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No more Musk, Melania MIA and TACOs for tea: The Idiocracy beds down - Trump thread #144

1000 replies

Spandauer · 29/05/2025 13:28

Second '100 days' working out much like the first, but with a Vance-proof Pope, a bigly white elephant plane, a few more legal push backs and way more grifting.

Previous thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5327971-idiotam-habemus-trumpum-the-bigly-xxx-trump-thread-143

Idiotam habemus - Trumpum the Bigly XXX - Trump thread #143 | Mumsnet

No grey smoke necessary. First 100 days have come and gone. Vance has killed the Pope, Musk is melting away and Trump's tariffs are on a slow boat to...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5327971-idiotam-habemus-trumpum-the-bigly-xxx-trump-thread-143

OP posts:
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173
SerendipityJane · 02/06/2025 10:03

Jaichangecentfoisdenom · 01/06/2025 21:13

There are lots of meme-y type thingies about saying: 86 (slang for get rid of, I think?) 47 (#47, President Trump). Hence $86.47.

You will notice how Google totally didn't know that ....

SerendipityJane · 02/06/2025 10:05

CaveMum · 02/06/2025 07:26

Amusing interview with Jon Stewart talking about the language of politics here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002cqq5?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Armando was on the News Quiz last week:

"...I was just wondering how I would have sold that to Barry Took ..."

of a rather whimsical routine,

PerkingFaintly · 02/06/2025 12:09

Fucking hell.

Reform is doing a raid of personal data of UK citizens in Kent.

Reform won control of Kent County Council.

They haven't nominated Reform councillors to chair the governance and audit committee, or the health and scrutiny committee. In fact they've cancelled meetings of these committees (which perform oversight).

On the other hand, they are bringing in "a team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors" to "visit and analyse" the council's holdings.

They are demanding access to significant volumes of personal data of Kent residents.

The cover story is that they are "auditing" waste.

Reform are openly stating they're modelling it on DOGE, and it looks an awful lot like DOGE's raid of US citizens' personal data.

Reform to begin Musk-style audits of councils
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpw70j1k540o
Rich Lehmann, the party's leader on Kent County Council, said: "This move, along with the cancellation of key committee meetings, feels like a blatant attempt to subvert the checks and balances which ensure all of the council's activities are transparent and above board.
"The fact that they have software engineers offering to work "for free" is of particular concern, given that the data they are forcefully requesting access to would include significant volumes of commercially sensitive information and the personal data of many of Kent's most vulnerable residents.
"This is a reckless move that puts vital council operations and residents at risk."

Zia Yusuf, chairman of Reform UK, during a news conference in London, UK, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.

Kent County Council to be subject of Reform's first Reform to begin Musk-style audits of councils

Reform says a team lead by an as-yet unnamed tech entrepreneur will review council spending in Kent.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpw70j1k540o

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

PerkingFaintly · 02/06/2025 12:11

I mean, this bit springs right out:

they have software engineers offering to work "for free" [...] the data they are forcefully requesting access to would include significant volumes of commercially sensitive information and the personal data of many of Kent's most vulnerable residents.

Serpentstooth · 02/06/2025 12:23

Lawyers please. ASAP

Nominative · 02/06/2025 12:26

I hope every Kent resident is now writing to the council to set out that they do not consent to their personal data going to individual councillors, anyone working for them, their political parties, or to IT/software engineers, and to ask for written confirmation that this will not happen.

BestIsWest · 02/06/2025 13:02

Surely that breaches GDPR?

DuncinToffee · 02/06/2025 13:07

Reform’s “British DOGE” when they finish up looking at Kent Council:

https://bsky.app/profile/stephenkb.bsky.social/post/3lqmizrtvk22l

No more Musk, Melania MIA and TACOs for tea: The Idiocracy beds down - Trump thread #144
PerkingFaintly · 02/06/2025 13:28

BestIsWest · 02/06/2025 13:02

Surely that breaches GDPR?

It will depend on the detail.

But in practice, yes, I'm absolutely sure they will breach GDPR.

The track-record says they will.

They model themselves on DOGE, which has shown contempt for the law of every kind.

The big-data industry in general is built on a contempt for GDPR, and a model of "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission" and indeed, "Asking forgiveness? Hahaha, wotcha gonna do about it, sucker?"

Brexit campaigning was partially conducted via a massive misuse of personal data at the insurance company owned by Arron Banks, now a Reform politician. IIRC he actually turned one of his insurance call-centres into an cold-calling push-polling centre using personal data which had been acquired for the purpose of offering insurance (ie an illegal change of use). IIRC it caused some distress among his insurance staff who were being ordered to make the cold calls – very much not the job they'd signed up for.

