Life in Post Democracy Era: The Trump 2/Elon Dictatatorship

[SWIM]

Well… if we say the f word loud enough they will cheer.

[88Commanders00]

Since many Americans live only paycheck to paycheck, they will complain if a SS/disability/veterans benefits check is missing.

[The Sisko]

Rural seniors voted for Trump—so naturally he’s screwing them over

“In an effort to limit fraudulent claims, the Social Security Administration will impose tighter identity-proofing measures — which will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with the agency over the phone,” the Associated Press reported. “Beginning March 31st, people will no longer be able to verify their identity to the SSA over the phone and those who cannot properly verify their identity over the agency’s ‘my Social Security’ online service, will be required to visit an agency field office in person to complete the verification process, agency leadership told reporters Tuesday.”

To add insult to injury, the Trump administration plans to slash the number of Social Security field offices.

Multibillionaire and Trump co-President Elon Musk, having promised trillions of dollars in government cuts through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, has finally realized he can’t get there without gutting enormously popular entitlement programs like Medicaid and Social Security. After calling Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” Musk has claimed the program meant to keep senior citizens out of poverty is beset by fraud.

“Most of the federal spending is entitlements. So that’s like the big one to eliminate. That’s the sort of half trillion, maybe $600, $700 billion a year,” Musk told Larry Kudlow on Fox Business.

In reality, a 2024 Inspector General report found $72 billion in “improper payments” over eight years (between 2015-2022), or just $9 billion per year. That represents less than 1% of overall payments distributed during that time frame. If Trump really cared about rooting out that abuse, perhaps he shouldn’t have fired all the inspectors general as soon as he took office, as that was literally their job.

Click on the link for the full article

It will be really interesting to see if they have the cojones to go through with a major reduction in social security and Medicaid benefits. Of course seniors will be schtupped but I think a lot of people are going to be surprised at the follow on effects. There are an awful lot of grandparents parenting kids. If grandma ends up homeless, the kids don’t go onto the street, they’ll end up in foster care which is pretty expensive.

Medicaid cuts could result in hospital and nursing home closures. Healthcare providers agreed to take cuts to reimbursement rates because Obamacare would decrease their uninsured patient loads. Aside from the effect closures will have on patients, it will take away a lot of rural jobs. And on and on.

This is going to really hurt a lot of people but maybe it’s going to have to get that bad for them to finally realize that ‘Muricuns are welfare queens too.

[China]

The corruption and kowtowing is sickening:

Trump rescinds executive order after law firm agrees to provide $40m in free services

Donald Trump rescinded an executive order targeting a prominent Democratic-leaning law firm after it agreed to provide $40m in free legal services to support his administration’s goals.

The White House has targeted law firms whose lawyers have provided legal work that Trump disagrees with. Last week, he issued an order threatening to suspend active security clearances of attorneys at Paul, Weiss and to terminate any federal contracts the firm has.

But the president suddenly reversed course following a meeting between Trump and Brad Karp, the chair of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, over the White House order.

Trump’s order singled out the work of Mark Pomerantz, who previously worked at the firm and who oversaw an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office into Trump’s finances before Trump became president. Pomerantz once likened the president to a mob boss.

To avoid the consequences of Trump’s order, the White House said, the firm had agreed to “take on a wide range of pro bono matters that represent the full spectrum of political viewpoints of our society”. The firm reportedly agreed to disavow the use of diversity, equity and inclusion considerations in its hiring and promotion decisions and to dedicate the equivalent of $40m in free legal services to support Trump administration policies on issues including assistance for veterans and countering antisemitism.

The firm, the White House claimed, also acknowledged the wrongdoing of Pomerantz, the partner involved in the investigation into Trump’s hush-money payments to an adult film actor. It was unclear whether Karp was aware of that claim.

In a statement issued by the White House, Karp said: “We are gratified that the President has agreed to withdraw the Executive Order concerning Paul, Weiss. We look forward to an engaged and constructive relationship with the President and his Administration.”

The firm becomes the latest corporate target to make concessions to the president to avoid his ire.

Click on the link for the full article

A little analysis of this and how it is extortion and won't be treated as such because Bondi and the DOJ and FBI are on Trump's side.

[China]

Trump plays golf eight out of nine weekends in a row at a cost of over $24M

According to the official White House schedule, President Donald Trump has spent eight weekends in a row golfing at his Mar-a-Lago mansion, costing taxpayers roughly $24 million according to estimates.

Since January, President Trump has fired tens of thousands of federal employees while ordering all other departments to work in person at their offices. Meanwhile, Trump has had stays at Mar-a-Lago exceeding five days, even signing two executive orders and a memorandum from his Florida home, according to the Guardian.

