I was at loss on what word to use, so I lifted Trumpocracy from David Frum (who apparently coined it in 2018 for a book title), since the evolving new administration takes on flavors from so many authoritarian-adjacent topologies. It’s like the old Chinese restaurant menus.

We may be witnessing the birth of a brand-new type of government. How exciting!

If anyone has a better suggestion, let me know.

Anyway, this will be a place to keep track of policies, etc., that distinguish this admin from previous ones in their anti-democratic , corruption-enabling, oligarchic, (add list of other horrible adjectives as you see fit) methods.

The first is last night’s firing of about 20 inspector generals (the number seems to vary by source). The firings themselves are illegal as Congress must be notified 30 days in advance. But that requires a Congress who gives a ****.

The other part, of course, is that he will replace these independent inspectors with lackeys, so say goodbye to agency oversight! Let the corruption begin!

Agree, db. But, as you say, it requires a Senate which gives a ****. But they don't. Same with all the conflicts in Trump's holdings. Who will oppose? Clearly not the GOP Senate. We've seen what GOPers do when the Republic is at stake: they consider their jobs and act accordingly. 


Greetings from Little Rhody, BTW, my former neighbors. The outrage continues as we lurch toward the end. Every day, every exec. action, every appointment: If we thought Hegseth didn't have a prayer, we stand corrected. What the heck: why not Gabbard?  Who would have thought that "I promise not to drink to excess" would be reassuring from the guy who will command the most lethal fighting force on earth. 

Might as well say, "My fellow Americans, if WW3 breaks out, I promise I won't be hammered at some strip club."  And assurances from alcoholics are rock solid. Very few fall off the wagon.

Who could've headed this off? Mitch (you get no credit for anti-Hegseth-vote-you-bastard) McConnell? The Senate? The GOP in general? Voters? 

We've clearly answered the question of who we are. This is us. Period. Full f'ing stop.

Any MOLers on Bluesky?

I know this is a drop-in from the past but I hope to contribute going forward. 

GL2 said:

Agree, db. But, as you say, it requires a Senate which gives a ****. But they don't. Same with all the conflicts in Trump's holdings. Who will oppose? Clearly not the GOP Senate. We've seen what GOPers do when the Republic is at stake: they consider their jobs and act accordingly. 


Greetings from Little Rhody, BTW, my former neighbors. The outrage continues as we lurch toward the end. Every day, every exec. action, every appointment: If we thought Hegseth didn't have a prayer, we stand corrected. What the heck: why not Gabbard?  Who would have thought that "I promise not to drink to excess" would be reassuring from the guy who will command the most lethal fighting force on earth. 

Might as well say, "My fellow Americans, if WW3 breaks out, I promise I won't be hammered at some strip club."  And assurances from alcoholics are rock solid. Very few fall off the wagon.

Who could've headed this off? Mitch (you get no credit for anti-Hegseth-vote-you-bastard) McConnell? The Senate? The GOP in general? Voters? 

We've clearly answered the question of who we are. This is us. Period. Full f'ing stop.

Any MOLers on Bluesky?

I know this is a drop-in from the past but I hope to contribute going forward. 

Welcome back! I wondered why you disappeared. I'm reminded of you whenever I see Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, one of my favorite Senators.

Thanks, Morganna. Yup, Shelly and also Jack Reed, lowkey but feisty guy very opposed to Hegseth appointment. We like Gina Raimondo too. 

GL2 said:

Agree, db. But, as you say, it requires a Senate which gives a ****. But they don't. Same with all the conflicts in Trump's holdings. Who will oppose? Clearly not the GOP Senate. We've seen what GOPers do when the Republic is at stake: they consider their jobs and act accordingly. 


Greetings from Little Rhody, BTW, my former neighbors. The outrage continues as we lurch toward the end. Every day, every exec. action, every appointment: If we thought Hegseth didn't have a prayer, we stand corrected. What the heck: why not Gabbard?  Who would have thought that "I promise not to drink to excess" would be reassuring from the guy who will command the most lethal fighting force on earth. 

Might as well say, "My fellow Americans, if WW3 breaks out, I promise I won't be hammered at some strip club."  And assurances from alcoholics are rock solid. Very few fall off the wagon.

Who could've headed this off? Mitch (you get no credit for anti-Hegseth-vote-you-bastard) McConnell? The Senate? The GOP in general? Voters? 

We've clearly answered the question of who we are. This is us. Period. Full f'ing stop.

Any MOLers on Bluesky?

I know this is a drop-in from the past but I hope to contribute going forward. 

howdy sir, and welcome back!

I'm on bluesky, but I don't use it much yet. So is Ridski. I think he's more active there.

The firing of the IG's is telling for another reason. Most, maybe all, of those fired were actually appointed by Trump v1, and retained by Biden.

Back then, he would occasionally appoint people with actual integrity by mistake, but he soon learned that they might stand up to his nonsense. This gave him a sad. So he's now going to replace them with lackeys.

Is Lackeyocracy a word? It should be! Because we're in one!

Morganna said:

Welcome back! I wondered why you disappeared. I'm reminded of you whenever I see Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, one of my favorite Senators.

speaking of Sen. Whitehouse, of whom I'm a big fan, he seems to have taken a turn to the dark side concerning the nomination of RFK Jr. Apparently they were schoolmates or something.

Very disconcerting.

Very.

