The Trump Presidency, Season 2

[Cindy Claveau]

I think I'll take a little break from politics. Maybe just watch an old episode of Bridezilla. That should be a nice little escape from .... oh, ffs........

Since the election, I have watched a grand total of zero TV news. I still keep up randomly through links in my feed and of course, VVO. I don't miss it one bit, and I am definitely feeling more mellow without that pollution in my head.

 

[Essence Lumin]

Since the election, I have watched a grand total of zero TV news.

I can't even get tv news. I have two streaming subscriptions neither of which does news and I don't have any rabbit ears. Actually the firestick probably has a news app but I am not familiar.

 

[detrius]

I can't even get tv news. I have two streaming subscriptions neither of which does news and I don't have any rabbit ears. Actually the firestick probably has a news app but I am not familiar.

I'm currently on a webcomic & manga binge on "Webtoons", which I recently discovered.

There's a lot of crap on that platform, but some content is quite entertaining.

For example, I found this one quite funny: https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/i-became-a-level-999-demon-queen/ep-1-demon-lord-raina-rubellite/viewer?title_no=6880&episode_no=1&webtoon-platform-redirect=true

(It's got the ridiculous Isekai premise, incompetent gods, property taxes and every single character in that comic is a total dork. It's hilarious.)

 

[Casey Pelous]

Since the election, I have watched a grand total of zero TV news. I still keep up randomly through links in my feed and of course, VVO. I don't miss it one bit, and I am definitely feeling more mellow without that pollution in my head.

I was making a (little) joke about Kim Jeong Trump being a Bridezilla about his Special Day, but I'm also with you -- I'm pretty much done with news. I figure if it is important, I'll learn about it here. "Important" would be something like the US surrendering to Russia/China/North Korea/Canada/Moldova/Kansas, a complete overthrow of the Reign of Error, or confirmation that they've started rounding up the heretics and I need to stock up on ammo. Otherwise, I'll just assume that what's happening is some previously unimaginable form of shitshow and let it run its course.

 

[Essence Lumin]

"Important" would be something like the US surrendering to Russia/China/North Korea/Canada/Moldova/Kansas, a complete overthrow of the Reign of Error, or confirmation that they've started rounding up the heretics and I need to stock up on ammo.

Well...there is a certain large earthquake area there in the upper left corner of the country.

 

[detrius]

Not always.

 

[WolfEyes]

Well...there is a certain large earthquake area there in the upper left corner of the country.

Only because there is a huge assed fault line running off the coast. That is the real reason those volcanos exist.

And no, do not send that POS here. I'd never survive prison.

 

[Casey Pelous]

Well...there is a certain large earthquake area there in the upper left corner of the country.

Pfffft. We're totally ready. You know that lahar* that's gonna come down the side of Rainier at about 8 zillion miles an hour and run right through Puyallup and thereabouts? There are sirens that are (probably) going to go off to let you know it's coming so NO PROBLEMO.

It's kind of like the advice that if a grizzly attacks you, you should play dead. Playing dead won't save you, but it's good practice for what you'll be doing in about 15 seconds.


* Lahars are one of only a few really scary things that can happen in a volcanic eruption. None of us worry about lava, and lots of people here lived through the ash storm from Mt. St. Helens, but lahars are terrifying. One way a lahar occurs is when all the snow on the mountain melts at once -- not an exaggeration -- and the former snow, now water, takes everything loose in its path on a rip-roaring adventure ride to the sea. Herculaneum is buried under the remains of a lahar.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Since Chinese copy everything, this was bound to happen: behold the first Chinese Trump impersonator selling some hot dogs in Chongqing!

TikTok - Make Your Day

 

[Free]

Since Chinese copy everything, this was bound to happen: behold the first Chinese Trump impersonator selling some hot dogs in Chongqing!

TikTok - Make Your Day

'Chongqing' comes off like a Trump racist covfefe-ism. So pretty appropriate.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Chongqing's a pretty good restaurant with a few locations in the Fraser Valley if anyone from here visits there. Try the Mongoli Beef.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

An interesting essay here, raising a point I'd never really considered.

