Thursday, February 20, 2025

White women, I don't get you


White women, I don't get you.  And I'm really starting to not like you.  Now I've got a lot of White women I know from work and from college and some are my friends.  We even have a White couple that goes to our church that I consider friends.  But I keep feeling like the ones I know personally are the exception -- have to be the exception -- because they're smart and fun.  And yet the bulk of White women, who I don't know personally, keep voting against their own interests.  Bad enough when you idiots didn't take abortion rights seriously.  But you knew -- or should have known -- that Chump and his ridiculous idiots were coming after divorce.  Tatyana Tandanpolie (Salon) reports:


As the Trump administration continues its opening barrage of contentious executive actions targeting federal protections for marginalized Americans, legislators at the state level are taking another shot at no-fault divorce, renewing a heretofore quiet effort to turn a fringe idea — restricting Americans' ability to get a divorce — into a potential reality in the most conservative states.  

In Oklahoma last month, a state senator introduced for the second time a bill seeking to remove "incompatibility" from the state's grounds for divorce, while also proposing a separate piece of legislation that would provide a tax credit to encourage covenant marriages, which make it harder for spouses to obtain a divorce. In Indiana, a now-dead bill introduced last month aimed to add a hurdle for married couples with minor children seeking a divorce on no-fault grounds.

The recent bills targeting no-fault divorce come against a backdrop of a slew of executive actions at the federal level that threaten civil rights and freedoms for a host of Americans. While these state bills have previously failed to gain any traction in their respective legislatures — Republican Oklahoma state Sen. Dusty Deevers' 2024 attempt at eliminating no-fault divorce failed to make it out of committee — their reappearances in state legislatures illuminates a potentially burgeoning trend toward further limiting women's rights.

In a post-Dobbs United States, legal experts find such a prospect alarming.  

Marcia Zug, a professor of marital law at the University of South Carolina School of Law, told Salon that she expects more of this kind of legislation to arise in the years to come because of their spread. Despite these bills' current unpopularity, their failures are not dissuading lawmakers in other states from introducing similar proposals. 

"It's not being looked at as a crazy thing," Zug said of some ultraconservative state lawmakers' approach to the legislation. "'Some state over there is doing it. Let's consider it, and maybe we want to propose it, and maybe it'll pass — maybe it won't.' But if more and more, states propose it, some state will pass it. Maybe other states will pass it. That's more likely than not at this point."


White women, you need to get your act together. You're not going to sink us.  If you can't start doing the right thing, we can just let you drown because we're not going under with you.

Margaret Atwood got it wrong. It wasn't just men imposing on women, it was women actively seeking their own doom.  

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


Thursday, February 20, 2025.  As more use their voices, Donald Chump's efforts to trick the country into marching to its own slaughter get exposed and the people -- uh, oh, Chump! -- get woke.



A new poll from Reuters shows that the early optimism that greeted President Donald Trump's second term is quickly fading as consumers sour on the American economy.

According to Reuters, Trump's job approval fell by three points since the start of his second term a month ago, and he's being dragged down by perceptions of the economy, which was the issue that many political analysts believed put him over the top in the 2024 presidential election.

"The share of Americans who think the economy is on the wrong track rose to 53% in the latest poll from 43% in the January 24-26 poll," Reuters writes. "Public approval of Trump's economic stewardship fell to 39% from 43% in the prior poll."


We The People are rejecting Convicted Felon Donald Trump and that rejection is only going to increase. That's for a number of reasons including Chump's desire to push his garbage attacks on America through quickly.  The reason for the speed is to avoid the average American catching on.

Political tricksters can't with honesty.  That's why, for example, you get Socialists trying to pass themselves off as Democrats and only embarrassing themselves with self-labels like Justice Democrats.  Over on the right, they have many, many more tricksters. 

And their goal is to try to convince you that you want to turn over all of America's treasures to corporations so that the rich can get even richer -- and without any real oversight.

So they have to push these awful plans quickly.

But people are noticing and that's one thing -- they're noticing that these programs are awful.

The other thing is the speed with which they're trying to dismantle our entire system.

Socialists have the same end goal of Donald Chump -- dismantling our system, taking it down and replace it with something they just know will follow even though they can't articulate what that is -- and if they're DSA-ers, they can't even articulate that they're Socialists.  THE NATION is run by a Socialist (KvH) and a avowed Marxist that she's appointed.  But we're not supposed to notice that.  Or that THE PROGRESSIVE is also not a Democratic outlet but a Socialist outlet.  

DSA, for example, has been trying decades to take over the Democratic Party.  And failing repeatedly.  They could try to build up DSA (which keeps collapsing) but instead, as NBC NEWS reported two years ago, they want to instead try to hide and run as Democrats. 
 

Renée Paradis, a member of the party's National Political Committee said opinion inside the DSA ranges widely, including those who want the group to be more active inside the Democratic Party.

But the consensus coming out of the convention, she said, remains that DSA should keep running candidates in Democratic primaries while building its own outside campaign infrastructure.

"Most working-class voters still heavily identify with the Democratic Party," said Paradis. "Bernie’s campaigns and DSA’s own electoral campaigns have shown that we can build socialist power while tactically using the Democratic Party’s ballot line.”


So they lie about who they are and what their ideology is about -- the end goal is the destruction of our way of life -- again, not unlike Donald Chump.

But as deluded as those left tricksters are, they grasp that they can't rush this forward.  That's why they move slowly.  Donald's not moving slowly.

And I don't care whether it's dropping a certain color of M&M candies or some offering at McDonald's, the people in this country do not embrace rapid change.

