The Trump Presidency, Season 2

[Isabeau]

Well, if any of these generals didn’t know by now what a bunch of idiots we’re at the helm, they do now.

 

[Tigger]

So Hegseth apparently

ordered officers to focus on physical appearance and fitness, attacking what he called the “tiring” sight of “fat troops” and “fat generals and admirals”. “It’s a bad look,” he said, adding that he was upping physical fitness testing to twice a year.

What about fat presidents?

But Trump is still really, really pissed off about his birthday parade isn't he. I'm surprised they didn't declare squeaky tanks to be a court martial offence.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Here's a scary thought from the Financial Times

A New York judge famously said a good prosecutor could “get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich”. Should Donald Trump be sincere in saying the 95-year-old George Soros is a bad man who belongs in jail, a flimsy indictment can surely be arranged. It is worth pondering that last line. Any doubts that the US Department of Justice is Trump’s private revenge vehicle were dispelled last week with James Comey’s indictment. Prosecution of the former FBI director was publicly demanded by Trump. A season of Washington show trials may now be getting under way.

Soros would be the cherry on Trump’s cake. Unlike others in his sights, such as Mark Milley, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Jack Smith, Joe Biden’s former special counsel, and Letitia James, New York’s attorney-general, Trump has not directly clashed with Soros. The financier’s prosecutorial value is greater than that; he is detested by strongmen everywhere and seen as an Antichrist on the Maga right.

https://archive.ph/bteeq

 

[Noodles]

And what are the generals doing? Are they clapping?

Hopefully groaning and quetly browing LinkedIn job listings on their phones.

 

[Khamon]

They speakers really quite very much totally pushed the "Secretary of War" and "War Department" verbiage. The Secretary of War spoke of preparing for inevitable war with other countries. The President of War then addressed expanding the existing war against domestic targets.

 

[Isabeau]

Well, apparently, they didn’t clap much and mostly stayed silent which irked Trump.

Honestly, at this point, and from an outsider’s point of view, they’re basically the US’s last hope.

 

[Isabeau]

Roxane Gay (@roxanegay.bsky.social)

If any other president in all of history said the military should use American cities as a training ground he would be removed from office that same day. The hardest thing to tolerate in all this is how relatively silent elected democrats are. It’s ridiculous.

bsky.app

 

[Khamon]

"How relatively afraid elected democrats are" is a clearer way to phrase it.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

100% tariff on movies "not made in the US."

Huh?

Where do these tariffs get collected? Almost nothing physical gets shipped into the US -- movies are distributed digitally now unless someone somewhere is still showing reels of film. (Look it up, kids ...)

Well these were my thoughts, too... but more importantly I have the impression that the average American viewer dislikes dubbed movies in American cinemas, which is why Hollywood has this tendency if foreign movies are working well in let's say Europe to dumb down the stories and recreate them with well known American actors to avoid dubbing. Often the American copy is of much lower quality then, too.

Just to name a few examples: "The day of the Jackal" with Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale from 1973, UK. Recreated in 1997 as "The Jackal" with Bruce Willis and Richard Gere. Or "Le Grande Blonde avec une chausseure noire" from 1972 with Pierre Richard which became "The Man with One Red Shoe" with Tom Hanks in 1985. The list goes on forever.

In other words: foreign movies have no major share on the American cinema market, because Americans do prefer American actors. And if a foreign movie has a story that works well enough, Hollywood will recreate it.

So the most likely target are American productions which are moving production parts to Canada to cut costs, like "Spenser" in the 1980s was partially done in Toronto or "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is being filmed on the CBS stages in Ontario. Probably that type of stuff. There is a lot of American filming done in Canada, which is nicknamed Hollywood's extended workbench. Question is still: how to put tariffs on that?

BTW thanks to AI the problem that dubbing often leads to mouth movements not being in sync with the spoken audio has been resolved. Perfect lip sync dubs are doable now at quite low cost.

