The Department of War just shot the accountants and opted for speed

Funny how we can tell now whether the other person is a Kool-Aid drinker by how they refer to things.

Gulf of Mexico, or Gulf of America?

Department of War is far more honest. The Gulf name doesn't mean anything, it's a joke and we all know it.

It is a “joke” insofar as it’s an asinine undertaking.

It’s not a “joke” in the sense of being lighthearted or unserious: there was a press conference at the White House. Official US maps have been updated. Google Maps has been updated.

Gulf of Mexico, Department of War.

"Department of Defense" has always been a weird doublespeak term. I welcome the new old name.

"Gulf of America" is a stupid way to antagonize the world and accomplish nothing. Even if we controlled some area on a map, we ought to disguise our control through proxies rather than attract attention and to it and all that comes with the evil eye. If I was a trump supporter I would be skeptical of even accepting this as a "win", considering it is just words on paper and doesn't reflect a change in material conditions for the demographic.

It's not a joke and I don't know it. Trump is gradually demanding the authority to control every aspect of American life, and you're enabling it by not taking his entry-level steps seriously. I hope you'll realize your mistake while he's still stuck on relatively harmless things.

It is not joke. He punished companies for not obeying. "It was just a joke bro" is stupid manipulative excuse in normal situations, but in the case of Trump, it is a complete unambigous lie.

It was not a joke, no one laught. It is what republican leader said in all seriouaness and insisted on. And his voters seen it as a show of strength.

A gag, a giggle.

> Trump is gradually demanding the authority to control every aspect of American life

Trump, or the federal government? This trend is bipartisan, and renaming the Gulf doesn't really hold a candle to PRISM.

> it's a joke and we all know it.

"grab them by the pussy" -> just a joke

selling cans of beans from the oval office -> just a joke

shilling a pillow company from the white house -> just a joke

"let's march to the capitol" -> just a joke

doge -> just a joke

"give me the peace nobel price" -> just a joke

"Ukraine started it" -> just a joke

"6 gazillion percent tariff on china" -> just a joke

I rug pulled my supporters with a meme coin -> just a joke

I do obvious market manipulation to help inside traders -> just a joke

It's all so convenient...

You, and people like you, are a part of the problem.

The purpose of the "weird doublespeak" is to remind yourself what you're aspiring to.

By recognizing that both teams take away my autonomy at every opportunity? How does that make me part of the problem?

No, its to make it more comfortable for citizens to support and fund the military industrial complex. Are people really this naive?

You don't recognize that, which is why your point of comparison to a random thing Trump did openly his first week in office had to be a secret program started 18 years ago and revealed 12 years ago. You just feel obligated to make it a both-sides thing, because you've internalized the idea that a wise or savvy person will always diagnose a problem as systemic rather than blaming specific individuals.

I genuinely don't mean this as an insult! I know what you're thinking because I've been in your shoes, and that's why I can so confidently encourage you to step out of them before it's too late. Donald Trump thinks everyone in the country, including you, should be required to support him and acknowledge his greatness; if you haven't yet felt that pressure, it just means he hasn't gotten around to your interests yet.

> will always diagnose a problem as systemic rather than blaming specific individuals.

We should bring back public executions; I have no problems blaming individual people. I'm just a little less extreme on HN, and Trump doing cartography is unimportant. The guy is an aesthete, he just happens to have the political will of the moment and might save our economy. I don't think so, but infinity illegal immigrants and more infinite debt is the alternative so this is fine I guess.

Both-sides is real, though. Generally members of government are self-interested, and if you disagree with that, you're a fool. The differences are small but occasionally important.

Don't strawman me. I said the Gulf name is a joke.