Post election prediction

[OptionBase1]

I'll note that obviously Ice agents are potentially operating in all 50 states at any given time, and who knows what is happening in each case. Just trying to summarize what has been happening here in my city in the past few days.

I saw no evidence of any Ice activity in my city today. There are many people in my city that are glad Ice is here, and of course many people that aren't. It has tension very high amongst everyone, but for sure for all immigrants. Outside of the Somali community, there are a large number of Hispanic immigrants here as well.

I just hope that whatever else is planned here, if anything, that it is taken care of quickly and there's no injuries to anyone on either side. It's like a powder keg here, and it wouldn't take much for things to go very sideways very quickly.

[wes4dbt]

I'll note that obviously Ice agents are potentially operating in all 50 states at any given time, and who knows what is happening in each case. Just trying to summarize what has been happening here in my city in the past few days.

I understand and appreciate what you have shared.

My confusion comes from why it's necessary to send hundreds of agents into a city all at once if you have identified individual people that need to be deported. It appears to be more of a political stunt than a good tactic. But I'm a sceptic.

I just hope that whatever else is planned here, if anything, that it is taken care of quickly and there's no injuries to anyone on either side. It's like a powder keg here, and it wouldn't take much for things to go very sideways very quickly.

Yeah, your area has been under pressure for the last several weeks. It doesn't take much nowadays. There's so much my side verses your side. Working together to make things better is hard to find. Or at least it doesn't make the news.

[PlausiblyDamp]

My confusion comes from why it's necessary to send hundreds of agents into a city all at once if you have identified individual people that need to be deported. It appears to be more of a political stunt than a good tactic. But I'm a sceptic.

The reason is purely for show, ICE aren't really achieving much other than a demonstration of how Trump has built his own personal army. Everything they do is to demonstrate force, not to achieve anything concrete. If Trump continues to deport people at the current rate, then after a four year term he is on track to deport approximately 50% of the number of deportations that happened under Biden's last term.

ICE isn't there to deport people, it is there to intimidate and bully people. Seeing a force that is masked, armed, and effectively outside of the law is there to normalise the level of violence and disruption. It is purely a performance that makes Trump feel strong and powerful.

[wes4dbt]

Ironically, the goal posts in Iran have shifted so much now that you're also describing the Trump administration's justification for potentially overthrowing the government there.

In other words: rules for thee but not for me.

It does seem Trump's rhetoric has taken on the tone of "I'm the ruler of the world, do what I say or I'll destroy you". It's sad that people support him when he threatens to invade Greenland. He has devolved our government back to the 1800's when we took the land from Mexico and the Indians. It's shocking how fast our country threw away a hundred years of human growth. Maybe that growth wasn't real.

[OptionBase1]

In Minneapolis, Ice tried to perform a targeted arrest, multiple neighbors started attacking the Ice agent, apparently with snowshovels. For those of you not in a cold state, most snowshovels here have a wooden handle and a metal shovel part, which can have very sharp points. You hit someone "just right" in the neck with a snowshovel, you can kill them. Defending himself, the Ice agent shot someone in the leg. I believe it was the person they were originally arresting. The neighbors that got involved were also arrested.

Thankfully no one was killed. But now, people are freaking out again.

[PlausiblyDamp]

Not too distract from what is currently going on in Minneapolis, and please stay safe...

The question I have is; do you think Trump now actually believes he has won a Nobel Peace prize, or does he realise the world is laughing at how desperate he is to be loved?

[wes4dbt]

Not too distract from what is currently going on in Minneapolis, and please stay safe...

The question I have is; do you think Trump now actually believes he has won a Nobel Peace prize, or does he realise the world is laughing at how desperate he is to be loved?

Trump doesn't pay much attention to reality. He's a pathological liar. Why he does it or what's going on in this mind. No clue. Makes you wonder what people like him see when they look in the mirror.

[PlausiblyDamp]

Trump doesn't pay much attention to reality. He's a pathological liar. Why he does it or what's going on in this mind. No clue. Makes you wonder what people like him see when they look in the mirror.

