₦airaland Forum

raumdeuter:
I am not demonizing any of the billionaires, they are all equally good and bad. They all have the same intentions

It's you trying to claim the democratic leaning ones are good and others are bad even though they were until few moons ago Democrats and donating to your liberal causes

I am talking about Elon musk (for this specific conversation).

I don’t even think any of them are democrat or republican leaning at their core. They’ll simply support any party that furthers their interests the most.

In this specific moment, Elon is the mad man who needs to be curtailed and I’m tired of people excusing his overreach because billionaires have donated in the past.

If he’s not reigned in, there will be nothing left to govern. Just one big Lord and millions of minions.

raumdeuter:
Elon Zuckerberg Bexos were good billionaires until they started supporting Trump

According to who? Because I’ve never met a person who called them good billionaires even when they donated to dems.

The difference is that now, Trump is willing to sell your social security to them. It’s not even about company profits anymore.

It’s about absolute and total control over you. And a permanent stop to your future generation’s ability to ever progress again. We will be serfs and it will be amazing in their world.

If we are lucky and that’s a big if, the liberal tears and hysteria you guys are laughing at is what will save us. If we all shut up and let them do as you guys are so obviously willing to let them do, there’ll be nothing left.

raumdeuter:
The difference between us is that you are hypocritical in thinking that one set of Billionaires have better intentions than others.

Absolutely Elon has worse intentions than the others.
You think this is me being hypocritical and you being non-hypocritical but it’s simply a lack of discerning insight.

raumdeuter:
When Soros was doing it, what was his motive? Now it's Musk who has an axe to grind? When Musk was donating to Democrats he didnt have an axe to grind, its when he became Republican that he grew an axe?

Soros will not have access but give directions to those who have access to do his bidding like he's been doing for decades and getting a presidential medal for it

When Soros was doing what?

Gaining access into Medicare funds, removing agency heads and requesting access to Americans citizens social security accounts? When was Soros gutting American institutions directly or by proxy?

Because any attempt to pretend that it’s the same thing is not a conversation to be entertained.

Musk has a world domination kink. He did donate money to the democrats but realized he can’t have the kind of power he wants with a democrat president in charge. So naturally he went to the side that’ll let him do anything he wanted.

armyofone:
This guy own us something else. Wonder what ace he got up his sleeves.
Kicking people out of work is on another level. He is so African in his behavior.

They’re preparing the ground for a heist of gargantuan proportions.

I have no other language to explain to you that it’s not the same thing. And I know in my heart of hearts that you understand this. Pls don’t make me go around in a bad faith debate. You know this is not the same.

Lobbying is American style politics. Most people hate it. But it’s unprecedented that a billionaire with an axe to grind has access to Medicare and federal agencies payment systems? These are funds that go directly into individual households.

According to the newspaper, Lebryk has clashed with allies of Musk, whom Trump has named to lead his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), over access to payment systems that the agency uses to distribute more than $6 trillion annually to households and businesses.

Social Security and Medicare benefits, paychecks for federal employees, and payments to government contractors and grant recipients all flow through the payment systems run by the Bureau of Fiscal Service, among thousands of other functions.

Since Trump won the election in November, officials Musk has named as DOGE staffers have been asking for access to the payment systems, and the demands have been reiterated since the president took office last week, the Post reported.

raumdeuter:
Billionaires have been in politics for long. I don't mind. If i happen to become a billionaire, I will also spend money to influence govt policies.

It's the hypocritical Democrats who condemn Billionaires donations on one hand then vote for candidates who take Billionaire donation and are beholden to the same Billionaires at the polls

This is Trump asking Hillary the same thing. Democrats take money from billionaires, complain about them in public take their money in private

How do they define hypocrisy again


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jXB0GebRrQ?si=YyjDvDZ0py929km5

Billionaires have been donating for ages to both sides. People hated it. Including me. We disliked it but we’re not scared of them.

