Chit-Chat: The Feels

[Dimity]

2 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

It's the lack empathy that is going to kill us all.

 

[AgathaC]

18 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Are you in Virginia or another former Confederate state? I know for years Virginia celebrated Lee-Jackson Day in January. Virginia went hard on preserving Confederate history with Monument Ave in Richmond with all of those Confederate generals on horseback with the position of the horses' legs denoted how the general died--in battle, from wounds sustained in battle, or from natural causes after the war. My older brother went to VMI where their museum had the taxidermied horse belonging to Stonewall Jackson was on display. I'm blanking on that particular horse's name, but I do remember Lee's horse was named Traveler because it was also the name of a bar in Lexington, VA.

Arkansas. It was a Confederate state, but not exactly close to VA.

[Avaleigh]

I've known for many years that Trump is a lowlife, self absorbed, maniac of a human being, but he still somehow manages to shock and disgust me on a regular basis. 

Many people suffered a tragedy yesterday, including the figure skating community. Trump pretends for about 5 seconds to care and offer comfort to the people who are devastated by this tragedy, and then spends the rest of his rambling speech talking about how DEI, Obama, and Biden are somehow to blame for the midair collision. It's so disgraceful, I can't even. 

He's still talking out of his ass as I type this. All he sees here is an opportunity to take a shit on the Democrats and DEI. 

He's such an infuriating person. 

Edited 6 hours ago by Avaleigh

[bluegirl147]

2 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

I've known for many years that Trump is a lowlife, self absorbed, maniac of a human being, but he still somehow manages to to shock and disgust me on a regular basis. 

Many people suffered a tragedy yesterday, including the figure skating community. Trump pretends for about 5 seconds to care and offer comfort to the people who are devastated by this tragedy, and then spends the rest of his rambling speech talking about how DEI, Obama, and Biden are somehow to blame for the midair collision. It's so disgraceful, I can't even. 

He's still talking out of his ass as I type this. All he sees here is an opportunity to take a shit on the Democrats and DEI. 

He's such an infuriating person. 

Yes.  He cannot do the bare minimum to be a decent person.  His base will never concede he is simply an awful person.

5 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

I've known for many years that Trump is a lowlife, self absorbed, maniac of a human being, but he still somehow manages to to shock and disgust me on a regular basis. 

Many people suffered a tragedy yesterday, including the figure skating community. Trump pretends for about 5 seconds to care and offer comfort to the people who are devastated by this tragedy, and then spends the rest of his rambling speech talking about how DEI, Obama, and Biden are somehow to blame for the midair collision. It's so disgraceful, I can't even. 

He's still talking out of his ass as I type this. All he sees here is an opportunity to take a shit on the Democrats and DEI. 

He's such an infuriating person. 

Yes.  He cannot do the bare minimum to be a decent person.  His base will never concede he is simply an awful person.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/andy-ogles-dei-fatal-dc-plane-crash_n_679b8df8e4b0f9748aac7ffb

I guess this is what we are going to hear everytime something bad happens.  Blame a woman/person of color/member of the LGTBQ community.  Of course it can never be a white man at fault. Or just a tragic accident.

[tearknee]

3 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

Every year i see comments whining about Black History Month. And I'm always tempted to respond don't the other 11 months celebrate White History?

That is part of the reason we are in this mess. Most voters - most people - think by emotion, not intellect. All the average person sees is something new which they are not a part of or allowed access to [because they are of the societally favored]. It doesn't matter that it can be explained to them intellectually or in the abstract -- they are already not in the right frame of mind to listen by the time the activist or their leadership attempts to. That's part of the reason that the male equivalent to Take Our Daughters to Work Day, a Take Our Sons Home Day, never happened. Even though the Ms. Foundation did want it to.

