America - The Official Thread

[Scaff]

Hello Police State

A few disturbing sections:

"The Attorney General shall take all appropriate action to create a mechanism to provide legal resources and indemnification to law enforcement officers who unjustly incur expenses and liabilities for actions taken during the performance of their official duties to enforce the law."

"(iv) strengthen and expand legal protections for law enforcement officers;
(v) seek enhanced sentences for crimes against law enforcement officers;
(b) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General shall review all ongoing Federal consent decrees, out-of-court agreements, and post-judgment orders to which a State or local law enforcement agency is a party and modify, rescind, or move to conclude such measures that unduly impede the performance of law enforcement functions."

"Sec. 4. Using National Security Assets for Law and Order. (a) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads of agencies as appropriate, shall increase the provision of excess military and national security assets in local jurisdictions to assist State and local law enforcement.
(b) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Attorney General, shall determine how military and national security assets, training, non-lethal capabilities, and personnel can most effectively be utilized to prevent crime."

TLR - reduce police accountability, further militarize the police, oh, and for good measure, use the military as police (which has never in the history of the world resulted in bad outcomes /s).

Strengthening and Unleashing America's Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:Section 1. Purpose and

www.whitehouse.gov

 

[eran0004]

Deporting birthright citizens is much, much bigger news and, when and where it happens, should be marked as such - and the impact of doing so will be lessened if it isn't happening in these cases but is incorrectly reported.

Deportation of US citizens is not defined in law so in a strict legal sense it can't happen, unless in violation of the law such as in these cases.

Had the mothers voluntarily decided to let the children come with them then I would agree that it would be misleading to say that the children were deported, because then it would be the decision of the parent rather than the government. But it seems like these deportations were expedited, without due process and that the mothers weren't given any chance to arrange for their children to stay in the country. That means that the children were forced out of the country by the government - hence it's appropriate to describe it as a deportation.

It's true that in a strict legal sense it's not technically a deportation (only because such a thing doesn't exist for US citizens), but rather a violation of their rights to liberty, to due process and to live in the US. Just like any de facto deportation of a US citizen would be. But for a news media report the term deportation is certainly accurate enough.

 

[Zero2Oblivion]

Hmm, I wonder why such an act of transparency on Amazon's part has incensed the White House...

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/29/white-house-blasts-amazon-over-tariff-cost-report-hostile-and-political-act.html

Oh wait! Is it because this shows Amazon are doing business wrong, that they're supposed to be making the country of origin pay the tariffs, not the consumer?!

Also - strange that they'd say transparency is a "hostile" and "political" act when grossly exaggerating the flow of Fentanyl from certain countries as an excuse to start a trade war, or deport a group of people you don't like, are just acts of patriotism.

Edit - no need to worry, the issue has now been sorted out. After a call between Trump and Bezos, Amazon have agreed to do business the right way and not make any particular American people look bad. Catastrophe averted.

 

[McLaren]

Hello Police State

A few disturbing sections:

"The Attorney General shall take all appropriate action to create a mechanism to provide legal resources and indemnification to law enforcement officers who unjustly incur expenses and liabilities for actions taken during the performance of their official duties to enforce the law."

"(iv) strengthen and expand legal protections for law enforcement officers;
(v) seek enhanced sentences for crimes against law enforcement officers;
(b) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General shall review all ongoing Federal consent decrees, out-of-court agreements, and post-judgment orders to which a State or local law enforcement agency is a party and modify, rescind, or move to conclude such measures that unduly impede the performance of law enforcement functions."

"Sec. 4. Using National Security Assets for Law and Order. (a) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads of agencies as appropriate, shall increase the provision of excess military and national security assets in local jurisdictions to assist State and local law enforcement.
(b) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Attorney General, shall determine how military and national security assets, training, non-lethal capabilities, and personnel can most effectively be utilized to prevent crime."

TLR - reduce police accountability, further militarize the police, oh, and for good measure, use the military as police (which has never in the history of the world resulted in bad outcomes /s).

Strengthening and Unleashing America's Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:Section 1. Purpose and

www.whitehouse.gov

Ah, just what the American police need.

As if certain counties in the US don't already have a police force that could give other nations' military a run for their money.

 

[Famine]

But for a news media report the term deportation is certainly accurate enough.

No, not really, as they are birthright citizens and...

Deportation of US citizens is not defined in law so in a strict legal sense it can't happen

Strictly speaking, and as semi-noted above, deportation is the removal of a foreign national/non-citizen from the USA and, yes, does come with a non-return order. That term absolutely does not fit birthright citizens and can't be considered "accurate enough" for reportage.

