US Politics Thread 2021-24

[u crank]

Originally Posted by Cybermat47

My understanding is that the GOP’s leadership considers any recognition, promotion, hiring, etc. of someone from a minority group to be ‘DEI’. Unless they support the GOP, of course.

Sorry but I would say that your understanding is probably wrong.

[Cybermat47]

For Veterans Fired by Trump, the Sense of Betrayal Runs Deep

“I feel very betrayed. All I’ve done my whole life since getting out of high school was serve this country,” says Bushno, 40, who worked in the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois. “I feel like, who's fighting for me, you know?”

The impact of the Trump Administration's job cuts has reverberated across the federal workforce, where veterans make up nearly 30 percent of civilian employees. The Department of Veterans Affairs has not been spared, with over 1,000 employees—including staff at the Veterans Crisis Line—dismissed. While some have since been rehired, many remain in administrative limbo, left wondering whether they will ever be reinstated.

“I did not put my life on the line for some tech bro billionaire from South Africa to come in here and try to destroy our country,”

Tony Ruiz, a veteran from Orange County, Calif., was proud to be hired by the Department of Veterans Affairs last year as a Veteran Service Representative. Then he was fired last month, 10 days before his probation period was set to end. He says he was especially shocked to see the phrase “unacceptable performance” in his termination letter, after becoming the first employee in his division to win an employee of the quarter award in August. The firing left Ruiz feeling abandoned: “I feel like I got a big F-you from the American people, and I feel betrayed.”

Unlike other probationary employees, Ruiz has not been offered reinstatement and believes it’s because he failed the Administration’s unofficial “loyalty test.” “As an American soldier, as a veteran, we value the oath. And so for me, I didn't take an oath to a king, or take an oath to the Administration.”

https://time.com/7270148/trump-veterans-va-fired/

[Buddahaid]

Trump is now claiming he never signed his own invocation of the Alien Enemies Act. I guess he never signed the Jan 6th pardons too.... The guys a walking bag of lies.

[Skybird]

^ Or his brain is bidenizing. Followers should not be surprised that their idol is showing signs of senility. He's 78. And he is known to have loved junk food. Thats like getting daily doses of concentrated Biden intravenously.

[Shearwater]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Trump is now claiming he never signed his own invocation of the Alien Enemies Act. I guess he never signed the Jan 6th pardons too.... The guys a walking bag of lies.

He's right though! Technically speaking, it was the autopen.

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by Shearwater

He's right though! Technically speaking, it was the autopen.

Likely but that's been used for a long time and never brought into question before. It doesn't fly.

[August]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

It doesn't fly.

Dunno about that. Biden had repeatedly declared that he would not pardon those people, and then seconds before the end of his term he suddenly signs a spate of them with an auto pen. I'd like to see some verification from Biden himself that he did indeed sign those pardons or at least some witnesses to the signings. Right now we have neither.

Given Bidens well publicized mental infirmities and the Democrats extensive coverups it's not difficult to believe that whoever was running old Joe the last couple of years of his presidency might have created them on their own.

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by August

Dunno about that…

I do. It’s like arguing you didn’t eat the food because you have dentures.

[August]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

I do. It’s like arguing you didn’t eat the food because you have dentures.

No it's more like illegally forging the Presidents signature on an official document. No ridiculous and inaccurate analogies are needed.

[Otto Harkaman]

There are indeed versions of folktales in which a clever or audacious servant uses the king’s or emperor’s seal to sign documents—often with unexpected or ironic consequences. These stories appear in various cultures and are part of a broader tradition where symbols of royal authority (like the seal) become the centerpiece for a tale of wit, mischief, or a moral lesson about power and trust.

