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Trump seems to get fixated on things and unable to let them go. It's like they take over his mind, like fentanyl, tariffs and Greenland. If he had any sort of strategy, he would've been trying to find a way to pull the wool over everyone's eyes on Social Security and Medicaid. He didn't do that, he just kept pressing with his obsessions. The only thing that seems to have made him stagger on tariffs is the stock market, which he seems even more obsessed with as it is his personal barometer of how well he is doing.

Seriously, who watches 100 minutes of anyone talking without being a cult member or a superfan? If you've ever read Rape of the Mind by Joost Meerloo, he talks about how leaders using longwinded speeches are using a form of sledgehammer to break mental resistance as well as re-enforce loyalty. It's something leaders like Hitler and Stalin did but its especially a thing with the North Koreans who've built a state centered around a cult of personality, which I think is what Trump truly desires.

Apparently there were a bunch of articles about him and the KGB that went out today or yesterday and then suddenly disappeared. I tried to view one at the Daily Beast and only got the 401 page.

God, I'm older than Trump now than he was when this scene was filmed.

Man, Thursday nights ... I think that used to be Adult Swim night back in 2001, right? Of course, the only anime they played was Cowboy Bebop at that time. I think there was Midnight Run still going on the other nights with Outlaw Star and Big O? Anyway, probably not going to make much of a dent in things. Hardly anyone watches AXS and Adult Swim is swirling the drain along with other linear cable networks. I think if this happened on a a free TV channel like Comet TV or MeTV, it'd have more impact.

I don't know if I call it optimism but I expect MAGA not to outlive Trump because: 1. Republicans hate each other and the power vacuum left behind when Trump is gone will probably destroy the party's current incarnation 2. Trump hasn't picked a successor but has appointed a lot of people with ambitions to be president to his cabinet and VP. Anyone who thinks that Vance, Rubio, Burgum, Noem, etc. are going to just step aside for the sake of Unity is fooling themselves. Then there's the ambitious outside of his cabinet like Tom Cotton and others who have more or less been molded into being a future Republican presidential candidate since they took office ... which is weird because Cotton is a robotic and uncharismatic bore. 3. They've counted on everyone who voted for them to NOT be people that need some form of government assistance to make it by, which is backfiring. 4. Trump is deteriorating right before our eyes. He can't keep hiding his age forever. 5. Trump isn't interested in the job of governing. He's lazy and wants other people to do the work for him but wants that work to benefit him personally. It's why he's allowed Musk to run rampant even though DOGE has been a bigger and bigger liability every day. It doesn't matter how many bots on social media tell you Elon is a genius at everything and DOGE is saving money, people are feeling it or scared they're going to feel it. 6. Parents will be pissed when he takes PBS Kids away.

I don’t think he’ll have the support to even try again in 2028, especially if his approval ratings keep declining. I also don’t think he has the force of will to pull it off. Just look at that Elon/booger kid press conference—Trump looked weak and small. His head slumped to his chest, and he just looked old. I doubt he’ll be in any condition to lead the fight for a third term—not that it matters since he hasn’t even chosen a successor. When he’s gone, the Republicans—who already despise each other—will turn on one another, and it will be glorious.

A lot of people don't seem to understand the link between inflation and the injection of lots of money into the economy. One of the reasons the COVID stimuli supercharged it was because it went to EVERYONE, not just people who needed it to survive. There were many, many people with high incomes that didn't need an extra $5K+ that just didn't do anything with that money, they just let it sit there. It's one of the reasons that interest rates remain high, to get that excess money out of circulation. Had they set some sort of income tiers for the stimulus, inflation would probably not have been nearly as bad. Trump's plan to "hand out more checks" would just give inflation another shot in the arm. The way Republicans do it, they'll cause some sort of economic collapse.

I've deleted the news section from my iphone, that's helped a little. I still have my local news channel's app, that's about it. It's not that I'm not keeping up, it's just that Trump and Musk are determined to do this North Korea type thing where they're everywhere 24/7. I can check one news source, usually the Guardian, two or three times a day to see what's happening instead of subjecting myself to constant bombardment on my phone and social media.

For fun, let's think of funny and nasty nicknames for Trump's enablers that Democrats still think they're too classy to sink to. I thought of one today: Hawk Tuah Hawley -- cause, you know, when Trump's around ...

Musk's greatest asset has been his ability to convince people he's a genius. The mask is coming off there and when it finally falls, there's just a really unlikeable guy that never shuts up and has managed to create an army of simps.

My family is stocking up on food, getting a garden ready and getting community garden spaces where we can. I don't expect there to be some sort of collapse in the food supply or nuclear war but I see paying way more for necessities being a possibility. We've even talked about learning to make our own clothes if need be. I'm actually extra nervous because I work for a nonprofit that operates Head Starts, Food Pantry and LIHEAPs. We're apparently operating at the whim of DOGE right now. So I'm looking at expanding my skill set because I'm fortunate enough to be GenX around a lot of Boomers, GenXers and Millennials that still don't understand website design, communications and coding. I'm also looking at open source and fediverse options over the oligarch social media. Media we like, looking at physical stuff like DVDs. It's doubly scary because I just bought my first house and have kids.

