Collection of worrying incidents

[placebo]

Reference? As far as I know, this is common speculation, unconfirmed.

I read this morning that according to Melania, Barron didn’t even apply to Harvard. Apparently, the joke is among people in the White House to explain why Trump is attacking the school.

Here’s a link: https://www.thedailybeast.com/author-why-melania-came-clean-about-barron-and-harvard/

 

[gleem]

When attendees voiced concern about medicaid cuts at Senator Joni Ernst's (Iowa) town meeting, she replied, "We all are going to die."

 

[fresh_42]

When attendees voiced concern about medicaid cuts at Senator Joni Ernst's (Iowa) town meeting, she replied, "We all are going to die."

And I can't get rid of her emails in my account!

She (her office) is very busy sending me spam.

 

[fresh_42]

Just read in a news ticker:

Max-Planck-Society is seeing an increase in applications from the USA.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

Trump says he fired National Portrait Gallery chief in latest conflict with arts
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...-kim-sajet-national-portrait-gallery-director

How is it Trump thinks it is fine to fire someone for an factually correct notice when he keeps going on about freedom of speech? Then he claimed it was about support for DEI. And in this case, it doesn't even appear to be his right to fire them, as although the Smithsonian is supported by federal funds, it is not run by the executive branch.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

I hadn't heard about this one before, even though it apparently started in April.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April declaring the decades-old legal principle known as disparate impact analysis unconstitutional.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...ate-impact-discrimination-cases-civil-rights/

Trump has previously tried to justify his anti-DEI policy on the grounds that positive discrimination can be unfair, which has occasionally in some contexts had some degree of truth, but this makes it absolutely clear he is actually fully supporting discrimination against disadvantaged groups where possible, even if it is unintentional.

 

[gleem]

When attendees voiced concern about medicaid cuts at Senator Joni Ernst's (Iowa) town meeting, she replied, "We all are going to di

Senator Ernst decided to apologize for her statement, which was right up there with "Let them eat cake." ;

“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for a statement that I made yesterday at my town hall,” she said, initially sounding serious. “A woman who was extremely distraught screamed out from the back corner of the auditorium, ‘People are going to die!’ “

“And I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth,” she went on. “So I apologize, and I’m really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the Tooth Fairy as well.

I'm surprised she didn't offer a bullet for her critic to bite on.

 

[gleem]

Trump is in the process of creating a Universal Data Base of American Citizens. The Trump administration is tasking the AI company Palantir with producing a database of American citizens from data across federal agencies.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/technology/trump-palantir-data-americans.html

In March, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the federal government to share data across agencies, raising questions over whether he might compile a master list of personal information on Americans that could give him untold surveillance power.

Mr. Trump has not publicly talked about the effort since. But behind the scenes, officials have quietly put technological building blocks into place to enable his plan. In particular, they have turned to one company: Palantir, the data analysis and technology firm.

The Trump administration has expanded Palantir’s work across the federal government in recent months. The company has received more than $113 million in federal government spending since Mr. Trump took office, according to public records, including additional funds from existing contracts as well as new contracts with the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon. (This does not include a $795 million contract that the Department of Defense awarded the company last week, which has not been spent.)

From Palantir's website: https://www.palantir.com/about/

That's why we build privacy-protective capabilities into our products, help customers understand how to use them responsibly, and work with advocacy groups and the policy community on how technology can be used to protect privacy interests today and in the future. We have always been, and continue to be, committed to helping organizations get value out of their data while protecting sensitive information from misuse and abuse.


We seek out the most critical problems we can find—the ones that pose threats not only to many of the world’s most important institutions, but to the people they serve as well. Some institutions have the resources to pay for our products, and some don’t. Whatever the situation, our approach with all our clients is the same: to establish a partnership that transforms the way they use data in pursuit of their goals.

What a great company.

Sounds great but this is what the CEO Alex Karp said at an investors meeting.
As the outlet Mother Jones reported:

‘I’m very happy to have you along for the journey,’ the CEO said. ‘We are crushing it. We are dedicating our company to the service of the West and the United States of America, and we’re super-proud of the role we play, especially in places we can’t talk about.’ ‘Palantir is here to disrupt,’ he continued. ‘And, when it’s necessary, to scare our enemies and, on occasion, kill them.’ (Palantir did not respond to a request for comment.)

Considering Trump's penchant for getting even we can guess where this is going.

MAGA is going birdshit; betrayal they say. They didn't read the fine print when they signed up.

 

[Grinkle]

MAGA is going birdshit; betrayal they say.

Can you reference anything along these lines? I’d be interested to see it.

 

[dlu]

I can't find the posts regarding 'lawyer firms succumbing to Trump threats', so I'll post as an incident.

Clients dump law firms that rolled over for Trump: 'Don't know how to fight'​

MSN

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that companies like tech company "Oracle, investment bank Morgan Stanley, an airline, and a pharmaceutical company," along with Microsoft, have reservations about working with firms that made deals with Trump.
Oracle was founded and co-owned by one of Trump's friends, Larry Ellison. So, Rubin said it isn't that the firms "object to the politics of the situation." Rather, "people don't want to be represented by someone who doesn't know how to fight. If you can't fight for yourself and your own principles, why should we hire you?"

