Chit-Chat: The Feels

[Lantern7]

15 minutes ago, Bookworm 1979 said:

Sorry, I was on my lunch break and had to rush back to work when my husband came up with that. It's been a day, and I thought it was funny. 

I was just busting chops. I hope both of you are doing okay.

[tres bien]

Gramps was hosting coal miners today and signed an EO to make coal great again 

As usual he went off on a rambling incoherent riff about how he had the giant valve in CA turned on and water sent to LA and then he bragged about how he was able to bully big law firms into giving him millions of dollars for pro bono work for his causes 

It’s so shameful I hope the law firms are going to be proud to be giving “free legal services to fight state and local government regulations “ on coal production 

But he got the “woke” out of coal policies 

FYI democrats are still working at Paul Weiss including Doug Emhoff and Jeh Johnson 

Edited April 8 by tres bien

[peacheslatour]

20 minutes ago, Anela said:

They could build a beautiful wall.  Edgar Allen Poe style.  

And I don't think we'd be so cruel as to wall up a cat with him. And even if we did, the cat probably wouldn't rat us out, figuring he would gladly give up one of his lives for the cause.

[Bookworm 1979]

12 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I was just busting chops. I hope both of you are doing okay.

Oh yeah, we're surviving. 😁 This message board has been keeping me sane.

[ebk57]

1 hour ago, tres bien said:

FYI democrats are still working at Paul Weiss including Doug Emhoff and Jeh Johnson

Johnson is still with Paul Weiss.  Emhoff is with Willkie Farr, which isn't any better since they bent the knee, too. 

As my dad used to say, the world is going bad.  He was a great guy, but a little depressive.

[Absolom]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

"Where's my room?" asks the confused assisted living resident.

[fairffaxx]

I'm checking out "retirement communities" at the moment & am struck by the differences that I see among residents.  Some are like Trumpy but more are like me, wearing blue jeans & trotting around without assistance.   Sad thing is, he & I are the same age -- I'm not in great health, but I look at least 10 years younger than he does. 

[fastiller]

[suomi]

from the article:

Judge orders White House ban on AP lifted

U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden said the Associated Press is likely to win its lawsuit on First Amendment grounds.

“The AP provided abundant evidence that its First Amendment right to gather and quickly disseminate news about the President has been severely hampered by — and continues to be hampered by — the ban on press pool admission and the highly circumscribed access to limited-access events,” the judge wrote.

The judge further wrote that the White House has been “brazen” in its openness about why it has largely blocked AP journalists from events, which officials have said is attributed to its continued primary usage of Gulf of Mexico. “The Constitution forbids viewpoint discrimination, even in a nonpublic forum like the Oval Office,” he wrote.

The judge determined that the AP met the legal threshold for granting an injunction, which required the news organization to prove that it was likely to win the case. “The Court concludes that the AP is likely to succeed on the merits of its First Amendment viewpoint-discrimination and retaliation claims for both its press pool and East Room allegations,” he wrote.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2025/04/08/associated-press-white-house-ban-lifted/

[peacheslatour]

It's hard to feel optimistic these days.

[Dimity]

Headline from the Toronto Star a few days ago.

[Absolom]

2 hours ago, fairffaxx said:

I'm checking out "retirement communities" at the moment & am struck by the differences that I see among residents.  Some are like Trumpy but more are like me, wearing blue jeans & trotting around without assistance.   Sad thing is, he & I are the same age -- I'm not in great health, but I look at least 10 years younger than he does. 

He does look mid to late 80s and like he needs a caregiver nearby doesn't he?

[Is Everyone Gone]

So apparently the right is melting down over Amy Coney Barrett for various reasons.

[luv2lurk]

4 hours ago, fastiller said:

*McDonalds Filet-O-Fish preferred

[tearknee]

I just want to remember that we don't go live to Honolulu every 12/7...

[Makai]

Turns out it’s harder to convince all the Republicans to agree to a budget than it was to convince some Democrats to give in. The holdouts are freedom caucus and they’re pissed that the Senate approved cuts aren’t steep enough which is ironic. 

