It continuously baffles me how the principles of conservatism seem to be, in a way, the exact opposite to Buddhism - they aim to increase the amount of suffering in the world as much as possible...
It seems like conservatives believe that the only way to reduce their own suffering is to make someone else suffer more. Where does this zero sum idea come from? I find it completely alien and difficult to comprehend...
It's like Trump wasting hundreds of millions of gallons of water in California. It's not an accident. They're actively destroying the country's systems of population support.
a conservative govt wasting more while attempting efficiency than they would ever gain.
fucking idiots.
Stupid like a fox.
The point is to waste the aid so it can't be used, don't believe them when they say they want to reduce waste.
Absolutely.
They would rather this taxpayer-funded food rots than to help hungry people worldwide. With Republicans, the cruelty is the point...
I don't think cruelty is the point. I think it's a more calculated form of narrative reinforcement.
You're using "calculated" to describe an administration that's throwing tantrums like a toddler, tearing down anything good just because it was created by Democrats or bipartisan coalitions.
They fired the people responsible for our country's nuclear material with no further plan in place, wanted them back, then realized they had no idea who or how to contact them!
Project 2025 is coordinated... But I still think it's in service of cruelty, and hurting those they hate.
Yes, that. Always be conscious of what impression some information is giving you, and analyze whether your reaction is based on a full view of the situation, or if it's just the reaction that the information was shown to you in order to provoke. Because that is precisely the level propaganda operates at. The "they spent years carefully calculating a takeover" narrative is not compatible with the "toddler throwing a tantrum" narrative. Either one, or neither, must be true.
The "full view" is that Trump did not create nor care about Project 2025. So yes, he's a toddler destroying things he doesn't like and looking out for himself, as always. But there are a lot of people with influence and they all have different motivations...
The cruelty is simply a means to help them stay in power
I'm honestly a little surprised.
With each new day, DOGE takes an idea that I think most of us can get behind: an audit of government spending, and runs with it in the dumbest possible ways: A funding freeze that throws every government and non-profit into turmoil, which is then walked back in cowardly fashion after a lawsuit, or firing critical nuclear energy personnel, realizing none of the remaining staff know how to operate those persons' functions, and also no one knows how to access their contact info, or, for me the icing on the cake, letting $500 million dollars in food just rot in port.
Trump could, constitutionally, be using this effort to expand his power and appeal tremendously, but he's cutting everyone off at the knees and (like Biden did with labor unions) forcing resistance efforts to become stronger by sheer necessity.
Just absolutely, mind-numbingly stupid.
realizing none of the remaining staff know how to operate those persons’ functions
Anyone else see the Chinese movie "To Live"? The same basic thing happened, but in the context of a criticism of Maoism - guy's daughter is speech impaired and they take her to the hospital to give birth, but the medical students have denounced the older doctors, and botch the delivery, so they have to fetch one out of imprisonment. Ironic that we see the same thing play out under Trump/Musk, isn't it.
They are not stupid, and none of this is about cost-savings or government efficiency. Stop taking their rhetoric at face value.
Dismiss what they claim their goals are, and think about what their goals might actually be.
Again, I get that.
It doesn't change the fact that their tactics are monumentally stupid... because Trump has Congress and SCOTUS. They can (and should) do all of this shit legally, for the reasons that not only would it have permanence and help them achieve their goal of enriching themselves, but it would also simply work better. (Because there is a legit need to audit government spending and cut pork.)
It is stupid, because they don't need chaos to achieve what they're trying to do, and that chaos is mobilizing the judiciary against them as well as their own supporters. It's also working against the US' goals internationally.
The voters gave them all the power they need.
I see, you’re the smart one 👍 Those dumdums should have simply hired you.
The point is not to curry favour with voters. It’s purposely kneecapping government functions. Kicking out the competent workers, to install loyalists.
Oh I get that.
Doesn't change the fact that their tactics are mind-numbingly stupid. In their decision to sow chaos, they're kneecapping themselves. Repeatedly.