Well... it's Trump... again. #47, here we go.

[Jimmy Higgins]

The lying sack-o-shit is doubling down on his lie that Ukraine started the war. Trump is such an evil person.

Trump and Zelenskyy trade barbs as US-Ukraine relations sour over the war with Russia

Zelenskyy said Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space” and Trump called Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” in comments that were sure to complicate efforts to end the war with Russia.

apnews.com

He {Trump} advised Zelenskyy to “move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.”

What, he isn't calling him the Green Goblin yet?

And as a note, a lot of the support for Ukraine went into the pockets of our military contractors.

 

[Shadowy Man]

But what actually does matter are the wallets and retail sales dropped $8 billion in January from December. This isn't an unprecedented drop this time of year, however, the magnitude is a bit a higher. Obviously Trump just became President, so the tariffs can't be blamed for that... yet.

Not just a post-Christmas slump? What has the drop been in prior years? You say this year is unprecedented.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

But what actually does matter are the wallets and retail sales dropped $8 billion in January from December. This isn't an unprecedented drop this time of year, however, the magnitude is a bit a higher. Obviously Trump just became President, so the tariffs can't be blamed for that... yet.

Not just a post-Christmas slump? What has the drop been in prior years? You say this year is unprecedented.

Isn't. It dropped a couple billion the previous year. Went up several billion the year before. It will definitely be something economists will keep an eye on. in March.

 

[Shadowy Man]

But what actually does matter are the wallets and retail sales dropped $8 billion in January from December. This isn't an unprecedented drop this time of year, however, the magnitude is a bit a higher. Obviously Trump just became President, so the tariffs can't be blamed for that... yet.

Not just a post-Christmas slump? What has the drop been in prior years? You say this year is unprecedented.

Isn't. It dropped a couple billion the previous year. Went up several billion the year before. It will definitely be something economists will keep an eye on. in March.

so, it may not be a significant effect, in the statistics definition of significant?

 

[ideologyhunter]

What a heartless son of a bitch. In Trump's head, if a country like Ukraine is in the last extremity of defending itself from hordes of Russian invaders and mercenaries, you, as the putative* Leader of the Free World:
> demand 50% of the country's rare metals. Never mind that they are being -- literally -- bled dry.
> call their leader a dictator -- while you form a mutual admiration society with the world's most notorious dictators.
> insist that Ukraine has itself to blame for being invaded.
It's an easy bet that the GOP goes along with every bit of this, that at the most one or two Repub talking heads will criticize it, and that you'll never hear a peep of comprehension about this from the MAGA types you meet in your daily life.

*Putinesque

 

[crazyfingers]

Dump has ordered an 8% budget cut from the defense department for each of the next 5 years. If each of those annual cuts are based on each of the following years, that would be about a 34% overall budget cut.

Presumably that means that Trump plans to let Russia have the rest of Europe and let China have all of eastern Asia.

I don't think that this will go down well in congress where Repugs especially, have been pressing for increase spending on defense.

Gifted article

https://wapo.st/4hHV3Yt

 

[ZiprHead]

Dump has ordered an 8% budget cut from the defense department for each of the next 5 years. If each of those annual cuts are based on each of the following years, that would be about a 34% overall budget cut.

Presumably that means that Trump plans to let Russia have the rest of Europe and let China have all of eastern Asia.

I don't think that this will go down well in congress where Repugs especially, have been pressing for increase spending on defense.

Gifted article

https://wapo.st/4hHV3Yt

That was always a third rail for Republicans. They will grumble but go along with it. Maybe the dems should too.

The devil will be in the details.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Trump pressures DOT and NY to kill Congestion Pricing for NYC traffic south of 60th Street.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said the Federal Highway Administration has "terminated approval" of New York City's congestion pricing plan, the first of its kind in the nation, which went into effect earlier this year.

The DOT shared a letter from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, in which he said a review found that the "scope of this pilot project as approved exceeds the authority authorized by Congress" under the Federal Highway Administration's Value Pricing Pilot Program.

Sec. Duffy says it is unfair to the working class. Don't the working class generally not drive south of 60th St?
The big problem is the pricing has reduced traffic and made it 'easier' to get downtown.

"Today, the MTA filed papers in federal court to ensure that the highly successful program -- which has already dramatically reduced congestion, bringing reduced traffic and faster travel times, while increasing speeds for buses and emergency vehicles -- will continue notwithstanding this baseless effort to snatch those benefits away from the millions of mass transit users, pedestrians and, especially, the drivers who come to the Manhattan Central Business District," MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement.

So Trump is needlessly intervening in traffic control now.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

First polls are in and... Trump's approval is low 40s.

Overall, 43 percent of Americans say they support what the president has done during his first month in office, with 48 percent saying they oppose. Those who strongly oppose outnumber those who strongly support by 37 percent to 27 percent.