Now Musk has come to personally take the govt for himself. In a way that leaves no dissent or opposition. It is scary. If you choose to overlook this major difference between both situations, there’s no conversation to be had.

You don’t like big govt? How contradictory considering how all up in your business he’s about to be. Stay prepared!

raumdeuter:
So coming out in public and hurting THEIR brand is what you have an issue with? Not that they even have the ability to pull the strings of politicians like Soros, Bloomberg, Koch etc have been doing for ages

What is the medal to Soros for? Was it in appreciation for several years of pushing money into Democrats hand for policy votes?

Billionaires have been donating to both sides for ages, Its just the hypocrite Democrats who will take these money at night, then in the face f the public come to condemn the act. If you want to collect money, collect with full chest.

Not every female healthcare worker is a nurse

raumdeuter:
They dn't need a corner office, they remain in their houses and pull strings just with a phone call. Oh I guess calling in favors and influencing governance from a corner office is much worse than staying in your mansion to be making calls to politicians and judges

Actually it is much worse.

No one including me has ever liked that billionaires get to lobby the govt to pass bills that favor them. You’re asking me where was my outrage when this is something I’ve constantly spoken about on this platform. You’ve even called me jealous of them. So I’m sure you remember that I haven’t been a silent bootlicker of any politician or billionaire.

The difference between now and then is that they knew to stay in the shadows and back off from publicity that might hurt their brands. Meaning that if people spoke up enough and drew attention to a certain issue, they could back off to avoid inciting more losses. At least this way, we still had power (no matter how small). There was hope.

Now this brazen braggadocios overreach by Musk is clear signs that y’all’s opinions , outrage or protest will mean nothing. He gets to do whatever he wants, push out any check or balance in his way to fund whatever personal project he wants. Damned whose ox is gored.

You don’t see me talking this much about the other billionaires who donated to Trump.

George Soros’ (whose boots I do not kiss) presidential medal of freedom is a medal. It doesn’t give him access to social security systems and ability to remove whatever head of govt agency he wants. You can keep equating two unequal things. I’m not here to argue or change your mind because I am very well aware to YOU KNOW!

raumdeuter:
Where is your outrage when Mayor Bloomberg, George Soros, Zuckerberg and even this same Musk was donating to the Democrat?

None.

After donating , did they pick a corner office in the White House and lock federal officers out of govt systems?

At least Kamala tried. Don’t know about the others.

People cared more about their misogyny and hate for the rainbow coalition. Everything that needed to be said was said by her. And she had better polices to back it up.

People just chose not to listen. I guess her laugh just not good enough.

ObaIgwe1:
They can be all that and still speak out, else their silence might make it look like they are scared of Trump. They need to give the opposition a voice and encouragement by calling out what is wrong real time, give the people clear picture of things against the lies of Trump and his MAGA servants before things get out of control. I don't fancy the idea of them telling the electorate what Trump did wrong only during the election...

raumdeuter:
The hysteria of the left is amusing.

Glad you’re amused. Elon musk wants access to social security systems. A very sensitive issue. (And you this to be true)
Now a top treasury officer is leaving the department because Elon wants it so.

His aides are locking officials out of govt systems. What’s his security clearance that he thinks he has the power to do this?

It’ll get to point where if he you say anything negative about him, he’ll without whatever money/benefits coming your way because he has access to your social security information.

Are you laughing yet? So amusing

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his pro-austerity Department of Government Efficiency tried to access key systems responsible for paying out the federal government’s salaries and bills, pushing a high-ranking career civil servant to quit the Treasury Department.

According to The Washington Post, David Lebryk, the current deputy secretary of the Treasury Department, is expected to leave the agency after decades of nonpolitical service.

Sources told the Post that Lebryk pushed back on attempts by Musk surrogates to access the nation’s system for doling out paychecks, Social Security and Medicare benefits, tax refunds and federal contracts.