Shadow Cabinet

A Positive Form of Opposition

snyder.substack.com

In the UK, the Opposition has a "shadow cabinet"

Like so much else in British public life, the institution of the shadow cabinet was unfamiliar to me, but I soon grew to appreciate and admire it. The "cabinet," of course, was the assembly of government ministers, led in Britain by the prime minister. The party in opposition (the Labour Party when I arrived in Britain in 1991) appointed its own leading members to "shadow" each government minister, including the prime minister.

Shadow meant follow. The shadow ministers "shadowed" the actual ministers, in the sense of following their every move, criticizing policy and offering alternatives. Importantly, the shadow minister was always available to offer commentary to the press on his or her area of expertise. This greatly enriched public life. At any point a journalist, and thus the public, had access to an alternative point of view, one which was both pertinently expert and politically relevant. Shadow ministers did not always become real ministers after the next elections, but often they did.

Timothy Snyder considers what form a similar institution might take in the US, and what benefits it might bring.

Great Britain, my home for a few years in the early 1990s, has passed through some rough periods since then, especially since the Brexit referendum of 2016, which led to a depressing departure from the European Union. That referendum was an event very much like the first election of Donald Trump: at the same moment, unexpected, internet-driven, supported by Russia. But Britain, of course, always had a shadow cabinet. There was always, at the darkest and dumbest of times, an alternative team. Over there, in the United Kingdom, that alternative team, much of what was once a shadow cabinet, is now in power. That system can work. We should try it.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Apple's CEO Tim Cook personally donated $1 mio to Trump's inauguration fonds. Just another big tech bro licking Trump's ass, joining Amazon, Meta, Über and Sam Altman.

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/03/tim-cook-apple-donate-1-million-trump-inauguration

 

[Free]

Trump, Who Incited Insurrection, Accuses Biden Of Making Transition 'As Difficult As Possible'

Four years after trying to stop the peaceful transfer of power, the president-elect claimed Biden is engaging in "lawfare such as has never been seen before."

www.huffpost.com

"How dare the guy who is still president for a couple weeks keeps doing president things!" What a whiny ass little bitch he is. Why do we keep doing this to ourselves?

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Mark Zuckerberg announced a re-orientation from Facebook towards "free speech", taking X as role model. He wants to get rid of fact checks, and move towards easier rules and less restrictions.

Mark Zuckerberg on Instagram: "⁠It's time to get back to our roots around free expression. We're replacing fact checkers with Community Notes, simplifying our policies and focusing on reducing mistakes. Looking forward to this next chapter."

471K likes, 75K comments - zuck on January 7, 2025: "⁠It's time to get back to our roots around free expression. We're replacing fact checkers with Community Notes, simplifying our policies and focusing on reducing mistakes. Looking forward to this next chapter.".

www.instagram.com

Also: Trump trustee Dana White has been appointed as member of Meta's board of directors.

Dana White, John Elkann and Charlie Songhurst to Join Meta Board of Directors

Meta today announced that Dana White, John Elkann and Charlie Songhurst have been elected to the company’s board of directors.

about.fb.com

 

[Noodles]

Man, its really sad, but not surprising that all of the big corpos in the country are just, falling lockstep in line here.

 

[Isabeau]

You can always twist things around and justify anything when there are no consequences to yourself.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Trump says NATO allies should spend 5% of GDP on defense. So yes, Trump behaves like a mafia mobster...

"They can all afford it, but they should be at five percent not two percent," the incoming US president told reporters.

Trump has long been skeptical of NATO, the cornerstone of security in Europe since World War II, and last month reiterated a familiar threat to leave the alliance if its members did not step up spending.

"If they're paying their bills, and if I think they're treating us fairly, the answer is absolutely I'd stay with NATO," the incoming US president said in an interview.

Trump Says NATO Members Should Raise Defense Spending To 5% Of GDP

Donald Trump on Tuesday pushed NATO members to boost their defense spending to five percent of GDP, underlining his long-standing claims that they are underpaying for US protection.

www.barrons.com

 

[Casey Pelous]

I move we change the name of the current Zeitgeist to Scheißegeist.

Who's with me?