An actually accurate term would be to say they are removed (and in this case "removed to"), although removal and deportation are often used interchangeably in a similar, lax manner.


I noted in the first election the concept of rage exhaustion. The rage merchants make people angry about "x" and while they're formulating responses to it (often because the reporting is shoddy), there's already been three more things to get angry about and you don't have any more levels of anger left.

When the 0.957 administration starts stripping birthright citizenship (which it has already said it wants to do) and placing deportation orders on the now stateless individuals, or just straight up ignoring citizenship to deport people, there's going to need to be some appropriate anger left - not a sense of "oh didn't that already happen" due to lousy journalism - or it'll just happen.

Inaccurate language enables fascism. It's not the first, last, and only factor, but it helps.

Edit: NYT seems to get it right... except in the short-form URL.

What to Know About the 3 U.S. Citizen Children Removed to Honduras

Lawyers say the families wanted the children to remain in the United States. The Trump administration says the mothers requested the children’s removal. The dispute has constitutional stakes.

www.nytimes.com

Three children who are U.S. citizens were removed to Honduras last week as part of the deportation of other members of their families.

 

[eran0004]

Hmm, I wonder why such an act of transparency on Amazon's part has incensed the White House...

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/29/white-house-blasts-amazon-over-tariff-cost-report-hostile-and-political-act.html

It's extremely strange given that the tariffs were explicitly implememted to deter the customer from buying products from other countries. So Amazon displaying the tariff cost should help the government to achieve that goal, right?

The only logical explanation is that the government has no idea what they're doing and no plan or purpose for the tariffs other than to pretend that they are getting things done.

 

[Imari]

An actually accurate term would be to say they are removed (and in this case "removed to"), although removal and deportation are often used interchangeably in a similar, lax manner.

I feel like a term that should get more use is "exiled", not least because it has a nasty flavour of British rule and monarchism that will probably get right up all the nationalists noses.

 

[Blitz24]

It's extremely strange given that the tariffs were explicitly implememted to deter the customer from buying products from other countries. So Amazon displaying the tariff cost should help the government to achieve that goal, right?

The only logical explanation is that the government has no idea what they're doing and no plan or purpose for the tariffs other than to pretend that they are getting things done.

They didn't want anyone to complain and find the source of the issue. Even though the government has been transparent about the tariffs, they don't want the populace to know about what a tariff is.

 

[Danoff]

It's just calling BS on the claim that the tariffs are not paid via price inflation. The people who thought they were getting free money from foreigners can't lie to themselves about it when they're hit with a fee on amazon.

It's like when someone puts a Joe Biden sticker on the gas pump that says "I did that", except in this case it's literally true.

 

[GBO Possum]

Hello Police State

A few disturbing sections:

"The Attorney General shall take all appropriate action to create a mechanism to provide legal resources and indemnification to law enforcement officers who unjustly incur expenses and liabilities for actions taken during the performance of their official duties to enforce the law."

"(iv) strengthen and expand legal protections for law enforcement officers;
(v) seek enhanced sentences for crimes against law enforcement officers;
(b) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General shall review all ongoing Federal consent decrees, out-of-court agreements, and post-judgment orders to which a State or local law enforcement agency is a party and modify, rescind, or move to conclude such measures that unduly impede the performance of law enforcement functions."

"Sec. 4. Using National Security Assets for Law and Order. (a) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads of agencies as appropriate, shall increase the provision of excess military and national security assets in local jurisdictions to assist State and local law enforcement.
(b) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Attorney General, shall determine how military and national security assets, training, non-lethal capabilities, and personnel can most effectively be utilized to prevent crime."

TLR - reduce police accountability, further militarize the police, oh, and for good measure, use the military as police (which has never in the history of the world resulted in bad outcomes /s).

Strengthening and Unleashing America's Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:Section 1. Purpose and

www.whitehouse.gov

I'm finding ChatGPT o3 to be a great help in teasing out the details in what our government is doing and becoming informed a lot faster. There's a torrent of destruction coming out of this administration, and AI provides a way to keep up.

Step 1 - print the whitehouse.gov document to a PDF
Step 2 - upload the pdf to ChatGPT o3
Step 3 - enter the prompt "Should I be alarmed about the content of this communication from the Trump Whitehouse?"

