Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Edge-]

It's so weird that this easy to fix thing is one of the last things he does in office. I expect this to be a day one fix from Biden.

Probably not given how late this is happening, he's got a mountain of EO's planned for day 1 already. But I imagine this will be a pretty quick fix for his new Labor Secretary.

[Masark]

At least temporarily

Don't bet on it with this court.

[GreenGoldSharpie]

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...-religion.html



At least temporarily, RIP worker protections for LGBTQ+ federal employees who can now be fired in the name of "religious liberty".

So glad these bigoted, regressive fucks are on the way out.

I'm pretty sure this runs afoul of Bostock too. Like blatantly so.

[Edge-]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...stimulus-talks

How good off a dealmaker is Trump? So good that we have 1-week long continuing resolutions when it comes to the budget. Literally keeping the government open for one more week.

Pathetic.

[unfilteredJW]

Is this a good place to point out Rebekah Jones, the scientist that DeSantis had fired for not coming to heel and has been posting her own numbers on the Covid epidemic in Florida, had her house raided and all her equipment used in tracking covid numbers in Florida and in schools seized by state police on warrant by the DOH?

https://twitter.com/GeoRebekah/statu...65787900145665

Because she had guns pointed at her and her children this morning over her work.

[Edge-]

Is this a good place to point out Rebekah Jones, the scientist that DeSantis had fired for not coming to heel and has been posting her own numbers on the Covid epidemic in Florida, had her house raided and all her equipment used in tracking covid numbers in Florida and in schools seized by state police on warrant by the DOH?

https://twitter.com/GeoRebekah/statu...65787900145665

Because she had guns pointed at her and her children this morning over her work.

Report is this is over unauthorized access to the DoH emergency system or something. And that she refused to let cops in for 20 minutes or something. Still not sure why that'd cause officers to have guns drawn, much less pointed at people. Especially children.

[TigTone]

Report is this is over unauthorized access to the DoH emergency system or something. And that she refused to let cops in for 20 minutes or something. Still not sure why that'd cause officers to have guns drawn, much less pointed at people. Especially children.

Seeing how the “I thought she/he had a weapon excuse still works well” I understand why she would hesitate to open the door.

[Edge-]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/u...ll-mexico.html

Two whistle-blowers have accused contractors building President Trump’s border wall of smuggling armed Mexican security teams into the United States to guard construction sites, even building an illegal dirt road to speed the operation, according to court documents unsealed by a federal judge on Friday.

The two employees, who were both contracted to provide security at the sites, accused the company, Sullivan Land Services Co., or S.L.S. — as well as a subcontractor, Ultimate Concrete of El Paso — of hiring workers who were not vetted by the United States government, overcharging for construction costs and making false statements about those actions.

The whistle-blowers said Ultimate Concrete went so far as to build a dirt road to expedite illegal border crossings to sites in San Diego, using construction vehicles to block security cameras. An unnamed supervisor at the Army Corps of Engineers approved the operation, according to a complaint filed in February and released on Friday.

Mr. Trump may have failed to make good on his 2016 promise to make Mexico pay for the wall, but if the accusations prove true, the administration apparently did rely on Mexican workers for the project, potentially at the expense of Americans.

The allegations came to light as data obtained by The New York Times showed that a border wall that Mr. Trump once advertised as “impenetrable” has continued to prove very penetrable. In fact, it has been repeatedly breached by migrants, requiring repairs that the whistle-blowers say was completed by workers who were not authorized by the government to be on the job.

Documents obtained by The Times through a Freedom of Information Act request show that Border Patrol agents have struggled to prevent migrants from breaching the wall, with one portion of the barriers in Tucson, Ariz., breached as recently as September.

Between October 2019 and March 2020, the concrete bollards of the wall were breached more than 320 times in San Diego; Tucson; El Centro, Calif.; and Yuma, Ariz., according to the documents. While Mr. Trump has constructed new segments in each of those areas, it is unclear whether all the breaches affected new portions of his wall or dilapidated barriers installed by previous administrations.

