need more than the National Guard, we'll send more than the National Guard because we're going to have safe cities," Trump said.

Trump has left open the possibility that he might use the centuries-old Insurrection Act to deploy active duty troops for policing purposes and sidestep any court rulings blocking the dispatch of Guard troops into American cities.

Under federal law, National Guard and other military troops are generally prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement. But the Insurrection Act allows for an exception, giving troops the power to directly police and arrest people.

"If I want to enact a certain act I'm allowed to do it routinely. I'd be allowed to do whatever I want," Trump said in his remarks on Air Force One. "The courts wouldn't get involved, nobody would get involved. I can send the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. I can send anybody I wanted."

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

Why is this important?

As previously reported, "Using the language that he used and, most importantly, labeling left wing protestors as "insurrectionists," crossed a clear red line in civil-military relations. It is the Insurrection Act he seems keen to invoke, which would give him dictatorial-like powers like we've never seen used before in this country – not even in the civil war. The civil war was a war between states with militaries fighting on battlefields. A Trump-led deployment of federalized Guard and active-duty troops to quell a fabricated insurrection inside American cities, should only be understood as war on the American people."
Source link can be found here: https://www.susans.org/index.php?topic=250087.msg2316132#msg2316132

With the mid-term elections coming up. this Administration has been working to attack the elections from many angles. CNN reported, "While selling his new pitch to get rid of mail-in voting and voting machines, Trump included this remarkable pair of sentences.

"Remember, the States are merely an 'agent' for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes," the president wrote on Truth Social. "They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do." ... This is a rather novel take on the Constitution, to put it mildly."
Source link can be found here: https://www.susans.org/index.php?topic=250087.msg2313024#msg2313024

Last June, thousands of National Guard and hundreds of U.S. Marines were deployed to Los Angeles "to protect federal property and personnel". The areas they protected were two one-block areas where protesters gathered. The ICE buildings were surrounded by law enforcement before troops arrived, and cities where troops have been deployed have reported a decrease in crime before the deployment. It would seem that deployments were unnecessary, as the Governor and Mayor claimed.

In Portland, Trump said he was "thinking about sending troops" there for the same reasons. He claimed the city was a "war zone" and the city was burning. Residents and city officials showed this was not true and filed a lawsuit to prevent the deployment.

In Chicago, the same situation arose. Complaints were filed with the court that ICE and federal agents (Border Patrol) were using chemical weapons against peaceful protesters and journalists. The judge in the case ordered that no tear gas, pepper rounds, or other such measures are to be used against peaceful protesters, except in cases of self-defense.

The Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino was caught on camera violating this order. As a result, the judge ordered him to appear in court to explain his actions. His claims of self-defense did not match the video evidence of the incidents. The judge then ordered Bovino to wear a body camera and to report to her daily about the ongoing situation in Chicago. (https://news.wttw.com/2025/10/28/border-patrol-chief-greg-bovino-who-fired-tear-gas-little-village-crowd-set-face-federal)

What is clear from all of this is that this Administration will fabricate whatever narrative it needs to justify its use of force. It will ignore Constitutional rights, court orders, and laws to further its own agenda of maintaining control over the population. This is what dictators have done throughout history.

Now the Department of Justice has announced that it will send "election monitors" to certain counties in California and New Jersey. Governor Gavin Newsom (CA) said that he believes the intent is to intimidate voters and possibly reduce voter turnout. He has, in turn, announced that the state will deploy its own monitors to watch the federal election monitors.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/california-monitor-justice-department-election-watchers-rob-bonta-rcna240148

We already know from the events of the Jan. 6th riot that the People can create an overwhelming disturbance when they get riled up. Obviously, Trump knows that too. He has repeated the lie over and over that he won the election against Biden and that the election system is rigged, despite many investigations that proved this is untrue.

Is this the real reason for sending troops to Democratic-led states against the wishes of the Democratic leaders? He could declare the elections as rigged, and when the People rise to have their votes counted and their voices heard, the military and federal police will already be in position to take control.

Keep paying attention.

Thank you, Lori. This is key for me:

Quote from: Lori Dee on October 28, 2025, 11:56:50 PMI just feel that the humans should face trial.

Extrajudicial murders can't be justified. It doesn't matter whether it's been done by others in the past. It's still illegal - even if we choose to believe the (unsubstantiated) reasons given. They'll make up whatever story they think will sell to perpetuate their violence (WMDs, anyone?) For example:

Quote from: Lori Dee on October 29, 2025, 12:09:58 PMlabeling left wing protestors as "insurrectionists,"

If we choose to excuse violation of this law because we believe the story they're telling about it, it essentially gives them license to violate any law they want with any story they want. There's bound to be somebody who will agree with that one. We need to demand that they uphold all laws, otherwise no laws apply to them. We can't have it both ways.

Legal and moral issues aside, saying it's acceptable for those people to be murdered without due process is not a great self-preservation strategy. What's next? Will they arm violent paramilitary goons to go into American communities and kidnap, beat, kill, and disappear people selected on the basis of their apparent ethnicity? Will they say that transgender people represent a threat to society and should therefore be shunned, imprisoned, abused, or killed? No, that's obviously overreacting, right?

We all know the poem. "First they came." Supporting one of their atrocities doesn't spare you from a future one. Americans used to at least give lip service to valuing the rule of law. That pretense is increasingly vanishing as more people now appear willing to sacrifice others with the hope of being spared themselves.

None of us are free if one of us is chained.

Is anyone paying attention?

Thanks, @Pema.

I should be clear that it is not my intent to alarm anyone, nor to be overly critical of any government entity. Having worked in government service for almost 15 years, I got a feel for how things operate "behind the curtain". I could tell stories of classified experiments that were done on me and members of our unit without our knowledge or consent, but this is not the place for that.

My intent here is to point out things that I saw happening over a year ago, and are now appearing in the news. Not to say, "I told you so", but to show the connections that I see from my perspective. I have been called a "Conspiracy Theorist" before, but when the theory part becomes fact, it is time to start paying attention. Our community is vulnerable enough as it is. Someone needs to be vigilant and warn others to be careful.

And... here we go...

Trump tells Pentagon to immediately resume testing US nuclear weapons
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-asks-pentagon-immediately-start-testing-us-nuclear-weapons-2025-10-30/
Reuters - October 30, 202511:36 AM MDT

President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military on Thursday to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons after a gap of 33 years, in what appeared to be a message to rival nuclear powers China and Russia.

Trump made the surprise announcement on Truth Social while aboard his Marine One helicopter, flying to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for a trade-negotiating session in Busan, South Korea. He said he was instructing the Pentagon to test the U.S. nuclear arsenal on an "equal basis" with other nuclear powers.

"Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately," Trump posted.

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to nuclear-explosive testing, which would be carried out by the National Nuclear Security Administration, or flight testing of nuclear-capable missiles.

No nuclear power - other than North Korea most recently in 2017 - has carried out explosive nuclear testing in over 25 years. Post-Soviet Russia has never tested. The Soviet Union last tested in 1990, the U.S. last tested in 1992 and China in 1996.

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

And in preparation for the "rigged" 2026 mid-term elections...

Pentagon orders 'quick reaction force' of 500 troops per state: Reports
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5580613-pentagon-national-guard-quick-reaction-force-us-cities-trump-agenda/
The Hill - Ellen Mitchell
10/30/25 6:30 AM ET

The National Guard is building a "quick reaction force" (QRF) of some 23,500 troops trained in crowd control and civil disturbance that can be ready to deploy to U.S. cities by early next year, according to a leaked memo reported by multiple outlets Wednesday.

The Oct. 8 memo, signed by National Guard Bureau Director of Operations Maj. Gen. Ronald Burkett, orders the Guard from nearly every U.S. state, Puerto Rico and Guam to train 500 service members. States with smaller populations such as Delaware will have 250 troops in its force, while Alaska will have 350 and Guam will have 100, Task & Purpose reported.

The latest document also stipulates that the Pentagon will send military trainers to the states and territories so the QRFs will be operational by Jan. 1, 2026. Each state also will be given "100 sets of crowd control equipment to be used to support this requirement," such as Tasers, pepper spray, batons, and body shields.

The Trump administration has increasingly moved to use the U.S. military to push his political agenda domestically via sending National Guard troops into largely Democrat-run cities under the claim of helping fight crime.

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

I wonder why this is deemed necessary all of a sudden. Could it be that the courts have blocked the deployment of National Guard troops to certain cities? Could it be that court orders will be ignored when the Insurrection Act is invoked?

Keep paying attention.

I expected the election tampering for a while. trump knows he can't win, so voter intimidation is the plan.

UN accuses US of breaching international law with deadly airstrikes on boats in Caribbean and Pacific
The attacks have killed over 60 people, according to U.S. officials.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/accuses-us-breaching-international-law-deadly-airstrikes-boats/story?id=127055548
ABC News - Mason Leath
October 31, 2025, 1:06 PM

The United Nations said Friday that U.S. airstrikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean violate international human rights law and must stop.

In a statement to ABC News, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that the attacks breach international law and called for an investigation into the strikes.

"These attacks – and their mounting human cost – are unacceptable. The U.S. must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them," Türk said.

"Under international human rights law, the intentional use of lethal force is only permissible as a last resort against individuals who pose an imminent threat to life," he added. "Based on the very sparse information provided publicly by the U.S. authorities, none of the individuals on the targeted boats appeared to pose an imminent threat to the lives of others or otherwise justified the use of lethal armed force against them under international law."

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

"Since September, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have executed over a dozen military strikes against boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, arguing they are anti-drug and counter-terrorism measures.

Over 60 people have allegedly been killed in the strikes, according to U.S. officials."

And yet, no evidence of the "drug trafficker" claims has been publicly released. The White House admitted that they do not know the identities of the people who were killed. They are targets because they are suspected of having connections with "narco-terrorist organizations."

I don't doubt that some, if not all, were drug traffickers. But present the evidence that you are operating within the law. That should not be difficult. What are they hiding?

This smells of the whole WMD Iraq situation.

"It's true... trust me, bro!"

Trump is basically like a chimpanzee, pushing buttons on a panel at this point to see what will get people to like him.

I can't... I can't wholly condemn this though. And this will likely be my last post on this issue because I admit I am somewhat biased. I know how crafty the people in the drug trade can be. How it affects the lives of people who have to be in that environment. They are not above using innocent people to mask what they're doing. They literally would send pregnant women across the border from Mexico carrying packs of cocaine inside them because they thought no one would be suspicious. There's a reason these South American countries are so corrupt. Because the drug trade makes more money than anything they could make as an entire country through legitimate means, because places like the US are eager and willing buyers. So everyone in those countries is up for sale. Why sell coffee when you can make 10,000x more selling cocaine?

They do not play by the same rules that the UN plays by. And are all too willing to hide behind it to make their billions. Putting someone on trial is a noble thing... but in Colombia, judges literally had to wear balaclavas to mask their identities so they wouldn't get taken out by the cartels for presiding over the trial of a narcotics trafficker. A lot did anyway. Usually by a bomb of some kind. Go look at Pablo Escobar's war on his own country. That tells you how scary these people are when there are vast sums of money involved. They are not above using every dirty trick in the book.

