Surviving a second Trump admin

[Vrede too]

Are you really this thick? Your being pro-dismantling of our protections against foreign influence over our elections = being anti democratic elections, duh. This isn't rocket surgery.

Please explain being "pro-dismantling of our protections against foreign influence over our elections". I seem to have missed that information.

You "certainly hope" it's "going to be a long four years" of the dismantling of our protections against foreign influence over our elections.

I'm done.
Either you're too wussy to admit what you CLEARLY posted, typical MAGAt;
Or, you're just being a child after getting busted, again a typical MAGAt;
Or, you're too stupid to understand what you CLEARLY posted, also typical MAGAt.
viewtopic.php?p=208175#p208175
If the latter, find someone smarter than you (virtually anyone) to explain your own post to you.

[GoCubsGo]

[Vrede too]

https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/18 ... 1609867459

Trump administration orders consumer protection agency to stop work, closes building

The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down an agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal.

Russell Vought, the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget, directed the CFPB, in a Saturday night email confirmed by The Associated Press, to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama pushed to include it in the 2010 financial reform legislation that followed the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

The email also ordered the bureau to “cease all supervision and examination activity.”...

Shrubcession redux coming?

Back to court. These fascists do not have the power to shutter agencies that were created by Congress.

... Obama spearheaded the creation of the bureau in the wake of the 2007-2008 housing bubble and financial crisis, which was caused in part by fraudulent mortgage lending. It was the brainchild of Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and has attracted lawsuits from large banks and financial industry trade associations.

“Vought is giving big banks and giant corporations the green light to scam families," Warren said....

[GoCubsGo]

Shrubcession redux coming?

Back to court. These fascists do not have the power to shutter agencies that were created by Congress.

That was my first thought.


As said before, they're laying the groundwork to bypass/dismiss or ignore the courts.

An all out constitutional crisis is a comin'. I wonder if there is a red line where Republicans will say no mas.

[Supsalemgr]

Vance is not stupid. He knows this.

We're not even a month in.

Did you guys miss his statement says "legitimate" power?

[Whack9]

Vance is not stupid. He knows this.

We're not even a month in.

Did you guys miss his statement says "legitimate" power?

Good thing we have an entity to act as a check and balance on executive overreach to determine what constitutes legitimate executive power in the eyes of the constitution.

[Vrede too]

What Whack9 says.

Did you guys miss his statement says "legitimate" power?

Whooosh, you FAIL middle school Civics. It's the judiciary that determines whether power is "legitimate" or not, fool.

SoupySales, Just Deranged Vance and 1.5% DonOLD hate America and our Constitution.

Law Professor Flags Trump 'Doomsday Scenario' That'll Cause 'Real Constitutional Crisis'
"A lot of lawyers are worried about" it, warned New York University's Ryan Goodman.

[GoCubsGo]

Time for Supes to run away again.

[Supsalemgr]

What Whack9 says.

Did you guys miss his statement says "legitimate" power?

Whooosh, you FAIL middle school Civics. It's the judiciary that determines whether power is "legitimate" or not, fool.

SoupySales, Just Deranged Vance and 1.5% DonOLD hate America and our Constitution.

Law Professor Flags Trump 'Doomsday Scenario' That'll Cause 'Real Constitutional Crisis'
"A lot of lawyers are worried about" it, warned New York University's Ryan Goodman.

Vrede's deranged logic appears again. Legitimate is if the action is within the law and/or Constitution. The judiciary only interprets the law, not make it.

[GoCubsGo]

Vrede's deranged logic appears again. Legitimate is if the action is within the law and/or Constitution. The judiciary only interprets the law, not make it.

Someone didn't read the article.

[Vrede too]

Or can't comprehend the article.

Time for Supes to run away again.

Just like he ran away from getting busted in the blasphemous "Messiah" lie.

Vrede's deranged logic appears again.

I see, political differences = mental illness. How very Stalinist, Trumpette. Figures.

Legitimate is if the action is within the law and/or Constitution. The judiciary only interprets the law, not make it.

