The grown-ups have left the building - Trump thread #136

[Spandauer]

As we descend into 4 years of madness...

(thanks @Jaichangecentfoisdenom and* *@AcrossthePond55 for the suggestions)

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5200273-hands-across-the-water-trump-thread-135

Withered arms/leg calipers due to polio were a common sight when I was a child. My cousin, just a few months older than me, got polio after his vaccination was delayed as he caught measles the day before it was due. He got polio before it was rescheduled. His arm was affected and he died in his 50s of post polio syndrome.

I went to a village school with only 70 pupils in the 1960s. 2 pupils in my year or the year below had disabilities due to childhood illnesses for which there are now vaccines and at that time the majority of children with disabilities didn't go to mainstream schools.

The Tesla leg caliper. Self driving, you know.

A friend of mine was one of the last bunch of people to get polio as a child, she is in her 60s. She had a non working leg but bags of confidence down to her wonderful parents who drilled into her that she could achieve anything. And she did. But my goodness, it has, of course, affected her greatly
I have no time for anti vaxxers

Not sure anything can be concluded from the myriad of reasons why they didn't vote.
(Similar reasons would be given by the UK voters who stayed at home.)

‘What a circus’: eligible US voters on why they didn’t vote in the 2024 presidential election.
Nearly 90 million Americans didn’t vote – which is more than the number of people who voted for Trump or Harris.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/13/why-eligible-voters-did-not-vote?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Slightly outing
but I have VERY strong opinions about the Stop Polio campaign.

Polio was very, very nearly eradicated but pops back randomly.

If the USA stops controlling it they will (rightly) become a pariah country.

Three letters.

F

D

R

Just a thought

So Scrotus is Time's 'Person of the Year'.

Phffft. So were Hitler, Stalin (twice!), the Ayatollah Khomeini & Putin.

It's not always the 'honor' many people think it is.

The Time did a fact check on their person of the year

@DuncinToffee

Amazing.

I know that 'Person of the Year' really has nothing to do with their selectee's personal ethics or honesty. That it's more 'Newsmaker of the Year' without regards to just what kind of news that person has made. But you'd think they'd chose someone (good or bad) that they didn't have to fact check.

So, just for shits and giggles:

https://time.com/7201574/person-of-the-year-2024-donald-trump-fact-check/

Didn't take long - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/16/trump-allies-extreme-policies-third-term

I'm not sure what strategy to take to get me through the next 4 years... 🍷 or 💥

All those awful, awful people back in Trump's rancid domain. And fecking Farage! What business does an M.P. for Clacton have for being there... again?!

I agree. For starters I am away away for the inauguration and won't watch it. I don't want to know about crowd sizes, Melania glaing at him because she obviously doesn't want to be there and his ghastly family all hugging each other

I'm not sure what strategy to take to get me through the next 4 years...

TBH, I don't think any of us 'rank and file' Americans do. The rich and powerful will have the money to either leave the country for 4 years (as has already started) or to 'fight back' in meaningful ways using that money and that power. The rest of us will just suffer through as best we can; writing letters to Legislators, attending rallies, and donating money to worthy causes to help the poorest among us. It may make us feel better on the surface but none of that really does much to get rid of that knot in the pit of our collective bellies.

And, importantly, we'll be here on our threads for each other.

Just seen an interesting discussion suggesting that the Republicans victory in overturning the Chevron doctrine has basically now kneecapped the federal government that Trumpsters are planning to enforce their will.

TL;DR is that it's opened the door to a state-by-state challenge to federal diktats.

Bonkers. (Has he never heard of The Falkland Islands? Where's Maggie when you need her...?)
As someone commented on Bluesky:
I’m willing to bet the whole chateau that Canadians do not, in fact, want to become the 51st state.

So, what, is Scrotus planning to pull a 'Crimea' on Canada and is ginning the idea that 'Canadians want this' to the American people? How Putin can you get. Gonna invade and claim New Brunswick & Nova Scotia? Or maybe Quebec south of the St Lawrence? What a maroon!

As an American I can guaran-damn-tee you that there are few if any Canadians who want Canada to be part of the US. But I'd bet the family farm that there are a fair few of us Americans who wish right now that where we live in the US was part of Canada! At least for the next 4 years.

C'mon Justin, annex the US West Coast. It's OK with most of us!

Didn't Trump want to "buy" Greenland from Denmark?

Seemed somewhat puzzled when they said No and explained why 'cos he thought it was a "good deal"

I hadn't misremembered

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/18/trump-considering-buying-greenland

Did he get "Greenland" confused with "Green Shield Trading Stamps"? Why would he think it was for sale?

I think Canada has the very real potential to fuck Trump up. If they pull their power to the US, then a lotta states gonna suffer. And there is very little the Orange Jesus can do to save his people.

The thing is, Canada would also suffer a lot as well. Its like Brexit - it did impact the EU in quite a lot of negative ways. It just hurt the UK much more. Whereas Trump does tend to see things as a zero sum game/sell things as such to his followers (they are benefitting from this deal with us = they are taking advantage of us, they will suffer from this=we must be winning). That kind of argument can be quite convincing to some people**. So its whether Canada wants to go all the way in the fuck with us we fuck with you line or not or try to play nicey nice (which could also be interpreted as weakness by Trump).

**Source: relatives who thought Britain would get absolutely everything they wanted from a Brexit deal e.g. one way freedom of movement because "the EU will be hurt by this". Sigh.

Yes, and then The New York Times felt the need to legitimise the whole thing, like it wasn't total insanity, by letting Tom Cotton kiss Trump's giant orange ass on the editorial page.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/26/opinion/politics/greenland-trump.html

I'm trying to work out what would happen if the US invaded Canada who then invoked NATO Article 5...