The All Things Political Topic - SNAFU edition

[Gromnir]

regarding the impending halt of snap:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQb2n6yETOC/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/us/politics/federal-judge-food-stamps.html

"Despite the imminent lapse, the Trump administration has maintained that it would not try to cover the shortfall, not even by using billions of dollars that Congress had previously set aside for SNAP to address possible funding emergencies. That prompted 25 states and the District of Columbia to sue this week, arguing that the White House had a legal and moral obligation to provide the benefits.

"During a tense hearing on Thursday, Judge Talwani appeared to doubt the government’s claims that there were legal, technical and budgetary hurdles to reprogramming the money during the shutdown.

"“Congress has put money in an emergency fund,” she said during the hearing. “It’s hard for me to understand how this isn’t an emergency, when there’s no money and a lot of people are needing their SNAP benefits.”"

this is not a new thing. there has been previous government shutdowns, including idiotic ones such as the 2018 wall shutdown. snap benefits continued during previous shutdowns 'cause Congress had foreseen the possibility o' such interruptions and they included a mechanism to make certain that snap funds were available even in the event o' emergencies, no doubt 'cause regardless o' which side o' the aisle you were on, children unnecessarily going hungry were seen as politically bad.... and wrong.

and as a reminder for those who is opposed to handouts for the unworthy, the vast majority o' snap recipients receive benefits for six months or less, and sixty-something % o' all snap money goes to children. even if you believe folks taking welfare is habitual ne'er-do-wells who interminable suck off the government teat to pay for their drug and alcohol addictions, snap ain't the program you should want ended.

edit:

update: Federal judge orders Trump administration to pay SNAP benefits out of contingency fund

funny aside, we went back and looked at the 2018 wall shutdown situation and discovered that, to our surprise, the trump administration did not use the Congressional emergency fund to pay for snap during the government stoppage. the thing is, what trump did last time, and what the government is arguing they can't do this time 'cause is too complex and difficult, were declared illegal sometime after the shutdown ended, but maybe not for reasons you might initial expect. the government accountability office found that trump ignored all the money Congress had set aside for emergencies such as shutdowns, and instead used other inappropriate funding sources to prevent a delay o' snap. the reason why the 2018 funding o' snap were deemed illegal were not 'cause trump did it but 'cause he did not use the funds specific provided by Congress to deal with the problem. in short, the usda and trump is saying they can't use the emergency funds 'cause a shutdown is not the sorta emergency envisioned by Congress, but there were already a post 2018 shutdown ruling on the mater which concluded the exact opposite. trump were able to fund snap in 2018 w/o much difficulty and in spite o' technical hurdles, but his actions were illegal because he didn't use Congressional emergency snap funds to accomplish the feat.

nuts.

Edited Friday at 07:17 PM by Gromnir

[Zoraptor]

12 hours ago, majestic said:

Or worse, imagine if Biden had become president and stepped aside after his cancer diagnosis, it'd be a mixed race femoid with a weird laugh running the country. Unthinkable. 

Trouble is, we know that didn't happen. 

Don't think there's anyone here- even Bruce, probably, when he isn't just being Bruce- who wouldn't prefer Harris to have won. The problem with her acceding after a Biden resignation post cancer diagnosis is that it's impossible to see Biden winning unless you magic away his other health issues. If you're going to do that, might as well just magic Trump (and/or racism) away instead and solve the root issue.

11 hours ago, Gromnir said:

btw, the test were original administered to trump in january 2018 shortly after an episode wherein the President were showing signs o' difficulty in speaking.

Yes, you said. So he's been taking and passing (unless he's lying!!!) cognitive tests for 7 years. Not exactly supportive of dementia, which is characterised by an active decline for almost all causes.

That's only a plus for you via a very specific circular reasoning, ie Trump's doctors think he has dementia--> make him take test--> he lies about passing --> doctors know he has dementia so... make him take it again next year so he can lie about it again. And, the doctors are making him take a non diagnostic test, so it's basically useless, except, they want him to take the test because they think he has dementia and him taking the test proves they think that.

There really isn't any point at all arguing against that, because it relies entirely on speculation about everyone involved lying/ being incompetent in a very precise way specifically to support one conclusion; and with no actual evidence to back it up. To quote a certain poster on other subjects: maybe one shouldn't do unfounded speculation and just wait for the facts?