...

Almost 9 in 10 Republicans support his actions, while 9 in 10 Democrats oppose them. Among independents, about 1 in 3 support what he’s done, and half oppose. The remainder are unsure whether they support or oppose what is taking place.

Sounds like that mandate he thought he had was misread.

 

[ideologyhunter]

As of today, one month done, 47 to go. Or 2% done, 98% to go.
I am out of cuss words. Time to invent new ones.

 

[crazyfingers]

Trump is creating as big a horror show as I reared. He's such an evil fool.

 

[ImGod]

They are dropping a nuke inside the government. It's unorganized and chaotic. I know personally.

PS. I guess my previous 15-20,000 posts went with the forum rollovers. I'm a newbie again.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Well if you had takeover the USPS on your bingo card...

Trump is expected to issue an executive order as soon as this week to fire the members of the Postal Service’s governing board and place the agency under the control of the Commerce Department and Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to six people familiar with the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals.

The board is planning to fight Trump’s order, three of those people told The Washington Post. In an emergency meeting Thursday, the board retained outside counsel and gave instructions to sue the White House if the president were to remove members of the board or attempt to alter the agency’s independent status. Trump’s order to place the Commerce Department in charge of the Postal Service would probably violate federal law, according to postal experts.

Another executive order earlier this week instructed independent agencies to align more closely with the White House, though that order is likely to prompt court challenges and the Postal Service by law is generally exempt from executive orders.

*sigh*

So is this another way to raise tax cut funds? Sell off the post office to whomever? So they can raid the retirement fund?

 

[scombrid]

Post Office in Winston Salem locked an acquaintance out of her mail box until she proved her citizenship.

 

[scombrid]

Yesterday

 

[ImGod]

You should see the internal emails coming out. Every hour they change dates, change payout offers, fire random groups, change when employees return, where they may need to move, etc, etc.

Spouse took early retirement after 23 years. Because she's "unproductive" moving personnel overseas to bases in Germany and Japan.

I hope those people don't have to walk back home.

The target is 40-50% reduction in all agencies and they haven't bothered to look at what they do, look at past performance, or determine if the government can function without them. Just cut 40% of SS administration, 40% DOD, 40% DOT, USDA, EPA, IRS, VA, Energy, etc., etc. 100% of FBI, Education.

The USAID was nothing. Eventually, the system may collapse. I would not expect a response from a government employee on anything this year if you have questions.

 

[laughing dog]

They are dropping a nuke inside the government. It's unorganized and chaotic. I know personally.

PS. I guess my previous 15-20,000 posts went with the forum rollovers. I'm a newbie again.

We missed you.

 

[ImGod]

They are dropping a nuke inside the government. It's unorganized and chaotic. I know personally.

PS. I guess my previous 15-20,000 posts went with the forum rollovers. I'm a newbie again.

We missed you.

I got a new job and got busy with kid's stuff. Life happened for a decade or so.

I remembered the old forum last night, remembered my login today.

Everywhere/everyone else doesn't know what's coming yet.

 

[Axulus]

I mean, it would take months to perform a serious audit of any ONE federal agency, let alone the entire federal government. Yet Musk would have us believe that his handful of 20-something tech bros have found billions of dollars worth of "fraud" in just the last few weeks.

I've said elsewhere that I used to work for a small "community" bank (assets under $1 billion) and when we were audited, we had a group of profession auditors...ALL of them old enough to be served a beer at a bar...and they would look at financials and interview departments and take detailed notes...analyzing it and putting it into a report, with recommendations, that was turned over to management to review. They fired ZERO employees. They cut ZERO spending...that was not their job It took them over a month to do this audit and analysis. So I have a tough time believing that Elon and his Wonderkinds can "audfit" an entire department of the US government in under a week.

Well, it’s obvious to us that they can’t and they aren’t, but it sounds good to the average Trump voter, who seems quite happy with the changes happening because they have been for so long fed a story that the government is big and wasteful and that cuts are necessary.

Just a continuation of the con jobs Elon and Trump excel at which a huge part of the US falls for hook line and sinker.

 

[Axulus]

From above:

I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it's going very well. But today I heard, 'Oh, well, we weren't invited.' Well, you've been there for three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.

When they want a seat at the table, you could say the people have to, wouldn’t the people of Ukraine have to say, like, ‘You know, it’s been a long time since we’ve had an election.’ That’s not a Russia thing. That’s something coming from me and coming from many other countries also.

It's almost like he is a puppet.

Harris told everyone he would end the war by selling out Ukraine. This was obvious he would do this. No one should be surprised. It is what MAGA wanted.

I wouldn't be surprised if Putin cuts a deal with Trump for Ukraine's minerals for some sort of security guarantee to prevent Europe from retaking any part of Russia's ill gotten gains and future plans for further war.