Trump's Second Term

[The Great Zaganza]

Meanwhile, the murder spree against civilians by the US Navy continues, with at least 234 people murdered extra-judicially on boats the US decided posed a military invasion force of the US. Operation Southern Spear sinks boats via missile or drones, and we know from Senators briefed on the matter that the decision to hit a boat does not involve the belief that drugs or weapons are on board.

Let's be clear: everyone in the chain of command of this killings is guilty of murder and should be prosecuted as such.
The US has no legal right to kill people on boats when there is no danger posed by them to the Navy - arrest them by all means, put them on trial if you think they are drug smugglers (in US waters that is). Killing would be up to a Jury to decide.

Let's keep in mind that this administration thinks it's cool to murder helpless people, frequently posting gleefully about them.

 

[LiteBright]

Sure. People with no innate sense of their deeds being evil may be better at being evil that the rest of us, but I don't believe they have a monopoly on evil.

This is very true. My brother is one of these people. He is completely indifferent to the feelings of others. As kids, he was cruel to our family pets (not sadistic mind you, just mean) and often tortured insects, frogs etc.

But as an adult, he hasn't become an "evil" person. He became a firefighter and he is often the only one on his crew who can handle the sight of dead, decomposing bodies etc. When confronted by horrific scenes of car accidents and such, he calmly maintains his composure and just does his work because he couldn't care less how others are feeling. In his line of work, his complete indifference to others suffering is an asset.

So I am sympathetic to the fact that someone with the incapacity for empathy is not necessarily evil. But I do often wonder...if he had been born with the intellect and drive to become a CEO, for instance, would he have become a truly awful person?

 

[bruto]

If it's a genuine incapacity, then it's pathological. Is it right to label pathologies as evil?

I suppose it depends a little on how you define evil. It's possible to redefine just about anything evil in psychological terms and dispense with the moral. Where is the line? How could a Hitler or a Stalin or a Pol Pot be anything but pathological? If you're an ordinary person who knows the difference between right and wrong, the line between evil and crazy is at least a little blurry.

 

[jimbob]

I suppose it depends a little on how you define evil. It's possible to redefine just about anything evil in psychological terms and dispense with the moral. Where is the line? How could a Hitler or a Stalin or a Pol Pot be anything but pathological? If you're an ordinary person who knows the difference between right and wrong, the line between evil and crazy is at least a little blurry.

Yes which is why I decided a long time ago that most of the time, the British legal approach to criminal responsibility is a reasonable starting point. Some are genuinely not responsible for their actions and need locking up for our protection, but others are sufficiently responsible.

 

[AmyStrange]

What does it matter what I think? The words have dictionary definitions and 'genuine' and 'evil' seem to be at such odds that its hard to see how one can define the other.

Ok, fair enough.

Since I like to know what words mean before I use them, here's my definition: someone who is incapable of knowing right from wrong.

In the case of the fat clown, he may be demented but he's also like a mob boss who knows right from wrong and chooses evil instead of empathy.

Who here doesn't think that deciding to kill some random person on Fifth Avenue (or on the high seas w/o one iota of evidence) isn't an evil act? The fact that he thinks he can get away with it proves to me he knows right from wrong.

IOW, if I was on a jury; I'd vote to have him locked up forever before he chooses more of the same, but all this is just my opinion.

Your mileage may vary of course.

 

[Flo]

In the case of the fat clown, he may be demented but he's also like a mob boss who knows right from wrong and chooses evil instead of empathy.

Who here doesn't think that deciding to kill some random person on Fifth Avenue (or on the high seas w/o one iota of evidence) isn't an evil act? The fact that he thinks he can get away with it proves to me he knows right from wrong.

As is the fact that he rages and rants against any institutions, legislative or judicial, national or international, that may bring him to account for his misdeeds …

 

[Andy_Ross]

From the Presidential Walk of Fame at the White House.

 

[Armitage72]

From the Presidential Walk of Fame at the White House.
View attachment 76270

Assuming that's real, I'm surprised there's no crying about the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rent free in Trump's head.

 

[Norman Alexander]

From the Presidential Walk of Fame at the White House.
View attachment 76270

If true, they are only for Trump to refresh his hatred when he shambles into the Oval Office each afternoon.

 

[Gulliver Foyle]

Isn't lack of empathy just the thing psychopaths have?

I mean, certainly, psychopaths can be extremely dangerous but they're not necessarily so (I read that they can be rather effective business executives because they don't avoid hard decisions like firing people or closing unproductive parts of a business, because they don't suffer the same stress and regret over the thought of others who will lose their jobs) and I don't think it's nearly so simple as being able to say that's what 'evil' is.