And the rush -- forget to what -- that Chump's attempting is turning off people.  

His programs are unpopular and his pace is unpopular.  That's sealing his doom.





All by itself, the pace would be bad enough.  Humankind moves slowly.  But when you add in the effects of this pace?  When you see one example of incompetence after another?  When you see decisions that are leaving the American people at risk?  That's when people really sour on Chump.



If anyone should’ve felt safe in their government jobs, you’d assume it would be the 350 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration, charged with oversight of the country’s nuclear arsenal.

Never assume.

In what the White House is now calling a mistake, a large swath of NNSA employees were fired last Thursday before the Trump administration realized they had cleared out the wrong agency. By Friday, they were scrambling to rehire these essential workers. All but 28 employees had their dismissals rescinded, according to the Los Angeles Times.


Exactly, those workers should have felt safe, their job was to ensure that we were safe.  But they're suddenly gone.  And then, OOPS!, we need those people.

Isn't that something Chump and his flight attendant Alien Musk should have figured out and known before the plane left the runway?  Forget partisanship, that -- and other examples -- say to the American people, he's just destroying, he doesn't know what he's doing. 



 President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, in their hunt for "fraud, waste and abuse" in the federal government, are falsely implying millions of dead Americans are receiving Social Security benefits, experts told ABC News.

It started in the Oval Office last week when Musk -- facing reporters for the first time since the Department of Government Efficiency began its aggressive overhaul of the federal government -- said he found "crazy things" in the Social Security system, including, he said, people who are "150 years old." 

[. . .]

Social Security policy experts and economists told ABC News that they are getting it wrong, contending Musk is misreading the agency's records system. 

  The Social Security Administration (SSA) has multiple databases, including one that gets sent to the Treasury Department each month outlining who is receiving payments.

According to agency statistics, of the 67 million people who receive Social Security benefits, only 0.1% are over the age of 100.

"So, when they're throwing around numbers like tens of millions of dead people are getting Social Security, well there's only 67 million total. What are they talking about? Half the people are actually dead? The numbers are so ridiculous. It's not true," said Kathleen Romig, the director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

SSA does make some improper payments, but they are not widespread (roughly 1%) and most of the mistakes made are overpayments to living beneficiaries, according to a July 2024 inspector's general report. That report found from 2015 through 2022, the SSA made $71.8 billion in improper payments. The agency issues $1 trillion in benefits every year.


Oops.  Caught lying yet again.  Yet again.  And Social Security is popular with voters -- regardless of party i.d.  And now we know, as a nation, that he's lying yet again.

And that Alien Musk is 'overseeing' an agency he has no knowledge of.  He doesn't know what he's doing and he doesn't care.  This isn't his country, after all.  That's why he's a citizen of two other countries -- Canada and his birthplace South Africa.  

What happens in America matters to American citizens.  American citizens don't have citizenship in three countries -- not if they're committed to our country.  The Iraqi Constitution of 2005 addressed that issue of citizenship for officials. The US government largely wrote it -- right wingers -- so grasp that they're not crazy about Alien either.

And as Chump and Alien rush to destroy, they remind the American people of what we don't like.


The Trump administration admitted on Tuesday that it accidentally fired "several" USDA employees who were working on resolving the H1N5 bird flu outbreak in the United States. The USDA said in a statement it was working on bringing those agency employees back.

"Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," a USDA spokesperson said in a statement reported by NBC.

"USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfill our statutory mission."

The DOGE purge of the federal government had already claimed 300 employees at the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) last week, which then had to be walked back after it was revealed they were in charge of maintaining the safety of the United States' nuclear arsenal.


Another accidental firing carried out by Donald Chump's sugar daddy Alien Musk.  Alien who was not elected to government office and who does not hold a position that the Senate might confirm.  South African-born Alien Musk coming into our country, having the nerve to fire American citizens and then, over and over, OOPS!  


Oops?


The first oops made it clear Alien didn't know what he was doing and should not be over anything to do with the US government.  The man is seen as a security risk by our own government.  And, along with accessing our data that should be protected from him, he's firing people and clearly doesn't know what they do, what their duties are or how important they are to running this country.


He doesn't know.


And he doesn't care to know.


Chump's put his Sugar Daddy ahead of the citizens of this country.  


RAW STORY notes:


In just a few short weeks, the Trump administration has brought drastic changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health. Beginning with the removal of websites and key public health datasets in January 2025, the Trump administration has taken actions to dismantle established public health infrastructure as part of its second-term agenda.

In addition, the administration has begun a widespread purge of the federal public health workforce. As of Feb. 19, around 5,200 employees at the CDC and the National Institutes of Health had been let go. About 10% of the CDC’s staff have been removed, with plans for additional firings. 


How is any of this helping the American people?


The vast increase in the price of groceries since Chump was sworn in?  He's not addressing that.  He's not honoring his word that the prices would go down on the first day of his administration.


That's what he told people. 


That's what he campaigned on.


But he's not doing anything about it.  He's too focused on destroying our country and advancing his plans before the entire country catches on to how he's looting American taxpayers and treasures to enrich people like Alien Musk.


Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early (TAP) report:

In a scene that has become familiar in Washington these days, angry federal workers and concerned members of Congress gathered outside a government office to protest the latest depredations of the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) created by President Trump.

On February 13, the venue of the day was the Vermont Avenue headquarters of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), an agency with the second-largest workforce and third-largest budget in the federal government.

The Senate Democrats who rallied, in person or via press release, to “Protect Our Veterans” trained their fire on the evil meddling of the billionaire boss from Tesla, SpaceX, and X, the social media site previously known as Twitter.

