It's all just a game to them, Trump, Burgum, the USPP FOP. Treat public policy as theater, appear tougher on crime. If innocent people get hurt or killed in the process, no matter. It's evidently worth it for the laughs. Villainous behavior.
Same story over and over from this bunch. Act first, deny responsibility for the results. Who would have imagined that Iran would close off the strait of Hormuz?? Certainly no one in this clown car.
I remember when Bill Clinton caved to demands and added 100,000 sworn officers to the already too-high number of cops in the country. This was accomplished by giving Interior, Forest Service and even Fish and Wildlife officers the same authority (and protections) as sworn law enforcement officers. The first clue I had was when I saw a game warden with the same light bar as a highway patrol cruiser in pursuit of who knows who for who knows what crime, real or imagined. Then I saw a Forest Service LE Ranger engaged in traffic enforcement! Our state highway patrol got that activity stopped pretty quickly, how dare they horn in on our jurisdiction? Anyway, we are all very well policed, aren't we?
The president of the USA has powers (decrees/executive orders/preferences/desires) like a king. If we ever get out of this mess, we need amendments to limit unilateral powers because what we have, how it has evolved, is not safe or healthy for a democracy. Too many unilateral powers for any one individual.
We’re all supposed to be. It’s a version of ‘shock and awe.’
A big reason he has so much power is the GOP let him take over the party apparatus & broke their necks to please him. The ‘conservative’ cabal at SCOTUS gave him powers of immunity and some other authority no previous president had. No previous president had some of them because like immunity, there is no such thing in the Constitution.
Then there is the Congress. The Speaker of the House is a bowl of jello. (And easily checks the white ‘christian’ nationalist boxes). He was chosen for Speaker in part because he is a constitutional attorney. He worked diligently, out of the public eye, on ways to deny certification of Biden’s election. The Senate is occasionally useful. The GOP members of Congress all want something. Drumpf can grant it; block it or (thanks SCOTUS) have them investigated. Public officials and Congress know what life is like if he makes them a target so they rarely cross him. As Project 2025 directed maga minded plants were placed in positions of power across the gov’t.
Like his Iran War, that maybe is or isn't a formally declared war. But that's already cost the taxpayers $200 BILLION. Or maybe more. Our GOP CONGRESS is supposed to declare war. Our GOP CONGRESS is supposed to have the power of the purse, and decide whether to fund this war it won't declare. Instead, these pussies are putting that $200 billion on the taxpayer's VISA card.
Either way, Republicans up and down the ballot have proven they are beyond incompetent. Vote Blue!
I don’t know how you would write an amendment or a law that would prevent bad decisions. The National Parks are federal property and subject to rules and regulations by Burgum whose job is to follow directives from the president. You can’t create a legal barrier to prevent a president (or anyone) from expressing their preferences or desires.
There are limits on executive orders although Drumpf doesn’t acknowledge them & so it seems that there are not. However he would not be losing in court day after day if he actually had so many of the powers he claims. For instance, he loses over and over on trying to change how elections are run in states because it is unconstitutional. Same for Feds obtaining voter rolls etc. He loses when he attempts to basically bypass Congress & write laws or change laws. Same story for spending money Congress has not appropriated.
It is as president’s job to administer the government and set out his policy preferences to Cabinet members to be implemented. That doesn’t mean we couldn’t improve the process with legislation. Same for corruption at SCOTUS. I think our basic problem is we need serious people with good judgement. Unfortunately the country elected a trifecta of pathetic selfish greedy losers.
Burgum, an idiot with hair, should go to prison. In a perfect world, most of these cabinets members would be in jail. In a more perfect world, they never would have had these positions of power.
Most mass killers, historically, have invaded territories and killed, kidnapped, raped and pillaged. What Twump et al have done is take away the support that African countries need as they develop and come into their own. Millions will die from what should be manageable diseases and plagues. Most will be children.
Just stop for a small second and think about your baby, or your grandchild, a small infant in your arms, dying as you hold them. Mothers and fathers across Africa are living this right now.
More than the swath of infant and women's deaths, though, is that without this aid, without this American presence, those dictator-run superpowers step in and their ideology becomes part of the poorer countries' fabric. No women's and children's rights, no universal rights, no human rights, no civil rights. No, the only people who have rights in China and Russia are the handful at the top, or let's face it, one man, making decisions.
Katy, when a child dies from a preventable death, the parent will likely hold considerable anger/resentment in his/her heart. How will the bereaved parent act in the future?
Are the future actions of the parent after bombing/murder/preventable illness considered by those who deny vaccines? who bomb schools and homes?
