Trump Dictatorship and All Things Politics

[Sardines]

Well we've seen some epic failure from Buck trying to both-sides the terrible cabinet choices of trump and just plain flaming out. There is no comparison. Trump and his evil cadre are just far far worse than Mayor Pete, no matter how much they hate the gays.

In a moment of weakness, the day after the election when someone said exactly what I posted "Everyone does it." I kind of too aggressively said "Then all you have to do is provide the evidence, like they've done with Trump. I'd be happy to see Hillary go to prison, you just need to actually have the evidence." As I've mentioned, the people I've worked the most directly with are all Trump supporters. I'm not trying to "other" myself at work. I typically avoid talking about politics at work like it's the cooties.

 

[gandalfe]

Two words Liz Cheney

Three letters: WTF?

 

[Sardines]

Four numbers: 6969

 

[The Thriller]

Your love of Trump is apparent, we get it. But instead of just spouting off how about addressing it with facts and evidence. Here is a starting point, refute the ties to fascism, point by point. Not sure why posting links is such a bad thing, everyone does it. In fact it is how everyone gets their news, and the trolls here post nothing but links and insults. So here are *GASP* 3 more links.

You can start here, see if you can refute any of this with actual facts and evidence that does not delve into conspiracy.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/10/29/trump-fascism-historians-00186027

How Trump's rhetoric compares to historic fascist language

The racist, sexist, and vulgar remarks at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, from the former president himself and his slate of speakers, have drawn significant criticism. For more on the rhetoric and its impact, Amna Nawaz spoke with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York...

www.pbs.org

Is Donald Trump a fascist? Here’s what an expert thinks

Kamala Harris has called Donald Trump a fascist, but does this stand up?

theconversation.com

So please, feel free to select a single point and refute it. Or just keep spouting off and ignore the facts. We know you are a very thinly veiled Trump acolyte, that is obvious. But do what you claim no one else does and use facts to make your point.

Solid post. And I’m glad more people are seeing him as the Trump sucker he is. But but but he’s told us soooo many times that he’s not MAGA. He’s just an innocent principled “conservative” who wants to debate in good faith if only the mean ol libs would give him the chance.

“dEbAtE mE!”

 

[The Thriller]

Four numbers: 6969

Commie

 

[The Thriller]

We live in post-character America. Millions of Americans voting for a rapist insurrectionist fraud fascist proves that out. Nobody cares as long as women and minorities are put back in their place. Gilead here we come!

If true (I think you’re right) then what a wretched state we’re in. And how does a society dig itself out without some sort of terrible reset? One would’ve thought something like Covid or Jan 6 would’ve done it. Instead, they exasperated post-character America. Now more people than before don’t care about character as long as it gets the clicks, generates the views, and gets attention. Especially negative attention. Just earlier this year Trump was convicted not once but twice of sexual assault, right? Then convicted of buying off Stormy Daniels. And if one were to read her testimony, he “light raped” her in the same way Weinstein did. He exploited the power imbalance, insinuated there would be a financial benefit to sex, and more or less compelled her to give it up.

In times past, that would’ve ended a political career.

Not anymore.

Sadly, I think a major problem is that millions of Americans have become too bored with the peace and prosperity that our economic and political system have provided. Society is bored to death and now seeks entertainment through a teevee president who provides them with nonstop entertainment. Rape a woman? Great! Kiss Putin’s ***? Hilarious! **** on our allies? Hahaha oh man! Nominate a pedophile to be your AG? Total lib ownage, besides, whataboutmayorpete!

I truly just don’t know how a president is supposed to govern when 30-40 percent of the country worships a man whose immorality and chaos they crave. I just don’t get it. I don’t get the draw. Then again, I don’t find most of American pop culture to be entertaining. Watch 60 year old Mike Tyson fight some YouTube guy? Why? Don’t we have books to read? Get news from social media? How do I know it’s reliable? I’d rather just pay for a few good papers instead. Watch The Apprentice? I’d rather grill some steak and hang out with the family. Find joy in worshipping a rapist? I want my kids to have good examples in their lives.

