[Winstonm]

One of the best gotchas of recent memory: The satire site, The Onion, has won the bid to purchase Inforwars, the website that Alex Jones owned until he lost a lawsuit and had to pay a 1.5 billion dollar judgement to the families of the victims of Sandy Hook.

https://apnews.com/a...87dcd937b3588e9

[barmar]

pilowsky, on 2024-November-13, 16:09, said:

With the appointment of Matt Gaetz to Attorney-General, satire is now officially dead.
What next? MTG for NIH?

It's not enough that Trump has talked about putting RFKJr in charge of healthcare?

I think we'd be better off if the brain worm were appointed.

[kenberg]

I gather that some Republicans are not entirely happy with the selection of Gaetz, RFK Jr and some others. But hey, no problem we can bypass Senate hearings with interim appointments. That way Republican senators can say "Well. gee, what could I do?"

Here we are, no surprise.

I am pessimistic. DT will install his loyalists, aka stooges, and they will do as he says. But I think that's it for cooperation, nothing else. Nobody with any sense trusts Trump at all. There will be those who do as he says without question, and there will be the rest of us who stay as far away from him as possible. Foreign leaders, for example, will fall into the second category.

When I was growing up, my father installed weatherstripping, the guy across the stree drove a truck, a friend's father was a plumber, my uncle worked in the iron mines. If I thought these people's lives would improve during a Trump presidency that would be a comfort. But I don't think that their lives will improve. Short term perhaps, but very short term.

I do not usually think of myself as a pessimist. But... Here we are. Nothing about Trump is a surprise. Not anymore.

[mycroft]

But the Heritage Foundation and the "corporate conservative Republicans" still think they'll get to run the country from behind the scenes, with "Politics Apprentice" out front giving a show (snow?) to the punters.

Frankly, I think that is one of the few serious political mistakes McConnell made (and, as a serious lefty, what I would have given for him to have been a Mike Johnson instead! I admire his skill as I hate what he did with it) in the last term. He thought he could run the country while the Executive distracted "the base". He - well, I wouldn't say exactly "failed" - but didn't succeed.

I can't imagine people without the political savvy, connections, or "history" he had pulling it off. But they'll try. And, as I said, "try" will be bad enough, especially when added to the chaos inherent in "Politics Apprentice".

[barmar]

Am I the only one who thinks that this rogues list he's proposing as his cabinet is a kind of "loyalty test" for Senate Republicans? Is there a single nominee who is even close to qualified for their positions? If any of them get confirmed, it will prove that Trump really can get practically anything he wants passed.

[thepossum]

barmar, on 2024-November-15, 14:10, said:

Am I the only one who thinks that this rogues list he's proposing as his cabinet is a kind of "loyalty test" for Senate Republicans? Is there a single nominee who is even close to qualified for their positions? If any of them get confirmed, it will prove that Trump really can get practically anything he wants passed.

I just came here, as an outsider of course, to ask something very much along similar lines
Quite a challenge to the Senate

[PassedOut]

barmar, on 2024-November-15, 14:10, said:

Am I the only one who thinks that this rogues list he's proposing as his cabinet is a kind of "loyalty test" for Senate Republicans? Is there a single nominee who is even close to qualified for their positions? If any of them get confirmed, it will prove that Trump really can get practically anything he wants passed.

No wonder this recess appointment strategy is such a big deal for him. I wonder how many senators will submit to Trump, and which ones. Graham, of course.

[akwoo]

I think many people are missing one of the points of Trump's cabinet appointments.

The core of the support for Trump consists of people who think that the world right now is too complicated.

The point of appointing non-experts is to simplify government and society - if the dumbasses that he has appointed can't run the show, then the show is too complicated and should be simplified, even if simplification makes lives materially worse.

[kenberg]

akwoo, on 2024-November-17, 19:19, said:

I think many people are missing one of the points of Trump's cabinet appointments.

The core of the support for Trump consists of people who think that the world right now is too complicated.

The point of appointing non-experts is to simplify government and society - if the dumbasses that he has appointed can't run the show, then the show is too complicated and should be simplified, even if simplification makes lives materially worse.

I think, and I am sure there is broad agreement, that many things are unnecessarily complicated. That is still very far from saying that I would like Trump to be in charge of the simplification. I do not want Trump in charge of anything whatsoever. Hardly a surprise to anyone. Of course I am not in charge of saying who will be in charge.

I plan to cope.

[pilowsky]

akwoo, on 2024-November-17, 19:19, said:

I think many people are missing one of the points of Trump's cabinet appointments.

The core of the support for Trump consists of people who think that the world right now is too complicated.

The point of appointing non-experts is to simplify government and society - if the dumbasses that he has appointed can't run the show, then the show is too complicated and should be simplified, even if simplification makes lives materially worse.

You're right. If you have any time left over from playing bridge is there any chance you could build me a nuclear submarine?
The people doing it at the moment are insisting its complicated and they're taking too long.