What has Trump done now?

[nomadpete]

Meanwhile, at the site of Kushner's mediterannean island elite mega resort, bulldozers have appeared and are reportedly clearing land. Nobody seems to know who owns them and no plans are known. 

[old man emu]

It used to be that Americans held their President in the highest regard and showed the greatest of respect. Trump has caused those things to be abandoned. He's attending a basketball Grand Final in New York, and instead of being cheered by one and all, he is being booed unanamously. We all love sport  grand finals. By deciding to attend this one, Trump has prevented thousands of fans from enjoying the experience. The comom fan has been barred from going near the venue, or to participate in the parties that are part and parcel of the event. It's probably made worse by the fact that the New York team hasn't been in these finals for years. A lot of us know what it feels like when your underdog team finally makes it to the top. 

 

To paraphrase England's King Henry II, "Who will rid us of this turbulent pest?"

[Jerry_Atrick]

Warning - Big post incoming

 

On 03/06/2026 at 8:59 AM, facthunter said:

How is it transparent when People are "cowed" into keeping silent? Legal firms are put out of business, if they take him on. (challenge Him). Nev

At least he doesn't hide this. He is quite brazen about it.. It is neither a good thing that he does it nor thaty he is brazen about it. But it is there for the electorate to see it. 

 

Let's compare to Australia. Australia: APS employees have to sign an NDA and are under threat of losing their jobs or as we have seen, jail foe whistleblowing (as evidenced).. Everything is hushed up rather than at least made public what is happening, and often who is the beneficiary. I don't recall Dutton yelling from the rooftops giving some dodgy one man operation in Kangaroo Island a massive contract to do not much; in fact he was desperately trying to hide it. The Robodebt royal commission - think about it.. the sealed section of a public enquiry - where all the evidence was heard in public - to not subjudice potential criminal investigations against prominent politicians. How long since? What criminal prosecutions have been made? The NACC made secretive by default at a time where the Labor Party prior getting into government made strong promises of it being public? IBAC in Victoria, where an ex anti corruption commissioner was quoted in The Age a couple of days ago calling it to be made public, ironically, in the same way as the NSW ICAC. 

 

Oh, and I don't hear Albo coming out about how great those fossil fuel industry reps are paying multiple tens of thousands to the Labor party for the privilege of paying multiple thousands per head to anaonyous lunches with ministers and guess what - fracking has been approved in the Kimberly's - one of the last pristine water courses in the world. Or the Beetalooo basion contact, the Adani project, etc. We could go on.. and that is just the Labor party - the one the Juice media labels the less ship party.. Think about the crap the previopus lot was involved with, and you start to get the picture.  What was meant by my American friends is you get to see it for all its glory/gory, and you can make your decision.  

 

 

On 03/06/2026 at 12:25 PM, Marty_d said:

Obama and Biden weren't openly and transparently corrupt.

They didn't put morons in charge of the armed forces, the FBI, the education system, the health system, etc.

They didn't do everything they could to wreck the world's longest lived modern democracy for personal gain and to satisfy a bloated ego.

They didn't do everything they could to stop the fight against climate change.

They didn't rip up international agreements like the Iran deal just because they had a petty dislike of the previous president.

They didn't shut down news organisations and use stand over tactics like thugs when facts were aired that they didn't like.

But hey, if all that means absolutely nothing to your friends, I guess they have the president they deserve.

One the first - I think you answered it. Chump is transparently corrupt. You get what you see... The electorate can then make a decision if the "benefits" he provides is worth the corruption and misconduct he commits (allegedly ;-)). We don't see what we get, but we get it and the consequences, anyway. That is the only bit about transparency. On the rest, my above bit should have addressed the climate change/environment bit. Yep - Chump takes it to the next level, but our pollies of all flavours would seem to sell out to the extent our electorate will put up with it just enough for them to make whatever it is they want and move on. BTW, check out the carnage to (I think ti was - but will have to look up later) Darling Down river system to keep the cotton growers happy.. 

 

Chump brazenly and transparently puts morons to do his bidding in charge of departments. Are you telling me the precious Libs didn't put morons in charge? And that Labor's front bench are sans morons? Even people with experience in their portfolio can be morons and we spend a lot of time criticising non Chump leaders for doing moronic things. 

