Excellent discussion. Thanks for the incisive analysis. One of the first thing that dies with the combination of stupidity, delusional thinking, and political power is history and its lessons.
Also, way-too-many of the media still don’t “get” what Trump is doing . . . like Chris Hayes on MSNBC who “just cannot understand it,” and why Trump seems so oblivious and even happy about the way things are going. But if one understands the principle at work in Trump's really stupid, careless, and reckless playbook, sprinkled profusely with vindictiveness, it makes perfect sense, as long as one can shed one's inordinate optimism and stop believing Trump's fake promises about his actually doing something good for the people of the United States.
Trump's driving principle is GRIFT and his method is whatever it takes to gain power over those who now must go to him on bended knee for tariff "deals."
Trump is involved in the biggest power-grab and extortion racket the world has ever seen. If grift is his motivation . . . and let's watch as it unfolds in predictable fashion and while he makes cheap promises for scads of future wealth . . . then the whole thing makes perfect sense–so that, why WOULDN’T Trump be happy, as he invites international criminals to come and invest in America–Wow! What a Deal! . . . why not: no regulations, he chooses which laws to apply or not, he pardons felons (who will then be beholden to him), and he is on his way to Making Americans Homeless, and beggars of us all. But of course, he is the victim.
Again, Trump cries out that we are all being taken advantage of, finds an archaic law to support his coming attractions, and then "fixes" everything but real problems with tariffs.
So, he power-grabs the authority from Congress (through soul-killing threats, intimidation, and more extortion). Then he initiates tariffs and eliminates all legal guard rails that might stop him; and then starts selling off favors with his newfound leverage–lessening tariffs to the first and highest bidders who now must go through him, his family and certain members of MAGA to “get a deal.” (He probably just sold the United States to the Saudis over dinner while other nations' people and leaders mourned our dead soldiers.)
Watch out–he’ll throw a few bones under the table for the rest of us just to keep from having to start whacking people--he's no Putin yet. But (earlier example, Vietnam) bring a pillow for your knee, the line for ring-kissing starts on both the left and the right. All of this while he steals our Social Security and eliminates health care and other excellent government services right under our noses.
Klass mentions "mRNA vaccine technology" as an example of an application that was not obvious to the researchers who did the key seminal work to allow the technology to evolve.
Research dating back to the 1950's in genetics & biochemistry & molecular biology was required to develop that mRNA vaccine technology. Most or maybe even all of the original researchers behind the understanding of mRNA structure & function had no idea about using artificial mRNA as a vaccine technology.
Great explanation of stupidity and stupid people, as pertains to anything orange felon, muskrat, the orange felon's cabinet yay sayers, magats and republicons in general.
The very frightening point is how long it will take to recover from the damage done by all of these people.
Yes. The recovery time is scary. What will humanity lose out on while rebuilding? How many plagues will we be unable to stop? What will we never recover from? I hope that we haven’t hit the tipping point yet… but I suspect we have.
Klaas is totally on point with his observations. His example of the Indonesian tsunami that killed many in 2004 without an early warning system due to expense is a prime example.
Dismantling NOAA in the name of saving money just because Trump admin doesn’t believe in science will have the same results here when weather forecasters cannot give us adequate warnings or ways to mitigate disastrous impacts from unpredictable weather events or climate change. Things such as better protecting ourselves from severe weather or developing new technology that can help us to develop new crops that can resist unexpected weather or climatic conditions.
He was absolutely correct when he said dismissing some types of research because we can’t immediately find a good way to utilize it only delays other relevant research that can be readily utilized.
Michelle Jordan--yes, the discussion made it clear that IT'S knowable as RISKY to end research that has no immediate financial payout.
However, we can take it even further--Trump is not only stupid. He is certifiably/ psychologically ill (to put it nicely) and doesn't care one way or the other whether people get hurt in disasters (though he will use such statements in his arguments--but only as a means to his nefarious ends).
And more, he will be gleeful if it hurts someone who he thinks has given him the least slight even from decades back--as we have already seen, even if they are following the law and are top-of-the-line professionals who have great reputations for doing so, the law that has no influence on Trump's thought except, again, to use it to his nefarious advantage.
