Friday, February 28, 2025

Are We The Shitole Country?

But you didn’t kiss Trump’s ass live on camera and tell him it smelled like roses. So…. How rude! How litigious! JD Vance is once again mickle in his wroth! There he goes, insulting Putin again. What does this have to do with tonguing Trump’s asshole? Zelensky is so unreasonable! He just said those very words! Was that so hard? There you go, trying to litigate this on TeeVee again! Zelensky’s acting like he’s the democratically elected leader of a sovereign nation! Mario was in the room, advising the President on how to deal with Zelensky.

Pictures really are worth a thousand words.

JFK, January 20, 1961

Inaugural address:
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge--and more.

To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do--for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.

To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom--and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge--to convert our good words into good deeds--in a new alliance for progress--to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.

To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support--to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective--to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak--and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.

Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.

We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.

But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course--both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.

So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms--and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.

Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths and encourage the arts and commerce.

Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah--to "undo the heavy burdens . . . (and) let the oppressed go free."
Donald Trump, February 28, 2025; “Fuck that shit! Daddy Putin needs to love me!” 

God help us all. 

All The (Russian) Talking Points

FORMER RUSSIAN PRESIDENT DMITRY MEDVEDEV, DEPUTY HEAD OF THE RUSSIAN SECURITY COUNCIL, ON TELEGRAM

"For the first time, Trump told the cocaine clown the truth to his face: the Kyiv regime is playing with the third world war. And the ungrateful pig received a strong slap on the wrist from the owners of the pigsty. This is useful. But it’s not enough - we must stop military aid to the Nazi machine."
The world was appalled. Russia was delighted.

It Certainly Wasn’t A Spontaneous Overflow Of Powerful Emotions

I’m sure Lindsey had his sound bites ready before Zelensky got there. That Vance-Trump rag team was not a sudden impulse. It was the only reason Vance was there.

Cheer Up, It Could Be Worse!

 Sure enough, it gets worse:

Foreign adversaries including Russia and China have recently directed their intelligence services to ramp up recruiting of US federal employees working in national security, targeting those who have been fired or feel they could be soon, according to four people familiar with recent US intelligence on the issue and a document reviewed by CNN.

The intelligence indicates that foreign adversaries are eager to exploit the Trump administration’s efforts to conduct mass layoffs across the federal workforce – a plan laid out by the Office of Personnel Management earlier this week.

Russia and China are focusing their efforts on recently fired employees with security clearances and probationary employees at risk of being terminated, who may have valuable information about US critical infrastructure and vital government bureaucracy, two of the sources said. At least two countries have already set up recruitment websites and begun aggressively targeting federal employees on LinkedIn, two of the sources said.
I’m old enough to remember how appallingly cheaply Americans could be bought to turn over secrets to our adversaries. And the recently unemployed feel keenly the need for money. Any amount of money…and now it doesn’t even have to be done person to person, one at a time.

Is this a great country, or what?

Dear Democrats:

Admittedly, I don’t mind non-officeholders chiming in: Don't just say it all on Twitter. Not that I don’t like it better than what Lindsey said. Yeah, that's what's going on in Moscow. Much more likely. I don’t want any head of state to be a “business partner” with the U.S. We don’t do “business” that way. The government negotiates trade agreements which private interests make use of. The POTUS is not America’s CEO. The U.S. is not in “business.” The U.S. government was not going to open mines in Ukraine. The U.S. government was not going to sell those rare earth minerals on the open market. Hell’s bells, that’s socialism!! People like Graham are supposed to be deathly afraid of that concept, even that word!*

Up really is down now, isn’t it?

Does Graham really think Britain and Europe “owe” us for WWII? How can he? He doesn’t even listen to what he says.
How dare Zelensky tell Trump his metaphor makes no sense? Such disrespect! 🙄 And everybody’s overlooking this: Trump and Putin are BFF’s. Foxhole friends for life. The POTUS just said so. And Lindsey says what Zelensky said was outrageous.

Fuck a duck, we are screwed.


*Trump was suggesting no such thing, of course. He wants to open Ukraine to mining interests who will “remember” Trump, the way a Mafia boss in the movies expects to be remembered. Apparently nobody dares say that, either. Seems to me a fairly simple thing to explain, though….

