Has the US crossed the Rubicon? - Trump thread #142

[Spandauer]

Here be dragons.

Previous thread:
www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5307874-are-we-feeling-liberated-yet-trump-thread-141

Apparently, that was his idea of a joke.

In other news, I saw this for the first time this morning, apologies if I missed seeing it already here.
https://x.com/adam_wola/status/1916946294842577040

Adam Isacson from The Washington Office on Latin America on X:
"The House Judiciary's mammoth spending bill for "mass deportation" is now public and will be marked up in committee on Wednesday. Here are all items I see that are $100 million or more. They add up to a staggering $79.52 billion."

He's the best catholic.

@DuncinToffee According to Politico, the UK and India are close to agreeing a trade deal, that will soften the blow.

That would be good, particularly since the EU are hoping to finalise their deal with India by the end of this year. The more of us that can deal smoothly with each other and without the USA the better.

I've just seen some of the clips from the abc interview! I didn't think Drumpf could surprise me anymore but I was WTF at his weird insistence about the knuckle tattoos. I can't link directly to this clip but it's here on Bluesky.
bsky.app/profile/mike-m1967.bsky.social/post/3lnyvmflsic27

Plus this is the full transcript of the interview.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/full-transcript-trumps-exclusive-100-days-broadcast-interview/story?id=121291672

Poor Terry.

The pope 'joke" was basically "lalalalalala not listening!"

Bannon and MAGA Catholics trying to get a right winger into position as the next Pope

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/28/maga-catholics-vatican-pope-conclave

The clip discussing tattoos 🙈 - reminded me of speaking with people who have dementia or some neuro issues. It's really hard not to just go, 'ok' if it's essential you can't agree on a point. I couldn’t be as calm as the interviewer with someone who should hopefully be competent.
The Pope choice influence is dismaying, shocking in this day. I understand some Catholics prefer traditional views on sexuality and marriage etc, but Pope Francis didn't actually change much just started the conversations, that I would hope continue and do result in change tbh (though not a Catholic myself). Still whichever Pope is chosen I can't imagine they'd back some of the human rights abuses some MAGAts love - so they'll still be upset if they remind folk of being kind to others - or is there an actual Cardinal backing their ways?! I didn't really think of US as a Catholic country though, more Puritanical type religions, but just another example of them wanting to rule the world I guess. Wish they'd just go away.

It’s high time we had another black pope, as they have all been white since about 500AD. How would MAGA Catholics cope with that?

Well at least the fiction that religion is anything to do with spirituality is being laid bare.

Jesus wasn’t Pope.

Oh yes he was!

Simon Peter is the first Pope (the rock on which I built my church). Hence the name change.

A Hispanic Liberation Theologist would be great. WWJD? Throw Trump out of the White House, that’s what.

The U.S. economy shrank at start of Trump's second term, with GDP declining at a 0.3% annualized rate over three months ending in March.

It's the first negative reading since the COVID pandemic.

Bannon probably jockeying for Peter of the Romans

https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2025/04/28/cna-explains-what-is-the-st-malachy-prophecy-and-why-are-people-talking-about-it/#:~:text=This%20passage%20reads%20as%20follows,The%20end.%E2%80%9D

Trump has already blamed the decline on Biden era overhang ... cause he's only been in power 100 days. No acknowledgment of the part his tariff announcements might have played in the decline.

All the cardinals heard the homily at the funeral on Saturday. I find it unlikely that a majority of them would vote for someone who would oppose all that it taught.

www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/read-homily-funeral-mass-pope-francis

"His gestures and exhortations in favor of refugees and displaced persons are countless. His insistence on working on behalf of the poor was constant."

From your mouth to God’s ears, as they say.

This. is. sickening.

A two year old in foster care, mother deported, father sent to El Salvador.

Why aren't the dems screaming about this from the rooftops?

https://abcnews.go.com/US/el-salvador-venezuela-2-year-us/story?id=121296196

I do find myself wondering just how captured the MAGA mob are ?

I am beginning to believe that they would actually give up their second amendment rights, rather than their belief in Trump.

And they aren't, what does it say that they would give up their religion to Trump, but not their guns.

There used to be a jokey rule in science: Finks Fifth Law. This says that complexity is related to the square of components, rather than the index. So 2 things are 4 times more complex than one, 3 things 9 times more complex and so on.

If you apply that that to humans then how much more complex are 7 billion over 2 billion ?

About the Dems - why is there not more concerted action and outspokenness about what Trump, the GOP and MAGA are doing to their country? They seem to be passively letting it go by them saying it’ll come right in the mid-terms. No, it won’t, not unless they form a cohesive opposition behind a young leader who is acceptable to a majority (and if that means a white straight male, then so be it, for the moment, ridiculous though that ought to be in this day and age), who isn’t afraid to challenge Trump and the GOP each time they commit an outrage or break the law by completely ignoring it and letting Trump act as King (or Pope).
This is utterly infuriating, they seem to be knowingly sleep-walking back to Hitler’s Germany, without trying to stop it.

I’m sorry, @SerendipityJane, I didn’t really understand your last post and I most particularly don’t understand who the 7 billion and the 2 billion are?

Many times more. Many, many times. God help us all.

Amy Coney Barratt recusing herself from th St. Isadore school case. Leaving SCOTUS with a possibility of a 4:4 split.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/us/politics/amy-coney-barrett-recuse.html

(earlier free link https://cbn.com/news/us/its-about-school-choice-supreme-court-set-hear-religious-charter-school-case)