Key Elements of Such Tales

• Cunning and Audacity: In these stories, the servant’s bold act of using the seal without permission is typically portrayed as a mix of cleverness and recklessness. The act may initially be shown as humorous or ingenious.
• Consequences and Moral Lessons: Often, the narrative turns on the idea that misusing a symbol of authority leads either to humorous comeuppance or a deeper moral about the abuse of power and the responsibilities that come with trust.
• Cultural Variations: While details vary by region—whether in Middle Eastern, South Asian, or European oral traditions—the core idea remains the same: a subordinate uses a symbol of power (the royal seal) to alter documents or make decisions, thus challenging the proper order.

Variants in Folklore

Different cultures have their own versions of the tale. In some accounts, the servant’s actions expose corruption or hypocrisy within the court, while in others the incident becomes a cautionary tale about overstepping one’s bounds. The ambiguity of whether the servant’s cleverness is ultimately rewarded or punished often leaves the story open to interpretation, inviting reflections on authority, legitimacy, and the risks of misusing power.
While there isn’t one single “official” version of this tale, its recurrence in folklore underlines a common human fascination with the inversion of power roles—where the lowly servant momentarily upends the established order using nothing more than a royal seal.

[Gorpet]

Originally Posted by Otto Harkaman

There are indeed versions of folktales in which a clever or audacious servant uses the king’s or emperor’s seal to sign documents—often with unexpected or ironic consequences. These stories appear in various cultures and are part of a broader tradition where symbols of royal authority (like the seal) become the centerpiece for a tale of wit, mischief, or a moral lesson about power and trust.

Key Elements of Such Tales

• Cunning and Audacity: In these stories, the servant’s bold act of using the seal without permission is typically portrayed as a mix of cleverness and recklessness. The act may initially be shown as humorous or ingenious.
• Consequences and Moral Lessons: Often, the narrative turns on the idea that misusing a symbol of authority leads either to humorous comeuppance or a deeper moral about the abuse of power and the responsibilities that come with trust.
• Cultural Variations: While details vary by region—whether in Middle Eastern, South Asian, or European oral traditions—the core idea remains the same: a subordinate uses a symbol of power (the royal seal) to alter documents or make decisions, thus challenging the proper order.

Variants in Folklore

Different cultures have their own versions of the tale. In some accounts, the servant’s actions expose corruption or hypocrisy within the court, while in others the incident becomes a cautionary tale about overstepping one’s bounds. The ambiguity of whether the servant’s cleverness is ultimately rewarded or punished often leaves the story open to interpretation, inviting reflections on authority, legitimacy, and the risks of misusing power.
While there isn’t one single “official” version of this tale, its recurrence in folklore underlines a common human fascination with the inversion of power roles—where the lowly servant momentarily upends the established order using nothing more than a royal seal.

And,I overstepped every bound and ambiguity, is a wonderful word.

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by August

No it's more like illegally forging the Presidents signature on an official document. No ridiculous and inaccurate analogies are needed.

Not buying it. That’s just another weak conspiracy theory that relies heavily on too many people keeping quiet.

[Gorpet]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Not buying it. That’s just another weak conspiracy theory that relies heavily on too many people keeping quiet.

Exactly,..And if people didn't keep quiet. How could we exist ?

[August]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Not buying it. That’s just another weak conspiracy theory that relies heavily on too many people keeping quiet.

Of course you wouldn't buy it. Democrats steadfastly claimed that increasingly frequent signs of Bidens senility and frailty were all just unfounded politically driven conspiracy theories until he blew the debate so bad that it couldn't be concealed any longer and the party forced him to step aside.

Biden has repeatedly said he wouldn't pardon certain people that he subsequently pardoned, many in the last few minutes of his presidency. As far as I know he has not publicly acknowledged it let alone explained
his abrupt change of heart. He could easily put this to rest by issuing a short statement but so far he hasn't. Why? I think because the last minute pardons were actually issued and signed by his staff without his knowledge.

[Catfish]

Biden has either not signed them, or he has, or he probably thinks that he does not have to react to untenable accusations and conspiracy theories, thus showing some common sense and dignity.
Trump and his followers would probably not understand such a notion. Or get furious because they are being "ignored".