🤦 (The Art[lessness] Of The Squeal)

 Yeah, this explains why Trump raged like a child told he couldn’t have a pony:

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh said he spoke to a U.S. official who believed the meeting got off to a bad start because of Zelensky's failure to wear a suit. "He said he felt the meeting might go awry as soon as Zelensky got out of the car wearing his trademark shirt with the Ukrainian emblem," Paton Walsh said. "We've seen him wearing gray-green T-shirts for years. He's recently started wearing black long-sleeved shirts more often rather than a suit."

Paton Walsh continued, "I should point out that his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, was seen wearing a suit. He's not often seen in that clothing either. They've been adopting sort of military-style fatigues since the beginning of this war, often appearing alongside European leaders to emphasize the point that they are at war. The official I spoke to saying, 'I know it's his thing, but this moment is different.' And then the official says in their own feeling and interpretation of this, that Zelenskyy should have handled this differently. when vance sat down, he should have taken a more conciliatory approach."
The narrative is already starting that Zelensky had something to do with this. (Lindsey Graham, of course, is blaming Zelensky alone for what happened.) That’s an excuse for denying Trump’s responsibility. Mostly because no one wants to face squarely how truly unfit for the office Trump is. Sorry, Lindsey was worse than what I heard in the sound bite. He’s piling on with the Vance/Trump childishness.

The President of the United States Is A Sociopath

Trump announced to his cabinet (the Musk cabinet meeting), that he had a deal with Ukraine to trade mineral rights for military equipment. I knew from the news that Zelensky had not agreed to any such thing. Then again, I don’t live in Trump’s sociopathic bubble.

So when Zelensky showed up and declined the sale (what guarantee would there be that Trump wouldn’t decide Ukraine had not complied? Zelensky is not a fucking idiot. This is why nations don’t work this way.), Trump was personally insulted and insisted over and over again that Zelensky had never said “Thank you.” Trump meant, to Trump.

Zelensky has been a brilliant diplomat and an outstanding head of state. Trump is the antithesis of Zelensky in every way.

After the debacle, Trump had someone write and post this:

Trump is furious with Zelensky for defying him to his face.  Trump is not embarassed. He's incapable of shame.  He's angry that he's not getting his way, like a petulant child.

I remember an old Star Trek episode where Kirk is not himself (don't ask).  The moment of realization comes when Scott, McCoy, and Spock meet to discuss his aberrant behavios.  McCoy says he's seen Kirk afraid, angry, confused....but never stark raving mad.  That's the turning point of the plot, when they realize not what's wrong with Kirk, but that he's unfit to captain the Enterprise.

This is that moment for the country.
Yeah, little Marco, that's not gonna work.

As almost a bonus, JD Vance has finally surpassed Spiro Agnew as the worst, most offensive VP in American history. Trump, however,  is in a class by himself, so far beneath even the worst of US Presidents you need an elevator to reach the bottom he's on.

Let's just cut to the chase," Moulton told CNN. "The president of the United States is a coward who is Vladimir Putin's puppet. The vice president of the United States is a pogue and a coward who is Donald Trump's puppet. And, so, what we just witnessed was a meeting in the Oval Office between two cowardly puppets and a hero. And whether you voted for these puppets or not, just as an American, as a fellow American, it's just embarrassing that the only hero in the Oval Office, the only decent human being, for that matter, is the Ukrainian. I mean, this administration is going to go down as an embarrassment to American history."

CNN's Boris Sanchez asked, "Congressman, I wonder if you think that President Zelenskyy could have handled it differently the way that some of his European counterparts and Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer did, and perhaps been more deferential to Trump and Vance?"

"Deferential to what?" Moulton exploded. "Deferential to a president who allowed a deal in his first term to crumble because Putin just violated it. Deferential to to a vice president who didn't even bother to visit Ukraine? I hardly know anyone in in Congress who has any view on national security, who hasn't been to Ukraine during this war. Deferential to a draft dodger, who's our commander in chief? Zelenskyy doesn't deserve to be deferential to anyone in that Oval Office. In fact, I kind of wish he'd put them in their place a little bit stronger. I mean, this is just truly, truly embarrassing. And the vast majority, the vast, vast majority of my republican colleagues in congress completely agree with me. They know the truth here. They're just too scared to say it themselves."
I did not see Zelensky being confrontational. I saw him refusing to kowtow to Trump’s attack dog (Vance) and insist on receiving the same respect as a head of state that Trump demanded, even though Trump was the one getting red-faced and irrationally making the same foolish demands over and over.

