The Trump Administration: The Clusterfuck Continues

[Johnny_L.A]

Top Trump Official Claims Defending Due Process Is ‘Aiding’ Terrorists

Anyone advocating for Due Process for Kilmar Abrego Garcia could be federally charged for ‘aiding and abetting a terrorist’.

Emphasis mine:

The former Newsmax host added that those who dissent against the Trump administration’s actions are “on the side of the cartel members, on the side of the illegal aliens on the side of the terrorists.”

He went even further, saying: “And you have to ask yourself, are they technically aiding and abetting them? Because aiding and abetting criminals and terrorists is a crime in federal statute.”

[LurkMeister]

And here we go: They’re setting the stage for being able to claim that mere dissent to government actions or policy is a crime (or possibly even treason). Dissenters can then be subject to arrest, regardless of their citizenship status.

Suddenly, my old white male ass isn’t feeling so safe.

[Coriolanus]

Is anyone keeping score of what amendments are debated or ignored. What good is SCOTUS ruling on things like the Bill of Rights if the accused terrorist is already sleeping on a concrete floor in a Salvadorean Supermax with an aluminum blanket? Cruel and unusual punishment is in there somewhere (it was already in the Magna Carta) so I’ll have a go:

1st amendment really is so broad. Freedom is religion is mostly there, unless you are the wrong religion. Freedom of speech is dicey - best have a lawyer if you’re gonna speak freely. Assembly? Not really. At some point you’re a mob and the buses will pull up to cart you off for a night or three. Petition the government? Again, have an advocate or lawyer’s phone number.

2nd: Not broad enough, at least in intent. Some say it was meant to fight tyranny and some say it’s to shoot people who tread on your property.

3rd? If soldiers are inclined to “quarter in private homes” - how many guns have you (as per 2nd) to prevent them?

4th (unreasonable searches) and 5th (there’s you’re terrorist-protecting due process) and 6th could have been one big broad thing (even more so than the 1st) yet if tyranny sets in, you’ll enjoy none of those rights.

8th is about “cruel and unusual punishment” and while it’s not up for vote, it’s been voted down.

9th: States rights except when they don’t deserve them so that’s been voted down.

10th is something about the Constitution should be followed so that’s right out.

Our count this far is perhaps 4.5 (ETA without trying to sound like a guy on a box yelling things, I’ll have to lower my score to 3.0 / 10.0 and even there subject to Exec branch) of the first 10 count, subject to the approval of the Executive/DOJ branch, and if you’ve got to cash to pay court costs, you might reach SCOTUS of course.

The rest of the amendments free the slaves, ban liquor, allow liquor, allow women and soldiers who at the time in Viet-nam to vote and other boring stuff like how many terms a president can serve before he ascends to a lifetime presidency.

There will never be another amendment in my lifetime, unless it’s “Mars is Ours” (28th) and certainly 2/3rd’s of Americans will agree on that.

[aurora_maire]

Here’s another stupid thing Trump said. But forget about that for a minute. Who is that lickspittle asshole who is always behind him when he is signing these orders? He reminds me of a fool at a king’s court. He’s like the personification of obsequiousness. Just creepy as fuck. Cursory research has not been helpful. Anyone know?

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)

[crowmanyclouds]

@aurora_maire

Who is that lickspittle asshole who is always behind him when he is signing these orders? He reminds me of a fool at a king’s court. He’s like the personification of obsequiousness. Just creepy as fuck. Cursory research has not been helpful. Anyone know?

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

[aurora_maire]

Thank you. I assumed it was just some toady. Well, it is a toady but I didn’t think it was of the cabinet persuasion.

[DavidNRockies]

See also:

Will Scharf

[Railer13]

The acting commissioner of the IRS, Gary Shapley, is out of a job, after assuming the position earlier this week. His replacement will be the 5th commissioner since Trump took office.

This link from MSNBC says it pretty well:

This week, Shapley’s tenure at the IRS ended after just half a Scaramucci.

[Pardel-Lux]

That’s good news for a tax evader, am I right? No ketchup on the wall tonight, I guess.