I just don’t get the draw. Then again, I’m not lacking self esteem, don’t need to see women or blacks put in their places, wasn’t beaten by my dad, and have lived in other countries so I know that America doesn’t suck (nor is it the worst). I just want stable leadership. One that supports our allies. And I’d love to have universal health care. I think all in our society would be blown away how much of an improvement that would make. And high speed rail. How cool would it be to hop on a fast train from SLC to St George or LA? Again, huge improvement that Americans just don’t understand.

 

[fishonjazz]

You complain about how unqualified Trumps picks are

For the 4th time now, I didn't complain about the lack of qualifications or experience.

Anywho, so everyone good with the Pete pick I guess.

I'm done wasting my time with you. Back to ignoring.

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[fishonjazz]

Personally, my sense is that some cabinet positions require specialized knowledge of the subject matter, while others just need a good manager. I'm pulling a list from Wikipedia and showing what I personally think, but I'm willing to believe that some of those I listed as just needing management ability could need more specialized knowledge. Obviously, whoever it is also needs to have the ability to bring different groups together to get the actual job done.

Secretary of State	Diplomatic experience useful
Secretary of the Treasury	Absolutely needs financial experience
Secretary of Defense	Absolutely needs military command experience
Attorney General	Legal experience required
Secretary of the Interior	Management only
Secretary of Agriculture	Management only
Secretary of Commerce	Financial experience helpful
Secretary of Labor	Management only
Secretary of Health and Human Services	Healthcare experience necessary
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	Management only
Secretary of Transportation	Management only
Secretary of Energy	Physics background useful
Secretary of Education	Education experience (University or school district)
Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Veteran useful
Secretary of Homeland Security	Security/military/intelligence experience necessary
Trade Representative	Financial experience necessary
Director of National Intelligence	Intelligence experience absolutely necessary
Director of the Office of Management and Budget	Financial experience necessary
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy	Science or tech background useful
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	Legal or environmental experience useful
Administrator of the Small Business Administration	Management only

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Office​

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I think Pete's experience as mayor could qualify him as a good manager, and maybe his experience as a consultant.

One other thing that needs to be brought up is that many of Trumps picks aren't there to actually run the department, they're being put in there to dismantle it. You don't need to know how schools work to shut them down, because you don't give a crap. Failure is a feature, not a bug.

He never actually had a problem with the Pete pick, he was just complaining about it to be silly.

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[fishonjazz]

Crappy formatting, but it's all wonky on the site here anyway, so whatever. I feel my listing is pretty good, but the main point is that Pete didn't need to have specific transportation experience - although he had some infrastructure experience for sure as the mayor of a mid-sized city, although that was obviously fairly minor (SecTrans isn't in charge of getting potholes fixed).

Yep the comparison of Biden picking Pete for that position and the trump picks was always stupid. Especially when I was specifically criticizing the trump picks due to corruption and being compromised and scandal and immorality issues rather than qualification and experience issues. It was a stupid comparison to make all along and a waste of time.

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[fishonjazz]

Does character matter anymore?

Pete Hegseth has been credibly accused of rape. He’s cheated on every woman he’s been married to. He’s a misogynist who doesn’t believe women should serve in combat. He lobbied to have a War criminal pardoned. He’s a Fox News host who fluffs Trump on weekends, hence that’s why Trump wants him.

I get that tribalism is important but character matter anymore?

Matt Gaetz has been credibly accused of child rape. He’s notorious for using drugs and hosting sex parties. I get that we can’t always have saints serve in government but why doesn’t Gaetz’s lack of morals or ethics matter to you?

Gabbard defends some of the most disgusting dictators In the world.

Oz has hurt, harmed, and killed countless with his tv show by hosting cranks quacks and promoting pseudoscience for money.

Do we want to start with Trump’s own lack of character or morals?

Why doesn’t character or morality matter to some of you anymore? It’s really weird.

But what about mayor Pete and all the experience he lacks! It's the same!

