The Conversation -- February 13, 2025
David Lynch, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Thursday continued his relentless remaking of U.S. trade relations, announcing a new policy of taxing foreign goods at the same rate that other nations apply to American products that could start in the coming weeks or months. The president billed his new 'reciprocal' tariff policy — cemented in an executive order — as a straightforward response to unfair behavior by U.S. trading partners, who in some cases apply higher tariffs to specific American goods than the United States applies to the same products from those countries.... Administering a new regime of different taxes for each country could prove a bureaucratic nightmare and increase costs for Americans, trade analysts said. 'Reciprocity may sound appealing. But remember who pays tariffs: It’s the American importer and the burden eventually falls on the consumer,' said Erica York ... [of] the Tax Foundation. 'It’s like shooting yourselves in the foot because someone else is shooting themselves in the foot.'”
If this were a secret ballot, this man wouldn’t get 20 votes. -- Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) ~~~
~~~ The Incredible Lightness of Being a Republican. Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the vaccine skeptic and former presidential candidate who fled his family’s party and threw his 'medical freedom' movement behind ... [Donald] Trump, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday as the nation’s next health secretary. He is expected to be sworn in at the White House by President Trump on Thursday afternoon.... He was confirmed [52-48] by a Republican Senate, without a single Democratic vote.... Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, a polio survivor and the former Republican leader, voted no, the lone Republican to oppose Mr. Kennedy. Mr. McConnell issued a searing statement explaining his vote.” NPR's story is here.
Look, Look, Emil! Some People Have Professional Principles & Personal Integrity. William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: “Manhattan’s U.S. attorney on Friday resigned just days after she was ordered to drop the corruption case against New York City’s mayor, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Then, when Justice Department officials sought to transfer the case to the public integrity section in Washington, which oversees corruption cases, the two men who led that unit also resigned, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. The resignations represent the most high-profile public resistance so far to President Trump’s tightening control over the department. The resignations of the U.S. attorney, Danielle R. Sassoon, and the officials who oversee the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, Kevin O. Driscoll and John Keller, came in rapid succession on Thursday. Days earlier, the acting No. 2 official at the Justice Department had ordered Manhattan prosecutors to drop the corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams. The agency’s justification for dropping the case was explicitly political..., the official, Emil Bove III, made a point of saying....” The AP's report is here.
Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: “A federal judge on Thursday extended for seven days his temporary restraining order on the Trump administration’s move to place about 2,100 employees from the U.S. Agency for International Development on paid leave, while the judge ponders entering a preliminary injunction against the move.... U.S. District Judge Carl J.Nichols ... had set his original restraining order to expire Friday at 11:59 p.m. He extended all of the deadlines in the order by one week, while he drafts an opinion on whether to enjoin the spending shutdowns entirely.”
Jenna Portnoy & Salvador Rizzo of the Washington Post: “A federal judge on Thursday blocked executive orders signed by ... Donald Trump that target transgender people and their health care, giving temporary relief to LGBTQ individuals and their families, who braced for legal battles to continue. U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson granted a temporary restraining order after a hearing in federal court in Baltimore. The government is expected to appeal the decision, which legal experts said could ultimately go to the Supreme Court. 'This is a population with an extremely higher rate for suicide, poverty, unemployment, drug addiction,' Hurson said during the hearing. Abruptly stopping their health treatments, he said, would be 'horribly dangerous for anyone, for any care, but particularly for this extremely vulnerable population.'”
Javier Hernández & Robin Pogrebin of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington has prompted an outcry in the cultural community, with several artists resigning their posts or canceling engagements at the center.... In addition to [Trump's firing the center's longtime president Deborah] Rutter, several other longtime staff members were fired on Wednesday, including top officials overseeing public relations and governance. Here’s a look at the stars who have resigned from the Kennedy Center or canceled shows in the wake of Mr. Trump’s takeover: Issa Rae..., Renée Fleming..., Ben Folds ... and Shonda Rhimes.”
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Marie: I'm not endorsing the conclusions here, but I do present this link for your consideration. It would be indeed be great if a four-year-old (so kind of a Trump peer) told Donald, "I want you to shut your fucking mouth up." Thanks to RAS for the link. The Daily Mail -- not exactly your most reliable source -- kinda/sorta backs up the claim, while leaving plenty of wiggle room by reporting only that "the Internet" sez.
RAS found a good summary of a major difference between Trump 1.0 and Trump 2.0:
"Elon Musk Is Faking It." Paul Krugman: "... why is Musk obsessed with reducing the federal headcount? Is he just ignorant of the basic facts? Or is all the talk about efficiency cover for a purge intended to replace professional civil servants with political loyalists? Both, if you ask me. I am, however, sure that Musk knows that DOGE’s efforts to find waste and fraud have come up empty. If he had anything real to talk about, he would. Whether Trump realizes that Musk is faking it is less clear. But as Tuesday’s event showed, it’s not clear whether Trump matters at this point.... Musk imagines that he can con the American people, that he can keep his racket going by talking fast and throwing around what sound like big numbers, even as people are dying. And I wish I were sure that he’s wrong."
What a Friend We Have in Elon. Andrew Roth & Pjotr Sauer of the Guardian: “Across the former Soviet bloc, rightwing and autocratic governments have their knives out for USAid, demanding data on grant recipients from Elon Musk and threatening employees and grant recipients with investigations and prison. USAid has long been a thorn in the side of governments in the region who have railed against US support for pro-democracy and civil society movements. Now, local leaders for the first time see an ally in Washington that will back a crackdown on USAid and its beneficiaries as 'criminals'.” Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I will not get over the richest man on the planet boasting about shutting down USAID, which provides for those with nothing. Whatever your beliefs and your cultural references, this is the apotheosis of evil. ~~~
How much Elon Musk makes from the government a day: $8 million.
— Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) February 12, 2025
How much a senior on Social Security gets a day: $65
Guess which budget Musk and Trump want to cut? pic.twitter.com/AxgWoBvsxm
~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link.
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⭐Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Wednesday that he had a 'lengthy and highly productive phone call' with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, characterizing it as the beginning of a negotiation to end the war in Ukraine.... 'We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects,' Mr. Trump wrote in a social media post.... For Mr. Putin, the call was a major milestone, signifying the collapse of Western efforts to isolate him diplomatically after he invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.... Mr. Trump campaigned last year on a pledge to settle the war in Ukraine in '24 hours.'... Mr. Trump did not elaborate on how [Ukraine President Volodymyr] Zelensky would factor into the discussions that he and Mr. Putin were setting in motion....
“The Ukrainians appear to be facing an effort in which they have little leverage. The call between Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump came on the same day that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, said that it was an 'unrealistic' objective for Ukraine to restore its borders as they were before 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Mr. Hegseth added that the United States did not support Ukraine’s desire to join NATO as part of a realistic peace plan. Mr. Hegseth also suggested that Europe needed to assume a greater role in its own defense, echoing a point that Mr. Trump has made for many years.” This stand-alone story is an update and expansion of a liveblog post that was linked here yesterday.
~~~ Marie: Wednesday, February 12, 2025, was the day that cemented the Trump Revolution. It brought into clear view the end of the Pax America. The U.S. dictator is now collaborating with the Russian dictator. They have largely squeezed out Ukraine and have agreed between themselves to give large parts of Ukraine to Putin, parts Putin has taken by force. They have squeezed out the NATO nations that support Ukraine. The United States has left the Western alliance of liberal democracies and joined a League of Dictatorships. And as Chris Hayes pointed out Wednesday night, we're talking about imperialistic dictatorships, led by autocrats who will use force to expand their borders. Joe Biden warned us about the likelihood Putin would not stop at Ukraine; I don't think he envisioned that Trump would threaten Gaza, Panama, Greenland and Canada. This is not the first time in my life we were the bad guys; it is the first time in my life it was our goal to be the bad guys. ~~~
~~~ The Flatterer & the Fool. Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: “In a lengthy call on Wednesday..., [Donald] Trump delivered a message to Mr. Putin that encapsulated much of how the Russian leader sees today’s world: that Russia and the United States are two great nations that should negotiate Ukraine’s fate directly and move on to addressing even weightier global affairs. It was the clearest sign yet that Mr. Putin, despite Russia’s disastrous failures at the outset of his Ukraine invasion in early 2022, could still emerge from the war with a redrawn map of Europe and an expansion of Russia’s influence in it.The call came on the same day that Mr. Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, declared that the United States would not support Ukraine’s desire for NATO membership. It also came as the Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard, widely seen as sympathetic to Mr. Putin, as the next director of national intelligence. Taken together, the developments marked a payoff for Mr. Putin’s monthslong campaign of lavishing praise on Mr. Trump....” ~~~
~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the Ukraine “peace talks.” Here's the pinned item at 7 am ET: “Ukraine’s Western allies on Thursday firmly rejected any peace talks with Moscow that did not include Kyiv, after ... [Donald] Trump’s conversation with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia raised fears that the two leaders would attempt to sideline Ukrainian officials in a push to end the war.... Mr. Trump said in remarks at the White House on Wednesday that reciprocal visits with Mr. Putin were likely and that Saudi Arabia might host the talks — without Mr. Zelensky.... Mr. Zelensky, for his part, sought to sound optimistic, saying overnight that he had spoken with Mr. Trump and believed 'that America’s strength is sufficient to pressure Russia and Putin into peace, together with us, together with all our partners.'”
There's Public Corruption and There's Flagrant Public Corruption. Maggie Haberman & Kate Conger of the New York Times: “X has agreed to pay in the range of $10 million to settle a lawsuit brought by ... [Donald] Trump over the 2021 suspension of his account on the social media platform, according to a person briefed on the matter.... Details of the agreement were not made public in court filings, but X and Mr. Trump notified the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday that they had agreed to dismiss the lawsuit. Both parties agreed to pay their own costs, according to a court filing.... Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, settled its lawsuit last month, agreeing to pay the president $25 million. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, has also courted Mr. Trump in recent months.... In December, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit by Mr. Trump.” A CNBC report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Speaking of suck-ups and quislings, I innocently looked up "Gulf of Mexico" on the Googles, and this is what I found: ~~~
~~~ Omar Gallaga of CNET: "Apple Maps and Bing Maps are both joining Google by changing their Maps software and apps to now display Gulf of America on the body of water that's been known as the Gulf of Mexico since the 16th century. Google began to populate the change on Feb. 10, and Apple just a day later, on Feb. 11. Microsoft's Bing Maps had not made the change as of press time, but a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed it was on the way."
Peter Baker of the New York Times: “In this second incarnation as president, Mr. Trump is presenting himself as a born-again corruption fighter rooting out waste, fraud and abuse from all corners of the federal government — even as he is dismantling the government’s mechanisms for fighting corruption, as it has been traditionally defined.... His administration is dropping corruption cases against political figures with ties to him, firing inspectors general who actually search for abuse and pledging not to enforce a signature anti-corruption law against major corporations. Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk are making accusations of corruption in the government ranks even as they ask voters to trust that they are not taking advantage of their own positions despite an extensive array of conflicts of interest unlike what any president or presidential adviser has had in modern times....