 

[AgathaC]

1 minute ago, tearknee said:

That is part of the reason we are in this mess. Most voters - most people - think by emotion, not intellect. All the average person sees is something new which they are not a part of or allowed access to [because they are of the societally favored]. It doesn't matter that it can be explained to them intellectually or in the abstract -- they are already not in the right frame of mind to listen by the time the activist or their leadership attempts to. That's part of the reason that the male equivalent to Take Our Daughters to Work Day, a Take Our Sons Home Day, never happened. Even though the Ms. Foundation did want it to.

 

When I worked in consumer protection, one of the big things I learned about scams is that the key is emotion. Prey on a weakness. Get their emotions going. It turns off the thinking part of the brain. For the elderly? Make them think a grandchild is in prison. For a lower-income person? Make them think their water or electricity is about to be shut off. For someone trying to buy a puppy? Make them think their puppy is stranded at an airport and will be handed over to a kill shelter if fees aren’t paid. If you get them scared, they won’t think rationally until after they’ve sent a huge (for them) bitcoin payment. I can’t tell you how many people I talked to who felt like idiots. “I know better!” “It sounds so stupid now!”

For some people, that’s exactly what’s going on here.

[peacheslatour]

9 minutes ago, AgathaC said:

When I worked in consumer protection, one of the big things I learned about scams is that the key is emotion. Prey on a weakness. Get their emotions going. It turns off the thinking part of the brain. For the elderly? Make them think a grandchild is in prison. For a lower-income person? Make them think their water or electricity is about to be shut off. For someone trying to buy a puppy? Make them think their puppy is stranded at an airport and will be handed over to a kill shelter if fees aren’t paid. If you get them scared, they won’t think rationally until after they’ve sent a huge (for them) bitcoin payment. I can’t tell you how many people I talked to who felt like idiots. “I know better!” “It sounds so stupid now!”

For some people, that’s exactly what’s going on here.

And we all know that fear is the root of anger. Make them afraid and then rile them up. A time tested formula that's worked for a milennia.

[Dimity]

10 minutes ago, AgathaC said:

When I worked in consumer protection, one of the big things I learned about scams is that the key is emotion. Prey on a weakness. Get their emotions going

This is Trump.  He appeals to the worst qualities in his base but for the rest he relies on scare mongering and on keeping people in a constant state of worry and confusion.  That's what he's pulling with Canada and no doubt with other countries as well.  He craves the attention, of course, but beyond that he thrives on chaos.

And if he can pit friends against each other - as in the way those who voted Democrat are fighting over who was at fault for their loss well that's just money for jam to him.

[Dimity]

[peacheslatour]

12 minutes ago, Dimity said:

This is Trump.  He appeals to the worst qualities in his base but for the rest he relies on scare mongering and on keeping people in a constant state of worry and confusion.  That's what he's pulling with Canada and no doubt with other countries as well.  He craves the attention, of course, but beyond that he thrives on chaos.

And if he can pit friends against each other - as in the way those who voted Democrat are fighting over who was at fault for their loss well that's just money for jam to him.

It's exactly the way he ran his business'. Pitting each lackey against the other. He thrives on chaos and can't deal with order. 

[AgathaC]

3 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

It's exactly the way he ran his business'. Pitting each lackey against the other. He thrives on chaos and can't deal with order. 

A series of books could be written about his personality disorders.

[Dimity]

I was going to suggest that people emulate the Brits and throw eggs at Trump and his goon squad any chance they get but throwing  mashed potatoes would be cheaper.  Harder to throw any distance, but cheaper.

[Ohiopirate02]

30 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I was going to suggest that people emulate the Brits and throw eggs at Trump and his goon squad any chance they get but throwing  mashed potatoes would be cheaper.  Harder to throw any distance, but cheaper.

Depends on how you prepare the potatoes and skill. But, you could get the same effect by baking up some potatoes or boiling them with the skin on, letting them cool, and then throw.

Edited 4 hours ago by Ohiopirate02

[peacheslatour]

5 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I was going to suggest that people emulate the Brits and throw eggs at Trump and his goon squad any chance they get but throwing  mashed potatoes would be cheaper.  Harder to throw any distance, but cheaper.

He's also afraid of cream pies.