I think about this all the time. I think about those already radicalized, or becoming more radicalized by the actions of Twump and Hogbreath, Rubio and Vance. I think about children sitting at their school desks when a bomb drops and obliterates them. As a mother, I would stop at nothing to get revenge. Mostly, that would hurt me because it would make me crazier than losing my child has made me.
Too many Iranians, and others, have been treated as subhumans by this administration simply because they are a different color, religion or culture.
White men (and some women) are so afraid of the white race's extinction they will make the entire world suffer for their fear of losing their place in line. Some of these are knuckle-draggers like the abominable Nick Fuentes, but also executives, well-educated, religious figures and others who should know better
I’ve been using poetry (writing, reading) as a way to deal with all the cruelty, carelessness and callousness that is the hallmark of this real estate mob bosses administration. I find using the haiku is a wonderful way to distill all the chaos into a few clarifying words.
Nature is nature and human beings are the destroyers. Before humans, the earth took care of itself and as it developed over billion of years, it did a pretty magnificent job (think dinosaurs and mountains). Since the Industrial Revolution the only thing humans have done is destroy nature as we "progress." And now, omg, we are turning our stewardship over to the machines we created. I feel sorry for nature. And us.
I agree. We are now all children of the enlightenment and for better or worse, there’s no going back. Western enlightenment of self took us out of the realm of average individuals that banded together to be smart stewards collectively and flipped the script. We are now self interested self righteous cut off our noses to spite our faces individuals that see collective good as stupidity, and of course, that includes the separation of self from nature and all the consequences that come with that separation.
Yes. Yesterday I realized in a flash what social media has done to our collective creativity. My yoga class was discussing the Scots/Boston phenomena and when I mentioned something I thought was original, someone riffed with something they had seen on social media (of which I do not imbibe) and I thought, we cannot have original thoughts any more because someone from Indiana posted it already. What should have been a mere sentence in a conversation became something someone already read. It stymies and stops conversation and thought. But I suppose I am in the minority and everybody is reading clever social media posts all day as they entertain themselves to death.
Another great exposé, Judd. These guys take such delight in chasing, harming, and killing. Why aren’t they screened out of the force? We are recruiting the wrong kind of people.
Trump loves violence. He probably asked for the video of the kid being burned alive so he can watch it on loop. These people are animals and should be treated as such.
Agree with your horror about this administration lack of empathy and recognition of everyone's shared humanity - therefore don't exactly agree with last sentence. Get the moral indignation though!
I worked for the National Capital Parks region many years ago and developed a belief that the Park Police were a cut above. In the years since I’ve had no reason to change that opinion… until now. Burgum has turned them into yet another tool of the kakistocracy, working against the people instead of for them - colluding in the insanity of the Reflecting Pool nonsense and now responsible for the death of a innocent who happened to be in the way of Trumpian hypergonadism. Another respected institution is now in the sewers of this administration.
Hell is too cold for these people... from the trump cabinet on down to congress...blood on all their hands...throw them in the reflecting pool and let them eat off the bottom...
They (Republicans) don’t care about human life at all. We can stop this by removing the entire felon administration. But none of our agencies, including military will protect its citizens based the Constitution. Instead the pledge to trump.
Injustice once again on display for the "just-us" crowd! Lives lost, not acknowledged. No justice for families. We can name who they are, both civilian and military, and there are countless others imprisoned for doing nothing other than speaking another language or trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. I have long thought that the worst trait of this administration isn't its bigotry, grift, misogyny, although all are horrible. It's their gleeful cruelty. I hope it's long remembered and needs to be called out over and over!
It's all just a game to them, Trump, Burgum, the USPP FOP. Treat public policy as theater, appear tougher on crime. If innocent people get hurt or killed in the process, no matter. It's evidently worth it for the laughs. Villainous behavior.
Same story over and over from this bunch. Act first, deny responsibility for the results. Who would have imagined that Iran would close off the strait of Hormuz?? Certainly no one in this clown car.
I remember when Bill Clinton caved to demands and added 100,000 sworn officers to the already too-high number of cops in the country. This was accomplished by giving Interior, Forest Service and even Fish and Wildlife officers the same authority (and protections) as sworn law enforcement officers. The first clue I had was when I saw a game warden with the same light bar as a highway patrol cruiser in pursuit of who knows who for who knows what crime, real or imagined. Then I saw a Forest Service LE Ranger engaged in traffic enforcement! Our state highway patrol got that activity stopped pretty quickly, how dare they horn in on our jurisdiction? Anyway, we are all very well policed, aren't we?
The president of the USA has powers (decrees/executive orders/preferences/desires) like a king. If we ever get out of this mess, we need amendments to limit unilateral powers because what we have, how it has evolved, is not safe or healthy for a democracy. Too many unilateral powers for any one individual.