In her statement of support, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) warned that Musk and his crew were accessing data that included personal information about VA patients, which is supposed to be safeguarded by the secretary of veterans affairs. “Veterans risked their lives to defend our country,” Murray said. “And they deserve better than to have an unelected billionaire reviewing their medical records, targeting the benefits they have earned, or using their private information for personal gain.”


He's going after Social Security, he's going after Medicare, he's going after Medicaid and he's going after veterans.  


Those of us who support those four programs?  We outnumber Chump and Alien.  We're right and we're left and we're center.  And we have the numbers.  Even a dumb ass like Ted Cruz -- one of Texas' two idiot US senators -- has to grasp that reality if his constituents call his office, write him, demand a face-to-face, protest -- all of it.  


Even dumb Ted Cruz knows Chump's not going to protect Cruz's ass.  Chump will protect his own ass.  But at the end of the day, he's not doing anything for Cruz.  So confronted with angry constituents, Cruz does have to develop some form of a spine and stand up for his constituents.



A President’s Day weekend swept by fear and grief from the sudden termination of thousands of federal employees in the US Forest Service and Department of Interior left chaos and uncertainty after the latest assault on the federal workforce by the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

For people on the ground in mountain communities, small towns and rural areas, the cuts were nothing short of devastating. They came with no explanation, warning or discernment, and the impact on public land and wildlife, observers say, will be felt for years.

“It’s pretty hard to fathom,” said Claire Thompson, 35, a trail leader who was fired Friday afternoon after eight years with the US Forest Service. “It feels like they’re punishing the people who least deserve it. We have chosen to stay in careers working for so little money. We are literally the boots on the ground, physically working all day.”

Jobs cut included park rangers and interpreters, National Environmental Policy Act coordinators, endangered species biologists, trail crews, maintenance staff, and wastewater treatment operators.



This is across the nation.  It's not just in some liberal college town like Corvallis, Oregon.  That's not an insult to Corvallis, I've visited the city many times and spoken there many times.  It's a great city.  And they are active.  But this is cities across the nation.  This is towns.

The reason we call out trash like Joe and Mika is because they are surrender monkeys.

What was needed from the start was for brave voices to step up and speak out.


The Emperor's got no clothes on
No clothes? That can't be; he's the Emperor
Take that child away
Don't let the people hear the words he has to say

One small voice
Speaking out in honesty
Silenced, but not for long
One small voice speaking with the values
   we were taught as children

So you walk away and say, Isn't he divine?
Don't those clothes look fine on the Emperor?
And as you take your leave
You wonder why you're feeling so ill-at-ease
Don't you know?

Lies take your soul
You can't hide from yourself
Lies take their toll on you
And everyone else

One small voice speaking out in honesty
Silenced, but not for long
One small voice speaking with the values
   we were taught as children
Tell the truth
You can change the world
But you'd better be strong

-- "One Small Voice," written by Carole King, first appears on her SPEEDING TIME album.


That's what it boils down.  One voice.  And that one voice brings out another and soon We The People are going to be heard.  That's how it works.  

In a democracy, that's how it works.



Donald Trump called himself “THE KING” on Wednesday, and the rest of the White House was overjoyed to see the president was dropping the pretense of democracy. 

Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that his administration would challenge New York City’s recent policy installing congestion pricing, with an added rhetorical twist. 


Chump's not the king.  As Ann noted last night, "King?  Please.  He's not strong enough to be a Drag Queen, forget King.  He's nothing but a court jester dancing for his master Alien Musk."  Justin Kaufmann (AXIOS) notes Illinois Governor JB Pritzker spoke yesterday and noted the US does not have kings:


What they're saying: "My oath is to the Constitution of our state and of our country," Pritzker said in the speech.

  • "We don't have kings in America — and I don't intend to bend the knee to one. I am not speaking up in service to my ambitions, but in deference to my obligations."

Context: Pritzker, a Democrat who has both attacked and sued the Trump administration in recent weeks, is considered a rising national star in his party.

Zoom in: Pritzker's own budget office revealed a $3.2 billion deficit for 2026 in November, but the governor's office has since revised that to a $1.7 billion deficit.

  • The budget calls for revenue to grow by almost 3% to offset the deficit, along with a slew of cost-cutting measures, like streamlining state purchasing and a freeze on new hiring.


The power we have is our voice.  In a democracy, our voices matter.  And our voices are already exposing the corruption and the misdeeds of Donald Chump.  We just need to increase the pressure.  Carl Gibson reports:

Centrist Republicans in Congress who have publicly criticized President Donald Trump have nonetheless turned out to be reliable votes for his Cabinet nominees. This may be due to fear of retribution.

That's according to a Wednesday article in Vanity Fair, which quoted several Republicans who say there's fear among GOP elected officials in Washington D.C. about the potential for political violence from Trump's base if they outwardly oppose him. Vanity Fair's Gabriel Sherman spoke with longtime Republican strategist Stuart Stevens — who worked for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign before joining anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project — who said today's Republicans have lost their spine.

"These are the heirs of the Greatest Generation, and they turned out to be the worst generation," he said. "A guy sends a mob into your workplace to kill you, and you’re okay with that?"

One of the more moderate members of the Senate Republican Conference who has publicly criticized Trump is Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is running for reelection in 2026 in a relatively purple state. But Tillis turned out to be the deciding vote to confirm former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense. One of Sherman's sources said Tillis was made aware of "credible death threats" by the FBI ahead of the final vote.

"They’re scared s---less about death threats and Gestapo-like stuff," said an unnamed source who worked in the first Trump administration.