The New York Times could not independently verify the accusations, which were made by a former deputy sheriff in San Diego County and a former F.B.I. special agent providing security for the wall construction. The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of California, allowing the federal government to investigate the allegations while they remained sealed and to decide whether to pursue the case. The Justice Department notified the court last week that it would not intervene in the case, prompting a judge to unseal the allegations. Federal law allows the whistle-blowers to continue to pursue the case “in the name of the United States” or, with the permission of the federal government, to seek a settlement or dismissal of the case.

Liz Rogers, a spokeswoman for S.L.S., said in a statement that the company did not comment on litigation. Jesse Guzman, the president of Ultimate Concrete, said in a phone interview on Monday that he was not aware of the complaint, but he dismissed the accusations.

“Everybody can allege whatever they want to, and that does not make it correct or make it the truth,” he said, adding that it was two security officers who were angry that “something didn’t go their way.”

One of the guards, who served as an on-site security manager for the contractors, told special agents with the F.B.I. that he had discovered through monthly audits of workers at the site in San Diego that many of the personnel working on construction and security were not vetted or approved by Customs and Border Protection.

S.L.S., a primary builder of Mr. Trump’s wall, has been awarded contracts worth more than $1.4 billion for work on multiple parts of the border. With those funds, the company is said to have allowed its subcontractor, Ultimate Concrete, to hire armed Mexicans and facilitate illegal border crossings that the president has worked to shut down.

Ultimate Concrete “constructed a dirt road that would allow access from the Mexican side of the border into the United States,” the whistle-blowers said in the complaint. “This U.C.-constructed road was apparently the route by which the armed Mexican nationals were unlawfully crossing into the United States.”

An S.L.S. project manager then pressured one of the whistle-blowers in July 2019 to not include information about the Mexican security guards in reports required to be submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers.

Border Patrol agents raised concerns that month about those Mexican guards to the security companies that one of the whistle-blowers worked for. When the whistle-blower discussed the concerns about Mexican guards working on the U.S. side of the border with an S.L.S. project manager, the company said the work by the Mexican guards was approved — a claim the whistle-blower rejected.

“What are you going to do about it?” the project manager said to the security officer, who filed the complaint.

About three weeks later, one of the whistle-blowers received a report about a shooting that had taken place between the Mexican security guards and others who crossed the border to steal property. One of the whistle-blowers sent a report on the shooting to the Army Corps.

Army Corps officials responded that they would investigate the episode and that the information was inconsistent with what Ultimate Concrete leaders had reported.

One of the whistle-blowers also said in the complaint that he had interviewed a witness who said the armed Mexican guards were working on the U.S. side of the border. Leaders for both contractors also admitted that they were aware of the Mexican guards working in the United States, with a representative from Ultimate Concrete claiming that he was “paying for the services of the Mexican guards.”

One of the security guards then reached out to the F.B.I. The Washington Post reported earlier that the F.B.I. was investigating the shooting at the construction site in San Diego last year that had wounded two of the Mexican security guards, as well as migrants cutting through Mr. Trump’s wall.

The whistle-blowers also said in the complaint that Ultimate Concrete employees had submitted fraudulent invoices to the federal government. One of the whistle-blowers was told by an employee that a member of the company’s leadership, identified in the complaint as U.C. president, was “‘hiding’ the full extent of his profits on the Border Wall project,” in part by submitting false claims for diesel fuel, according to the complaint.

“If they were using a forklift, they would use it only sporadically throughout the day but charge the government for fuel, in sum and substance, ‘as if it was running all the time,’” the complaint said.

The whistle-blowers said in the complaint that at least one unnamed Army Corps supervisor, who later stepped down, was aware of the use of Mexican guards and had an inappropriate relationship with the leadership of Ultimate Concrete, often attending golf outings with “U.C. president.”

One of the whistle-blowers claimed to have told the Army Corps supervisor about concerns with the company, only to be told to “stand down.”

Customs and Border Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers acknowledged inquiries by The Times but did not reply with comment.

