What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[Razgovory]

Was "writing things on bullets" a thing in American political assassinations until recently?

I couldn't say as I generally don't keep track of crazies.

[Jacob]

I couldn't say as I generally don't keep track of crazies.

Yeah me neither, but - Syt's slingers and sponsored Ukrainian munitions notwithstanding - the first time I picked up on the media going with "the killer's motivations are conveniently explained by inscriptions on his small-arms munition" was with the guy who killed Kirk.

That turned out to be a misunderstanding and - as I understand it - the result of the right-wing-pundit-sphere being desperate to pin the killing on the left for political narrative reasons.

And now, the very next seemingly politically motivated American shooting is similarly explained with a very quick "the killer was a leftist, which we can tell by the political message he inscribed on his bullets." This makes me wonder about two things:

1) How closely will this follow the previous pattern (i.e. it turns out to be flimsy conjecture advanced by the right-wing-pundit-sphere desperate to get a "it's actually the LEFT that's dangerous" narrative going).

2) Alternately, are we witnessing the beginning of a new trend in which shooters declare their political allegiance by inscribing easily understood messages on their ammunition? Or has this trend actually existed for a while and I never picked up on it?

I'd also like to ask those languishites with experience handling guns: how common is it in American gun culture to inscribe personalized messages on ammunition? How practical is it to actually do it?

[Tonitrus]

https://thehill.com/homenews/5521707-hegseth-summons-top-generals/

Hegseth calls military leaders to meet next week in sudden order
by Ellen Mitchell - 09/25/25 12:28 PM ET

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will meet with top military leaders next week, the Pentagon confirmed Thursday, following a report that the rare gathering will include hundreds of generals and admirals.

"The Secretary of War will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week," chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to The Hill, offering no additional details.

The Washington Post first reported that Hegseth earlier this week ordered hundreds of the U.S. military's generals and admirals to gather on short notice and without a stated reason. The meeting is expected to take place on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va., according to the Post.

More than a dozen people familiar with the matter told the outlet that the directive was sent to virtually all of the military's top commanders worldwide — all senior officers with the rank of brigadier general or above, their Navy equivalent and their top enlisted advisers — roughly 800 generals or admirals.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

I really hope it's just some stupid, wasteful grandstanding exercise rather than something ominous.

[The Minsky Moment]

Luigi Mangione infamously did it and it was heavily reported at the time, in a high profile and heavily reported story.   So people are probably copycatting that.

It says something about this latest generation of nutball assassins.  It used to be the trendy thing to do was leave a ranting manifesto.  But writing skills are so far down in the US that words and memes on casings are now the rage.

[HVC]

I couldn't say as I generally don't keep track of crazies.

Syt's slingers

I'd also like to ask those languishites with experience handling guns: how common is it in American gun culture to inscribe personalized messages on ammunition? How practical is it to actually do it?

No idea how common it is, but from my understanding the writing isn't on the bullet jacket (outside of bullet) but in the bulletin casing so shouldn't effect the bullets ballistics, if that's what you mean  by practical . And when you get to big hunting calibre you have plenty of writing space. Looking up a .30-06 you have 2.5 inches of writing length on the case.

[Jacob]

So apparently Hegseth has called all generals and admirals (about 800 staff in all, brigadier-general or above) to attend an important meeting at a marine base on Sep 30th?

Vaguely concerning if true.

[HVC]

Trumps admin is authoritarian, corrupt, and thoroughly revolting... but they're also occassionally funny. I shouldn't laugh because it is serious, but i couldn't help but to chuckle. Which is probably a sign of why we live in the world we do now.

Biden's portrait replaced with autopen

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

It's a sign that we elected a blowhard internet troll to the highest office in the land.

[crazy canuck]

So apparently Hegseth has called all generals and admirals (about 800 staff in all, brigadier-general or above) to attend an important meeting at a marine base on Sep 30th?

Vaguely concerning if true.

From the NYTimes

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned scores of generals and admirals from around the world to meet on short notice next week at a Marine Corps base in Virginia but has not disclosed the reason for the gathering, four U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The unusual directive, which has been filtering its way through military commands, and the undisclosed rationale, has stirred anxiety among the military's top ranks at a time when Mr. Hegseth has fired several senior officers.

The four U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential meetings, confirmed that the gathering was scheduled for next week, probably Sept. 30, at the base in Quantico, Va.