Morality is great when everyone has the same idea of it and plays by the same rulebook. The US has been trying to take out the merest sniff of narcotics trafficking for over 40 years. They were just never as open about it until now. It was all secret ops by the CIA and DEA. Trump is just doing it for upvotes.

Part of me doesn't agree with it. You need better intelligence. You need to know who you're shooting at before you pull the trigger. To just say "trust me, bro!" isn't enough. But part of me thinks that you do need to pull the trigger, in some form. I don't like slippery slope arguments because it's a logical fallacy. You have to look at each issue on its own. Not "If you tolerate this, your children will be next." We already know Trump is not above going after Trans people. If anything, this latest thing is the lowest rung on the ladder.

The last thing I will say is that law doesn't work for the lawless. It just doesn't. Like I say, for something to be fair, you all have to play by the same rules. Sometimes that just isn't the case. Money, for some people, is more important than life. And they willingly sacrifice life to make money.

My Colombian friend tells me over and over that the US and the "West" plays by a whole different set of rules than the people they're trying to bring to "justice". Her uncle was beheaded and hung up from a motorway overpass as a message to deter people from defying the drug cartels. That was the last straw in her fleeing her country. I say this because sometimes you just can't see everyone as equal, when they don't see themselves as equal.

If people know that the US is going after these so-called "go-fast boats" and "narco-submarines" then if you're not in that line of work... just don't use them. If you know you're going to have a target on your back if you do... why would you? That's like saying "oh, hey, they're shooting everyone who flies a kite... let's not fly a kite for a while because if we do it's going to get shredded."

I don't trust US intelligence to have got it right, because they have form to just try and blow up whoever and whatever, but I also don't condemn them for trying to do something to stop this poisonous practice. "Imminent threat to life" is something said by people sat behind a desk, in an expensive suit, who have never had to face a longer term threat to many lives.

I will auction my soapbox now if anyone is interested, lol.

White House evidence doesn't prove Trump statement that California "rigged" election
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2025/nov/05/donald-trump/California-redistrict-Newsom-rigged-Congress/
PolitiFact - Grace Abels, Amy Sherman
November 5, 2025

As Californians voted Nov. 4 for a new congressional map, President Donald Trump falsely said the process was rigged.

"The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the Voting itself, is RIGGED," Trump wrote Nov. 4 on Truth Social.

"All 'Mail-In' Ballots, where the Republicans in that State are 'Shut Out,' is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!" 

The White House's explanation misrepresented data about duplicate registrations, cherry-picked data about dead voter removals from registration rolls, pointed to one woman charged with voter fraud among about 23 million registered voters, and baselessly blamed San Francisco's allowance for noncitizen voting in school board elections.

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

Like we didn't see that coming. 🤣

GOP Senators Block Resolution to Rein In Trump's Military Actions Against Venezuela
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/11/7/headlines/gop_senators_block_resolution_to_rein_in_trumps_military_actions_against_venezuela
Democracy Now! - November 07, 2025

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday the U.S. military struck another boat in the Caribbean, claiming without evidence it had killed three narcotraffickers on board. The latest killings bring the reported toll from U.S. attacks in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to 70 people aboard 18 boats. Hegseth's announcement came as Republican senators narrowly blocked a war powers resolution seeking to bar President Trump from taking military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization. Senator Chris Van Hollen spoke ahead of Thursday evening's vote.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen: "Quit engaging in illegal actions in the Caribbean and international waters, blowing up boats and people in an extrajudicial fashion. And when it comes to Venezuela, stop making these threats and amassing military assets off the shore and claiming you somehow have the authority to do that. The Constitution invests the authority to go to war with the United States Congress."

On Thursday, the former chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, told the BBC the U.S. attacks on civilian vessels would be treated as crimes against humanity under international law.

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

An attempt was made.

I find it hard to take anything seriously when it comes to US elections after the whole "Pregnant Chad" fiasco.

I haven't posted here in a while, and for good reasons. A lot has been going on that I find quite disturbing. It was never my intent to frighten anyone, but we need to be aware.

This country was founded by a small group of people who were fleeing tyranny and religious persecution. Although the framers of our Constitution were wealthy, white slave-owners, the words they chose were careful and designed to stand the test of time.

"All men are created equal" did not only apply to the wealthy elite, but implied that every human has basic rights that were the very first amendments, and specifically addressed in our Bill of Rights.

Over many decades of struggle, we realized that we talked the talk but did not walk the walk. Amendments were passed and became law that spelled out those rights and that they applied to women, people of all colors, immigrants, and natural-born citizens alike.

And now we have come to a time where those rights are ignored and attacked. Religion, by definition, is an ideology. Yet, some religions are being attacked. Freedom of expression for the individual and the media is being attacked as "ideology" as if it were somehow a threat to our national security.

Even our allies, friends, and neighbors are being threatened because of ego.

This reminds me of something that happened while I was in the service.

There was a group of us who were close friends. We looked out for each other. The group was truly a "Band of Brothers". It was based on friendship alone. The group consisted of the lowest-ranking Private, as well as sergeants, some with combat experience. None of that mattered.

A newer member of the group has recently transferred in. He was a big man and liked to throw his weight around. He bragged often and belittled some of our youngest members. The group stepped in and put him in his place. It was made clear to him that we do not attack each other; we stand up for each other against anyone who threatens a member of our group.

One night, we were all hanging out at a bar and shooting pool. This guy got drunk and started running his mouth. He was told to cool it. He didn't. He picked a fight with a guy who was not part of our group. They went outside, where members of another group gave him a beating. We stood by and watched.

Later, he asked us why we didn't jump in to help him. The answer was simple: he was wrong. He deserved what he got.

Not long after, he was no longer included in our group. We were happy to see him go.

What reminded me of this story was a recent event. Members of our group, our friends and allies, are being threatened. So far, the group has not taken any action: strong words and little more. And I have to wonder what the outcome might be.

I am deeply disturbed that a member of our group is threatening other members and threatening those who have been our friends, neighbors, and allies for hundreds of years. This does not sit well with me.

The other members of your group know that this newest member doesn't represent your group, Lori.

I only learned recently about what this blowhard has been saying. With regard to Afghanistan. I won't post anything here because... it's kind of personal to me. My brother went there, and to Iraq, to support US forces. I better stop there. As a Navy lass I was never boots on the ground, so to speak, in those theatres, but I have skin in the game.

Know this, Lori, I might get over-generalised sometimes, but the UK and US military will always be brothers and sisters-in-arms. We've trained together, laughed together, cried together, bled together. One ageing buffoon and his ego can't destroy that. Provided he doesn't try to destroy the world before he gets kicked out.. we can once again go back to what makes us strong. <3

Some of the best training exercises we ever did were NATO exercises. We got to train with Brits, Canadians, Danes, Germans, and the French. The one thing I learned is that we all have a common enemy: the French! (just kidding).

Quote from: Sephirah on January 29, 2026, 01:41:42 PMKnow this, Lori, I might get over-generalised sometimes, but the UK and US military will always be brothers and sisters-in-arms. We've trained together, laughed together, cried together, bled together. One ageing buffoon and his ego can't destroy that. Provided he doesn't try to destroy the world before he gets kicked out.. we can once again go back to what makes us strong. <3

That's an ongoing hope of the educated, informed and reasonable Americans: that our friends around the world don't hold us personally responsible for this madness. Bad decisions are being make by a small group of powerful people at the top. A vocal minority (maybe 10-15%) of the populace supports their decisions while the rest of us look on, aghast. We do what we can to educate the ignorant but they don't read, don't learn, don't see what's going on and, worse, they get their "news" from TV personalities who are paid and controlled by the folks who stand to benefit the most from this. I've tried to share real information with friends who've been misled, but they quickly parrot the talking points they've been spoon fed. They have no stomach for charts, historical data and other useful into. They follow their "gut" and they follow a leader who follows his gut. But they're cannon fodder for this cause because of their ignorance and the existing biases they brought to this moment.

I don't think you need to worry, Courtney. I think once this current madness is over, things will get back to some semblance of normality. Because that's what everyone wants. And, honestly, I think most folks outside the US know and have US friends, real people to talk to about the current insanity. And I think probably everyone is thinking the same thing right now. "WTF?!"

You can't be held responsible for the decisions of the people who get put in power. That's silly. Power corrupts. In Trump's case, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Everyone is just waiting until your next elections when he gets dragged out screaming and kicking and, in the case of us Brits, we can get back to the light mocking of the differences in the language.

There's a saying. The smallest dogs bark the loudest. That's how it's always been with politics. The majority are too busy trying to work out how to live their lives with the latest rounds of cr*p forced on them. As a Brit, I look forward to the day this nonsense is done with and we can go back to being allies and friends. Differences make us stronger, not weaker. Maybe one day people in power will get that.

Quote from: Lori Dee on January 29, 2026, 01:46:31 PMSome of the best training exercises we ever did were NATO exercises. We got to train with Brits, Canadians, Danes, Germans, and the French. The one thing I learned is that we all have a common enemy: the French! (just kidding).

LOL!!

They do make some mighty fine garlic bread.

As the old saying goes... we all bleed red. I was privileged enough to go on exercise with the crew of one of your US HK boats (the fast, non nuclear hunter subs). I have never met a more dedicated, focused, yet accommodating and willing to accommodate different tactics bunch of people. They also wanted me to get a tattoo. I vehemently refused. What is it with Navy people and tattoos? You serve your country but you also learn when you're being fed a bunch of garbage from above. It brings you together.

You might have to accede to your commander-in-chief, but that doesn't preclude you from thinking he's a grade-A moron.

The world doesn't want the US as an enemy. We've always been stronger together. Just need to get Trump out so you can heal. :)

I don't think that the world will get back to normal after President Trump's tenancy is over, I am very sorry to say.  Ancient Romans and Persians, Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors, Dutch and British East India companies, 20th century German nationalists, all were normal human beings who decided that if you have enough power, you don't need to justify your actions to the rest of the world, you only need to convince your own people that they will be richer and stronger or, to put it another way, "more secure".

If America owns Canada and Greenland, it could be a match for its Eastern rivals without the need for Europe.  British historians regard the war of 1812 as an attempt to annex Canada.  After the Civil War, the USA threatened to annex Canada if Britain did not pay more money than existed in the world at the time.  Fortunately for Canada and Britain, most Americans were more tired of warfare than President Grant, so the USA accepted just a few million pounds from Britain, still a considerable sum at the time.

The British government now says that it has convinced President Trump to withdraw the threat of force to annex Greenland.  If the British government believes that they have convinced President Trump to do anything, I think that they are arrogant and delusional.  Shades of Neville Chamberlain and his "peace in our time".

Britain was one of the countries that sent troops to Greenland to show solidarity with European NATO members.  None the less, Starmer said that principle could not be ignored but Britain would be pragmatic.  That is rather cryptic but I take it to mean that if it comes to the crunch, Britain will side with America, "right or wrong", as the 1950s American slogan put it.  Britain's military support of America's extrajudicial hunting of ships that traded with Venezuela supports my view, I think.

Airstrip One is what George Orwell called Britain, Big Brother's island aircraft carrier in the war against Eurasia.  No offence, Big Brother across the Pond but next time around, I would feel safer being allied with Europe if it comes to the crunch. 

I would bet a lot on what I have written.

On the bright side, I am a born loser.