“We were all instructed that if somebody was to ever throw anything at him, that if that person didn’t end up in the hospital, we’d all be fired,” he said, noting that the instruction came from the head honcho himself.

When contacted by The Daily Beast on Friday, Cohen clarified that Trump at times seemed obsessed with pies.

“It wasn’t just one time. It was an ongoing and regular thing. As he would go out to various different open venues, he would always remind Keith [Schiller] to keep his eyes open,” Cohen told The Daily Beast. “He never would turn around and say, ‘If anyone throws a rock or a bottle…’ It’s always a pie. He always brought up that pie thing.”

 

[Bookish Jen]

41 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Here, apparently is one of the sources of his deep insecurity and notorious thin skin.- From Mary L. Trump, Donald's cousin.

By this time, Donald was a pro at teasing and belittling his little brother and, as was often the case, Robert started crying hysterically and screaming for Donald to stop. Donald, of course, wouldn’t and nobody could get him to—especially not my grandmother for whom, even then, Donald had a fair amount of contempt. He didn't listen to a word she said, and even telling him to wait until his father came home had no impact on his behavior,

In the midst of the fighting and yelling and sobbing, my grandmother started setting the table and bringing the food in from the kitchen. As things continued to escalate, my dad, in just a fit of frustration, did the only thing he could think of to do to make Donald stop: He picked up what must have been the quite massive bowl of mashed potatoes that my grandmother had just put on the table and he dumped it on Donald's head. Robert immediately went quiet and Donald was speechless.

And, probably worst of all for him, everybody, except Donald, of course, started laughing. They were laughing their heads off, and Donald knew they were laughing at him. It may have been the first time, at least consciously, that Donald felt that awful feeling of humiliation, and there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't laugh it off because, even then, he wasn’t capable of laughing at himself. I think it some ways, this is the source of his grievance, the source of his always feeling that everything is against him and life is completely unfair—which sounds absurd because among other things, it’s completely untrue.

The bowl of masked potatoes ended Robert's suffering, at least that night, but it also set Donald’s into motion. It was the source of his terror of being humiliated. And he developed some very strong armor and defense mechanisms so he’d never feel that way again.

We’ve seen how this plays out. It's a big part of why he's cruel to other people—he needs to get there before the other person has a chance. But it’s also his Achilles’ heel. One of my fantasies is that, as we get closer to the election, we actually start counter-programming his rallies and have a massive group of people, equipped with large bowls of mashed potatoes, get inside his venue.

It is so easy to get under this guy's skin, and I really hope that people who are in a position to him start doing it. It doesn't take much, but I have yet to see anybody try. Let's hope that President Biden gets in another debate with Donald and really goes for the jugular, rhetorically speaking. Honestly, it’s as simple as a bowl of mashed potatoes.

Mashed potatoes forever!

 

I knew I liked mashed potatoes for a reason.

[Dimity]

[bluegirl147]

1 hour ago, AgathaC said:

A series of books could be written about his personality disorders.

An entire college psych course.

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Here, apparently is one of the sources of his deep insecurity and notorious thin skin.- From Mary L. Trump, Donald's cousin.

By this time, Donald was a pro at teasing and belittling his little brother and, as was often the case, Robert started crying hysterically and screaming for Donald to stop. Donald, of course, wouldn’t and nobody could get him to—especially not my grandmother for whom, even then, Donald had a fair amount of contempt. He didn't listen to a word she said, and even telling him to wait until his father came home had no impact on his behavior,

In the midst of the fighting and yelling and sobbing, my grandmother started setting the table and bringing the food in from the kitchen. As things continued to escalate, my dad, in just a fit of frustration, did the only thing he could think of to do to make Donald stop: He picked up what must have been the quite massive bowl of mashed potatoes that my grandmother had just put on the table and he dumped it on Donald's head. Robert immediately went quiet and Donald was speechless.