“'I see a lot of kickback here,' [Mr. Trump said, claiming federal employees were corrupt], without offering any concrete examples. 'Tremendous kickback. Because no one could be so stupid to give out some of these contracts, so it must be kickbacks.' He added: 'When you get down to it, it’s probably going to be close to a trillion dollars.' Mr. Trump often pulls numbers out of thin air and makes sweeping claims without regard to factual foundations. Likewise, Mr. Trump, the first felon ever elected president, regularly accuses anyone he disfavors of corruption and even criminality without proof. He cites conspiracy theories or distorted assertions to allege misconduct even after they have been debunked.” MB: I don't know who finally removed Baker's blindfold -- maybe his wife Susan Glasser -- but it's a wonder to behold the honorary chair of both-sides journalism reminding us Trump is a convicted felon who falsely accuses others of criminality.
Marie: For those relieved to learn that Trump said Tuesday that he would abide by court decisions, I point you to this absurd moment right out of Sinclair Lewis' It Can't Happen Here and many a dystopian work of fiction. ~~~
~~~ Travis Andrews, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Kennedy Center board of trustees voted Wednesday afternoon to install ... Donald Trump as chairman of the board, cementing the plan Trump announced Friday to overhaul the storied arts institution with him at its helm. It also voted to terminate Deborah Rutter as president and made former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell interim president, according to multiple people with knowledge of the meeting.... Trump attended the virtual board meeting. 'It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees,' Trump wrote on Truth Social after the vote. 'We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!' Soon the center’s website was updated with several new presidentially appointed trustees including White House personnel office director Sergio Gor, chief of staff Susie Wiles and Usha Vance.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ William Saletan (linked yesterday) presents a convincing case that Trump believes his own lies and hype, but can even he be so delusional to think it's a great honor to be voted into a position for which he is laughably unqualified by "amazing" lackies whom he has just appointed to the board? ~~~
~~~ Javier Hernández & Robin Pogrebin of the New York Times: “The Kennedy Center has historically been run by bipartisan boards in the past. On Monday, the Trump administration officially removed 18 board members who had been appointed by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and the board chairman, the financier David M. Rubenstein.... While the board had been roughly split between Biden and Trump appointees until recently, it is now entirely made up of appointees of Mr. Trump. The new board includes a litany of Trump loyalists, including the president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles; Dan Scavino, a longtime Trump aide; and Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance.”
~~~ Marie: Well, at least Scavino is a genuine cultural icon. Although his main claim to fame is his dicey "managment" of Trump's social media accounts, he started his career as Trump's caddy.
We’re talking about tens of billions of dollars that we’ve already found. … But you’re talking about maybe 500 billion. It’s crazy the numbers you’re talking about.... It could be close to a trillion dollars that we’re going to find.— Donald Trump, speaking to reporters, Feb. 11
The president’s numbers do not come anywhere close.... DOGE has claimed only about $2 billion in annual savings from specific line items — most of which appear to come from ending diversity or climate change programs. Whether that constitutes 'waste, fraud and abuse' is a matter of opinion.... Virtually no documentation was presented. -- Glenn Kessler, Washington Post
If Trump & Musk really were interested in finding "waste, fraud & abuse," Trump would not have fired 19 or 20 inspectors general, whose jobs it is to find waste, fraud & abuse. And they would not have sent a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears coders to do the job. Coders have no way of independently analyzing what expenditures are necessary and what are not. They probably can't tell (or haven't taken the trouble to tell) if the expenditures match up with Congressional authorizations. The people who can do that detailed, time-consuming work are forensic accountants, department-specific specialists, interviewers, even criminal investigators, all working together. In any event, these teams of investigators would be reporting directly to Congress as well as to administration officials. They would not be reporting to some billionaire dude. Just look at whom they're firing: the entire Musk/Trump/Project 2025 enterprise is a corruption enhancement scheme. -- Marie
Emily Davies, et al., of the Washington Post: “Billionaire Elon Musk’s team has initiated sweeping layoffs of federal employees, as the Trump administration races to shrink the government’s civilian workforce. An official with the Office of Personnel Management, which is now run by Musk allies, emailed staff Wednesday morning stating that widespread layoffs — known as 'reductions in force' — have begun and are already overwhelming the small agency that functions as a human resources department for the government, according to a copy of the message obtained by The Washington Post. OPM has also begun to assert more control over all federal hiring, according to four employees of the agency and additional internal communications also obtained by The Post. Meanwhile, White House officials are eyeing cuts to agency budgets of between 30 and 40 percent, on average, across the government — centered on significant staff reductions, according to two other people briefed on internal conversations.... That target would vary greatly, and it’s expected to exempt agencies favored by ... Donald Trump, such as the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department.”
“Deregulation by Firings.” Matthew Goldstein & Jessica Silver-Greenberg of the New York Times: “A combination of firings, stop-work orders and litigation pauses has hobbled regulators like the Consumer Financial Protect Bureau, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.... Regulatory agencies that are intended to protect ordinary Americans, workers and homeowners are being gutted, consumer advocates say. 'Under the Trump administration, federal consumer protections are being rapidly stripped away in a lawless process,' said Adam Levitin, a professor at Georgetown Law.... 'This is deregulation by firings.'”