The thing is, we aren't living in the 19th or 20th century anymore. Where people are ill-informed and have no voice to really do anything. And it seems like Canada has a pretty loud voice of their own. :)

I won't argue with you that the UK government is arrogant and delusional, though, lol. But this isn't WW2, or any time before that. Could you link me where Starmer said that, Mary? As far as I know, what he's said with regard to Greenland is: "Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must determine the future of Greenland and nobody else," (source (https://www.reuters.com/world/uks-starmer-says-greenlands-future-not-others-decide-2026-01-05/)

From what I can gather, the only thing he's said about principles is in regard to China being a trading partner. Something the Orange Messiah has called "Dangerous" after we dared to talk to them, because of course he has. He doesn't like anyone playing with the other kids.

And now he has his cronies stoking dissent with Alberta separatists to convince them to join the U.S. as the 51st State. If he can't do it overtly, he will do it covertly. No scruples and no respect.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr57j780pgmo

Quote from: Lori Dee on January 31, 2026, 03:18:47 PMAnd now he has his cronies stoking dissent with Alberta separatists to convince them to join the U.S. as the 51st State. If he can't do it overtly, he will do it covertly. No scruples and no respect.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr57j780pgmo

That's akin to him going to Scotland and saying "Yeah let's sign you up to the US just to screw the English!"

Like... why? This is the thing I don't understand. Why does Trump need to grab land? Because the US isn't big enough already? I think this is probably the thing most British people don't understand... and keep in mind this is coming from a country that has held more land than the Roman Empire in its time. I suspect it's because his ego is so large that he wants to be remembered in the same breath as Caesar when he's finally kicked out. He knows he's a scumbag so he wants to be the biggest scumbag who ever lived.

Quote from: Sephirah on January 31, 2026, 01:48:03 PMThe thing is, we aren't living in the 19th or 20th century anymore. Where people are ill-informed and have no voice to really do anything. And it seems like Canada has a pretty loud voice of their own. :)

I won't argue with you that the UK government is arrogant and delusional, though, lol. But this isn't WW2, or any time before that. Could you link me where Starmer said that, Mary? As far as I know, what he's said with regard to Greenland is: "Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must determine the future of Greenland and nobody else," (source (https://www.reuters.com/world/uks-starmer-says-greenlands-future-not-others-decide-2026-01-05/)

From what I can gather, the only thing he's said about principles is in regard to China being a trading partner. Something the Orange Messiah has called "Dangerous" after we dared to talk to them, because of course he has. He doesn't like anyone playing with the other kids.

The following article does not limit Britain's combination of principle and pragmatism to China, or even mention China, if I understand my "Find" function:

PM statement on international affairs and cost of living issues: 19 January 2026 (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-remarks-on-greenland-19-january-2026#:~:text=But%20being%20pragmatic%20does%20not,Thank%20you.)

The article pretty much summarises itself with

"Britain is a pragmatic country. We look for agreement. We believe in partnership. We prefer solutions to slogans.

And we will not indulge in commentary and gesture politics that harm the British people.

But being pragmatic does not mean being passive.

And partnership does not mean abandoning principle.

That is why it's important to be clear about who we stand with, what we stand for, and where our interests lie."

Quote from: MaryT on January 29, 2026, 06:06:19 PM...
Britain was one of the countries that sent troops to Greenland to show solidarity with European NATO members.  None the less, Starmer said that principle could not be ignored but Britain would be pragmatic.  That is rather cryptic but I take it to mean that if it comes to the crunch, Britain will side with America, "right or wrong", as the 1950s American slogan put it.  Britain's military support of America's extrajudicial hunting of ships that traded with Venezuela supports my view, I think.
...

What I highlighted in red is my one sentence summary of the PM's statement in regard of Britain's foreign policy.  The rest of the paragraph is my interpretation, which, as I said, I think is supported by Britain's military support of The USA's campaign against Maduro's Venezuela.  I would add to my interpretation that it means that principle cannot be ignored but if it comes to the crunch, Britain would act in Britain's best interest and that currently means alliance with the USA, whatever action the USA takes that does not harm Britain.

My reservations about Britain's support of the Venezuelan campaign are not without reason, from what I gather from some sources.

US Says It Will Control Venezuela Oil Exports Indefinitely (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-says-control-venezuela-oil-145310649.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFIRDp8jY8Ml6q5AjVd_nJmAapSZJ2Rh2VUX2Qwlf8DzZP3aLBd49ko0C96_dJTABzNZ53E2dRo4qBUJHNqaNrjf6c0aSSUyRZ5CoqGJnChz44MpI-kZciABmCI46Z17lo5s07MdrKTD9rOvsJh9wnNxLpkNP3USscvxxwvH89-t)

According to that article,

'Revenue from the sales will be held in US Treasury accounts, a move that would protect the proceeds from Venezuela's creditors, a person familiar with the matter said. The funds will benefit the American and Venezuelan people, Leavitt said.

"We're not stealing anyone's oil," Wright said during an interview with CNBC. "We're going to restart the selling of Venezuelan oil on global crude markets, put it in accounts in the name of Venezuela and bring those funds back into Venezuela for the benefit of the Venezuelan people."'

I don't think that the sale of seized Venezuelan oil should benefit American people at all, unless the world is returning to the practice of making defeated countries pay the victor's expenses.

I know that President Trump says that Venezuela stole the USA's oil but some dispute that:

BBC Verify has consulted several international energy law experts to assess Donald Trump's claim (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ckgx05erygvt)

Whether or not the USA was justified, I think that Britain's immediate military support in helping the USA to enforce its embargo, without parliamentary debate or investigation of the USA's claims and motives, is an example of pragmatism taking priority over principle.  If you'll excuse another summary, "We may need them in a hurry so let's not hesitate to help them."  To be honest, that is also what my attitude would be if I were making the decisions today.

Quote from: Sephirah on January 31, 2026, 01:48:03 PMThe thing is, we aren't living in the 19th or 20th century anymore. Where people are ill-informed and have no voice to really do anything. And it seems like Canada has a pretty loud voice of their own. :)

I won't argue with you that the UK government is arrogant and delusional, though, lol. But this isn't WW2, or any time before that.
...

We are indeed in century 21 but none of the wars going on right now, especially in Europe, make me think that we are any more enlightened than our ancestors.

I'm not a prophet though.  If we are having a bet, I hope that I lose.

If I've read that article correctly, Mary, Starmer says the following:

"On Greenland, the right way to approach an issue of this serious is through calm discussion between allies. Let's be clear, the security of Greenland matters and it will matter more as climate change reshapes the Arctic.

As sea routes open and strategic competition intensifies, the High North will require greater attention, greater investment, and stronger collective defence.

The United States will be central to that effort, and the UK stands ready to contribute fully alongside our allies through NATO.

But there is a principle here that cannot be set aside because it goes to the heart of how stable and trusted international cooperation works.

And so, any decision about the future status of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone. That right is fundamental, and we will support it."

Venezuela is an entirely different thing.

The most pointed word in all this is "Trusted". You need to trust people to have your back. Sadly people just don't trust America anymore. Not even the UK. Its most staunch ally through thick and thin. Because Trump changes his mind depending what day of the week it is.

He is using Climate Change and the security of the Northwest Passage as an excuse. His goal is to be remembered like Thomas Jefferson, who doubled the country's landmass. He is also a firm believer in the Monroe Doctrine, which proposed that the U.S. would dominate the entire Western Hemisphere. He has not been subtle about this. People have started calling his version the Don-roe Doctrine.

He is a dictator. He admires other dictators. He decorated the People's House (White House) in gold to make it look like a dictator's palace. He said the way it looked before was too plain. History be damned, demolish the entire East Wing without permission, for a ballroom that no one asked for.

Just have to keep the manchild placated for a few more years, then.. he's gone. And hopefully his cult with him.

The rest of the world has made MAGA into a different slogan. "Make America Go Away".

Asking why and ascribing motivations assumes a plan or a philosophy. He has none of that. It's narcissism and Dunning-Kruger effect, plain and simple.

Anyone want to wager that the ballroom never gets built and that all that really happens is that the east wing is demolished and a bunch of money disappears? That's been pretty much his MO for decades.

Quote from: Pema on January 31, 2026, 06:03:05 PMAsking why and ascribing motivations assumes a plan or a philosophy. He has none of that. It's narcissism and Dunning-Kruger effect, plain and simple.

Anyone want to wager that the ballroom never gets built and that all that really happens is that the east wing is demolished and a bunch of money disappears? That's been pretty much his MO for decades.

I'd be willing to bet it will end up as a casino.

And yes I understand the irony in that statement ;)

You all know about this by now, of course:

Trump links Greenland pursuit to Nobel Peace Prize snub (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/trump-letter-greenland-nobel-peace-b2903022.html)

The article contains the full text of the letter, which begins

"Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace ..."

For goodness' sake, somebody please give him the Nobel Peace Prize before he blows us all up.

I was just wondering, and just in general terms that have nothing to do with my peaceful pal President Trump, so nobody needs to take offence:

I know that the US Secret Service always has a duty to protect a US president but does that duty include protecting the squirrels that may have taken up residence in his head?

Stopped 8 wars... started 7 of them. Good job, Don!

I mean he did get the Nobel Prize... because someone felt sorry for him. Not sure that counts, though. :P

Quote from: Sephirah on January 31, 2026, 06:46:12 PMStopped 8 wars... started 7 of them. Good job, Don!

I mean he did get the Nobel Prize... because someone felt sorry for him. Not sure that counts, though. :P

Do you think that President Trump would be offended if Maria Machado was awarded another Peace Prize for saving the world from him?

Quote from: MaryT on January 31, 2026, 06:57:24 PMDo you think that President Trump would be offended if Maria Machado was awarded another Peace Prize for saving the world from him?

No he'd probably ask for that one too.

I don't believe he'll be among the living (or at least functional) for 3 more years. The infusions he's getting might slow his dementia-related cognitive decline for another few months, but this is going to catch up with him. He's very old and frail.

The ballroom serves one of two purposes (or both):

1. He doesn't plan on leaving. His election last year caused the 34 criminal indictments to be dropped, as is customary (DOJ policy states that we can't have a convicted criminal in the White House - it's bad optics for the country). He needs to stay in power until he expires or rewrites the rules (even more than he has). Incredibly, magas don't believe he was convicted. They're in denial. He was convicted.

3. He just wants to put his name on another building, to be remembered for more stuff because he's such a narcissist. He's plastered giant banners and photos on other federal buildings, like 3rd world dictators do, put his name on various buildings, forced federal websites to have their copy rewritten to glorify him (and rewrite history).

Quote from: Courtney G on January 31, 2026, 08:18:33 PMIncredibly, magas don't believe he was convicted. They're in denial. He was convicted.

That's kind of how cults work. Believe what suits you and ignore the rest. The whole rest of the world knows he is shadier than an umbrella in the height of summer. That's why everyone is sick of him and his antics. But when you get to make the rules, and appoint people who will enforce them, then you can pretend you're innocent.

It's my hope that once your country is finally done with him, and the chaos he's intent on has subsided, he will only be a footnote in history. Something to teach kids to say "This is how not to run a country."