And, probably worst of all for him, everybody, except Donald, of course, started laughing. They were laughing their heads off, and Donald knew they were laughing at him. It may have been the first time, at least consciously, that Donald felt that awful feeling of humiliation, and there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't laugh it off because, even then, he wasn’t capable of laughing at himself. I think it some ways, this is the source of his grievance, the source of his always feeling that everything is against him and life is completely unfair—which sounds absurd because among other things, it’s completely untrue.

The bowl of masked potatoes ended Robert's suffering, at least that night, but it also set Donald’s into motion. It was the source of his terror of being humiliated. And he developed some very strong armor and defense mechanisms so he’d never feel that way again.

We’ve seen how this plays out. It's a big part of why he's cruel to other people—he needs to get there before the other person has a chance. But it’s also his Achilles’ heel. One of my fantasies is that, as we get closer to the election, we actually start counter-programming his rallies and have a massive group of people, equipped with large bowls of mashed potatoes, get inside his venue.

It is so easy to get under this guy's skin, and I really hope that people who are in a position to him start doing it. It doesn't take much, but I have yet to see anybody try. Let's hope that President Biden gets in another debate with Donald and really goes for the jugular, rhetorically speaking. Honestly, it’s as simple as a bowl of mashed potatoes.

Mashed potatoes forever!

 

I read Mary Trump's books.  She gave great insight into his mental defects of which there are many.

49 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

He's also afraid of cream pies.

“We were all instructed that if somebody was to ever throw anything at him, that if that person didn’t end up in the hospital, we’d all be fired,” he said, noting that the instruction came from the head honcho himself.

When contacted by The Daily Beast on Friday, Cohen clarified that Trump at times seemed obsessed with pies.

“It wasn’t just one time. It was an ongoing and regular thing. As he would go out to various different open venues, he would always remind Keith [Schiller] to keep his eyes open,” Cohen told The Daily Beast. “He never would turn around and say, ‘If anyone throws a rock or a bottle…’ It’s always a pie. He always brought up that pie thing.”

 

A pie in the face would humiliate him.  It would make him look weak and to him that is the worst.

5 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Too bad we can't have adults running things.

[Avaleigh]

2 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I guess this is what we are going to hear everytime something bad happens.  Blame a woman/person of color/member of the LGTBQ community.  Of course it can never be a white man at fault. Or just a tragic accident.

When one of the reporters essentially asked him why he thinks DEI is a factor he said, "Because I have common sense and a lot of people don't." So basically any time something goes wrong, his assumption is that some minority group must be to blame because no way are "those people" capable of doing their jobs correctly. Sounds like textbook prejudice and racism to me. 

In the MAGA world, only white males are allowed to make mistakes and even when they make mistakes, you don't have people questioning whether or not they should have been hired in the first place.

If we go back years ago, to a time the MAGA supporters apparently believe was a much better period in our country's history, there are numerous flight crashes that happened due to pilot error, where the pilots involved were white. The difference between Trump and people who don't support his agenda is that we have enough common sense to know that diversity or lack there of isn't to blame for why things like this happen. 

People have brought up the plane that crashed in the Potomac back in 1982 as a comparison to this incident. The captain involved made several mistakes and continued on even when his copilot raised concerns about the instrument readings. Nobody blamed their race or once suggested that they shouldn't have been hired in the first place.

Tenerife, one of the most devastating disasters in the history of aviation, happened due to pilot error in addition to radio interference that made some audio from air traffic control unclear to the pilots. Hundreds of people died. Not once did the race/religion/sexuality of the pilots come into question. 

It's sad that not only are people dealing with a tragedy, but now there are people who are worrying about a friend or family member's name potentially being dragged through the mud by Trump and his administration. Talk about rubbing salt in a gaping wound. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Avaleigh
Because running and rubbing aren't the same thing

[peacheslatour]

Who needs hybrid vigor when you can be a member of the master race!

 

[kittykat]

8 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

pie in the face would humiliate him.  It would make him look weak and to him that is the worst.

I'd feel more bad for the pie as its short, delicious life was wasted on Donald Trump.

