pjwestin @ pjwestin @lemmy.world

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3

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1,067

Joined

2 yr. ago

He'll find a way to back out. Musk is stupid, but not that stupid.

Yeah, I think that's about it. I think Russia has been encouraging oligarchs and mobsters to make contact with prominent Americans they thought they could influence, and a lot of those connections went nowhere. When Trump started winning the primary, Putin probably realized he could use him, so he had some oligarchs cut a deal. But this KGB agent's Facebook post about making direct contact with Trump, recruiting him as a spy, and giving him a codename, as well as his claim that he may be assassinated for sharing this? It seems like it's either some sort of disinformation campaign or just some old man embellishing a story for attention.

As someone else already said, there is functionally no difference in terms of what he's doing to our country. But if we elevate unverified nonsense about Trump being a secret sleeper agent, it makes credible evidence of Russian influence seem less credible.

I mean, I'm sure the KGB was interested in influencing prominent Americans, and it's very likely they were using Russian businessmen (and mobsters) to influence Trump. The CIA plays similar games with foreign business leaders. But do I believe that KGB directly recruited Trump, asked him to be their spy, gave him a codename, and kept him on as a sleeper agent through the fall of the Soviet Union? No, it's going to take more than one guy's Facebook post to make me believe that. It's very possible there is some truth in what he's saying, but I would take it with several grains of salt.

LOL, you're literally doing the thing I'm describing. You're making an outlandish claim (that I am a paid Russian agent) that's going to make a real issue (Russian online disinformation campaigns) seem less credible. If your reaction to someone saying, "Trump is clearly in Russia's pocket, but you should be wary of outlandish claims with unverified sources," is, "you must be a Russian propagandist," you need to touch grass.

"I can't believe it so it's likely untrue," is a fundamental misinterpretation of what I'm saying. "There is enough evidence of a Trump/Russia connection without unreliable sources," would be more accurate.

Believing unverified claims has consequences. Remember the Steele dossier, with its wild allegations of blackmail and urinating prostitutes? It's now pretty much entirely discredited due to unreliable sources, and the very real, very clear connection between Trump and Russia lost credibility with it.

Similarly, the Mueller investigation was also undermined by outlandish claims. Left-leaning grifters like Louise Mensch and the Krassenstein brothers made predictions of imminent arrests and treason charges. When the Mueller Report was finally released, it stated that, while there wasn't enough evidence to say Trump definitively colluded with Russia, there was no evidence to clear him of that charge, and he committed criminal obstruction of justice during the course of the investigation. That should have been a damning conclusion, but after months of wild speculation and overhype, it was labeled a nothing-burger.

So, I'm going to remain skeptical of an old KGB agent's Facebook post about a 38 year plot to recruit Donald Trump as a spy, and instead stick to what is known: Trump has long had business dealings with Russian oligarchs, the Russian government supported him through online propaganda, there were credible accusations of collusion between his campaign and Russia, and he is now promoting a pro-Russia foreign policy. That's significant enough.

And that is not saying, "I can't believe the world is round so Occam's razor it must be flat because that I can understand." That's saying, "I can see the Earth is curved, and while some people claim we're actually on the back of giant turtle, Occam's Razor says it's probably just round."

I'm always skeptical of claims like this. Don't get me wrong, Trump is actively working to advance the Russian agenda, and Russia has actively supported him financially and through propaganda. But I'm wary of tales of kompromat or clandestine, decades long KGB plots.

Occam's razor, I think Trump is a piece of shit that would destroy his own country to make a quick buck, and Putin offered him a quick buck. Honestly, elaborate Manchurian Candidate conspiracies would probably be less scary than the idea that our entire democracy can collapse because one real-estate conman was willing to sell us all out.

That's true, and I did forget about that, but that also doesn't undo the 16 years of cutbacks they had to make to try to meet that target. It's also unclear to what happens to the money ($56 out of $72 billion, I think) they had already saved in retirement, but if I member right, they got about $50 billion in debt relief, so I guess that about balances out.

