Senate The US Politics 2.0 Discussion Thread

States can't make laws to protect the climate: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presiden...tecting-american-energy-from-state-overreach/
This man is murdering people. Pollution and weather related climate change kills people. Not just in the US this hurts everyone. But yes US citizens are in more danger.

Here's the thing the human brain is wired to be optimistic. That will never happen to me isn't just a selfish thought. It's what keeps us from committing suicide. We can't fathom that our every day lives the things we enjoy like driving cars, streaming TV shows or taking long hot showers are ruining our planet. Without laws to regulate...well it's really bad to say the least.

 

With this group of clowns? I give it a year.

 

Trump will continue to do as much damage as possible as his popularity and mental faculties decline. He has never been able to articulate what he hopes to accomplish with tariffs, has never been able to articulate a methodology for defunding, de staffing and destroying federal agencies or unraveling regulatory structures. He is doing stuff without understanding why because his only measures are what makes him look strong and what makes him look weak and how many press clippings he gets in a day. That’s the underlying mission and philosophy, and nothing else is driving any of this except authentic racism.

 

Problem is, it's not about Trump. He isn't ideological. Never has been. It's the likes of Curtis Yarvin that have an ideology and his fanboys are in this regime.

 

I think it's going to be sooner, but it'll likely be a nuclear attack, likely from Iran.

 

that's correct, and Stephen Miller, but none of the goons can articulate a clear message about tariffs either.

 

But I guess you need to understand basic human nature, Mr. Pumas. When you lecture people as being unworthy of equity, that's weird. When you point your finger down to those who want to protect their family members, that's weird. They will ask if you have Neo-Nazi ink. They will ask if you have Knights Templar ink. You don't. But one person is not superior to another, Mr. P. If you can't accept that, then invent a Time Machine. Go back to medieval Europe where you'll feel more at ease with your um "values".

 

I personally think one needs to take a few steps back and look at what was the greater strategy of both the left and right over the last few years. Then again, these kind of observations take longer than the thirty seconds we all nowadays are able to focus on anything.

But I think the one thing the Democrats need more than anything is a strategy that reflects modern media and communication. Right nonetheless entire discussion and narrative … arguably even the Democratic Party and their core topics itself … is a creation of the right. Defined and prioritized by them.

Because the attacker always chooses the battlefield and time of the fight. It’s the nature of an attack.

 

Trump's latest tirade is that he's ordering Rubio to demand free passage for all US ships through the Suez Canal

 

Assuming we do have elections in 2026 and 2028, and a Democrat wins the White House, the answer is the following on Day One:

"All regulations repealed by the Trump administration and hereby reinstated.
All federal departments closed by solely by executive action without the explicit authorization of Congress are hereby reopened at the same funding and staffing levels that existed prior to January 20th, 2025.
All federal employees who were terminated by the illegal actions of the DOGE initiative shall be given an offer of 'rehire' to their previous positions, with appropriate back-pay as to be determined by their agency heads.

The following executive order is hereby non-justiceable and cannot be reviewed by any federal court including the Supreme Court of the United States."

* * *

Pure fantasy, but I need something to do while I'm eating lunch at work.

 

Good news, Chuck Schumer is on the case! In an interview today, he stated:

"We sent [Trump] a very strong letter just the other day asking eight very strong questions."

 

And it was promptly ignored.

 

Cuck Schumer

 

Meanwhile, the ports at LA and Seattle have turned into ghost towns. Shortages will likely happen within a few weeks. Maybe stock up on rice and beans?

(Not to mention the chain of jobs when it comes to shipping, transportation, stocking, logistics, etc. that'll be affected)

https://fortune.com/article/huge-de...-and-a-stark-warning-of-coming-tariff-damage/
https://www.latimes.com/business/st...angeles-set-to-plunge-amid-tariffs-disruption
https://www.seattletimes.com/busine...has-seattle-waiting-for-the-ships-to-come-in/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...-u-s-shipments-from-china-plummet/ar-AA1Dyu8J
https://www.marinelog.com/news/tariffs-set-to-dramatically-reduce-u-s-port-traffic/
https://sgbonline.com/exec-wall-street-reacts-to-tariff-news/
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/23/trump-tariffs-china-trade-deal
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5264774-china-us-tariff-negotations/

SO MUCH WINNING!

 

"We're going to win so much, you're going to be so sick and tired of winning."
Yup. When I spent $100 on a small batch of groceries a few minutes back, I won.

 

Iran doesn't have missiles that can reach North America, at least not yet. Even if they did, the regime has shown in the past that it isn't suicidal.

 

Nuking a hurricane on US soil is a contender.