We may go into more of that tomorrow.  For now, Edith Olmsted (THE NEW REPUBLIC) explains:

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency may be trying to inflate the numbers of its spending cuts.

DOGE published an itemized list of canceled government contracts Monday accounting for an alleged $16 billion in spending. Almost half of those savings were attributed to a hefty $8 billion contract for D&G Support Services to provide “program and technical support services” to the Office of Diversity and Civil Rights at the the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

There was just one problem: The DOGE website included a screenshot of the award, which showed that it was only worth $8 million, not $8 billion, as was the amount listed directly below the image. 


We have to expose the lies, we must demand accountability.  Last night, Ali Velshi  spoke with Senator Elizabeth Warren about Alien Musk.




There is so much at stake.  And that's why Alien and Chump have to lie.  They don't want the truth out there, they want to trick the American people.  Oscar Maung-Haley (DAILY EXPRESS) notes:


The 45th and 47th President of the United States arrived at Daytona International Speedway via jet, a figure which some users on social media have speculated cost taxpayers $25,000. While that figure has not been verified, it is an objective fact Trump flew in for the beginning of the race, stayed 11 laps and then left.

"Trump burned $25,000 in jet fuel, doing laps around Daytona in Air Force One, which will be paid for by tax money. Someone alert DOGE," wrote one user on Reddit.

"Trump's Daytona flyover? More like a taxpayer-funded ego trip!" said another on X. A third wrote: "Waste fraud and abuse written alllll over it. But since it's maga sponsored race, they won't complain lol."

And a fourth said: "Receipt that it costs millions to travel?"


Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:

ICYMI: Senator Murray on Trump Indiscriminately Firing Workers at Hanford and Bonneville Power Administration, Threatening Energy Security in Washington State

***VIDEO FROM PRESS CALL HERE***

***NEW FACT SHEET: Impact in Washington State of Trump and Musk’s Reckless Mass Layoffs***

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, held a virtual press conference with federal workers in Washington state who were recently laid off through no fault of their own and with zero justification, as part of Trump and Musk’s unprecedented assault on the federal workforce. The speakers underscored how the mass firings Trump and Musk have ordered over the last few days will severely jeopardize essential services that families in Washington state rely on—and leave us all worse off. A fact sheet compiled by Senator Murray’s office on some of the impacts in Washington state of these reckless mass layoffs is available HERE.

Murray was joined for the press call by Gregg Bafundo, Former Lead Wilderness Ranger at the U.S. Forest Service’s Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest and a former U.S. Marine who lives in Okanogan County; Raphael Garcia, a veteran and former Management Analyst for the US. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who has served as the only management analyst for the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Disability Rating Activity Site at the Seattle Regional Office for the past 7.5 months; and Liz Krumpp, former Washington Constituent Account Executive at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), who retired from BPA in 2023 and resides in Olympia. Both Gregg and Raphael were let go last week as part of the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers.

“Right now, President Trump, and his co-President Elon Musk are breaking American government. They are firing workers left and right—with no plan, no strategy, and no concern for who gets hurt,” said Senator Murray.“We know Trump’s firing spree isn’t about merit because they are targeting new employees, people who have been recognized for outstanding performance, and people who were recently promoted—who are now getting fired from their newly earned jobs. Trump and Musk are, by design, pushing out, some of our best performers—and fresh blood in the federal workforce. We know Trump’s mass firings aren’t about saving money. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to fire hundreds of workers at the Bonneville Power Administration. After all, these positions are funded by ratepayers—by all of us in the Northwest—not from federal funding. And these are people who literally help keep the lights on. But no matter—they’re being fired on a whim because two billionaires don’t have a clue about what they do, and don’t care to learn.”

“I swore an oath to serve our country—first in the U.S. Army and then at the VA—only to be abruptly terminated by the very institution that promised to care for those who have served,” said Raphael Garcia of Seattle, who was laid off through no fault of his own and with zero justification from the VA last week. “My termination isn’t just a personal tragedy; it’s a stark reminder that our federal government is dismantling essential support systems for Veterans and vulnerable communities. When cost-cutting means sacrificing dedicated, disabled service members and committed federal employees, it isn’t about efficiency—it’s about eroding the trust and dignity that our nation owes to those who answer the call to serve.”

“For 18 years I have faithfully served the American People—eight as a US Marine and ten as a Wilderness Ranger. I have always put myself between the danger and my fellow citizens and now I have been cast aside as the parasite class or some kind of fraud. These heartless and gutless firings will lead to loss of lives and property,” said Gregg Bafundo of Okanogan County, who was laid off through no fault of his own and with zero justification from the Forest Service last week.

“Bonneville is the source of nearly 50 percent of the electrical power that is consumed in the State of Washington and owns, operates, and maintains over 15,000 circuit miles of high voltage transmission from Montana, across Idaho, Oregon and Washington, extending into Wyoming, Nevada and California. Critically, Bonneville has over a dozen new transmission projects in the planning stages—which its customers are asking for—to serve the increasing demand for electricity and to interconnect new power generators being built. Bonneville is self-funded by selling transmission service or selling electrical power. That’s it. No federal tax revenues fund its work or its employees. Cutting its employees does not save the federal tax payer a dime,” said Liz Krumpp, who worked at BPA for 15 years before retiring in 2023 and resides in Olympia. “These arbitrary lay-offs and hiring freezes will make it increasingly harder for the remaining employees to do their jobs and do them safely. Currently, its customers are asking Bonneville to expand its transmission system, not shrink it. Bonneville helps keep the lights on in the Northwest.  Its work costs taxpayers nothing.”

