Canada prepares for The Return of the Orange Man

Water Cooler
#21

8^{\circ} F for Reagan’s 2nd inaugural was chilly.
It looks like it’s going to be in the Rotunda, which is a shame because fewer people will be able to see it in person. I’m sure there will be plenty of Jumbotrons (those big TVs), but it’s not the same.
There are also (unconfirmed) reports that the inaugural parade might be held inside Capital One arena, home of the local NHL and NBA teams. Again, fewer people will be able to see it in person.

There’s an old story that at the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, a lady asked Benjamin Franklin what kind of government America now had. Franklin replied, `a republic, if you can keep it.’ One of Trump’s tasks in his 2nd term is to restore the Republic and dismantle the administrative state, so that the people we elect to run the country are the people who actually run the country. If Trump succeeds, he’ll go down in history as one of the greats.

Reagan used to talk about America being (John Winthrop’s) shining city on a hill, and in his farewell address, he asked rhetorically, How stands the city on this cold winter night? Stronger, and in good hands.

``And how stands the city on this winter night?
More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago.
But more than that:
After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge,
and her glow has held steady no matter what storm.
And she’s still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom,
for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.
We’ve done our part.
And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution,
the men and women across America who for 8 years did the work that brought America back.
My friends: We did it. We weren’t just marking time. We made a difference.
We made the city stronger, we made the city freer, and we left her in good hands.
All in all, not bad, not bad at all.
And so, goodbye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

You’ve got big shoes to fill, Donald Trump. Go out there and win another one for the Gipper.

Added: Kid Rock is playing the Inaugural Ball, and he was discussing it on Jesse Watter on Fox.
Kid Rock said that even though he didn’t vote for Obama, he attended and performed at Obama’s first Inaugural Ball because he was asked to, and he went out of respect for the Presidency.

#22

I’m from the other side of the pond and don’t follow the domestic US stuff too much. But while I think the president has both good and bad sides, his approach to politics has undeniably been refreshing in many ways. He’s shaken up the status quo and brought issues that many politicians avoid. He also seems to be a fan of realpolitiks and I like that.

But the one thing I can’t overlook is the long-term damage done by sowing so much doubt in the democratic process - this whole trust in the democratic process has been the US’s biggest strengths. The fact that about a third of Americans now believe elections are fraudulent is pretty fuccked. Butthole countries in Africa have similar numbers. Trust in the institutions is vital, and undermining it has consequences that go far beyond any single presidency.

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#23

You’ve got a point.
When Nixon lost to JFK in 1960, a lot of people believed that Nixon actually won but lost because of shenanigans in Texas and Illinois. Nixon wrote in his memoirs that the reason he didn’t challenge the election was that it would have damaged the standing of the US in the world.
And Al Gore trying to get selective recounts in Florida in 2000 certainly damaged the standing of the US (Gore wanted to count the spoiled ballots in districts he won but not in districts he lost, and then there were the hanging chads).

But in a larger sense, by definition a republic is a state in which political power rests with the public through the people they elect. If the country is run by a permanent bureaucracy rather than the people we elect to run the country, at some point it ceases to be a republic.

#24

True. Looking at the development of the US from over here, the main concern isn’t really the bloated bureaucracy but the centralization of power in the hands of fewer and fewer people and completely uneven presentation, in addition to the lack of trust in the democratic process. The rise of Super PACs that can spend unlimited amount of funds on candidates is to me an abomination to democracy. We’ll see how things develop but to me it seems that the US is making huge missteps and is on a trajectory of becoming a true plutocracy or a corporatocracy

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#25

That’s been part of the rise of Trumpism.
Mitch McConnell, who just stepped down as the leader of the Senate Republicans, was very much a corporatist, as was Romney.
McConnell was responsible for blocking much of the Trump agenda in the Senate in Trump’s first time.
The Trump coalition is much more working-class, returning to the blueprint laid down by Nixon in 1968/72 and Reagan in 1980/84, although Trump has taken it further and managed to construct a multi-ethnic working-class coalition, which Nixon had discussed but decided was a bridge too far at the time.
Matt Gaetz, whom Trump wanted to be Attorney-General but who withdrew when it became clear that he didn’t have the votes in the Senate to be confirmed, famously said that the Republican party ``can’t be whores for big business and be the voice of the working class at the same time,‘’ which didn’t endear him to the corporate wing of the Republican party