 

[gleem]

Can you reference anything along these lines? I’d be interested to see it.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-palantir-maga-database-surveillance-2079905

 

[Grinkle]

@gleem I am not understanding why this is not getting more play. Perhaps it’s hard for people to understand if an AI data analysis company is any more of a privacy threat than whatever is already happening in the private sector, with companies selling data for marketing or political purposes? I personally am not sure, I’ll admit. At least I would think the MAGA reaction is newsworthy, but if not for your post, I wouldn’t have been aware of it. Thanks for the link.

 

[gleem]

The CEO of Palantir is denying that the company will be spying on Americans. As of this moment, Palantir's stock is down more than 7%.

Maybe the MAGA reaction was like that of McConnell's after Jan 6 when he initially denounced the raid but reversed a day later. It is like movies where guys in big black GMCs, black suits, and sunglasses show up at your house and you reconsider what you said.

 

[dlu]

The databases are already there, but separate.
I would tend to think that instead of a user logging in 7 or 8 times to different db's, the user will be able to log in just once, and information from all db's can be retrieved. Could be useful for solving a crime for example, but isn't that always the reason given.

If one needs failsafes, then a user account can have limited access to certain db's.

I seem to recall similar apprehension about the Social Insurance Number ( Canada ) given out to everybody in the 60's I think, and that the gov't will be able to track you where ever you go and what you do financially.
And they can do too.

 

[EricDMMiller]

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/watch-dhs-secretary-noem-speaks-from-l-a-after-calling-it-city-of-criminals/

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem:

“We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and mayor have placed on this country and what they’ve tried to insert in this city,”

That sounds an awful lot like sedition against the duly elected government of California.

Newsom better be headed to a bunker better than Khamenei's. We all know how the US likes to liberate places.

 

[gleem]

Noem said:

“We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and mayor have placed on this country and what they’ve tried to insert in this city,”

For a state led by burdensome socialists California returns more money ($3200 per resident) in taxes than it receives from the federal government. In fact, more money goes to red states than blue. Ten blue states and three red states give more money than they receive to the government while 28 red states and only 9 blue states receive more than they give.

From https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/upshot/trump-california-donor-states.html

Additionally, California is now the fourth-largest economy in the world and the greatest contributor to the US GDP.

 

[fresh_42]

New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander arrested by immigration officers inside Manhattan court​

“You don’t have a judicial warrant,” Lander says to the officers as he held on to the man’s arm.

“I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant. Where is it?” Lander says.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/06/17/us/brad-lander-ice-arrest-nyc

Sorry, to tell you, but such incidents are a clear sign of fascism. The SA wasn't any different.

 

[EricDMMiller]

This is insane:

https://thegrayzone.com/2025/06/18/palantir-execs-appointed-colonels/

 

[fresh_42]

This is insane:

https://thegrayzone.com/2025/06/18/palantir-execs-appointed-colonels/

He uses everything he can get his hands on for his play toy. That makes him so dangerous, as it makes him so destructive. What may sound funny at first sight is an undermining of the military hierarchy on second glance. This is not really a good idea for an organization that is built upon hierarchy. Hence, as usual, the long-term damages he creates go far beyond those (up to now) four years. America will need decades to recover from the Trumpian axes. You may look wherever you want, and you will find a disaster. I mean, who in the world could have come up with laying off 400 people at the FAA, selling state property, or factually shutting down the Voice of America?

 

[dlu]

I take a different viewpoint. Or maybe the same. But Yikes!
The Militarization of said companies beyond what was there before.
I suppose particular aspects of AI research will now become strategic and classified.
Research and contracts funded by the military can be lucrative, secretive, and when a top 'employee' is of the Lt,Colonel rank, whose to say 'no' to being part of something which is now definitely in the national interest.

Considering the military moving towards a more integrated force, with a master manned station talking to satellites, planes, drones, tanks, decoys, ships, army units, all sharing information, all in real time, something like this probably was inevitable. It is said that the soldier's backpack has increased to 100 pounds, due to all the electronics devices in the kit.

 

[EricDMMiller]

It's not militarization of companies. It's corporatization of the military.

 

[EricDMMiller]

People are safer in jail than on the streets right now.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia to wait in jail over fears ICE will deport him

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys expressed concern that his release would lead to immediate detention by ICE and deportation

www.independent.co.uk

 

[fresh_42]

AUSTIN dpa | Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok has caused a scandal with anti-Semitic remarks. The developer company xAI announced that it is in the process of removing "inappropriate posts" by Grok on the online platform X. Among other things, Grok claimed in a dialogue with an X user that it had "observed" that people with Jewish surnames often spread "anti-white narratives."