48 seconds later it provided what it described as a "concise analysis" (four pages ) which included:-

Why critics are worried​

• Militarization & civil-liberty risks – Civil-rights advocates argue that funneling military gear and personnel into local policing historically correlates with more aggressive force, especially in minority neighborhoods.
• Rollback of oversight – Terminating consent decrees would remove court-enforced reforms in departments with documented patterns of excessive force or discrimination.
• Targeting DEI / disparate-impact enforcement – Legal analysts say the EO signals a broader effort to gut civil-rights protections that rely on disparate-impact theory.
• Pre-empting local democracy – §5 threatens criminal charges against local leaders who curb policing tactics — a move some constitutional scholars view as federal overreach into state police powers.
• Shielding misconduct – Federally funded legal defenses may reduce deterrence against excessive force if officers know the U.S. will cover judgments.

And concluded with:-

Bottom line:

The order is significant: it seeks to weaken established oversight mechanisms, inject military resources into civilian policing, and criminalize certain progressive policies. While parts could be blunted by courts or budgets, the direction is clear. If civil-liberties and police accountability are priorities for you, heightened concern – and vigilance – is reasonable.

 

[TheHun99]

Deportation of US citizens is not defined in law so in a strict legal sense it can't happen, unless in violation of the law such as in these cases.

Had the mothers voluntarily decided to let the children come with them then I would agree that it would be misleading to say that the children were deported, because then it would be the decision of the parent rather than the government. But it seems like these deportations were expedited, without due process and that the mothers weren't given any chance to arrange for their children to stay in the country. That means that the children were forced out of the country by the government - hence it's appropriate to describe it as a deportation.

It's true that in a strict legal sense it's not technically a deportation (only because such a thing doesn't exist for US citizens), but rather a violation of their rights to liberty, to due process and to live in the US. Just like any de facto deportation of a US citizen would be. But for a news media report the term deportation is certainly accurate enough.

Just a food for thought @Danoff and @Famine when it comes to a country deporting their own citizens: Hungary's ruling party used its supermajority to pass a new law that makes it possible to deport a Hungarian citizen if they have another citizenship (and that citizenship isn't from an EU member state). As such, as a Hungarian-US dual citizen I could be deported from my original home country if the Hungarian government determines that I pose some sort of danger for Hungary's sovereignty (= saying anything against them - yes, that would be simply criticism in a civilized country). Worth noting also that apparently Project 2025 contains some ideas fed to the Heritage Foundation by my fellow countrymen, so it doesn't take a big leap of thought that this kind of idea has already made its way to our (US) shores.

So, yeah, it may not be possible, officially at least, to deport a US citizen from the US but I can easily see this is a possibility in the future, sooner rather than later...

 

[Famine]

So, yeah, it may not be possible, officially at least, to deport a US citizen from the US but I can easily see this is a possibility in the future, sooner rather than later...

Yup. As I remarked up-thread, unless the indignation over it happening when it isn't is corrected, there won't be the appropriate response when it does happen, and it will just... happen.

Maybe the opposition will write a letter about it.

 

[Danoff]

Just a food for thought @Danoff and @Famine when it comes to a country deporting their own citizens: Hungary's ruling party used its supermajority to pass a new law that makes it possible to deport a Hungarian citizen if they have another citizenship (and that citizenship isn't from an EU member state). As such, as a Hungarian-US dual citizen I could be deported from my original home country if the Hungarian government determines that I pose some sort of danger for Hungary's sovereignty (= saying anything against them - yes, that would be simply criticism in a civilized country). Worth noting also that apparently Project 2025 contains some ideas fed to the Heritage Foundation by my fellow countrymen, so it doesn't take a big leap of thought that this kind of idea has already made its way to our (US) shores.

So, yeah, it may not be possible, officially at least, to deport a US citizen from the US but I can easily see this is a possibility in the future, sooner rather than later...

I'm curious how they find out if you have citizenship from another country.

 

[TheHun99]

I'm curious how they find out if you have citizenship from another country.

I'm already registered that I left the country, otherwise I would have to pay social security in a country I have spent a total of like 3 months in the last 19 years, so that's a starter. Thanks to the Orban government, Hungary doesn't have an agreement with the US against double taxation anymore, and there's a single exception to avoid paying taxes in Hungary: dual citizens not having a Hungarian address, like yours truly. Right now I don't believe I have told the Hungarian authorities about my second citizenship given I just approved the notice from the Hungarian IRS that I don't have any income and as such, no tax liability. But countries exchange information, so if I would get into any sort of trouble (from the ruling party's perspective), I'm pretty sure they would find it out, intelligence agencies have their resources.

