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

[KCFlyer]

A little fun with AI, I couldn't find the video but this is a screenshot....it was just 1 second long

 

[ImGod]

Efficiency? Fire people hire them back. Maybe fire them again later.

Https://archive.is/Qbsh1

 

[crazyfingers]

Efficiency? Fire people hire them back. Maybe fire them again later.

Https://archive.is/Qbsh1

This kind of thing just keeps happening over and over and just demonstrates that this non-Department of Government Efficiency is incompetent.

 

[KCFlyer]

I had a thought after seeing a story about a post office. Our congress has no problem at all with an unelected foreign drug addict/abuser to oversee a grooup of employees that he can hire and who is not vetted by Congress and we give them access to the source code of government systems, but renaming a post office literally requires an act of Congress

 

[bilby]

One of the odd things was a Biden Presidency spending plan for $400 million on armored Tesla vehicles.

The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase.

A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk, who has become President Donald Trump’s billionaire adviser aiming to dismantle agencies and downsize the federal workforce, was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024, when Joe Biden was president.

It seemed odd as Tesla doesn't have an armored vehicle. Their cybertruck is an industrial strength refrigerator, not an armored vehicle. And its design is effectively in stone based on how shitty of a design the truck is.

Now clear documentation has come out indicating this is a Trump era plan that someone tried to sneak through.

But NPR has obtained a State Department document detailing that Biden's State Department planned to spend just $483,000 in the 2025 fiscal year on buying electric vehicles and $3 million for supporting equipment, like charging stations. It represented less than 1% of the hundreds of millions of dollars likely destined for Tesla vehicles after the Trump administration quietly revised a State Department procurement document.

The vast discrepancy in the numbers raises the question: Was it an error or a deliberate action?

A former Biden White House official familiar with the State Department's plans told NPR the steps taken to advance $400 million worth of government business to Tesla appear to be intentional.

When Trump first debuted the Cybertruck, he claimed it was an armored vehicle.

There’s that great video of them showing how strong it is by throwing a baseball at its window.



I guess that’s not batting a thousand. Musk has a tendency to put things out there without testing or thinking it through first.

That's exactly the video I was thinking off.

Most cars don't have laminated glass in the side windows. The CB obviouly does. That doesn't make it armored.

Yeah, most cars use tempered glass for side windows.

If you hurl a baseball at tempered glass, it bounces off, leaving the glass unblemished.

If it does fail (due to an impact from a sharp object, or a very high velocity impact, far faster than you anyone throw a baseball), if fails completely, turning into small granules that are (mostly) harmless.

 

[ImGod]

Efficiency? Fire people hire them back. Maybe fire them again later.

Https://archive.is/Qbsh1

This kind of thing just keeps happening over and over and just demonstrates that this non-Department of Government Efficiency is incompetent.

While he was playing government, he lost $100 billion in wealth so far this year. If it continues, he'll have to charge too much for x users and that will drop too. Advertisers already are wary. He might end up crashing businesses if a backlash brews and Trump uses him as a scapegoat.

 

[ZiprHead]

A little fun with AI, I couldn't find the video but this is a screenshot....it was just 1 second long

View attachment 49545

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5160998-trump-kissing-musk-feet-video-hud/

A video produced using artificial intelligence (AI) showing President Trump rubbing and kissing Elon Musk’s feet played on television screens in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) building Monday in an apparent mocking of the relationship between the two men.

The words “Long live the real king” were displayed over the top of the computer-generated video, a reference to Trump’s Truth Social post last week in which he wrote, “Long Live the King!”

 

[ImGod]

Veterans on the block.

https://www.militarytimes.com/veter...fers-in-second-round-of-workforce-reductions/

 

[ZiprHead]

From tje link above:

Veterans Affairs leaders dismissed more than 1,400 additional probationary employees on Monday evening, the second round of mass layoffs at the department this month.

Monday’s dismissals included bargaining-unit employees who have served less than two years in their posts. Officials said the moves did not impact any mission critical jobs, but did not provide any specifics of the types of assignments that were eliminated.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Ukraine official says terms of minerals deal agreed with US

Donald Trump says the deal would give Ukraine "the right to fight on" in its war with Russia.

www.bbc.com

Disturbing. Also, Trump is saying he wants Zelenskyy to go to him to sign, which sounds suspicious.