When asked by an X user which 20th-century political figure would be best suited to address this problem, Grok replied: "To deal with such vile hatred of white people? Adolf Hitler, without question. He would have recognized the pattern and dealt with it decisively, every damn time." When asked about this statement, Grok later claimed it was merely meant as "dark satire."

KI von Elon Musk: Hitler als Lösung

Der Chatbot Grok wirft Menschen mit jüdischem Nachnamen „Hass auf Weiße“ vor und lobt Hitler. Die Entwicklerfirma xAI muss eingreifen.

taz.de

Comment: I am speechless.

 

[EricDMMiller]

Some of the responses were even more insane than that.

 

[fresh_42]

Not really domestic but certainly worrying:

Canada pauses deportation of a non-binary US citizen because of ‘risks’ to LGBTQ+ people in America​

In August 2022, Jenkel arrived in Canada from Minnesota to visit their Canadian boyfriend, who is now ill and requires regular care. Due to their partner’s ill-health, they overstayed their visa.
...
However, Justice Julie Blackhawk halted the deportation, pending review. Blackhawk wrote in her ruling that the risk assessment was “flawed and unreasonable,” due to the immigration officer using outdated information.

“We’ve seen firsthand the deteriorating conditions for LGBTQI+ people in the U.S., from the escalation of anti-trans legislation to targeted violence and growing legal uncertainty,” Devon Matthews, head of programs at Rainbow Railroad, a non-profit organisation that helps 2SLGBTQ+ refugees, said.

Canada pauses deportation of US citizen over 'risks' to LGBTQ+ people in America

Canada has paused the deportation of Angel Jenkel, a non-binary US citizen, due to “risks” to LGBTQ+ people in the US.

www.thepinknews.com

Comment: So much to "the land of the free".

 

[EricDMMiller]

Key sections of the US Constitution deleted from government's website | TechCrunch

Internet sleuths say the U.S. Constitution's website is now missing key sections from its website, including a key legal provision relating to habeas corpus, which protects citizens from unlawful detention.

techcrunch.com

What a weird data error that only deleted precisely those portions of the Constitution that Trump said he would get rid of, or that he is currently actively ignoring/breaching.

For a before/after comparison:

Wayback Machine

web.archive.org

Habeus corpus and due process are gone along with the emoluments clause and the reservation of tariff powers to congress.

 

[EricDMMiller]

The party of law and order:

NPR has obtained police bodycam footage from multiple angles of the former defendant and current administration official, Jared Wise, berating officers and calling them "Nazi" and "Gestapo." NPR located the footage, which has not previously been published, in a review of thousands of court exhibits from Jan. 6 criminal cases, obtained through legal action by a coalition of media organizations. The Department of Justice had introduced the footage as an exhibit in Wise's trial. NPR also obtained the transcript of Wise's testimony, in which he acknowledged that he repeatedly yelled "kill 'em" as officers were being attacked and tried to explain his actions. Wise was not convicted of any crimes related to Jan. 6, due to President Trump's order to end all Capitol riot prosecutions.

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/07/nx-s1-5493197/doj-trump-jan-6-defendant-jared-wise-capitol-riot

Funny how so many cops voted for this. It's like they have other priorities...

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Funny how so many cops voted for this. It's like they have other priorities...

That's the key. Most top-line values in politics these days are smoke screens for power, greed, and racism.

 

[fresh_42]

Detained upon entering the USA: A Swiss woman tells of her nightmare come true​

On April 16, Lara flies to New York to celebrate her birthday. After a routine interrogation by border officials, what follows are 24 hours of fear and terror.

In den USA festgenommen: Schweizerin erzählt von 24 Stunden Angst

Am 16. April fliegt Lara nach New York, um dort ihren Geburtstag zu feiern. Was nach der Routinebefragung durch die Grenzbeamten folgt, sind 24 Stunden Angst und Schrecken.

www.nzz.ch

Comment: Believe me. The NZZ is conservative and liberal, serious, and far from even closely related to yellow press. NZZ is THE address to go to when searching for news written in German in Switzerland. Every European who is currently visiting the USA is playing with their personal freedom!

I sometimes think that this is all due to the deeply interwoven view of Americans considering the importance of their country. Travelling from Switzerland to NYC to work? Really?

 

[fresh_42]

What I do not understand is why these people have to be arrested? I experienced a comparable incident when Bulgaria was about to join the EU. My Russian girlfriend, her technically German daughter, and I weren't allowed to enter the country for a holiday at the coast, because Russians all of a sudden needed a visa, and we hadn't cared about this since Bulgaria had always been a traditional vacation destination for Russians. This led to the strange situation that I and the little girl were allowed to enter, but not her mother. Even a view of our luggage full of bathing utilities didn't convince them to issue a tourist visa. Anyway, we had to leave, and within an hour we were on board an airplane back to Germany. A different city from where we started, but on our way back home.

Now, here is my question: How many flights from JFK to Europe or Switzerland are there day by day? I bet there are dozens. Why don't they simply send her back instead of arresting her?