Quote from: Sephirah on February 01, 2026, 03:54:09 PMThat's kind of how cults work

I lost lots of friends because of him, but very recently I lost a trans friend over this. We were talking about "stuff" and she flipped the script on Ashli Babbit and Renee Good, suggesting that Ashli was gu**ed down in cold blood whereas Renee was trying to run over an ICE agent. Does she know that Ashli was climbing high through a broken window, with an armed officer in the Speaker's Lobby while the mob was trying breach the barricaded door? Yeah, that mob, who'd been yelling "kill Pelosi" and "hang Mike Pence." The mob who'd bloodied and tased Capitol Police officers. Does she think they were tourists? What's wrong with her brain? You can't spin this. Facts are facts. There's video. There were trials. There were convictions. Of course, roughly 1,600 people were pardoned in early 2025, not because they were innocent...

This is just one datapoint in a series of them, from conversations in which she signaled strongly that she's very much in the magaverse. I had been hoping she might be open to figuring out what's really going on, that the guy in the White House is/has:

Not a successful businessman
Is enriching himself (and his children) though blatant violations of the U.S. Constitution's Emoluments Clauses clause and various grifts he's running, and has been sued for this many times
Is a well-documented misogynist, racist and bigot, with a well-documented history of such, as well as a family history
Isn't very smart
Is suffering from cognitive decline
Enacting fiscal policies that hurt the economy
Hasn't delivered on any of his promises except taking away women's control over their bodies and shutting the border/deporting people, although he's not deporting "r@pists, murderers and insane people"; he's deporting people who was dishes and cut lawns, along with their families.
Tried to cheat to win the 2020 election, then lost, yet continues to convince his acolytes that he won because "winning is everything" (even if you have to cheat)
Attacked the free press
Attacked anyone who opposed him or said an unkind thing about him, or roasted him during a press corps dinner, or whose city didn't vote for him
I won't even get into the stuff about underage women/girls

...and on and on

But the magas don't believe any of that. If you point to facts, they pull up some Heritage Foundation-funded YouTuber who spins an opposing tale. It's infuriating. Their answer is "whatabout (so-and-so). It's anything but accepting the truth that's in front of their eyes. These people are going to be studied in history books for generations.

Last year, I tried to share a straightforward video with my friend, which was from Robert Reich (worked for Reagan and Ford) about the economics of DOGE. She wouldn't watch it. I asked her 4 times.

Her position on the facts is that it's just my "opinion" and that not buying into conspiracy theories and proven falsehoods means that I don't respect her "opinion." Honestly, I could care less about feelings and opinions, as they're what got us here in the first place.

This is a tragedy because the friend I'm talking about is a smart and decent person, despite her racist upbringing and general lack of education. I know her goodness to be real, though, and I figured her big brain, plus the trans experience would bring her to question her beliefs and seek clarity.

But Kellyanne Conway coined the term "alternative facts" in 2017 and none of us realized that would be the cornerstone of maga philosophy.

All of this is why it's nearly impossible to reason with people who support this guy. I'm so tired of it.

We're paying attention, but they're not. They just want the brown people gone, because "we ['real Americans'] were here first." Even some trans people, while this administration tells them they're sick and tries to erase them, believe his lies and they support him. It's beyond exhausting.

I have lost family members because of things like this.

It doesn't matter what people believe; that is their right. What matters is their behavior because of those beliefs.

Your friend does not have authority or power over you. You can easily cancel their vote with your own. What matters, and the reason I started this thread, is when one person in authority decides to shape the entire government around his beliefs.

We cannot change anyone's beliefs against their will. Nor should we waste our time trying. Each individual must decide for themselves what changes are needed and act accordingly to make those changes.

There are people who are perfectly content to bury their heads in the sand and live in their own world. We do not have any obligation to live in that world if we don't wish to.

Three things that are never discussed with my MAGA-supporting family:
Sex, religion, and politics.

We will never agree on any of them, so in the interest of having civil conversations, those topics are off-limits.

You and your friend can have the same agreement. It doesn't mean you are no longer friends. It just means you have differing viewpoints. Acknowledge that they are entitled to their beliefs, but you don't need to discuss them.

Ah, yes, but the problem is that these beliefs drive action. They create mobs, for good or evil. If it was just votes, I could deal, but misinformed mobs hurt trans people. They shape the zeitgeist. They decide whether or not our lives have value, whether or not things are easier or harder. Even someone like this person, who really is good and kind and has a good heart, is doing damage by perpetuating falsehoods, by being intolerant of others, for all the wrong reasons.

I can't break bread with someone who won't allow the people I care about at the table. I can't pretend that I can have a relationship with someone who supports a fascist dictator under the condition that we just "don't talk politics." Not giving voice to the words doesn't mean the words aren't there.

And the real tragedy is that this isn't some sort of bad person; this is a good person who just doesn't know what we know. It hurts too much to pretend this isn't happening.

"We're not going to invade Greenland. We're going to buy it," Trump said, according to the report. "It's never been my intention to make Greenland the 51st state. I want to make Canada the 51st state. Greenland will be the 52nd state. Venezuela can be 53rd."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-reportedly-bombed-speech-closed-201603089.html

But, of course, he was just joking. < wink wink >

Wow. Cringe, as the kids say

Trump says Republicans should 'nationalize' elections
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/trump-republicans-nationalize-elections-rcna257098
NBC News - Jane C. Timm
Feb. 2, 2026, 2:25 PM MST

President Donald Trump on Monday said Republicans should nationalize elections and take them over from the states as he repeated his disproven claims of voter fraud.

Federal courts have already blocked Trump from shaping election rules, preventing implementation of portions of his March 2025 executive order, which ordered major election changes including requiring people to prove their citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.

"The Framers of our Constitution recognized that power over election rules could be abused, either to destroy the national government or to disempower the people from acting as a check on their elected representatives," U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in a ruling last week blocking provisions of Trump's executive order, including the proof of citizenship requirement.

She continued: "Accordingly, they entrusted this power to the parts of our government that they believed would be most responsive to the will of the people: first to the States, and then, in some instances, to Congress. They assigned no role at all to the President. Put simply, our Constitution does not allow the President to impose unilateral changes to federal election procedures."

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

Someone needs to be reminded of their Oath of Office, "to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

The Fox Varian case is getting near incendiary wall to wall coverage on right leaning news.  This MSN article is slightly less infuriating. 

Appeals may change the outcome but there is cause for paying attention.  This is a New York case with a holding more expected in Texas.  Two million dollars is significant enough to attract more cases.  I have wondered when this kind of case was going to hit the news.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/this-landmark-ruling-could-change-the-future-of-gender-related-treatments-for-minors/ar-AA1VwE37

Quote from: MistressStevie on February 03, 2026, 09:06:43 AMThis MSN article is slightly less infuriating. 

You can easily spot right-wing propaganda by the terminology they use:

At age 16, Fox Varian underwent a double mastectomy as she transitioned from a biological girl to identifying as a boy.

and

"lax assessment standards by care providers when they consider whether irreversible medical interventions should be offered or given to minors with gender dysphoria."

In this case, a 16-year-old underwent surgery after only one year of therapy. That is unusual. Usually, minors are placed on puberty blockers and remain in therapy until they reach 18 years old.

"lax assessment standards by care providers"? In this case, maybe. But those providers did not operate on a minor arbitrarily. Parental consent is required. Who paid for this? Was it self-pay? Or did an insurance company authorize coverage?

I agree that something went sideways in this particular case. But gender affirming surgery on minors is extremely rare. The right loves to take examples of things that happen in 0.01% of the population and hold them up as if they were common practice. A prime example is the President's claim that kids are going to school and having surgeries without parental consent.

Friends are a bit surprised that I haven't seen more surgeons regarding FFS. I managed to sneak into a surgeon's schedule as he relocated from the midwest to the east coast. The alternative was to wait another 6 months (or more) for consultations, and a couple of years for surgery. In the meantime:

States are getting pressured to drop insurance requirements for gender affirming care
Health insurance companies are breaking off their partnerships with facilities that perform gender affirming procedures
Facilities are dropping many gender affirming procedures from the services they perform
Facilities are keeping a low profile these days, with some barely advertising the fact that they do these procedures - this can be a matter of safety for them.

I think this is why I couldn't find much about my doctor online. In the surgery business, being known for performing these procedures exposed practitioners to trouble.

"as she transitioned from a biological girl to identifying as a boy"

Sadly in the UK our supreme court now deems this is the correct terminology. You can no longer simply be referred to as a girl or a boy if you change gender. At least in the eyes of the law.

I mean, I understand we cannot be biological women but does there really need to be a distinction between the two?

The right-wing media is loving it.

Quote from: Stottie Girl on February 03, 2026, 12:47:48 PM"as she transitioned from a biological girl to identifying as a boy"

Sadly in the UK our supreme court now deems this is the correct terminology. You can no longer simply be referred to as a girl or a boy if you change gender. At least in the eyes of the law.

I mean, I understand we cannot be biological women but does there really need to be a distinction between the two?

The right-wing media is loving it.

No, there doesn't HAVE to be a distinction in law.  If there HAD to be  a distinction because cause of chromosomes and genes, people wouldn't be able to regard adopted children as their own and adopted children would not have the same rights as biological children.

Obviously, in law, love can override biology but that is not happening for transgender women.

The hatred and fear seems to be directed mainly against transgender women.  The women's groups that successfully campaigned for only biological women to be allowed to use ladies' facilities obviously did not have in mind that trans men such as boxer Patricio Manuel should start using them:


If muscular, bearded trans men who have had bottom surgery did start using ladies' facilities, it could conceivably make more people see sense.  However I would be loth to ask them to do so.  I would hate to be responsible for the hate and fear to be transferred to trans men also.

Hopefully, people will again realize that minds are biological and that to have woman's mind is to be a biological woman.

My thoughts exactly and the point has been raised in the uk on several occasions that trans men now legally have to use the female wc's. But there seems to be this blinkered opinion that all trans women are somehow only going through all the pain and life changing surgery just so they can get into the womens changing rooms to spy on CIS women in their underwear. It is totally absurd!

I think I'm going off the point of this thread and decending into a more general rant so I think I better stop there!

Quote from: Stottie Girl on February 03, 2026, 01:53:28 PMMy thoughts exactly and the point has been raised in the uk on several occasions that trans men now legally have to use the female wc's. But there seems to be this blinkered opinion that all trans women are somehow only going through all the pain and life changing surgery just so they can get into the womens changing rooms to spy on CIS women in their underwear. It is totally absurd!

I think I'm going off the point of this thread and decending into a more general rant so I think I better stop there!

I joke about this, saying that we only transition so we can sit in the stall next to another woman while she poos. Because that's really exciting to me. (?)

Yeah, we explode our lives, relationships, marriages so we can be in the same smelly, dirty room with women who are doing the least attractive thing that women do.

Quote from: Courtney G on February 03, 2026, 02:14:25 PMI joke about this, saying that we only transition so we can sit in the stall next to another woman while she poos. Because that's really exciting to me. (?)

Yeah, we explode out lives, relationships, marriages so we can be in the same smelly, dirty room with women who are doing the least attractive thing that women do.

I would be careful joking about that, these days the morons are in charge and might take you literally and lock you up! It's Idiocracy coming true!