Reminder that the Post Office is only losing money because of a 2006 law that forces them to fund their retirement plan for 75 years in advance, which is an insane burden that no nother agency or private corporation undertakes. Also, even if it does lose money, it doesn't matter because the USPS isn't a business. It's a government service provided for the public good.

If the independent calculations are correct, DOGE has cut $8 billion in government spending. 20% of that, divided amongst 350 million Americans, would be $4.57. If DOGE's claims are correct (and they're not), they cut $55 billion, which would be $31.43. Even if DOGE met it's goal of $2 trillion, that would be $1,142.86, which would be a significant one time payment for a lot of Americans, but wouldn't offset the loss of Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, a functioning Post Office, etc.

I mean, yeah, if you want to have a populous movement, you can't do it without half the country. Also, sure, hardcore MAGA voters are fragile, racist, white working class folks, but the majority of people in these districts aren't that type of voter. Most of them are low information voters who pulled the lever for Trump because they liked one or two things he said in a speech. Even more of them are people who just didn't like either candidate and decided their vote wasn't important. We need to activate those people and get them to scream at their Senators and Congressmen if we want to stop Trump and Musk from gutting our democracy.

Jefferies was hand-picked by Pelosi, and I have to assume, given how much power she still exerts over the House (for example, blocking AOC from the Oversight Committee) that he is simply her figurehead. He is also a truly terrible public speaker, which is not an ideal trait for someone who wants to be Speaker of the House.

First of all, good riddance, glad we won't have to see this old ghoul anymore. I hope whatever neurological condition he has kills him before he can enjoy his retirement.

Second of all, a lot Democrats should follow suit. Congress is ancient, but the Democrats are, on average, even older than the Republicans, and that's one of the main reasons they keep getting their asses kicked. If we're going to stop the fascists that have seized our government, we need people with fresh ideas and the energy to fight. Schumer has demonstrated over the last month that his is in no way capable of meeting this moment, and he should set an example for his fellow geriatrics by stepping down from leadership and not seeking reelection, just like McConnell did.

Reminder that Bannon is an ethno-fascist who's just pissy that he's been sidelined for techno-fascists. If his goals align with anti-fascists for the moment, great, but don't for a second think that he is any less vile or dangerous than Trump, Musk, or any of the other chittering goobers that are gnawing away at our democracy right now.

Well, that's true, but the Zoomers are facing some unique headwinds. They're the first generation to come of age in a post internet era, and I've heard people argue that being inundated with social media as well as having such easy access to pornography is giving them a warped view of sex and personal intimacy. There's also data going back to 2017 saying they have less sex than previous generations. And on top of that, many of them had Covid interrupt what should have been their formative sexual years.

Anyway, I'm certainly not excusing any of these little shits that become Nazis. But when I think about how I was as an adolescent, and then think about what these kids have to deal with, I can definitely understand how someone like Andrew Tate could manipulate them.

There's also a lot of incel Zoomers. I think that's where the bulk or his youth support came from.

Honestly, this is the one I'm least worried about. It doesn't sound like anyone who wasn't about to retire is taking the deal. I'm more worried about congressionally allocated funding being impounded, federal bureaucrats being illegally fired, and Doge's massive security breaches in the Treasury and IRS.

Exactly. Also, be prepared to do it in stages. I'm sure a lot of people probably aren't ready to admit that voting for Trump was a mistake, but they might be willing to admit that Trump is making mistakes by starting a trade war or giving Musk so much power. Take what common ground you find and try to build on it.

I know it's tempting to dunk on these people, but if you know anyone like this, tell them to call their Senator and voice their displeasure. They probably won't listen, and they deserve their, "leopards ate my face," moment, but trying to mobilize them would be far more productive than saying, "told you so."

If the DNC is planning to make the same mistakes, this will continue to be relevant. Given that Minority Leader Jefferies went to a Silicone Valley donor event last week and told attendees they would take the House in 2026 by, "reaching toward the center," this kind of shit will be relevant for years to come.