I often wonder if he is consciously deceiving people with his lies, or he is genuinely believing what he says. Then again he seems to be so mentally impaired these days he might not have any idea what he is saying, simply going along with whatever script he is being given (and accidentally reading the prompts out loud when slipped to him in a meeting).

I do struggle to understand how people look at him and somehow think he is trustworthy, and has the nation's best interests at heart.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Depends on what "best interests" they are talking about.

[wes4dbt]

Depends on what "best interests" they are talking about.

I'd wager it's not the "nations" best interest that drives Trumps actions.

[wes4dbt]

This is funny

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=...86951463610623

[Zvoni]

To our friends in Norway:
Could someone look for Donald's pacifier, and return it to his pram?
Apparently, he's thrown it out all the way to Norway.....


Someone should check this lunatic's head.....
..... though i don't expect something other than hot air will be found....

acc. to this german news-blog (timestamp 12:23) https://www.gmx.net/magazine/politik...daten-41800882
he's send a message to the norwegian Prime-Minister

Literally translated
"Given the fact your country has decided to NOT give me the peace Nobel Prize, despite me having stopped 8 PLUS wars, i don't feel obligated anymore to think about peace exclusively"

Uhmm..... how many of those 8 plus wars have actually been started by the US of A?
Nevermind Venezuela and Greenland

EDIT: And my brilliant skills in divination predict: Panama will be next.....
anyone offering odds, that the US-Government will unearth evidence of Crime/Corruption of the Panama-President?

[PlausiblyDamp]

He isn't even pretending to care about Greenland anymore, his recent letter to Norway pretty much says if Norway had given him the Nobel Peace Prize (for stopping 8 wars, mainly ones that didn't actually exist) then he wouldn't be going after Greenland. Yet again he is having a temper tantrum and Tariffs and threats happen.

Still hasn't complied with the law to release the Epstein files though, must really be things in there he wants to hide.

[wes4dbt]

I don't know if you'll hit a pay wall, this is from the NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/u...os-speech.html

It sounds like he basically stood up there claiming all these great things he's done and at the same time telling how terrible all the other countries were. He supported all these claims with a long stream of lies. It's not surprising or shocking, it's very typical.

You got to wonder how long these other countries will placate him. It must suck to sit there and listen to this nonsense and insults. Maybe it's no big deal, just part of being a politician.

[PlausiblyDamp]

He also repeatedly referred to Iceland, presumably meaning Greenland. Don't forget his comment about "you would all be speaking German", said while in Switzerland.

It is getting harder and harder to tell the deliberate lies from his obvious mental deterioration these days...

[jpbro]

I don't know if you'll hit a pay wall, this is from the NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/u...os-speech.html

It sounds like he basically...

Don't be conned by that lefty pinko fake news rag, watch his full address and form your own opinion:

[wes4dbt]

Don't be conned by that lefty pinko fake news rag, watch his full address and form your own opinion:

No thanks. But if there was something false written in that article by that "lefty pinko fake news rag" (that's funny) I'd be interested in knowing.

[dilettante]

Turn off the fake news and educate yourselves.

[FunkyDexter]

watch his full address and form your own opinion

I watched it live. Anyone who watched that and couldn't see the dementia is wilfully blind.

No thanks. But if there was something false written in that article by that "lefty pinko fake news rag" (that's funny) I'd be interested in knowing.

Not sure but I think you might have missed the sarcasm.

Davos was, indeed, silenced. Apart from the occasional sounds of snoring.

He did succeed in getting us to talk about something other than him being a nonce, though. I mean, he had to threaten word war 3 to achieve a deal that was already being freely offered to him, but he did it.

[jpbro]

No thanks.

your loss, it's a real doozy of a speech, and only about an hour and a quarter long!

Joking aside, I thought folks might want to see first hand how their leaders are representing them on the world stage, but perhaps not...

[jpbro]

I watched it live. Anyone who watched that and couldn't see the dementia is wilfully blind.

...or head over heels in love ? But watching the actual speech instead of the AI sloppified, edited for sound bites summaries should be eye opening...it won't be, but it should be.

Not sure but I think you might have missed the sarcasm.

Indeed, I should start using /s, but it feels like putting a "ba dum tish" drum sting at the end of a joke.