 

Governments all the time will deploy as many tricks as possible to circumvent democracy to pushing their agenda. Chump doesn't hide it and has used the US constitutional flaws to full advantage while the democrats have been asleep at the wheel to protect the constitution - and some bad thing as well. But the point is, people can see it and judge for themselves. When pollies try hiding things, it leaves a much more bitter taste in ones mouth. 

 

I agree that there was Obama envy that crept into a lot of decisions. But I am not sure that the Iran agreement was really contributing to long term world wide peace. The Paris Agreements?  All 198 countries have signed up to it except three - Iran, Libya, and Yemen. US has subsequently withdrawn. All remaining countries have technically implemented at least one law related to the Paris agreement. There is not a lot of consensus on how many are actually meeting all or a material component of the accords, but according to the Climate Action tracker, fewer than a dozen (less than 10%) have laws that are fully compatible with the Paris Agreement. So, Chumpo leads the world, but he is not alone in not meeting or ignoring international agreements (BTW, Australia has basically ignored its requirements under the Refugee Conventions for a very long time).

 

If you don't think Australian governments haven't shut out media organisations, think again. It is more difficult now because of the reach of two in particular in Australia, but Jeff Kennett was one that comes straight to mind when he was the premier in Vic, threatening to limit media access. Australian governments for years have used more subtle measures - such as first access (i.e. leaks) to manipulate the press. 

 

And it doesn't mean absolutely nothing to my friends.. But what they dislike is a government that hides the ship it does, and as you can see, it is not like other governments are doing them a favour. 

 

 

On 03/06/2026 at 12:50 PM, rgmwa said:

I think it's already too late. Most of the damage is now baked into the system and the worlds psyche, and it will only get worse before Trump and his enablers get thrown out. 

 

Well, they're getting royally shafted now. 

 

There is transparency alright. The incompetence and corruption is out in the open for all to see and on a scale they will probably never see again. If they feel that's a win, then they can well admit that it's a sad state of affairs.

 

It is a sad state of affairs. Remember, in the polls the electorate didn't like either of the main candidates. The democrats didn't do themselves a favour by keeping Biden on, who, I am sad to admit, was beyond his use by date. No one I speak to says Chump is a win; they just see it as no bigger loss in their lives. 

 

 

On 03/06/2026 at 4:54 PM, pmccarthy said:

A friend just came back from the USA, says that ordinary people are just getting on with their lives and seem unaffected by it all.

Agreed.. to say the US people aren't thinking when they pass judgement I find a little conceited, to be honest. These people live there and have to make do. I never said they thought he was good. but for them, in their situation, it is no worse than others before (of both colours), and they can see what they get.  It's so brazen, it is not hidden. Again, it doesn't mean they are saying it is good. 

 

On 03/06/2026 at 10:15 PM, nomadpete said:

Totally agree.

The USofA will no longer be a land of opportunity for the people. But fine for the top few. They are already firmly on the road to international isolationism. The rest of the world is already getting along better without them. 

Long term damage has already be done.

Just think of the outrage that will rise if Republicans and DJT get thrown out.

Besides, there seems to be nobody else electable.

The USA practically stopped being the land of opportunity for most many years ago. There has been a progressive squeeze on the middle class for longer which has left little extra capacity to get ahead. Most of your tech bros and billionaires are not from middle class families, regardless of what their PR says. For small business, it is still probably the same as when I used to live there. Take big risks, hope it pays off. In fact, AI will probably make it a bit easier in some ways. But, yes, I agree with this. That doesn't mean he is not transparent. It means he has probably accelerated USA's decline.. But here's something to think about. I was paying network engineers $120K in San Francisco in 1999; today, in the same place they earn about the same. The obvious result is lower standard of living progressively, while in government a lot of the representatives of the lobbyists have had a field day. People feel betrayed, and they are voting accordingly. Until pollies get that through their thick skulls, Hansons of this world will benefit. 

 

On 04/06/2026 at 1:19 AM, rgmwa said:

I’m sure that’s true. It’s the same here. Most people live their lives day to day without necessarily paying much attention to politics or the state of the world in general. However, the fact is that everyone is affected by the economy, the judicial and health systems, global supply chain disruptions, taxes, and the quality of the nation’s leadership. It’s the ordinary people who suffer the most when those systems don’t work for them and there’s a lot of that going on in the US these days. The wealthy are doing fine. Trump’s manipulated stock portfolio is looking pretty healthy, he can afford his increasingly frequent medical checkups, enjoy his special tax relief status and not worry about the cost of jet fuel for his weekly golf outings. Most Americans are just trying to make ends meet and get through another day. 