Watch the video and tell me I’m wrong.

Oh, Yeah, He’s Fit To Be President

 Sure he is:

Asked by a journalist if he could trust the Russian strongman, the president replied, "I think he'll keep his word. I've spoken to him, I've known him for a long time now, you know, we had we had to go through the Russian hoax together –– that was not a good thing. It's not fair, that was a rigged deal and had nothing to do with Russia. It was a rigged deal inside the country and they had to put up with that too. They put up with a lot."
So many levels of wrong… 😑 

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Mount Rushmore Is A No?

Trump will be demanding this by the weekend.
No, not that. He already thinks that happened. Trump desperately wants to discover the free lunch. No, that’s not where it is. Headfirst, until the wall gives, or they do. Kevin McCarthy’s been following their example for so long he’s got brain damage.*  Of course…. Not if they don’t have any more town hall meetings until 2027. Right? So, Mount Rushmore is a no? And, does the mint actually issue a $250 bill? As a matter of course, I mean. A lot of call for that denomination, is there?


*Robert Goddard launched the first liquid fueled rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts on March 16, 1926. This is NOT rocket science. 🚀 

The Fish Rots From The Head

Something is rotten in the White House:
And now we're, you know, we're doing the deal, and we're going to be in there," he said. "We're going to be actually in there and digging, digging our hearts out. And hopefully, you know, we need the rare earth and we have some here, but we don't have enough. We're, our economy is very strong, and we need a lot of things that in some cases we don't have here. So I think we're going to have a very good relationship. But the relationship between them is not the best."
There is no mining in Ukraine, because between tossing out Russia’s puppet government and the Russian invasion, there hasn’t been time to develop mines. Developing mines could take a decade, and would depend on Russia withdrawing, first. IOW, there has to be capital investment before there is a return. Trump clearly has no concept. So this idea is utter bullshit.
 "Mr. President, do you still think that Mr. Zelensky is a dictator?" another British reporter followed up.

"Um, did I say that?" said Trump. "I can't believe I said that. Next question."

"A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left," Trump had posted earlier this month.
Oh, it got worse.
"[Trump] was asked if British troops were attacked by Russian forces in Ukraine, would the U.S. come to the aid of those forces? Trump acknowledged that it was a bit of an evasive answer. What he said, he jokingly said that the U.K. wouldn't likely need help, and he turned toward Keir Starmer and jokingly asked, could you take on Russia by yourselves?
Our. Second. Oldest. Ally. On. The. Planet. (Be fair, France helped us win independence, and sold us a huge chunk of the country.) This man is a fucking disaster.

The Republic will survive him. But damn, this is a self-inflicted wound. And all because, the accepted narrative tells us, because of the price of eggs. Better than saying the mass of the country is just that fucking stupid.

Dear God, make it stop.
One simple problem, among sooooo many:
“Individuals interested in becoming an air traffic controller must be younger than 31 years of age to apply for the position, according to the Federal Aviation Administration website. Air traffic controllers are permitted to serve in the position until they are 56 years old."
Elmo is Trump’s “mini-me.” Separately or collectively, they are too stupid to run a lemonade stand.

Just A Word On What CJ Roberts Did Last Night

 Professor Vladeck:

But the question before Chief Justice Roberts last night wasn’t (solely) about who is ultimately going to win these cases; it was much more complicated: at the bottom of the government’s appeal is whether Judge Ali had the authority to specifically order the government to pay the $1.5 billion in obligated funds; along with whether the D.C. Circuit had the power to hear the government’s appeal from that order; and whether that order should be stayed while the Supreme Court sorts out both the jurisdictional question and the question about Judge Ali’s power to issue Tuesday’s order. The ultimate merits (must the government eventually pay) are obviously part of that calculus, but they’re not all of it.
I’ll come back to the procedural “how we got here” in a minute. Stop and ponder how messy this is, first. There are legitimate legal questions here that have nothing to do with a “Trump administration win,” as MSNBC reported it this morning. Don’t sleep on how buried the merits question is at this point (that’s where the real win/loss occurs). But start with this summary of the timeline:
The second way, and the way I, at least, reacted, is that last night’s order was simply a play for time. Although this litigation has been making headlines for two weeks, the Court itself didn’t receive anything related to it until yesterday afternoon. The D.C. Circuit didn’t rule until 8:07 p.m. And so you have a Circuit Justice trying to figure out what to do after hours, and whether he even has time to take the full Court’s temperature, with a deadline that’s less than four hours away and with a lot more going on than just the ultimate merits question.
Sure, up is down and black is white, but not always; and certainly not always in the law. There was an appellate ruling before Roberts ruled (nobody jumped the queue), and part of the issue here is what the two lower courts did. Considering all of that (and not the merits, which nobody above the trial court is considering yet, Roberts’ order actually makes sense.