[dilettante]

Sounds like sheer projection to me.

[wes4dbt]

Not sure but I think you might have missed the sarcasm.

I wasn't sure. I'm not familiar enough with jpbro to know what he meant. And unfortunately there are people who talk like that. Glad it was a joke.

[wes4dbt]

your loss, it's a real doozy of a speech, and only about an hour and a quarter long!

Joking aside, I thought folks might want to see first hand how their leaders are representing them on the world stage, but perhaps not...

I try to avoid spending time listening to habitual liars speak. I wouldn't believe anything they said, so why listen. I can see how some may do it for a laugh but I can't do that with Trump because of all the harm he has and is doing. Add to that he is a babbling fool. To be honest, hearing him speak makes me angry (at him and our country for electing him). So, it's best to avoid listening to him.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Joking aside, I thought folks might want to see first hand how their leaders are representing them on the world stage, but perhaps not...

Yeah, no. I just had lunch, and I don't feel like catch and release today.

[FunkyDexter]

I try to avoid spending time listening to habitual liars speak. I wouldn't believe anything they said, so why listen.

I think the answer to that is that you don't really appreciate the full gravity of the situation until you see it. (That's the thing with gravity - it can really get you down).

Once you see it you realise that we just got probably closer to WW3 than we have since the fall of he Berlin Wall for no more reason than a senile old fart who clearly doesn't even know whare the countries he's talking about invading are because of a perceived a slight... and Somalis. He doesn't know the difference between Greenland and Iceland. He doesn't know the history of NATO. He doesn't know the difference between Fentanyl and Cocaine. But he's willing to take the world to the brink of war because of a brain fart.

So, it's best to avoid listening to him.

I think that's an understandable position to have reached, though.

[FunkyDexter]

I have to say, the anger he's created in the UK by saying that NATO troops "stayed a bit back" in Iraq and Afghanistan is palpable. I imagine it's the same in other NATO countries, particularly Denmark who had the highest casualty rate of any participating nation. Even his usual apologists on the right are phoning in to chat shows, furious with him.

It's safe to say, he's got very few friends left. Seems appropriate for draft dodging pedo though.

[wes4dbt]

I think the answer to that is that you don't really appreciate the full gravity of the situation until you see it. (That's the thing with gravity - it can really get you down).

Perhaps outside the US that's true, but not here. Every news media outlet here has a large number of stories about Trump every day. Everything he does is published in one form or another. I choose to read the news. AP, NPR, NYT, Google ... are all full of articles about what Trump has said or done. But I can stay aware by reading without having the visceral reaction I get when I hear him speak. I've know how dangerous he is for many years.

[wes4dbt]

This is NYT so it may be paywalled. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-timeline.html

It gives a detailed description and timeline. Supported by images.

Here is the article with no images.

48 seconds before shooting

Videos show a small group of civilians standing in the middle of a street where a person has recently been detained on the ground; the civilians are speaking to federal agents. Mr. Pretti appears to be filming the scene, and he walks closer to the federal agents while holding his phone.

25 seconds before

Leading up to this moment, one agent shoved two people away from a D.H.S. vehicle and into the street. Mr. Pretti attempted to put himself between the D.H.S. agent and the two civilians, and the agent pushed one of them to the ground. The video shows the same agent squirting pepper spray in the direction of Mr. Pretti’s face. (This agent will later fire shots at Mr. Pretti.)

Mr. Pretti is holding his phone in one hand, and he holds his other hand up to protect against the spray.

17 seconds before

Several agents grab at Mr. Pretti, who is still holding his phone. Additional agents approach and attempt to pin Mr. Pretti to the ground.

11 seconds before

Mr. Pretti is surrounded by a group of seven agents, some of whom have wrestled him to the ground. One of the agents, who wears a gray coat, begins to approach the fray with empty hands and grabs at Mr. Pretti, while the other agents hold him down on his knees. At the same time, another agent strikes Mr. Pretti repeatedly with a pepper spray canister.

1 second before

The agent in the gray coat appears to pull a gun from near Mr. Pretti’s right hip. He then begins to move away from the skirmish with the recovered weapon.

