The Second Term of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States of America

I do not understand why economic sanctions on civilian goods are allowed?
They clearly are war crimes, in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

It's true that starvation is a common tactic in war, like we did to Germany in WWI and Japan in WWII, but without a war, there seems to be no excuse?
And technically starvation strategy is illegal even in war.
 
"I do not understand why economic sanctions on civilian goods are allowed?" R5 #2,945
You get an "A" in humanitarianism.

Blame Niccolò Machiavelli.

"They clearly are war crimes, in violation of the Geneva Conventions." R5 #2,945

I haven't reviewed the wording.
But I suspect a confluence of factors.
For example, starving a populace is bad.
Is dropping bombs on them an improvement?

Some nations that might otherwise object / protest may resist the temptation to do so, for the purpose of reserving for themselves that very option, should it seem to work to their advantage in the unforeseen future.
 

Trump administration scrambles to deploy ICE agents at airports as lines mount

Story by Erin Mulvaney, Michelle Hackman, Siobhan Hughes, Allison Pohle

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will begin trying to ease bottlenecks at airports on Monday, as the Trump administration scrambles to develop a plan to end hourslong security lines amid a partial government shutdown.

President Trump said in several social-media posts over the weekend that ICE agents would help at airports if a deal wasn’t reached by Congress to fund the Department of Homeland Security. His first post Saturday came as a surprise to officials inside ICE and at DHS, who have spent the weekend trying to figure out how it could work, according to three people familiar with the matter.


White House border czar Tom Homan said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that ICE officials could monitor exit lanes to make sure people don’t enter through them, or check identification before passengers enter the screening area to free up officers to move customers through the lines with body scans and X-rays.

“We’re trying to release TSA resources to get to positions that they really need expertise in, like ....

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will begin trying to ease bottlenecks at airports on Monday, as the Trump administration scrambles to develop a plan to end hourslong security lines amid a partial government shutdown.

President Trump said in several social-media posts over the weekend that ICE agents would help at airports if a deal wasn’t reached by Congress to fund the Department of Homeland Security. His first post Saturday came as a surprise to officials inside ICE and at DHS, who have spent the weekend trying to figure out how it could work, according to three people familiar with the matter.

White House border czar Tom Homan said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that ICE officials could monitor exit lanes to make sure people don’t enter through them, or check identification before passengers enter the screening area to free up officers to move customers through the lines with body scans and X-rays.

“We’re trying to release TSA resources to get to positions that they really need expertise in, like


================================================

As the article points out,

Before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, private-sector contractors handled most airport-security screenings. Those responsibilities were largely brought under federal oversight after the TSA was established in 2001.

ICE officers aren’t trained in aviation security and putting untrained officers at checkpoints creates a security gap rather than filling one, said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees in a statement issued Sunday. TSA officers “deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be,” Kelley said.
 
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partial cross-post @ https://citizenvoice.us/threads/what-to-call-this-thread.253/page-73 #1,455


"In the fevered state of our country, no good can ever result from any attempt to set one of these fiery zealots to rights, either in factor principle.
They are determined as to the facts they will believe, and the opinions on which they will act.
Get by them, therefore, as you would by an angry bull; it is not for a man of sense to dispute the road with such an animal."

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 24 Nov. 1808, to his grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph
 
"Trump administration scrambles to deploy ICE agents at airports as lines mount" S2 #2,947
This may make matters worse.
TSA and ICE are two separate agencies, with two different missions.

Potentially, by slapping this metaphorical band-aid on Trump's second shutdown of his 2nd administration,
it may extend the shutdown, by making it less intolerable.
 
"The White House doesn't need a new ballroom. ..." #2,949
a) True.
b) Irrelevant. The white house East wing that served many presidential administrations well has been demolished, and along with it the history it embodied

The former white house East wing is rubble.
It's gone.

The tenuous Silver lining in this enormous dark and prevailing Trump storm-cloud is just how critically dependent the U.S. presidency is
upon superlative good character, intrinsic reflexive presidential commitment to constructive outcomes.

For a quarter millennium it may have seemed we didn't need duplicative safeguards, suspenders & a belt U.S. federal politics.
The administrations of President Donald J. Trump make it impossible for objective observers to deny,
additional safeguards to limit executive power, to restore co-equality to our three branch federal government are desperately needed.

Regardless of pro- vs con- rhetoric, President Trump has unmistakably proved the previously adequate "checks & balances" between our
3 branches of federal government have been breached.

Being aware of this stunning, potentially cataclysmic deficiency is not an implemented solution,
though recognition of a problem is generally an essential component of permanent solution.

We have a lot of very difficult and delicate political re-engineering to do.
It is difficult to imagine how it can be satisfactorily accomplished without bipartisan cooperation.

This glaring, vivid red flailing MAGA warning flag is potentially high on the list of President Trump's most constructive contributions.

"Opportunity knocks" BUT !!

"You have to open the door!"



inspired by the expression: "Every grey cloud has a silver lining."
 

Kash Patel Under Fire: White House Defends Trump as Scrutiny Over Classified Files Heats Up |​

The Whitehouse has launched a sharp public rebuke of Kash Patel amid ongoing controversy over the handling of classified documents and U.S. strategy in the Iran war. Critics have connected Patel’s leadership at the Federal Bureau of Investigation with a series of high‑profile personnel decisions involving agents tied to investigations into President Donald Trump’s retention of classified materials at his Mar‑a‑Lago estate—moves that occurred just days before major military action in Iran and drew alarm from national security experts.

Lawmakers and commentariats have raised concerns about Patel’s firings of FBI personnel involved in such probes, labeling them politically motivated and potentially undermining critical counterintelligence capabilities. These personnel, some experienced in tracking Iranian threats, were dismissed after being accused of improper conduct in their handling of Trump’s classified documents case—an investigation connected to federal scrutiny of mishandled government records.

The mounting backlash highlights broader tensions between the administration’s approach to classified information oversight and national security priorities during an active conflict. As debates continue over both Trump’s document retention and Patel’s leadership decisions, Whitehouse critics argue these controversies are undermining public trust in federal law enforcement and strategic clarity amid the Iran war.

Observers say the “Kash” controversy added fuel to an already tense hearing, sparking debates over accountability, professionalism, and the balance of power in government oversight.

 
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