Late last week, Senator Murray released a fact sheet detailing how Trump and Musk’s mass firings at all manner of federal agencies will hurt families, veterans, small businesses, farmers, and so many others across the country who need a government that works for them. Senator Murray has spoken out on the Senate floor against this administration’s attacks on federal workers, and recently sent an open letter to federal workers and a newsletter to her constituents in Washington state outlining her concerns with the administration’s so-called “Fork in the Road” offer. Senator Murray has also sent recent oversight letters demanding answers about indiscriminate staffing reductions across federal agencies including to HUD Secretary Scott Turner on reports of massive staff cuts at HUD, Interior Secretary Doug Burham on National Parks Service staffing cuts, and Acting USDA Secretary Gary Washington on the universal hiring pause for USDA firefighters, among others.

Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered on today’s press call, are below and video is HERE:

“Right now, President Trump, and his co-President Elon Musk are breaking American government. They are firing workers left and right—with no plan, no strategy, and no concern for who gets hurt.

“And we know there is no plan because they fired hundreds of people in charge of ensuring the security of our nuclear arsenal—only to desperately turn around and try to hire them back.

“That is the height of incompetence. And these other firings are just as senseless and reckless.

“In the middle of the bird flu threat—they are firing public health experts.

“Weeks after the deadliest plane crash in years—they are firing FAA workers.

“After the devastating wildfires recently—they are firing members of the Forest Service, and we’ll hear from one of them in a minute.

“They are firing people who work in law enforcement, who do food and drug inspections, who research deadly diseases, and who are cleaning up nuclear waste.

“I’ve spent years trying to get the Hanford cleanup the resources it needs. We’ve made so much progress—but it has still been understaffed, even before these pointless layoffs last week cut it down to a skeleton crew.

“We know Trump’s firing spree isn’t about merit because they are targeting new employees, people who have been recognized for outstanding performance, and people who were recently promoted—who are now are getting fired from their newly earned jobs.

“Trump and Musk are, by design, pushing out, some of our best performers—the fresh blood in the federal workforce.

“We know Trump’s mass firings aren’t about saving money. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to fire hundreds of workers at Bonneville Power. After all, these positions are funded by ratepayers—by all of us in the Northwest—not from federal funding. And these are people who literally help keep the lights on.

“But no matter—they’re being fired on a whim because two billionaires don’t have a clue about what they do, and don’t care to learn.

“And Trump is not tossing workers out on the street to make government more efficient.

“VA researchers are being fired as well—VA Puget Sound workers are being fired despite doing lifesaving research to prevent veteran suicide, build lifechanging prosthetics, address opioid addiction, and more.

“That is not just a betrayal of these public workers—it is a betrayal of our women and men in uniform who trust we will take care of them when they come home.

“Especially considering they have laid off many veterans as well—people who served their country and wanted to keep serving their country. And that really underscores an important point about exactly who Trump is firing.

“These are people who love their country and love their communities. They are people who work hard, make an honest living, and have families to support. And I’m so grateful to be joined by some of them today, who will speak about what they have been through.

“And I’d like to say to them all—thank you for the work you’ve done for our country. You deserve so much better than how you’ve been treated.

“What Elon and Trump are doing is going to set our country back. But we are not powerless—and your decision to share your stories today is proof of that.

“We each have a voice, and we can all speak out for a government that works for middle-class families, regular people—not just billionaires who will never need to call about their Social Security benefits or file a disability claim at VA.

“So I want to thank everyone for joining this call today—and now I’ll turn it over to Gregg.”

###




The following sites updated:






on No comments:

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Court jester Chump tries so hard to win Musk's love

If you missed it, Convicted Felon Donald Chump has declared himself a king: 


President Donald Trump referred to himself as "king" as he celebrated his decision to pull approvals for congestion pricing on New York City transportation Wednesday.

"New York State's congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement, blasting the program as "backwards and unfair."


King?  Please.  He's not strong enough to be a Drag Queen, forget King.  He's nothing but a court jester dancing for his master Alien Musk.  The whole world laughs at them and sees them as a same-sex couple deep in a closet.  They laugh at them because this 'bromance' is ridiculous and we all see Chump bowing to Musk.  

He's as pathetic as his cry baby son who had to have the campus leader of the Young Republicans fired because he's a candy ass sugar britches just like his embarrassing father.


And by the way, congestion pricing?  What's Chump going after next?  Toll bridges?


This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


Wednesday, February 19, 2025.  If you've got the time, we've got a lot of work to do to stop Donald Chump's assault on our nation. 


Imagine being a governor in the US sucking up to Convicted Felon Donald Chump and swearing what Chump's doing is wonderful while also announcing you're preparing some form of 'relief' packages for the workers in the state that Chump's fired.  Rachel Maddow addressed that last night on MSNBC.


Rachel notes some Chump voters with regrets.  They didn't realize he would actually do what he said he would do.  Rachel also notes politicians -- like the laughable Senator Susan Collins -- going along with Chump's policies but asking for an exemption from them for their state. 


There are no exemptions coming.  He can't argue in court that they were legal and fair actions if he exempts Maine and not Georgia.  He has to apply these disaster policies across the board.  The time to object, Susan Collins, was when he wanted your vote for a confirmation.  That was the time to have a spine.  


This is going on across the country.  These are going to be massive layoffs and unemployment is only going to increase.  If you fell for his lie about he'd lower grocery prices on day one because you were struggling economically?  You think it's going to be any easier in the coming months, now that grocery prices have gone up, as you face a layoff at the government office you work, the university you work at, etc and suddenly you're on welfare?