Many of these systems in better countries are seen by the population as failing them (the law is an ass, ambo ramping, etc). Wars are waged all the time.. Chump isn't the first to do a stupid war and won't be the last. People are sick of suffering by themselves and want the pollies to suffer as well. It may be worse for them under a Hanson, Farage, and indeed, Chump.. But they are now beyond caring. 

 

 

On 04/06/2026 at 1:26 AM, onetrack said:

It's interesting that Trump and the MAGA mob have just lost an important gubnertorial election in Iowa to a Democrat by the name of Zach Lahn.

 

Lahn defeated the Republican incumbent, Trump-backed Randy Feenstra. Despite Iowa being a big support zone for Trump, with the State being a huge farming State - Lahn won on multiple angles associated with health issues that the State is grappling with.

 

Des Moines water is so polluted with nitrate run-off into water aquifers, they have had to install special filtration equipment. Cancer rates are skyrocketing in Iowa, and a lot of Iowan people (including farmers) believe high levels of pesticide and herbicide use is to blame for both problems.

 

Trump is trying to ensure Monsanto can't be sued, and has watered down EPA laws and controls. The Iowans see it differently, they want Monsanto held to account, and EPA laws and regulations kept in place.

Lahn campaigned on the MAHA ticket - Make America Healthy Again, a vocal group who claim that Americans suffer from an epidemic of chronic illnesses, driven by ultra-processed foods, environmental toxins, over-medicalisation, and corporate corruption within the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. MAHA is championed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

 

Lahn also campaigned on reducing major corporate ownership and control of farmland. This is an interesting turn of events, a Red State turning against Trumps corporate-loving policies.

One of the inadvertent/unintentional consequences of el Chumpo's narcissism is that it is all there for the electorate to see. They can make their mind up relatively easily// Or they may be saying to the adults in the room, we're happy to vote you back in, but this time, listen to us and act on it, or we will do it again. 

 

On 06/06/2026 at 5:30 AM, nomadpete said:

Modern day investment strategy - better returns than the stock market?

 

As reported by "The New Republic":

 

"

It was always pretty naive to think the ultrarich individuals donating to Donald Trump’s $400 million ballroom project were doing so out of the goodness of their hearts.

A new report from the nonprofit government watchdog Public Citizen has calculated that 14 ballroom donors have raked in more than $50 billion combined in government contracts over the last six months. For reference, that’s more than the GDP of countries such as Iceland and Senegal."

 

https://newrepublic.com/post/211423/donald-trump-ballroom-donors-government-contracts

This is no different to a lot of the donations made to political parties in Australia - only the scale (for the record, Australian parties seem to accept less before it looks like a conflict of interest action takes place).

 

On 03/06/2026 at 10:19 PM, nomadpete said:

Marty, we can only see limited and biased news, and from our distance it cannot reflect how the inhabitants see things.

JerryA just gave you a little insight of how some USAnians see things.

That is my point. We see it differently to the locals. That does not mean they are not thinking about it.. Remember, the UK has gone Farage, Denmark has gone very right - Denmark! Germany has. USA always has been. And now Hanson is making a breakthrough. We all see things differently. My friends in the US

 

I haven't caught up with later posts (it took a couple of days to get this done, I am that busy at the moment). But I really wish people would look in their own backyard as well.. There's also a lot to fix there. 

[facthunter]

I think many of us KNOW what's going on in our Backyard  better than you give us credit for. As a person living here I wouldn't claim intricate knowledge about what is going on in the UK WE get a Fair Bit about the USA. Half the People in the USA wouldn't know where Australia is. When I was in France for a bit over 2 Months I got Practically No News about  Australia. Its Out of sight Out of Mind. .  Nev

[Marty_d]

Jerry, you're spending a lot of time defending the indefensible.

Saying that it's better to have a massive amount of corrupt behaviour because it's transparently visible rather than a small amount of hidden corruption (which usually comes out anyway) doesn't seem logical to me.

[rgmwa]

It's better that Trump's corruption is out in the open for everyone to see, but only if it means they wake up to what's going on and get rid of him instead of just accepting it and letting him carry on. I don't think he's going to make another two and a half years anyway, given the shape he's in mentally and physically.