Whitehouse seen as potential vote for RFK Jr. due to long friendship

Well, revising history is well in place now… I bet the veterans and their families are very pleased:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/25/air-force-videos-tuskegee-airmen-female-pilots 

Yeah, that’s almost ancient history, who really needs to know about it??  Or why there are WW2 posters with female mechanics happily holding wrenches and oily rags, etc.  Oh - gosh, I guess there’s a lot of classic movies that can’t be shown now?

I have a feeling that some MOLers will enjoy this parody on Sherlock Trump & the Foul Flu

drummerboy said:

Morganna said:

Welcome back! I wondered why you disappeared. I'm reminded of you whenever I see Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, one of my favorite Senators.

speaking of Sen. Whitehouse, of whom I'm a big fan, he seems to have taken a turn to the dark side concerning the nomination of RFK Jr. Apparently they were schoolmates or something.

Very disconcerting.

Very.

Whitehouse seen as potential vote for RFK Jr. due to long friendship

Yes, that's unfortunate because the same type of "familiarity" is what RFK Jr. has been banking on in all of his later-in-life unhinged endeavors. People who remember him from his youth give him too much slack, so now we have Trump in office and greater risk of a health disaster.

drummerboy said:

GL2 said:

Any MOLers on Bluesky?

I know this is a drop-in from the past but I hope to contribute going forward. 

howdy sir, and welcome back!

I'm on bluesky, but I don't use it much yet. So is Ridski. I think he's more active there.

Hello again, Mr. GL2! I'm also on the Bluesky (same "@" as on the Twitter, if you look for me). I'll message you.

Is there even the slightest chance that Kennedy will do anything even slightly useful if nominated.  There was a good article in the NYT magazine this weekend about bariatric surgery.  It discussed the causes of obesity.  A big cause is the collision of genetics adapted to the past and modern lifestyles - highly processed foods and less active lifestyles.  Some countries are taking meaningful steps to do something about this.  Chile, for example, taxes sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods.  And there are restrictions on marketing to children.

Will Kennedy try to do something meaningful or will be engage in theater about vaccines and some food additives?

tjohn said:

Is there even the slightest chance that Kennedy will do anything even slightly useful if nominated.  There was a good article in the NYT magazine this weekend about bariatric surgery.  It discussed the causes of obesity.  A big cause is the collision of genetics adapted to the past and modern lifestyles - highly processed foods and less active lifestyles.  Some countries are taking meaningful steps to do something about this.  Chile, for example, taxes sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods.  And there are restrictions on marketing to children.

Will Kennedy try to do something meaningful or will be engage in theater about vaccines and some food additives?

The argument for RFK Jr. on the basis that he might do something good is like an argument for a pharmaceutical that has a long list of warnings ("may result in death", etc.) at the end of the advertisement.

drummerboy said:

Morganna said:

Welcome back! I wondered why you disappeared. I'm reminded of you whenever I see Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, one of my favorite Senators.

speaking of Sen. Whitehouse, of whom I'm a big fan, he seems to have taken a turn to the dark side concerning the nomination of RFK Jr. Apparently they were schoolmates or something.

Very disconcerting.

Very.

Whitehouse seen as potential vote for RFK Jr. due to long friendship

I think this might be the classic New England Brahmin snobbery which Shelly can't shake. 

GL2 said:

I think this might be the classic New England Brahmin snobbery which Shelly can't shake. 

Is he a pandit? Jr is the religious guru… not Shelly 

tjohn said:

Will Kennedy try to do something meaningful or will be engage in theater about vaccines and some food additives?

Why should we expect he's changed? He's been an opportunistic liar who changes his narrative depending upon the audience.

Look at his many flip flops on reproductive rights (amongst many other things) - 

Your record on women’s reproductive freedom and health has been inconsistent, raising questions
about how you will fulfill the mission of HHS with respect to women’s reproductive health if
confirmed as Secretary of HHS. Indeed, you have flip-flopped on the issue of women’s
reproductive rights for years, making it difficult for Americans to know your true views on this
topic. In August 2023, you affirmed that you identify as “pro-choice” and believe “it is always the
woman’s right to choose.”34 But that same month, you said you would support a 15-week abortion
ban.35 Then, hours later, you walked back those comments, saying you misspoke.36 In May 2024,
you said you opposed any government restrictions on abortion, and then a few days later, reversed
course, writing on social media that "abortion should be legal up until a certain number of weeks,
and restricted thereafter."37

Your past statements indicating that you support a woman’s right to choose, codifying Roe v.
Wade, and access to the abortion medication mifepristone38 are a relief to hear. But in recent
weeks you have changed your tune in meetings with pro-life groups and GOP Senators, assuringthem that you're going to do “whatever President Trump wants to do” with respect to abortion
rights.39

Indeed, your anti-abortion statements have become increasingly extreme the closer you get to your
nomination hearing. Although you once said that you “support[] the FDA approval of [the]
abortion medication mifepristone,”43 last month, you told Senator Hawley that you are “open” to
reinstating restrictions to the abortion pill mifepristone.44 Despite saying in 2023 that you
supported codifying Roe v. Wade,45 you recently told Senator Tuberville that you had come to an
agreement with President-Elect Trump that, “[h]ey, Roe-Wade is gone, it’s gone to the states, let
the people vote on it.”46 Across the board, you are now assuring GOP Senators that “[you] will
absolutely do whatever President-Elect Trump wants to do, that [you] will not put his thumb on
the scale for any pro-choice position.”47

https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/warren_letter_to_rfk_jr.pdf