this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2025
264 points (96.8% liked)

politics

26077 readers
3597 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the federal shutdown offers evidence that her agency is “unnecessary.”

In a social media post on Wednesday, McMahon said the shutdown has forced agencies to evaluate what work is really needed. She made the comment days after her department started firing hundreds of workers amid mass layoffs across the government.

“Two weeks in, millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are operating as normal,” McMahon said.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Typhoon@lemmy.ca 77 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I haven't used my snow blower all summer! That's evidence it's unneccesary.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

I used to chuckle at how the Confederate Party would often point to the Ant and the Grasshopper - only seeing it as a morality tale to be weaponized against "welfare queens". They did not realize/conveniently forgot that not only are many Confederates welfare queens, but that even the fable, and its interpretation(s), is a bit more complex than that...

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If we pull all state and federal funding from schools then tell all the parents they will be arrested if they leave their kids home alone it would make available jobs and housing!

/s

[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 4 points 21 hours ago

frankly waiting for them to talk about 'school to work conversion pipelines' and other ways to integrate child labor into the dept of 'education'.

'these are work skills!'

[–] Veedem@lemmy.world 225 points 1 day ago (6 children)

In the last two weeks, no one has tried to rob me. Are the police really necessary?

[–] CitizenKong@lemmy.world 7 points 13 hours ago

I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm fine. I think needing sustenance is just a conspiracy by Big Food, you guys!

[–] hddsx@lemmy.ca 121 points 1 day ago

I haven’t been deported in over 30 years. I don’t think ICE is necessary

[–] FlyingCircus@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

Police have only ever made my life worse. Get rid of them all.

Ha. You think the police exist to stop YOU getting robbed?

[–] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

No, they aren't. At least not in their current form.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 54 points 1 day ago

The ridiculously unqualified political appointee who ran a pedo-friendly wrestling company for decades says we don't need the department of education.

There's your headline.

[–] Aliktren@lemmy.world 111 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Outside looking in, its horrific to see the USA die like this.

[–] tupkcakes@piefed.social 99 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It’s not great from the inside either. 90% of my anxiety right now is because of this kind of crap.

[–] _wizard@lemmy.world 33 points 1 day ago

I got 99 probs and only 1 is my own personal issue.

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 15 hours ago

We're all dying, but none of us reading this are dead yet.

[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 31 points 1 day ago (6 children)

I feel especially saddened by it because at one point I felt a lot of hope for this country. I don't feel any hope anymore. It feels doomed. A lot of people are suffering and it's going to get a lot worse. Yesterday I saw some (likely) immigrants working on a landscaping project and it hit me in a more visceral way what it must be like to fear your life can be destroyed any time. I really wish that kid hadn't missed trump. Everyone always says that won't help anything but I don't care. He deserves to be gunned down in cold blood if anyone ever did.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 8 points 1 day ago

I used to think that dying as an old man in my sleep would be the best way to go, and now I'm feeling that that would be a waste. I'm becoming comfortable with the idea that my life may have a twist ending that I wasn't expecting.

I can't do anything crazy now, I have people counting on me, but that would change if ANYTHING were to happen to them, who are members of particularly vulnerable groups. I especially feel strongly about my child, and if MAGA did anything to them, I would have nothing to lose, and I would become a very dangerous person.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] FlyingCircus@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (3 children)

It’s going to be painful, but honestly the US needs to die if the world is to have any hope of surviving the climate crisis. (Not saying the people should die, just the state and its role as the guardian of capitalism.)

[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

So, you think that Russia and China won't step in and grab up the spoils and keep the system going? There are plenty of billionaires who aren't in the US.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 34 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That's the truth they don't care about school shootings as it isn't happening to them. A couple of their schools get shot up and they'd start caring.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 71 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Glad we're taking advice on education from the wife of the world's biggest wrestling promoter.

You might ask why the wife of the world's biggest wrestling promoter is in charge of the federal Department of Education. That is, indeed, a question you may ask.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] pinheadednightmare@lemmy.world 84 points 1 day ago (2 children)

That’s like saying the department of health isn’t needed because the hospitals still run… what a dumb bitch.

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 35 points 1 day ago (1 children)

These people think vaccines aren't needed because many people survived the last pandemic. They are deeply stupid, and wedded to a deeply stupid fascist ideology of "let the strong survive and the weak suffer and die," where they get to decide who counts as strong (it's rich white people) or weak (everyone else).

[–] III@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Hey, the COVID vaccine was a scam to the president at the time right up until he needed it to live. Then suddenly it was good. Well, until his stirred up idiot base got upset he would say such a thing about vaccines working - then it was right back to being a scam.

Pretty much everything you need to know about these people.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 35 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I hope this corrupt hag ends up in prison

[–] etherphon@midwest.social 3 points 12 hours ago

General population prison.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

I'd like to see a lot of these assholes picking up trash by the highway.

And since apparently that's a thing now, the government should make a really big splash of it, and release slick videos showing all these fuckers working for the first time in their lives, along with voiceovers and dramatic music.

I held my breath and I'm not dead yet. Oxygen is a scam!

[–] circuitfarmer@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

~~Critical~~ thinking is dead.

[–] bagsy@lemmy.world 33 points 1 day ago (2 children)

This stupid nazi cow. How is she going to maintain her billions of dollars when the population is poor and pissed off? What a dumb bitch.

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Have you seen where her money came from?

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago

I’m pretty baffled by the fact that these chucklefucks sweep into power and immediately start removing the levers of power.

No more DoED? Okay, blue states don’t have anyone telling them what to teach.

“No, not like that!”

[–] DmMacniel@feddit.org 30 points 1 day ago

But she surely needs education about her department, like what it does and what it is for...

[–] rebelsimile@sh.itjust.works 24 points 1 day ago

So, she should quit first?

[–] MuskyMelon@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago

So quit Linda

[–] Gerudo@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 day ago

Hey look, the thing we all said would happen is about to happen.

[–] ieatpwns@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

Her saying that it’s not needed is proof that it is needed

[–] you_are_dust@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

Two weeks in and life in America continues. Sounds like Congress is unnif the government has been shut down for two weeks and everything is fine, that means the government in its entirety is unnecessary then. So let's get rid of everyone from top to bottom. From the president down. Give that a spin for awhile.

[–] 5oap10116@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

No one's gotten polio here since I can remember...guess the vaccines aren't necessary

[–] DrFistington@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Ok, let's start by firing the management, since their the most expensive employees

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 day ago

WWE isn't needed either. Let's look at the NHL and NFL. Hey! They aren't needed either!

load more comments
view more: next ›