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[fishonjazz]

Two words Liz Cheney

Thanks for the links to all the evidence of her lack of character, corruption, scandal, and immorality. What position did Biden appoint her to in his cabinet anyway? Oh she wasn't even a part of bidens cabinet and was voted in to the house of representatives by the people of Wyoming (republicans in a red state). Holy bad comparison lol

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[fishonjazz]

MSN

Not seeing any skeletons in the closet, corruption, nepotism, scandal, immorality, etc with this choice. So refreshing. I mean this dude aligns with trumps policies. He wants deregulation and to lower taxes and doesn't want climate change initiatives. Even if I disagree with those things it makes total sense for trump to appoint him to that position and I have no issue with the choice. This is the extremely easy and low bar that most anti trump people are looking for. An appointed person CAN actually be qualified/experienced AND NOT ALSO BE corrupt, compromised, immoral, scandalous, etc.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

You can start here, see if you can refute any of this with actual facts and evidence that does not delve into conspiracy.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/10/29/trump-fascism-historians-00186027

How Trump's rhetoric compares to historic fascist language

The racist, sexist, and vulgar remarks at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, from the former president himself and his slate of speakers, have drawn significant criticism. For more on the rhetoric and its impact, Amna Nawaz spoke with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York...

www.pbs.org

Is Donald Trump a fascist? Here’s what an expert thinks

Kamala Harris has called Donald Trump a fascist, but does this stand up?

theconversation.com

So please, feel free to select a single point and refute it. Or just keep spouting off and ignore the facts.

Easy. Fascism isn’t a type of language. Fascism is a type of government. All Fascist governments have a totalitarian dictator. Not all governments that have a totalitarian dictator are Fascism, but all Fascist governments have a totalitarian dictator. There is disagreement on other characteristics that distinguish Fascism from the broader category of Totalitarianism, but if a government doesn’t have a totalitarian dictator then it isn’t Fascism.

As evidenced by Matt Gaetz having to withdraw his name due to not having a path to get Senate approval, the President of the United States is not a totalitarian dictator and therefore not Fascist.

As a side note, in relying on evaluations of this language being like that language and the statements of “experts” as your “facts”, I’m thinking you may want to start with distinguishing fact from opinion before tackling classifications of government.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

And high speed rail. How cool would it be to hop on a fast train from SLC to St George or LA?

Less cool than jumping on a plane, which is why we have that infrastructure instead. Traveling in your own vehicle is also better. Trains are for countries full of people who can't afford traveling by airplane or owning their own vehicles.

 

[fishonjazz]

MSN

Not seeing any skeletons in the closet, corruption, nepotism, scandal, immorality, etc with this choice. So refreshing. I mean this dude aligns with trumps policies. He wants deregulation and to lower taxes and doesn't want climate change initiatives. Even if I disagree with those things it makes total sense for trump to appoint him to that position and I have no issue with the choice. This is the extremely easy and low bar that most anti trump people are looking for. An appointed person CAN actually be qualified/experienced AND NOT ALSO BE corrupt, compromised, immoral, scandalous, etc.

And in a huge plot twist, Scott Bessent (trumps pick for treasury secretary) is a gay man married to another man (obviously) and has a couple of kids with them. He also has ties with George Soros. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-is-scott-bessent-what-to-know-trump-treasury-secretary-pick/

Bessent now lives in his home state of South Carolina with his husband, former New York City prosecutor John Freeman, with whom he has two children.
"If you had told me in 1984, when we graduated [from Yale], and people were dying of AIDS, that 30 years later I'd be legally married and we would have two children via surrogacy, I wouldn't have believed you," Bessent told the Yale alumni magazine in 2015.

The relationship between a one-time Soros protégé and a Republican leader like Trump may seem unusual, given that the billionaire philanthropist is viewed negatively by many conservatives.


Kudos to trump for this pick.

 

[Sardines]

Easy. Fascism isn’t a type of language. Fascism is a type of government. All Fascist governments have a totalitarian dictator. Not all governments that have a totalitarian dictator are Fascism, but all Fascist governments have a totalitarian dictator. There is disagreement on other characteristics that distinguish Fascism from the broader category of Totalitarianism, but if a government doesn’t have a totalitarian dictator then it isn’t Fascism.

As evidenced by Matt Gaetz having to withdraw his name due to not having a path to get Senate approval, the President of the United States is not a totalitarian dictator and therefore not Fascist.