Colby Itkowitz, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump is taking aim at federal offices that investigate government malfeasance and protect workers from retribution.... Among those fired in the past week: the head of the Office of Government Ethics, which polices high-ranking officials suspected of violating conflict-of-interest rules; the leader of the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates whistleblower reports from government workers — and protects those workers from retribution; the inspector general of the U.S. Agency for International Development, who just Monday released a report detailing the cost to taxpayers of Trump’s effort to dismantle the agency; the chairwoman of the Merit Systems Protection Board, which hears appeals to firings and other disciplinary actions against federal employees; and the chairwoman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, which protects federal employee unions.... The firings were met with widespread condemnation from former officials and good-government advocates.... Trump has pledged to root out government waste, fraud and abuse, but advocates noted that he is systematically eliminating many of the internal mechanisms already tasked with doing that work.”
Olivia George, et al., of the Washington Post: “A judge on Wednesday lifted his pause on the federal government’s deferred resignation program, prompting the Trump administration to swiftly declare victory as it closed the offer to any more workers who might still have been mulling it. The program — which encouraged federal workers to resign with the promise of pay through September — had been halted since last Thursday, when U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. temporarily stopped the Office of Personnel Management from moving ahead. Unions representing more than 800,000 federal workers had filed a lawsuit to stop the program.... In his ruling, O’Toole wrote that the unions’ lawsuit could not succeed because they lacked standing to sue and because his court lacked jurisdiction. The unions, the judge said, were not directly impacted by the administration directive.... O’Toole, who was nominated in 1995 by President Bill Clinton, did not opine on the buyout program’s legality.... About 75,000 workers have accepted the deal,” according to an Office of Personnel Management spokesperson. ~~~
~~~ A CBS News story is here. An AP story on the judge's ruling is here.
Ryan Grim of Drop Site: “The State Department’s procurement forecast, revised as of late December 2024, lists Tesla as the recipient of the largest expected contract, with Marco Rubio’s department planning to buy $400,000,000 worth of 'Armored Tesla.' The award is targeted for Q4, and is forecast to last for five years. The procurement forecast is listed as having been modified on December 13, 2024, a month after Donald Trump’s election. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Under the heading, 'extent competed,' the document reads merely 'TBD.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Naturally, I was not concerned at all because as I learned in reading the New York Times yesterday, Elon Musk's “mandate to audit the Pentagon’s spending is not a conflict of interest even though he has billions of dollars in military contracts, he maintained, because he always provides the best value to the government, and anyway, those contracts are not with him but with his companies.” So then I thought, “Wow, I'd like to see that 'Armored Tesla,' to see what great value I'm getting.” Lucky for me, I came upon footage of the rollout of the armored Tesla, which is marketed as being bullet-proof. ~~~
~~~ Needless to say, I would not put American G.I.s in this great value and ask them to drive through potentially hostile territory. The armored Tesla also is supposed to have a "wade mode" where it can be driven through water. Here was a test drive of the first armorned Tesla in Slovenia. Best value? ~~~
~~~ Update. How to Erase a Conflict-of-Interest. Chad de Guzman of Time: “The State Department was planning to buy $400 million worth of 'Armored Tesla' later this year, according to its 2025 procurement forecast, a document outlining projections of anticipated contracts, which was published in December. But after reports emerged on Wednesday of the potential for conflict of interest given Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s prominent role in the Trump Administration, the document was updated, removing mention of Tesla and changing the line item to 'Armored Electric Vehicles' instead.” MB: Wait, wait. I thought Elon was a maximalist transparency advocate. Removing his company's name from a report that shows he's due to sell $400MM crappy vehicles to the feds may hide the fact but it doesn't change it. The naked corruption of Musk & Trump is jawdropping. They are daring us to do something about it.
National Security Lapses by Firings & Transfers. Perry Stein & Mark Berman of the Washington Post: “The top national security deputies from Justice are gone — transferred from the posts they have held for years to undefined roles dealing with immigration enforcement and 'sanctuary cities.' The heads of the FBI’s criminal division and international terrorism division were pushed out.... The absences are just one example of how the Trump administration’s shake-ups at Justice and the FBI have eroded the continuity on national security matters that has long been a cornerstone of presidential transitions.... Nearly all the career officials who attended the daily session for years — including during the first Trump administration — have been removed from their positions, gutting much of the expertise usually there to brief the attorney general, FBI director and top deputies. Past presidents did not make such sweeping changes in career personnel.”
Brittany Gibson of Axios: Donald "Trump's vow to deport 'millions and millions' of unauthorized immigrants is meeting harsh reality — already stretching the limits of the government's resources, less than four weeks into the new administration.... A lack of funds, detention space, officers and infrastructure to handle arrested immigrants is frustrating many involved in the effort — and made goals such as 1 million deportations this year seem unrealistic.... That urgency led the White House to ask Congress for an immediate infusion of $175 billion to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acquire more detention space, boost staff and address other needs. 'At the end of the day, we've gotta just spend money,' Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said in a brief interview at the White House. 'Unfortunately the American taxpayers are going to have to pay the bill on this.'"
Mizz Hochul Regrets She's Unable to Lunch Today. Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: “The Trump administration sued New York on Wednesday over its migrant policies, accusing state officials of prioritizing 'illegal aliens over American citizens,' as Washington ramped up its political and legal battles with states over deportations. Attorney General Pam Bondi, in her first news conference, specifically cited New York’s 'green light' law, which allows people in the state to get a driver’s license regardless of citizenship or legal status. Ms. Bondi, flanked by federal agents in raid jackets, vowed to put an end to those practices.... Gov. Kathy Hochul’s spokesman, Avi Small, said the governor 'supports deporting violent criminals who break our laws, believes that law-abiding families should not be targets and will coordinate with federal authorities who have a judicial warrant.' Ms. Hochul was scheduled to head to Washington on Thursday for a hastily arranged lunch at the White House with ... [Donald] Trump, but she canceled the trip once Ms. Bondi announced her intention to sue Ms. Hochul and the state.... The administration had already filed a similar challenge against Democratic officials in Illinois.” An Independent story is here.