The fall of America.

if you threaten lawmakers/representatives with felonies because of how they vote on certain bills, you're telling us that we live in a monarchy and the only correct response is whatever the king wants to hear.

At this point if you support republican policies, you’re a clear enemy of the American people. These policies will lead to our decline. You have no excuse except that you have a secret wish for America to fully descend into an animal farm.

Tennessee Senate passes controversial immigration bill that some call unconstitutional

Kenley Hargett
2 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — In a 26-7 vote, state senators approved SB6002 Wednesday, which will create criminal penalties (Class E felony) for officials who adopt sanctuary policies. According to the bill’s text, officials can also be removed upon conviction.

In addition, the bill requires the Department of Public Safety to issue lawful permanent residents a temporary driver’s license instead of a standard license. The temporary license will reportedly be used to help determine voter eligibility for someone who presents a Tennessee driver’s license as identification.

State Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) was the only Republican to vote against the bill.

State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) spoke during the hearing. He said he believes the bill is unconstitutional and restricts lawmakers’ ability to represent their constituents.

“Now this is the only time we are going to have a Tennessee law that says if you vote in the affirmative, you will be charged with a felony,” said Jones.

Jones went on to compare the bill to 1689 English Bill of Rights, which he said was the British monarchy using legal measures to intimidate and punish legislators

Ishilove:
Oh! Is that why one always feels thirsty after eating beans?

Yep 👍🏾

Ishilove:
Very oyibo a meal

But it’s very filling. No snacking all day for me after high protein breakfasts. Just have to keep very hydrated

Benwallt:
They should rot in hell. All of them

not a yes or no then. You want them all to be killed?

Benwallt:
Just shoot her or he dead to avoid prolonged noise

You want all trans people dead?

Looks like the Republican Party isn’t that much against the idea of taxes funding other people’s children. They just have to be in certain communities. See how the language carefully excludes certain demographics? DEI for white Utah moms who get married at 17 and have 6 kids. None for those who they deem unworthy.

And with the outbreak of tuberculosis in Kansas, they’re still politicizing masks?

New DOT Memo Directs Funds To Communities With Higher ‘Marriage And Birth Rates’
The memo also said recipients of federal transportation funding must also cooperate with immigration enforcement, a hit to so-called sanctuary cities.
By
Sanjana Karanth
The Department of Transportation has released a memo ordering that programs supported or assisted by the agency prioritize funding projects for communities that have above-average marriage and birth rates.
Newly-confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy buried the oddly specific requirement by describing the Wednesday memo as focused on economic growth, rather than population growth, and echoed President Donald Trump’s criticism of programs to improve diversity, equity and inclusion.

“The American people deserve an efficient, safe and pro-growth transportation system based on sound decision-making, not political ideologies,” Duffy said of the memo, which was signed just hours before a military helicopter crashed into a passenger plane near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing everyone on both aircraft and sending Duffy and other transportation officials scrambling.
According to the memo, programs and activities supported by the Transportation Department should prioritize projects that improve transportation for “families with young children” and “give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average.” This memo applies to DOT and DOT-supported grants, loans and contracts, including existing agreements.

States with both marriage and birth rates higher than the national average include Utah and South Dakota, according to 2022 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In those predominantly white states, cultural or religious norms may encourage marriage and family-building.

In addition to the language around marriage and birth rates, the memo also blocks recipients of DOT funding from implementing “mask mandates,” a reference to requirements transit agencies followed to limit the spread of infection during the height of COVID-19.
The memo also requires recipients to comply with federal immigration enforcement in order to receive funding — the latest effort by the administration to target undocumented immigrants, conduct mass arrests and deportations, and deny federal transportation funds to so-called sanctuary cities.

The next four years will change America forever. But HuffPost won't back down when it comes to providing free and impartial journalism.

DEI is merit based. It ensures that employers are considering all qualified candidates regardless of their race, gender or disability status..