So apparently the newest revelation from the famous files we all have been wanting released describes a world where almost everyone in power, world leaders, famous people, scientists, just about everyone who's is rich and powerful is included in this document. And its latest depiction is of satanic child sacrifice, canabolism, and torture.

If this is the case which is seems more and more that it is, especially since off all the files being hidden this is the least horrendous stuff in it, then as someone who is part of humanity, how screwed are we.

Like seriously. What can actually be done to people who have this much power and have been doing this far longer than what we think it has. The world's elite, World leaders, royalty, stupid crazy rich people, and people with power are all in this club.

There won't be any real justice when it comes to these individuals. They may let a few individuals from their club get sacrificed for the illusion of justice and transparency but there will be more distractions and then they will continue on as if nothing happened.

We are so screwed.

Quote from: Robbyv213 on February 03, 2026, 04:07:37 PMsatanic child sacrifice, canabolism, and torture

I follow this somewhat closely, and I haven't heard these accusations. Can you please point me to where you got that?

Quote from: Pema on February 03, 2026, 04:35:47 PMI follow this somewhat closely, and I haven't heard these accusations. Can you please point me to where you got that?

Me neither. Not heard anything about torture etc.

It has just recently started like wild fire all over social media The last day or two. 

One individual said that the Torture was most likely to ensure specific hormones released into the blood stream so that they can they can then harvest that blood for youth and regenerative purposes when transfused.

Another source stated there was a structure on the island that specifically was used for worshiping molac which is demonic in nature specifically for child sacrifice. Even the Bible has mentioned molac and not to participate in its rituals suggesting that these rituals have been going on for a lot longer than jeff was around for.

And In the latest release which was probably deleted off their doj website shows children restrained at a dinner table with what looks like humans tied like a turkey and cooked. Some of which people are saying Its art or from a movie, but then that begs to ask isn't art usually inspired by life, and why such a specific topic that also gets repeated in other forms in different parts of the world.

There are of course no real articles published or released, which I doubt there ever will be. These are all things that people have said they've read from the supposedly redacted files which were released, and they also show or provide pictures of said files, or zoning and or island blueprints documentation of said structures on the island.

Please don't rely on social media for information. That literally helped put a criminal (and possible pedo) in the White House. The "satanic sacrifice" narrative led someone to a pizzeria in DC to exact justice on those who were doing bad things in the basement. The pizzeria didn't even have a basement.

These stories reek of maga.

The "eternal life sacrifice" narratives (or whatever) is some stuff that people made up after watching Johnny Depp play Hunter S. Thompson in a movie. Literally. The discussion of "adrenochrome" was a literary device rather than a real thing. And there's been a whole load of conspiracy garage built around it.

Hmmm. I would be very wary of social media as a source of verifiable news facts these days.

This is the worst part of AI and social media. You begin to question everything and can't trust anything you are being told. Even seeing is no longer believing nowadays!

What these people have been up to is abhorrent but until there is concrete verifiable evidence of what you are describing I'll reserve judgement. Trouble with this rumour is it is equally possible that the worst information is being withheld!

As Courtney pointed out, these stories have been circulating on social media long before Trump and Epstein. They are used to fuel outrage and create chaos.

Some of the people who spread these "conspiracy theories" engage in LARPs (Live Action Role Play) in which they claim to have "inside" information from high-level government officials. (Like Q-Anon) They weave just enough verifiable facts into a load of fiction to promote the game.

Newcomers stumble upon the conversations, not realizing they are a LARP, and start believing it is all true. They start spreading the lies, and away it goes.

My training in Military Intelligence taught me how to spot propaganda like this. The believers will ignore anything that disproves the story and will look for anything that slightly supports it.

What makes it worse is that the media is complicit. I have watched it happen. A fake story starts going viral on social media. A news outlet reports that the story is going viral. Then, social media points to the news story to "prove" it is true.

One of the many reasons I ditched social media many years ago. It is toxic, and the truth is buried under garbage. My suggestion is for everyone to abandon it. But most people won't.

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 03, 2026, 06:18:49 PMAs Courtney pointed out, these stories have been circulating on social media long before Trump and Epstein. They are used to fuel outrage and create chaos.

Some of the people who spread these "conspiracy theories" engage in LARPs (Live Action Role Play) in which they claim to have "inside" information from high-level government officials. (Like Q-Anon) They weave just enough verifiable facts into a load of fiction to promote the game.

Newcomers stumble upon the conversations, not realizing they are a LARP, and start believing it is all true. They start spreading the lies, and away it goes.

My training in Military Intelligence taught me how to spot propaganda like this. The believers will ignore anything that disproves the story and will look for anything that slightly supports it.

What makes it worse is that the media is complicit. I have watched it happen. A fake story starts going viral on social media. A news outlet reports that the story is going viral. Then, social media points to the news story to "prove" it is true.

One of the many reasons I ditched social media many years ago. It is toxic, and the truth is buried under garbage. My suggestion is for everyone to abandon it. But most people won't.

Ahh Q Anon. I worked with a woman who was all in on Q. Like literally thinks that a Credenza listed on Wayfare a certain way is code for child trafficking level into it.

She's also one of the ones that believes JFK JR  is alive and he and Trump swapped places and hes legitimately running secret ops missions to take down satanic child kidnappers, Covid was a 5g super weapon.

After I left retail, I started with an Engineering firm and she was a cad drawer. And when Covid was burning through Italy, that didn't have any sort of 5g network she was with the surveying team one day and goes so, we all know that GPS and 5G is what's causing Covid right and my boss looked at her and goes half our instruments are GPS, if it caused Covid we'd of been sick the last 20 years.

She was gone a few weeks later. And she was perfectly nice, but yeah anything that was said on any alternative media was automatically true and anything legitimately reported was a lie.

There is an old saying that you can't fix stupid... but duct tape muffles the sound a bit.

🤣

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 03, 2026, 09:35:58 PMThere is an old saying that you can't fix stupid... but duct tape muffles the sound a bit.

🤣

PSMSL!

You've got to laugh! I don't want to shut my mind off to what's going on in the world but it's getting hard!

I used to have faith in BBC news as they seemed to annoy both sides of the political spectrum so I figured they must be balanced! But then this deliberate re-editing of Trumps Capital Hill speech was revealed and I no longer trust them. Not a fan of Trump by any means but also not a fan of media cutting and pasting speeches to change what someone is saying either. BBC deserves to get its arses kicked for that one.

As for social Media. Being of a certain age means I can take it or leave it (Yes, I understand the irony of posting that on a social media website!) and have a healthy suspicion of the content on there.

If there is anything we've learned is that most conspiracy theories have some truth. How many have already been proven right.

But yes, it's just eye opening with how certain theories make total sense. Then if you look at the entire world through that lens you can connect the dots. Like why does every school mandate all children get photos taken? And those photos are outsource to a private company that has databases to store all these pictures of young kids. Which can go in multiple directions of facial recognition data over time or so that people in high places can buy them and scout them....

Just saying that when you look at the entire world and all the systems built in society by the people in power it really does make one Wonder and start to believe that everything is connected and done on purpose to manufacture everything that we've been dealing with as people trying to survive in this world. The ultra super rich and powerful and everyone else.

It will definitely be interesting in years to come to see how much of these conspiracy theories actually get proven right.

Quote from: Robbyv213 on February 04, 2026, 11:34:11 AMIf there is anything we've learned is that most conspiracy theories have some truth.

Respectfully, I disagree. I think the vast majority throughout history have been false.

Quote from: Robbyv213 on February 04, 2026, 11:34:11 AMHow many have already been proven right.

I have yet to see a spreadsheet of the list of all of them and their confirmation status. But "theories" for which there is zero evidence can literally never be shown to be accurate.

Quote from: Robbyv213 on February 04, 2026, 11:34:11 AMLike why does every school mandate all children get photos taken?

There are many possible justifications for doing this, many of them very sensible. And like anything else, there are many ways that this information can be misused and abused.

I agree with you that we are living in a time of vastly disproportionately distributed wealth and power and that the powerful are using and abusing their enormous resources to subjugate and deprive the majority of people of rights and quality of life. But we don't have to invent theories. It's enough to see exactly what is happening and call it for what it is. It doesn't have to be farfetched or mastermind-level evil; it can just be garden-variety greed and corruption.

Quote from: Robbyv213 on February 04, 2026, 11:34:11 AMIt will definitely be interesting in years to come to see how much of these conspiracy theories actually get proven right.

I just don't think anybody's going to maintain statistics on how well these conspiracy theoreticians perform.

For many years, my father would tell me about his wife's uncanny luck at the riverboat casino. "She came home the other night and had won $500 again!" I was always skeptical. Years later he told me that he eventually found out about the multiple credit cards she had maxed out on her way to losing more than $200,000.

As they say: Even a broken clock is right twice a day. (But the other 1438 minutes, it's wrong.)

I had my first school photo taken around 1971 and my last one in the mid 80s. There was no face recognition, no databases, no computers, no internet.

All kids were required to participate. Maybe there were a few exceptions, but it was rare.

The photos were contracted out to private companies.

Occam's razor.


They're just school photos, not some Deep State plot.
I'm not going to talk about this anymore because it's absurd. Also, the earth is round and "chemtrails" aren't real, and trump lost in 2020.

Have a nice day.

Quote from: Courtney G on February 04, 2026, 01:29:36 PMI had my first school photo taken around 1971 and my last one in the mid 80s. There was no face recognition, no databases, no computers, no internet.

I have my school photos from the 60s. Good luck identifying me in those. 😆

Wow I really seemed to hit a nerve here.

Well, people's belief in things that aren't true put a fascist dictator in the White House, so there's that.

I haven't really had much interest in the Epstein files, if that is what is being discussed.  However, I think that it has become one of the biggest and most pointless witch hunts in history.  Just proving that someone met or even socialised with a criminal is not proving that they knew of or approved of what was going on but it is already destroying careers.

Whenever authorities ask for witnesses to come forward, witnesses come forward.  In an age without newspapers, mass media, social media or telephones or even regular mail, and even in small and relatively remote communities, there was no shortage of witnesses who were prepared to accuse their neighbours of being in league with Satan and performing evil miracles that defied the laws of nature.  False witnesses can come forward for many reasons, including malice, money and even mental illness.

As has been pointed out, some of the accusations on social media seem about as likely as those made in, e.g., 17th C Salem but even the more plausible accusations are not necessarily true.  In an age of mass media, I believe that wrongful convictions could occur because the Prosecution highlights hundreds of plausible accusations without a jury getting to consider the thousands of impossible accusations.

It may be because I haven't been paying enough attention but I am not even aware of any proven offence in the Epstein case that is illegal in Britain, which has a lower age of consent than the USA.

Don't take it to heart @Robyv213. We are all just a bit sceptical of conspiracy theories. The earth is flat, the iluminati, Roswell, we didn't land on the moon etc etc. There are a lot of tinfoil hat conspiricies getting bandied around on social media and people just get a bit exasperated.

Still, the world would be a boring place if we all thought the same way. Embrace the differences and agree to disagree.

I wouldn't say that @MaryT. There's hell on in the UK today over Peter Mandleson's dealings with Epstein. It looks like he has been either giving away or maybe even selling top secret government information to Epstein. The police are now looking at a possible criminal prosecution.