I have clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to N.Y.C. migrant hotels. -- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, on X ~~~
~~~ Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: “The Trump administration quickly made good on its vow to claw back federal funding meant to cover some of the costs of housing migrants borne by New York City, unilaterally reversing the transfer of $80 million that the Federal Emergency Management Agency made to the city last week. City leaders said on Wednesday that they noticed $80 million had suddenly gone missing from city bank accounts. Shortly after, the Department of Homeland Security, which houses FEMA, confirmed that the money had been taken back on Tuesday, a significant escalation of ... [Donald] Trump’s attempts to freeze or reverse funding that had previously been appropriated by Congress. The clawback occurred one day after Elon Musk targeted the FEMA funds in a post on X, inciting a Republican uproar over the use of federal dollars to shelter migrants and prompting the Trump administration to fire four FEMA officials involved in the transfer. City officials questioned the legality of the move, which appeared to be among the first known instances of the Trump administration seizing back congressionally appropriated funds from a locality.” Politico's story is here.
J.D. Wolf of Meidas News: "MeidasTouch has uncovered a pro-Hitler ad being served on social network X, the platform currently owned by Elon Musk.... The ad served by X contains a picture of Nazi leader Adolph [sic.] Hitler smiling with children while wearing a Nazi uniform with a swastika.... Before Elon Musk's purchase, Twitter had policies in place that moderated pro-Nazi content and didn't allow account like this to purchase ads. The X ad from a blue check verified account named Nixon Groyper, an account that contains a slew of racist posts and was created after Musk's purchase of Twitter, admonishes viewers to reconsider supporting Hitler while pushing Holocaust denialism[.]" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Meidas is a very liberal outfit and I would not normally consider its reporting reliable. But Wolf presents the raw evidence here, so without knowing more, I'm assuming the central fact of the story is valid.
The Secret Career of J-6 Hunter Emil Bove. Ken Dilanian & Ryan Reilly of NBC News: As the Trump-appointed acting attorney general, Emil Bove “has been leading an effort to identify everyone who worked on Jan. 6 cases and remedy what Trump called 'a grave national injustice by rooting out 'those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent' when they investigated Trump and Capitol rioters.... Bove has been the face of the effort to demand that the FBI hand over the names of every bureau employee who worked on Jan. 6 cases.... [But i]n the months after the Jan. 6 attacks, [Bove was] a hard-charging federal prosecutor in Manhattan eagerly [overseeing] efforts to find and arrest Capitol rioters in the New York area, his former colleagues say, and even proposed to the Justice Department that his office should play a central role in the investigation.... Over the ... months [following the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol], he worked closely with FBI agents as they hunted down suspects in the New York area....” Then he became one of Donald Trump's defense attorneys. (Also linked yesterday.)
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: “Eight former inspectors general who were summarily fired by ... Donald J. Trump last month filed a lawsuit on Wednesday asking a judge to declare their removals illegal and order the government to reinstate them.... The lawsuit asserts that the plaintiffs remain the lawful inspectors general of their agencies because Mr. Trump’s dismissals broke the law. It asks for an injunction requiring the executive branch to allow them to return to work and awarding them back pay. Four days after Mr. Trump returned to office last month, the White House notified as many as 17 inspectors general in tersely worded emails that they were being terminated because of 'changing priorities.' Those were all in direct conflict with statutory restrictions on firing such officials in the Inspector General Act of 1978 and strengthened by lawmakers in the bipartisan Securing Inspectors General Act of 2022.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Team of Sociopaths. Julia Metraux of Mother Jones: “Last Friday, [the National Institutes of Health] announced that it would cap grants for 'indirect' research costs — such as building-related and equipment expenses — at 15 percent, from a current average of around 30 percent.... The [NIH] ... came under attack by Project 2025 well before its architect, Russell Vought, was confirmed to Donald Trump’s second-term cabinet as head of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought’s pet project — the playbook for the Trump presidency — asserts that 'funding for scientific research should not be controlled by a small group of highly paid and unaccountable insiders.'... But some of those so-called insiders — that is, the NIH — funded research that helped scientists better understand cystic fibrosis, which led to Vertex Pharmaceuticals developing a cutting-edge treatment that Vought’s daughter Porter benefited from.... But Vought appears to be shutting that door firmly behind him, helping to mount a dizzying range of attacks on lifesaving medical research at (and beyond) NIH.” (Also linked yesterday.) Thanks to RAS for the link.
Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “The Senate voted 53-47 along party lines Wednesday to advance [Robert Kennedy, Jr.'s] nomination to a final vote, which is expected to be as soon as early Thursday.” Diamond reports that HHS political appointees are already calling him Secretary Kennedy. Meanwhile, MSNBC has reported Wednesday evening that Democratic senators plan to pull an all-nighter to oppose his confirmation.