 

7 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

People have brought up the plane that crashed in the Potomac back in 1982 as a comparison to this incident. The captain involved made several mistakes and continued on even when his copilot raised concerns about the instrument readings. Nobody blamed their race or once suggested that they shouldn't have been hired in the first place.

It's always been a shit double standard when someone screws up.  A white man screwing up is just a reflection of that person only.  A woman or POC makes a mistake, "OMG we can't let them run anything!!!"

[Anela]

2 minutes ago, kittykat said:

I'd feel more bad for the pie as its short, delicious life was wasted on Donald Trump.

 

It's always been a shit double standard when someone screws up.  A white man screwing up is just a reflection of that person only.  A woman or POC makes a mistake, "OMG we can't let them run anything!!!"

Exactly.  I keep thinking about that line about white men failing upwards.  I think that was Michelle Obama, at the DNC, or a rally.  

[Dimity]

During his first administration was there ever a time when Trump took on the role of being a comforter to the nation?  I can't remember a single time.  Not one.  And he is continuing that proud tradition during his encore performance.

[PRgal]

Actually, certain types of White males can be criticized like no other.  Remember what they said about Gus Walz?  Poor kid!  Though I think he'll be getting promposals from random girls all over the US this year...he seems like a sweet kid.  

[Anela]

8 minutes ago, PRgal said:

Actually, certain types of White males can be criticized like no other.  Remember what they said about Gus Walz?  Poor kid!  Though I think he'll be getting promposals from random girls all over the US this year...he seems like a sweet kid.  

Yeah, and people stood up for him, too.  It was trump supporters mocking him. 

I really wish we had his dad as our VP. 

[PRgal]

3 minutes ago, Anela said:

Yeah, and people stood up for him, too.  It was trump supporters mocking him. 

I really wish we had his dad as our VP. 

If I were a 17 year old girl, I'd TOTALLY want him as my prom date!  

[bluegirl147]

18 minutes ago, Dimity said:

During his first administration was there ever a time when Trump took on the role of being a comforter to the nation?  I can't remember a single time.  Not one.  And he is continuing that proud tradition during his encore performance.

He is incapable of comforting anyone. Remember when he was on the phone with the widow of a serviceman who had been killed. Got his name wrong and said about his death that he knew what he was signing up for.

Edited 3 hours ago by bluegirl147

[fastiller]

32 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

People have brought up the plane that crashed in the Potomac back in 1982 as a comparison to this incident. The captain involved made several mistakes and continued on even when his copilot raised concerns about the instrument readings. Nobody blamed their race or once suggested that they shouldn't have been hired in the first place.

 

22 minutes ago, kittykat said:

.  A white man screwing up is just a reflection of that person only.  A woman or POC makes a mistake, "OMG we can't let them run anything!!!"

 

19 minutes ago, Anela said:

Exactly.  I keep thinking about that line about white men failing upwards.  I think that was Michelle Obama, at the DNC, or a rally.  

  

[krankydoodle]

6 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

And this is one of the biggest problems with Trump.  Once he decides something he will not back down. 

It burns me up that this contemptible man cannot bring himself to admit the innocence of the Exonerated Five in the 1989 Central Park rape case. DNA evidence cleared them and the man it was matched to confessed, and he's still been going around suggesting they're guilty!

[peacheslatour]

[bluegirl147]

Anytime he blames "DEI hires'' he is reinforcing what his base already believes.  That women, people of color, Muslims, LGTBQ, pretty much anyone that isn't like them is getting jobs and educational opportunities that should go to them.  But if they would just be honest with themselves they would realize it is them who isn't qualified.

[Browncoat]

44 minutes ago, Dimity said:

During his first administration was there ever a time when Trump took on the role of being a comforter to the nation?  I can't remember a single time.  Not one.  And he is continuing that proud tradition during his encore performance.

Well, he did toss out those rolls of paper towels in Puerto Rico...