Trump fails to sway many House GOP holdouts as his ‘big’ bill of tax breaks and spending cuts stalls

 

[PRgal]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DINTndSJDYP/?igsh=OWFrNXdnMXo0NDYz

Emma is Canadian and the founder of Sophie Grace, a women’s wear company.

Edited April 9 by PRgal

[lookeyloo]

5 hours ago, Makai said:

Turns out it’s harder to convince all the Republicans to agree to a budget than it was to convince some Democrats to give in. The holdouts are freedom caucus and they’re pissed that the Senate approved cuts aren’t steep enough which is ironic. 

Trump fails to sway many House GOP holdouts as his ‘big’ bill of tax breaks and spending cuts stalls

 

All of this sounds fine and dandy (you know what I mean).  He will break them all eventually with threats of whatever it takes. They will have another meeting, a beautiful meeting, where all their concerns were addressed.  Isn't that how it usually goes?  Please let me be wrong.

[Ohiopirate02]

6 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

All of this sounds fine and dandy (you know what I mean).  He will break them all eventually with threats of whatever it takes. They will have another meeting, a beautiful meeting, where all their concerns were addressed.  Isn't that how it usually goes?  Please let me be wrong.

Every day that goes by with Trump out golfing and not firing up his base means his influence on the Republican Party wanes. If he was still doing his rallies like he did during his first term, then I can see how he could break Congress. His threats become emptier and emptier as time passes.

[tres bien]

I saw a short story interview with a shrimper in Louisiana

He’s all in on the tariffs because he can’t compete this will allow him to raise his prices 

I usually have frozen shrimp in the freezer that I buy at my local grocery store it’s there brand the shrimp are farm raised in India. I buy shrimp at Costco too and the same is probably true of it also

Good luck Mr Shrimp. I doubt if I’m the only one that will stop buying shrimp if it gets not just too expensive but more expensive. Shrimp isn’t cheap

Restaurants will buy your shrimp. I don’t know enough about the cost passed on to diners and how that will affect their choices 

[laurakaye]

17 hours ago, Dimity said:

In my never ending list of 'things I will never understand' is how  anyone thinks the way this man speaks about others is in any way presidential.  Well, it's not even the way a mature adult should speak, but there was a time when we expected those in government to actually behave like decent human beings.  Do that percentage of Americans who voted for this cretin actually beam proudly when he mocks others and speaks of them in his disgusting bullying way?

This is the very thing that infuriates me so much when it comes to my MAGA relatives.  They seem to take pride in the fact that "he doesn't talk like a politician because he's a businessman!"  I have worked for a variety of "businesses" in my time and on all that is holy, I have never heard anyone in my entire life speak like Trump.  EVER.  He lost me when he openly mocked the reporter back in '15?  16?  And his followers lost me when they either laughed or didn't denounce him on the spot right then and there.  And here we are.  

[bluegirl147]

6 hours ago, Makai said:

The holdouts are freedom caucus and they’re pissed that the Senate approved cuts aren’t steep enough which is ironic. 

The freedom caucus always makes noise about wanting more cuts. When McCarthy was speaker he always tangled with them.  They now have a speaker much more in tune with them but Johnson knows just as McCarthy knew you can't let the crazies drive the train.  They might end up getting a few bones thrown to them but they aren't going to get what they want.

43 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

 He will break them all eventually with threats of whatever it takes.

Trump only gets involved with the budget when it comes to tax cuts or funding for his wall.  In this instance the issue is cuts to social programs most likely. Since he no longer has to worry about being punished by voters I predict he maybe says something mild about not touching SS Medicare and Medicaid but if cuts fund his tax cut he will sign it.

22 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Every day that goes by with Trump out golfing and not firing up his base means his influence on the Republican Party wanes. If he was still doing his rallies like he did during his first term, then I can see how he could break Congress. His threats become emptier and emptier as time passes.

He sees himself as a king now.  He thinks he doesn't need Congress. And unless they step up soon he will be right.

23 minutes ago, tres bien said:

He’s all in on the tariffs because he can’t compete this will allow him to raise his prices 

He will still barely survive. Everything else is going to increase.