Team of Numskulls. Julian Barnes & Robert Jimison of the New York Times: “The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Tulsi Gabbard to be the next director of national intelligence in a 52 to 48 vote that demonstrated ... [Donald] Trump’s political control over Republican lawmakers. Ms. Gabbard had one of the most contentious confirmation hearings of all of the president’s nominees. A number of Republican senators joined Democrats in asking tough questions about her previous support of Edward Snowden, a former government contractor who released reams of classified data, and her skepticism about warrantless wiretaps of overseas communications. Her defense of Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian dictator, and her sympathy toward President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia also gave some Republican lawmakers pause. But in the end only one Republican was willing to oppose her. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the former majority leader, voted against her.” From a liveblog. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Mitch reminds me of the evil character in a standard-issue morality play who on his deathbed sees his life pass before him and asks, "Lord, what have I done?"
Super, But NIMBY. Maya Miller & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: “Republicans in Congress have responded to ... [Donald] Trump’s unilateral moves to freeze federal spending, dismantle programs and fire civil servants with a collective shrug, staying mostly silent and even praising him as he circumvents the legislative branch. But in recent days, as his slash-and-burn campaign ... has begun to affect their states and districts, some Republicans have tried to push back in subtle ways. They have sought carve outs and special consideration for agriculture programs, scientific research and more, even as they cheered on Mr. Trump’s overall approach.... Many programs [Mr. Trump] has targeted for cost-cutting have entrenched constituencies in Congress built up by Republicans over many years. It is one reason that shrinking the size of the federal government will be a mammoth task, despite the G.O.P.’s posture of maximum deference to Mr. Trump.”
Sahil Kapur, et al., of NBC News: "House Republicans released a budget resolution Wednesday that calls for cutting taxes by up to $4.5 trillion and sets a goal of slashing federal spending by $2 trillion.... Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee, dismissed the proposal. 'This Republican plan isn’t just bad policy — it betrays the middle class. Their proposal slashes critical programs that millions of hardworking Americans rely on, all while adding trillions of dollars to the deficit to bankroll massive giveaways for giant corporations and billionaires like Elon Musk,' Boyle said in a statement.”
We don’t decide on the basis of public opinion, but we must be cognizant that every time we upset precedent, we upset people’s expectation in the stability of the law.... It rocks the boat in a way that makes people uneasy about whether they are protected or not protected by the law. -- Justice Sonia Sotomayor on the powers of the judiciary ~~~
~~~ Justin Jouvenal of the Washington Post: “Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a talk Tuesday in Florida that she has faith the nation’s leaders will ultimately abide by decisions of the courts.... Asked about the possibility that a president might choose to ignore a ruling, Sotomayor spoke generally and did not mention Trump. 'Court decisions stand whether one particular person chooses to abide by them or not,' she said. 'It doesn’t change the foundation that it’s still a court order that someone will respect at some point.' Her remarks, in conversation with Knight Foundation President Maribel Pérez Wadsworth at Miami Dade College, came after Vice President JD Vance and Trump adviser Elon Musk suggested flouting decisions by judges that have not gone the president’s way in the opening weeks of his second term.... The founders gave the power of the purse to Congress and control of the military to the president, the justice said. But she said the most profound — and fragile — power was that of the courts to interpret the law. 'It’s a soft power,' Sotomayor told her audience.... The courts, she said, can impose their power only through logic and persuasion.”
Rachel Pannett of the Washington Post: “Disney is reducing content warnings that caution viewers about racial stereotypes on some of its classic films, including 'Dumbo' and 'Peter Pan,' as part of a wider revamp of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs as it adjusts to the new Trump era. The DEI changes, outlined in an email to staff on Tuesday, come as a growing number of U.S. companies and brands have rolled back similar initiatives following the Trump administration’s crackdown on DEI in the early weeks of his second term. The content disclaimer — introduced in 2020 after consulting with groups including the African American Film Critics Association and the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment — will no longer automatically play on older titles on Disney’s streaming service, Disney Plus.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is maximal stupidity. There is no reason for private companies or individuals to follow Trump's dictates. It is a deep bow to authoritarianism. Disney is doing what historian Timothy Snyder calls "anticipatory obedience," or "obeying in advance." The first lesson of his book On Tyranny is "Do not obey in advance." The collective cowardice of people with the most power -- corporate bigwigs, politicians, Silicon Valley titans -- is stunning.
Sara Ruberg of the New York Times: “Joann, the financially troubled arts-and-crafts retailer, announced Wednesday that it was preparing to close 500 of its 800 remaining stores after its latest bankruptcy filing.”
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Marie wrote: “Mitch reminds me of the evil character in a standard-issue morality play who on his deathbed sees his life pass before him and asks, ‘Lord, what have I done?’”
And in my rewrite of that morality play, the lord says “Well, let’s see, Mitch, your history of hyper-partisan ratfucking and scurrilous gaming of the system has caused a lot of heartache, chaos, criminality, death, and destruction, not to mention a crapload of former believers convincing themselves that I couldn’t possibly exist if I allowed a piece of shit like Donald Trump to win at every turn, which extra pisses me off because no one was in a better position to stop that asshole than you. Instead, you not only protected him, you made sure that he put other assholes on the Supreme Court who are sticking it to millions of my children. This is all your fault. I hear they call you the Turtle. I hope that shell is thick, because where you’re going, you’ll need it. If I remember correctly, turtles become soup at around 400 degrees.
You’ll get there in about 30 seconds. Bye now.”
Fat Hitler has a conundrum (okay he does, sort of, but he wouldn’t call it a “conundrum”, too many syllables.):
He has appointed a terrifically unqualified hack to run the Department of Education, former rasslin’ queen and promoter of sexual abuse, Linda McMahon (and you thought Betsy was a dreadful pick!).