Very good point. Also, an "emergency" should be well defined.
As a Canadian, I’m stunned by how much power he has.
We’re all supposed to be. It’s a version of ‘shock and awe.’
A big reason he has so much power is the GOP let him take over the party apparatus & broke their necks to please him. The ‘conservative’ cabal at SCOTUS gave him powers of immunity and some other authority no previous president had. No previous president had some of them because like immunity, there is no such thing in the Constitution.
Then there is the Congress. The Speaker of the House is a bowl of jello. (And easily checks the white ‘christian’ nationalist boxes). He was chosen for Speaker in part because he is a constitutional attorney. He worked diligently, out of the public eye, on ways to deny certification of Biden’s election. The Senate is occasionally useful. The GOP members of Congress all want something. Drumpf can grant it; block it or (thanks SCOTUS) have them investigated. Public officials and Congress know what life is like if he makes them a target so they rarely cross him. As Project 2025 directed maga minded plants were placed in positions of power across the gov’t.
(This was published a year before Drumpf took the WH a 2nd time. https://huffman.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/new-congressional-report-highlights-mike-johnsons-christian-nationalist-views )
Like his Iran War, that maybe is or isn't a formally declared war. But that's already cost the taxpayers $200 BILLION. Or maybe more. Our GOP CONGRESS is supposed to declare war. Our GOP CONGRESS is supposed to have the power of the purse, and decide whether to fund this war it won't declare. Instead, these pussies are putting that $200 billion on the taxpayer's VISA card.
Either way, Republicans up and down the ballot have proven they are beyond incompetent. Vote Blue!
I don’t know how you would write an amendment or a law that would prevent bad decisions. The National Parks are federal property and subject to rules and regulations by Burgum whose job is to follow directives from the president. You can’t create a legal barrier to prevent a president (or anyone) from expressing their preferences or desires.
There are limits on executive orders although Drumpf doesn’t acknowledge them & so it seems that there are not. However he would not be losing in court day after day if he actually had so many of the powers he claims. For instance, he loses over and over on trying to change how elections are run in states because it is unconstitutional. Same for Feds obtaining voter rolls etc. He loses when he attempts to basically bypass Congress & write laws or change laws. Same story for spending money Congress has not appropriated.
It is as president’s job to administer the government and set out his policy preferences to Cabinet members to be implemented. That doesn’t mean we couldn’t improve the process with legislation. Same for corruption at SCOTUS. I think our basic problem is we need serious people with good judgement. Unfortunately the country elected a trifecta of pathetic selfish greedy losers.
Burgum, an idiot with hair, should go to prison. In a perfect world, most of these cabinets members would be in jail. In a more perfect world, they never would have had these positions of power.
A lot of folks have / will have died because of Trump...eliminating USAID, overturning Roe, etc...
Most mass killers, historically, have invaded territories and killed, kidnapped, raped and pillaged. What Twump et al have done is take away the support that African countries need as they develop and come into their own. Millions will die from what should be manageable diseases and plagues. Most will be children.
Just stop for a small second and think about your baby, or your grandchild, a small infant in your arms, dying as you hold them. Mothers and fathers across Africa are living this right now.
More than the swath of infant and women's deaths, though, is that without this aid, without this American presence, those dictator-run superpowers step in and their ideology becomes part of the poorer countries' fabric. No women's and children's rights, no universal rights, no human rights, no civil rights. No, the only people who have rights in China and Russia are the handful at the top, or let's face it, one man, making decisions.
Katy, when a child dies from a preventable death, the parent will likely hold considerable anger/resentment in his/her heart. How will the bereaved parent act in the future?
Are the future actions of the parent after bombing/murder/preventable illness considered by those who deny vaccines? who bomb schools and homes?
I think about this all the time. I think about those already radicalized, or becoming more radicalized by the actions of Twump and Hogbreath, Rubio and Vance. I think about children sitting at their school desks when a bomb drops and obliterates them. As a mother, I would stop at nothing to get revenge. Mostly, that would hurt me because it would make me crazier than losing my child has made me.
Too many Iranians, and others, have been treated as subhumans by this administration simply because they are a different color, religion or culture.
White men (and some women) are so afraid of the white race's extinction they will make the entire world suffer for their fear of losing their place in line. Some of these are knuckle-draggers like the abominable Nick Fuentes, but also executives, well-educated, religious figures and others who should know better
I’ve been using poetry (writing, reading) as a way to deal with all the cruelty, carelessness and callousness that is the hallmark of this real estate mob bosses administration. I find using the haiku is a wonderful way to distill all the chaos into a few clarifying words.