[PRgal]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate thread, but I listened to the podcast version of a WSJ article this morning on boomer women and wealth.  Though I'm part of the Xennial cohort (on the GenX side of things), I'm worried that younger people are just as clueless since we were never given a proper financial education.  I'm learning on the go right now.  As an only child, I'm the one who will be managing my parents' finances once they're not able to do so.  My husband and I have both joint (household stuff) and separate accounts (everything else including investment income) and I only have a rough idea of what he's doing.  Money isn't something we talk about as a society because it's a faux pas.  Society wealth shames just as much as they poverty shame, IMHO.  

[Lantern7]

Why won’t he go away?

I know, we’d be stuck with Vance and a party in charge that believes in absolute cruelty . . . but if HE leaves, sane Americans would be happy for about five minutes. Maybe ten.

[peacheslatour]

4 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Why won’t he go away?

I know, we’d be stuck with Vance and a party in charge that believes in absolute cruelty . . . but if HE leaves, sane Americans would be happy for about five minutes. Maybe ten.

Vance is a big nothing. He doesn't have Trump's dubious ability to rile up the rubes and create the kind of loyalty (dare I call it a cult?) that Trump does. He would be ineffectual.

[Dimity]

The worst thing is this is still January.  It's like we're living through Groundhog Day.  Same day, same Trumpish day, every single day...

Edited 2 hours ago by Dimity

[Ohiopirate02]

19 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Vance is a big nothing. He doesn't have Trump's dubious ability to rile up the rubes and create the kind of loyalty (dare I call it a cult?) that Trump does. He would be ineffectual.

Yeah, Congressional Republicans may have fallen in line with Trump, but that coalition may not hold if Vance is now the one in charge. There are still enough Republicans who are in it for the corporate tax cuts and limited government and not the Heritage Foundation Bullshit that could tip the balance. I would suspect practically nothing would get passed with a President Vance.

[PRgal]

2 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Yeah, Congressional Republicans may have fallen in line with Trump, but that coalition may not hold if Vance is now the one in charge. There are still enough Republicans who are in it for the corporate tax cuts and limited government and not the Heritage Foundation Bullshit that could tip the balance. I would suspect practically nothing would get passed with a President Vance.

I think in some ways, Vance is just playing the game.  He might not be as crazy as we think.  He's like those tech CEOs.

[Anela]

2 minutes ago, PRgal said:

I think in some ways, Vance is just playing the game.  He might not be as crazy as we think.  He's like those tech CEOs.

He isn’t crazy, he’s in it for money, and power.  

[Dimity]

1 minute ago, Anela said:

He isn’t crazy, he’s in it for money, and power.  

Yep.  He got the nod as VP because of some monied, very monied backers.  That said though I don't think he'd be as bad as Trump, possibly not for lack of trying, but because he has the charisma of a bowl of cottage cheese.  And from what I understand he's not well liked within Republican circles.  Well any circles really.

[PRgal]

2 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Yep.  He got the nod as VP because of some monied, very monied backers.  That said though I don't think he'd be as bad as Trump, possibly not for lack of trying, but because he has the charisma of a bowl of cottage cheese.  And from what I understand he's not well liked within Republican circles.  Well any circles really.

He looks like the awkward kid who gets picked on at school.  

[peacheslatour]

6 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Yep.  He got the nod as VP because of some monied, very monied backers.  That said though I don't think he'd be as bad as Trump, possibly not for lack of trying, but because he has the charisma of a bowl of cottage cheese.  And from what I understand he's not well liked within Republican circles.  Well any circles really.

He's Peter Thiel's boy. Musk owns Trump. It the clash of the techbros! And their motto has always been "move fast and break shit". What a time to be alive.

[Ohiopirate02]

20 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Yep.  He got the nod as VP because of some monied, very monied backers.  That said though I don't think he'd be as bad as Trump, possibly not for lack of trying, but because he has the charisma of a bowl of cottage cheese.  And from what I understand he's not well liked within Republican circles.  Well any circles really.

Please do not insult my favorite high protein snack like that. Cottage cheese has way more charisma than JD. Especially a bowl with a side of pineapple or plain cottage cheese with some Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning liberally sprinkled on top.