[Gromnir]

more significant than the traditional turin horse fiasco we indulge with zor from time-to-time...

via ny times:

"President Trump said late Friday that the administration would provide the funding for food stamps in November once a federal court could clarify “how we can legally” supply the money."

am expecting a snarky response from the judge, but usda foot dragging is expected... to what aim? again, the method used by the trump 2018 administration to fund snap were deemed illegal after the fact and the Congressional emergency fund were identified as the appropriate source o' funding at that time. trump playing dumb may be believable, but the lawyers who need argue for the government won't get such grace. 

there is no basement for the current gop, so perhaps am reading this situation wrong, but there is a vast number o' trump voters receiving snap money, and in spite o' aggressive (and possible illegal) efforts by the administration and the usda to blame democrats for the upcoming snap benefit delays, am not seeing how they may successful svengali this into a republican win, but...

also, if you are looking for a glimmer o' sunshine, "President Trump late Thursday renewed his call to eliminate the filibuster to force through legislation ending the government shutdown, but his plea is unlikely to get much traction among the Republicans who control the Senate." thune and other R senators do not have an appetitive to eliminate the filibuster. thank goodness for sinema and manchin, eh? am not actual thankful for sinema btw, but am admitting we shared her reluctance to end the filibuster, precisely 'cause we envisioned the possibility o' something like 2025 even if am admitting is no way we literal coulda' predicted the Congressional 2025 charlie fox.

*sigh*

back to the salt mines.

somebody loses track o' the thread quite easily. 

"am curious why the obvious question regarding the MoCA administered by walter reed doctors as part o' a trump exam is never asked: why did doctors feel it were prudent to have trump take the MoCA?"

there were an event in december o' 2017 wherein trump were public slurring words during a speech. as a result, trump gets neurological tests, and at least a dozen specialists is involved in trump's exams... but according to trump and ronny jackson, the MoCA he took at that time and aced, were administered not at the request o' doctors, but by trump himself.

ok.

no reasonable person in their right mind takes a trump explanation as to why he wanted the MoCA to be administered at face value in part 'cause trump is a pathological liar. 

(is a rando vid... have never previous seen the guy in the hat and glasses)

have stated multiple times now that we don't know the real motivation, but that is immaterial too. can say with near certainty it had nothing to do with biden however. duh. in any event, is no intelligent and honest person who is gonna suggest that in the absence o' evidence o' trump's specific lies, words direct from the horse's mouth should be taken at face value, 'cause that is not how real people behave and even court evidentiary rules recognize how stoopid that kinda trust would be. in january 2018, there were particular concerns 'bout trump's mental fitness, so lying about the reason why the MoCA were administered is in character for a "chronic narcissist."  oh, and biden, anything concerning biden, is complete irrelevant to answering such concerns. 

as may be seen via quoted and linked material we already shared, the MoCA is not dispositive as a test for dementia and is not routine tests in any event. seems highly unlikely trump knew about the MoCA in december o 2017, but we are told that he asked to be tested for dementia in 2018. not being satisfied with the full testing procedure o' his team o' more than a dozen specialists, trump requested the dementia test. 

whatever "circular reasoning" you wanna strawman is as pointless as were your biden observations. again, we don't know for certain what were the motivation o' trump and his doctors, but the story they fabricated in january 2018 were not particularly believable and there were a clear motivation to lie. the fact that trump has spent the intervening years doubling-down on his dementia test glory doesn't help zor in any event 'cause as already noted, all the alternatives is bad... and doubling-down ad nauseum is also complete in-character for trump. that trump took a dementia test in 2018 and has been using that unfortunate necessity through the intervening years to try and convince his base o' his stellar mental acuity does not seem at all out of character. trump genuine believes acing a dementia test proves how smarty he is? trump is lying or reflexive doubling down... or mayhap he lied at first and now he genuine believes that being able to draw the time on a clock and the ability to recollect, "person, woman, man, camera, tv," were "very difficult." is literal more than five years later and Gromnir didn't need look up, "person, woman, man, camera, tv." regardless, is literal no good outcomes for trump as far as we can see.

nevertheless, particular as the dementia test which started all this silliness happened so long ago, many people forget what were trump's excuses and the circumstances surrounding his initial dementia test. is clear zor forgot. *chuckle* why did doctors administer the MoCA is a relevant question. is not a dispositive test. is not a routine test. alternatively, you can squint your eyes shut tight, cover your ears and repeat over and over that you believe trump and ronny jackson until you believe it. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

[Lexx]

I find it crazy that so many people in america are depending on food stamps in the first place. Just shows you that something is very wrong right in the core.

[rjshae]

7 hours ago, Lexx said:

I find it crazy that so many people in america are depending on food stamps in the first place. Just shows you that something is very wrong right in the core.