26 minutes ago, tres bien said:

Good luck Mr Shrimp. I doubt if I’m the only one that will stop buying shrimp if it gets not just too expensive but more expensive. Shrimp isn’t cheap

Yeah shrimp isn't a staple in most people's diet. 

29 minutes ago, tres bien said:

Restaurants will buy your shrimp. I don’t know enough about the cost passed on to diners and how that will affect their choices 

They will most likely cut back on the amount of shrimp they give to the customer.  If they used six in a dish they will cut back to three.  I rarely go out to eat anymore for a few different reasons.  One the expense.  Two restaurants are still short staffed. And three nothing tastes good anymore.  But when I do go out I have noticed portions have gotten smaller.  It's going to just get worse. A few weeks ago I went out with a friend and he ordered some pasta dish and asked for garlic bread and was told they don't have garlic bread. So he asked for plain bread and was told there would be a charge for that. For a slice of bread.

Just now, laurakaye said:

They seem to take pride in the fact that "he doesn't talk like a politician because he's a businessman!"  I have worked for a variety of "businesses" in my time and on all that is holy, I have never heard anyone in my entire life speak like Trump.  EVER. 

What they mean is he talks like them.

[tres bien]

At the NRCCC dinner last night Gramps is still ranting that the election was rigged. Presuming he means 2020 but who knows he’s in his own world 

But he also announced new fun tariffs coming our way. Yep he’s putting tariffs on pharmaceuticals 

And this morning he posted on his truth social BE COOL AMERICA

[Cementhead]

27 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

This is the very thing that infuriates me so much when it comes to my MAGA relatives.  They seem to take pride in the fact that "he doesn't talk like a politician because he's a businessman!" 

 

27 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

What they mean is he talks like them.

Edited April 9 by Cementhead

[Cementhead]

1 hour ago, tres bien said:

Good luck Mr Shrimp.

Thank you for my first morning chuckle. 

[Dimity]

21 minutes ago, tres bien said:

And this morning he posted on his truth social BE COOL AMERICA

Well I for one am now fully reassured. 

DJT is more and more reminding me of Hoover (except by most accounts he was actually a decent man) but in terms of his presidency and making bad decisions that made a bad situation worse.  The Stock Market crashed during the first year of his presidency and it was only when FDR came in 4 years later that they closed the banks and started putting in the safeguards we take for granted now.

I've said in the past that we could never have a Great Depression again if for no other reason than we now have a social safety net that didn't exist back then.  And then along came DOGE...

[Ohiopirate02]

1 minute ago, Dimity said:

Well I for one am now fully reassured. 

DJT is more and more reminding me of Hoover (except by most accounts he was actually a decent man) but in terms of his presidency and making bad decisions that made a bad situation worse.  The Stock Market crashed during the first year of his presidency and it was only when FDR came in 4 years later that they closed the banks and started putting in the safeguards we take for granted now.

I've said in the past that we could never have a Great Depression again if for no other reason than we now have a social safety net that didn't exist back then.  And then along came DOGE...

I have seen multiple people online talking about Trump's supposed endgame here. The theory I have seen bandied about goes like this--

Trump wants to be a dictator. In order to do this he has to declare martial law and bring in the military to police the nation. This requires some sort of inciting incident(s) like wide scale violent protests which then requires something to protest. Enter DOGE, his executive orders, and the tariffs. All of these things are supposed to anger Americans to protest and get violent.

Only problem is the only Americans who are currently protesting are the peaceful ones. And if you subscribe to this theory, it means at some point paid actors will show up to the protests and cause violence.

[Makai]

2 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

Since he no longer has to worry about being punished by voters I predict he maybe says something mild about not touching SS Medicare and Medicaid but if cuts fund his tax cut he will sign it.

He’s already made that promise to GOP Senators to get them to pass the budget and it’s absolute bullshit. There is no way around massive cuts to Medicare and Medicaid given the budget on the table. 

2 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

The freedom caucus always makes noise about wanting more cuts. When McCarthy was speaker he always tangled with them.  They now have a speaker much more in tune with them but Johnson knows just as McCarthy knew you can't let the crazies drive the train.  They might end up getting a few bones thrown to them but they aren't going to get what they want.

