And then there is this

[Botany]

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210020691

1st posted by JimGinPA

And Then There's This...

"Meals on Wheels. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Farm aid. National Flood Insurance. The Women, Infants and Children program. All left with none or almost no funding under the tax bill President Trump made law this morning."

-Southern Poverty Law Center

[RandomAccess]

1. They really have looted the Treasury

It is beyond stunning.

In fact, it suddenly occurs to me that this could be seen as Disaster Capitalism --

In the book (Shock Doctrine), Klein argues that neoliberal free market policies (as advocated by the economist Milton Friedman) have risen to prominence in some developed countries because of a deliberate strategy of "shock therapy". This centers on the exploitation of national crises to push through controversial policies while citizens are too emotionally and physically distracted by disasters or upheavals to mount an effective resistance. The book suggests that some man-made events, such as the Iraq War, were undertaken with the intention of pushing through such unpopular policies in their wake.

We don't happen to have a big enough national crisis (other than Trump himself, of course), but that doesn't mean Trump himself and policies like this don't serve -- especially as they add up and add up and add up. I know *I* certainly feel disoriented and overwhelmed with all these things, and I know I'm not alone.

I doubt Trump is smart enough to employ this consciously on his own, but he's clearly got some very clever, cunning, well-read and evil advisers who might be capable of this.

Or maybe it's just the natura instinct of fascists. I know this: Trump has learned during his life that if he doesn't accede to public pressure about things, he eventually doesn't have to. His perseverance sees him through crises (along with his bullying, counter-attacking and corrupt lawyers).

[Wounded Bear]

2. Yep, in a nutshell...

Create a disaster and exploit it. It's much more predictable than a natural disaster, you can control the narrative better.