Former President Donald Trump's United States of America

[picard102]

The next few years are going to put the cradle of democracy to the test like never before.

What's going on in Greece?

 

[kEiThZ]

They would think SpaceX can fill the void,

They believe this unironically. But NASA (and the military) is the actual talent farm for Space X. And a lot of the actual ideas (like recoverable launch vehicles) were long held NASA ideas that they couldn't get funded through Congress. If they legitimately kill NASA, they are going to discover how quickly Space X can fall behind.

 

[Towered]

They believe this unironically. But NASA (and the military) is the actual talent farm for Space X. And a lot of the actual ideas (like recoverable launch vehicles) were long held NASA ideas that they couldn't get funded through Congress. If they legitimately kill NASA, they are going to discover how quickly Space X can fall behind.

What's the justification for gutting NASA??

 

[kEiThZ]

What's the justification for gutting NASA??

The typical, "private sector can do it better".

We see the same nonsense everywhere. There's a lot of people who don't understand what government funded science does. For example, I am sure there are a ton of people who would say that researching the venom of a rare lizard is some dumb waste of taxpayer money. And yet....

How a Canadian scientist and a venomous lizard helped pave the way for Ozempic - National | Globalnews.ca

In 1984, Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist from the University of Toronto, discovered a hormone that helped pave the way for popular diabetes drugs such as Ozempic.

globalnews.ca

The rise of Ozempic: how surprise discoveries and lizard venom led to a new class of weight-loss drugs

Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are taking drugs like Ozempic to lose weight. But what do we actually know about them?

medicine.uq.edu.au

I hate to judge. But one side of the political spectrum is particularly bad at understanding how science works and how applications are eventually developed by industry.

 

[lenaitch]

A lot of the US population (and I think a decent chunk of ours) thinks science is either over-rated, part of the grand conspiracy and/or simply wrong because it conflicts with the bible.

Private industry will only research fundamental science if there is something in it for them. If the US had expected private industry to fund the space race from back in the '60s, the only reason humanity would have landed on the Moon would have been with a mining claim tag.

 

[turbanplanner]

All the idiots who voted for Trump and his personality cult will get the government they deserve. You can't cut 1/3 of government spending without huge reductions in services and support. Actual staff costs are not 75% of the budget like low info voters imagine. Most spending is direct transfers for services like schools and health care and transfers to persons for things like pensions, etc. I can't wait until all the Trump wrinklies realise that they voted to cut their pensions and health coverage. I never thought the leopards would eat my face!

Honestly why even bother arguing?

Tarrifs were put on washing machines but NOT other white goods in 2018. The price of washers went up faster/higher relative to other white goods over the next few years. The Tariffs failed but I have people left and right telling me some how they will LOWER prices

 

[kEiThZ]

Ideologues will never change course. They'll always have excuses. But the population will absolutely eat them alive if these policies don't pan out.

 

[turbanplanner]

Since I'm not in the US I don't think of a lot of the polices, I'm happy a few years ago the current administration changed the laws so your insurance can't hit you with "out of network" surprise bills. Even incredibly positive polices don't get noticed if they're passed by someone you dislike.

 

[afransen]

Since I'm not in the US I don't think of a lot of the polices, I'm happy a few years ago the current administration changed the laws so your insurance can't hit you with "out of network" surprise bills. Even incredibly positive polices don't get noticed if they're passed by someone you dislike.

Voters are quite happy with the Affordable Care Act and some of the protections it provides, like not allowing exclusion due to pre-existing conditions, and allowing adult children to stay on their parents' insurance until they are 26. Until they find out that the ACA is Obamacare, then they hate it. Keep your government hands off my medicare!

 

[DSC]

This from the Economist's Weekend Newsletter sound on point to me.

"Here’s one prediction for the week ahead. As close scrutiny continues of Donald Trump’s nominees for government, I expect it will become clearer that one or more of them is set to fail. Yes, the incoming president has a powerful electoral mandate. He may say that every colourful name he has announced must take office, even though the likes of Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy junior, Pete Hegseth and others were on the extremist, nutty fringe of politics until recently. (Incidentally, what has Marjorie Taylor Greene done wrong to have not yet been picked for a job?)

I suspect, instead, that Mr Trump is being more Machiavellian. He probably also foresees, and may even welcome, that one or more of his chosen figures will fall away. Perhaps the Senate will block an appointment. Maybe, as details of police inquiries become public in one or more cases, a preferred candidate will be obliged to withdraw. Most of his chosen candidates will get through, but when one or more are blocked Mr Trump can have his cake and eat it: he will bewail the deep state, telling supporters that his opponents want to block the radical changes that he would supposedly bring."

 

[lenaitch]

This from the Economist's Weekend Newsletter sound on point to me.

"Here’s one prediction for the week ahead. As close scrutiny continues of Donald Trump’s nominees for government, I expect it will become clearer that one or more of them is set to fail. Yes, the incoming president has a powerful electoral mandate. He may say that every colourful name he has announced must take office, even though the likes of Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy junior, Pete Hegseth and others were on the extremist, nutty fringe of politics until recently. (Incidentally, what has Marjorie Taylor Greene done wrong to have not yet been picked for a job?)

I suspect, instead, that Mr Trump is being more Machiavellian. He probably also foresees, and may even welcome, that one or more of his chosen figures will fall away. Perhaps the Senate will block an appointment. Maybe, as details of police inquiries become public in one or more cases, a preferred candidate will be obliged to withdraw. Most of his chosen candidates will get through, but when one or more are blocked Mr Trump can have his cake and eat it: he will bewail the deep state, telling supporters that his opponents want to block the radical changes that he would supposedly bring."

So, are they saying the Senate should let them all go through so the US public can more clearly understand the chaos that will unfold?

 

[DSC]

So, are they saying the Senate should let them all go through so the US public can more clearly understand the chaos that will unfold?

Not how I read it. He seems to me to be saying that Trump has nominated some people to please his MAGA base but knows (and is happy or does not care) that some will not be confirmed. Then he can say "I tried, and the deep state stopped me."