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

Further, when I hear "software engineers working for free", I wonder whether the engineers are working unpaid, or whether they are being paid by some actor which is not Kent County Council.

I would absolutely expect it to be the latter. So then you have to ask Who, and Why.

Arron Banks - Wikipedia

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

SerendipityJane · 02/06/2025 16:11

More DODGY than DOGE, really.

Jaichangecentfoisdenom · 02/06/2025 17:26

SerendipityJane · 02/06/2025 16:11

More DODGY than DOGE, really.

GrinGrinGrinGrinGrinGrin

Lalgarh · 02/06/2025 19:09

BestIsWest · 02/06/2025 13:02

Surely that breaches GDPR?

The information commissioner can levy big fines for data breaches. Bigly huge

https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

Make a complaint

https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

RafaistheKingofClay · 02/06/2025 19:35

They can. They are often a bit toothless though.

In linked face eating leopards news lots of MAGA aren’t all that happy with their data being sold to Palantir.

RafaistheKingofClay · 02/06/2025 20:59

www.importantcontext.news/p/out-of-his-depth-sold-his-soul-clueless?source=queue

This is a long read re Battacharya and the NIH. If even half this stuff is true it sounds like an absolute shotshow. RIP US science.

Incidentally I think we might have missed the funding for the HIV vaccine research being cut last week among all the funding cuts for other stuff that got cut last week.

Serpentstooth · 02/06/2025 22:41

What happens if Bigly becomes seriously unwell or dies in office? Is it expected that the current Kennedy will become President or is there some kind of additional democratic (ha) process to decide the future? I would expect an unseemly, elbows out, scramble for position but presumably there's something more formal?

Serpentstooth · 02/06/2025 22:43

Sorry, not Kennedy, the other dead eyed fervent Christian. Vance. I'd blessedly forgotten all about him.

RafaistheKingofClay · 02/06/2025 23:27

I think it becomes Vance automatically then the speaker if a freak lightning bolt were to take Trump & Vance.

RafaistheKingofClay · 02/06/2025 23:30

If the entire line of succession is wiped out there’s a designated survivor. For which there is not only a WW clip but an entire tv series with Keifer Sutherland.

AcrossthePond55 · 02/06/2025 23:37

This is the line of Succession. And under Trump it's as big a rogue's gallery as you'd NEVER hope to see.

Vice President JD Vance
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson
President Pro Temp of the Senate Chuck Grassley
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
Attorney General Pam Bondi
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum
Secretary of Agriculture Dick Rollins
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick
Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem

PickAChew · 02/06/2025 23:47

AcrossthePond55 · 02/06/2025 23:37

This is the line of Succession. And under Trump it's as big a rogue's gallery as you'd NEVER hope to see.

Vice President JD Vance
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson
President Pro Temp of the Senate Chuck Grassley
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
Attorney General Pam Bondi
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum
Secretary of Agriculture Dick Rollins
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick
Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem

Edited

Oh god, you just keep on scrolling until you reach the point where you actually hope for some really effective CPR on those earlier in the list. It doesn't get better the further form the top you are.

Zonder · 02/06/2025 23:56

AcrossthePond55 · 02/06/2025 23:37

This is the line of Succession. And under Trump it's as big a rogue's gallery as you'd NEVER hope to see.

Vice President JD Vance
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson
President Pro Temp of the Senate Chuck Grassley
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
Attorney General Pam Bondi
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum
Secretary of Agriculture Dick Rollins
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick
Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem

Edited

Looks like you have to keep going a few more miles to get to someone decent.

AcrossthePond55 · 03/06/2025 00:20

Taking a look at those cabinet names, now y'all know why there will never be an Article 25 as long as he can string together an incoherent sentence or lift a Sharpie.

'Always Trumpers' down to the last one.

Igotjelly · 03/06/2025 06:34

I have to say I’m missing the laugh emoji. So much that the orange one does calls for it. And that line of succession is something else!

Serpentstooth · 03/06/2025 06:57

Thank you. I was vainly hoping it wasn't as bad as it is. I guess that list shows Bigly as the 'best' choice. Poor USA. Shooting yourself in the foot doesn't really cover it. Bloodless coup will do it.

DuncinToffee · 03/06/2025 09:48

Harrison Ruffin Tyler, Grandson of the 10th President, has died.

John Tyler served in the White House from 1841 to 1845.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/us/politics/harrison-ruffin-tyler-dead.html

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