It makes me crazy how many outlets are reporting on Trump/Elon BS with measured tones, and talking about how these 'strategies' might actually produce results, if people can get past the outrage (paraphrasing, but that's the gist). And from outlets I tend to respect (I won't listen to Fox News, of course). Like today, the whole Gaza thing is framed as Trump being a disruptor and saying things he knows are outlandish to push people outside their comfort zones and get things to happen, vs doing the same old, same old diplomacy that typically gets no results. AS IF Trump could solve the mideast conflict, AS IF any of this has the potential to end up someplace good. And framing it in a way that makes it seem like Trump KNOWS what he's saying is nonsense, he just says it to get reactions and signal he means business. And the breakdowns of what Elon is doing, like yes, maybe these institutions DO need shaking up, maybe they DO need streamlining, etc etc, all while ignoring the plain fact that running the government chaotically doesn't make the populace feel confident, signals to the entire world that we're a giant mess and ripe for messing with. That it makes us insanely vulnerable. I think there's arguments to be made, sure, maybe, that some of our long held institutions need streamlining, or to root out corruption, BUT THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO DO IT. FFS. And sending in the MOST corrupt people to 'root out corruption'?? AS IF Elon isn't finding every single little thing he can to benefit him personally, and his companies. How many of you feel comfortable with Elon having access to your Social Security accounts? How many of you feel comfortable with Elon having access over which government contractors get paid, and which don't? NONE OF THIS IS OK, and I feel like only AOC is calling this a four alarm fire. I know the press doesn't want to make the same mistakes, reporting on Trump as if everything is an emergency, BUT THIS SHIT IS!!
I haven't tried listening to Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman since the election. Normally I'll check in a little every week or so, but her groups' reporting is so urgent and confrontational I can't listen long before my brain switches to overload.
Since this weekend? Shit, DN! might be the only news organization actually ringing the alarm bells at the proper volume.
But also, there is literally an agency for investigating government spending and waste (the Government Accountability Office). There was literally no reason for a made-up bullshit “agency” other than giving Musk access to loot the entire government’s coffers.
I met with the offices of both my Senators on Monday and documented it on BlueSky. I will be at the 50501 protest in Olympia today and will similarly document it on BlueSky. I really hope there aren't Proud Boys or worse there in their fascist cosplay, but if there are, it will change nothing. I will stand in hopefully a massive crowd , I will hold up a sign indicating what I think about this _illegal, damaging power grab by unelected, unconstitutional Elon Musk_, and we will peacefully show how many people aren't up for this fucking bullshit.
I would, along with my family today, but we're all suffering with Flu A. I'm the one who's functioning because I'm not the immunocompromised member of the family - it's really knocked the hell out of my wife & daughter.
And i don't like reposting, but AOC is exactly right: Keep It Simple Stupid: Economy and privacy. What are the two items to hammer? Trump's actions are going to make things incredibly expensive, and Elon Musk, an unelected foreigner, is stealing all your private information. Repeat those two things over and over and over and over.
I just received a call from someone claiming to be from the "US Border & Customs Patrol." I realized it was a scam and I wanted to get as much information from the caller as possible.
The first thing they did was ask for my first and last name. I told them I wanted to know the reason for the call before I gave my name, they said that my number came up during an investigation and asked again for my name. When I asked what this was about a second time and noted that if they called me they should have my name, they hung up.
I'm sure that once I gave them my name, there would have been an entire script on how I was actually someone who was under suspicion paying a fine will take care of that (or however the script separates a scared Individual from their money).
If you are in contact with someone who this can affect, please get the word out. It only took a week for the scammers to take advantage of the ICE crap.
I posted this in last night's Pajiba Love and am going to post it in tonight's as well because I think it is a good idea for it to get seen by as many of you as possible.
Spend the 10.00 and get a year subscription to Wired
Spend the 7.99/ month and get a digital subscription to Rolling Stone
Sign up for the Teen Vogue Newsletter
Obviously upgrade to paid here. But Wire, Rolling Stone and Teen Vogue are killing it with their coverage and doing a better job than the NYT.
Honestly, I feel we need to see Senators and congresspeople being arrested. The American People who are only tuning into the 6:30 nightly news need to see this. The news is doing a great job of sanitizing this and we need bold action.
Thanks for reminding me about Teen Vogue. They have been doing great work since Trump’s first election. I’ll take your recommendations as I need to spend less time on Reddit— just *a bit* of a time suck for me. Haha
Trump has no legislative goals. There are no plans or even concepts of plans in that vacuous orange noggin. He’s a stooge—too ignorant to be thoughtful or creative on his own. But here come the bastards who perpetrated Project 2025. Combined with Musk’s arrogance, those avowed destroyers at Treasury and OMB are going to succeed at making ruins out of the widely accepted norms that were created to help people survive. Fighting for everyday Americans my ass.
All Trump *really* wanted was to stay out of jail. Now that he won, I don't think he gives a shit about anything. Basically just saying "Sure, whatever you want" to anyone and everyone he thinks kept him out of jail.
