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toomuchbaloney · Feb 4

Beerman said:

USAID...the perfect example of how govt programs can grow into metastatic cancers.

Sure. Can you tell us about the cancer of USAID or was that just something you heard? It's not surprising that humanitarian aid would be considered a cancer by the people who think that mercy is a sin and adore a mentally ill rapist, bully. Would you find that surprising?

toomuchbaloney · Feb 4

nursej22 said:

They are authorized and funded by Congress. The GOP has control, so why don't they do away with it legally? Perhaps the majority of the US think humanitarian aid is a good thing?

Clearly Trump supporters are accepting of extraconstitutional or illegal actions to achieve their goals. If that humanitarian aid is a cancer to the fascist regime then the unelected billionaire ought to be able to end that agency using whatever means he prefers. That seems to be the collective response from Trump supporters. They don't care much about the constitution, obviously, they care that they have control.

Beerman, BSN · Feb 4

nursej22 said:

They are authorized and funded by Congress. The GOP has control, so why don't they do away with it legally? Perhaps the majority of the US think humanitarian aid is a good thing?

My understanding is that it hasn't been done away with. It is paused for review. I won't claim to be an expert, but common sense would dictate that the executive branch has the right and responsibility to do that.

I think the majority of Americans are for putting a rein on wasteful spending.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/05/18/usaid-biden-power-contracts-money-procurement/

nursej22, MSN, RN · Feb 4

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/trump-drains-california-water-photo-op-wildfires-1235256059/

Quote

Trump has had California politics living rent-free in his head since he first learned of state efforts to ensure sufficient fresh water for the endangered Delta Smelt, a small fish that lives near the mouth of the Sacramento River in Northern California. Trump perceives this small act of environmental preservation as putting a "worthless fish" over water-hungry farms and human profits.

Quote

Trump has been so exercised over this issue that he threatened to withhold disaster aid from California on the campaign trail, unless Gov. Gavin "Newscum" curtailed natural river outflows. And on his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order absurdly titled: "Putting People over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California.”

As Trump blustered, a combination of brave firefighting and actual rainstorms enabled nearly complete containment of the wildfires last week. But Trump was still determined to act — to match his big mouth with bigger action. And so, last Friday, the Army Corps abruptly began emptying reservoirs that flow into the Central Valley — lowering lakes that are at least a three-hour drive north of Los Angeles, on the other side of the Tehachapi Mountains.

Quote

This squandering of water made the Portland urinal flush look like a child's game. It more resembled the malevolent act of a mad king.

Daisy4RN · Feb 4

Beerman said:

USAID...the perfect example of how govt programs can grow into metastatic cancers.

Exactly! Started off a good idea but over time turned into a waste of our (taxpayer) dollars.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/uncategorized/2025/02/at-usaid-waste-and-abuse-runs-deep/

Daisy4RN · Feb 4

toomuchbaloney said:

They don't care much about the constitution, obviously, they care that they have control.

I wonder if all those Dems who are suddenly so worried about the Constitution were complaining when it was the Biden administration circumventing the Constitution. For example handing out "free" (taxpayer) money for all those college students to pay off their loans they signed and agreed to pay, even after the Supreme Court ruled against them.

toomuchbaloney · Feb 4

Daisy4RN said:

I wonder if all those Dems who are suddenly so worried about the Constitution were complaining when it was the Biden administration circumventing the Constitution. For example handing out "free" (taxpayer) money for all those college students to pay off their loans they signed and agreed to pay, even after the Supreme Court ruled against them.

That's your example of behavior from Biden that supposedly matches the unprecedented corruption and abuse of power by Trump and Musk?

OMG if you want to compare you should try to find a time when Biden appointed a wealthy narcissist to take over multiple government agencies and lock staff out of jobs using secret personal staffers to copy the secret national data onto private hard drives. Holy hell. Is the problem that your media isn't reporting on his abnormal and dangerous activity? Is that the problem?

toomuchbaloney · Feb 4

Beerman said:

My understanding is that it hasn't been done away with. It is paused for review. I won't claim to be an expert, but common sense would dictate that the executive branch has the right and responsibility to do that.

I think the majority of Americans are for putting a rein on wasteful spending.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/05/18/usaid-biden-power-contracts-money-procurement/

No. Congress decides how much money goes to USAID, not the POTUS or his unelected billionaire buddies.

It sure seems to me that they should at least try to identify some actual fraud or waste before they shut down the function of the entire agency if finding fraud is the actual objective. From what they've said and done it simply looks and sounds like they are shutting stuff down under the guise of the fraudsters and liars and cheats looking to find fraud. Who believes fraudsters and liars and cheats without evidence on the front side? Who makes excuses for this kind of unconstitutional behavior by well known liars? Do felons liars and fraudsters get to decide what is and isn't fraud in government spending? Does ketamine abuse make Musk more qualified to make these judgments? This is apparently what Republicans want, just like they want an unqualified drunk and womanizer in control of the DOD.

toomuchbaloney · Feb 4

Daisy4RN said:

Exactly! Started off a good idea but over time turned into a waste of our (taxpayer) dollars.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/uncategorized/2025/02/at-usaid-waste-and-abuse-runs-deep/

Explain that. You believe this Trump propaganda is rationale to put Musk and his personal staff in control of essential agency data, secrets, and services. How does that BS propaganda explain the necessity to stop aid to Ukraine or to shut staff out of their jobs and committed computers? Try to connect the dots.

nursej22, MSN, RN · Feb 4

Government agencies are overseen by inspectors general.
And Trump just fired 18 of them, without the required (by law) 30 day notice.

I wonder why?

Crusades · Feb 4

Tweety said:

Seems Canada and Mexico were given a delay in the tariffs. Right leaning Wall Street Journal called it the "dumbest" trade war,

Ultimately as a negotiating tool, Trump seems to have gotten concessions to his agenda. Hopefully after 30 days the idea will be dropped.

China on the other hand is starting a tit for tat. Hopefully the supply chain can absorb costs instead of consumers.

He also bitter complained about the trade deficit with the EU and the UK. Not sure what his plans are there.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-tariffs-chinese-imports-take-effect-after-trump-reprieves-canada-mexico-2025-02-04/

I was very disappointed with these tarrifs with Canada and Mexico. To taffif both countries 25% when there is a major disparity between illegal migrants/drugs from Mexico vs Canada.

I even questioned Trump's motive and was ready to asign this to authoritarian type behavior. If he did not delay the tarrifs, I may have considered this a an authorative act for profit and extremely poor international relations.

He has now accepted the strengthing of both borders my measures placed by both countries and delayed the tarriffs. Which eases some of my concerns.

Hopefully this is what Trump says it is and at the end of the day if it helps resolve some of the issues of illegal migrants and drugs, all countries benefit.

It does pose a question especially in Canada's case why the need to be threatened with tariffs to secure the border and make Canadians and Americans safer?

Beerman, BSN · Feb 4

nursej22 said:

Government agencies are overseen by inspectors general.
And Trump just fired 18 of them, without the required (by law) 30 day notice.

I wonder why?

Sounds like he was on good legal standing to do it.

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/trump-fired-17-inspectors-general-was-it-legal