[DavidNRockies]

I thought I knew the name. He was a Hunter Biden whistleblower:

Hunter Biden whistleblower out as IRS commissioner after 2 days, amid...

Shapley was one of two IRS whistleblowers to testify before Congress about alleged misgivings in the Hunter Biden probe. The IRS agents alleged the Department of Justice “slow-walked” the investigation and told them not to probe leads related to Joe Biden. They were removed from the case and temporarily sidelined with pay.

Shapley and another agent who said they faced retaliation after blowing the whistle to Congress and speaking out to CBS News about their investigation have already retained high ranking positions in the Trump administration. Shapley was initially assigned to Bessent’s office as a senior adviser for IRS reform, and later named deputy director of criminal investigations at the agency.

In textbook patrimonialism form, the loyalty was rewarded.

See also: Peter Principle

[GuanoLad]

@Pardel-Lux

ketchup on the wall

What does this mean? I have seen it a lot, and can’t figure it out from context.

[Pardel-Lux]

When trump gets angry it is rumored that he throws his ketchup bottle against the wall. His servants then have to clean up after him and paint the wall, pretending nothing has happened. Then he does it (–> temper tanTrump) again.

[kenobi_65]

@Pardel-Lux

When trump gets angry it is rumored that he throws his ketchup bottle against the wall.

Not exactly, but that’s the general gist.

When former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified to the House January 6th committee in June of 2022, she related the following, about a specific incident:

After then-Attorney General William Barr gave an interview to The Associated Press in December 2020 saying there was no widespread voter fraud, Trump was so enraged that he threw his plate of food at the wall, smearing it with ketchup, Hutchinson said.

“There was ketchup dripping down the wall and a shattered porcelain plate on the floor,” Hutchinson testified, noting that aides nearby conveyed the president was “extremely angry” at the Barr interview. She told the committee that she then grabbed a towel and started wiping the ketchup off the wall alongside a presidential valet.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/28/january-6-hearings-cassidy-hutchinson-key-moments-video-analysis-00042914

[GuanoLad]

Okay, that’s a relief. I was worried it was some kind of family-friendly euphemism for blood-spattered violence.

[dasmoocher]

@GuanoLad

Okay, that’s a relief.

Or not. One could take away from the story that the POTUS is an id-driven man-toddler with limited impulse control.

[Wheelz]

The movie The Irishman is based on a book called “I Heard You Paint Houses.” Kind of along those lines.

[Smapti]

The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service is being replaced after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent complained to President Trump that the latest leader of the agency had been installed without his knowledge and at the behest of billionaire Elon Musk. … Mr. Bessent believed that Mr. Musk had done an end run around him to get Gary Shapley installed as the interim head of the I.R.S., even though the tax collection agency reports to Mr. Bessent. Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency pushed the appointment through White House channels, but Mr. Bessent was not consulted or asked for his blessing, the people said.

Trump really has no idea what’s going on.

See also this clip from today where his response to a question about Kilmar Garcia was essentially “I have no idea what you’re talking about but this paper they handed me says he’s a bad guy”.

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)

[DavidNRockies]

The National Weather Service will no longer translate weather information into other languages:

National Weather Service no longer translating products for non-English speakers [AP]

What could possibly go wrong?

Yeah: the cruelty is the point.

[Smapti]

Trump claims the price of eggs is down 92% from when he took office, which, if true, would mean about 50 cents a dozen.

Trump doubles down on calling egg prices ‘too low’ — as costs soar to record...

[wguy123]

I have a relative that works for a privately owned company that manufactures in the US and Mexico. They are a pretty big deal…$450M in first quarter of the year sales. They predict the tariffs will cost them $40M in the next quarter. They are electing to ramp up manufacturing in Mexico since a lot of their customers are outside the US. Ship materials to Mexico → manufacture in Mexico → ship to non-US companies without Trump tariffs.

Make Mexico Great Again! I’m actually happy for Mexico and hope they see a positive outcome from Donny Dipshit’s decisions.

Also, currently they are going to absorb the tariffs which are paid by this company (not CHYNA as Trump claims) by lowering their employee owned stock earnings. They expect they will raise prices on their goods soon. I hope all the employees that voted for Trump are starting to understand…Stop laughing!