Shit is coming home to roost - I know everyone uses FAFO these days, but I like "shit coming home to roost" better, fits my curmudgeonly attitude.
Folks, I have a job where I can work remotely and I'm in talks with people to remove my ass to the Solomon Islands. I've got good friends there that I have worked with through the Pacific Traditions Society, I love it there, the people are friendly and they don't know enough about Americans to hate us yet. The Aussies are not well liked, nor the Chinese, because those are the two countries that most impact their lives. Aussies becuz they think the run that part of the world and Chinese because of their shit logging and fishing practices... But I digress.
It's cheap, I can do it and I gotta get outta this place, if it's the last thing I ever do.
I'll still retain American citizenship FWIW, I have family and friends here in the USA, I will continue to work for my USA based company remotely and I will remain involved in USA and Oregon affairs, but from a more comfortable distance.
I was in the Solomon Islands (and surrounding islands and areas) 11 years ago for two months and it was an amazing experience - and it did me some good to be the only white face around and the locals distrusting me because, you know, "I look different". Does a person some good to get both sides of that. See also, comments about Aussies. LMAO.
When they figured out I was American they first asked "What are you doing here?" and then "Where's Oregon?"
I'm going there in March to talk to a friend of mine in the government there - he is a chief of police (functionally) for the Duff Islands and has contacts in the government immigration office - and spend some time in Honiara looking for places to stay and talking to I'm looking to move by October.
I can't help anyone if I'm functionally insane and this country is driving me to it - I'm out - of the country. Not this site :)
Assuming we do endure this somehow, there has to be stricter checks and balances so this can’t ever happen again.
But I have a feeling that if that happens it will be another one sided application. There will be a hyper vigilance to make sure Democrats can never do what Trump and Musk did. But when Republicans eventually win the WH again the rules will be suddenly relaxed again.
Oftentimes I will hear pundits say Democrats lose because they don’t respect voters while Republicans do.
But where is the respect in all this? How is lying about DEI causing plane crashes respectful? How is targeting trans people respectful? How is accusing immigrants of poisoning the blood of America respectful? How is lying about bringing down egg prices on day one respectful? How is telling America to suck it up buttercup when faced with economic pain and hardship due to Trump’s policies respectful? How is abandoning USAID workers overseas and the farmers who rely on them respectful? How is unelected billionaires and their 19 year olds named big balls stealing our personal data respectful? How is lying about uncovering fraud as you illegally cut off funds Congress already appropriated respectful? How is ignoring court rulings respectful? How is attempting to install yourself as dictator respectful?
The cruelty is the point. Trump LOVES watching people suffer. I don't know Musk as well but it looks as if he's the same. They get off on making people hurt, especially minorities, cloaking it under some kind of cost-cutting or other crap to protect themselves.
Sadopopulism is honestly a winning strategy for the unreconstructed. Hell a lot of the farmers voting for him didn't know, didn't care that they were getting consumers for the product that they make for the valuable work USAID does.
But in the end a whole lot of Americans voted because they wanted the ethnic cleansing President Klan Robe promised...in the open. They were side by side with him when he heaped blood libel upon innocent Haitians in Ohio.
It was never about the economy. It was all about the hate, bringing America back to the time when it was "great," when vulnerable minorities were under their thumb and segregation could be practiced openly without reproach. And they're willing to slit their own necks to do it.
An isolated America is more in thrall to the unreconstructed too. That's why our crack foreign policy team and the useless (nominal) vice president are out there breaking things.
And of course, the last thing is that USAID is targeted as more regulatory capture because they were investigating Apartheid Clyde cheating the system. I think I shall expect the NHTSA (which has an open investigation on his self-driving crapware) to be gutted next if it has not already been so. or at least open investigations to cease.
For criminal activities President Klan Robe is there to do, Pam Bondi is his hatchet lady to destroy those cases, of course.
Elect a transnational criminal enterprise to unitary power and you're gonna get this.
We saw a glimpse of this cruelty when he fired James Comey while he was traveling for work, stranding him across the country. It was not as big a deal because Comey could afford to fly back but it showed just what a nasty piece of shit we are dealing with (great job asking for more of that, dumb shit voters!). This is about hurting people, period.
This saves no money, and fuck anyone in the media who even accepts the framing that this does save money—this will all cost us more in the long run as we are already seeing as they try to rehire staff. It’s also of course illegal.
Bill Clinton, a man I have no fondness for, did lay off lots of feds in the ‘90s (such shrinking of government is why Republicans loved him so much and the Clinton years are so famous for kindness between the parties) but he did it in accordance with law—advanced notice, offering other positions to downsized employees, actually determining which positions were not necessary and involving all stakeholders. This is not that. It’s looting and destroying and that’s the only way to describe this illegal action by an Afrikaaner freak who never should have been put in charge but when you elect a dementia patient, this is what you get.