He’s paused proceedings while setting a Friday, noon, deadline for briefs. Yes, that’s another delay, but this isn’t an action movie. And, like some of the continuity in the Marvel films, all the smashing and breaking does have to be cleaned up. “Move fast and break things” is an action movie mantra where the damage disappears from view as the heroes battle to victory. You never see the heroes cleaning up the mess they made; or even taking responsibility for it. Yes, the courts are the last resort for imposing responsibility, but they only ever provide compensation, at best. They never fix it “as if it never even happened.”

Dese are de conditions dat prevail.

So before “what can we expect?”, let’s examine how we particularly got here. 

Thursday, February 13, Judge Ali enters a TRO to block the categorical suspension of foreign aid spending. 

Wednesday (the 19th), the plaintiffs filed a motion to enforce the TRO and hold the government in civil contempt for not complying with the TRO. That order was granted the next day, but didn’t grant the contempt motion.

The next Monday, plaintiffs moved for contempt again.
 “Judge Ali responded Tuesday with an order specifically requiring the administration to pay all invoices and letter-of-credit drawdown requests for work completed prior to the TRO, as well as reimbursements on grants and assistance agreements, by 11:59 p.m. last night.”

The government appealed immediately, asking for a stay pending appeal. Ali denied that stay Wednesday morning.
And at 8:07 p.m. last night, the D.C. Circuit issued a terse order holding that it lacked jurisdiction over the government’s appeal (which it dismissed); that the government couldn’t make out the burden for an extraordinary writ of mandamus; and that its motion for a stay was therefore moot. (Of note, the appeal is not about the merits; it is about whether Judge Ali had the power to issue the February 25 order.)
That point about the merits shouldn’t be overlooked. The appeal is in a question of judicial authority and, thanks to the appellate court, jurisdiction. To wit, has the government properly invoked the court’s jurisdiction. Now, to be honest, that issue is more often than not used by a court to duck deciding a case. Whether or not court has jurisdiction, after all, is up to the court. And that can turn so much on the facts, the court can preach it round AND square (change the facts, change the outcome), and get away with it.

And then Roberts stepped in, pursuant to government request, and suspended everything before the midnight deadline.

Now, what’s likely to happen? Who the fuck knows? 🤷🏻‍♂️  But Professor Vladeck says this may be the beginning of what he expects: the Court’s spring docket clogged with emergency appeals from rulings against Trump’s EO’s (or for them). I think the Court can see that, too, and so may look for ways to swat them away. Like ruling on the procedural/jurisdictional issues, rather than on the merits. The former has a smaller presidential footprint than the latter, but may be enough precedent to say “Be careful what you appeal, because we probably don’t have to take it.” And: “So don’t be surprised when we don’t.”

We’ll see what happens Friday. Predicting the future is a mug’s game.
 

Outside Agitators 🔊

And Democrats aren’t worthy of representation by Republicans.

That’s in the Constitution somewhere. 🤔
Pretty sure Trump is the one pushing for one giant budget bill. And who’s going to supply that program at, I’m sure, a fair price to the federal government?

Besides, I still have a question: we can’t trust computer tabulations for presidential voting (Trump insists his last win overwhelmed the cheaters), but we can trust it to find “waste, fraud and abuse”? And isn’t fraud still a legal determination? Or does the Speaker want to get rid of judges, too?

Here We Go Again

 

Now we’re supposed to be upset that Elon Musk and Senator Mike Lee are upset with three federal judges. And yes, their remarks are intemperate and foolish. But it’s Mike Lee and Elmo. As Molly Ivins once said about criticism of her by politicians, it’s rather like having your ankle be gummed by a newt.

