mtutiger

lol

Look, I think that there's a belief out there that the Civil-Military relations are still what they were pre-Trump 2.0, which may explain some of the contradiction here.... but we have seen Trump at numerous times use the military in ways that have politicized their work. Whether it's his speech in NC earlier this year with marines in the background hooting and hollering like it was a campaign rally, or his use of the National Guard in CA, DC and (potentially) in IL, just a couple of examples of him helping to instigate the breakdown in trust between civil society and the military. So while I would love to believe nothing more than this is a Commander in Chief that is acting upon reasonable direction from the military, by virtue of his actions since resuming office, I just can't do it. The trust is gone.

To be clear, you are asking us to uncritically accept the actions of an administration led by someone you regard as "the orange moron", correct?

The thing I keep going back to is that the latest reporting is that they have still not briefed with Congressional leaders and, as of last night, still were scrambling to come up with a legal rationale for what they did. I don't know if they were carrying drugs or not, but as of right now, they have provided no answers to the our representatives (ie. Congress) as to why they did this or what authority they were acting under while pursuing this. As someone concerned about government overreach or a runaway executive branch that is unaccountable to the people, forgive me for not seal-clapping this stupidity

The ultimate call for shooting at that boat falls to the Commander in Chief, Donald J. Trump. A person who is perhaps the most profligate liar in American life today. Again, forgive me for not taking anything coming from this administration at face value. Given how often they lie, nobody owes them their trust.

Do we know they are drug smugglers? Do we even know there were drugs? Given this administration's congenital lying on pretty much every topic, forgive me for not taking anything they say at face value

I know you're being sarcastic here, but it's gonna be real fun when the rate cut hits and the market continues to sputter while prices continue increasing.

That's exactly what he's saying.... If I was in the business of running a company or making money, it'd scare the **** out of me.

They can cook the books all they want, but if the Biden years taught us anything, all the data in the world isn't going to override what people see in front of them in their day to day life.

I don't think they respond to public pressure, but I do think their colleagues in the House/Senate can and will respond to it. Even if it seems hopeless, they shouldn't stop trying. The fact that Bobby Jr. was taking fire from actual GOP Senators yesterday (not just Ds) is directly tied to the CDC director and leadership making it as difficult as possible for them to be removed and subsequently raising the profile of the moves IMO. Opponents of this administration (including Ds but also others) should learn from it. And raising the profile of the moves raises the salience to voters, who then apply pressure as well when they figure out they cannot do things they once took for granted (ie. getting a COVID shot)

Worth noting that his pick to run BLS hasn't been seated yet and that the leadership is still interim.

Also per Joe Weisenthal, the US has lost 77k manufacturing jobs this year.

Probably, although I do think his health is still declining. It's in his nature to grift, so of course he will continue to do so until his last dying breath

If one is a Christian and believes, it's ultimately out of our hands. But put me on record as believing that St. Peter is pulling the lever on him the moment he strolls up to gates.

I know that it isn't seen as socially acceptable to speculate on his health like many are at the moment... But let's be honest with ourselves: in the event that he does have some major medical event that inhibits or incapacitates him from executing the job, do people really expect to get factual information from this administration? Or to not cover it up until they absolutely have no choice? The scrutiny on Biden and his health only makes it even more inexcusable for the media to be silent when there is clear evidence that should at least prompt some sort of inquiry or even scrutiny of the administration as to his health. The American people deserve to know

The bruises on his hand and his cantaloupe ankles should probably be garnering more attention IMO...

Look, I don't really buy the internet rumors and speculation about an impending demise... But one thing I am convinced of is that the administration is not being forthright about his general condition health wise. And that if it wasn't Trump and it was Joe Biden (or literally any other politician), the press would be asking a lot more questions.

Oh wow... The cover of a right wing rag! Sick bern bro! Don't you ever stop to ask yourself how pointless and nihilistic your obsession with identity politics is?

I absolutely loathe doing it, but if certain folks want to make it everything about identity, there's no shortage of RWNJs that can be highlighted for their actions.

The thing that gets me is how in our case the noxious bull**** we choose to endure doesn't, materially, make us any better off. Eight months in, on top of all the macro items G2 listed in his final sentence, from a policy standpoint the average American is materially poorer and worse off. Whether it be from the OBBB, extremely high tariff rates being imposed, inflation (some caused by the tariffs, some by other factors). We've had roving gangs of federal officials in multiple cities, despite the fact that the American public largely doesn't want it. Vital parts of the government, including now the CDC, are on fire... expertise is leaving, and if we have another pandemic anytime soon, we are boned. The list goes on and on. It'd be one thing if the cultural nihilism came with economic policies that were more beneficial (and popular).... but these guys are all stick and literally no carrot. There's no real reward for any of it, just a more divided, more inequal society and a government that exists to serve Donald Trump's vengeance and not it's people.

I am sympathetic to Eric's point that mental health is a factor, particularly as we become more isolated and AI becomes more prevalent. But "mental health" is a pretty amorphous topic that, in a country of 350 million people, isn't going to lend itself to a one-size fits all solution. Like, even if the GOP didn't just scream "mental health" as a way to run out the clock on the news cycle and actually cared about making progress on that front, I don't think there's a policy change or additional funding on that issue that brings down the prevalence of these events at scale that doesn't involve access to guns. And that discussion has been determined to be off-limits and politically incorrect by our GOP overlords.