From the “Resist the MAGA Agenda”, remember and repeat: “It’s not a Cabinet, it’s a Junk Drawer”. So what else do we expect? Doesn’t make it any more palatable. Thanks, Dr Klass, for your post!
Everything about this regime is frightening. The appointees are incompetent at best, and dangerous to their assigned missions, at worst. The dismissals of nearly every single competent person is a travesty, and a great loss to our country. The brain drain being created is further evidence that they lack loyalty to the constitution and are acting either impetuously, or with malice--perhaps both.
Wow, terrific and insightful interview ... a lot of good thoughts. Dr. Klaas is so right about it being much easier to break things than build and improve. Loved the discussion on science and research and the opportunity and prevention costs that will likely come our way ... not to mention turning off the desire for future scientists to want to come here to tackle their scientific training.
A wonderful discussion! How true that you may destroy something quickly (say, an ecosystem...) but then discover it will take generations to restore it. I wish more people gave this topic some thought - especially the crew in charge right now! (fat chance) Thank you!
The below is from today's (04-08-25) NPR UpFirst online magazine. I think China has it right in this case. And if you know how to read Orwellian double-speak, you'll recognize it in Trump's rhetoric about what he intends . . .
"Trump says he won’t put a pause on tariffs while the negotiations play out, NPR’s Tamara Keith tells Up First. China is not backing down from the fight and is accusing the U.S. of blackmail. The Trump administration makes the case that the tariffs are about restructuring the U.S.’s relationship with the global economy, bringing jobs and manufacturing back to the country and making the U.S. wealthy. Trump believes that the experts and economists who say prices will go up and the U.S. could be thrown into a recession are wrong. If the dire warnings about the tariffs become true, he and his party will get all the blame, Keith says. If his strategy succeeds he can claim the credit."
Enjoyed your inquiries, Jen, and Dr. Klaas' examples and explanations. The title may have sounded absurd but the content was very on point. Thank you both.
Excellent discussion. Thanks for the incisive analysis. One of the first thing that dies with the combination of stupidity, delusional thinking, and political power is history and its lessons.
Also, way-too-many of the media still don’t “get” what Trump is doing . . . like Chris Hayes on MSNBC who “just cannot understand it,” and why Trump seems so oblivious and even happy about the way things are going. But if one understands the principle at work in Trump's really stupid, careless, and reckless playbook, sprinkled profusely with vindictiveness, it makes perfect sense, as long as one can shed one's inordinate optimism and stop believing Trump's fake promises about his actually doing something good for the people of the United States.
Trump's driving principle is GRIFT and his method is whatever it takes to gain power over those who now must go to him on bended knee for tariff "deals."
Trump is involved in the biggest power-grab and extortion racket the world has ever seen. If grift is his motivation . . . and let's watch as it unfolds in predictable fashion and while he makes cheap promises for scads of future wealth . . . then the whole thing makes perfect sense–so that, why WOULDN’T Trump be happy, as he invites international criminals to come and invest in America–Wow! What a Deal! . . . why not: no regulations, he chooses which laws to apply or not, he pardons felons (who will then be beholden to him), and he is on his way to Making Americans Homeless, and beggars of us all. But of course, he is the victim.
Again, Trump cries out that we are all being taken advantage of, finds an archaic law to support his coming attractions, and then "fixes" everything but real problems with tariffs.
So, he power-grabs the authority from Congress (through soul-killing threats, intimidation, and more extortion). Then he initiates tariffs and eliminates all legal guard rails that might stop him; and then starts selling off favors with his newfound leverage–lessening tariffs to the first and highest bidders who now must go through him, his family and certain members of MAGA to “get a deal.” (He probably just sold the United States to the Saudis over dinner while other nations' people and leaders mourned our dead soldiers.)
Watch out–he’ll throw a few bones under the table for the rest of us just to keep from having to start whacking people--he's no Putin yet. But (earlier example, Vietnam) bring a pillow for your knee, the line for ring-kissing starts on both the left and the right. All of this while he steals our Social Security and eliminates health care and other excellent government services right under our noses.
Excellent summary of our predicament. I was especially impressed by the discussion of idiots breaking things that will not quickly or easily be fixed.
In the final analysis, Trump doesn’t care who dies or how, as long as he can grift. May karma come calling soon.