I remember those billboards. They were all over the place, in a very well coordinated effort, and much more public than a tweet by Elmo. You didn’t have to rely on the news to repeat the sentiment, you could see it out your car window. It was quite a concerted effort.


And yet the republic prevailed. 

So yes, Elmo is making more loud noises. But he’ll move on to the next shiny thing in a moment. The courts have already marked “paid” to his efforts. Aside from the fact Congress is no more likely to impeach and remove several federal judges than it is to impeach and remove a president.

And frankly, complaining loudly about judges is as American as Mom and apple pie.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

How It’s Going 😷

 


And:
Just yesterday while on PBS News Hour I said that I will have confidence that federal vaccine policy is uncompromised as long as the external advisory committees continue to meet. Now meetings for both VRBPAC and ACIP have been cancelled. I don't like this.
Meanwhile, in Texas:
People are more and more nervous” as they watch the highly contagious virus spread in their communities, mostly among children, said Katherine Wells, director of public health for Lubbock's health department. “We’ve vaccinated multiple kids that have never been vaccinated before, some from families that didn’t believe in vaccines.”

About half of the approximately 100 doses of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) given at the health department last week were to kids who were unvaccinated, Wells said.

On Tuesday, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported that 124 cases of measles have been confirmed since late January, mostly in counties in West Texas, near the New Mexico border. So far, 18 patients have been hospitalized, often because they were having trouble breathing.

Of the 124 cases identified, 101 are babies, school-age kids or teenagers.

Nearly all were either unvaccinated or hadn’t received their second MMR shot, which is usually given around age 5. That dose, plus one given around a child’s first birthday, are 97% effective at preventing measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Measles is highly contagious.

A measles outbreak centered in West Texas continues to grow. That outbreak was the subject of a DSHS health alert on Feb. 5, and the latest information on it is available in a DSHS News Update. A person from the outbreak area who was later diagnosed with measles visited locations in the San Marcos and San Antonio areas the weekend of Feb. 14-16 while they were contagious.

One can be contagious for two weeks before symptoms appear. And clearly we can’t expect it to be isolated to 9 counties in west Texas. People from all over Texas will be coming to Houston, from February 27 to March 23. It’s an annual event that was canceled once, during the beginning of the Covid shutdown. Nobody’s talking about that, now.

It may be the definition of a super spreader event.

But that’s okay, right, Secretary Kennedy?

Idiots Bumping Brains In Public

Does the Senator know why we call it the “Pentagon”? No, you fired them. You’re doing a good job of that by yourself, Hegseth. Although never realized being a government of laws, not of persons, made America look bad. And those determinations are made by government and legal processes. Not a few schmucks with no oversight and no responsibility for their actions.

And RFK, Jr isn’t fit to be in charge of a lemonade stand:
In the end they’ll say they cut $1.5 billion. Who listens to the CBO, anyway?

Trump does it all the time.

Approved!

 



I like it! 👍

So, it seems, do a lot of people.

“DEI Is Out; Merit Is In”

 Or, you know, not:

"In yesterday's shareholders meeting at Apple and today at Deere, director from the NCPPR said, 'DEI is out, merit is in.' Shareholders: DEI is in," wrote Stearns. "Apple and John Deere shareholders voted on anti-DEI proposals from the National Center for Public Policy Research yesterday and today. Apple shareholders rejected 98-2 pct; Deere shareholders rejected 99-1 pct; Costco shareholders rejected in Jan. 98-2 pct."
The telling part is: people putting their money where their mouths are.

NCPPR is pushing companies to abandon DEI, thinking shareholders will agree with them. That strategy is not exactly working out.

Another gauge of Trump’s “accomplishments.”

Is This Why His Casino Went Bankrupt?

And why he owes the state of New York half a billion dollars? Because he’s innumerate? And hus Press Secretary is an idiot? There was a federal judge asking....  Which I’m sure is why you named Gleason as DOGE administrator, anyway. Because the lawyers in court sure couldn’t do it. Who is it supposed to make money for? What is it supposed to sell? And “we” are completely broke because of Trump’s tax cuts in his last administration. And you just voted for more. Yes, she is that stupid. A child just died from a completely preventable infection that could be as unknown as polio or smallpox. Asshole.

