Post election prediction

[PlausiblyDamp]

Yeah, that's been hysterically funny.

I genuinely don't know whether driving the SUVs over it caused the totality of the damage (it seem unlikely as the damage is present across the entire pool, not just the area they drove over) but it certainly will have done significant damage. I suspect the main problem is simply that the lining material wasn't suitable for the application, i.e. a massive surface area and a very shallow repository - that thing is getting baked by waaaaaay more UV light than a normal swimming pool.

On the plus side, I suspect that the lining preventing water "leaking" through the base (which would have previously behaved like an under gravel filter) as well as being much lighter in colour and therefore reflecting more energy back into the water was a major contributor to the algae bloom... so it might help clear that up a bit.

I suppose the good side of things is that getting a company that didn't know what they were doing at least saved the country money, after all the initial $1.5 million did seem rather high - so getting an inexperienced company in must have been cheaper...

[wes4dbt]

This whole reflecting pool situation is so ridiculous and unnecessary. Project mistakes happen, it's not new. But instead of just holding the contractor accountable and fixing the problem, Trump decides to create a long stream of idiotic lies that no one believes and his weak kneed DOJ lackies echo his claims. So now the world is laughing at him again.

It's all such a waste of time, energy, loss of credibility (if he has any left). But the press love it. Trump is job security for the press.

[Zvoni]

So, Donnie is rocking the election procedure again.
He must really be afraid of the midterms.....

Short reminder from Germany: some 90 years ago a guy with a funny mustache also changed the election procedure for the "greater good".....

[FunkyDexter]

So, Donnie is rocking the election procedure again.

Agreed. It's the exact same old 2020 playbook. Due to it being the mid terms I don't think there'll be a single point of focus to generate a large scale riot like there was then but I do predict wide spread, low key political violence around the country. And a whole bunch of losing candidates are simply going to keep turning up for work regardless.

Trump decides to create a long stream of idiotic lies that no one believes and his weak kneed DOJ lackies echo his claims

And let's not forget arresting random bystanders without evidence to support his fiction. That's the really sinister bit.

[wes4dbt]

I didn't watch the speech but this morning I was reading an article about the speech. The speech itself seems unremarkable (for Trump), very little truth involved.

But I was surprised by some facts mentioned in the article.

A Reuters-Ipsos poll in April showed just 31% of Americans said the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, compared to 64% who disagreed with that.

I don't know how 31% of people could possibly believe that. I hope some of that is just a strong political stance and they don't truly believe it.

The same poll showed Americans were more evenly split on whether there were a “large number of fraudulent ballots cast by noncitizens,” which 46% agreed with.

I wonder how much peoples stance on immigration was involved in such a large percentage. I also wonder what these people consider a "large number" , a 1,000, a 1,000,000 or 10,000,000. Considering 174million people voted, a "large number" would indeed have to be a large number. I don't doubt it possible for a noncitizen to vote if they are determined enough. But I've never seen any evidence of any number of significance from any state.

What do these people base their beliefs on??

And let's not forget arresting random bystanders without evidence to support his fiction. That's the really sinister bit.

I don't believe they are arresting random bystanders. Though they do seem to be arresting people for very minor things that would usually only result in someone telling you your not allowed to do that.

But I actually only know a few details details about one of the arrests. That was the ex Olympian that reached into the pool and grabbed a piece of the liner that was floating just under the water.

It's hard for me to believe much of what DOJ says. They were parroting Trump's ridiculous claims so I quit paying attention. This isn't the first time they supported Trump's blatantly false claims. They lost all credibility.

[FunkyDexter]

I would argue that the Olympian was a random bystander given that what he did was in no way a crime and that has applied to several other people who've also been arrested. Though I suspect we're only disagreeing on the semantics. They started from "we need to arrest some folks to make a point" and worked backward to select targets and manufacture charges. They'll be arresting people for throwing sandwiches next

Picking up floating detritus doesn't even meet the standard for common vandalism. At least, if it does I'd better watch my back because I've been doing some volunteering cleaning up a local canal lately.

My point was that when your authorities start redefining crimes to "whatever supports the leaders narrative" then anyone can be arrested for anything. There's names for that form of government.

[PlausiblyDamp]

My point was that when your authorities start redefining crimes to "whatever supports the leaders narrative" then anyone can be arrested for anything. There's names for that form of government.

Add to that the blatant "donate enough, get a pardon" system in place. Appointing your personal lawyer as attorney General is a sign you are controlling the legal system. Refusing to release the Eppstein files, as required by law, is further proof that the president is now above the law.

[wes4dbt]

I would argue that the Olympian was a random bystander given that what he did was in no way a crime and that has applied to several other people who've also been arrested. Though I suspect we're only disagreeing on the semantics. They started from "we need to arrest some folks to make a point" and worked backward to select targets and manufacture charges. They'll be arresting people for throwing sandwiches next

Picking up floating detritus doesn't even meet the standard for common vandalism. At least, if it does I'd better watch my back because I've been doing some volunteering cleaning up a local canal lately.

My point was that when your authorities start redefining crimes to "whatever supports the leaders narrative" then anyone can be arrested for anything. There's names for that form of government.

It's not really a semantics problem. I'm not sure what happened. This is really the only information I've seen.

The incident occurred in June 2026 after authorities and National Park Service employees witnessed Hearn reaching into the water and peeling back the protective blue lining. While park employees claim he was acting belligerently when told to stop, Hearn’s defense maintains that he only touched a piece of the liner that had already delaminated.

My GUESS is he saw a piece of the liner partly detached and reached into to the pool to check it out. Certainly not something that would usually cause a person to be charged with a felony. But there is a chance he wouldn't stop pulling the piece when he was told to. Still not usually a felony but not just some random person. Though the charges could be considered random.

I find it strange that I haven't seen any news from any of the other people that have been arrested. Giving their side of the story. From what official information that has been released it seems like most of them were arrested for basically the same type of thing. I don't know if there is signage around the pool saying not to reach into/disturb the pool. That's a major part of the problem, there's just not a lot of clarity. I was surprised there wasn't CC TV in that area. Though I believe now they have installed them.

I will agree that parts of our justice system has been perverted by Trump and a lot of credibility has been lost. It's disheartening to see. The shear volume of falsehoods spread by Trump and his underlings on a daily basis can be overwhelming if you let it. Luckily the vast majority of our court system has held strong.

[PlausiblyDamp]

I will agree that parts of our justice system has been perverted by Trump and a lot of credibility has been lost. It's disheartening to see. The shear volume of falsehoods spread by Trump and his underlings on a daily basis can be overwhelming if you let it. Luckily the vast majority of our court system has held strong.

From outside of the USA "...parts of our justice system has been perverted by Trump..." seems a very mild way of describing it!

1. As far as I can tell the (proposed?) Attorney General is Trump's personal lawyer and therefore isn't going to be unbiased in anything that happens. So this will be an individual entirely under Trump's control.

2. The DOJ seems to now exist entirely to do Trump's bidding, refusing to release the Epstein files despite being required to do so by law, blindly agreeing with whatever insanity Trump spouts on any given day, and basically acting as a weaponised branch of the government.

3. ICE is effectively a personal militia that is blatantly murdering US citizens in broad daylight with full support of the legal system.

4. People are being arrested (and deported) without any legal basis or due process.

5. Trump is bragging about his family insider trading with no repercussions.

6. Trump is shamelessly pardoning people who are making donations to himself.

This isn't even taking into account your President is a rapist, a fraudster, and probably a paedophile and yet he is still in charge.