What to do?
Obvious answer, boot this charlatan and bring in someone good.
Trump’s answer: close the Department of Education.
Funny, all the projection going on now. The MuskRat screams “Corruption!!” after his every crooked bit of chicanery. Fatty shouts “Con job!” just before he pulls another in his miles long litany of scams.
This is slash and burn shit. I’m starting to think that a lot of what’s going on with these two diabolical buffoons is a warped kind of dick measuring contest. The MuskRat sez “Kill USAID! I demand it!!” Trump responds “Oh yeah? Well I’m taking over Gaza and kicking all those Palestinians into the desert so I can build luxury seaside condos!”
Musk sez “I build spaceships!” Fatty sez “Oh yeah? I changed the name of an ocean! How ‘bout that?” M-Rat: “I just awarded myself a $400 million contract for bullshit vehicles that suck after yelling about government waste! Ha!” Fat Hitler; I’m closing an entire cabinet level department, immediately!”
‘Member when we were so appalled that the Decider and his pet shark started an unnecessary war on a foreign power using phony intelligence with no exit strategy? These two clowns are waging a war on their own country with no plan for what happens next.
The Party of Traitors are watching all of this from their luxury box seats like a bunch of Taylor Swifts cheering on their hee-roes down on the scorched earth field. “Another martini, guys? Ain’t it grand? No country, no work for us. Permanent vacay!”
But back to conundrum. You need education to properly use big words. That’s why Fatty hates education. He’s like Harpo Marx who, in one of his movies, is handed some important documents. He tears them up in a frenzy. Chico explains “He gets mad cuz he can’t read.”
Yeah. We get it.
We’re already living under an authoritarian dictatorship, but sliding very quickly into a totalitarian state.
Check out the link RAS made yesterday about all the government agencies and departments being targeted by the unelected, formerly illegal immigrant Musk for firings and dismantling.
He has specifically gone after 11 federal agencies conducting 30(!) investigations into his companies.
Just imagine the screeching were a Democratic President to allow George Soros the ability to shut down investigations into his companies by hollowing out any agency daring to challenge his authority.
And then we have Fox trumpeting such attacks as “saving democracy”.
This is pure totalitarian bullshit.
Help yourself!
So Trump’s whole campaign he’s on and on about getting the US back to good ol’ gas guzzlers. Project 2025 fascists are up in arms about spending money on EV charging stations. Waaah! The tree huggers are winning!
But then! He’s elected by an EV manufacturer who now serves as the de facto president and all of a sudden we’re spending $400 million on EV pieces of crap for…the State Department?!? What the hell does the State Department need with hundreds of Tesla shitboxes? Ambassadors can jump in them when our embassies get overrun?
Interesting, in’it?
The corruption and self-dealing is just getting started. Might as well just give the MuskRat a shovel, open the vaults and tell him to help himself.
Oh, wait. He’s already doing that. Gee, he really is efficient.
Would like to report that this morning's news is anything but grim, but I can't.
Who could not have known what was going to happen?
It was all so obvious.
My morning question: If we could see it coming so clearly, why couldn't Mitch?
Or if he did, didn't he care what he had stage managed until death was so near he thought it politic (ala Pascal) to recant?
Ken,
Not even Pascal can help the Evil Turtle.
Pascal’s Wager requires an individual to act, all during their life, as if really bad stuff could happen when they die if they were scheming, back-stabbing, lying scumbags. In other words, if you believe there’s no god and no eternal pain of hell or eternal reward, then fine. Be an asshole. You’ll get away with it. If, however, you do believe that afterlife stuff, wouldn’t it be better to live a good life rather than chance perdition? That’s the bet.
Pascal doesn’t make allowances for last minute lurches to the light just before closing time.
So, eternal lakes of fire for you, Mitch, you old turd.
Marie,
Full agreement on the craven caving to Fat Hitler by so-called titans of the business world. Seems like they’re working off their own version of Pascal’s Wager. You can stand up for what’s right or knuckle under to a fat fascist.
The wager is this: if I don’t bow down before the Orange Monster, can I trust that he won’t come after me and my business and try to screw us. Or, should I just recognize that he is a vindictive prick and will do everything possible to fuck us up, which will piss off the stockholders and put me out of a job.
Profiles in courage these ain’t. This is CYA all the way.
The news of the $400 million armored EV comes just as it is being reported elsewhere that said unnamed company has had a hard time selling their rolling fire hazards here and especially abroad in Europe. Another bailout for corrupt Conservatives. Though I wonder how many fewer musky units they will be able to produce with the 25% steel tariffs in place. Also FH has been trying to pull back from building all the EV stations that Biden's infrastructure plan was going to put up about the country. Stupid at every level, the Trump way.
@RAS: Right. And whaddaya bet there will soon be a steel & aluminum tariff exception for "any corporation having a contract with the federal government."
The totalitarian tsunami we are experiencing will eventually reach the Supine Court which has been quiet of late, but which has already shown a proclivity for dispensing with Constitutional constraints in order to placate the fat baby (also to fulfill their dreams of permanent far-right control of the country.)
Little Johnny and the Dwarfs may have set the stage for their own irrelevancy. Fat Hitler and his co-crime boss have been partially slowed by lower court rulings, but this tsunami of shit will eventually reach the SC. The big unanswered question is, will the wave break on the Court or will it drown everything in its path. If the Court allows the pirates to rape and pillage at will, what on earth will give those brigands the idea that there are any restraints on their rapaciousness? They’ll be a bigger joke than they are now.