Let me put it this way: I got the smallpox vaccine, as a child. My daughter never had to. There is no reason the statement “There are measles outbreaks every year” needs to be uttered. Except because of people like RFK, Jr.
Any further comment, Doctor? Today I just need a Jasmine Crockett post. Nope.
According to the United States government's foreign assistance website, the U.S. has not spent more than $35.1 million in a single fiscal year on financial assistance for Canada since at least 2001. In the most recent reported fiscal year, 2022 — which ran from Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022 — the United States sent $32 million in foreign assistance to Canada.
That article is from 12/23/24. Trump said then the “subsidies” to Canada were $100 billion a year. A week before that, he claimed it was $100 million. Clearly not big enough, so he increased it 10 times. And now it’s $200 billion. All courtesy of Professor Otto Yerass.

At least the rate of exaggeration is slowing down.

Like I said: innumeracy.*


*And it has fuck all with Canada becoming a state. Trump is not going to jawbone Canada into submission, he’s just going to piss then off. My only disappointment is that more people don’t see how demented the POTUS is.

I Meant To Add…

...this: to this post.

A judge asked DOJ lawyers who was in charge of DOGE. They didn’t want to say “Elmo,” because he’s not a government employee. The judge’s concern was whether DOGE requires an Appointments Clause head.

This “private” announcement by the Press Secretary after the press conference does not allay those concerns. (In fact, I’m pretty sure she had to check with somebody before she gave reporters a name.)
Also, too, as well: She was running DOGE from Cozumel? I don’t think the courts are through with this, yet. Or that Trump is up to telling courts to suck it.

Putting Out The “For Sale” Sign

Does he imagine he can do that with an EO? Does he think this covers his tax cuts?

No wonder his casinos went bankrupt.

But no, that’s not the day’s low point.
Nor is that. This is. And this. He really knows how to insult everybody, doesn’t he?

Is Trump Ignoring The Courts?

 So, all that talk about Elmo inaction and Elmo in charge, and yet:

Multiple agencies are now instructing employees that, contrary to what Elon said (and Trump appeared to reiterate in presser), responding is optional.

The reason why they’re doing so is virtually certainly due to this lawsuit, filed by Kel McClanahan (here’s his website, if you want to support his work). Its theory was a bit different than a lot of other lawsuits: he argued that OPM was violating its own standards under the E-Government Act mandating the existence and substance of a Privacy Impact Assessment before collecting new information.
You can read emptywheel for the details, but the tl:dr is: yes, there is a lawsuit you’ve never heard of, and yes, it is having an impact. Which already means: No, Trump hasn’t signed an EO telling the judiciary to pound sand.

That PIA is the key. 🔑 

Basically, the PIA (which the lawsuit required OPM to acknowledge and implement) means responses to emails by government employees ARE entirely voluntary, and not required.

To cut to the chase, McClanahan filed for sanctions for violations of the E-Government Act, and shortly after, government agencies started responding. OPM told employees:
Assume that what you write will be read by malign foreign actors and tailor your response accordingly.
And then DOJ got in on it:
In an email to its workforce on Monday, the Justice Department said that during a meeting with the interagency Chief Human Capital Officers Council, OPM informed agencies that employee responses to the email are voluntary. OPM also clarified that despite what Musk had posted, a non-response to the email does not equate to a resignation, the email said.
And separately, HHS got chary:
One message on Sunday morning from the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., instructed its roughly 80,000 employees to comply. That was shortly after the acting general counsel, Sean Keveney, had instructed some not to. And by Sunday evening, agency leadership issued new instructions that employees should “pause activities” related to the request until noon on Monday.

“I’ll be candid with you. Having put in over 70 hours of work last week advancing Administration’s priorities, I was personally insulted to receive the below email,” Keveney said in an email viewed by the AP that acknowledged a broad sense of “uncertainty and stress” within the agency.

Keveney laid out security concerns and pointed out some of the work done by the agency’s employees may be protected by attorney-client privilege.
Small wonder Elmo complained that the courts were hashing his mellow.
It's worked for Trump most of his life. It works for lots of rich, white men and women.
Yup. Doesn’t really work for government, though. Rubio told the court, in the one case where the government didn’t follow the court order, that what they did was basically not subject to that order. That’s not anarchy; it’s an argument that’s been used before. And the court slapped it down.