If you look at the expenditures in the 2024 race, they’re obscene.
2024 Presidential Race

\begin{array}{|l|r|r|} \hline &\textrm{Candidate Committee}&\textrm{Outside}\cr &\textrm{Money}&\textrm{Money}\cr\hline \textrm{Harris}&\$1.151\textrm{B}&\$844\textrm{M}\cr\hline \textrm{Trump}&\$464\textrm{M}&\$976\textrm{M}\cr\hline \end{array}

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#26

The numbers I’ve seen, 220k ticket holders for the inauguration, but only 600 will be able to watch it in the Rotunda. That’s a shame. People have come from far and wide to see the ceremony and are going to be disappointed

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#27

Wild if true

image

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#28

That was on Bloomberg??

President Trump is being inaugurated on Martin Luther King Day, which became a federal holiday under President Reagan.
Trump has promised to release the remaining records relating to the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK.
twitter: Trump promises to declassify the JFK, RFK, MLK records, and “other topics of great public interest” in the “coming days.”
Trump had intended to release the JFK records in his first term, but reportedly Pompeo stopped it.
Biden also failed to release them.
JFK and RFK I was expecting, because it’s probably part of the deal with Bobby Jr (and many of us were hoping that Kennedy would get the CIA position because who better to clean it up than someone who believes that it killed half his family). MLK, I wasn’t expecting and I’m pleasantly surprised.
It’s been 60 years since they were killed (JFK 1963, MLK 1964, RFK 1968) and those involved are long dead, so the only reason not to have released these files seems to be to protect the institutions.
Maybe there’s no there there and Lee Harvey Oswald, James Earl Ray, and Sirhan Sirhan (who is still alive) each acted alone, in which case there would be seem to be no reason not to have released the records decades ago.
It would be nice if he could release any records the CIA has on Watergate as well.

And of course today being MLK Day, we remember the `I have a dream’ speech:

``I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!‘’

It’s hard to square that with `Orange Man Bad’

#29

haha no, it is a joke about how facebook stops fact checking. On top left there’s “Meta: End of Fact Checks” :smiley:

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#30

And in the quest of this, the intersectional activism has achieved a remarkable feat: individuals are now often seen primarily through the lens of their external and societal traits rather than their personal qualities. An artist’s work is judged based on the artist’s intersectional attributes rather than the merits of the artwork itself, an individual’s actions are interpreted through the framework of their perceived position on the victim hierarchy, opinions are dismissed from public discourse based on who expresses them, rather than the content of what is being said.

In its search of a more tolerant world, the left managed to create an ideology that is probably more binary, black and white, and intolerant than anything we’ve seen in the past 30-40 years.

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#31

The inauguration went well, but it’s a shame it had to be moved inside. The people wanted to see their President.
Franklin Graham hit a home run, as did the President, and I actually thought Rev Graham was going to stop after his first paragraph:

`Mr President The last four years, there are times I’m sure you thought it was pretty dark.
But look what God has done. ’

That was amazing and set the tone.

The President’s speech was amazing too, and he talked of unity, of restoring the Republic,
and of a Golden Age of peace and prosperity.

To the Black and Hispanic communities,
I want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust that you have shown me
with your vote. We set records, and I will not forget it.
I’ve heard your voices in the campaign, and I look forward to working with you in the years to come.

Today is Martin Luther King Day and his honor — this will be a great honor — but in his honor,
we will strive together to make his dream a reality. We will make his dream come true.

National unity is now returning to America and confidence and pride is soaring like never before.
In everything we do my administration will be inspired by a strong pursuit of excellence
and unrelenting success. We will not forget our country. We will not forget our Constitution.
And we will not forget our God.‘’

(snip)

``We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit based.‘’

(snip)

``We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end.
And, perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.
My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be.
A peacemaker and a unifier.
I’m pleased to say that, as of yesterday, one day before I assumed office,
the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to their families.‘’

I took a look at USA Today
I thought the Bushes had changed sides and were bffs with the Clintons and the Obamas.
USA Today didn’t get the memo.
`Former President George W. Bush and wife Laura Bush arrive for the inauguration ceremony…’

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#32

Tells a lot about how times have changed when President mentions in his inauguration address that

  1. There only two sexes
  2. Will deport illegal immigrants

and these points wreak havoc within some electorate.