If you're a Republican, you need to be calling this out.  If you're a Democrat represented in the Senate by one or two Republicans, don't bury your head in the sand.  Let your Republican senators hear from you.  They are supposed to represent you -- regardless of party i.d. though you don't need to tell them your party i.d. -- and they're not doing their job.


They need to know that you're watching and you're objecting.  

Polling already demonstrates that more Americans disapprove of Chump's actions than approve.  That message needs to be sent to every US senator.  

Even a useless idiot like Glenn Youngkin needs to hear it.  Unless the laws changed, maybe it has, he can't run for re-election.  If this is where he chooses to end his political career, great, the people of Virginia will be better off.  But if he's eyeing a Senate run or a presidential run, grasping just how unpopular he's becoming and just how weak he looks might motivate him to stop kissing Chump's ass.


Might not.


But, if you're active right now, you need to be contacting your senators.  The Senate has 100 members.  53 of those are Republicans.  You want to reign in Chump?  We need to peel off some support and the way we do that is making it very clear to Republican senators that we object and that they need to find their spines.  


A nut job like Junior should never have been put in charge of Health and Human Services -- and they know that, the Republicans who voted for him.  They need to be put on notice, they need to know that the voters in their home states saw what they did and that this craven disrespect for We The People and the Constitution is outrageous.

Consider the Republicans in the Senate infants born in January.  They try to stand and they fall.  It's our job to encourage them to stand upright. 

Make them defend everything Chump is doing because they're signing off on it.


Senator Patty Murray (Democrat) is a former Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.  Her office issued the following:


ICYMI: Senator Murray: Trump Must Reverse Firing of VA Researchers Across the Country, Threatens to Decimate Lifesaving Work on Veterans’ Medical Care, Prosthetics, and More

ICYMI: FACT SHEET: Trump & Elon’s Layoffs Jeopardize Essential Services Americans Rely On, Threaten Critical Agency Objectives Keeping Americans Safe & Healthy

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, joined Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Gary Peters (D-MI) in pressing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins to protect veterans, their families, and VA staff from unprecedented access to sensitive information by Elon Musk and his “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). According to a recent report by Military.com, DOGE employees accessed VA computer systems at the Department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“We understand that personnel reporting to Mr. Musk have recently visited VA facilities,” wrote the senators to Secretary Collins. “Senators, veterans, and members of the public have serious concerns regarding Mr. Musk’s extraordinary and unprecedented activities and the lack of transparency surrounding them, including his potential access to and handling of sensitive or personal information.”

“Accordingly, we seek specific information regarding VA’s engagement with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency,” they continued.

Senator Murray and her colleagues requested a list of DOGE personnel who have visited VA facilities, the systems they accessed, and whether veteran data—including medical and service records—may have been viewed, copied, or transferred. They also requested that Secretary Collins reveal the nature of the agreement under which DOGE personnel are governed by in their engagement with the VA.

Senator Murray has spoken out forcefully against President Trump and Elon Musk’s mass firing of VA employees across the country who are in the middle of critical research on topics including mental health, alcohol and opioid withdrawal, cancer treatments, burn pit exposure, prosthetics, diabetic ulcers, and more. Earlier this month, Senator Murray sounded the alarm over reports of DOGE at the VA and voted against Collins’s nomination to be VA Secretary, making clear that the Trump administration’s lawlessness was putting our national security and our veterans at risk. Alongside 25 of her colleagues, Murray sent another letter earlier this month to Secretary Collins, demanding that he deny and sever Musk and DOGE’s access to any VA or other government system with information about veterans, and to delete any veterans’ information in their possession.

The full text of the senators’ letter to Secretary Collins can be found here.

###


We need to hold Chump and the Republicans backing his awful agenda responsible.


They're not the only ones we need to hold responsible.  By all means, contact your Dem representatives in Congress.  Stiffen their spines.  Demand action.


But that's not what I'm talking about.


"Our job."  

Refers to those who are not on vacation.  Betty's "Quit trying to make it happen, Black women are not forgiving Tlaib" went up last night.  Betty's not on vacation.  If she needed to take time though, she should.  Some people do.  And it may be weeks, months or years. I don't blame you and you take every minute you need. 


I get it. 

We were stabbed in the back and disrespected.  And we wrongly thought that people like Amy Goodman and Kyle Kuliniski and Katrina vanden Heuverl and Sam Seder and so many more 'friends' would come to our defense.


They didn't.


Because they weren't our friends.  We were Black women who were Democrats.


They are Democratic Socialists.


The online attacks that we faced?  Never noted by them to this day.


Because they agreed with those attacks.  Uncomitted was a DSA 'movement.'   They launched it and they wanted to do real harm.  That's why Katrina asked THE NATION interns to write an editorial (I've harmed one offline with regards to the job market and made it clear that information on this is the only thing that's going to allow employment in the future the intern wanted) advocating that people not vote for Kamala.  Katrina knows THE NATION needs donors to survive and that most DSAers don't have the kind of money THE NATION needs.  So she hid behind the interns.  She asked them to write the editorial and then she published it -- you remember an intern editorial on an election before? nope -- and popularized it on Twitter (because racists like Katrina don't want to come to BLUESKY) and could pretend that her hands -- and the hands of the Marxist she put in charge of the magazine -- were clean.  Sadly for her, the donor class has not fallen for her b.s. Especially not now when I've got a recording of the intern outlining just what Katrina did behind the scenes.  Oh, and Katrina, as I've said here before, I do know where your mom hid it.  That thing you're still so desperate to find.  What you ransacked her apartment for after she jumped off her balcony.  I know.  And I'm never telling you where it is.