I’m still waiting for major defiance. I haven’t seen it yet.

“I Didn’t Think You Meant Me!

Of all the oxes in all the fields you said you would gore, I never thought you’d gore mine.

Now is the season of finding out.


Tuesday, February 25, 2025

When In Worry, When In Doubt…

 …run in circles, scream and shout.

House Republicans are becoming weary and wary of in-person town hall meetings after a number of lawmakers have faced hometown crowds angry about the Trump administration’s push to slash government programs and staffing.

Party leaders suggest that if lawmakers feel the need to hold such events, they do tele-town halls or at least vet attendees to avoid scenes that become viral clips, according to GOP sources.
I mean, what the fuck do you think we have Elmo for? He doesn’t hold town halls, so people can only yell at him from their couches.
Beyond that, White House and party officials say the majority of the public wants the budget cuts.

"The president's policies are incredibly popular, and the American people applaud his success in cutting the waste, fraud and abuse of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars," said Danielle Alvarez, a senior adviser at the RNC. "Pathetic astroturf campaigns organized by out-of-touch, far-left groups are exactly why Democrats will keep losing."
Those aren’t real people. They’re outside agitators. Southern politicians started that, in opposition to the civil rights movement. Nixon picked it up later. It became a conservative trope, especially in the GOP, to label anyone who disagreed as out of the mainstream and not part of Nixon’s “Silent Majority.” Yeah, that one’s behind that quote, too.

Seems like old times….

Interesting….

 Is Musk speaking for Trump now? Hegseth spoke for Trump when Hegseth fired the senior JG’s. Hegseth said he did to remove “barriers.” Trump didn’t push back. (Was he even asked?)

I assume Elmo wants to impeach judges who don’t rule the way he likes. “First thing we do is kill all the lawyers.” Right? Or at least get them out of the way.

Especially three judges today, eh? DOGE didn’t have such a good day in court.

Elmo’s not dangerous. He’s too fucking obvious for that. Especially after the week several GOP Representatives had, they don’t have the stomach for kangaroo impeachment courts. Much less the time.

Elmo’s just proving himself unfit for government service. Guess it’s a good thing he’s not a government employee, huh? 🤔 


It Really Is An Existential Crisis

When is somebody going to tell him this is not how government works? At. All.

A) civil service employees can’t simply be fired for failure to respond to an email. (The Lovely Wife worked for a school district (in Administration) for years. Employees couldn’t be fired without cause and a long process. And those were state employees, not federal civil service. But the protections are similar.)

B) Responding to an email is hardly “proof of life.” No matter what Elmo thinks.

C) Anyone see the problem now? Musk is not the “co-President” or the President in jest. He is as much the true President as Wilson’s wife was. He is actually making the decisions. Trump is just following orders.

Easier than thinking, which Trump’s never been good at.
See?

Konstitooshinal Skollar Ship 🚢

A)  Your staff will be pleased to hear that. And the Capitol Police who protected your ass in J6.

B) Please identify the federal revenue you have generated. Elmo wants to know.

B) Are you really this dumb? Never mind, I have my answer. (Please take your arguments to the courts. I’m sure they’ll be most receptive.)

I was also going to quote Art. I, but why bother?
Gotta protect the King. (This would be the same James Comer who STILL accuses Joe Biden of crimes, mostly on the testimony of a confessed perjurer. Comer has never produced ANY evidence of his allegations. But Trump likes it, so…) Always go out with a happy thought….

Transparencleness!!

DOGE drops its "receipts":
The 'wall of receipts' is the only public ledger the organization has produced to document its work," the newspaper reported. "The scale of that ledger’s errors — and the misunderstandings and poor quality control that seemed to underlie them — has raised questions about the effort’s broader work, which has led to mass firings and cutbacks across the federal government."

The last of the top five disappeared early Tuesday morning from DOGE's website, and the Times reported that some of the new canceled contracts added this week appear to contain the same types of errors that plagued the original top five, which included a reported $8 billion cut at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $655 million cut at the U.S. Agency for International Development and $232 million at the Social Security Administration.
ICE's entire budget is $8 billion. DOGE just really doesn’t know what’s going on.
DOGE employees also erroneously counted a single cut three times in an apparent misunderstanding of how government contracts sometimes have "ceiling values" that are much higher than what is actually spent.