 

They just did another HUGE cut to AmeriCorps, this time to complete cuts to 1000+ of its state/national and VISTA programs. There are some large programs, but most exist to help a small nonprofit of a specific community need. This is just terrible. This $400 million goes a long, long way. They don't realize how efficient this is, how much so many schools, communities, nonprofits, health organizations, etc. get out of this investment.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/do...on-grants-washington-post-reports-2025-04-25/

Another article

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, April 26, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- America’s Service Commissions (ASC) is deeply dismayed by the unexpected notification late Friday evening from the AmeriCorps agency (also known as the Corporation for National and Community Service) illegally and immediately terminating nearly $400 million in grant program funding.

This sudden termination will shutter more than 1,000 programs and prematurely end the service of over 32,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers. It will also leave communities across the country without crucial services provided by the terminated programs.

State service commission managed grant programs — including AmeriCorps State and National, VISTA, and the Volunteer Generation Fund — appear to be targeted in the grant terminations. All 50 states, DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands were notified of grant terminations, and approximately 80% of all AmeriCorps State and National (ASN) programs received notice of termination. Some states have had every AmeriCorps State program eliminated.

Ninety-eight percent of all ASN grants that received termination notifications are AmeriCorps State grants administered by a state service commission. State service commissions are governed by a board of bipartisan and governor-appointed commissioners. By federal law, state service commissions set the priorities for their AmeriCorps State formula programs to address local community needs.

ASC is troubled by what these grant terminations will mean for almost 30,000 AmeriCorps State and National and AmeriCorps VISTA members that are being forced to exit their programs prematurely. These members will be left suddenly without a living stipend and other benefits, such as healthcare, due to the termination of their program. Many members will be facing housing, food, health, and other financial emergencies as a result of losing their living stipends, which are likely their only source of income.

In addition, the hundreds of dedicated staff members who direct and manage these terminated AmeriCorps programs will likely lose their employment, as the nonprofits and other organizations who host AmeriCorps programs will not be able to pay these staff now that their grants have been terminated.​

 

You know, I don't really get why you're so averse to liberal lecturing. As someone on the left who gets lectured by liberals constantly, while annoying, it's the least that can be done against. Them lecturing Republicans voters *is* the best they can do when it comes to "understanding" conservatives. Liberals are always trying to appeal to conservatives' 'better nature' and 'human decency.' But here's the truth. Conservatives don't have either of those. You know how people in my section of the political spectrum dealt with those who voted conservative? They threw them in camps and if they didn't re-educate, they were executed. All of them. And they were lucky if their families weren't thrown in the camps with them. There was no "trying to understand" conservatives. There was "we need to figure out if we can share this planet with people like conservatives and oh, we can't."

If you're ****, people aren't going to tolerate you existing alongside them. Not when your ideology is detaining 2 year olds with cancer and not letting their doctors see them. There's too much at stake. Look what happened to Brian Thompson, the CEO who oversaw people not getting the medical care they desperately needed. And look what workers did to their boss in Bangladesh who didn't pay them what was owed.

 

I see where you’re coming from but I think there’s a large gap between lecturing and executing.

People in this thread have taken my suggestion of engaging with conservatives as being soft or appeasing them. It’s neither. I’m saying engage with them, understand what is going on instead of casting thoughts from the left end of the spectrum on what you think is going on, IMPORTANTLY even if you turn out to be right about some of them. Are some Americans conservatives actually racist and misogynistic and transphobic? 100%. But I would wager that the majority aren’t, even if they vote for politicians that are.

There’s a serious misplacement of trust in those politicians and a lack of political education. I view them as wrong for making their election choices, and in a way complicit in whatever happens to those that are targeted by oppressive and discriminatory policies. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t engage. I’m a believer that engagement draws even clearer lines than the blurry obscure and largely incorrect ones that conservatives paint of us. We need to control the message, we need to engage, we need to say “this is what we believe, this is why we believe this way, and these are the benefits over what you are currently choosing.” Over and over again until our stances and positions can’t be intentionally misunderstood. Over and over again until those that are indecisive can say “well I didn’t get it before, but I can agree to what they are aiming for.” Which is exactly what the right has done over the past decade.

They were able to win over a few votes from people who are likely politically apathetic because they promised bull**** like factories returning to America, illegal immigrants being the bane of existence, and that corporations and the rich are our friends, among other falsehoods.

I am a liberal that wants to do battle. I want say “this is what I believe and even if you disagree with me, you’re not going to mischaracterize what I said. And if you do, expect to hear me go back at you, over and over again.”

 

Estimations are that we have three weeks before shortages become endemic, and I think that's being generous.

 

Conservatives supported right-wing leaders who did those things because they were brainwashed. They put partisanship above principle. If they actually lived up to the things they said they believed, they would have supported center-left or center-right politicians instead.