The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment. Nicholas J. Lewin, a lawyer for one of the whistle-blowers, did not respond to requests for comment. Marc S. Harris, a lawyer for another security officer, declined to comment.

The employees also accused the companies of submitting fraudulent invoices for border wall costs and “hiding” the full profits of the project.

So not only is "THE WALL" not working at all, but the people building "THE WALL" are literally bringing armed Mexican guards across the border illegally to act as security.

Oh yeah, and fraud. They're charging taxpayers for shit they didn't do. Who would have thought this would all turn out to be a clusterfuck of stupid grifters?

[Kathranis]

So glad these bigoted, regressive fucks are on the way out.

That's the silver lining of Conservatism. They can't stop the inexorable march of progress, they can only slow it down.

[Benggaul]

198,792 new cases; nearly 24k more than two weeks ago. Once the Nebraska numbers come in it could very likely be over 200k. On a Monday. An underreport day.

Top 20:

California: 27,042 new cases; 115 deaths
Texas: 14,479 new cases; 83 deaths
Ohio: 9,273 new cases; 61 deaths
Illinois: 8,691 new cases; 100 deaths
Pennsylvania: 8,582 new cases; 39 deaths
New York: 8,197 new cases; 112 deaths
Tennessee: 8,136 new cases (new record); 66 deaths
Connecticut: 8,129 new cases (new record); 78 deaths
Fuck Florida. And the DeathSantis Gestapo.
Washington: 6,615 new cases (new record); 27 deaths
Indiana: 5,661 new cases; 42 deaths
Minnesota: 5,290 new cases; 21 deaths
Georgia: 5,285 new cases; 45 deaths
Kansas: 5,197 new cases; 70 deaths
Michigan: 4,675 new cases; 101 deaths
New Jersey: 4,442 new cases; 15 deaths
North Carolina: 4,372 new cases; 17 deaths
Colorado: 4,037 new cases; 2 deaths
Virginia: 3,817 new cases; 8 deaths
Missouri: 3,580 new cases; 21 deaths

Other states with new case/death records: Arkansas, New Hampshire (first time over 1k new cases) and Maine.

It's honestly hard to tell if we're seeing the extra surge from Thanksgiving (including travel before) or if things really are just this out of control in general. Before the holiday the change in cases week to week was dropping below 10k on some days, but now it's averaging well over. I should be able to start comparing to the previous week starting tomorrow so we'll have a clearer picture of how big a change it actually is, but I'm not expecting good news. California may well top 30k in a day this week and once Texas starts being honest again they'll likely be passing 20k. A quarter of the way to 200k cases with only two states. I'll start paying more attention to positivity rates again tomorrow to see where we are in general.

1,508 deaths is over 500 more than two weeks ago and brings the total to 290,443. We'll likely be over 300k (according to worldometers) before the end of Sunday. 5 states hit triple digits and yet none of them were records--that's how bad things are going right now.

Related news:

Dr. Fauci says the full brunt of Thanksgiving on Covid-19 data isn't here yet--Well I guess that answers that question.

Over half of NYC firefighters would refuse COVID-19 vaccine, survey finds--Proof that bravery doesn't automatically come with brains. For fuck's sake, people.

Bravo’s ‘Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills’ Halts Production Due To Positive Covid-19 Tests--So it's not all bad news.

Stay safe, folks.

[cubby]

The suckers have given him 270 million dollars so far I wouldn't stop if I were him either he may have enough money to get out of debt because of them.

And those idiots donating to him, still, haven't read the fine print. Something like 100% can go to whatever Trump deems necessary, unless the amount is over $6k, and then a percentage of it goes to the legal fund and then the GOP.

[Benggaul]

Jesus. Christ.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1...021535744?s=20

This is unreal. Trump abruptly walked out of Dan Gable’s Medal of Freedom ceremony today, leaving Gable shrugging and at a complete loss about what he was supposed to do.

There's video. Just fucking drag him out of the office already if it's so clear he has no interest in it.

