I very rarely think Trump is actually playing the 4D chess that he gets credit for... but this one gives me pause. It seems much more advanced, not just repurposing some old trick from the likes of Goebbels or Stalin. And it doesn't have the flair or production value of the movie-trailer-esque coup we all imagine when the supervillain takes over. This is much more pernicious, much less ham handed. This bullshit cuts off our ability to operate on shared reality at all. Anything downstream of that is worthless and "governing" on this foundation would just be theatrics. And it's via a sterile OMB rule change that doesn't make for a good headline, and will go unnoticed. We're focused on a goddamn UFC cage match and some cartoon jackass on a $250 bill at the moment.
Clarification: None of these clowns are playing 4D chess. But Trump has surrounded himself with henchmen (henchpeople?) that are more intelligent, marginally more competent, and possibly more rotten. When Trump was campaigning and said he had no idea what Project 2025 was - it might have been a rare time he was telling the truth. He doesn’t have the attention span to read a paragraph much less a 500+ page manifesto. I think, like everything Trump does, he saw some tool (a group of determined assholes) that would allow him to enrich himself. He doesn’t have an ideology. But the creeps around him (e.g. Vought, Miller, Bannon, Hesgeth) think they’re serving some higher power and that’s much more sinister. Trump’s just a pathetic con man, and he’ll be out of our hair soon. The bullshit these monsters are doing is lasting, and unless we reverse it it’s game over for a civilized world order. (I made this follow up comment in separate Note thread, but thought I should add it here too…)
It’s mind boggling to me that the people who are orchestrating this destruction believe that there’s something for them in the end. Maybe they’re not really considering the end result? Maybe it’s the destructive process, that of undermining others’ successes, that motivates them? Pure and simple grade school bitterness with adult resources. Heather Cox Richardson’s post yesterday was the story of the Johnstown Flood of 1891. It illustrates beautifully what happens when a few elites wall themselves off in their own little pleasure club while plundering the masses. It seems to me that “accountability” is surpassing “affordability” as top issue. I think in our current situation, accountability encompasses affordability, as in, the ballooning affordability issue is a result of the lack of accountability.
You write this just like Don Jr. is going to be able to go out and *earn* $650M, instead of having it given to him via his company, in the form of a loan from the Pentagon his father controls. Do you want to see their research CURTAILED? Do you believe in SCIENCE? Don't you have any feelings?!
I was just telling someone that I’m a beneficiary of modern medical science. I want it to continue to learn and provide new stuff. I’m not in the theocratic CULT.
I very rarely think Trump is actually playing the 4D chess that he gets credit for... but this one gives me pause. It seems much more advanced, not just repurposing some old trick from the likes of Goebbels or Stalin. And it doesn't have the flair or production value of the movie-trailer-esque coup we all imagine when the supervillain takes over. This is much more pernicious, much less ham handed. This bullshit cuts off our ability to operate on shared reality at all. Anything downstream of that is worthless and "governing" on this foundation would just be theatrics. And it's via a sterile OMB rule change that doesn't make for a good headline, and will go unnoticed. We're focused on a goddamn UFC cage match and some cartoon jackass on a $250 bill at the moment.
Your last sentence is Trump. The rest is Heritage Foundation. (Not that you’re not aware of that. Just putting it out there.)
Clarification: None of these clowns are playing 4D chess. But Trump has surrounded himself with henchmen (henchpeople?) that are more intelligent, marginally more competent, and possibly more rotten. When Trump was campaigning and said he had no idea what Project 2025 was - it might have been a rare time he was telling the truth. He doesn’t have the attention span to read a paragraph much less a 500+ page manifesto. I think, like everything Trump does, he saw some tool (a group of determined assholes) that would allow him to enrich himself. He doesn’t have an ideology. But the creeps around him (e.g. Vought, Miller, Bannon, Hesgeth) think they’re serving some higher power and that’s much more sinister. Trump’s just a pathetic con man, and he’ll be out of our hair soon. The bullshit these monsters are doing is lasting, and unless we reverse it it’s game over for a civilized world order. (I made this follow up comment in separate Note thread, but thought I should add it here too…)
It’s mind boggling to me that the people who are orchestrating this destruction believe that there’s something for them in the end. Maybe they’re not really considering the end result? Maybe it’s the destructive process, that of undermining others’ successes, that motivates them? Pure and simple grade school bitterness with adult resources. Heather Cox Richardson’s post yesterday was the story of the Johnstown Flood of 1891. It illustrates beautifully what happens when a few elites wall themselves off in their own little pleasure club while plundering the masses. It seems to me that “accountability” is surpassing “affordability” as top issue. I think in our current situation, accountability encompasses affordability, as in, the ballooning affordability issue is a result of the lack of accountability.
Here’s the Johnstown Flood story, in case you missed it: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-30-2026?r=5k9s3t&utm_medium=ios
I just submitted my comments using the template you referenced. Thank you for providing this information and making it easy to submit comments.
You write this just like Don Jr. is going to be able to go out and *earn* $650M, instead of having it given to him via his company, in the form of a loan from the Pentagon his father controls. Do you want to see their research CURTAILED? Do you believe in SCIENCE? Don't you have any feelings?!
I was just telling someone that I’m a beneficiary of modern medical science. I want it to continue to learn and provide new stuff. I’m not in the theocratic CULT.