Trump Redux: The Death of Democracy is now a Horrifying Reality

[Trollheart]

I'm not saying I'm a prophet, but, from "Some Mother's Son", written by me in 2018..

"Eighty million people in New York," Johnson repeated the statistic he had mentioned a few minutes prior, adding "Over four billion in the whole USA. And if you want to talk about the world, well, current estimates talk about one, edging towards two trillion. How can you expect the planet to support a population growth of over three hundred percent in less than two hundred years? Where is the food going to come from? The housing? The medical care? No, no, my friend: Trump I had it right, I tell you. America leads the way, as always. Sure, ya gotta break a few eggs if you want to make your omelettes, and even I had reservations when he  abolished the Senate and the House of Representatives and took all the power into his own hands. But look where it got us. We're the only major world superpower still in existence since we nuked the hell out of Russia and blew the Middle East into the middle of next century. We're the richest country in the world, as everyone who's left has to do business with us, unless they want to feel firsthand the might of our military."

Johnson paused, as if savouring the fact that he lived in a country – the only country – that could kick the arse of any other of the remaining so-called world powers. He was, thought his partner with distaste which he tried not to allow show on his face, a typical American. Herb was thinking of the vid-slugs they had been shown in school when he was young, footage of the time that came to be called Liberation Day, when President Trump gave up the pretence and revealed himself to be nothing more than a power-hungry dictator. Memories of the tanks and armoured vehicles, the helicopters and the masses of infantry pouring up Capitol Hill, and the aftermath in particular, had never left his mind. All those dead senators and their staff. Somehow, it had never seemed right, though once it was a fait accompli, people knew better than to question it. Well, after the first batch of protestors had mysteriously disappeared, anyway. Larry was still talking, his words interrupting his friend's reverie.

"Do you know?" Here he turned to Benson, as if he had not posited this question a hundred times before, "that under the Trump Administration, we have had less crime, less rape, less financial scandals and less wars that at any time in US history?"
And Benson had the usual answer ready, not that it even registered with his partner, much less provoked any kind of reaction.

"Yeah, because rape was legalised, crime families were paid off and made into de facto police forces of their own jurisdictions, and Wall Street: well, we all learned about the Banking Cull of 2025 in junior school, didn't we? As for wars? What country is left that could even stand against the USA? Over, what, two hundred and ten years now, successive Trump administrations – once he'd declared himself President for Life and his heirs his legal successors there were no others - virtually stripped social welfare, medical care, homeless housing projects, the arts, sport - you name it - to enable the military to gorge itself on quadrillions of taxpayer dollars and become the bloated monster it is today. With that kind of muscle behind us, even ISIS and the likes couldn't stop us from taking out the Middle East entirely. You know how many millions died in the aftershocks of those nuclear strikes, Larry?" He asked the question without any hope of gaining a response from his partner, so as always he supplied the answer himself. Not that he knew the exact figure, but he underlined the disastrous consequences of what became known in American (and world - what was left of it) history as OFI - Operation Fuck ISIS.

"Europe still hasn't recovered," he told his partner unnecessarily. "Russia and the former soviet states, all one big barren radioactive wasteland now. Putin's Graveyard, we call it. And all of the countries right down to France, Britain, even little Ireland - devastated, ruined. Famine and disease are not just rife there now, they're permanent fixtures. And we refused asylum," he barked a short, humourless laugh, "to those who wanted to get away, flee to America, protect their families. Why? Because Trump I feared a wave of immigration would bring ISIS fighters into America, who would take revenge for the destruction of their homeland. Even with the power of that militancy forever broken, its infrastructure destroyed and its adherents scattered to the winds, he still feared ISIS. I swear," he gritted his teeth, "If Trump I had been the last man on Earth he'd still be checking under rocks for Islamic militant fighters!"

Johnson grimaced, holding back his anger. Herb was his buddy, but sometimes he really felt like taking the original President Trump's advice, at one of his rallies prior to taking the White House, and kicking the shit out of his partner. He'd never understand. But that was Herb, and he had learned to leave it alone. He'd never be one of them.