In most totalitarian states, Potemkin courts are occasionally granted permission to rule against the dictator, usually in small ways, so as to maintain the fiction of independence, but on any issue involving absolute power of the tyrant, they are reliable rubber stamps. This has been the path taken so far by the Roberts court. I expect that’s what we’ll see moving forward.
No granite cliffs protecting democracy and the American Experiment from the totalitarian tidal wave. More like a medium sized sand bar.
“Hey, we tried…”
Yeah. Perdition for you too, fuckface.
@Akhilleus wrote, "Pascal doesn’t make allowances for last minute lurches to the light just before closing time."
Right. But you know who does? Evangelical Christianity. Some Jewish people once told me they just didn't get what was so appealing about Christianity. And I replied, "Why, who wouldn't like a religion that says you can sin all week and get 100% absolution on Sunday? Whereupon you can begin the whole cycle all over again." The appeal is obvious. The bad old days of "sinners in the hands of an angry God" are forgotten. The only sins St. Peter sees are those not confessed.
(I am not, I'll admit, quite sure what is supposed to happen to people like Trump who don't confess their sins because they believe that everything they do is righteous. Theology is very confusing.)
I visited Rome a decade ago and bought a t-shirt off a vendor on the street as a souvenir. Either all his t-shirts were misspelled or they call their city Roma. Obviously being American we spell their city's name correctly and we should cut off all diplomatic and economic ties with Italy until they adopt the correct pronunciation, Rome. ;)
Marie,
Shit. You’re right. That’s also the gleeful escape clause so-called Christians use for supporting Fat Hitler. “God can choose anyone to do his holy work, even a sinner who, of course will receive absolution for any itty-bitty sin thingies he may have committed. Nyah-nyah!”
Interestingly, no such evangelical largesse is granted to people they hate. Liberals are all going to hell. All us RCers can have a fun reunion when we get there. Whoever gets there first, reserve us a big table in the Old Scratch room. I’ll bring the brimstone (liberals refine it in their basement, didn’t you know?).
Clowns vs Convicts
Canadians respond to Fat Hitler
Congressman Casar
"How much Elon Musk makes from the government a day: $8 million.
How much a senior on Social Security gets a day: $65
Guess which budget Musk and Trump want to cut?"
The Guardian
"Across the former Soviet bloc, rightwing and autocratic governments have their knives out for USAid, demanding data on grant recipients from Elon Musk and threatening employees and grant recipients with investigations and prison.
USAid has long been a thorn in the side of governments in the region who have railed against US support for pro-democracy and civil society movements. Now, local leaders for the first time see an ally in Washington that will back a crackdown on USAid and its beneficiaries as “criminals”."
"You're not the president, you need to go away."
"Hot Mic Catches Elon’s Son Telling Trump to 'Shut Up' and 'Go Away'
"I want you to shut your f***ing mouth up.""
The exact wording is up for interpretation, but it does sound like X was telling FH off as he sat in the Oval Office pretending to be president.
Anne Applebaum, in The Atlantic, in what reads like dystopian horror story, describes
How regime change happens in America
"What precisely replaces the civil-service ethos remains unclear. Christian nationalists want a religious state to replace our secular one. Tech authoritarians want a dictatorship of engineers, led by a monarchical CEO. Musk and Trump might prefer an oligarchy that serves their business interests.
....
But before [a new system] can be imposed, the administration will first have to break the morale of the people who believed in the old civil-service ethos. Vought, at a 2023 planning meeting organized in preparation for this moment, promised exactly that. People who had previously viewed themselves as patriots, working for less money than they could make in the private sector, must be forced to understand that they are evil, enemies of the state. … 'We want to put them in trauma.'
...
There are still greater dangers down the road—the possible politicization of the Federal Electoral Commission, for example. Eventually, anyone who interacts with the federal government—private companies, philanthropies, churches, and above all, citizens—might find that the cultural revolution affects them too. If the federal government is no longer run by civil servants fulfilling laws passed by Congress, then its interests might seriously diverge from yours.”
Quid Pro Quo
According to a footnote by the resigning government prosecutor she was at meeting involving Adams' attorneys who indicated that Adams could help Trump with his immigration crackdown if he didn't have to worry about going to jail for anything he had done. Also notes by one of her team were confiscated after the meeting because documenting corruption is makes it more likely people will find out.
Eric Adams lawyer…
Sociopaths....numbskulls....and now, crackpots...
If not the whole of America, at least the gummint is Great Again.
Elie Mystal, in The Nation,
Musk’s Vision Looks a Lot Like Neo-Apartheid
"People born after the end of apartheid in 1994 know the system for its segregation and brutality, its extreme social and political violence. But what a lot of people don’t know, or have forgotten, is that apartheid was, at its core, an economic system—one designed in its earliest days to protect the interests of (wait for it) working-class white South Africans who were being outcompeted for jobs and economic opportunities by South Africa’s Black population.
...
Musk, even more than Trump, has a history of racially discriminatory business practices. Based on an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit against his Tesla factory in California, Elon’s employment practices could be ripped straight from an apartheid handbook.
...
The probe into Tesla’s practices has reportedly (and predictably) already been ended by the Trump administration. But if you understand how old-school South African apartheid worked, you’ll understand how Musk’s Tesla experience can be seen as a fledgling attempt to bring an apartheid-like system here, and update it for the modern age and the American context."
SquareSpace lied. Said my response to laura had been submitted. My foot!
Said to herd there's no doubt that Putin's Russia and the apartheid and HIV denial South Africa days are the new regime's beacons.
Point by poisonous point.