As a side note, in relying on evaluations of this language being like that language and the statements of “experts” as your “facts”, I’m thinking you may want to start with distinguishing fact from opinion before tackling classifications of government.

Stop being dumb on purpose. No one thinks the U.S. is a fascist country right now.

You know what has to happen before a country becomes a totalitarian dictatorship? Someone has to want a totalitarian dictatorship, put the pieces in place to aid the transformation, spread the ideology that will allow people to accept the transformation, put a step by step plan in place to begin the transformation and then execute the plan.

When one finds oneself in a totalitarian dictatorship they find themself helpless to change it. The time to prevent living is a totalitarian dictatorship is to act BEFORE their nation becomes one.

And while one works to prevent losing their nation to a totalitarian dictatorship there will be clowns on the sidelines telling them they are foolish, to just look around, they aren't in a totalitarian dictatorship, why are they being so dramatic? I'm sure once the totalitarian dictatorship takes hold the same clowns will tell the same person to just shut up and get used to it, dear leader knows what's best for you.

 

[LogGrad98]

He never actually had a problem with the Pete pick, he was just complaining about it to be silly.

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Oh he likely has a problem with it, but he can't say what it is because it would compromise the fake persona of the "concerned yet balanced conservative and lone voice of reason" he has so carefully cultivated.

 

[LogGrad98]

And in a huge plot twist, Scott Bessent (trumps pick for treasury secretary) is a gay man married to another man (obviously) and has a couple of kids with them. He also has ties with George Soros. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-is-scott-bessent-what-to-know-trump-treasury-secretary-pick/

Bessent now lives in his home state of South Carolina with his husband, former New York City prosecutor John Freeman, with whom he has two children.
"If you had told me in 1984, when we graduated [from Yale], and people were dying of AIDS, that 30 years later I'd be legally married and we would have two children via surrogacy, I wouldn't have believed you," Bessent told the Yale alumni magazine in 2015.

The relationship between a one-time Soros protégé and a Republican leader like Trump may seem unusual, given that the billionaire philanthropist is viewed negatively by many conservatives.


Kudos to trump for this pick.

It's still mostly on-Brand as Trump cares more about the money a person has and how loyal they are to him than anything else. Trump has never given off a huge "hate da gays" vibe, he just tacitly approved of the rhetoric enough to get his acolytes to believe he's fully on their side. But that doesn't mean as much to Trump in reality. Loyalty to trump is all the matters and of course he believes billionaires know best, so largely this is on-brand.

 

[fishonjazz]

It's still mostly on-Brand as Trump cares more about the money a person has and how loyal they are to him than anything else. Trump has never given off a huge "hate da gays" vibe, he just tacitly approved of the rhetoric enough to get his acolytes to believe he's fully on their side. But that doesn't mean as much to Trump in reality. Loyalty to trump is all the matters and of course he believes billionaires know best, so largely this is on-brand.

On the other hand I would assume that most treasury secretaries are going to be wealthy people as they should be experts in the realm of finance. Would probably be a bad sign if trump appointed someone who was financially insecure to head the countries finances. Im not seeing anything to criticize trump for regarding this pick. From what I can tell he has no history of being loyal to trump. I mean im sure he is now because trump is kind of his boss now and so it makes some sense. I did read that he might have a bit of push back against trumps ideas on tariffs as well. (though I read a couple of articles about this dude and one says he is against trumps ideas on tariffs and one says he is completely supportive of them so idk)
This choice is totally fine with me.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

You know what has to happen before a country becomes a totalitarian dictatorship? Someone has to want a totalitarian dictatorship, put the pieces in place to aid the transformation, spread the ideology that will allow people to accept the transformation, put a step by step plan in place to begin the transformation and then execute the plan.

Given what you wrote, how do you see the Republican's support for maintaining the filibuster in the Senate as playing in this envisioned transformation? If Trump wants a form of government that is clearly not supported by the US Constitution, then why does he have such a strong history of nominating originalist judges?

This whole narrative was overheated campaign rhetoric that wasn't good for the country during the campaign, and is even worse now after the campaign. During the campaign it was hate in service of getting Kamala elected. Now it is just hate for the sake of hate.