[Psy-Fi]

Trump family crypto venture tapped as part of $2B Emirati-backed investment deal

[Buck_Mulligan]

Top Govt. officials have been using a modified version of Signal called TeleMessage, sold by an Israeli company. TeleMessage has now been hacked. While particularly sensitive information was not collected on this occasion, it displays the vulnerability of the product.

https://www.404media.co/the-signal-clone-the-trump-admin-uses-was-hacked/

[Buck_Mulligan]

100% tariffs on all movies shot in Foreign Lands.
No one shall engage in UnAmerican Activities. Just stop it.

https://x.com/DrewSav/status/1919171343779594609

What about a US movie with scenes shot overseas? Please, no awkward questions.

[SGR]

Trump directs Bureau of Prisons to reopen Alcatraz

Donald Trump and The Prisoner of Alcatraz



Don't think this is gonna help with cutting government spending.

[Psy-Fi]

[Trollheart]

Isn't he on the wrong side of the bars??

[Psy-Fi]

Isn't he on the wrong side of the bars??

[Buck_Mulligan]

100% tariffs on all movies shot in Foreign Lands.
No one shall engage in UnAmerican Activities. Just stop it.

https://x.com/DrewSav/status/1919171343779594609

What about a US movie with scenes shot overseas? Please, no awkward questions.

Well that didn't last long. Next brilliant idea please.

https://x.com/henrysgao/status/1919261845187109005

[Auroras In Ice]

What's hilarious is that movies are one of the very few things that the US actually produces and exports to the world. Massive trade surplus for the US lol But, I guess if you can't freak out about a trade deficit (which aren't even bad to have) then just call it a "threat to national security". Good thing you have the braintrust of Howard Lutnick, Stallone, and Jon Voight on the case to put this grievous injustice right.

[Trollheart]

Rocky got knocked out!   

[Lisnaholic]

What's hilarious is that movies are one of the very few things that the US actually produces and exports to the world. Massive trade surplus for the US lol But, I guess if you can't freak out about a trade deficit (which aren't even bad to have) then just call it a "threat to national security". Good thing you have the braintrust of Howard Lutnick, Stallone, and Jon Voight on the case to put this grievous injustice right.

^ You forgot to mention those two tariff gurus: Peter Navarro and his fictious anagram, Ron Vara. In a variation of the phrase "the blind leading the blind", in the US everyone can watch the spectacle of the conman leading the conman.

[Auroras In Ice]

The Carney and Trump meeting was okay. Given that Trump started ramping up the annexation shit again right before the meeting and JD Vance was going to be there, I was anticipating more of a Zelensky-esque ambush. Carney started with a couple appropriately Canadian back-handed compliments which flew over Trump's head, got his talking points out, and just held frame as the adult in the room while letting Trump babble on. Nothing of substance really got done, but I think this was more of a show for Carney's liberal base to reassure them that he can walk into the belly of the beast with a splash of subtle but biting passive aggression which we all love up here lol. Bland and safe, but that's exactly what the majority of Canadians like. Liberals are fawning and saying it was pure brilliance and right-wingers seem split between being mildly impressed and flying off the handle because Carney wasn't brash enough though this segment of the right would be furious if Carney was any bit more hostile because he dared disrespect their beloved foreign God Emperor so... meh, it's just lose-lose with them anyway.

I get why Carney went and what he intended to do, and he accomplished that just fine but I would have preferred he not even bother with Trump at all for now and focus on building relations and trade with other more reliable allies. That shift needs to be visible to people with similar dog and pony shows with other leaders.

[Auroras In Ice]

^ You forgot to mention those two tariff gurus: Peter Navarro and his fictious anagram, Ron Vara. In a variation of the phrase "the blind leading the blind", in the US everyone can watch the spectacle of the conman leading the conman.

I just learned about Navarro ghost writing under that anagram then turning around and citing "Ron Varra" as some brilliant thinker! Just the saddest and slimiest little grift. Appropriate for where he is now lol

[Trollheart]

Some cautiously possible good news about the new pope. The right seems to hate him.

"He is anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis," Loomer, a close Trump ally, wrote on X. "Catholics don't have anything good to look forward to. Just another Marxist puppet in the Vatican."

So now they have to choose between how great it is that God (!) has chosen an American pope for the first time in history, and how miserable it is that he doesn't apparently see Trump as his God! 

Talk about angels dancing on the head of a pin.