There are about 800 general-level officers in the armed forces, including 44 at the most senior, four-star level. It was not immediately clear how many of them would be ordered to the gathering, which was reported earlier by The Washington Post.

In May, Mr. Hegseth ordered a 20 percent reduction in four-star officers, continuing the broad job reductions and firings that have marked the first several months of his tenure. Mr. Hegseth has also signaled that he wants to consolidate some of the military's war-fighting commands and pare generals and admirals there.

Mr. Hegseth has already fired more than a dozen military leaders, many of them people of color and women. He fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who is Black; the first woman to command the Navy, Adm. Lisa Franchetti; and the U.S. military's representative to the NATO military committee, Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield. He also pushed out Gen. David W. Allvin, the Air Force chief of staff, and Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Kruse, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

The chief Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, said in a statement that Mr. Hegseth "will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week," but he offered no additional details.

The top four-star combatant commanders and the chiefs of the armed services typically meet at least twice a year in Washington, often holding a working dinner with the president. But the large number of generals who could be ordered to Washington — including those working active conflict zones in the Middle East, Africa and Europe — is without precedent in recent memory, military officials said.

The summons comes as Mr. Hegseth has just cemented restrictions on how military and Pentagon officials can engage directly with the public. In a memo last week, he said that participation in many events now requires written approval from the Pentagon's press office. Exceptions include Pentagon-hosted industry meetings and some briefings involving foreign governments.

Mr. Hegseth's top aides are also putting the finishing touches on a draft of a new national defense strategy for the Pentagon. The document, yet to be released, is reported to place homeland security, and defense of the Western Hemisphere, at the top of the priorities of what Mr. Trump is now calling the Department of War.

[Josquius]

Yeah the two possibilities are:

1. It's a highly sophisticated false flag operation designed by the geniuses that gave us SignalGate.
2. the shooter is an idiot.

Occam's razor.

A few more possibilities I've seen thrown around like the ICE guys on the scene did it or the fbi stoner guy had this photo ready to go.

Evidence does suggest the guy was an idiot though given the choice of target and the suicide.

Must be said though if I was a supportive member of the security services in an authoritarian regime where shootings are an every day event then writing messages supportive of whatever group I want to oppress on crazies bullets seems a smart idea.

[The Minsky Moment]

So apparently Hegseth has called all generals and admirals (about 800 staff in all, brigadier-general or above) to attend an important meeting at a marine base on Sep 30th?

Vaguely concerning if true.

Loyalty oaths?
True believers will sign.  Rest will resign or be fired.

[Savonarola]

From CNN:

White House budget office threatens mass firings if government shuts down

The White House budget office is telling federal agencies to prepare plans for mass firings in the event of a government shutdown – an apparent threat by the Trump administration amid a standoff with congressional Democrats over federal funding.

The directive, outlined in an Office of Management and Budget memo to agencies and obtained by CNN, represents a sharp break from the government's handling of past shutdown scenarios.

In the memo, OMB directs agencies to identify programs whose funds will lapse if Congress fails to meet the September 30 funding deadline and that have no alternative source of funding. Those programs should then be targeted for sweeping reductions in force that could permanently eliminate jobs that are deemed "not consistent" with President Donald Trump's priorities.

"We remain hopeful that Democrats in Congress will not trigger a shutdown and the steps outlined above will not be necessary," OMB wrote in the memo.

An OMB spokesperson declined to comment. Politico first reported the details of the memo.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the memo "an attempt at intimidation."

"Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one—not to govern, but to scare," Schumer said in a statement Wednesday evening. "This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government. These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed OMB Director Russell Vought in a post on X.

"Listen Russ, you are a malignant political hack," Jeffries wrote. "We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings. Get lost."

The threat of mass job losses across the government is likely to further intensify the partisan funding showdown over the next week, where Democrats have demanded a series of concessions in exchange for keeping the government open into November. Most notably, Democrats are insisting on an extension of the enhanced federal subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage, which are set to lapse at year's end.

The White House and congressional Republicans have so far refused, insisting on a so-called "clean" extension. Trump earlier this week canceled a planned meeting with Democratic leaders to discuss the funding impasse, issuing a blanket rejection of their demands.

The OMB memo on Wednesday doubled down on that stance, calling Democrats' position "insane" and noting that it would continue to fund "core Trump Administration priorities" in the event of a shutdown.