[Edge-]

Over half of NYC firefighters would refuse COVID-19 vaccine, survey finds--Proof that bravery doesn't automatically come with brains. For fuck's sake, people.

I mean...I get they're not fully trained doctors and all but these are folks with first-aid/medical training...that the number of them refusing a vaccine would be so high genuinely worries me.

- - - Updated - - -

Jesus. Christ.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1...021535744?s=20



There's video. Just fucking drag him out of the office already if it's so clear he has no interest in it.

Finals are over. He knows he failed the class. Also, oddly reminicient of his early days when he didn't know what the fuck to do at signing ceremonies, including signing the EO he brought press in to take pictures of him signing to begin with.



Also, there's that tiny desk again. But when surrounded by people, it looks a lot less awkward.

[Fuiking]

198,792 new cases; nearly 24k more than two weeks ago. Once the Nebraska numbers come in it could very likely be over 200k. On a Monday. An underreport day.

Top 20:

California: 27,042 new cases; 115 deaths
Texas: 14,479 new cases; 83 deaths
Ohio: 9,273 new cases; 61 deaths
Illinois: 8,691 new cases; 100 deaths
Pennsylvania: 8,582 new cases; 39 deaths
New York: 8,197 new cases; 112 deaths
Tennessee: 8,136 new cases (new record); 66 deaths
Connecticut: 8,129 new cases (new record); 78 deaths
Fuck Florida. And the DeathSantis Gestapo.
Washington: 6,615 new cases (new record); 27 deaths
Indiana: 5,661 new cases; 42 deaths
Minnesota: 5,290 new cases; 21 deaths
Georgia: 5,285 new cases; 45 deaths
Kansas: 5,197 new cases; 70 deaths
Michigan: 4,675 new cases; 101 deaths
New Jersey: 4,442 new cases; 15 deaths
North Carolina: 4,372 new cases; 17 deaths
Colorado: 4,037 new cases; 2 deaths
Virginia: 3,817 new cases; 8 deaths
Missouri: 3,580 new cases; 21 deaths

Other states with new case/death records: Arkansas, New Hampshire (first time over 1k new cases) and Maine.

It's honestly hard to tell if we're seeing the extra surge from Thanksgiving (including travel before) or if things really are just this out of control in general. Before the holiday the change in cases week to week was dropping below 10k on some days, but now it's averaging well over. I should be able to start comparing to the previous week starting tomorrow so we'll have a clearer picture of how big a change it actually is, but I'm not expecting good news. California may well top 30k in a day this week and once Texas starts being honest again they'll likely be passing 20k. A quarter of the way to 200k cases with only two states. I'll start paying more attention to positivity rates again tomorrow to see where we are in general.

1,508 deaths is over 500 more than two weeks ago and brings the total to 290,443. We'll likely be over 300k (according to worldometers) before the end of Sunday. 5 states hit triple digits and yet none of them were records--that's how bad things are going right now.

Related news:

Dr. Fauci says the full brunt of Thanksgiving on Covid-19 data isn't here yet--Well I guess that answers that question.

Over half of NYC firefighters would refuse COVID-19 vaccine, survey finds--Proof that bravery doesn't automatically come with brains. For fuck's sake, people.

Bravo’s ‘Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills’ Halts Production Due To Positive Covid-19 Tests--So it's not all bad news.

Stay safe, folks.

holy shit... I will get myself vaccinated asap. which might be mid august/later.. but im in 2 (3 or 4 if you count high unpleasant amount of stress and some handicap) at risk groups... so maybe...

[Paranoid Android]

Seeing how the “I thought she/he had a weapon excuse still works well” I understand why she would hesitate to open the door.

No "I feared for my life" and they didnt shoot her?

I wrote in the other thread I will be a little skeptic if she acted in good faith on everything.

- - - Updated - - -

Jesus. Christ.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1...021535744?s=20



There's video. Just fucking drag him out of the office already if it's so clear he has no interest in it.

He is such a turd. Again, we have been in here for 4 years and posted how many times he acted and looked like an ass. An ass until the end.

