Turning On The Giant Faucet Of Bullshit - US Politics February 2025

yeah, here is Google's statement on that:

For over a decade we’ve worked with timeanddate.com to show public holidays and national observances in Google Calendar. Some years ago, the Calendar team started manually adding a broader set of cultural moments in a wide number of countries around the world. We got feedback that some other events and countries were missing — and maintaining hundreds of moments manually and consistently globally wasn’t scalable or sustainable. So in mid-2024 we returned to showing only public holidays and national observances from timeanddate.com globally, while allowing users to manually add other important moments.

My best guess on which of Trump's radical decrees won't survive judicial scrutiny is whether the basis in law for whatever he's trying to destroy rests on very specific and precise language in the enabling legislation or simply cites one or more broadly worded standards while passing along the power to the executive branch to create the precise implementation. I don't think we can rely on any of the judicial precedents created around the present interpretations of the law. The original law will have to be very clear in language that leaves little or no room for evasions.

The Trump Justice Department will try to also do, as Trump did, slow down and block lower court rulings that rule against him, and then ultimately appeal to the Supreme Court while keeping agencies shut down on a temporary basis until they get their Supreme COurt ruling a year or so from now.

Meanwhile the Republicans are trying to get their reconciliation budget bill through that will go after the poor on Medicaid.

“This Republican plan isn’t just bad policy—it betrays the middle class. Their proposal slashes critical programs that millions of hardworking Americans rely on, all while adding trillions of dollars to the deficit to bankroll massive giveaways for giant corporations and billionaires like Elon Musk,”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-gop-releases-budget-calling-trillions-cuts-taxes-spending-rcna191215?fbclid=IwY2xjawIZzudleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUl2dIhgzwaEpmzslTo7mIaJBS8PnoL_l2TYX03QDgLX--M5iN2UxbkypQ_aem_2JaHWIfUA9TNE7OORa8WfQ

On one of the government projects I worked on, we always made sure the legislative mandate for the activity was prominently mentioned in every communication, to attempt to preempt doge-esque shenanigans. I've posted my Tommy Thompson story so won't repeat it.

In areas where the pain might reach into red territory, we need to call attention to Republican efforts to soften the blow for *their* voters while screwing over bluer constituencies.

Like the effort to have Food for Peace continue under USDA. Not so fast, bucko. If we can't stop the leopard from eating faces let us make sure it eats some maga ones.

Something to note:

https://popular.info/p/breaking-nih-admits-funding-freeze

I’ve never been more confused than the current era where half of the democrat-leaning social media is questioning why people think the economy is in a bad state, all while their peers or even they are sharing stories about record numbers of unhoused people, crackdowns and laws criminalizing camping or sleeping in public spaces, etc

The reaction to the visibility of people who are panhandling, camping, or otherwise out in public varies depending on your outlook but I can’t help but think “the economy is bad” is a direct result of people who are not suffering expressing empathy, disgust, or a combination at the fact the number of people without consistent shelter went up 12% year-over-year.

The entire system has been shocked by the drawback of covid era relief, gig economy precarity, and rising housing costs but it’s the people who are most visible on the street and in camps who got the worst of it. And the reaction in many places has been to criminalize those who are worst off because apparently everyone else is hoping for some out of sight, out of mind approach

now going after private companies for upholding DEI practices

“Following President Trump’s executive actions, we have ended the FCC’s promotion of DEI,” Carr wrote in a social media post on Wednesday publicizing the letter. “And the FCC will be taking steps to ensure that every company the FCC regulates complies with the civil rights protections enshrined in the Communications Act and agency rules. We are starting with Comcast for the reasons set forth in my letter.”

In his letter, Carr noted that on Comcast’s website the company lists DEI as a “core value” of its businesses and has promoted these values across its television and cable arms.

We all know that Comcast's corest core value is increasing its profits. In second place is increasing 'shareholder value'. DEI comes in somewhere well down the list.

need some blue state governments to start defying federal judicial orders and say either everyone obeys them or nobody does, get in front of the crisis they're clearing itching to trigger and give it a Democratic frame

― fluffy tufts university (f. hazel), Wednesday, 12 February 2025 18:41 (one hour ago) link

This would never happen.

I grant you that in any counterfactual world where this might happen, things would never have gotten this far

Jim Crow states were notorious for simply ignoring federal judicial orders until the Executive branch enforced them via sending in troops. Trump would be delighted to follow that precedent against blue states.

sending in troops to force people to ignore judicial orders?