If they do not meet the employment requirements, they’re not considered. This stops Mr Jack from looking at your black name and tossing your file in the bin because he only wants to consider the qualified white candidates.

if they’re not made to consider every qualified person, they’ll only employ the white people. Centuries of slavery and colonialism should be enough pattern recognition to show you that they’ll never think you’re good enough unless the law forces them to look at your qualifications

You’ve been fed “DEI bad” and you ran with it thoughtlessly like a tree voting for the axe.

P.S chat box can summarize text from all sources online (including false information) and give it you in a summary. I hope you don’t use chat box to do your homework or studies.

basilico:
https://www.nairaland.com/4508641/american-politics-thread-trump-47th/4770#133943898

Those policies by Obama and Biden need to be revoked . You think they should not?
I'm Loving this unbiased Chatbot.

During President Obama's administration, several measures were implemented regarding the hiring of Air Traffic Controllers. Here are the key points:

Shift from Merit-Based Hiring: The Obama administration directed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to move away from strictly merit-based hiring criteria. This change aimed to promote diversity within the workforce.
Affirmative Action Policies: The administration introduced affirmative action policies that encouraged the hiring of candidates from underrepresented groups, which sparked debates about the effectiveness and fairness of such measures.
Legal Challenges: These hiring practices faced scrutiny and legal challenges, including a class-action lawsuit that highlighted concerns over the qualifications of candidates being overlooked in favor of diversity initiatives.
These measures were part of a broader effort to enhance diversity in federal employment, but they also led to significant discussions about the balance between diversity and merit in critical roles like air traffic control.

basilico:
. The swamp needs to go down. FBI should be dismantled and rebuilt afresh.

I’m so sorry I really don’t mean to be harsh. I really don’t but this is a stupid take. What is your problem? Omg.

Are you 19 years old by chance ?

You want our 116 year old investigative institution to be dismantled and replaced by who? Trump loyalists?

You have to be crazy. Or 19 years. There’s no other explanation.

I should have known when your example of extreme Democrat policy was that black people can say the N word and others can’t.

What a waste of time.

GloriousGbola:
This is a warning of a taste of what is to come if these jokers go through with their doge nonsense.

And if trump goes through with his silly plan to exit federal workers

And the plan to kill agencies like fema

We saw it happen with covid.

Safety laws and rules are written in blood. Regulations exist for a reason.

But trump has gotten away with skirting regulations all his life, and he has been shouting deep state and convincing poorly educated Americans that loyalty to him is more important than actual competence

You think his dui secretary of state can handle a real emergency? You think the military will be up to task if they have antivaxxers and are deployed to lagos with mosquitoes?

This is reality. Not wrestling kayfabe, not all the silly reduction of politics to a sports slogan.

Not trolling and gloating about liberal tears

As we say in Nigeria - everybody go collect.

But since Americans want to live like a third world country where you celebrate the president if you have running water - have at it.

@bold, they thought it was a game of soccer that their team won. Now it’s time to govern he’s back to blaming Obama. When he’s held office since after Obama left. Where’s his blame there?

The DOGE nonsense gave Elon power over departments that should have oversight or investigative power over his companies. How’s that not a brazen 3rd world move right there?

He basically bullied the FAA head to resign because they wanted him to pay $600k in fines. So Trump will just go to him, get instructions on what to do, come and unleash havoc on us and no one can do anything about it. Okay

IjeBos:
You know, the accident was caused by those "DEI" hires who were too incompetent to do the jobs that we don't think are necessary and want to cut ASAP.

It’s their new diet racism (and other isms) buzzword 😫

basilico:
I don't necessarily agree with Trump on this one. There are many possibilities as to what led to the mid air crash.

Your man just signed an executive order blaming Obama and Biden for the plane crash. 😭

Can’t make this parody reality up.

You don’t have to mention DEI. Your guy Trump did. That’s what we’re talking about.

You shoe won’t bend if you admit for once that he’s put his foot in his mouth one too many times.