Kier Starmers position is looking very precarious as he appointed him US ambassador even though he knew he had still had dealings with Epstein after he was released for jail. His own MPs rebelled against him forcing him to release the appointment briefing notes today.

Plus Prince Andrew has clearly been using Epstein for a high class prostitution service. I'm not sure on the legality of prostitution in the UK but the fact he appears to have been doing it in state owned palaces and other Royal buildings is a scandal at the very least.

I'm not a big conspiracy fan and generally averse to hyperbole in any media context. However, I agree with Robby that a different set of rules, a different kind of justice, seem to apply to the rich and powerful than to the rest of us. And I agree with Mary that many lives have been ruined or, at the very least, made worse by all the brouhaha. Where I respectfully disagree, is this adverse impact seems to be affecting victims far more than the innocent bystanders who just happened to hang out with Epstein following his conviction for solicitation of prostitution, or whatever the minor charge to which he plead guilty. Ghislaine got a puppy. I'm happy for her. 

Quote from: Stottie Girl on February 04, 2026, 03:59:05 PMI wouldn't say that @MaryT. There's hell on in the UK today over Peter Mandleson's dealings with Epstein. It looks like he has been either giving away or maybe even selling top secret government information to Epstein. The police are now looking at a possible criminal prosecution.

Kier Starmers position is looking very precarious as he appointed him US ambassador even though he knew he had still had dealings with Epstein after he was released for jail. His own MPs rebelled against him forcing him to release the appointment briefing notes today.

Plus Prince Andrew has clearly been using Epstein for a high class prostitution service. I'm not sure on the legality of prostitution in the UK but the fact he appears to have been doing it in state owned palaces and other Royal buildings is a scandal at the very least.

I don't think that the allegations against Mandelson and Andrew Windsor have been officially proven yet.  Andrew did pay a civil settlement while still denying responsibility.  Even the prostitution aspect might be legally complex in British law, as Epstein's sex parties seem to have cost him money rather than gotten him immoral earnings, and even if Andrew did use prostitutes sent to him by Epstein, he may not be the one that paid them.

Quote from: MaryT on February 05, 2026, 10:40:22 AMI don't think that the allegations against Mandelson and Andrew Windsor have been officially proven yet.  Andrew did pay a civil settlement while still denying responsibility.  Even the prostitution aspect might be legally complex in British law, as Epstein's sex parties seem to have cost him money rather than gotten him immoral earnings, and even if Andrew did use prostitutes sent to him by Epstein, he may not be the one that paid them.

There are documents that look very much like Epstein was funnelling money into Mandlesson's (whilst he was a minister) and his husbands accounts. The other body of evidence seems to be circumstantial but there is so much of it pointing in the same direction. There are allegations that Epstein was supplying information to the Russians and if true you have a Government minister in a very close relationship with and receiving money from a known peadophile who is possibly selling or handing information to the "enemy".

A lot of things that Mandlesson has been up to was well documented and the scandal has current weight due to Starmer's incredibly poor judgement in appointing him US ambassador. I actually think Starmer might end up falling over this.

None of this will help victims of course and I wonder if people in America are even aware of it.

We have been watching all of the fallout.

But, at this point, that is all we can do until those in authority take action. So far, it is all just an allegation, and no criminal charges have been filed.

We will have to wait and see what happens next.

Keep paying attention.

Quote from: Stottie Girl on February 05, 2026, 11:51:37 AMI actually think Starmer might end up falling over this.

It's not looking good for him. He's stepped on every mine in the minefield since he became PM. Often jumped up and down with glee.

Quote from: Sephirah on February 05, 2026, 06:58:38 PMIt's not looking good for him. He's stepped on every mine in the minefield since he became PM. Often jumped up and down with glee.

Well I wouldn't shed a tear if he left. His brand of Labour (ie New Labour) is not what the country needed. I think if he goes, the party needs to lurch to the left and look after the working class who have no representation and are actually considering voting for Farage's Reform party. Farage is a wolf in sheeps clothing but the working class do not have any other options to vote for as this current labour leadership is ran by and for the elites.

I'd better get off my soap box!

One of the reasons that I do not watch TV news is that I cannot control what stories come up next, and some really upset me to no end.

This morning, I was scanning the news online for articles of interest to our members when I saw stories by reliable networks claiming that Trump posted a racist video on the internet. The post came from a MAGA account.

When questioned about it, the White House spokesperson defended it!

Bigotry of any kind does not belong anywhere in civilized society, especially in government. Most social media sites forbid it. This was not a case of them reposting something an idiot made. They made it, posted it, and then defended it.

I am so disgusted with this Administration right now.

I am going to unplug for a bit and calm down. This man-child needs to be removed from office immediately.

Quote from: Stottie Girl on February 06, 2026, 03:27:40 AM...
Farage is a wolf in sheeps clothing but the working class do not have any other options to vote for as this current labour leadership is ran by and for the elites.
...

Farage is a wolf in wolf's clothing but I get your point. 

I think that the main drift towards Farage is the real fear of how overcrowded and underfunded Britain can cope with  the huge influx of illegal immigrants.  I really do sympathise with people looking for a better life but Britain survives on borrowed money and borrowed time.  It may be bigoted of me to regret the changes to British culture that have occurred in my lifetime and it is not entirely the fault of immigrants that local pubs are closing because there aren't enough alcohol drinkers or that many fish and chip shops were replaced by curry dens.  However, there are real dangers in allowing tens of thousands of unvetted aliens into our country, especially since many of them soon drop off the radar.

My own chagrin is directed not towards the illegal aliens.  I sympathise with people who risk life and limb to escape from tyranny and poverty.  What gets to me is that the illegal aliens are risking life and limb to escape to Britain from FRANCE, the land of liberty, equality and fraternity! 

I don't even blame the French, who receive the immigrants on their Mediterranean side and put the refugee camps next to the English Channel.  I don't even blame the French police who some witnesses claim are not trying to catch the aliens but are chasing them into the dinghies to cross the channel.  The fault lies with a succession of more and more ineffectual British governments.

That is what I think is driving increased support for Farage.  If we vote him in, though, I think that most of us will live to regret it.

Farage is one of Trump's best buds. If he hadn't been convinced to lead Reform, he'd have been on a plane to the US to help with Trump's re-election campaign. He literally said as much when he announced he was standing. That really tells you all you need to know. He's as trustworthy as a snake with an apple fetish.

There is a big difference between Trump and Starmer though. Trump tells you what he's going to do, then tries to do it. However bonkers it is. It attracts bonkers people. He is up front about being completely stark raving mad, though. Starmer basically lied through his teeth about his whole manifesto. He did a total bait and switch once he got into power. In some ways that's worse.

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 06, 2026, 10:20:38 AMI am going to unplug for a bit and calm down. This man-child needs to be removed from office immediately.

I'm sorry, hon. I get it. People can be so ugly.

There were plenty of folks in the part of NJ in which I used to live that would (a) think that was funny and/or (b) get frustrated because "it was just a joke." There's a lot of the same where I live now. Hint: both are rural areas.

That's the position of the privileged. They know little about the world, except that it revolves around them. Privileged people don't really know they have privilege because they don't have to know. And they think that people who are struggling to find their place in this world should just shut up and behave. They feel they were here first and they've worked hard and that others are just complainers.

Quote from: Courtney G on February 06, 2026, 07:03:50 PMI'm sorry, hon. I get it. People can be so ugly.

There were plenty of folks in the part of NJ in which I used to live that would (a) think that was funny and/or (b) get frustrated because "it was just a joke." There's a lot of the same where I live now. Hint: both are rural areas.

That's the position of the privileged. They know little about the world, except that it revolves around them. Privileged people don't really know they have privilege because they don't have to know. And they think that people who are struggling to find their place in this world should just shut up and behave. They feel they were here first and they've worked hard and that others are just complainers.

You are right. People who think it's okay don't know because they don't need to know. Suffering is running out of your favourite brand of lipstick. Everything else is just background noise.

I kind of think that anyone who wants to hold political office should first be made to live for a year in another country. Then six months in a deprived part of their own country. Just to actually experience what weight their decisions will have. Maybe then they'd have an idea about what it actually means. But very few people in politics these days have any experience of anything other than being in politics. Or having a lot of money. Which usually goes hand in hand.

Thanks, Courtney.

One of the many reasons I left the service was that it seemed the country I love so much had become something I despised. I could not in good conscience continue to defend that. And that was back in the 90s.

There was a time when we elected representatives to speak for us in government. We elected leaders to represent our country and its interests in the international community. Someone who was respected and could be counted upon when needed.

Congress stopped representing the People and started representing the Party. Almost every vote, up or down, is reported to have been settled "along party lines". And they pass laws and vote on things that the People did not ask for. Those are things the Party wants.

And now, somehow, we have a leader who is a laughing stock in the international community. He has no respect for others, and others do not respect him. He is unreliable and untrustworthy.

The People in other countries are sympathetic, because they have similar situations in their own countries. But their governments look at us and say, "What did you expect? You elected a convicted felon and sex offender!" It's not like nobody knew his past before he ran for office.

It just makes me sad that such a racist, pathetic buffoon is the "leader" and "representative" of our country in the world. And the kicker is that he is dangerous. I said before he got elected that he would do whatever he could to stay in office indefinitely, and he will not hesitate to silence anyone who opposes him.

Every day, we see it more and more clearly. Right here on our streets.

To be fair, the guy is pushing 80 years old. However long he wants to persist, nature has natural mechanisms in place. Next time, elect someone at least roughly in the same age bracket as the people who voted for him.

What I would say is that... the world might think Trump is a joke, but we haven't lost any respect for our brothers and sisters still serving in the US military. For those who are in these circles... it is just very sad that the once shining beacon of freedom in the world is now donning SS uniforms under a different kind of tyrant. Because chain of command.

Yeah but when Trump goes (assuming he doesn't try to change the electoral system so he can run again because...Trump!) It might be possible that we get Vance or some other MAGA loon. Now that's a scary thought!

Lori, the UK system is guilty of not listening to the public too in all fairness, we do have more checks and balances to rein in or remove anyone going totally off the rails but it's hard to say they really represent the will of the people.

Voter turnout at the last election was 59.7% and of those who bothered to vote only 33% voted labour so labour is ruling and claiming a mandate with only a tiny minority of people who voted for them. Not only that, they aren't even following their own policy manifesto. (there was nothing in there about going after trans rights!)

I didn't even vote at the last election as for the first time there was no single party who I felt I could support. I have voted in every election since I was legally able. I feel a real sense of futility, change is needed everywhere.

Has anyone else noticed that the president is not looking as orange as he used to?  I hope he's alright.

Quote from: MaryT on February 08, 2026, 03:47:46 PMHas anyone else noticed that the president is not looking as orange as he used to?  I hope he's alright.

I don't

Maybe he sprung a leak and all of the Tang® is spilling out.

Macron urges Europe to start acting like world power (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8n1zdnpd3o)

"Today, we Europeans are on our own. But we have each other. We are 450 million people. It's huge. For me [becoming a power] is the fulfilment of the European adventure.

"We came together to stop war, we came together to build a market. But we always forbade ourselves to think of power."

Asked about the latest stand-off with Washington over Greenland, at the end of which US President Donald Trump appeared to back down from threats to annex the Danish territory, Macron said the Europeans should not be fooled.