"them" = the federal court orders
not sure how you could misconstrue that

he needs to win a federal judicial order first is the thing

reading about usaid workers fleeing congo with nothing but their backpacks, and then thinking back to how the media reacted to the evacuation of afghanistan

seems bad:

https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/statement-from-nyc-comptroller-lander-on-the-trump-administrations-illegal-reversal-of-fema-funding/

“This morning, my financial team shockingly uncovered that President Trump and his crony Elon Musk illegally executed a revocation of $80 million in congressionally-appropriated FEMA funding from New York City’s bank accounts late yesterday afternoon. This is money that the federal government previously disbursed for shelter and services and is now missing. This highway robbery of our funds directly out of our bank account is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home.”

seems bad

A masterpiece of understatement.

what that the 'luxury hotels for illegal aliens' they were yammering about?

Trump Musk are firing probationary period ( 1st or 2nd year ) employees now. They’ve done so at Small Business Administration.

no way in hell Putin is gonna visit the U.S.

Why not? He has before

Surely Eric Adams can get his buddy to give the immigration money back! What else are friends for?

(jk I'm sure it's more like Adams will totally downplay this, in case the DOJ maybe changes its mind.)

And — despite my earlier cautionary notes about the judiciary — this seems like a pretty slam-dunk case, assuming the city sues. I think that was an overreach, seizing funds already distributed. They will lose it, but along the way they'll keep claiming it was to put up fentanyl-dealing gangsters at the Waldorf Astoria.

Alternately, $80 million was the cost of Adams' pardon.

fentanyl-dealing gangsters at the Waldorf Astoria

^^Best Vampire Weekend album

Why not? He has before

Apparently he's wildly paranoid these days, full Hoxha.. just kind of hangs around his forty-foot table

A senior Russian security officer who defected last year has given rare insight into the paranoid lifestyle of Vladimir Putin, confirming details of a secret train network, identical offices in different cities, a strict personal quarantine and escalating security protocols.

When Yevgeny Prigozhin made his dash toward Moscow with that mechanized detachment from the Wagner Group it couldn't have reassured Putin's sense of security.

this seems like a pretty slam-dunk case, assuming the city sues. I think that was an overreach, seizing funds already distributed. They will lose it, but along the way they'll keep claiming it was to put up fentanyl-dealing gangsters at the Waldorf Astoria.

but how long would it take to file this slam-dunk case and then complete all the proceedings, including the appeals? sounds like a big job, i don't know 2 years or so? plus add in another half year as a goof, and then it's time to delay the case to let it wait until 2028, when the american people can decide

confirming details of a secret train network, ok this was not an good example to lead with because it sounds awesome

he has food testers, body doubles, the full 007 shit

using those secret soviet era missile trains like in the James Bond movie Goldeneye

taking my secret underground train between all my identical windowless offices. this definitely won't make me go even crazier

I could see him meeting Trump in some safe third country (Beijing maybe), but flying into Dulles? I don't see it

why not just meet trump in the oval office? the whole crew can come over

they could forge greater ties by holding an undersea-cable cutting ceremony

really though, i think the game is up? everyone already knows trump is fine with russia taking over ukraine, fine with the genocide in gaza being interrupted by forced deportations and permanent banned re-entry to their homes. peace in the middle east and let's build some tacky condos and golf courses over the top of the rubble.

in other words, what is to be lost by hosting putin in the oval office? would that break down some new barrier? would it be shocking, at all? trump makes no secret of how much he loves putin and hates nato. they'll probably just meet in some boring non oval office room or something, but i'm not sure who is even pretending anymore

I don't know what to think/say about this video of Kid Musk saying rude shit to El Presidente while Daddy was speed-rapping in the Oval Office yesterday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7XQgI4ZDL0

and as if trump could turn down the dream of a shirtless putin riding a horse and whispering "please explore my secret underground train network with me boss"

Vladimir Putin could have the opportunity to do the thing

Hegseth is warning the Ukrainians not to get their hopes up, and also to start re-learning Russian again

who cares about the kennedy center, i guess (i saw some memorable ballet performances there! felt fancy), but yeah

The Kennedy Center board of trustees voted Wednesday afternoon to install President Donald Trump as chairman of the board, cementing the plan Trump announced Friday to overhaul the storied arts institution with him at its helm. It also voted to terminate Deborah Rutter as president and made former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell interim president, according to multiple people with knowledge of the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

President Trump attended the virtual board meeting.

“It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the vote. “We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!”

At last, a Nugent residency

he's bringing back Phantom of the Opera, but to the Kennedy Center

this will give him a forum to do the YMCA/Double Handjob dance in front of season ticket holders

"Very honored to be selected as the Chairman that I told them I would be selected for.."

Also the new Chairman thinks the Kennedy name is a bit tired and that it might time to update it to someone a little more.. 'contemporary' hint hint

"We don't name centers after presidents who fail to survive the shot, do we folks?"

Well, there IS another Kennedy

would appreciate the grand guignol of a robert f kennedy jr center

https://i.imgur.com/YcKSVfC.jpg

Trump thinks he gets to do a red carpet interview gig as chair of the Kennedy Center right?