Perhaps. But it's good to know there's a safety net available for hard times.

[Lexx]

Is it one, though? If even regular people, who work full time jobs, are depending on food stamps... that's just not normal. That's the churn. 

[Gromnir]

The H-2A Visa Trap

"As the hearing drew to a close, Judge Lisa Godbey Wood explained that she had watched Sofi’s body language and studied the tone of her voice as she testified. And she could see how much Sofi had to lose, especially in the face of threats to her and her son. She couldn’t find a single reason not to believe Sofi. “I would find by any standard of proof that she’s telling the truth,” Wood said. “As a result I find that the rapes did occur.”

"Wood turned to Mendoza. “People think that there’s no slavery anymore,” she told him, moments before sentencing him to 30 years in prison. “There is, and you were doing it right here in our state.”"

...

"The Biden administration increased protections for H-2A workers, but several lawsuits filed by states including Georgia have prevented them from fully going into effect. This past June, the Trump administration went one step further, suspending any enforcement of the new program’s rules until that litigation is resolved.

"The number of H-2A visas issued has increased every year since Sofi arrived. The escalation of Trump’s deportation efforts this year has led to arrests of undocumented farmworkers — who account for over 40% of all field laborers — and sparked enough fear to convince others to no longer show up to work. If farmers are squeezed further by the shortage of farmworkers, the H-2A program can fulfill that demand. There’s no limit to how many visas can be issued."

...

am still perplexed as to why so many farmers voted for trump considering the pain they felt during his first administration and in spite o' the bailouts, bailouts which am thinking everybody believes will be replicated and increased this time around. tariffs is brutalizing farmers again, and is no way they may pretend that the misery they are suffering due to trump's ignorant trade wars were unexpected or that they were lied to when they voted overwhelming for trump in 2024.

that said, one reason why the mass deportations don't rule out trump support by farmers is 'cause so many prefer an expansion o' the h-2a program which for them is cheaper and easier to maintain through labor contractors such as mendoza as 'posed needing deal with messy free market forces which has individual farm workers able to chose their employer and to leave at anytime if they do not like their employment situation. the trump admin is exponential increasing the h-2a program while simultaneous ending any enforcement issues o' a program which were already rife with criminality. during the pandemic, estimates o' h-2a visa holders being victims o' human trafficking increased to 25% and in spite o' the  subsequent biden admin resolve to clean up the program, estimates only fell to 20%. one in five?  trump has effective ended enforcement efforts all together, so what do you believe is gonna happen to the numbers? does anybody trust trump's claims he is concerned about human trafficking especially when farmers is now, more than ever, gonna need a cheap and reliable source o' labor other than undocumented workers?

HA! Good Fun!

Edited 6 hours ago by Gromnir

[Zoraptor]

20 hours ago, Gromnir said:

whatever "circular reasoning" you wanna strawman is as pointless as were your biden observations. 

Trump specifically brought up Biden in the quote I provided, that's about as relevant as you can get. Indeed, one suspects that is why you've gone back to 2017, now, despite that utterly torpedoing your argument in other ways that really ought to be obvious.

Dementia is a progressive 'disease'. Almost all hard to detect causes of cognitive decline are as well. You can say with about as complete certainty as it is possible to get from casual observation that he didn't have dementia in 2017, for that reason. If he did, and lied about it, he'd be dead or effectively vegetative because... dementia is progressive. ie, it only ever gets worse. Thing is, for the 2017/8 test it doesn't even matter if everyone involved was lying- we know he didn't have dementia then because it's progressive. 

Your argument is the very definition of circular reasoning, where rather than the evidence supporting the conclusion the evidence and conclusion are one and the same. To whit:

Quote

Trump taking the test is evidence he has dementia. Trump passing would be irrelevant since the important thing is that his doctors were concerned enough to administer a test, because he has dementia. If he says he passed he's lying, because he has dementia. If he actually passed it's irrelevant because the test isn't diagnostic, it's the concern that's important and he has dementia.

Ironically, that's exactly the sort of reasoning you get from Donald Trump and which he too hates being called on.

You can substitute cognition issues for dementia if you like, doesn't make any actual difference.

[Zoraptor]

I see our latest Nobel Peace Prize laureate is once more going according to type and calling on armed intervention from the US in an interview with Bloomberg.

per the committee

Quote

for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy

and yes, she'd called for armed intervention before the peace prize award as well. 

[Malcador]

Trump threatening to save the Christians in Nigeria. Still nothing on Sudan, which is funny