A legal analysis I read this very morning thinks SCOTUS will accommodate the regime on this question. Roberts is on record saying “we need a ‘vigorous’ executive”. In reversing Roe v Wade they have also demonstrated their willingness to discard / disrespect long-settled case law.
I hope that assessment was wrong, but suspect it was correct.
I’ll be 68 next month but am still working. My wife retired last year but wasn’t to full SS retirement age yet. Nevertheless we decided to start taking benefits starting in January 2025. At the time I just figured to get them started before the agency was unable to process applications in a timely fashion, and I figured we were a little bit safer if we were grandfathered as already receiving benefits. But now I wonder if the payments will stop coming a month or two after they started. Seems like nothing is unthinkable anymore.
Note: I am venting here…feel free to pass it on by. After the news that musk got his grubby hands into Social Security, I’m increasingly angry so here’s a rant about immigration.
The numbers…
From NBC News: “ICE’s average cost during the Biden administration for deporting a single person was about $10,500, including arrest, detention and the deportation flight, sources have told NBC News.
“The administration had enough beds to hold 41,500 detainees at any given time at 106 facilities nationally…at a cost of $57,378 annually per bed. NBC News has previously reported that the Trump administration wants to open new detention centers and is preparing to restart detaining families.”
The plan is to detain 2,700 people daily. Interestingly, of those detained as of February 3, ~9% were released (I’m assuming they were incorrectly detained). False arrest increases costs.
Add to the cost outlined above, the reduction in federal and local taxes paid by these folks, as well as the hole in the labor pool and we are heading for a huge price tag.
Now consider the tax breaks given to the wealthy and large corporations along with the proposed raising of the federal debt ceiling, huge cuts to federal agencies, very large government contracts to already wealthy companies and guess who gets fucked.
Already, there are folks who voted for this administration that are crying the blues. Well, ya get what ya pay for, eh? And the price of your groceries is currently going up and likely will never come down.
One poster here said, “We’re taking America back.” What the actual fuck? No one is taking anything BACK. Musk, on the other hand, who, at least at one time was an illegal immigrant, is just taking it.
Everything you wrote was predictable, and was – at least to some extent – predicted before the election. The chaos was predicted. The actual implementation of what Trump promised should not surprise. . And all the warnings were there before November. So the Trump voters reap what they sow. If they regret their choice, good on them. The ones who didn’t vote Trump can rightfully shout “TOLD YOU SO!” The non-voters can shut up and hang their heads in shame.
But (I suspect) what was not expected was the total lack of research gone into the implemented policy (like conspiracy theories presented as facts, quick search engine “reseach” done by persons with no clue about quality control and fact checks, etc.) and the recklessness with which it is implemented.
The enormous cost doesn’t seem to occur to most people. I think many of the things they are hap hazardously breaking they may have to try and fix at great expense too. I never pictured Musk doing to the whole country what he did to twitter. It’s greatly devalued and diminished. He’s tried to sue the people he feels got him into the deal. I wonder who he’ll try and sue when his current meddling blows up in his face?
The Orange Scrotum and the Muskrat don’t care. They can’t wait to start building their concentration camps for all those they regard as Smelly Brown Foreign People™ …
Wonder how long it will be, before the Muskrat comes up with his own tech bro version of Zyklon B? Bet he’s working on this behind the scenes right now.
Where are Cog and Tin Man?
I would love their input…
Fascists must ease into these things to maximize damage before outcry displaces them from power. Sending out an Einsatzgrupen for an initial sweep may be better before things go full tilt.
Orange seems to be in tight with a certain Russian dictator; perhaps they might enlist the FSB on an outside contract?
Jail for treason is all that will make him stop.
I didn’t see a place to introduce myself but hi!
I’m a theist of a sort. I’m here to continue my engagement with the “atheist movement” over motivation in outreach.
Y’all matter a lot to me personally, as a group if you could call it that, just generally not that there’s a consensus.
Anyway, see you in the debates.
Welcome Leroy. We are a welcoming bunch if you like reason and some on here are amazing in their depth of knowledge.
Take seat, grab a beer and jump in…oh if someone called Cog should appear, accept no bananas.
With all the shit that is happening over there in the US now, I need to satisfy my news itch. But objective news and analyses seem to be somewhat hard to come by. Not that the shitshow over there can be presented neutrally anyway. So after feeding the YouTube algorithms by watching videos, I’ve ended up with a set of independent news podcasters and commenters that take on the Trump+Musk shenanigans. What they seem to have in common is that they are self-proclaimed as “progressive”, at least one also self-proclaimed social democrat. But I’m afraid of diving too deep into a rabbit hole that I cannot get out of. So I ask you guys about your opinion on the following channels (in no particular order):
Yes, they seem to be very anti-Trump, but with that in mind, can they be considered at least somewhat reliable in their reporting and analyses?
Of those listed, I like Brian Tyler Cohen the most. I also watch The Bulwark (never-trumper conservatives)
Of those listed, I’m only familiar with Meidas. Meideas has the distinction of being the most popular YouTube channel (and IIRC the most popular substack) in the US, beating out Fox News, which drives them nuts. And Meidas, for my taste, spends too much time trolling them / chest-thumping about it. But … I love their daily news summary. It is one of my paid news feeds.
Others are The Bulwark, Zeteo, and Scott Dworkin’s legal analysis.
I subscribe to a number of other’s “free” subscription level. The Jim Acosta Show, The Contrarian, and some others. I’ve long subscribed to The American Prospect, which is of the “free but we hope you’ll donate once in awhile” variety. Also 2 or 3 newsletters put out by epidemiologists and public health workers, originally during the pandemic but now covering trends and developments in all the infectious diseases. I have found them invaluable.
Another one I subscribe to is Jessica Wildfire’s “The Sentinel-Intelligence”. If you can handle her intelligent pessimism and you want some really well researched practical advice about intelligent preparations for (sometimes not-so) slo-mo societal collapse. she’s invaluable, IMO.
Most of these people can also be followed on BlueSky and post plenty of gift articles for non-subscribers.
They seem reliable, though Medias Touch tends to click bait and is my least favorite of the bunch. I love that it’s overtaken Joe Rogan’s pod cast in popularity. I also like The Daily Show for its spot on humorous takes of the news and of the clown show that’s maga.
I watch, in Australia all of these shows. The Meidas show can be a bit strident ( although justifiably) for my taste but its content is generally verifiable and accurate.
I much prefer Popock’s Legaf AF and After Dark which does expose the (to a simple aussie) the amazing politicisation of the US system. I have been told of by SWIMBO many times for saying WTF and WFFingF before 9am, until she started watching both the Meidas and Popock…now we can do something in unison.
We all know how important sharing is in a relationship.
Another good one…
With all this quality feedback, I’ll sample the mentioned channels and see if I can cull it down to two or three channels that I can follow at least semi-regularly.
On a related note: What are the actual preferred news channels that people follow over in the US these days? I know followers of Agent Orange watch Fox “News”, but what else? From where do the non-Oranges get their news? Are the traditional news outlets like CNN, ABC, CBS, etc. still reliable, or have they succumbed under the pressure of Orange threats?
I don’t watch tv news anymore. I typically get my news from Reuters and the AP.