"At the end of a crisis, there is a cowardly tendency to sit back and say 'phew'. There are threats and intimidation, and then suddenly Washington gives way. And people think it's over.

"Don't believe it for a single second," the French leader said."

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

So President Trump may have caused the creation of a united European superpower to rival the USA.  Napoleon must be dancing in Hell.  Britain would be just offshore of that superpower, Big Brother's island aircraft carrier, as Orwell predicted.  Napoleon wanted Europe to merge with the Russian Empire.  That could still happen.  Eurasia and Eastasia permanently at war with Big Brother's territory, Oceania.  Perhaps the USA had better annex Australia and New Zealand before Eastasia gets around to it.  I'm sure that the Trump administration must be thinking of it.  One annexation at a time, though.  Start with the easiest.  I would.

Robby, I owe you an apology.

Nine-year-old girls?

Bodies buried at the Zorro Ranch?

Please keep sharing what you discover about the most heinous crimes committed in my lifetime. And I served during the Vietnam War.

Next time, I will do my research before I hit the send button.

Quote from: MaryT on February 11, 2026, 05:11:09 AMMacron urges Europe to start acting like world power (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8n1zdnpd3o)

"Today, we Europeans are on our own. But we have each other. We are 450 million people. It's huge. For me [becoming a power] is the fulfilment of the European adventure.

It's about time. 
Heres a quote from the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on that subject, from about a year ago:

"500 million Europeans ask 300 million Americans to protect them from 140 million Russians"

 https://poland.news-pravda.com/en/poland/2025/03/03/10358.html

The trouble with Europe is that they're too busy arguing with each other to actually come together. Maybe Trump's insanity will be the catalyst, but you have to keep in mind you have thousands of years of animosity between different European countries. Telling people to come together is a whole lot easier than actually doing it. Rather than states under a federal government, Europe is made up of sovereign countries... all looking after their best interests. Often with centuries of animosity bubbling under the surface.

It's a good idea, I just don't know how realistic it is. I know there's this whole thing for "The United States of Europe" but I don't know how much water it actually holds.

Britain is well out of the EU political union in my view. It's just that our useless politicians are totally inept at reaping the benefits. However, if NATO falls apart I see no reason why there shouldn't be a European force/ military pact. We are stronger together in that regard. Pollitically the UK has always felt different to the continent.

We also must never forget about the commonweatlh nations either. They came to our aid in our time of need (twice in fact) and should never ever be forgotten. It's about time we forged closer trade and military ties with the likes of Australia, Canada and New Zealand. I think the EU relationship has caused the UK governments to somewhat sideline these nations for decades and it's time to renew bonds.

Trump vows voter ID requirements for the midterms, 'whether approved by Congress or not'
In social media posts on Friday, the president said if Congress failed to approve legislation mandating voter ID, he would issue an executive order.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/trump-vows-voter-id-requirements-midterms-rcna259018
NBC News - Kyla Guilfoil
Feb. 13, 2026, 7:12 PM MST

President Donald Trump said in social media posts Friday that he would issue an executive order to require voters to show identification in the midterm elections if Congress fails to act.

"If we can't get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted. I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order," Trump said in the post.

In another, he wrote, "There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!"

Trump has called for Republicans to "nationalize" and "take over" the administration of elections. ... the Constitution states that "... shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof."

Nate Persily, a law professor at Stanford University, said that an executive order mandating changes to elections would be unconstitutional.

"It's not an isolated tweet here, right?" Persily said of Trump's posts. "There's a lot that's going on. So you've got the action in the legislature, in Congress, you've got these, the earlier executive order, you have the seizing of the ballots and other materials from Fulton County, right? And so it's all of a piece with the desire to have greater federal oversight of elections."

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

Federal oversight = control.

If you can't win by playing by the rules, you change the rules.

The Supreme Court has made it perfectly clear throughout history:

"A law repugnant to the Constitution is void. An act of Congress repugnant to the Constitution cannot become a law. The Constitution supersedes all other laws and the individual's rights shall be liberally enforced in favor of him, the clearly intended and expressly designated beneficiary." ~ Marbury v. Madison, (1803)

"An unconstitutional act is not a law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; it affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation as inoperative as though it had never been passed".  ~ Norton v. Shelby County, Tennessee (1886)

Now, we wait and watch to see if anyone is willing to rein in this madman.

I agree, Trump is blowing smoke if he thinks an executive order is going to stand for mandating voter ID. 

But According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in August 2025, 83% of U.S. adults favor requiring all voters to show government-issued photo identification. Support included 95% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats.

The poll also found majorities across racial groups backing the requirement, including 85% of white adults, 82% of Hispanic adults and 76% of Black adults.

Makes you wonder why democrats are not on board with this?  Perhaps there's something in the bill that's not acceptable, but they are not making any effort to find middle ground.  Why not?

Voter ID would go a long way to squashing Republican complaints about voter fraud. 

There are those that spout that it will disenfranchising minority voters.  Well a number of years ago, one of the alphabet networks went in to several black communities expecting to get a stories about how hard it is for them to get a photo ID.  All they got were people laughing at them, telling them "What are you talking about, We all got ID's"

I want the government out of more of my business, but I want voter ID.

I'm genuinely curious what the issue is with regard to needing ID to vote?

I'm assuming you have to be a US citizen to vote so doesn't everyone have access to some form of ID? like drivers license, passport, bus pass etc. In the UK, if you do not have an acceptable photo ID then there is the option to apply for a special voting certificate so everyone is covered.

Haven't heard of any issues when we introduced it.

A large percentage of poor people (this means lots of minorities) don't have driver's licenses or other federally-recognized ID but they are American citizens and they have a right to vote. Requiring them to obtain ID will suppress their vote.

In addition, systematically marginalized people (minorities) are more cautious regarding an involuntary requirement to be documented. Historically, that sort of device was used to repress them even further in the past.

Republicans target minority voters.

Quote from: Courtney G on February 15, 2026, 10:05:24 AMA large percentage of poor people (this means lots of minorities) don't have driver's licenses or other federally-recognized ID but they are American citizens and they have a right to vote. Requiring them to obtain ID will suppress their vote.

In addition, systematically marginalized people (minorities) are more cautious regarding an involuntary requirement to be documented. Historically, that sort of device was used to repress them even further in the past.

Republicans target minority voters.

This.

And it is being used as a springboard for voter intimidation. Trump's advisers have already stated that they want ICE agents at the polls (which is also illegal) in large cities in Blue states. The White House did not rule it out. The only reason for this is to scare away anyone who might be intimidated, thereby reducing the vote count.

https://time.com/7371900/steve-bannon-ice-election-donald-trump-leavitt/

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 15, 2026, 10:32:57 AMAnd it is being used as a springboard for voter intimidation. Trump's advisers have already stated that they want ICE agents at the polls (which is also illegal) in large cities in Blue states. The White House did not rule it out. The only reason for this is to scare away anyone who might be intimidated, thereby reducing the vote count.

Yup. Anyone who has *close* friends who are people of color will tell you that they have a healthy fear of anyone in a uniform. Their feeling that is the there are NO law enforcement personnel that exist to "protect and serve" them; that's not how it works when you're black. I don't expect most people to understand this. As a matter of fact, I know many will say something ignorant like "If they would just obey the laws...". But I encourage you to do some deep reading on the subject if you're willing to open your mind to a long-standing and very uncomfortable reality.

So yeah, armed officers at voting places? Perfect way to keep minorities from voting, just like the strategic closing of polling places in areas with a lot of minority voters who can't afford to take an entire day off to vote. And on and on.

In order to have a representative government, all of our citizens must be afforded the right to vote and that right must not be suppressed.

Twenty-five states bar community members from voting, simply on the basis of convictions in their past.

Are they not introducing a free voter certificate for those who don't have ID?

If someone is an illegal immigrant surely they can't vote anyway so they wouldn't/shouldn't be at the poling stations in order for ICE to round them up? What would be the point of ICE being there at all?

Not trying to delibrerately be argumentative here, just asking.

I'm not blind to reports of US police heavy handedness towards ethnic minorities or frankly outright murders that are going on, they do make our news. But I figured, taken as a whole, that would have been a minority, a few bad eggs?

We can have a joke on with ours and most of them aren't packing any heat, so maybe it's not surprising I'm a bit naive. I must admit I do find european police who carry guns far more intimidating than UK police.

Quote from: Stottie Girl on February 15, 2026, 01:28:59 PMIf someone is an illegal immigrant surely they can't vote anyway so they wouldn't/shouldn't be at the poling stations in order for ICE to round them up? What would be the point of ICE being there at all?

You are correct that they can't vote, except that in some places, they allow voting only in local elections. So they won't be there. Therefore, the only reason for any law enforcement to be in the area is voter intimidation or to keep the peace if called. They are not allowed within 100 feet of any polling place.

Quote from: Stottie Girl on February 15, 2026, 05:00:46 AMI'm genuinely curious what the issue is with regard to needing ID to vote?

I'm assuming you have to be a US citizen to vote so doesn't everyone have access to some form of ID? like drivers license, passport, bus pass etc. In the UK, if you do not have an acceptable photo ID then there is the option to apply for a special voting certificate so everyone is covered.

Haven't heard of any issues when we introduced it.

You'd be surprised. Lots of low income rural people don't have their social or Birth Certificate and to get them is a PIA. So they don't have actual ID.

Personally I don't have an issue with voter ID. Primarily because there's organizations that will help you get those documents. Or there currently are, that may be the next thing on the chopping block. I'm sure how what passes for the Republican Party these days would deem any attempt to help someone get their social, birth certificate and driver's license in order to vote a crime some how.

But in the U.S. this is two problems. One states handle election standards. Two we don't have widespread voter fraud in the way Trump and other morons allege. For starters it's already a crime to register to vote when you're not eligible. It's a crime to vote. It's already investigated and prosecuted. Know what a bunch of people who are in the country illegally aren't doing? SIGNING UP TO VOTE BECAUSE IT'S NOT WORTH IT TO THEM TO GET CAUGHT.

Also Trump doesn't just want ID. He wants Real ID, Passport, Birth Certificate and SS card. Now I've got two copies of my stuff because I couldn't find mine to update something after my wife and I bought a new home. So I went through the pain to get my social and BC replaced. Then about a month later I found my social and birth certificate. But a lot of people don't have one or both for what ever reason.

If anyone asked to see my birth certificate or passport, I would ask to see theirs first.

Most people don't carry a birth certificate around with them. Passports are not required for interstate travel, so most people don't carry them either. All you need is a driver's licence or state ID card. When you apply for one, they will ask to see your birth certificate, passport, or another form of identification to verify your identity. There are many forms that are acceptable for this purpose. Many states will allow you to register to vote at the same time. Some states issue Voter ID cards; others just accept your driver's license or state ID.

This works because the Constitution states that the States determine the time and manner of elections. Every part of the elections is handled by the States, including the election of their members of Congress. There is no reason for the federal government to be involved until the final Certification of the election in the Senate (for Presidential elections only).

A very large percentage of poor people are white, non-minority, and are more likely to live in rural areas where the access to means of getting an ID is more difficult.  So I don't buy the "suppressing the minority vote" argument.  Also, we are not talking about a huge change regarding the number of states that don't have voter ID.