Yes, I know. I don’t expect anything to come of this. But it’s being reported as a lose for Trump and Johnson which is going to piss them off. 

2 hours ago, tres bien said:

But he also announced new fun tariffs coming our way. Yep he’s putting tariffs on pharmaceuticals 

And this morning he posted on his truth social BE COOL AMERICA

Fuck. While I hate what this is doing to the average American, at this point I’m embracing it. 

This is the thing that is finally getting them to turn on each other. The leopards are going to town and many that helped put him back in power are somehow surprised he’s actually stupid enough to do exactly what he said he was going to do. The idiots who thought he would only fuck over the poor people.

Even Musk tried to talk him out of it. The New Civil Liberties Alliance, which is partially to blame for the current state of the Supreme Court, is now suing Trump over the tariffs.

I feel like we’ve reached the point of steering into the skid. 

Edited April 9 by Makai

[tres bien]

New from the FundStrat Market and Sector Research which monitors key market events and data and publishes a newsletter 

“In the last few years we have had many conversations with macro fund managers and their concern is that the White House is not acting rationally but rather on ideology. And some fear that this may not even be ideology. A few have quietly wondered if the president might be insane”

LOL 

Edited April 9 by tres bien

[tessaray]

56 minutes ago, tres bien said:

And some fear that this may not even be ideology. A few have quietly wondered if the president might be insane”

They're just now wondering?

[annzeepark914]

13 minutes ago, tessaray said:

They're just now wondering?

We *still* need an eye roll emoji (or whatever they're called). 

[Bookish Jen]

1 hour ago, tessaray said:

They're just now wondering?

Took them long enough.

[bluegirl147]

2 hours ago, tres bien said:

New from the FundStrat Market and Sector Research which monitors key market events and data and publishes a newsletter 

“In the last few years we have had many conversations with macro fund managers and their concern is that the White House is not acting rationally but rather on ideology. And some fear that this may not even be ideology. A few have quietly wondered if the president might be insane”

LOL 

They interviewed macro fund managers.  So they talked to hedge fund guys (and you know it was white men) and now that Trump's reckless behavior is going to affect them now they have some fears. How privileged they must feel that only now are they worried about the sad state of the future of our country.

[Cementhead]

I keep telling my husband that nothing will change until he pisses off the wrong billionaire(s).

[laurakaye]

What on earth made him pause the tariffs?  I know it can't be that someone talked him into it.  Is today Opposite Day?  

[lookeyloo]

4 minutes ago, Dimity said:

So the Mad King has issued an order to boost coal.   Continuing in his move to drag the US back to the golden age of rampant poverty, disease and pollution. 

Countries the US deals with are hardly breathing a sigh of relief here.  The Mad King will slap those tariffs back on and then off and then on and then off for the next four freaking years.

Exactly.  No one will really know how to prepare for this insanity.  Keep everyone off guard.  Great strategy.  NOT.

[bluegirl147]

28 minutes ago, Cementhead said:

I keep telling my husband that nothing will change until he pisses off the wrong billionaire(s).

I've been saying this for a couple months now.  The only thing that will stop Trump from completely destroying us is when rich people start getting hurt.  In an oligarchy there is only so much room for oligarchs.  

30 minutes ago, Dimity said:

So the Mad King has issued an order to boost coal.   Continuing in his move to drag the US back to the golden age of rampant poverty, disease and pollution. 

I live in a coal state and this was a comment on a article from a local TV station.

Thank you President Trump! We have enough natural gas and oil and coal reserves and the capability to make clean electricity to power our country for centuries!

God bless you sir! 

You would think someone was being sarcastic but nope this idiot is serious.

32 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Countries the US deals with are hardly breathing a sigh of relief here.  The Mad King will slap those tariffs back on and then off and then on and then off for the next four freaking years.

It's terrorism.  Trump is not just a narcissist he is a sadist.

29 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

What on earth made him pause the tariffs?  I know it can't be that someone talked him into it.  Is today Opposite Day?  

Probably a combination of things.  Some rich donors are afraid to lose money. Some world leaders called him and flattered him. Someone shot him with a tranquilizer gun and took his phone. 

