Trump+Musk; the DOGE and Pony show continues -Trump thread #140

[Spandauer]

Trump, as out of control as a faulty Tesla, takes an ICE pick to the Constitution.

Thanks to @AcrossthePond55 and @Jaichangecentfoisdenom for the thread title and sub-title 😊

Photocollage: Cold War Steve
Map illustration: Barry Blitt

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5286872-the-orange-man-and-the-state-of-his-union-trump-thread-139

Elon "empathy is weakness" Musk seemingly on the verge of Tears because Tim Walz was being "mean and evil" laughing at the fall in Tesla stock prices

https://youtube.com/shorts/JIxv7_L5wEM?si=adFwLDojCD6XN-3W

Snowflake ❄️

It just goes in one direction for these people doesn't it?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20x7z36d56o
And the wind changes direction again...

Now he's mad Russia..

Sorry, at Russia... only just had my morning coffee..🤣

I think the term Mad Russian describes him perfectly.

Is he though? Mad at Russia I mean?
I sometimes think the whole thing is a vast elaborate show cooked up between him and Putin with an aim for both of them to come out on top and all-powerful. When I heard he was now "angry with Putin" my immediate response was not to actually believe it.

Yes, it's all very performative. About as believable as gladiators.

That's the problem with these wannabee Nazis. They only see the pictures in their history books. They should also read the text.

No self respecting nazi would ever show such craven self pity. It would be the clearest demonstration they are weak and needed to be removed from society.

Forever.

What was it that attracted you at first Elon ? The uniforms ? The rallies ? The bombast ?

Maybe. Although I think Putin played him by making him look foolish with his peace deal, so it feels like a backstabbing.

*Amending to even more foolish than usual.

@Wallaw Yes, there's that, too. They are all so convoluted and Machiavellian (sp?) I find it hard to get my head round it all.

Musk was supposedly once kicked down a flight of stairs at school he was bullied so badly.

There's a clip going round with some us male comic noting that all this time the focus had been on tackling sexism from the 'jocks' guys on us football teams that no one bothered to check in on the problematic nerds like Musk and Thiel

Grim reading.
(Gift link to WaPo article in his Bluesky post)

From Philip Bump/WaPo/Bluesky
I asked a number of people who study democracy and history where they thought the U.S. would be in 5 or 10 years.

bsky.app/profile/pbump.com/post/3lloeqgp4uk2b

Without reading the article, @Spandauer, I am assuming the answer is “Up Shit Creek Without a Paddle”?

Oh shit. Does this mean that Scrotus is going to want to 'claim' NZ next as 'necessary to US defense'?

Well, hopefully that'll take the heat off of Greenland. At least for a bit.

By the end of his term, we aren't going to have a friend left in the world. But maybe that's part of the plan.

The US could just walk in. We scarcely have any armed forces to speak of at present, however, there's no sign that the MAGA crazies even know we exist.

South Korea and Taiwan spend lots on defence. Not sure about Japan. Australia hasn't spent much but the UK/US are building it some expensive submarines. No sign of any attention, even less ire, from the magas in this direction.

The US could just walk in.

they are already there. many, many bases across europe.

Can anyone explain to me what it means for the Democrat Senator Cory Booker talking on the floor for hours? I understand it's disrupting and well done him I just wondered how it worked. Do all senators have to stay and listen?

Strength to him for making a stand

Haven’t seen the context but I imagine he was “filibustering” which is where someone will stand and talk to time a bill/vote out. If I’m getting it right, each debate only gets a fixed amount of time and once someone is on their feet and talking they do not have to yield the floor until they choose to. People do things like take a book in with them and just start reading from it and if it’s a coordinated thing others will join in so after a couple of hours they will yield the floor to another person who will continue talking.

You can filibuster in the UK but the rules of the HoC mean people can only talk about the subject of the debate, so you don’t get the epic ones like in the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster

Apparently it wasn't a filibuster but thanks CaveMum

Morten Moorland/Times

Actually none in NZ due to its nuclear-free policy. I don't think there are any in Australia either but I'm not sure.

@CaveMum Stackhouse?

Then I have no idea! 😁

I honestly don't think you could come up with a more complicated political system than the US!

It's pretty much just 'holding the floor'. As long as Sen Booker speaks business is somewhat brought to a standstill. At least business to be transacted on the Floor is. But more importantly, he's calling attention to what Scrotus and his cronies are doing. As long as he speaks the media is covering it.

He's doing what the late John Lewis called on all of us to do; “Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.”

John Lewis made this statement on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 1, 2020 at the commemoration of the March on Selma.

Thank you @AcrossthePond55

What a man, what an achievement... I am not sure if it's still going (because of time difference here) but he has certainly spoken for 15 hours... 7pm until 10am the next day.