From the most recent US Census:

•    About 40–45% White, non‑Hispanic (largest numeric group in poverty, because White people are the largest group overall).
•    Roughly 25% Black (African American).
•    Roughly 25% Hispanic/Latino of any race.
•    Around 4–5% Asian.
•    Around 2–3% Native American/Alaska Native, with poverty rates among the very highest but smaller total population.
•    A small remaining share in other or multiracial categories.

How many states have voter ID laws?
Using national policy trackers:

•    Around 35–36 states require or request some form of ID when voting in person (either photo ID or non‑photo ID like a utility bill or bank statement).
•    Of these, roughly 25–26 states specifically require a photo ID to vote in person, with the others accepting non‑photo documents as alternatives.
•    The remaining 14–15 states plus Washington, D.C. do not generally require ID for most in‑person voters on Election Day, although federal law still requires certain identification checks for some first‑time voters who registered by mail.

Yes the Constitution states that the States determine the time and manner of elections.  But recall Under Biden, the Democrats tried to ban states from requiring Voter ID with the "For the People Act" (H.R.1, 2021)

As for Assistance with obtaining IDs - assistance measures such as free cards, mobile DMVs, or waived fees—are common in the 25+ states with photo ID rules, most of which are Republican-controlled. They aim to address access barriers while enforcing ID mandates.  Critics argue they don't fully cover transportation or document costs, but it a far cry from intentionally making it difficult. 

Let's talk Real ID.  The SAVE Act does not require a Real ID. Congress passed the Real ID Act in May of 2025.  Enforcement of it has been delayed multiple times since 2028 when it was supposed to go into effect.

But again, The SAVE Act does not require a Real ID.

I don't like the Real ID Act.  I don't have a Real ID.  I just renewed my driver license and I didn't get the Real ID.

Requiring Voter ID would squash most of the voter fraud complaints of those that think it exists.

I stil want voter ID.     

Obviously a hot topic over there judging by the strong feeling.

In the UK it was prettty much a non issue. Might be because we are one of the most beaurocratic nations in the world! We all have birth certs and if born outside the uk will have documentation proving citizenship. Using these it's possible to get any of the other photo id's that are required.

They can pretty much all be applied for online with no need to go anywhere. The documents arrive in the post. Last time I got my passport renewed it took 8 working days to get it back.

The last major federal incursion and oversight of states' Constitutional mandate to oversee voting was the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Lyndon Johnson signed the 'Act' in response to Jim Crow practices that suppressed the Black vote. Recent Supreme Court rulings have gutted this act and many states are once again pursuing voter suppression strategies. Voter ID laws would not mollify MAGA. Trump would still claim that every election he lost was stolen.

Besides, as others noted, this is about intimidation. About maintaining power. About oppression.

Trump has chipped away at the long-standing wall between church and state. It's just the beginning
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/15/politics/trump-religious-liberty-commission-church-state-separation
CNN - René Marsh, Steve Contorno
Feb 15, 2026

...By this summer, the group — Trump's Religious Liberty Commission — is expected to produce a blueprint for policy changes that could redefine the boundaries between government and religion in American life.

"We have to bring back religion in America," Trump told the commission last year. "Bring it back stronger than ever before."

Discussions by the commission on how to fulfil Trump's mandate have included aggressively pursuing legal action against state and local governments accused of blocking religious expression and withholding federal funding for K-12 schools viewed as hostile to faith. The latter mirrors pressure Trump has applied to colleges accused of failing to protect Jewish students from discrimination.

They have also considered ways to encourage the Supreme Court to revisit decades-old precedent governing the First Amendment's establishment clause, which prohibits the US government from establishing a state religion or favoring one religion over others.

Though the commission has representatives from various faiths, and Jewish and Muslim communities are involved, its strongest threads skew toward conservative views within Christianity.

Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and author of books on religious communication, said the administration appears to be emphasizing Christianity above all others.

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

American Inquisition. Coming soon to a city near you.

Next, Trump will issue an Executive Order declaring transgender women are witches. Here come the pitchforks.

Maybe not. Maybe he will decide that we are not bad people after all and that all humans are children of God and deserve love.

Yeah. Right.

You've got to pick up every stitch...

Quote from: Lori Dee on February 16, 2026, 08:04:04 PMTrump has chipped away at the long-standing wall between church and state. It's just the beginning
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/15/politics/trump-religious-liberty-commission-church-state-separation
CNN - René Marsh, Steve Contorno
Feb 15, 2026

...By this summer, the group — Trump's Religious Liberty Commission — is expected to produce a blueprint for policy changes that could redefine the boundaries between government and religion in American life.

"We have to bring back religion in America," Trump told the commission last year. "Bring it back stronger than ever before."

Discussions by the commission on how to fulfil Trump's mandate have included aggressively pursuing legal action against state and local governments accused of blocking religious expression and withholding federal funding for K-12 schools viewed as hostile to faith. The latter mirrors pressure Trump has applied to colleges accused of failing to protect Jewish students from discrimination.

They have also considered ways to encourage the Supreme Court to revisit decades-old precedent governing the First Amendment's establishment clause, which prohibits the US government from establishing a state religion or favoring one religion over others.

Though the commission has representatives from various faiths, and Jewish and Muslim communities are involved, its strongest threads skew toward conservative views within Christianity.

Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister and author of books on religious communication, said the administration appears to be emphasizing Christianity above all others.

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

American Inquisition. Coming soon to a city near you.

Next, Trump will issue an Executive Order declaring transgender women are witches. Here come the pitchforks.

Maybe not. Maybe he will decide that we are not bad people after all and that all humans are children of God and deserve love.

Yeah. Right.

Beyond it skewing towards Christianity, what's being pushed is this nationalistic, ultra conservative version of Christianity. 

I don't know if anyone has bothered to look into the 7 mountain mandate but that's the blueprint.

There will always be someone in the White House pushing an agenda. That is not new. But in the past, they stuck to their Oath of Office to protect and defend the Constitution, not attack it. Very often, they pushed Congress to expand the rights guaranteed in law.

The Founding Fathers were very wise when trying to figure out what the Constitution should look like. These were not stupid people. They were educated, knew well the history and functions of European governments, and what they were trying to avoid by leaving and creating a new country. They understood what worked and what did not.

Madison's Notes and the Federalist Papers are very revealing about the discussions that were had as they tried to make these decisions. They didn't come lightly. There was much debate on both sides. And when they finally figured out what everyone could agree to, they decided that the very First Amendment should be:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

They also realized that they may need to protect those rights by force at some time in the future. They didn't have a standing army at the time, so they relied on state militias (armed private citizens). Knowing that a government could start imposing restrictions on that, they wrote the Second Amendment:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

And so on through the Tenth Amendment.

Again, these were not decided easily. There were lengthy discussions and heated arguments on both sides, for and against. But, they finally agreed that this is how it shall be in this country. The Constitution is the law of the land and supersedes all others. For centuries, those rights have been enshrined in our Constitution.

And now, instead of protecting and defending the Constitution, he wants to change it because he doesn't like it. Neither the President nor any of his Cabinet has the authority to change any part of the Constitution. That power is reserved to Congress, and only Congress.

I'll have to check and see just how many Constitutional amendments he has already violated, how many times he has done something that a court ruled was illegal, and exactly how many times he has been convicted of criminal activity in multiple states. That will be for my own notes. I won't bore you with the details.

This is just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt, or a spoonful of sugar, or a bottle of bourbon.

I have never been in favor of "pre-emptive" strikes for any reason. We live in a country whose foundation was built upon the principle of innocent until proven guilty.

I don't agree with blowing up boats because they are suspected of being members of a drug cartel. I don't agree with kidnapping heads of state from their homes in the middle of the night. And I don't agree with bombing cities because we want regime change in that country.

When we set that kind of example, we are telling the international community that this is acceptable behavior. It is not. And what's to stop someone else from deciding they want to do the same to us? What's good for the goose...

Every human and every country has an inherent right to self-defense by whatever means they deem necessary.

Does that mean bad guys might buy a gun? Yes. That is their right.
Does that mean some country might want to develop nuclear weapons? Yes. That is their right.

We don't punish people for something we think they might do. We punish them after they are proven guilty. That means they must commit the crime first. Then and only then can punishment be swift and severe. As long as what they are doing is self-defense, we have no right to act against them.

If they harm a hostage, we hunt them down. As John Travolta explained in the movie, Swordfish:

They bomb a church, we bomb ten. They hijack a plane; we take out an airport. They execute American tourists; we tactically nuke an entire city. Our job is to make terrorism so horrific that it becomes unthinkable to attack Americans.

That is how a deterrent works.

During the Cold War nuclear arms race, the deterrent between nuclear powers (the U.S. and the Soviet Union) was retaliatory strikes. Our defense systems are designed to detect and shoot down any incoming missiles... and then launch a retaliatory strike so devastating that no one would dare be the first to launch. It worked and continues to work.

Everyone knows that peace in the Middle East was very fragile. The region is a tinderbox, and no one wanted to throw a match in there. Now we have a deranged madman at the helm who did just that "to effect a regime change."

Worse yet, his cult followers are now declaring that this is a "Holy War" and part of God's Divine Plan.

MRFF has received over 200 calls from more than 50 military installations across all the services since Saturday, reporting similar disturbing pronouncements from their Christian zealot commanders.
Jonathan Larsen - Monday, March 2, 2026
https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2026/03/mrff-inundated-with-complaints-of-gleeful-commanders-telling-troops-iran-war-is-part-of-gods-divine-plan-to-usher-in-the-return-of-jesus-christ/

Now we have Iran attacked, and they retaliated against U.S. bases in various countries all over the Middle East. Those countries have made statements that they have the right to defend themselves. Then we had U.K. military bases attacked.

And now, Poland says it will pursue nuclear weapons on their own.

I think the entire world has gone insane.
Welcome to World War III.

Just a thought but all the places that dumb idiot attacked are oil producers.

I pretty much agrree with everything there Lori. I was not happy when we went into gulf war 2 (gulf war 1 was a liberation so not disputing that) it always seemed a flimsy pretense about WMD's and we were right to call it out. Was an absoloute shambles costing the lives of thousands. Here we are again, gulf war 3 except Trump thinks he can topple a regime just by bombing from above. When has that ever worked? Look how destabilised the gulf is right now. Israel and it's puppet Trump are the agressors here. We know it's about oil Donald just as it was in Venezuela.

If he wants to fight then pick a justified one, Ukraine needs our help so badly and theirs is a just fight.

Is Iran a terrible and viscous state? Yes, of course it is but so are many other states. You can't go around arbitrarily attacking one state because it has oil and ignore all the other attrocities.

Iran, like it or loathe it, is a sovereign nation (as was Venezuela for the record). They have the right to choose their own destiny. If they choose to build nuclear weapons then I would rather they didn't but who am I to argue when my country developed them? If it's about dangerous countries having nukes then how on earth has North Korea not been invaded? Israel has nukes and Iran is living under the fear of that so is it any wonder they want their own as a deterrent?

The UK has for once decided not to be at the beck and call of every US president and I'm proud of our goverments stance. Trump says he's unhappy with the UK and insulted Starmer. Good, that means we are doing something right! For the record, insulting Starmer is our job!

Sorry, you touched a nerve there Lori! Rant over. Bloody politicans!