Otherwise I think his address was too aggressive (Gulf of America, what?) and sows more division in an already divided population.

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#33

And is he for real? Pardoning people involved in the Capitol riot. Full out 3rd world shiit.

Beacon of light and home of democracy, land of the free :smiley:

#34

Gulf of Mexico wasn’t the original name, the early Spanish explorers called it Golfo de Nueva España' and people referred to it as the Spanish sea’.
I like that Mt McKinley is once again known as Mt McKinley.
Obama changed the name to Denali (like the GMC Truck) and Trump changed it back

#35

There’s a lot we don’t know about J6, including the extent to which it was instigated by the Feds.
People refer to Jan 6th as the `Fedsurrection.’
It looks increasingly as though much of what happened was instigated by undercover Feds, and the FBI has refused to disclose how many undercover Feds were present that day.
Then-Speaker Pelosi had refused the offer of National Guard personnel which would have prevented any incidents.
In the videos you see people being waved though doors by the Capitol Police, only to be arrested once on the other side. People were sent to jail for that.

25% of the J6 protesters were convicted and sent to jail for things that weren’t crimes.
There was a Supreme Court case about it.
One of the hallmarks of Lawfare has been the expansive use of statutes.
About 25% of the J6ers were charged under SarbOx (the financial legislation) which sets criminal penalties for anyone who alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object'', and another clause includes anyone who otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding’'.
That last clause was the one which was used. The Supreme Court ruled across ideological lines that the law could only be used against defendants who tampered with documents.
FISCHER v. UNITED STATES
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that the government’s view of the law’s reach “defies the most plausible understanding” of the statute, 18 U.S. Code 1512.
The provision carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, which is why it was used.

If you want an actual insurrection, try 1954 United States Capitol shooting when Puerto Rican nationalists shot 5 members of Congress in the House chamber. Those involved subsequently had their sentences commuted by President Carter

Meanwhile, anti-Trump protestors erect a guillotine in DC

#36

Markets are up. The concern is an economy that is too strong. Plus we are stealing TikTok from China. This is wonderful news. China has done this to us, it is only right we show them how to play game theory.

Is this an era of persecution. Sure. I think the alphabet soup will be fine. It will just revert to how things were.

What’s sad is the illegals, they are really going to be persecuted. If we can afford it haha.

I just went through the exercise of how much it would cost though. 13m illegals. Plan is to deport 1m per year. Cost is about 100b a year. What a friggin waste. 1.3 trillion plus.

I would rather spend that money deporting criminals. In a prison in some third world country where conditions are horrendous so they can atone.

2 Likes
#37

border update: Tom Horman on CNN

I’m old enough to remember the Reagan amnesty, whereby the illegals at the time got to stay and in return Congress promised to fix the border. Most people (including me) supported it at the time, because we were told there were a million illegals and that securing the border would fix the problem.
Congress never did fix the border, and the million or so illegals we thought we were amnestying turned out to be 3 million, and they in turn brought their families to the US, taking the total to the 10 million ballpark.
After he left office, Reagan said that he regretted the amnesty, because Congress never delivered on their side of it.
No one really knows how many illegals there are. 13M is being bandied about but that number seems to have been used for decades. There are supposedly 650K criminal illegals on the non-detained docket (that’s illegals who committed a crime other than an immigration crime, and the non-detained docket means ICE encountered them and released them. They’re the ones Tom Horman is planning on starting with).

#38

Big numbers, 3.5-4.5 % of the total population.

#39

Meanwhile in the Vatican
One of the harshest critics of the Orange Man has been the Red Pope.
Decree of the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State regarding illicit entries into the territory of the Vatican City State, issued on December 19 2024
The original is in Italian.
Article 1:

Anyone who enters the territory of the Vatican City State with violence, threats or deception
is punishable by imprisonment from one to four years and a fine from €10,000.00 to €25,000.00.
Entry is considered to have occurred “by deception” when the entry occurs through fraudulent
evasion of the security and protection systems of the State, or by evading border controls.

#40

Do as I say, not as I do :smiley:

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