CURRENT EVENTS May 22 - July 5

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Mulberry Heel said:
I thought from the beginning that they would eventually have a serious falling out for that very reason. Although Trump isn't smart enough to do it, I also wondered if some in Trump 2.0 saw Elon as a useful tool to make the Project 2025 cuts they wanted and he could take all the heat and was thus expendable. Unfortunately their falling out isn't going to help matters much, as Elon actually wants even more drastic cuts to the budget than Trump or Congressional Republicans (hard as that is to believe) and so he may be even worse, if that's possible, than Dear Leader. It's not like he's going to become a useful ally (or even just a Trump enemy) for Democrats - if Elon's plans are enacted they'll make things even worse for average Americans than Trump probably will, as incredible as that sounds.
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Maybe, and …

The possibility exists that Elon is persuadable by nature if his exposure to the gross economic market, whereas Trump has completely insulated himself within the global elitist kleptocracy and kakistocracy. Trump no longer needs to sell a single widget - corruption is his very obvious business. Elon obviously doesn’t need to sell more widgets, but it’s fairly clear the destruction of the Tesla brand has had significant impact on his psyche.

To be clear, I don’t think Elon is some sleeper cell. I also think the horrid reputation of doge has left him confused, wandering, and wondering. Yes, he likely would do more grievous harm to social programs, if he got his druthers, but I think Dems should seek to leverage every viable wedge.

Elon has seen his personal brand absolutely tank, alongside the companies that define him. Tesla sells vehicles and battery systems very much within financial reasonability for millions of middle class people - I think he’s finding out he can’t demonize and financially target them and their values, and maintain the base of customers that made him (well, and the billions in subsidies).
 
nycfan said:
File under only the best people



“… Thomas Fugate, who graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio just 12 months ago, is currently heading up the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships at the DHS, as first reported by ProPublica Tuesday.

… Fugate was reportedly hired as a “special assistant” in an immigration office at the DHS in February, according to ProPublica. He then took over CP3 after its previous director quit.

… A DHS agency official told ProPublica Fugate was “temporarily” offered a CP3 leadership role for his “work ethic and success.”…”

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Best and brightest. LMFAO.
 
One the one hand, Jesus fucking christ. On the other, he's white.

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Molotov Mocktail said:
The idea that after like three days of tweets there’s a conversation about forgiving and welcoming elon back like the previous YEAR didn’t happen is just fucking insane. It’s the dem equivalent of Jan 6 really wasn’t that bad.
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Is there really such a conversation or are Dems just delighted to amplify Musk’s complaints about the BBB? Seems like mostly the latter from what I’ve seen (Ro Khanna has remained a pretty steadfast Musk cheerleader even during DOGE).
 
nycfan said:
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www.cbo.gov

Budgetary and Economic Effects of Increases in Tariffs Implemented Between January 6 and May 13, 2025

CBO estimates the budgetary and economic effects of increases in tariffs that were implemented through executive action between January 6 and May 13, 2025.
www.cbo.gov www.cbo.gov
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apnews.com

Trump's tariffs would cut US deficits by $2.8T over 10 years and shrink the economy, CBO says

President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plan would cut deficits by $2.8 trillion over a 10-year period while shrinking the economy, raising the inflation rate and reducing the purchasing power of households overall.
apnews.com apnews.com

“…
Since the analysis was conducted, a federal court struck down sweeping tariffs that Trump invoked under an emergency-powers law. An appeals court allowed the Trump administration to continue collecting the tariffs while the case goes through appeals.

Largely confirming what other economic models have predicted, the CBO’s estimations show that the tradeoff for a $2.8 trillion deficit reduction over 10 years would be an overall reduction in household wealth. In addition, the tariffs would shrink the economy, or reduce the rate of the gross domestic product by 0.06 percentage points per year….”
 
nycfan said:
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I heard a podcast with Democrat Congressman Ritchie Torres. He said that 19 of the 20 districts receiving the most Inflation Reduction Act clean energy funding are in Republican districts. He said it was because executing clean energy projects in Democratic states/districts is so difficult.

