It looks like Trump now has his Stormtroopers (Stoßtruppen)

Whitewavemark2

Gavin Newson has been given a huge plane by Canada.😄😄.

I bet Trump tries to refuse to give it permission to enter USA space!

Where did you see that, Wwmk2? I can't find any reference to it. (though I haven't yet tried Chatgtp )

And Gavin Newsome is, to use a phrase I don't normally, is .. awesome..

Casdon, I saw the new White House decor described as " Versailles, ordered from Temu".

Cont

It’s why he has broken all convention, and possibly US law, by attempting to remove Lisa Cook as a member of the board of the Federal Reserve on unproven charges of mortgage fraud. Those charges are based on information helpfully supplied by the Trump loyalist installed as federal housing director and who, according to the New York Times, has repeatedly leveraged “the powers of his office … to investigate or attack Mr Trump’s most recognisable political enemies”. The pattern is clear: Trump is using the institutions of government to hound his foes in a manner that recalls the worst of Richard Nixon – though where Nixon skulked in the shadows, Trump’s abuses are in plain sight.

And all in the pursuit of ever more power. Take the firing of Cook. With falling poll numbers, especially on his handling of the economy, he craves the sugar rush of an interest rate cut. The independent central bank won’t give it to him, so he wants to push the Fed out of the way and grab the power to set interest rates himself. Note the justification offered by JD Vance this week, that Trump is “much better able to make those determinations” than “unelected bureaucrats” because he embodies the will of the people. The reasoning is pure authoritarianism, arguing that a core principle of the US constitution, the separation of powers, should be swept aside, because all legitimate authority resides in one man alone.

imaround you might be interested in reading this extract from a U.K. newspaper. The paper is centre/centre/left.

Trump has deployed the national guard on the streets of Washington DC, so that there are now 2,000 troops, heavily armed, patrolling the capital. The pretext is fighting crime, but violent crime in DC was at a 30-year low when he made his move. The president has warned that Chicago will be next, perhaps Baltimore too

In June he sent the national guard and the marines into Los Angeles to put down protests against his immigration policies, protests which the administration said amounted to an “insurrection”. Demonstrators were complaining about the masked men of Ice, the immigration agency that, thanks to Trump, now has a budget to match that of the world’s largest armies, snatching people from street corners or hauling them from their cars.

Those cities are all run by Democrats and, not coincidentally, have large Black populations. They are potential centres of opposition to Trump’s rule and he wants them under his control. The constitution’s insistence that states have powers of their own and that the reach of the federal government should be limited – a principle that until recently was sacred to Republicans – can go hang

Control is the goal, amassing power in the hands of the president and removing or neutering any institution or person that could stand in his way. That is the guiding logic that explains Trump’s every action, large and small, including his wars on the media, the courts, the universities and the civil servants of the federal government. It helps explain why FBI agents last week mounted a 7am raid on the home and office of John Bolton, once Trump’s national security adviser and now one of his most vocal critics. And why the president hinted darkly that the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie is in his sights.”

Guardian
Jonathan Freedland
30/8

I’ll gradually post it all as it is worth a read.

This reads like a tin pot South American junta and yet it isn’t

“Having secured his grip on the capital, the president is now set to send troops to several rebel-held cities, claiming he is wanted there to restore order. The move follows raids on the homes of leading dissidents and comes as armed men seen as loyal to the president, many of them masked, continue to pluck people off the streets …”

This is the USA

Guardian 30/8

imaround

Have you seen Gavin Newsome's Social Media? He is trolling Trump and it is epic.

Yes😊.

I reckon that is exactly the sort of thing that will get at Trump.

Things that are astounding are happening so quickly that it is difficult to keep up.

Have you seen Gavin Newsome's Social Media? He is trolling Trump and it is epic.

Gavin Newson has been given a huge plane by Canada.😄😄.

I bet Trump tries to refuse to give it permission to enter USA space!

The gildification of the White House is rather amusing I think. He’s the Walmart version of Louis 14th, it looks so over the top that you have to laugh.

That must be something the world can hope for. Trouble is 😡😡😡Vance.

He apparently has his photos hanging all over federal buildings al la Kim Jung Un. He has moved or removed the portraits of previous presidents.

He is literally unhinged. Rumors are swirling about his health and we know when there is smoke there is usually fire. Hopefully.

WWM I couldn't agree more- it bordered on parody. Mr Trump was loving it.

What I found utterly astounding and embarrassingly awful, except that it was real, so should be very worried indeed was the sycophancy shown by his cabinet.

I’ve never seen anything like it.

That seems a really vindictive step to me imaround, she must feel very vulnerable, given how high public feeling is running.

Oh and he removed Kamala's Secret Service protection today.

It is absolutely being done for a purpose.

I hate this timeline.

imaround

He has taken control of Union Station in Washington DC away from Amtrak. He will control who is coming and going soon.

www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-extends-control-over-washington-131255867.html

Is he now trying to sack the boss?

Trump is getting control of all the important infrastructure and agencies.

This is being done for a purpose

No need to throw them physically out of windows - just destroy their reputations with very public arrests for minor infringements from decades ago, and if you can't find any, fake them.

What is coming next, Defenestrations of political opponents?

Oh imaround, what a terrible place you find yourself in. I am so sorry for you and other citizens of the U.S who feel so powerless.

Every day I watch with horror.

I am sure that we may well have the same fight on our hands within the next 10 years, and am coming to the conclusion, that violence (civil war) is inevitable in order to stop it.

What has happened is unbelievable, when you look back at our lives when liberal democracy was taken for granted and the rule of law respected and paramount.

He has taken control of Union Station in Washington DC away from Amtrak. He will control who is coming and going soon.

www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-extends-control-over-washington-131255867.html

There are a total of approximately 431,000 National Guardsman in the United states. If he runs out of those, he can bring all troops back into the country at any time. There are 1.3 million of them Worldwide. Add to that the now largest federal police force in the World, ICE agents who run around masked kidnapping people off the street. And local police forces that are typically overwhelmingly MAGA.

The onky way to stop this if for the 77 million who voted for him to use their 2A rights. Hard to do when he is giving a large portion if them what they want, the ability to hide behind masks and hurt people who are different from, them without any recourse. They are happy to be allowed to be thier most horrible racist, homophobic, dictator loving selves.

I can't see a way out of this regime honestly. People ask why Germans didn't stand up and now i see why. It won't stop what is happening, it will only get you killed at some point. I have young adult children who are going to need as much as I can do for them as they are losing rights every day. Other countries are not welcoming the influx of Americans who are fleeing. What are we supposed to do right now?

He is ordering the Gerrymandering of red states to give him a Super Majority in the House. Texas just gave him 10 reliable red seats. California is now redistricting to combat it but Missouri and Idaho aren't far behind.

He has taken control of all 3 branches if Goverment. There are no more checks and balances, only him and his minions ushering us out of Democracy.

Are there enough military to quell organised mass protests throughout the USA if they happen at the same time though imaround? You have some enormous cities which are strongly democrat, and it will surely be very hard to control if protests get out of hand.