Musk's organization also seems to have mistakenly believed that SSA had canceled a massive information technology contract, but it had only ended a $560,000 portion of that project.
And there’s still the question of their authority to do this:
Judge: "I don’t know why I can’t get a straight answer from you. Are you aware of an unfreezing of the disbursement of funds for those contracts and agreements that were frozen before Feb. 13?"

DOJ lawyer: "I’m not in a position to answer that."
Which led directly to:
NEW: A federal judge gave the Trump administration about 36 hours to pay out hundreds millions of dollars for work performed by foreign aid contractors — and is demanding details about potential defiance of his orders.
Do not pass “Go,” do not collect $200.00. And, in another court:
BREAKING: A federal judge just blocked Donald Trump's executive order pausing the US Refugee Admissions Program saying it appeared to "cross the line" into "nullification of congressional will."
The court order explicitly said the EO was a violation of separation of powers.  Also, too, as well:
JUST IN: A scathing ruling from Judge AliKhan extends her block of the Trump administration's blanket spending freeze. She says the administration has tried to "say one thing while expressly doing another" and called the freeze "ill-conceived." https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.276842/gov.uscourts.dcd.276842.51.0.pdf
Three strikes in three courts. The DOJ is getting its ass handed to it today.

Elmo To Federal Employees: “PSYCHE!”

"Chaos” is just another word for “complete incompetence.”
Workers reportedly received the email Saturday afternoon from the Office of Personnel Management with the subject line “What did you do last week?” The deadline given in which to respond, according to emails reviewed by Reuters, was 11:59 p.m. EST Monday. Failure to reply would be “taken as resignation,” Musk tweeted.

Less than 24 hours before the deadline, Musk hinted that the emails were simply a ruse to ensure federal employees were “capable of responding” to his correspondence.

In the early hours of Monday morning, Musk replied to American venture capitalist Garry Tan on X after he shared a post claiming that DOGE wouldn’t be capable of reading all of the federal workers’ responses, calling the initiative “stupid” and “performance art.”

“Most people don’t understand LLMs have changed the nature of management already, and this will be a bit of a shock to people,” Tan tweeted on Sunday night, speaking of large language models: a type of machine learning model designed for processing large data sets of text.

Musk responded that LLMs would not be needed for his task.

“This was basically a check to see if the employee had a pulse and was capable of replying to an email,” Musk said. “This mess will get sorted out this week. Lot of people in for a rude awakening and strong dose of reality. They don’t get it yet, but they will.”

On Sunday afternoon, Musk also referred to the emails as a “very basic pulse check.” That evening, Musk added that a response was indicative that employees have “two working neurons.”

Which Trump turned into: 

And when by Sunday word had spread that agencies were telling employees not to respond:

“EXTREMELY troubling that some parts of government think this is TOO MUCH!!” Musk tweeted on Sunday. “What is wrong with them??”
Maybe that Musk is not part of the government?

Or nobody knows who’s in charge? Later that same day…
And in another part of the city….

“OUTSIDE AGEE-TATERS!!!!!”

Rep. Alford later said:
"This was brought about outside agitators and some people from outside of our district, not our constituents who came there to make their voices heard," Alford said. "And I respect that they have every right to be there. We did not prohibit them, even though they did not live in our district."
"We just made sure SWAT was there, because people on the sidewalk are a clear and present danger. Did I mention outside agitators? You can never be too careful about them!"
"This is serious business we're talking about. And that's why I went in and faced the people who who don't want me in office and some who want to, I think, to do me harm," Alford continued. "That's why we had a swat team and many police there. And I can take that. But I take this serious because this is the survival of our nation."
"See?!"
"There is waste, abuse and fraud in Medicaid. We are finding out through DOGE and through the access to this data that there is waste, abuse and fraud in just about every government program. We knew that," he said. "I don't think we wanted to admit that it was this bad. but in the medicaid system, we've got to make sure that that's eliminated and that we also have to make sure that able-bodied adults with no dependent children are not on Medicaid."
Sounds like the proper subject of a Congressional investigation, to me. Or maybe something for an Inspector General to look into. Oh, wait, Trump fired all those, didn’t he? Now, why’d he do that? 🤔 

Mark Alford cleared 71% of the vote in 2024. If he’s shook they’re all shook.
And no wonder he calls them “outside agitators.”