At the same time, another agent unholsters his firearm and points it at Mr. Pretti’s back.

First shot fired

The agent in the gray coat removes the weapon, which matches the profile of a gun D.H.S. says belonged to Mr. Pretti, from the scene. Then, while Mr. Pretti is on his knees and restrained, the agent standing directly above him appears to fire one shot at Mr. Pretti at close range. He immediately fires three additional shots.

Additional shots fired

Several agents have moved away from Mr. Pretti, who has collapsed. Another agent — the same one who shoved the civilians into the street and pepper-sprayed Mr. Pretti — unholsters his gun and fires at Mr. Pretti. The first agent also fires additional shots. Together, they fire six more shots at Mr. Pretti while he lies motionless on the ground.

At least 10 shots appear to have been fired within five seconds. By the moment of the 10th shot, the agent who had moved away with the recovered weapon has crossed the street.

It certainly contradicts ICE account of a man approaching them brandishing a gun, that was there to massacre agents. It appears that while apprehending him they noticed he had a gun on him and they panicked (hopefully it wasn't intentional), shot him 10 times even though the gun had already been removed.

The whole approach of sending thousands of heavily armed ICE agents into a city like goon squad is idiotic and proven disastrous. The lying from ICE/DHS has reached a point of complete mistrust. At least for me. Then again, I haven't had much trust in them from the beginning.

[FunkyDexter]

I'd take issue with this bit:-
"1 second before

The agent in the gray coat appears to pull a gun from near Mr. Pretti’s right hip. He then begins to move away from the skirmish with the recovered weapon.

At the same time, another agent unholsters his firearm and points it at Mr. Pretti’s back.

First shot fired"

The footage shows that the agent in the grey coat who recovered gun from the victim had done so and turned away before the first shot was fired. There was a delay of between 1 and 2 seconds between these two events. Not just that but the shooting officer was looking directly at the gun as it was removed. He was 100% aware that Pretti had already been disarmed.

In the last shooting I was willing to allow that it could be manslaughter. Not this time. This one is murder.

[FunkyDexter]

And Pam Bondi has demanded that Minnesota gives her access to their electoral roles before they'll remove ICE agents.

You are not going to have meaningful midterms if Team Trump can help it. I personally doubt you'll be having them at all.

[wes4dbt]

And Pam Bondi has demanded that Minnesota gives her access to their electoral roles before they'll remove ICE agents.

You are not going to have meaningful midterms if Team Trump can help it. I personally doubt you'll be having them at all.

Pam Bondi and basically all the other lackies Trump has appointed have adopted his philosophy. Do what ever you want until the courts force you to stop. Also, his use of blatant lies. I know politicians and other government officials aren't known as the being honest. But Trump has taken it to a new level and so have his appointees.

As far as the midterms. I don't see a way for Trump to stop them. He will cause chaos but he doesn't have the support needed to shut down the midterms.

[FunkyDexter]

I don't see a way for Trump to stop them.

I'm not sure he can stop them entirely but he'll try. He'll call the insurrection act. Hell, he'll even start an international war as a predicate for not having them if that's what it takes.

More likely he'll simply claim that certain states are criminal, send in the troops and seize the voting machines/ballots etc.

I guarantee you're going to see a spate of liberals who get removed from the electoral role without notification or explanation.

[wes4dbt]

As you can see, I'm not on board the Trump train, but one of my criticisms of those generally against him is basically line of reasoning.

I get that it's easy to have a short memory, but not too long ago Obama personally wrote DAPA into law until the courts stopped it.

Even less time ago, Biden ordered OSHA to either require vaccines or do weekly testing for workers at companies with x number of employees (I want to say 50, but it might have been 100) until the courts stopped it. He also tried to cancel up to $20k per borrower in student loan debt until it was struck down.

Trump is doing the same thing as previous administrations, just in the opposite direction. It's part of the reason I criticize Trump supporters because 9 times out of 10 they were complaining about Biden and Obama ruling by executive fiat.

In short, presidents are doing the same stuff they've done for nearly a century at this point. The difference is that pretenses have been dropped.

