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

Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 1:23 pm
by China
'Unprofessional!' Over 100 national security staffers given minutes to clear out

The Trump administration's move was part of a restructuring under interim national security adviser and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, two US officials and another source familiar with the matter told CNN.

The staffers learned they'd been dismissed in an email from the council's chief of staff Brian McCormack, that was sent around 4:20 p.m. The staffers were given 30 minutes to clean out their desks, an official said. Anyone not on campus would have to email an address and figure out when they could retrieve their belongings and turn in devices, according to the report.

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

Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 1:27 pm
by China
U.S. Citizen Forcibly Detained by ICE After Agents Claimed His Proof of Citizenship Was Fake

An American citizen was forcibly detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at an Alabama construction site after the agents falsely claimed his proof of citizenship was fake.

On Wednesday, Leonardo García Venegas, 25, had just returned to his workplace from purchasing materials when he was suddenly approached by ICE agents, as reported by Noticias Telemundo.

In video shared of the incident online, obtained by BreakThrough News, Venegas can be seen bent over as one agent tugs on his arm. Another agent then comes to grab his other arm, and together the two push him to the ground.



Venegas said that when he returned to the construction site, ICE had already detained several workers, including his 34-year-old brother, who is reportedly in the country illegally.

But Venegas was born in Florida. He said when he tried to record the incident, the agents knocked his phone out of his hand. Venegas told the agents to review his documents, but they reportedly dismissed them, telling Venegas they were fake.

"They took out my wallet, took out my ID. And they told me it was fake. Said it wasn't valid and that it was fake. My ID. They handcuffed me and they handcuffed me really tight," he told Noticias Telemundo, translated from Spanish.

As he was being detained, Venegas said he told the agents to "check my social security number in the computer," insisting that there had been "an error." Hours later, he was released from ICE detention.

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Sue for false arrest.

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

Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 1:29 pm
by China
The Trump Administration Is Gutting the Space Force

The Trump administration has slashed the US Space Force's workforce by almost 14 percent, a dramatic cut that could have an enormous impact on the smallest and youngest branch of the US Armed Forces.

As Defense One reports, early retirement and voluntary-resignation programs, both widely used tactics by the newly-minted Trump administration to slash government budgets, are having an "outsized impact" on the Space Force.

According to chief of space operations general Chance Saltzman, 14 percent, or roughly 780 civilians, are affected. That's considerably higher than the ten percent that officials had warned would be cut earlier this month.

It's a troubling development that could directly undermine the Pentagon's mission to secure the United States' interests in space.

During a Senate Armed Services committee hearing this week, Saltzman warned that the Space Force could leave the nation's efforts to protect its assets in orbit woefully behind schedule, allowing adversaries to gain the upper hand.

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

Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 1:39 pm
by China
Ousted head of Copyright Office challenges Trump administration in court

The former head of the U.S. Copyright Office has filed suit against the Trump administration, arguing her abrupt ouster from the position violated the Constitution’s separation of powers.

Shira Perlmutter was fired by the White House in early May, just days after the administration dismissed the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden. Her suit, filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, says only Hayden could legally have terminated her from the post.

“Congress vested the Librarian of Congress—not the President—with the power to appoint, and therefore to remove, the Register of Copyrights,” the lawsuit said. “Accordingly, the President’s attempt to remove Ms. Perlmutter was unlawful and ineffective.”

Hayden had served atop the Library of Congress since the Senate confirmed her appointment in a 74-18 vote in 2016. She chose Perlmutter to run the copyright office in 2020.

Those named in the suit include Todd Blanche, Trump’s pick to replace Hayden at the Library of Congress; Sergio Gor, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office; and Paul Perkins, who the administration tapped to replace Perlmutter as register of copyrights.

The White House’s attempt to seize control of the Library of Congress has run into opposition from key leaders — including Republicans — in the legislative branch who have questioned Trump’s authority to select an acting successor for Hayden.

The Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which the White House maintains gives Trump the power to fill the post with an acting replacement, applies to executive agencies, and not an arm of the legislative branch, many lawmakers insist.

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

Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 4:01 pm
by China
So much winning...

Donald Trump Suffers Triple Legal Blow Within Hours

The Trump administration suffered three legal defeats within hours on Friday as opposition to its policies continues to be channeled through the courts.

In Washington, D.C., a federal judge rejected the administration's attempt to overturn her initial May 19 ruling that the U.S. Institute of Peace must be returned to the control of its original board, while an executive order targeting law firm Jenner & Block was ruled unconstitutional. Simultaneously, in Massachusetts, a judge ruled that the removal of articles from a federal government hosted patient-safety resource in response to Trump's executive order on "gender ideology" violated the First Amendment and must be reversed.

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And that doesn't include the injuction that Harvard got regarding Trump trying to prevent them from enrolling foreign students

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

Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 4:07 pm
by China
‘He is not in charge’: Trump mocked for asking what’s in his executive orders

President Donald Trump has signed more than 150 executive orders, often with cameras rolling and staff looking on. The ritual rarely varies: seated at the desk in the Oval Office, the President listens as someone—typically the White House Staff Secretary—reads a brief summary of the order. On occasion, Trump interjects with a question, prompting speculation that he may not be fully familiar with the contents. He is seldom seen fully reading the orders themselves, which can span anywhere from a few pages to nearly 70.

On Friday, President Trump signed several executive orders, but according to The Daily Beast, one particularly revealing moment suggested he may not have known what he was signing—describing it as “a telling moment” that implied the president hadn’t read the order.

“Are we doing something about the regulatory in here?” Trump asked a business person attending the event.

“Several business leaders standing around him were quick to chime in that his order did address the regulations while Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also responded, ‘You are, sir,'” The Daily Beast also reported.

At the end, Trump asked, “Is that it?” and one of the attendees replied, “That’s all we have for you now, sir.”

Then, rather than asking if there were any questions for him about the executive orders, Trump asked if anyone had any questions for the guests in the room, whom he called “brilliant.”

Critics blasted the President.

Fred Wellman is a graduate of West Point and the Harvard Kennedy School, an Army veteran of 22 years who served four combat tours, and a political consultant.

“He is not in charge,” Wellman alleged.

MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen snarked, “It’s almost as if Trump has cognitive deficiencies, which from what I hear on CNN is a major scandal.”

“’Is that it?’ while signing orders he doesn’t understand, parroting talking points he didn’t write, and pretending it’s leadership,” wrote investment banker Evaristus Odinikaeze. “Peak performative confusion.”

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

Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 6:11 pm
by China
‘I’m Not Looking For a Deal’: Trump Says EU Tariffs Staying At Fifty Percent

President Donald Trump took questions in the Oval Office on Friday after signing a series of executive orders related to nuclear power. Several of the questions focused on his announcement of additional tariffs on the European Union and companies making products overseas — like Apple.

“I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. In the exchange with reporters, Trump said he was not looking for a deal with the EU in order to lower the tariffs. The U.S. stock market has swung wildly in recent weeks, losing value when Trump raises the tariffs and then regaining it once he announces deals to lower them again.

“President, you are a deal-maker, deal-breaker. What are you hoping to achieve with a 50 percent tariff on the EU?”

“Well, I think this is… There is no tariff, because what they’ll do is they’ll send their companies into the U.S. and build their plants."

“I’m not looking for any deal. I mean, we’ve set the deal. It’s at 50 percent. But again, there are no tariffs if they build a plant here,” replied Trump in an apparent break from his previous position that the tariffs were a reciprocal negotiating tactic to try and force other countries to drop their tariffs.

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What a moron. Does he think plants get built and staffed instantaneously? And what if they don't come here to build plants (which is the more likely scenario)?

He's hell bent on destroying not only our democracy but our economy as well.