Trump's Second Term

[theprestige]

Well new Zealand does have to contend with all those orcs and goblins running around the countryside.

I saw it in a movie once so must be true.

No you didn't.

 

[alfaniner]

I have to wonder if The POSOTUS is going to insist on the lyrics to The Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton be changed.

 

[Mojo]

I guess Big Bill Broonzy is going to have to record a new version of "Louise, Louise".

 

[Blue Mountain]

"An evil man will burn his own nation to the ground to rule over the ashes."
- Sun Tzu

It's a nice quote, but Sun Tzu never said that! You lose 5 skeptic points. @LiteBright, @kookbreaker, @esquel, and @shemp lose 1 each for liking it without validating it.

Sun Tzu ‘Rule Over Ashes’ Quote

What sounded like an eerily prescient quote by a Chinese military philosopher about a wish to "rule over the ashes" spread virally in March 2023.

www.truthorfiction.com

 

[TragicMonkey]

It's a nice quote, but Sun Tzu never said that! You lose 5 skeptic points. LiteBrite, kookbreaker, esquel, and shemp lose 1 each for liking it without validating it.

Sun Tzu ‘Rule Over Ashes’ Quote

What sounded like an eerily prescient quote by a Chinese military philosopher about a wish to "rule over the ashes" spread virally in March 2023.

www.truthorfiction.com

It wasn't Sun Tzu, it was his contemporary, Cher.

 

[a_unique_person]

Can' speak for stacyhs, but it doesn't seem likely. The US has been supplying about as much military assistance to Ukraine as all of Europe combined.

Total bilateral aid to Ukraine by donor & type 2025| Statista

How much has each country given to Ukraine? The U.S. provided the highest bilateral aid to Ukraine as of June 2025, followed by the EU institutions.

www.statista.com

I suspect that only a subset of those other contributors (namely UK and Germany) are likely to be able to provide the sort of high-end equipment and munitions currently being supplied by the US at any sort of scale. You tell me: How realistic do you think it is to expect Europe to provide the level of aid the US currently supplies?

Trump's whining is, as usual, I'll informed ignorance.

 

[Blue Mountain]

Still with the Judges

@elonmusk
If ANY judge ANYWHERE can stop EVERY Presidential action EVERYWHERE, we do NOT live in a democracy.

So ignorant. The USA was set up deliberately so that the President could be overruled by the Judiciary. What Musk wants is an absolute monarchy, not a president or a democracy.

 

[TragicMonkey]

So ignorant. The USA was set up deliberately so that the President could be overruled by the Judiciary. What Musk wants is an absolute monarchy, not a president or a democracy.

Both Musk and Trump seem to regard nations as being like companies, with one "boss" in charge, with no restraints or boundaries, who can decree anything at whim.

 

[Blue Mountain]

As of the close of the day on February 14, my positive/negative score on the Trump administration stands at -136, despite the fact I recorded two positive actions.

I didn't post this yesterday, so here are February 13 and 14:

14 February 2025
+1: Executive Order: Establishing the National Energy Dominance Council (+1 for benefit to USA)
-1: CDC shuts down the Epidemic Intelligence Service [31]
-1: JD Vance lambastes Romania for letting a court overturn a national election
-1: JD Vance criticises Europe for allowing immigration, leading to far-right attacks on immigrants
-1: Trump claims without evidence that George Soros funnelled billions of taxpayer dollars to third world countries [32]
-1: Trump refers to New Zealand as a "third world country" [32]
-1: Musk: "If ANY judge ANYWHERE can stop EVERY Presidential action EVERYWHERE, we do NOT live in a democracy."

13 February 2025
+1: Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission (+1 for good intentions)
-1: Trump again insults Trudeau by referring to him as "Governor" and says Canada needs US military protection [29]
-1: Trump claims without evidence that the US DoD paid Reuters $9 million for a study [30]
-1: Senate confirms RFK Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary

I also added another line to February 12:
-1: Senate votes to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence

Footnotes:

29. Trump: "I spoke to Governor Trudeau ... they don't have military protection, and you take a look at what's going on out there ... people are in danger ... they need our protection."

30. Trump "DOGE: Looks like Radical Left Reuters was paid $9,000,000 by the Department of Defense to study "large scale social deception." GIVE BACK THE MONEY, NOW!"