Klass mentions "mRNA vaccine technology" as an example of an application that was not obvious to the researchers who did the key seminal work to allow the technology to evolve.
Research dating back to the 1950's in genetics & biochemistry & molecular biology was required to develop that mRNA vaccine technology. Most or maybe even all of the original researchers behind the understanding of mRNA structure & function had no idea about using artificial mRNA as a vaccine technology.
Great explanation of stupidity and stupid people, as pertains to anything orange felon, muskrat, the orange felon's cabinet yay sayers, magats and republicons in general.
The very frightening point is how long it will take to recover from the damage done by all of these people.
Yes. The recovery time is scary. What will humanity lose out on while rebuilding? How many plagues will we be unable to stop? What will we never recover from? I hope that we haven’t hit the tipping point yet… but I suspect we have.
Klaas is totally on point with his observations. His example of the Indonesian tsunami that killed many in 2004 without an early warning system due to expense is a prime example.
Dismantling NOAA in the name of saving money just because Trump admin doesn’t believe in science will have the same results here when weather forecasters cannot give us adequate warnings or ways to mitigate disastrous impacts from unpredictable weather events or climate change. Things such as better protecting ourselves from severe weather or developing new technology that can help us to develop new crops that can resist unexpected weather or climatic conditions.
He was absolutely correct when he said dismissing some types of research because we can’t immediately find a good way to utilize it only delays other relevant research that can be readily utilized.
Michelle Jordan--yes, the discussion made it clear that IT'S knowable as RISKY to end research that has no immediate financial payout.
However, we can take it even further--Trump is not only stupid. He is certifiably/ psychologically ill (to put it nicely) and doesn't care one way or the other whether people get hurt in disasters (though he will use such statements in his arguments--but only as a means to his nefarious ends).
And more, he will be gleeful if it hurts someone who he thinks has given him the least slight even from decades back--as we have already seen, even if they are following the law and are top-of-the-line professionals who have great reputations for doing so, the law that has no influence on Trump's thought except, again, to use it to his nefarious advantage.
From the “Resist the MAGA Agenda”, remember and repeat: “It’s not a Cabinet, it’s a Junk Drawer”. So what else do we expect? Doesn’t make it any more palatable. Thanks, Dr Klass, for your post!
Everything about this regime is frightening. The appointees are incompetent at best, and dangerous to their assigned missions, at worst. The dismissals of nearly every single competent person is a travesty, and a great loss to our country. The brain drain being created is further evidence that they lack loyalty to the constitution and are acting either impetuously, or with malice--perhaps both.
Wow, terrific and insightful interview ... a lot of good thoughts. Dr. Klaas is so right about it being much easier to break things than build and improve. Loved the discussion on science and research and the opportunity and prevention costs that will likely come our way ... not to mention turning off the desire for future scientists to want to come here to tackle their scientific training.
A wonderful discussion! How true that you may destroy something quickly (say, an ecosystem...) but then discover it will take generations to restore it. I wish more people gave this topic some thought - especially the crew in charge right now! (fat chance) Thank you!
The Stupidity: Occam’s Razor meets Dunning-Kruger.
We all need to develop a new political party (The Contrarian Party?!) and make Dr. Brian Klaas the Contrarian candidate for President!!
So much wisdom in this discussion, and so much to fear
I don’t believe in coincidences.
The below is from today's (04-08-25) NPR UpFirst online magazine. I think China has it right in this case. And if you know how to read Orwellian double-speak, you'll recognize it in Trump's rhetoric about what he intends . . .
"Trump says he won’t put a pause on tariffs while the negotiations play out, NPR’s Tamara Keith tells Up First. China is not backing down from the fight and is accusing the U.S. of blackmail. The Trump administration makes the case that the tariffs are about restructuring the U.S.’s relationship with the global economy, bringing jobs and manufacturing back to the country and making the U.S. wealthy. Trump believes that the experts and economists who say prices will go up and the U.S. could be thrown into a recession are wrong. If the dire warnings about the tariffs become true, he and his party will get all the blame, Keith says. If his strategy succeeds he can claim the credit."
Enjoyed your inquiries, Jen, and Dr. Klaas' examples and explanations. The title may have sounded absurd but the content was very on point. Thank you both.