While Trump's visits to Mar-a-Lago come out of his pocket, the protection services required for him and his family cost taxpayer funds, while his businesses charge to house Secret Service employees for stays at his hotels and other properties while Trump visits and plays golf.

A 2019 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which looked at four different trips Trump took during his first term, put the cost at about $3.4m for each visit. With eight visits to Mar-a-Lago since his return to office, that puts the current cost estimate at around $24 million.

The costs include flying Air Force One, as well as a separate cargo plane for the presidential motorcade between Washington and the Palm Beach International Airport.

Palm Beach county sheriff, Ric Bradshaw, he's obligated to put helicopters in the air, extra police agents in the area, and protective police boats on both sides of Trump’s mansion, which is surrounded by the Atlantic and the Intracoastal Waterway. These protections are needed almost continuously.

The sheriff told county commissioners last month that the costs are “substantial," adding “They request it, and then we provide it. It’s expensive, but we don’t really have a choice."

Bradsaw also told CBS 12 News it costs the department $240,000 per day, according to his paperwork, to protect the President, his family, and his gusts, which are often dignitaries and other politicians.

Sheriff Bradshaw had to put in an “urgent request” for $45m to continue to provide security for Trump through November, which was granted by county commissioners.

Currently, its Palm Beach County taxpayers that are paying the bill. The funds come from a 'contingency reserve’ which is meant for unforeseen expenses. County Commissioner Gregg Weiss says that find is nearly empty.

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Trump says he didn’t sign proclamation invoking Alien Enemies Act

President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed his involvement in invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan migrants, saying for the first time that he hadn’t signed the proclamation, even as he stood by his administration’s move.

“I don’t know when it was signed, because I didn’t sign it,” Trump told reporters before leaving the White House on Friday evening.

The president made his comments when asked to respond to Judge James Boasberg’s concerns in court on Friday that the proclamation was “signed in the dark” of night and that migrants were hurried onto planes.

“We want to get criminals out of our country, number one, and I don’t know when it was signed, because I didn’t sign it,” Trump said. “Other people handled it, but (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio has done a great job and he wanted them out and we go along with that. We want to get criminals out of our country.”

The proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act appears in the Federal Register with Trump’s signature at the bottom.

Click on the link for the full article

[zSkins]

[NotasLong StillLeft]

Whenever Trump is out of office musk is definitely in line for some criminal charges. President Trump might be immune but his underlings aren’t and there are so many little known laws and lies to be told that they will 100 percent face charges. Sucks to be living now, but in the future I still have faith that their might be some kind of deliciousness.

At the rate Musk is pissing off people, I’ll be surprised if there’s not an attempt on his life in the near future. He added a hundred more people to his security detail, but that may not be enough.

[88Commanders00]

The voters are hopeless.



Think this focus group by Bulwark’s Sara Longwell will make you depressed.

Unless things get real worse, don’t see these people waking up. They have to be personally be negatively affected from the policies and things Trump/Elon are doing. Tariffs/Doge cuts have to personally affect the voters, in a negative way.

I don’t see Dems combating this. Dems strategy is just to hope Trump/Elon screws things up so badly; they cruise to victory in 26. That isn’t necessarily going to happen. You are going to find Dems being primaried.

They aren’t that many Dems fighting back and showing what they would do differently.

[88Commanders00]

Can we really call this living?

I propose changing the title too.

Democracy slowly dying under trump 2.0

Dying? Democracy is already dead. We aren’t living life in a democracy now. We are living in autocratic state, heading towards full fledged dictatorship.

Trump has no opposition in the gop. The gop isn’t challenging him and just rubber stamping him and letting Doge do whatever they want. The gop agrees what Doge is doing and won’t challenge. Doge is receiving all the negative attention and not gop.

Trump is already doing dictator things. Press isn’t challenging him and he’s going after anyone or entity that went after him in the past or will say anything negative about him now.

Trump has beaten congress. He owns the gop congress and the Dem congress is too feckless and weak to fight. Trump is defying the courts. Doesn’t matter what the courts rule, he will ignore them. Even if it goes to Supremes and they rule against him; he’ll ignore them.

Trump is already doing whatever he wants. We aren’t living in a democracy already. The next phase will be consolidation and him going after Americans. Those opposing him, need to be round up and silenced. He actually starts wars by invading countries he wants to control. Canada, Greenland, etc…

I still think you seriously have to give thought that 24 was the last election. Trump really going to allow elections next year?