No the literature generally says that while psychopathic indicators correlate highly with those who get top jobs, they correlate very badly with those who are good at doing those jobs.

Toxic bosses: why do companies protect managers who make working life hell?

Bullying, manipulation and intimidation can destroy lives, yet abusive authoritarians continue to rise to the top. How do they get away with it – and can they be brought to heel?

www.theguardian.com

 

[Andy_Ross]

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com%2Fpost%2F3mwlmsujzyk2o

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Trump USA would like the World to function very much like the Trump Administration functions: bully someone until they fix your problems for you, and take all the credit and money.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Joe Scarborough’s show has been cut way back, and will soon be “dead!” Too predictable and boring! REALLY BAD RATINGS, just like the rest of MSNOW (MSDNC!). President DJT

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Bill Maher’s ratings are so low that it is hard to believe his show can continue. In many ways it’s SAD because, in actuality, I like him. Republicans should stop using him as a sounding board, however. It makes them look sooo weak and foolish

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Kevin Roberts, Heritage Foundation & Heritage Action President, and also, a fabulous guy, was fantastic on FoxNews this morning.
The topic was Fake Polls and how well the Republicans are going to do in the upcoming Midterms.
Thank you, Kevin. I’ll be out there spending money, and helping every one of them get elected.
I won most of these places, often by a landslide.
MAGA, pretend I am on the ballot. Don’t let them open your Borders, and allow crime to again flourish.
KEEP AMERICA GREAT!!!
President DJT

 

[Andy_Ross]

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

 

[a_unique_person]

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Joe Scarborough’s show has been cut way back, and will soon be “dead!” Too predictable and boring! REALLY BAD RATINGS, just like the rest of MSNOW (MSDNC!). President DJT

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Bill Maher’s ratings are so low that it is hard to believe his show can continue. In many ways it’s SAD because, in actuality, I like him. Republicans should stop using him as a sounding board, however. It makes them look sooo weak and foolish

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Kevin Roberts, Heritage Foundation & Heritage Action President, and also, a fabulous guy, was fantastic on FoxNews this morning.
The topic was Fake Polls and how well the Republicans are going to do in the upcoming Midterms.
Thank you, Kevin.
I’ll be out there spending someone elses money, and helping every one of them get elected.
I won most of these places, often by a landslide.
MAGA, pretend I am on the ballot. Don’t let them open your Borders, and allow crime to again flourish.
KEEP AMERICA GREAT!!!
President DJT

FTFY.

 

[Jack by the hedge]

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

View attachment 76275

Is this more AI, or has he infested more of the building with his "in the 1980s some people imagined this looked classy" taste?

 

[Andy_Ross]

Is this more AI, or has he infested more of the building with his "in the 1980s some people imagined this looked classy" taste?

The space where the current press briefing room is, used to be a swimming pool that FDR installed in the 30s. He's trying to say they should turn it into a pool again.

So yes, it's AI.

 

[Mojo]

The President's Cup. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents_Cup

This is weird to me to say the least. In every sporting event I participated in, or observed, it was always the athletes that received the credit. But Trump still managed to make some of it about himself.

Team USA captain thanks Trump after massive Presidents Cup comeback: ‘He gets all the credit’

Trump told captain Brandt Snedeker he'd bring energy to the Presidents Cup, and the U.S. rallied from a three-point deficit in Sunday singles.

www.foxnews.com

He did pretty well at the Ryder Cup too.

 

[Stacyhs]

Or as Terry Pratchett put it via Granny Weatherwax:

I think it's just another way of saying the same thing. People with no empathy don't see others as having feelings, of being able to hurt.

 

[Garrison]

It'll happen right after he saves all those Carrier jobs in Indiana.

This is such ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊. It isn't about making cars better, safer and more affordable. It's about maximizing the auto industry's profit margins and stock values. They aren't going to suddenly start building, or even reopening, factories in the U.S., they're going to cut their costs by bribing the most corrupt administration in U.S. history to allow them to roll back environmental regulations, which will benefit the oil companies too. They're still going to make as much of it overseas as they can, with cheap labor, and they're still going to inflate the prices of what are essentially commercial trucks by adding leather upholstery, alloy wheels and sat/nav touch screens.

I don't think this is even on the car makers. They've invested in new production lines for EVs and what they want is stability in the regulations, not not some BS announcement they know will be reversed as soon as there's a change of government.