I don’t need you quoting FAA report to me. I can read it myself.

basilico:
I'm quoting an FAA initial report. I have not mentioned DEI or staffing, I think that situation happens all the time where one ATC is controlling plane and helicopter flights. There is the visual component of pilots especially near a busy airport which should have saved the day. It's just an accident that can happen.

descarado:
Obama deported more than 3 million hence the name deportee-in-chief.
Wonder why nobody screamed and shouted.

The truth is that majority of Americans are not in favor of illegal immigration. Myself included. Find an illegal immigrant, deport them in respectable condition.

Trump’s strategy of creating fear, panic and chaos is beyond trying to curtail illegal immigration. It’s designed to destabilize and have people turn on each other.

Deputizing neighbors to harass others by promising them money. And you know how they are going to judge who’s an immigrant. It’s by skin color at first sight. White immigrants don’t get ICE called on them.

It’s a license to have non white citizens in America harassed by their communities. He can deport whoever is illegal.

Mass deportations, raids and vitriol is not the way.

basilico:
A preliminary FAA report on the collision found that air traffic control tower staffing at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) was "not normal" for the amount of air traffic and for the time of day, a source with knowledge of the situation told NBC News.

The tower typically has a controller that focuses specifically on helicopter traffic. But at the time of the crash last night, the source said, one controller at DCA was overseeing both airplane and helicopter activity.

So they were understaffed. What is your big revelation in this? That gutting safety committees whose jobs probably include making sure that staffing is up to code didn’t somehow lead to this?

PDPGuy:
It was highly disappointing for the POTUS to have rushed to judgment without the NTSB concluding its investigation 🤦🏽‍♂️

He claimed he knows it’s DEI because he has common sense. Obviously only minorities can do a bad job. The mainstream folks don’t make mistakes in his common sense world.

He could’ve been a normal person and just said. “My condolences are with the families of the affected. We’re investigating what happened”.

Simple, concise and considerate. Show empathy. Promise them answers and follow up with proper action.

He just never learned to do that. At his big age. He’s older than my grandmother but I’ve never seen one day in his political career that he’s not embarrassing himself.

Apparently there was a near miss at this same very busy airport before this collision. Thank goodness we didn’t end up with two collisions.

So only a bullish hard headed person who doesn’t understand how the system works would mess with the balance of their staffing/supervisors without adequate alternatives already in place and operating optimally.

Not a word of condolence or consolation to the country before he went off on a rant. As he always did in his first term.

Never been a leader. Never will be. You can’t buy leadership qualities.

Watching more RFKs hearings

He think blacks should be on a different vaccine schedule to whites.

Phew 😮‍💨

My face when people say women in extreme Islamic communities are happy versus in bondage 🤔

You’re right. They care a lot about proper image and doing things by the book the “right” way.

Even majority of the successful policies they passed to benefit the public they don’t brag about it. You have to follow politics and understand complex concepts to see what they’ve done for the people.

While Trump is just out there being loud and appealing to the vulgarity/hate people nurse in their hearts in order to sway their votes.

ObaIgwe1:
In all of these I wish to know where is Harris and other potential Democrats that will want to be president in 4 years time. They should be speaking loud and clear now and not only start speaking when it is election time. They need to stand up to Trump and push back on many of his lies and let people know the consequences of some of Trump's rash actions.

After the 2020 election, despite the humiliations, the tag of being called bad loser and many battles that followed, Trump was still very vocal and made sure he remained relevant and influential both within his party and outside.

I think the silence of many of the top democrats is deafening.

As usual. Blame democrats and Biden and Obama. No mention of the fact that he just fired key personnel in aviation sector just a week before this.

Clueless oaf

If we want to talk about DEI being a bad thing, the fact that an unqualified imp like him is president , voted by similar minded people like him should be a concern for how much value we place on qualifications. He’s not near qualified to even be a representative.