All is a weapon.
Cars, pools, cages, thoughts, words, you
Shut up. You are next.
Our silent green blob,
hemmed by fence and filmed with frog,
speak truth to real scum.
Now that's a haiku! Also, a funny haiku. And your use of frog is quite original. It is all about algae without mentioning it.
I was thinking of Amphifa the frog with their own take on First they came for…
"Amphifa the frog" just blows my head up. I want the t-shirt. No, wait, the hat.
First they came for toads
And now they're coming for me
Amphifa the frog
LMAO
You’ve seen the picture?
So I get an A?
Signed,
Always an English student.
If you want an A, you got it. I worked at a high school which was credit/no credit but tradition prevails.
Writing a poem, any poem, is an honorable thing so, for life, you get an A. For grubbing grades, you get credit.
Nicely wrought, but haiku is traditionally about nature. Can we see what you can do with, I don't know, let's say algae.
Signed,
A former English teacher
Once a pretty pool
Trump stated it was broken
Now full of algae
Sent from my Android
which may explain my typos:
I have fat fingers.
Trump's decorator:
"It's the color of money...
Pool should match the grass."
Understood. And human nature is a part of that creation, yes?
Nature is nature and human beings are the destroyers. Before humans, the earth took care of itself and as it developed over billion of years, it did a pretty magnificent job (think dinosaurs and mountains). Since the Industrial Revolution the only thing humans have done is destroy nature as we "progress." And now, omg, we are turning our stewardship over to the machines we created. I feel sorry for nature. And us.
Looking forward to your haiku-ed thoughts.
I agree. We are now all children of the enlightenment and for better or worse, there’s no going back. Western enlightenment of self took us out of the realm of average individuals that banded together to be smart stewards collectively and flipped the script. We are now self interested self righteous cut off our noses to spite our faces individuals that see collective good as stupidity, and of course, that includes the separation of self from nature and all the consequences that come with that separation.
Yes. Yesterday I realized in a flash what social media has done to our collective creativity. My yoga class was discussing the Scots/Boston phenomena and when I mentioned something I thought was original, someone riffed with something they had seen on social media (of which I do not imbibe) and I thought, we cannot have original thoughts any more because someone from Indiana posted it already. What should have been a mere sentence in a conversation became something someone already read. It stymies and stops conversation and thought. But I suppose I am in the minority and everybody is reading clever social media posts all day as they entertain themselves to death.
Entertain to death! Now we are talking Brave New World. The other bookend to 1984. Here we find ourselves.
Algae, hum.
Let me sip my hibiscus strawberry tea and get back to you about that.
Another great exposé, Judd. These guys take such delight in chasing, harming, and killing. Why aren’t they screened out of the force? We are recruiting the wrong kind of people.
It's what they recruit for these days! As I just posted, the gleeful cruelty is an abomination!
Burgum should go back to ND. Trump doesn’t care and should be impeached and jailed. Shame.
So, after the tragedies, what did this juvenile administration do? It BANNED REPORTING any deaths in US Parks. Typical coverup, as usual. 😫
Trump loves violence. He probably asked for the video of the kid being burned alive so he can watch it on loop. These people are animals and should be treated as such.
Agree with your horror about this administration lack of empathy and recognition of everyone's shared humanity - therefore don't exactly agree with last sentence. Get the moral indignation though!
I worked for the National Capital Parks region many years ago and developed a belief that the Park Police were a cut above. In the years since I’ve had no reason to change that opinion… until now. Burgum has turned them into yet another tool of the kakistocracy, working against the people instead of for them - colluding in the insanity of the Reflecting Pool nonsense and now responsible for the death of a innocent who happened to be in the way of Trumpian hypergonadism. Another respected institution is now in the sewers of this administration.
Hell is too cold for these people... from the trump cabinet on down to congress...blood on all their hands...throw them in the reflecting pool and let them eat off the bottom...
They're all pond scum!
Amateurs engaged in changing laws. It never ends well.
They (Republicans) don’t care about human life at all. We can stop this by removing the entire felon administration. But none of our agencies, including military will protect its citizens based the Constitution. Instead the pledge to trump.
Injustice once again on display for the "just-us" crowd! Lives lost, not acknowledged. No justice for families. We can name who they are, both civilian and military, and there are countless others imprisoned for doing nothing other than speaking another language or trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. I have long thought that the worst trait of this administration isn't its bigotry, grift, misogyny, although all are horrible. It's their gleeful cruelty. I hope it's long remembered and needs to be called out over and over!
Another example of poor foresight and non-adherence to scientific facts being done by Trump and the idiots in his administration.
Make DC a state so no future President can run it as his personal fiefdom.