31. Lewis Kamb (@lewiskamb.bsky.social): “We just had word that all our fellows and post doc staff are laid off effective immediately. The famous Epidemic Intelligence Service, aka the Disease Detectives, is no more. That’s 1,260 staff. They are calling this ‘Phase 1’.”

31. Trump: "Lyin' Chuck Schumer is at it again - with the help of Alex Soros (Little Georgie) scheming to undo all the GREAT WORK my administration is doing to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! We found thousands of cases of fraud, waste, and bad for them, receipts. Little Georgie funneled millions and billions of taxpayer dollars to Third World Countries like New Zealand and Congo. And now it's being reported that Democrats have created a "meme" coin - but that will fail like all of their other pathetic attempts to profit off the American people. Americans are smart and won't fall for the coin. MAGA!"

 

[Aridas]

...

Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee the country’s weapons stockpile, sources say

...

Move fast and break things! Because ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ around with our nuclear stockpile, even "accidentally," is totally acceptable!

Just like...

Elon Musk’s DOGE Posts Classified Data On Its New Website“
People are scrambling” to see if their sensitive information has been accessed by Musk’s programmers, said one federal intelligence employee.

Again, Republicans have plunged us into another national security nightmare.

 

[alfaniner]

...

Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee the country’s weapons stockpile, sources say

...

Move fast and break things! Because ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ around with our nuclear stockpile, even "accidentally," is totally acceptable!

Just like...

Elon Musk’s DOGE Posts Classified Data On Its New Website“
People are scrambling” to see if their sensitive information has been accessed by Musk’s programmers, said one federal intelligence employee.

Again, Republicans have plunged us into another national security nightmare.

Of course he doesn't think, but is it really a good idea to disgruntle the people in charge of nuclear weapons?

 

[Aridas]

To poke at USAID, again -

First USAID Death as Freeze Sees Oxygen Supplies Cut Off for Refugee

and

USAID inspector fired after revealing nearly $500m in food aid was about to spoil amid Trump funding freeze
Report from inspector general’s office criticized Trump administration’s attempt to drastically cut USAID

Those are a couple days old, but still worthy of mention, I think.

 

[Aridas]

Also, no one saw this coming!

Trump freezes U.S. law banning bribery of foreign officials

The Corruption Man and Party paves the way for more corruption, yet again? Shock!

 

[Norman Alexander]

Both Musk and Trump seem to regard nations as being like companies, with one "boss" in charge, with no restraints or boundaries, who can decree anything at whim.

That is precisely what MAGA voted for! In just about all their nonsensical ramblings, this is a core theme - Trump running the USA like his (successful - haha!) businesses. And then ignoring everyone who warned them that all of Trump's businesses always fail spectacularly and at everyone else's expense, not his. They've seen him on TV being "successful"; don't need no more convincing he's their messiah.

 

[The Don]

Both Musk and Trump seem to regard nations as being like companies, with one "boss" in charge, with no restraints or boundaries, who can decree anything at whim.

That's not even a well run company where a board of directors provides guidance and direction and then leave it to the well qualified employees to deliver.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Technically, the order to rename the Gulf only extends to the continental shelf of the US, not actually into the middle of the Gulf.
Google could make that clear without violating the Order - but they won't because they think it's easier to just acquiesce and wait for 4 years.

 

[Pixel42]

Royal Society urged to expel Elon Musk as fellows sign open letter

More than 1,700 academics complain about X owner’s behaviour, citing his ‘assault on scientific research’

www.theguardian.com

 

[Mojo]

And then ignoring everyone who warned them that all of Trump's businesses always fail spectacularly and at everyone else's expense, not his.

As far as Trump is concerned that's a success.

 

[a_unique_person]

She has a legitimate grudge with the intelligence community. He wants to clean house. He trusts that she will do that. It's really not complicated.

A legitimate grudge that they call her out for associating with murderous dictators.

 

[a_unique_person]

What's not speculation is that Trump has a clear history of casually giving potential blackmail material on himself to Putin and that his own National Security chief ended up believing that Putin has blackmail on Trump. That's not necessarily why Trump did things like casually passing on what had been top secret information to Russia and paving the way for them to make war, but it is worthy of serious concern no matter what.

Speaking of history, though, Zig's tried to dismiss concerns about Trump's relationship with Russia as nonsense a number of times throughout, generally with extremely unreasonable arguments. That trend looks unlikely to change.

Every time Trump talks to Putin, it's to praise him or trust him. Putin plays him like a master KGB agent.