[fastiller]

12 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Please do not insult my favorite high protein snack like that. Cottage cheese has way more charisma than JD. Especially a bowl with a side of pineapple or plain cottage cheese with some Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning liberally sprinkled on top.

Or with fresh baby spinach mixed in.  Or blueberries.  Or, just plain on cinnamon raisin toast.

[DrSpaceman73]

This is trumps excuse for not reviewing all Jan 6th cases and just pardoining all of them. :  it's 1500 people it would be too hard. 

The people responsible for deciding who out of millions of people to deport states it's too hard to figure out who out of 1500 people to pardon

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/30/nx-s1-5276336/donald-trump-jan-6-rape-assault-pardons-rioters

[ProudMary]

I haven't been watching broadcast or cable news at all for many months now. I'm well informed, but it's through other sources. Unfortunately, today I spent several hours in a hospital waiting room right near a television, and was forced to listen to DJT blame everything about the crash on Joe Biden, Barack Obama, DEI and anything but the truth. Musk pushed the FAA Director to resign, there is no Deputy Director and Trump froze hiring. But sure, bLaMe ObAmA.

JUST IN: Staffing was ‘not normal’ in air traffic control tower at time of midair collision, FAA report obtained by AP says

https://apnews.com/live/dc-plane-crash-reagan-updates#00000194-b8e6-d553-abbd-feef58a30000

That’s according to a report by the Federal Aviation Administration that was obtained by The Associated Press.

The report says one air traffic controller was working two positions at the time of the crash.

“The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” the report says.

 

[Dimity]

What is it with Republicans and air traffic controllers?  Remember when good old Ronnie Reagan fired over 10,000 of them for the crime of going on strike? 

[Spartan Girl]

12 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

That's because they now realize that the latest increase is due to the bird flu.

Which was what we have been trying to tell them for months, and nobody listened. 
 

Are you fucking kidding me?!  Biden wasn’t the one that fired all the FAA or “encouraged” to quit. This is just as idiotic as drawing his marker on the hurricane maps.

Edited 1 hour ago by Spartan Girl

[Anela]

12 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

That's because they now realize that the latest increase is due to the bird flu.

You only heard about the bird flu, last week? I’ve been hearing about it for months.  

[lookeyloo]

I called our two senators and our representative  Of course got staff members.  I asked what are the democrats doing to organize and resist this administration?  All three staffers had a script I think "I cannot speak to that but will pass your concerns to the Senator/Congresswoman blah blah.  I said I know you can't but I want them to know I am curious as to if the democrats are organizing behind the scenes and do more than issue statements.  I don't know...can they do anything if they organize?  Are they? Very frustrating.  I listened to a Steve Schmidt substack and he said the same thing.  Where are the democrats?

[peacheslatour]

1 minute ago, lookeyloo said:

I called our two senators and our representative  Of course got staff members.  I asked what are the democrats doing to organize and resist this administration?  All three staffers had a script I think "I cannot speak to that but will pass your concerns to the Senator/Congresswoman blah blah.  I said I know you can't but I want them to know I am curious as to if the democrats are organizing behind the scenes and do more than issue statements.  I don't know...can they do anything if they organize?  Are they? Very frustrating.  I listened to a Steve Schmidt substack and he said the same thing.  Where are the democrats?

I fired off some emails to my senators, one of whom is Patty Murray. I was pleased to see, the next day she was chairing  a committee to investigate Musk's tampering. I also sent one to our new governor because a few other state governors are using over ICE raids. I have not heard back.

Confused? You won't be after this episode of Idiots In Charge of US Government.

 

The White House formally rescinded a controversial memo that had ordered a freeze on federal grants and loans.

But the White House also said a “federal funding freeze” remains in “full force and effect” to give agencies time to review programs for their compliance with President Donald Trump’s agenda.

The freeze, which had been set to take effect late Tuesday afternoon, was paused Tuesday by a federal judge to give her time to consider arguments challenging its legality.

1. The memo ordering the freeze had been issued by the Office of Management and Budget.