Pain is on our way and if you think you’re immune, try to imagine an economy that’s about to have hundreds of thousands of skilled employees suddenly looking for work.
this is all sad. Here's a moral and systemic dilemma. In bad times, the private sector let hundreds of thousands or even millions go without jobs. Does the same apply to the government sector too? Somebody has to be accountable for high debt, a budget deficit surpassing 6% of GDP, and widespread corruption. It seems (but maybe Trump will retreat as usual) that the public/government sector is going to feel the same pain that the private sector brings over its employees.
What will suffice, in this media environment, is Murc's Law. Accountability is only for Democrats. President Klan Robe honestly has no disincentive to wild out like this because it is a win-win. His antics get clicks, which the media will like, but also because the only remedies available to us are reactive, he can break the thing and then escape the consequences later. And the latter part is not only because his criminal executive branch is responsible for law enforcement, but as the representative of those who have always had rights in America he will have unusual deference in the legal system.
We have the same number of federal employees as we did in the 1950s. Our budget problems are not due to “too many employees.” If you want to decrease the deficit, consider our defense budget, entitlements, and a tax system that fails to even collect all that is owed.
As for the tax system, the IRS manages to collect from average Americans who might owe a thousand or so. But when it comes to the super-rich (who aren't taxed enough), even when they DO owe taxes they somehow manage to slither out of that, too. Just think how much healthier the country's financial situation would be if they actually paid their fair share! When someone has billions of dollars, even paying 70% would leave them with more money than they could spend in a lifetime (as well as generations after them).
This, by the way, is why the whole analogy people like to use (in bad faith) when comparing a household budget to the government budget sucks. They usually do this in their efforts to say "We're going to just cut spending," but the measures conservatives do cut revenue too (for greed purposes). So one could ask them if they use that tired analogy, "So you are suggesting that we also cut our income in order to make ends meet?"
Well well well
https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/02/eastern-oregon-voted-for-trump-now-federal-firings-are-landing-hard.html
Shit is coming home to roost - I know everyone uses FAFO these days, but I like "shit coming home to roost" better, fits my curmudgeonly attitude.
Folks, I have a job where I can work remotely and I'm in talks with people to remove my ass to the Solomon Islands. I've got good friends there that I have worked with through the Pacific Traditions Society, I love it there, the people are friendly and they don't know enough about Americans to hate us yet. The Aussies are not well liked, nor the Chinese, because those are the two countries that most impact their lives. Aussies becuz they think the run that part of the world and Chinese because of their shit logging and fishing practices... But I digress.
It's cheap, I can do it and I gotta get outta this place, if it's the last thing I ever do.
I'll still retain American citizenship FWIW, I have family and friends here in the USA, I will continue to work for my USA based company remotely and I will remain involved in USA and Oregon affairs, but from a more comfortable distance.
I was in the Solomon Islands (and surrounding islands and areas) 11 years ago for two months and it was an amazing experience - and it did me some good to be the only white face around and the locals distrusting me because, you know, "I look different". Does a person some good to get both sides of that. See also, comments about Aussies. LMAO.
When they figured out I was American they first asked "What are you doing here?" and then "Where's Oregon?"
I'm going there in March to talk to a friend of mine in the government there - he is a chief of police (functionally) for the Duff Islands and has contacts in the government immigration office - and spend some time in Honiara looking for places to stay and talking to I'm looking to move by October.
I can't help anyone if I'm functionally insane and this country is driving me to it - I'm out - of the country. Not this site :)
Assuming this regime actually ends, who will ever want to come and work for the government again when they know this shit can happen to them?
Assuming we do endure this somehow, there has to be stricter checks and balances so this can’t ever happen again.
But I have a feeling that if that happens it will be another one sided application. There will be a hyper vigilance to make sure Democrats can never do what Trump and Musk did. But when Republicans eventually win the WH again the rules will be suddenly relaxed again.
And why would any ally or trade partner trust us? This is the Era of Dishonor.
Oftentimes I will hear pundits say Democrats lose because they don’t respect voters while Republicans do.
But where is the respect in all this? How is lying about DEI causing plane crashes respectful? How is targeting trans people respectful? How is accusing immigrants of poisoning the blood of America respectful? How is lying about bringing down egg prices on day one respectful? How is telling America to suck it up buttercup when faced with economic pain and hardship due to Trump’s policies respectful? How is abandoning USAID workers overseas and the farmers who rely on them respectful? How is unelected billionaires and their 19 year olds named big balls stealing our personal data respectful? How is lying about uncovering fraud as you illegally cut off funds Congress already appropriated respectful? How is ignoring court rulings respectful? How is attempting to install yourself as dictator respectful?
