The All Things Political Topic - Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence

[Lexx]

All I know is that I will get a lot less money this month, because the USD is going down the crapper.

[Malcador]

1 hour ago, BruceVC said:

I was under the  impression that Trumps doublespeak and selective interpretation of facts was a reason for criticism?

But that should apply to both sides

Shouldn't it be normal to believe in fair and balanced opinions?

 

Was a joke on Fox News and their being a propaganda arm for Trump.  Trump doesn't have a selective interpretation of facts, he's an outright liar.   Not sure what doublespeak is going on here, but oh well.

Trump trying to bash Powell, but good Lord his insults suck.  I believe he likes the USD weak, as that'll help the exports. As long as other nations don't tariff the US back for some reason.

 

 

 

[BruceVC]

https://www.investors.com/news/bessent-us-china-trade-war-unsustainable-trump-tariffs-sp-500/

 

Not a surprise,  Bessent acknowledges China trade war a bad idea 

Markets had some recovery just on this sentiment. Its  clear investors want it to end 

" Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly told an event hosted by JPMorgan Chase that he expects the U.S.-China standoff to de-escalate, characterizing it as unsustainable. The Bloomberg report, which suggests the Trump administration is looking for a way to climb down after ratcheting Trump tariffs up to 145%. That helped fuel a soaring S&P 500. " 

 

 

[Malcador]

Bessent is probably going to eject from this circus soon

[Zoraptor]

Oh yeah Donnie, get those interest rates cut. Pump up the bubble because it looks good short term and on paper and makes you look less incompetent.

People may like to compare Trump to Putin but the correct comparison is to Recep Tayyip Erdogan- funny money policies and lurching from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis because it gives your supporters an endorphin hit.

Then have fun with your 40% annual inflation while trying to keep your currency as world reserve. If there's one thing that'll get it dropped like a rock it's it being worth 60c instead of a dollar after a year.

[uuuhhii]

now usa are going after autistic people

no poor people are safe

[rjshae]

39 minutes ago, uuuhhii said:

now usa are going after autistic people

no poor people are safe

There's a distinct lack of humanity in the cuts I've observed. I'm not sure if that's just because its how they are reported in the Press, or just because the administration is made of wealthy a**holes. Maybe both.

[Malcador]

14 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

now usa are going after autistic people

no poor people are safe

Nah, RFK is going to conclude it's from vaccines probably, regardless of evidence.  

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-autism-study-medical-records/

People's reaction to it is tied into RFK Jr being a grifter, I think 

[Malcador]

https://eu.jsonline.com/story/news/breaking/2025/04/25/milwaukee-county-judge-hannah-dugan-arrested-by-feds-at-courthouse/83270885007/

"Sources have told the Journal Sentinel that ICE officials arrived in Dugan's courtroom on the morning of April 18. When they went to the chief judge's office, Dugan directed the defendant and his attorney to a side door in the courtroom, directed them down a private hallway and into the public area on the 6th floor."

Although, ICE showed up and had no warrant ? Certainly would be on brand

https://bsky.app/profile/ryanclancywi.bsky.social/post/3lnimaviyvs2j

 

[Gromnir]

On 4/20/2025 at 6:54 AM, Bartimaeus said:

The Supreme Court apparently seized the deportation case from Alito after he inexplicably didn't refer it to the Court and then summarily ruled on it without even giving him or Thomas any time to write their dissents at 1 in the morning. If that's not the Supreme Court in a late night panic trying to conserve the little power they have remaining (and in the face of two of their members willingly try to give that away, too), I don't know what is. Waiting for that Gromnir Easter scoop on this...

am actual not familiar with the mechanics o' what happened... am only able to speak to law/legal issues. as is typical for those in our profession, reality and all its attendant filthy details is often an annoying distraction from the important questions. <-- sarcasm.

perhaps ironic, am able to speak to alito's curiously obtuse dissent w/o needing get into the legal weeds-- you not need be a lawyer to see problem with alito's position.

presumptively, the reason scotus provided middle of the night and weekend emergency relief is 'cause the aclu, on behalf o' their clients, informed the Court that the government had put venezuelans on buses seeming with the intent o' taking 'em beyond the physical jurisdiction o' current habeas rulings limiting their deportation, so as to send 'em to el salvador w/o additional meaningful due process. 

...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/legal-fight-raged-ice-buses-filled-venezuelans-heading-airport-turned-rcna202007

and today we learned o' more government shenanigans albeit in a tangential related case.

https://www.justsecurity.org/110842/ice-dod-custody-deportations-cecot/

"The D.V.D. case directly affects the administration’s ability to deport Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador without an opportunity for them to present their claims of potential torture as required by federal statute. As I discuss at greater length in the substack, a key element to focus upon is that ICE retained custody over the detainees following the court’s Mar. 28 order and then appeared to switch them over to the Department of Defense (DoD) for transfer by military plane to El Salvador. The line of defense (some would say the game) being played here by the government is that DHS/ICE is a named defendant in the case but DOD is not."

to get around a temporary restraining order which prevented ice/dhs from sending detainees out of the country, the government had ice/dhs transfer custody of detainees to the Department of Defense, who then went ahead and deported individuals protected by the tro.

dude.

am aware this is the kinda sh!te people believe is what attorneys do for a living, but that kinda rulez lawyering which happens in the worst dnd campaigns most certainly don't fly with federal judges. the tro named ice/dhs and not dod, but there is also standard boilerplate language in those tros which covers pretty much anybody working for/with or in aid o' those named in the tro, and if ice (executive branch o' the fed government) formal transferred custody of the detainees to dod (also part of the executive branch o' the fed government,) then is no court in the land which is gonna three wise monkey their way outta holding dod just as bound by the tro as ice.

most courts has gotta be losing the patience and faith typical afforded to the executive. is utter unreasonable to pretend this is all just same ol' same ol'. alito pretending mock indignation when the trump administration is making blatant their efforts to thwart and undermine Court orders is less than compelling.

again, the government had detainees on buses headed to an airport. taking those detainees outta the country from the texas district woulda' been illegal, but the shell game o' moving detainees just ahead o' court orders from new jersey or dc were something the feds had already done. even so, it is complete ridiculous to suggest the government would try the same shenanigans in texas, right?  "fool me once..." 

so, for what reason did alito and thomas believe ice were carrying out their little fieldtrip? maybe the venezuelans were being taken for a weekend disneyworld excursion? even if you can imagine an innocuous explanation for the government's actions, what reasonable person would complete dismiss the possibility that the feds were trying to exploit the ordinary slow pace o' a typical judicial response? the fact the government were using "counterterrorism operations" as an excuse for not supplying details to plaintiffs AND the Court is not only beyond the pale, but it should make reasonable persons more suspicious about the government motives, no? nevertheless, alito and thomas can't figure why the aclu and the Court majority is getting their shorts in a twist. 

...

other than death penalty executions, it is difficult to imagine a more clear example o' the need for emergency intervention by the Court than we see regarding the possible extra judicial deportation of detainees to el salvador... and we remain reluctant to call such activities "deportations" as what is happening is that the US, without due process, is sending residents o' this country to a prison in el salvador for an indeterminate period a time. 

wtf