 

[Danoff]

I'm already registered that I left the country, otherwise I would have to pay social security in a country I have spent a total of like 3 months in the last 19 years, so that's a starter. Thanks to the Orban government, Hungary doesn't have an agreement with the US against double taxation anymore, and there's a single exception to avoid paying taxes in Hungary: dual citizens not having a Hungarian address, like yours truly. Right now I don't believe I have told the Hungarian authorities about my second citizenship given I just approved the notice from the Hungarian IRS that I don't have any income and as such, no tax liability. But countries exchange information, so if I would get into any sort of trouble (from the ruling party's perspective), I'm pretty sure they would find it out, intelligence agencies have their resources.

So to be deported from Hungary the US government would have to assist the Hungarian government in doing so. That's probably less likely than it feels.

 

[TheHun99]

So to be deported from Hungary the US government would have to assist the Hungarian government in doing so. That's probably less likely than it feels.

Nope, it's more like the opposite at the moment. Orban's supported Trump for many years now, despite the very fact that "America First" is against the EU where Hungary happens to be a member - but whatever... I don't feel that I would be in immediate danger of temporary losing the citizenship I was born with but it's something to keep in mind.

 

[Liquid]

So to be deported from Hungary the US government would have to assist the Hungarian government in doing so. That's probably less likely than it feels.

You'd be surprised. Orban is almost as big a narcissistic "anti-woke" meglomaniac as Trump is, the two would happily work together.

 

[FuriousDemon]

Hm…I kind of saw it coming, but I guess her mask fully slipped off now. Oh well

 

[FPV MIC]

If you need a good laugh watch the first minute and a half of this video. It gets NSFW after that though.



What a.... , I can't even...

 

[GlamFM]

If you need a good laugh watch the first minute and a half of this video. It gets NSFW after that though.



What a.... , I can't even...

This one still confuses me. Wasn't the photoshopped part just meant to be a translation for the symbols that are undoubtedly real tattoos?

 

[GBO Possum]

Gift link for you from today's NYT

"Compared with other modern presidents, he has signed the most executive orders in this period, collected the most tariffs and had the most lawsuits filed against him. Markets have slumped, as have his approval ratings.

Below are eight ways Mr. Trump’s first 100 days stand out."

Eight Charts That Sum Up Trump’s First 100 Days

By many measures, the opening months of President Trump’s second term stand apart from those of essentially any modern president.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Joey D]

Hm…I kind of saw it coming, but I guess her mask fully slipped off now. Oh well
View attachment 1447534

Michigan needs to be on Trump's good side. Tariffs will have a severe impact on the auto industry. Northern Michigan is in dire need of federal money since it's still a disaster area with the last person finally getting power back a few days ago. Selfridge is a major economic driver on the east side, getting the F-15EX squadron saved the base and thousands of jobs. I'm not a huge Whitmer fan, but one thing she's always done is put Michigan first and done things that aren't exactly popular to ensure Michigan comes first. The main reason she was grateful for Trump's visit was due to saving Selfridge which was likely only saved because she went to DC to meet with Trump a few weeks back. Whitmer has increasingly showed that she's at least willing to work with Republicans too, which is important since Michigan is more purple than anything and needs to be sort of moderate.

 

[McLaren]

Michigan needs to be on Trump's good side. Tariffs will have a severe impact on the auto industry. Northern Michigan is in dire need of federal money since it's still a disaster area with the last person finally getting power back a few days ago. Selfridge is a major economic driver on the east side, getting the F-15EX squadron saved the base and thousands of jobs. I'm not a huge Whitmer fan, but one thing she's always done is put Michigan first and done things that aren't exactly popular to ensure Michigan comes first. The main reason she was grateful for Trump's visit was due to saving Selfridge which was likely only saved because she went to DC to meet with Trump a few weeks back. Whitmer has increasingly showed that she's at least willing to work with Republicans too, which is important since Michigan is more purple than anything and needs to be sort of moderate.

I'd be surprised if he did anything. There's been multiple stories of Governor Sanders trying to ask Trump for help, and he reportedly denies her despite her willingness to slobber all over the ring.

 

[Joey D]

I'd be surprised if he did anything. There's been multiple stories of Governor Sanders trying to ask Trump for help, and he reportedly denies her despite her willingness to slobber all over the ring.

Arkansas is solidly red and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. Trump doesn't need to help them because they'll continue to support Republicans no matter what. Michigan is very much a swing state and an important one, too. If Republicans want to continue winning Michigan, they need to be seen as doing good for the state. Otherwise, it can tip the other way fairly quickly. No politician, especially Trump, is going to do anything unless there's a benefit.