Where is the respect in ANY of this?
The cruelty is the point. Trump LOVES watching people suffer. I don't know Musk as well but it looks as if he's the same. They get off on making people hurt, especially minorities, cloaking it under some kind of cost-cutting or other crap to protect themselves.
Sadopopulism is honestly a winning strategy for the unreconstructed. Hell a lot of the farmers voting for him didn't know, didn't care that they were getting consumers for the product that they make for the valuable work USAID does.
But in the end a whole lot of Americans voted because they wanted the ethnic cleansing President Klan Robe promised...in the open. They were side by side with him when he heaped blood libel upon innocent Haitians in Ohio.
It was never about the economy. It was all about the hate, bringing America back to the time when it was "great," when vulnerable minorities were under their thumb and segregation could be practiced openly without reproach. And they're willing to slit their own necks to do it.
An isolated America is more in thrall to the unreconstructed too. That's why our crack foreign policy team and the useless (nominal) vice president are out there breaking things.
And of course, the last thing is that USAID is targeted as more regulatory capture because they were investigating Apartheid Clyde cheating the system. I think I shall expect the NHTSA (which has an open investigation on his self-driving crapware) to be gutted next if it has not already been so. or at least open investigations to cease.
For criminal activities President Klan Robe is there to do, Pam Bondi is his hatchet lady to destroy those cases, of course.
Elect a transnational criminal enterprise to unitary power and you're gonna get this.
We saw a glimpse of this cruelty when he fired James Comey while he was traveling for work, stranding him across the country. It was not as big a deal because Comey could afford to fly back but it showed just what a nasty piece of shit we are dealing with (great job asking for more of that, dumb shit voters!). This is about hurting people, period.
This saves no money, and fuck anyone in the media who even accepts the framing that this does save money—this will all cost us more in the long run as we are already seeing as they try to rehire staff. It’s also of course illegal.
Bill Clinton, a man I have no fondness for, did lay off lots of feds in the ‘90s (such shrinking of government is why Republicans loved him so much and the Clinton years are so famous for kindness between the parties) but he did it in accordance with law—advanced notice, offering other positions to downsized employees, actually determining which positions were not necessary and involving all stakeholders. This is not that. It’s looting and destroying and that’s the only way to describe this illegal action by an Afrikaaner freak who never should have been put in charge but when you elect a dementia patient, this is what you get.
Pain is on our way and if you think you’re immune, try to imagine an economy that’s about to have hundreds of thousands of skilled employees suddenly looking for work.
non-sociopathic Republicans
Are there really any? I don't think so.
They're all either sociopathic or sociopathic-adjacent. As pointed out by JVL months ago, anyone who isn't explicitly against Trump ends up with him.
This is all part of the Project 2025 plan - slash, burn, destroy.
I can admit when I don't get something - what are the seven very small letters?
I'm waiting for someone to answer that, too—I don't have the mental capacity today to think too much...
this is all sad. Here's a moral and systemic dilemma. In bad times, the private sector let hundreds of thousands or even millions go without jobs. Does the same apply to the government sector too? Somebody has to be accountable for high debt, a budget deficit surpassing 6% of GDP, and widespread corruption. It seems (but maybe Trump will retreat as usual) that the public/government sector is going to feel the same pain that the private sector brings over its employees.
What will suffice, in this media environment, is Murc's Law. Accountability is only for Democrats. President Klan Robe honestly has no disincentive to wild out like this because it is a win-win. His antics get clicks, which the media will like, but also because the only remedies available to us are reactive, he can break the thing and then escape the consequences later. And the latter part is not only because his criminal executive branch is responsible for law enforcement, but as the representative of those who have always had rights in America he will have unusual deference in the legal system.
We have the same number of federal employees as we did in the 1950s. Our budget problems are not due to “too many employees.” If you want to decrease the deficit, consider our defense budget, entitlements, and a tax system that fails to even collect all that is owed.
As for the tax system, the IRS manages to collect from average Americans who might owe a thousand or so. But when it comes to the super-rich (who aren't taxed enough), even when they DO owe taxes they somehow manage to slither out of that, too. Just think how much healthier the country's financial situation would be if they actually paid their fair share! When someone has billions of dollars, even paying 70% would leave them with more money than they could spend in a lifetime (as well as generations after them).
This, by the way, is why the whole analogy people like to use (in bad faith) when comparing a household budget to the government budget sucks. They usually do this in their efforts to say "We're going to just cut spending," but the measures conservatives do cut revenue too (for greed purposes). So one could ask them if they use that tired analogy, "So you are suggesting that we also cut our income in order to make ends meet?"