30 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

No one will really know how to prepare for this insanity.  Keep everyone off guard.  Great strategy.  NOT.

It's what dictators do. They rule by fear. In his mind he thinks he is Putin.  In reality he is closer to one of the mad kings from England.

29 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

All I have to say is motherfucker and my mother knows who I'm talking about.

[annzeepark914]

If I ever go back to Europe while this tool is in the WH, I'll just say I'm Canadian (😎🇨🇦). It is too embarrassing now to step outside the USA 🤬

[peacheslatour]

10 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

If I ever go back to Europe while this tool is in the WH, I'll just say I'm Canadian (😎🇨🇦). It is too embarrassing now to step outside the USA 🤬

We did that when Bush the Lesser was prez.

[Makai]

50 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Trump just folded like one of his cheap suits.

 

CNN — 

President Donald Trump announced a complete pause on all the “reciprocal” tariffs that went into effect at midnight, with the exception of China.

Tariffs on China will be increased to 125% from 104%, he said.

Trump in a Truth Social post Wednesday said he has “authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately.”

 

That’s good, I guess. The tariffs on Mexico, Canada  and China were always going to be the biggest issue though. Feels like a bandaid to temporarily boost the stock market. 

Edited April 9 by Makai

[peacheslatour]

2 minutes ago, Makai said:

 

That’s good, I guess. The tariffs on Mexico, Canada  and China were always going to be the biggest issue though. Feels like a bandaid to temporarily boost the stock market. 

I think he just gets off on jerking everyone around. "Oh look at me! I'm so powerful! I make the markets go up and I make the markets go down! Whee!"

[Cementhead]

This fool is manipulating the stock market in plain sight for everybody to see.  He isn't even hiding it.  Everybody working with him in the White House right now is going to walk out of there a gazillionaire by the time they walk out.  Same goes for all his cronies, including all the politicians who support him.  They are all getting richer by the day.

[fastiller]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

So the Mad King has issued an order to boost coal.   Continuing in his move to drag the US back to the golden age of rampant poverty, disease and pollution. 

Countries the US deals with are hardly breathing a sigh of relief here.  The Mad King will slap those tariffs back on and then off and then on and then off for the next four freaking years.

"Trump: Make Black Lung Disease Great Again!"

The Mad King is like the abusive boyfriend.

51 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

If I ever go back to Europe while this tool is in the WH, I'll just say I'm Canadian (😎🇨🇦). It is too embarrassing now to step outside the USA 🤬

All my family & friends in Ireland & England & Sweden regularly send me 'condolences' messages.  Even folks I'm only on-line friends with who live in Europe do the same.

[Milk-Eyed Mender]

Goddammit. Can this fucking piece of fucked up shit just fucking die already? 

 

[Ohiopirate02]

8 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

There should be a third panel asking who wants to pay more for American made goods and repeat the second panel's crowd.

[Dimity]

So help a math phobe out - does this mean the penguins are still getting hit with a 10% tariff?  And what about countries like Canada?  Are we now 10% as well?  Totally confusing - and stupid.

[tres bien]

He’s congratulating himself for putting the economy into a tailspin crashing the stock market and having the DOW close up almost 3000 points cause no one’s ever done that before 

Every republican now maga would follow him off a cliff 

Edited April 9 by tres bien

[Milk-Eyed Mender]

Spot on, Peaches and Tres bien, spot on. It's the oldest ruse in his book.  Or, as schooley.bsky.social described it:

"Pilot puts plane into a nosedive, pulls out at the last minute, saunters back into the cabin looking for high fives from the vomit covered passengers."

 

[Browncoat]

3 hours ago, Dimity said:

So the Mad King has issued an order to boost coal.   Continuing in his move to drag the US back to the golden age of rampant poverty, disease and pollution. 

At the same time, staff at mine safety offices are being cut.

[PRgal]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

If I ever go back to Europe while this tool is in the WH, I'll just say I'm Canadian (😎🇨🇦). It is too embarrassing now to step outside the USA 🤬

Canadians might test you, like ask you whether you take your shoes off indoors (or change to indoor shoes).