- - - Updated - - -

Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday aimed at prioritizing the shipment of the coronavirus vaccine to Americans before other nations, senior administration officials say https://t.co/NUlHfamhRb

https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/13...791884800?s=19

The clown show is incredible. I looked but idk if this story was posted.

Breaking News: Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered in the summer to sell the U.S. more coronavirus vaccine doses, people familiar with the matter said. Now Pfizer may not be able to provide more doses to the U.S. until next June.
https://t.co/aGhcHoa9F3

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1...515410946?s=19

So the clown passed on first dibs of any virus Pfizer issued.

So back up top the clown is trying to get ahead of the line when he screwed it up from start. Just dumbest, most incompetent moron ever.

[cubby]

I mean...I get they're not fully trained doctors and all but these are folks with first-aid/medical training...that the number of them refusing a vaccine would be so high genuinely worries me.

- - - Updated - - -



Finals are over. He knows he failed the class. Also, oddly reminicient of his early days when he didn't know what the fuck to do at signing ceremonies, including signing the EO he brought press in to take pictures of him signing to begin with.



Also, there's that tiny desk again. But when surrounded by people, it looks a lot less awkward.

If they're bringing that desk in again, after it's laughable genesis in November, Trump must be ordering it. I wonder if in his ritalin addled mind he thinks it makes him look big....

[YUPPIE]

you know, on a rather lighthearted note: I don't know if anyone mentioned it yet, but upon skimming through Trump hashtags on Twitter I found a popular trend of a Japanese comic strip under the title "Death Note" where Trump made a drawn appearance and the author wrote him as a coward and pathological liar based on the pages I read

considering this is a published comic book sold for money, that's pretty offensive

I would be surprised if Japan views Trump unfavorably considering the strong alliance JP has with the US

[Elegiac]

I mean...I get they're not fully trained doctors and all but these are folks with first-aid/medical training...that the number of them refusing a vaccine would be so high genuinely worries me.

Sorry, this just reads to me as "half of NYC firefighters want to be pink slipped".

I've no sympathy for antivaxxers. Self-harming stupidity is fine but bringing other people into your nonsense is license for contempt, and there should be no compunctions about using unemployment as an enforcement mechanism when it comes to public health.

[Zan15]

At what point do we charge this mother fucker with treason

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...?ocid=msedgdhp

Pennsylvania is the third state in which Mr. Trump is known to have reached out to top elected Republicans to try to reverse the will of voters. He earlier summoned Michigan legislative leaders to the White House, and over the weekend he pressed Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia to call upon that state’s legislature to reverse the election.

At a rally in Georgia on Saturday, Mr. Trump said Mr. Kemp “could stop it very easily if he knew what the hell he was doing.” But Mr. Kemp has repeatedly declined to call for a special session of the legislature, and state election officials recertified Georgia’s results on Monday after another recount again showed that Mr. Biden had won the state.

[Kiri]

you know, on a rather lighthearted note: I don't know if anyone mentioned it yet, but upon skimming through Trump hashtags on Twitter I found a popular trend of a Japanese comic strip under the title "Death Note" where Trump made a drawn appearance and the author wrote him as a coward and pathological liar based on the pages I read

considering this is a published comic book sold for money, that's pretty offensive

I would be surprised if Japan views Trump unfavorably considering the strong alliance JP has with the US

I mean, it's an author making a reference to a current US president involving his own biases. Not exactly new, tbh. An Obama reference was a supporting character for like a year in Air Gear and eventually had his body swapped with that of a little girl, continuing to be president with her body.

The Death Note thing is just a one-shot in comparison, so I wouldn't exactly see it as a representation of what the Japanese population/nation thinks of Trump, really. Though, admittedly, at the very least the story as presented makes sense. The Trumpalike was offered the opportunity to end all of the US' enemies with the stroke of a pen - but at the cost of his own life. He refuses to do that (though it's only borderline cowardly tbh, suicide is not exactly something we expect presidents to do for the population) but then lies about his motives, i.e. that he would not use the killing notebook out of moral reasons. Sounds like something Trump would do if you ask me.