 

[McLaren]

Arkansas is solidly red and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. Trump doesn't need to help them because they'll continue to support Republicans no matter what. Michigan is very much a swing state and an important one, too. If Republicans want to continue winning Michigan, they need to be seen as doing good for the state. Otherwise, it can tip the other way fairly quickly. No politician, especially Trump, is going to do anything unless there's a benefit.

Trump's not going to care, though. He's already President and Republicans' Mid-Term concerns are not his problem. If Trump doesn't want to aid Michigan, the current Republicans are **** out of luck if it costs them b/c all Trump will do is conjure up some garbage conspiracy on his Truth Social.

Which goes back to my point. If he won't help his most loyal supporters like Sanders, he's not going to help a Democratic Governor unless he can stroke his ego over it. He's made clear as such states should take care of themselves, and I'm pretty positive there's been stories that people in his administration have explored ways to exclude states they don't like from federal assistance.

 

[Joey D]

Trump's not going to care, though. He's already President and Republicans' Mid-Term concerns are not his problem. If Trump doesn't want to aid Michigan, the current Republicans are **** out of luck if it costs them b/c all Trump will do is conjure up some garbage conspiracy on his Truth Social.

Which goes back to my point. If he won't help his most loyal supporters like Sanders, he's not going to help a Democratic Governor unless he can stroke his ego over it. He's made clear as such states should take care of themselves, and I'm pretty positive there's been stories that people in his administration have explored ways to exclude states they don't like from federal assistance.

Trump probably cares about the mid-terms on some level. If Congress flips, then Trump will be impeached and removed on day 1. Trump will also likely attempt to run in 2028, assuming he hasn't died of a massive heart attack so he'll want to carry that support, especially since it's going to be a rather unpopular decision with a good chunk of the population.

Sanders isn't useful to Trump, nor is Arkansas. Sanders will support Trump no matter what, as will Arkansas. Michigan is a different story. Whitmer already doesn't support Trump and the state can go either way come the election. The Republicans want to win the Senate seat that is up for grabs soon, and they want to keep their House Representatives. Even giving the tiniest bit of help will allow the Republicans and Trump to spin it as helping Michigan. They can undermine Whitmer while they're at it by saying they had to step in when the state couldn't provide due to ineffective Democrat leadership.

I don't think the Republicans actually care about Michigan, nor do I think think Trump really cares either, but I do think they see Michigan as useful and will use the state as a pawn to get what they want.

 

[Keef]

If Congress flips, then Trump will be impeached and removed on day 1.

Don't be a jokester. They would never remove him. Others in the cabinet, however.

 

[Joey D]

Don't be a jokester. They would never remove him. Others in the cabinet, however.

You're probably right. Leaving Trump in office for two years after the midterms would only hurt the Republicans more, since the Democrats could just stonewall him and make him look stupider (granted, while the rest of us suffer). We'd also be left with James David Donald Vance Hamel Bowman, or whatever the VP's real name is.

 

[Blitz24]

You're probably right. Leaving Trump in office for two years after the midterms would only hurt the Republicans more, since the Democrats could just stonewall him and make him look stupider (granted, while the rest of us suffer). We'd also be left with James David Donald Vance Hamel Bowman, or whatever the VP's real name is.

Which is why Trump picked him. Unless he somehow gets himself impeached first.

 

[Keef]

You're probably right. Leaving Trump in office for two years after the midterms would only hurt the Republicans more, since the Democrats could just stonewall him and make him look stupider (granted, while the rest of us suffer). We'd also be left with James David Donald Vance Hamel Bowman, or whatever the VP's real name is.

There is no upside to this I fear.

At this point, I don't think there is anything that will hurt the Republicans more because their constituents love being the bad guys. They love that challenge, it gets them all fired up on Busch Latte and they start revving their ATVs and snowmachines to the moon. If Trump is made to look dumber, it won't be to anybody who needs to know it. And any action Democrats take will be seen as an action of an enemy, and again will do nothing but energize Republicans, their media, and therefore their constituents.

I don't really know what to do but rational political strategies won't work because the party and people causing the problems are not rational.

We're not too far off from the only solutions left being jury nullification of Luigi and the glorious day that will bring, and an honorable military roadblock to Trump's agenda. I think it's more plausible that the military will have to get in his way than it is for the Democratic party to be able to do anything conventional to stop it.