Poor Katrina, even her own mother didn't trust her.  Trusted me though -- enough to share just how embarrassing Katrina truly is.


But we saw what happened.  


We turned out for everyone, election after election.  We got Socialists like Laura Flanders giving us empty words of praise for that. 


But when we had the chance to save democracy by election a qualified Black woman, the Socialists instead worked to defeat her.  Again, that's why I don't believe the 'left' on reparations.  I think it's just something Socialists advocate for but won't really do.  If they really felt we were owed reparations, then the first place to start would have been voting for the Black woman and not the racist convicted felon. 


It was a shock and it was a betrayal.  I understand that.  And the attacks on us were even worse -- and that's why Sam Seder, for example, won't cover those attacks, even now.  They instead want to force Socialist Rashida Tlaib down our throats.


She, they insist, had to support "her people."  

Did I miss something?

Bitch, wasn't born in this country?

She did what she did and it was a betrayal and, as Betty notes, we're not forgiving her. 


She worked to elect Donald Chump.


That's not big deal to DSA-ers.


And that's why you need to be stopped.


Look around at the chaos you caused.  I get it, you want to  tear down the system.  So this probably feels like a 'win' to you still.  


It's not a win for the American people and that's why the DSA can't even get to 100,000 members and tries to hide in our party, the Democratic Party.  Those days are over.


If we'd worked together, we could have continued.


But DSA -- call them Justice Democrats, they have so many names like a hooker who gets busted repeatedly.  DSA didn't want to work with us.  They wanted to put Chump in the White House.  


Well they got what they wanted and they're not going to hide in our midst anymore.


If you're late to the party, I've not castigated the SEP or the PSL.  Those are Socialists.  Those are out and proud Socialists who organize and build and try to impact.  DSA tricks and stays in a closet.  Kyle knew calling his DSA slate of candidates -- his and Cenk's -- Justice Socialists wouldn't have gotten anyone elected.  So he came up with the lie of Justice Democrats.


Your days of hiding are over.


The whole country is suffering now because of you. The American people had a right to know what you truly were.  Now that you have put Chump into office, the American people have a right for you to come with a warning label.


Let's move to another topic.  Julia Ornedo (THE DAILY BEAST) thought she was on to something:


Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is back in front of the camera with a message from President Donald Trump.

Noem announced Monday the launch of a multimillion-dollar ad blitz threatening consequences for illegal entry into the United States.

“Let me deliver a message from President Trump to the world,” Noem says in an ad she posted on X. “If you are considering entering America illegally, don’t even think about it.”

“Let me be clear: if you come to our country and you break our laws, we will hunt you down,” Noem went on. “Criminals are not welcome in the United States.”



Whatever she was on to is defeated by the headline (which she most likely didn't write) "ICE Barbie Launches New Ad Blitz With ‘a Message From President Trump’."   She never once calls Noem a "Barbie" in her article.  What is it with the "Barbie"?  Chelsea Handler probably pioneered in during Chump's first term.  But no one can build on that?  "ICE Midge Launches . . ."  -- "ICE American Girl Doll"?  It's not only sexist, it's route.  And, sorry to break it to you, (a) not everyone's a Barbie and (b) Barbie is a very popular doll and cultural icon.  "Dog Shooter Noem" or "Dog Killer Noem"?  They are more than sufficient.  And actually capture her and what she does unless your point is to argue that grown women are "dolls" -- in which case, you don't belong in the press, you belong in Donald Chump's administration. 

Not getting the point?  Grace Hall (MIAMI HERALD) reports:


Admiral L. Fagah, the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. military, was recently ousted from her position as Commandant of the Coast Guard by President Donald Trump. Following her termination, Fagan was reportedly given three hours to vacate her government-funded residence on Joint Base Anacostia Bolling inWashington, DC. This decision made by Homeland Security officials under the directive of the president. The eviction came after she was initially granted a 60-day waiver to find new housing.


America, remember that Senator Joni Ernst voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense -- despite Hegseth having no qualifications for the job, despite him being a public drunk, despite him making a woman who accused him of assault sign an NDA, despite so many things.  She could have stood up for the military, for the Constitution, for women.  But she elected not to stand up and instead acted like a coward.  That needs to be remembered.  Can we start a go-fund-me to help provide Joni with a spine?


Staying with the questionable Secretary of  Defense, Matthew Chapman (RAW STORY) notes how the Senate failed their job with regards to Hegseth:


A national security expert tore into a Republican senator for his apparent failure to exercise due diligence in vetting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's finances during his confirmation hearing.

On Monday, Hegseth announced on the X social media platform that the IRS opened an audit into his tax returns, claiming that he owes more than $33,000.

This followed shortly after Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chair of the Senate Armed Service Committee and a strong proponent of military aid to Ukraine, admitted he was "disturbed" by Hegseth's comments in Brussels. Hegseth appeared to back off commitments to the United States supporting Ukraine's pre-2014 borders or eventual accession to the NATO alliance — both of which would represent big geopolitical victories for Russia.
Wicker went so far as to call Hegseth's speech a "rookie mistake."

The new tax revelations, [Marcy] Wheeler argued, only reflect worse on Wicker's decision to shuttle Hegseth through to confirmation. At the time, Hegseth also faced separate allegations of sexual assault and chronic problem drinking.