 

[Noodles]

Yeah but also how many movoes and TV shows are show in Canada?

There was footage going around of Spider-Man Brave New Day being filmed, NY City cop cars and taxis. Show as in Glasgow, not New York.

 

[detrius]

Well these were my thoughts, too... but more importantly I have the impression that the average American viewer dislikes dubbed movies in American cinemas, which is why Hollywood has this tendency if foreign movies are working well in let's say Europe to dumb down the stories and recreate them with well known American actors to avoid dubbing. Often the American copy is of much lower quality then, too.

Just to name a few examples: "The day of the Jackal" with Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale from 1973, UK. Recreated in 1997 as "The Jackal" with Bruce Willis and Richard Gere. Or "Le Grande Blonde avec une chausseure noire" from 1972 with Pierre Richard which became "The Man with One Red Shoe" with Tom Hanks in 1985. The list goes on forever.

Those US adaptations can even come in a different genre: just look at all those films inspired by Akira Kurosawa movies, like "Star Wars", "The Magnificient Seven" or "Last Man Standing".

(Sergio Leone's "Dollar Trilogy" doesn't count - those were made in Europe.)

BTW thanks to AI the problem that dubbing often leads to mouth movements not being in sync with the spoken audio has been resolved. Perfect lip sync dubs are doable now at quite low cost.

That's one of the best uses for AI that I've seen so far.

 

[Cindy Claveau]

Apparently we are planning to be at war with the rest of the world soon; Trump wants to commission new battleships after firing our competent miliary leaders.

I believe it. Donny knows so much about history he can cavalierly dismiss the advent of air power in WW2, symbolized at Midway.

I'm thinking if they do build another battleship, it should be painted yellow and shoot blanks to symbolize our President.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

So Hegseth apparently

If Hegseth hates fat troops and beards so much he must be pulling his hair out whenever he looks at videos of the new CBP in action, they've been deliberately lowering their grooming and fitness standards to court those types.

 

[detrius]

He's apparently triggered by beards. Cue lawsuits from Sikh servicemen, and heaven knows what all the top brass make of being summoned to hear this in person.

Has he met his VP?

 

[detrius]

What are the chances that Tipsy Pete will overtake Robert McNamara as America's worst SoD?

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

He's apparently triggered by beards.

When I first heard about this, it was paired with it being an underhanded direct attack on black service members, who generally are much more prone to razor-burn/rash if they shave every day.

So by pushing this standard, they're increasing the hardship for them, or giving themselves extra opportunities to penalize them for non-compliance.

Hegseth/Miller et al probably laughed their heads off when they planned this one up in a back room.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Wait -- he actually said we're going to build battleships? Giant slow targets that have to get much closer to the enemy than ships carrying those newfangled "guided missile" thingamabobs? Those behemoths that have been obsolete since WWII????

I'm no expert, and maybe Katheryne Helendale can fact-check me on this, but my "casual spectator" opinion is that any modern USN destroyer is capable of inflicting orders of magnitude more pure hell than any battleship ever dreamed. That's not to even mention the real replacement for battleships; those floating airports with all those bangity-bangity, boomity-boomity fast flying things all gassed up and ready to go on minutes' notice.

I guess some people really need to compensate for certain, shall we say, shortcomings, but isn't a pointless battleship a bit much even for Mr. Mushroom Peen?

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Has he met his VP?

Come to think of it, that's probably what started his pogonophobia.

 

[Noodles]

He probably only wants to build the battleship sonhe van name it after himself.

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-will-fire-us-military-leaders-if-he-doesnt-like-them-2025-09-30/

I seriously just want to vomit acidic bile all over everything right now. But mostly I think the chief target of my outrage is directed at congressional republicans who've fucked us over by abdicating their constitutional duty to keep the executive branch in check.

Spineless self-serving cowards... they deserve a hard damp roach infested threadbare cot in El Salvador.