What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[DGuller]

Pieces of paper like the constitution provide some source of inertia against rapid shifts away from democracy.  They require the scheme to subvert democracy to be more elaborate and less efficient.  However, at the end of the day, if people don't believe in the values enshrined in that paper, or don't consider them important enough relative to the price of eggs, then it's just a piece of paper.

[crazy canuck]

Yes, exactly.  As said here many times, Liberal Democratic institutions require commitment to their maintenance.

[grumbler]

College isn't for learning. It's for sports.

In A&M's case, it's also for weird, creepy paramilitary shit.

Yeah, though they have toned that down a bit.

[Oexmelin]

The other lesson is the need to organize collective action across universities. A key component of Trump's assault had been to divide and conquer, pick off one-by-one. 

Academics in the US aren't that different from the rest of the American population. Not a lot of appetite for organization, demonstration, collective action.

[Tamas]

Donald Trump issued the first vetoes of his second term late last month, nixing two measures to fund a Colorado drinking water project and the protection of part of the Everglades in Florida.

The bills were uncontroversial enough to pass Congress unanimously, but Republicans in the House of Representatives just declined to override the vetoes, a reminder that the president retains significant sway over GOP lawmakers despite high-profile setbacks over the Jeffrey Epstein case and Affordable Care Act subsidies.

The House needed a two-thirds majority to undo the vetoes, but the Florida measure received only 236 in favor and 188 opposed, while the Colorado bill picked up 248 in favor and 177 against - not enough, in either case, to undo the president's rejections.

Both vetoes appear to be retaliatory actions by Trump against parties who have defied him. In the Colorado case, the water project lay in the district of Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert, one of the lawmakers who had championed the bill to release the Epstein files.

"I sincerely hope this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability," Boebert said in a statement to a local broadcaster after the veto.

In the Florida case, the protected area is inhabited by the Miccosukee Tribe of Native Americans, which has clashed with Trump over the "Alligator Alcatraz" migrant detention facility that lies elsewhere in the Everglades

[Jacob]

So Trump is acting to address the cost of living crisis by lowering mortgage costs:

Trump orders 'my representatives' to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds to lower rates

President Donald Trump said Thursday he had ordered "my representatives" to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds in an attempt to drive down interest rates and monthly payments, writing in a Truth Social post.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-owned mortgage giants, are now worth "an absolute fortune" and have enough cash to fund the directive, he wrote in the post.

"Because I chose not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in my First Term... it is now worth many times that amount — AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE — and has $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH. Because of this, I am instructing my Representatives to BUY $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN MORTGAGE BONDS," he wrote.

"This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable."

Traditionally, the Federal Reserve has been the largest buyer of mortgage-backed securities. During the pandemic, the central bank bought hundreds billion of dollars worth of the securities, which helped contribute to the ultra-low mortgage rates many Americans were able to lock in during those years.

Generally, when the Fed or another entity purchases more mortgage-backed securities, namely mortgage bonds, it lowers the interest rates charged on mortgages.

Trump has been weighing an IPO of Fannie and Freddie for years, including in his first term. CNN reported in August that Trump and his economic advisors are planning a sale of stock of the two entities.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/08/business/mortgage-bonds-trump-purchase-rates?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=missions&utm_source=reddit&utm_source=reddit

I don't have enough knowledge to judge the likely outcome of the proposed plan, but my instinct is that this is yet another way for Trump and his cronies to loot the US system.

[Savonarola]

The country where you can't teach Plato.

English faculty members received an email Tuesday from senior executive associate dean of the college Cynthia Werner telling them that literature with major plot lines that concern gay, lesbian or transgender identities should not be taught in core-curriculum classes.

In a follow-up email Wednesday, Werner said, "If a course includes eight books and only one has a main character who has an LGBTQ identity and the plot lines are not overly focused on sexual orientation (i.e. that is THE main plot line), I personally think it would be OK to keep the book in the course." She also clarified that faculty may assign textbooks with chapters that cover transgender identity, so long as they do not talk about the material or include it on assignments or exam questions.

You certainly couldn't teach Lysis with that criterion.      Which is too bad, I think that teaching that pedophilia and friendship are not at all the same thing is a lesson for our times.

If you had seven other books you might be able to get away with Charmides, but that sounds kind of iffy.

[HVC]

Googling it US mortgage debt is 13 trillion. Not sure how much this will effect anything, but the optics are good I guess.

[Admiral Yi]

Video of the ICE dude being dragged.

[Zoupa]

Maybe he should have let go? These dudes think they're all Rambo.

[Tamas]

So has he been identified by name? If not how does the press know it's the same guy?

And even if he is, perhaps, just perhaps, this is not reason enough to start shooting random civilians in the head.

[Razgovory]

I've been looking for a new job (Deli clerk isn't paying enough to get my mom her medications), and I saw that ICE was hiring. 


I'm not that fucking desperate.


"Do you think you are hated by people in your community?  Would you like to be sure?  Join ICE!"

[Valmy]

I've been looking for a new job (Deli clerk isn't paying enough to get my mom her medications), and I saw that ICE was hiring.


I'm not that fucking desperate.


"Do you think you are hated by people in your community?  Would you like to be sure?  Join ICE!"

I think that is definitely part of the problem. Currently ICE tends to attact only the psychopaths and the desperate, not those actually interested in community service in law enforcement.

[celedhring]

Why are mortgage rates so high in the US? We have our own housing affordability crisis but our mortages don't carry as much a premium vs general interest rates.

[Valmy]

Why are mortgage rates so high in the US? We have our own housing affordability crisis but our mortages don't carry as much a premium vs general interest rates.

What do you consider high? Right now they are around 6% interest, that's not particularly high.