I saw on BlueSky that someone mentioned that one of the Departments has already declared that it will only do press releases on X and no longer send emails. Musk wanted X to be an "everything app." Now he has the power to force that on us, willing or not. Conspiracy theorists have gone on about this for 30 years. Ironically, it came to pass and it's by a guy who've they embraced. Real-life irony there.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that has had this feeling. I have been wondering if there has been a "Plan B" being made since before the election. I just didn't think we'd be escalated this soon. But Trump looks awful, probably feels awful and we know he doesn't care about who he harms because ... you find the word. Trump alone might've been one thing but the power grab by Musk feels like something else. I didn't see this but apparently BlueSky had this message on searches today: "This is a hostile takeover of the federal government by a private citizen of unlimited means with no restrictions and no transparency. Welcome to the Deep State." It just feels like "something."

Dems need to get people out there willing to throw fruit and rotten eggs at these people. Stop worrying about being called homophobes when someone points out Republicans bend over and spread their ass cheeks and say "please here sir" whenever Trump is in the room. They got to stop doing the "we're going to take the high way" tact. Didn't work. Now's the time to stop being civil and start mocking, slinging mud and running over a bunch of spineless pussies. Who are the "oh, they shouldn't be so abhorrent" wine and cracker eating rich liberals on the coasts going to vote for? I'm sure they wouldn't vote GOP even if a Democrat dumped a big shit bowl over some Republican's head.

I'm seeing a lot of people on social media defending Matt Gaetz because "Epstein." It's like the 2016 equivalent of "her emails."

I wonder if it’ll survive long enough to tell him that SimCity isn’t real life.

I just hope it isn’t Twitter for finger wagers and people who spend 90% of their times digging up bad takes people made when they were young and ignorant. The two extremes (with the online right’s constant bad faith and general shiftiness) turned me off Shitter pretty fast. Bluesky so far has been pretty pleasant without feeling like any take you make, no matter how mild, will end up with a volley of turds being thrown at you.

It helped me to accept that things will be bad and just be ok with your powerlessness to do anything about those in power. We all get mired in this presentism that makes us believe that Joe Rogan is always going to be the hottest shit in media, that MAGA will always be the most powerful thing in politics, that what drove people to the polls for Trump today will drive them to him tomorrow, etc. Change can happen fast. You never know when the last cheeseburger could be eaten or the craven politicians jump ship due to a turning tide. Also, the stars will still be in the sky, dogs and cats will still love their people and bears will keep shorting in the woods. That is at least something that will probably stay the same for now … unless a gamma ray burst we never detected washes over earth and kills all life making all the unnecessary emotional space given to Trump worth nothing. Not trying to be profound. If stuff like the Education Department and WIC are eliminated, my life will be much harder. But how much can I let that take away from trying to enjoy now?

You don’t think he’s expecting a pardon? He is one of the Mark-Lagos crowd that is part of Trump’s personal Greek choir after all.

I think one thing to mull is that Trump is going to be a lame duck president. He doesn’t have to worry about being re-elected but many Republicans do. They got to look at winning again in 2026 and 2028. Since Trump accomplished what he wanted, he’s probably not going to give a shit what happens to the party now. He just wants to stay out of prison and make money. In his heart, he would rather be at parties with Lady Gaga and other people he sees as the “real elites.” It probably kills him that he’s surrounded by people he secretly hates. The dude was at his happiest when he was invited to party with stars and the liberal old money families. Being cast out really eats him.

Many of the sitting GOP know that Trump voters don’t turn out in midterms. If they allow the shit to pile out of the outhouse hole, they’re gone. If they piss off Trump now, they know he’ll have to get over it to prevent getting castrated in 2026.

I really think that he’s dead in the water. Trump may not get his wish for recess appointments if he keeps pushing names like this. Republicans still want power after he is gone and allowing the people he’s named go through is tantamount to potential political suicide for every Republican that didn’t win in a lopsided MAGA state. I really thought he’d deep six RFK after the election because I thought he’d actually be too crazy even for Trump but I guess Trump is nuttier than even his 2020 version.

Well, some good news: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/satirical-news-site-the-onion-buys-alex-jones-infowars-at-auction

He picked a guy who is one of the most hated by his colleagues in the House. It’s like a middle finger to Kevin McCarthy who dragged his balls through gravel and glass to get Trump to love him. I don’t see this bringing together the House Republican factions that hate each other worse than Democrats. The one hope I see in the Trump appointments from the House is that Trump voters tend not to show up when he’s not on top of the ticket. But if you have a district that’s willing to elect Gaetz multiple times, they’re probably already predisposed to electing sacks of shit to office.