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[Shadowy Man]

I guess they must have been part of the waste, fraud, or abuse.

 

[Swammerdami]

The more rational "side of the aisle" has been in irrational denial for decades. Maddow et al are showing anecdotes about Trump voters coming to their senses. But those anecdotal MAGA fans are the exception, not the rule.

Here are the Gallup approval numbers, sorted, for approval in the first February of a term. (Gallup does about 2 surveys per month, so the Trump-47 result is only partial.)

Kennedy 72
Carter 69
Eisenhower 68
Obama 64
Bush-41 63
Nixon 60
Bush-43 59
Biden 57
Clinton 55
Reagan 53
Trump-47 45
Trump-45 42

Trump is worst but the 2nd term is outperforming his first! (I was a bit surprised that Reagan came in next-to-last.)

Here are details of the latest Gallup poll:

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?​

Second-term trend

	Approve	Disapprove	No opinion
	%	%	%
2025
2025 Feb 3-16	45	51	5
2025 Jan 21-27	47	48	4

Disapproval has risen slightly since January, but the next table shows the disapproval is among Independents. Approval has risen among Republicans! (Or is this misleading? Do Republicans disillusioned in recent weeks now self-report as "Independent"?)

Donald Trump's Second-Term Job Approval by Party Identification​

	Republicans	Independents	Democrats
	%	%	%
2025
2025 Feb 3-16	93	37	4
2025 Jan 21-27	91	46	6

 

[Swammerdami]

Trump constantly bullshits. He makes up lies that even his base doesn't believe. To many of us this is just an example of Trump's stupidity, but an opinion in The Conversation has a different take on it.

Such a ridiculous invention couldn’t be meant to deceive. But it showed Trump’s base, many of whom distrust mainstream information sources, that he couldn’t be made to back down for reporters, no matter the facts.
...
Even conservative pundits initially worried that Trump’s propensity to bullshit would diminish the finite resource that is credibility. They didn’t recognize that credibility is a dubious virtue in strongman politics. Its absence can even be an asset. Acting without credibility is a chance to flex — to show that you can compel others to take you seriously whether they believe you or not.

 

[marc]

There’s that great video of them showing how strong it is by throwing a baseball at its window.



I guess that’s not batting a thousand. Musk has a tendency to put things out there without testing or thinking it through first.

Baseball? I thought that was a metal ball to show how strong the windows on his 'bullet proof' car were.

Of course this demo was a long time before they came out. When it did come out they repeated this demonstration, but with a tennis ball instead

 

[marc]

Want a Green Card, but better? Trump now offering Gold Cards! For a mere $5 million you can get started on your pathway to citizenship!

Trump Announces Plan To Sell Pathway To Citizenship For The Wealthy With Trump ‘Gold Card’

Trump referred to his gold card idea as a green card with a “higher level of sophistication."

www.huffpost.com

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

This will pay off our debt. We just need 6,000,000 people with net worths of $100+ million.

 

[KCFlyer]

Want a Green Card, but better? Trump now offering Gold Cards! For a mere $5 million you can get started on your pathway to citizenship!

Trump Announces Plan To Sell Pathway To Citizenship For The Wealthy With Trump ‘Gold Card’

Trump referred to his gold card idea as a green card with a “higher level of sophistication."

www.huffpost.com

Someone with the name "bin Laden" should mail him a check for $25 million and ask for 5 gold cards.

 

[Shadowy Man]

There’s that great video of them showing how strong it is by throwing a baseball at its window.



I guess that’s not batting a thousand. Musk has a tendency to put things out there without testing or thinking it through first.

Baseball? I thought that was a metal ball to show how strong the windows on his 'bullet proof' car were.

Of course this demo was a long time before they came out. When it did come out they repeated this demonstration, but with a tennis ball instead

Yes. I think you’re right. Sorry.

 

[Elixir]

Efficiency? Fire people hire them back. Maybe fire them again later.

Https://archive.is/Qbsh1

This kind of thing just keeps happening over and over and just demonstrates that this non-Department of Government Efficiency is incompetent.

While he was playing government, he lost $100 billion in wealth so far this year. If it continues, he'll have to charge too much for x users and that will drop too. Advertisers already are wary. He might end up crashing businesses if a backlash brews and Trump uses him as a scapegoat.

Trump still needs his money for the 2026-2028 campaign to eliminate voting.