I looked it up and it appears to be true:

Republican-leaning states and congressional districts have emerged as the primary beneficiaries of the IRA. Over the course of the law’s first two years, more than half of all announced clean energy projects have been located in Republican-held districts.[9] And notably, 19 of the 20 congressional districts receiving the highest levels of clean energy investment are represented by Republican lawmakers.[10]

www.law.georgetown.edu

How the Inflation Reduction Act May Take a Similar Path Through Congressional ‘Repeal’ as The Affordable Care Act

Tariffs on U.S. produced goods are already disproportionately targeting right-leaning communities. Republican lawmakers may add to the price disruption by repealing the Inflation Reduction Act. This blog examines the political calculations currently facing Congressional Republicans as they try...
www.law.georgetown.edu www.law.georgetown.edu

He also specifically mentioned AI server farms likely also going to red states like Texas because they a) have the energy to run them and b) it's simply easier to build such a project in a red state.

This is something that Ezra Klein expresses frustration about on his podcast and covers in detail in his book Abundance.
 
ZenMode said:
This is something that Ezra Klein expresses frustration about on his podcast and covers in detail in his book Abundance.
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While Ezra is certainly correct about that in some areas, I doubt it's applicable here. Solar is considerably more effective at lower latitudes and the wind across the plains is, as I understand, quite potent. It's just always going to be cheaper to do renewable there.

Attracting server farms is a bug, not feature. They are like polluting factories without workers.
 
nycfan said:
Is there really such a conversation or are Dems just delighted to amplify Musk’s complaints about the BBB? Seems like mostly the latter from what I’ve seen (Ro Khanna has remained a pretty steadfast Musk cheerleader even during DOGE).
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This
 
nycfan said:
File under only the best people



“… Thomas Fugate, who graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio just 12 months ago, is currently heading up the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships at the DHS, as first reported by ProPublica Tuesday.

… Fugate was reportedly hired as a “special assistant” in an immigration office at the DHS in February, according to ProPublica. He then took over CP3 after its previous director quit.

… A DHS agency official told ProPublica Fugate was “temporarily” offered a CP3 leadership role for his “work ethic and success.”…”

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Ooooo, raised left eyebrow. He's got the look of the Orange Master! 🤣
 
BlueSteel said:
Best and brightest. LMFAO.
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In the event of a terrorist attack maybe he can get on his Troy-Bilt riding lawnmower and run down those SOBs! Probably while taking selfies to post on his interwebz fan page. I fully expect that if any more important government positions open up, the new hires may be a 19-year-old MAGA McDonald's Fry Cook whose parents are avid Trumpers, or maybe Todd Chrisley can replace Hegseth when he inevitably gets canned for embarrassing Dear Leader one too many times. Trumpworld is like Bizzaroworld - if you're qualified and have experience for the position then you're a dreaded "expert" and they want no part of you. But if you stayed in a Holiday Inn once, have no discernable qualifications for the position at all, and you're a loud and proud MAGA - welcome aboard!
 
Yes, I find this appointment shocking even for Trump. And the threshold for being shocked by anything Trump does is as high as the moon, maybe Mars.

Hell, SilenceDoNoGood could be appointed the next General of the Northern Hemisphere, but only if he has taken a course on A1.

www.propublica.org

“The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention

One year out of college and with no apparent national security expertise, Thomas Fugate is the Department of Homeland Security official tasked with overseeing the government’s main hub for combating violent extremism.
www.propublica.org www.propublica.org
 
farce© said:
“Activist judges” = judges who follow the law.
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It's amazing all the years that conservatives preached about legislating from the bench and activist judges, all the while they had a plan and actively worked on aligning judges to support their agenda, including the SCOTUS.

Now they are winning that a judge upholding the law is an activist judge, when they really mean that judge is an roadblock for their agenda.
 
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