I'm not saying it hasn't been done before. Administrations pushing the boundaries of the constitution isn't new. What's different is the scale. My memory might not be as good as 20yrs ago but I don't remember the tremendous volume of courts having to dictate and overturn the actions of the administrations. I'm not talking about a small difference either.

[wes4dbt]

To be fair, I kept it simple. I asked Google

have lawsuits against government actions increased


Yes, lawsuits against U.S. federal government actions have increased significantly, particularly regarding executive orders and federal regulations. In early 2025, legal challenges against the Trump administration’s actions were filed at double the pace of his first term. As of Jan. 2026, there are over 250 active lawsuits targeting administration policies, ranging from education to environmental rules.

Also, I'd add. I would criticize any administration if I thought they were violating the law/civil rights/constitution. Though, I am far from an expert on those subjects. The current administration blatant disregard for these things is at a level I've never seen before. I know there was some significant violations of those things during WWII but I wasn't around then. Plus we're not involved in a world war. Though Trump frames many of his actions as national emergencies. I wasn't aware we had so many national emergencies going on.

Maybe that's why I'm a fairly happy person. Ignorance is bliss.

[FunkyDexter]

Kash Patel's argument is basically asserting that the second amendment is conditional depending on... well I guess depending on his subjectivity?

Yep. Every time I see that clip of Bovino saying "who brings a loaded gun to a protest" I want to scream "Karl Rittenhouse, you ass-hat! And he used it to kill people!"

Don't get me wrong, I think your gun control laws are insanely lax and I kinda agree that taking a gun to a protest is a dumb idea but the hypocrisy makes me want to scream. And while I may think it was a dumb thing to do, I don't find it in any way sinister when your whole culture is set up to normalise carrying arms.

[FunkyDexter]

Personally I think that makes Rittenhouse worse. He went with the expressed intention of using his gun, at least to intimidate if not to kill. He was literally "brandishing" it which is what Pretti has been falsely accused of doing. And ultimately, Rittenhouse did use his gun whereas Pretti did not.

republicans only care when its somebody "on their own side".

Yeah, that. 100% agreed.

Think about how bad this country has gotten where you literally have people celebrating Charlie Kirks assassination and on the other side of the coin you have many celebrating (or at least bootlicking) ICE murdering a civilian.

For me these have been equivalent in principle but not in scale. The right has been FAR worse, I'm afraid. Anyone who was celebrating Kirk's death is a hateful idiot but it was all tiktok kids and the like. I didn't see any political leaders do it and they universally came out and condemned it. On the other hand, when Paul Pelosi got his head bashed in with a hammer, Trump - the literal leader of the GOP - and his son were joking about it on social media. It's like we've reached a point where we excuse the Trump family's behaviour because we expect them to be despicable.

[wes4dbt]

I watched the Pretti video last night and it is disgusting. I do not see how Republicans can defend this other than their own cowardice to speak any ill towards the Trump administration.

I've never watched the video. I probably wont, I don't want to see someone die. I've been like that ever since I saw a news video of a reporter somewhere in central America laying face down in the street and someone from the military walk over and shoot him. It disturbed me. That was probably over 40yrs ago and I avoided those type of videos since then.

I did force myself to follow what happened from still images and a written timeline of events. And your right, it is disgusting. There was 100% no reason for his death. The ICE agents escalated the situation and then shot and killed an unarmed man.

As for the Republicans being cowards, I'd say that has been on display for a long time.

[wes4dbt]

Trump need to honor himself hasn't slowed down.

The Trump administration has sought to pressure Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, to help name New York’s Penn Station and Washington Dulles International Airport after President Trump in exchange for releasing billions of dollars he has frozen for a rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

Waiting for other people to honor you isn't his style. I don't know what drives his need for this but it does seem one of his major traits. Maybe obsession would be a better description.

Crazy world. lol

[PlausiblyDamp]

Trump need to honor himself hasn't slowed down.



Waiting for other people to honor you isn't his style. I don't know what drives his need for this but it does seem one of his major traits. Maybe obsession would be a better description.

Crazy world. lol

You would think he wouldn't need his name to be added to anything, it is in the Epstein file enough without adding it to other buildings...

Plus, if it is added to the station will it need to be shut down for two years due to "renovations"?