Joni and the others didn't do their job.  He's not only a drunk -- promising he will not drink while he holds office -- he's also a tax cheat and that makes him vulnerable.  Jennifer Bowers Bahney (RAW STORY) adds:


Military.com reporter Konstantin Toropin questioned the wisdom of Hegseth posting the notice on social media.
Toropin wrote, "The Secretary of Defense appears to have posted a document that shows he owes more than $33,000 in taxes following an audit. Aside from his calls to defy the IRS, this raises a myriad of questions from the quality of the vetting that was done to his vulnerability to bribes."


As the sheen comes off Donald Chump and the country slowly awakens to the nightmare reality he's delivered, we should all remember how Republicans in the US Senate failed to do their jobs because they refused to serve the American people, they were too busy prostrating themselves before Chump and, as a result, a huge number of unqualified people got confirmed.  They have much to answer for right now.  Should an attack take place in this country, they will have even more to answer for.  As will Chump for nominating such a huge pool of unqualified losers. 




As the Department of Government Efficiency continues to make swift cuts to the federal workforce and government spending, a handful of Republicans have begun to push back.

They're not criticizing the existence of DOGE or decrying Elon Musk as an "unelected bureaucrat," as Democrats have.

In fact, they've each taken pains to emphasize their support for making the government work more efficiently as they've spoken up.

Yet in a stream of recent social media posts, interviews, and public statements, a growing number of Republicans have begun to criticize aspects of DOGE's work, saying that the cuts are too rapid and indiscriminate or warning that their particular states will suffer as a result.

In a social media post on Saturday, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy suggested his state would suffer if new hires at the Federal Bureau of Investigation were terminated.

"I am all for efficiency and ultimately downsizing the federal government, but firing large numbers of new FBI agents is not the way to achieve this," Cassidy wrote. "Louisiana specifically benefits from newly hired FBI agents. We need to add to our law enforcement, not take away."




Again, the sheen is coming off.  Donald Chump no longer has the new car smell. 


Meanwhile, the man who moved his ass crack hair to his scalp to cover his male pattern baldness, Alien Musk, is screeching in that strident manner he has that 60 MINUTES belongs in prison.  In prison!  Brian Stelter (CNN) explains:

His prison post prompted Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, to write to Musk, “Throwing journalists in jail over their reporting is what authoritarian governments do in countries like China, Russia, and Iran. Here in the US, you’ll have to settle for using your enormous public platform to criticize the media. As you’ve been doing. You know, counterspeech.”

This is not the first time Musk has encouraged prosecutions of people he dislikes. He has publicly hoped for criminal action against companies that “boycotted” X and asserted that a nonprofit group “should be prosecuted for interference in US elections by a foreign entity.”

Those posts last year led to an initial round of criticism that he wasn’t living up to his “free speech absolutist” posture.

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance have come under similar scrutiny. Last month Trump signed several executive orders policing language at the same time he signed one titled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.”

“Conservatives who just moments ago abhorred any form of censorship are now 100% chill with the government banning words,” USA Today national columnist Rex Huppke wrote last weekend.

In a high-profile speech in Munich, Germany last week, Vance accused European allies of censoring free speech at roughly the same time the Trump administration was banning The Associated Press from attending Trump Q&As and photo ops.

When progressive commentator Mehdi Hasan pointed this out on Monday, Vance replied on X; called Hasan a “dummy”; and said “I think there’s a difference between not giving a reporter a seat in the WH press briefing room and jailing people for dissenting views. The latter is a threat to free speech, the former is not. Hope that helps!”

Hasan pointed out that Musk “just called for a ‘long prison sentence’ for CBS journalists, for edits he didn’t like. Did you not get the memo?” Vance did not engage further.


Here's Medhi Hasan addressing the issue.



We'll wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:


32 Democratic Senators Demand Trump Reject GOP Budget Proposals

“Republican budget plans do not focus on lowering costs, and in fact will raise costs for American families by forcing them to pay more for groceries, health care, education, and caregiving.”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Budget Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), led Democratic senators in writing to President Donald Trump, demanding that he reject Congressional Republicans’ legislative plans to increase the cost of living for Americans after pledging to lower costs on “Day One” of his presidency. In total, 32 senators—over two-thirds of the Democratic caucus—signed the letter.

Last week, Congressional Republicans approved their 2025 budget proposals for floor consideration, their blueprints for a large legislative package that they hope to pass in the coming months.

“But the Republican budget plans do not focus on lowering costs, and in fact will raise costs for American families by forcing them to pay more for groceries, health care, education, and caregiving,” wrote the senators.

The senators explained that the Republicans’ budget plans will:

  • Raise food costs: The Republican budget plans tee up extensive cuts to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and Meals on Wheels.  
  • Raise health care costs: The Republican budget plans also pave the way for 15 Republican proposals to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Affordable Care Act coverage. These Republican cuts would raise health care costs for over 160 million Americans.
  • Raise education costs: The Republican budget plans set them up to pass cuts to programs that help families afford college, including Pell Grants and income-driven repayment plans, and tax scholarships for hard-working students. 
  • Raise caregiving costs: The Republican budget plans pave the way to cutting programs that help families care for kids, people with disabilities, and aging loved ones. Cuts to these essential programs will make it impossible for many working families to live and work with dignity. 

“If Congressional Republicans are successful at passing their proposals, it will mean that families will pay more for food, healthcare, education, and caregiving – while Republicans plot more tax cuts for billionaires,” concluded the senators. “We urge you to stand by the promises you made to the American people about lowering costs, including by committing not to sign any legislation that raises their costs.”

The letter is also signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Mark Kelly (D-Az.), Peter Welch (D-Maine), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ruben Gallego (D-Az.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and Andy Kim (D-N.J).

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