GoCubsGo, Whack9 and I are all describing the same fundamental about America. Attorney O Really, wanna give it a shot?

SoupySales cultish "logic" appears again. There is NO ONE that can decide "if the action is within the law and/or Constitution" other than the judiciary. I swear, SoupySales was always an unapologetic hypocrite and coward, but he's also gotten much dumber since his absence. Hopefully, it's just from hanging out at CPF and isn't organic brain disease. If the former, I wish him a speedy recovery. This is just too easy.

[GoCubsGo]

SoupySales cultish "logic" appears again. There is NO ONE that can decide "if the action is within the law and/or Constitution" other than the judiciary. I swear, SoupySales was always an unapologetic hypocrite and coward, but he's also gotten much dumber since his absence. Hopefully, it's just from hanging out at CPF and isn't organic brain disease. If the former, I wish him a speedy recovery. This is just too easy.

It's the latter, he's lost a step.

[GoCubsGo]

It's like bad performance cosplaying.

(Someone give that woman a sandwich.)

[O Really]

Then -
Nixon: "I am not a crook"
Court: "Yes, you are"
Nixon: "Ok, whatever. I'm outta here."

Now:
Trump: "I am not a crook"
Court: "Yes, you are"
Trump: "Nyah, nyah, Fire the crooked judge"

[bannination]

Racing to the bottom?

Trump to pause enforcement of law banning bribery of foreign officials

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/10/trump-d ... pause.html

• President Donald Trump will sign an executive order directing the Department of Justice to pause enforcing a nearly half-century-old law that prohibits American companies and foreign firms from bribing officials of foreign governments to obtain or retain business.

• The pause will be implemented to avoid putting U.S. businesses at an economic disadvantage to foreign competitors.

• Trump reportedly will tell Attorney General Pam Bondi to prepare new guidelines for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement.

Summary:
President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order directing the Department of Justice to pause enforcing
the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) on Monday, January 30, 2025. The pause is intended to prevent putting US
businesses at an economic disadvantage compared to foreign competitors. This move comes after Bloomberg reported
that Trump would ask Attorney General Pam Bondi to review current and past actions related to the law while
preparing new guidelines for enforcement.

The FCPA, enacted in 1977, aims to prevent corruption by requiring companies to prevent bribery of foreign
officials to obtain or retain business. The law applies not only to direct bribes but also to offers or plans
authorized by company management.

The pause in enforcement is a significant shift, as the DOJ has been taking action against FCPA violations since
2023 and 2024, with 34 cases announced in 2024 and 17 in 2023. Violators of the FCPA can face up to 15 years in
prison and fines of up to $250,000.

The decision is seen as an effort to streamline the law to align with economic interests and national security,
rather than its original intent to prevent public corruption. The move is expected to impact US businesses
operating overseas and could have implications for foreign firms doing business in the United States.

[Whack9]

Then -
Nixon: "I am not a crook"
Court: "Yes, you are"
Nixon: "Ok, whatever. I'm outta here."

Now:
Trump: "I am not a crook"
Court: "Yes, you are"
Trump: "Nyah, nyah, Fire the crooked judge"

Conservative
Monarchist

[neoplacebo]

Then -
Nixon: "I am not a crook"
Court: "Yes, you are"
Nixon: "Ok, whatever. I'm outta here."

Now:
Trump: "I am not a crook"
Court: "Yes, you are"
Trump: "Nyah, nyah, Fire the crooked judge"

Conservative
Monarchist

He's going to sit back and watch the courts strike down some of his actions, then appeal his loss up to the Supreme Court, then defy them. The Republican congress will go along with him and the result is either total chaos or a United States of Trump. Mitch McConnell could have prevented all of this.

[O Really]

I'll take total chaos for $1,000, Ken

[neoplacebo]

I'll take total chaos for $1,000, Ken

Ding! A daily double.

[Vrede too]

He's going to sit back and watch the courts strike down some of his actions, then appeal his loss up to the Supreme Court, then defy them. The Republican congress will go along with him and the result is either total chaos or a United States of Trump. Mitch McConnell could have prevented all of this.