The planning for mass firings in other areas of government, the office added, would proceed unless Democrats take up the administration's position and pass a clean funding extension.

OMB makes clear in the memo that it sees the shutdown as an opportunity to further downsize the federal workforce. Typically in a shutdown, federal agencies determine what functions and employees are deemed essential and must continue during the impasse. These workers remain on the job, often without pay until Congress acts. Staffers not considered essential are furloughed until lawmakers pass a funding package. Federal employees receive back pay once the shutdown ends.

However, OMB is urging departments to issue "reduction in force" notices to employees – both those being furloughed and considered essential – in the programs whose funding has lapsed and aren't consistent with the president's priorities.

Once lawmakers pass a funding bill, "agencies should revise their RIFs as needed to retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions," the memo states.

Gutting the federal workforce

The memo is the latest – and perhaps furthest reaching – effort by the Trump administration to overhaul and shrink the size of the federal workforce. In February, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to draw up plans for a large-scale reduction in force. The results were mixed, with some agencies letting go sizeable portions of their staffs, others walking back at least part of their layoffs and still others asking some employees who departed to return to their jobs. .

The current effort was foreshadowed in another memo that OMB and the Office of Personnel Management sent to agencies in late February concerning the executive order. The memo directed department leaders to identify by March 13 "all agency components and employees performing functions not mandated by statute or regulation who are not typically designated as essential during a lapse in appropriations."

In another unusual move, OMB has opted not to provide a list of agencies' shutdown contingency plans on its website. On Thursday, it posted a note that said the plans will be hosted solely on each agency's website.

In its memo to agencies, OMB wrote that it had received updated lapse plans from "many, but not all" agencies to date. The plans detail which functions and employees the administration deems are essential during a shutdown.

Every government shutdown is different, but key services – including Social Security payments, law enforcement, air traffic control and border patrol – continue uninterrupted. Previous shutdowns have closed national parks and museums; stalled food inspections; canceled immigration hearings; and delayed some federal lending to homebuyers and small businesses, among other impacts.

In March, the last time a federal government shutdown loomed before being averted, more than 1.4 million employees were deemed essential and would have had to report to work, according to Rachel Snyderman, managing director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. About 750,000 of them would have continued to be paid since their salaries were funded through other sources.

Another nearly 900,000 workers would have been furloughed without pay. (Snyderman noted that the estimates did not include the layoffs and departures that occurred in the early weeks of the Trump administration.)

The American Federation of Government Employees blasted Vought for saying he intends to pursue another round of "illegal mass firings," similar to efforts by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year. Such a move would add to the chaos of a shutdown, AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement Thursday.

"Federal employees are not bargaining chips. They are veterans, caregivers, law enforcement officers, and neighbors who serve their country and fellow Americans every day," he said, urging lawmakers to come to a compromise and avert a shutdown. "They deserve stability and respect, not pink slips and political games."

Federal employees will again be "collateral damage" as lawmakers play a "game of chicken," Doreen Greenwald, national president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said in a statement.

"And this time even more so with the Administration's latest illegal threat of mass layoffs if the government shuts down," she said. "This needs to stop."

Left-leaning advocates decried the idea of using a shutdown to gut the federal workforce.

"Setting aside the question of legality, this would be an action of enormous self-harm inflicted on the nation, needlessly ridding the country of talent and expertise," said Bobby Kogan, a former OMB official in the Biden administration and senior director of federal budget policy for the Center for American Progress. "It's also extortive. 'Give us what we want in a funding fight, or we'll hurt the country.'"

It's best not to play Trump's game but, if you are going to, at least come up with better lines than "Malignant political hack" and "Get lost."

[Savonarola]

Trumps admin is authoritarian, corrupt, and thoroughly revolting... but they're also occassionally funny. I shouldn't laugh because it is serious, but i couldn't help but to chuckle. Which is probably a sign of why we live in the world we do now.

Biden's portrait replaced with autopen

Petty, mean, vindicative and obnoxious, all the things Trump does best.  His base loves it, you can tell because they ran a story on it on Fox News.

[DGuller]

It's best not to play Trump's game but, if you are going to, at least come up with better lines than "Malignant political hack" and "Get lost."

Yeah, it's one of the oldest failed strategies against Trump.  You just wind up looking like a poser desperately trying to imitate Trump if you don't have Trump's charisma and other qualities to go along with it.