OMB freezes all disbursements / USAID shutdown / GOP begs for exceptions for their states

superrific said:
Again, this money has been appropriated and the executive cannot refuse to spend it.

This is going to be our first major court battle of Trump's term. You can tell he's got competent people advising him now. They are picking the fight over an agency that most Americans won't notice. That's optics for a court.
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You have a lot of faith in an institution that said the president can do whatever he wants.
 
superrific said:
It remains to be seen whether Roberts is capable of shame. Surely he has to realize by now how badly he fucked up last summer. I'm quite certain that he didn't sign up for Elon Musk wilding through the government's payment systems. If only there had been some indication that Trump was not law-abiding. If only he had given us a clue that he wanted to use immunity to be a dictator.

I have my hopes that ACB and Roberts will realize what they have wrought and at least try to get a handle on the democracy and government aspect of what's happening, even though I am under no illusion at all that they will uphold gay marriage or separation of church and state. However, I have to admit: they are really just that, hopes. Not impossible, but not something I can be confident in and that of course is very sad.
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My worry is that even if the courts try to rein in Trump it might be too late. I doubt he will follow a court order which disrupts his plan, and I doubt Congress will force him to do so.

I have already seen talking heads on the right saying that Trump should take the position of Andrew Jackson and dare the court to enforce their ruling, which is remarkable considering the court is firmly on their side.
 
ChapelHillSooner said:
My worry is that even if the courts try to rein in Trump it might be too late. I doubt he will follow a court order which disrupts his plan, and I doubt Congress will force him to do so.

I have already seen talking heads on the right saying that Trump should take the position of Andrew Jackson and dare the court to enforce their ruling, which is remarkable considering the court is firmly on their side.
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He will. He'll ignore the ruling.

And then the military is involved.
 
ZenMode said:
If any of the claims about USAID are true, it needs to be closely reviewed. For example, I don’t want to give another cent to Serbia to promote DEI….if that’s actually happening.

Here are only a few examples of the WASTE and ABUSE:

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LOL at the links. Breitbart, Washington Times, Washington Examiner. 🙄
 
rodoheel said:
Therein lies the rub, eh? This is basically emblematic of the conservative fantasy that some large proportion of the federal budget must go to things that don't actually help anyone. News flash: there isn't a trillion dollars of "DEI musicals" in the federal budget that can disappear without anyone feeling it.
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I don't necessarily believe that a large portion of the budget is waste, unnecessary or doesn't go toward helping people. We would probably disagree on what should or shouldn't be cut, but I am very curious to see what else is brought to light by Elon & Co.
 
DiehardHeelFan said:
LOL at the links. Breitbart, Washington Times, Washington Examiner. 🙄
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I'm skeptical that the term DEI actually appears anywhere in the budget details. That aside, there's absolutely no reason for us to be funding comic books, musicals or really any social activism type of programs.
 
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ZenMode said:
I'm skeptical that the term d e i actually appears anywhere in the budget details. That aside, there's absolutely no reason for us to be funding comic books, musicals or really any social activism type of programs.
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Considering the amount of discernment and knowledge you've shown, there's absolutely no reason to think that you have a clue or would understand one. When you're are trying to encourage other countries to see things in a more favorable light for the US, social activism is exactly what you're trying to achieve.

We might have different definitions but I don't have to be Procrustes to make mine work.
 
ZenMode said:
I don't necessarily believe that a large portion of the budget is waste, unnecessary or doesn't go toward helping people. We would probably disagree on what should or shouldn't be cut, but I am very curious to see what else is brought to light by Elon & Co.
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Nothing that we've been talking about what "brought to light" by Elon. There's not some big secret. This is all public record.
 
ZenMode said:
I'm skeptical that the term DEI actually appears anywhere in the budget details. That aside, there's absolutely no reason for us to be funding comic books, musicals or really any social activism type of programs.
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I'm gonna disagree with you on things like comic book and musicals. Again, you're refusing to acknowledge the impact that soft power can have - not just through diplomacy but through culture. Our country's biggest victory in the post-WWII world wasn't a military victory, it was a cultural one, where American culture became the dominant global one. The presence of McDonalds in dozens (hundreds?) of countries, and Disney World parks all over the world, and Hollywood films dubbed and shown in theaters worldwide, are as much signs of American power as aircraft carriers. It's really disappointing that having seen how effective American cultural power has been over the last few decades, Trump and the people around him are essentially willing to throw much of it away by trying to withdraw us from global culture and politics, rather than lead it.
 
rodoheel said:
Nothing that we've been talking about what "brought to light" by Elon. There's not some big secret. This is all public record.
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I doubt most people spend time researching budget details for the many federal departments. This musical/comic book story is something right wing media would be all over if it was known.
 
rodoheel said:
I'm gonna disagree with you on things like comic book and musicals. Again, you're refusing to acknowledge the impact that soft power can have - not just through diplomacy but through culture. Our country's biggest victory in the post-WWII world wasn't a military victory, it was a cultural one, where American culture became the dominant global one. The presence of McDonalds in dozens (hundreds?) of countries, and Disney World parks all over the world, and Hollywood films dubbed and shown in theaters worldwide, are as much signs of American power as aircraft carriers. It's really disappointing that having seen how effective American cultural power has been over the last few decades, Trump and the people around him are essentially willing to throw much of it away by trying to withdraw us from global culture and politics, rather than lead it.
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IF there are any benefits to these projects, benefits that can be measured, let a private or non-profit fund them. If benefits are measurable, people will donate.
 
ZenMode said:
IF there are any benefits to these projects, benefits that can be measured, let a private or non-profit fund them. If benefits are measurable, people will donate.
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Why the insistence that benefits be measurable? There's part of your problem right there. Refusing to acknowledge any benefits that aren't measurable is foolish. How does one measure the benefit of winning wars, or maintaining peace, or exploring the moon, or discovering new elements, or protecting endangered species?
 
ZenMode said:
I doubt most people spend time researching budget details for the many federal departments. This musical/comic book story is something right wing media would be all over if it was known.
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Right wing media was all over it. How do you think Musk found out about it? They didn't just start talking about this stuff a week ago.

I mean the White House executive order that you quoted earlier literally links to several right-wing media articles as a source for its claims. LOL
 
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