If forced to choose I would bet on the imposition of a fascist oligarchy rather than total chaos. Not sure how long it will last.

Critics Flag ‘Particularly Alarming’ Part Of Donald Trump’s Latest Ouster
They warned how it's an "alarming first step" by the president.

President Donald Trump on Monday drew fierce criticism over his dismissal of David Huitema, the head of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics who’d only officially been in the role for weeks.

Donald K. Sherman, the executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said in a statement that “by firing the head of the Office of Government Ethics, President Trump is continuing his purge of any independent officials tasked with holding him and his administration accountable to the law and ethical standards.”

“This follows his firing of the head of the Office of Special Counsel and 17 inspectors general,” Sherman continued. “Together, these actions will streamline any efforts he and his administration make to personally profit, install loyalists and avoid oversight of corruption and waste.”

... Caitlin MacNeal, from the Project on Government Oversight, described Huitema’s ouster from the independent agency (which, per government websites, “provides oversight, policy, and guidance to the Executive Branch regarding ethics laws and policies”) as just “the latest in a string of firings directly aimed at the accountability offices in the executive branch,” reported CBS News.

“The firings remove our systems of checks and balances at a time when the wealthiest man in the world is operating inside the government with vast and unprecedented financial conflicts of interest,” MacNeal said, referring to tech billionaire Elon Musk and his role leading the spending-slashing, nonofficial Department of Government Efficiency in Trump’s White House.

“So it’s particularly alarming that the administration has fired the official specifically charged with policing ethics,” MacNeal added.

Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, asked on social media: “Are you seeing a pattern? Trump is systematically removing every form of accountability: Inspectors General, prosecutors and FBI agents, and now the Director of the Office of Government Ethics. Paving the way for Lyin’ Kash Patel to become his hatchet man.”

Other critics on social media agreed:

No Ethics, No Limits

Office of Ethics blocked his way,
So he erased them in a day.
If ethics die at Trump’s whim,
Who dares to stand and challenge him?

They seem to have a plan and they are implementing it with breathtaking speed. Who will rise to throw these schemes into disarray?

John Oliver Crashes Jon Stewart’s ‘Daily Show’ With Brutal ‘F**king’ Truth About America
The host of “Last Week Tonight” said he’s back to gloat.

“Daily Show” host Jon Stewart had some company on Monday night when former correspondent John Oliver interrupted the monologue to deliver a message about America’s hard turn toward monarchy and imperialism.

Stewart had been detailing President Donald Trump’s end-run around the Constitution and the unwillingness of anyone in Congress to challenge that power grab.

“It’s been a good run, America,” Stewart said. “It looks like we’re becoming less like the constitutional republic it’s been for 250 years and more like the monarchy that we all fought and escaped from.”

That’s when Oliver ― who was born in Britain and now holds dual U.S.-U.K. citizenship ― emerged with a slow clap.

“Are you here to offer America your wisdom and counsel?” Stewart asked.

“Oh no, no, no, Jon,” he said. “I am here to gloat.”

Oliver, who now hosts “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, mockingly welcomed America to its monarchy era and urged the nation to embrace it because “kings get shit done.”

“Now, is it stuff that you want done? Not necessarily,” Oliver admitted. “But they do move quick. They taste cumin at lunch, and they’ve taken over an entire continent by dinnertime.”

Stewart objected, saying the “imperial model” wasn’t right for America.

“Have you seen anything America has done over the last 50 years?” Oliver fired back. “Because for a country that doesn’t want to be an empire, you’re doing a pretty fucking good impression of one right now.

He offered up some receipts:

“Invasions, economic exploitations, and now suggesting turning Gaza into a beachfront casino? Even King George would’ve been like, ‘I don’t know guys. Feels like the situation’s a bit more complicated than that ― and I’m literally dying of medieval brain disease’.”

“We really have become our father,” Stewart lamented.

“Yeah, you have,” Oliver said. “We couldn’t be more proud.”

See more in the Monday night “Daily Show” monologue:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdygrcFcyyY

I'm beginning to wonder if I will grow old(er) and die in prison.