He's an undisciplined child. He'll "reward" himself for staying out of prison by doing more illegal shit!!
There are many pics and videos of him at Mar-A-Lago happily DJing from his tablet. It seems to be all he really wants to do. Bop along with some tunes from his youth while Rome burns.
My buddy accepted the "buyout." Both because of the kind of work he does (civil rights), the agency he does it for (dept of ed), and his other activities (union rep). He applied for another job just after the election and got his offer just after the buyout was announced. He'll be doing similar work for more money at the state level, plus, presumably, double dip with 8 months salary.
Someone please explain how the loss of institutional knowledge and talent at full salary is supposed to save money?
Because then you hire young people who don't know what they're doing and have probably been looking for work for awhile, and they'll do exactly as they're told for way less money. Shareholders win!
(I was about to say "of course, the government doesn't have shareholders", but it has Elon Musk and Donald Trump and their band of corrupt assholes stealing money from the taxpayers, and there's not really a difference.)
That Trump is looking at Gaza like a real estate development where "the people of the world can live in peace" - and that somehow includes Palestinians is beyond crazy.
The dude is proposing ethnic cleansing and trying to put a happy face on it.
Ok so agree on all of this - please yes Democrats fight back. But what is with the best employees are leaving? Feds come in all shapes and sizes and many are the only people who do their kind of job. Many are not leaving because they care deeply about the projects they are doing. It is undeniable what Musk is doing is damaging the administrative state but let's not make their argument for them that the people that commit to their work are less than. That is super gross and I am getting angrier as I write, actually. Let's do better and not add to their bs please.
on r/fednews someone described it as a reverse strike which I thought was brilliant. I'm very impressed and proud of all the fed workers who are refusing to leave b/c they took the oath to serve the constitution very seriously.
They are the people whose expertise makes the government actually work! If they leave we will all see and feel verrrrry quickly why they were important.
A family member and two close family friends have received these emails so we are all very anxious.
YES to ALL of this. This article is falling into the trap that MOST federal employees must be lazy, entitled, and bad at their jobs because they work for the government. Have you tried applying for a federal job? They are extremely hard to get (unless, irony of DEI ironies, you're given veteran's preference). Most of what people might term 'bad' is due to being UNDER-staffed. Are there bad apples? Surely, but they are everywhere, not just the federal work force.
Real estate/property development is one of the few things Trump is consistently serious about. Believe him when he says he has a vision for Gaza. He will evict Palestinians and create a playground for the rich on America's dime (unless the Saudis step in).
Jared was eying Gaza up during Trump’s first term. This isn’t a new idea for these grifters, but now they have the power of the US behind their shenanigans.
I suspect that the Fox News-sphere is on Extra Double Secret Lockdown over Musk's bullshittery. A foreign billionaire rooting through all their private information is an angry rural R voter bingo card from Hell.
"A marriage between real estate conmen, nutty fundamentalist Christians, militarists, and libertarian techbros is a marriage from Hell officiated by Satan himself – that they would do a Final Solution of the Gaza problem was as predictable as the tides since it offers something for all four factions"
It's worth noting that the government employees that are taking the resignation offer tend to be the ones that are Trump fans. They believe that he'll honor it and it's a great deal. The rest of the federal employees read the language of the contract that show the rights you'd be giving up and the complete lack of guarantees and say "no thanks". So it's having the exact opposite effect from what he wants - he's purging the government of his own followers.
Just saw some good video of house oversight committee chaos, dems wanted to subpoena Musk and repubs refused. Musk’s overreach is going to hopefully bite trump in the butt and it’s contributing to the chaos that swirls around trump 24/7. The Gaza turning it into a resort thing was talked about before the election but ignored by the people screaming Genocide Joe/Kamala. Good work third party voters.
Anyway it’s going to be 2 years of insanity and hopefully like 2018 it helps get us back the Congress. It’s the only way we can stop scotus and judge appts, overturn crazy republican dismantling of federal govt and maybe another impeachment. I’m exhausted (I’m oldish) and hoping for a Kamala run for governor in 2026.
I know Bluesky is social media Du jour but I’m staying with threads (yeah yeah Zuckerberg is a tool) and hoping people will post in both places.
Underreported is WTF that data is NOW. It needs to be not impounded, but destroyed. I'd say the same for the toddler goon squad, but they've got human rights.
It makes me crazy how many outlets are reporting on Trump/Elon BS with measured tones, and talking about how these 'strategies' might actually produce results, if people can get past the outrage (paraphrasing, but that's the gist). And from outlets I tend to respect (I won't listen to Fox News, of course). Like today, the whole Gaza thing is framed as Trump being a disruptor and saying things he knows are outlandish to push people outside their comfort zones and get things to happen, vs doing the same old, same old diplomacy that typically gets no results. AS IF Trump could solve the mideast conflict, AS IF any of this has the potential to end up someplace good. And framing it in a way that makes it seem like Trump KNOWS what he's saying is nonsense, he just says it to get reactions and signal he means business. And the breakdowns of what Elon is doing, like yes, maybe these institutions DO need shaking up, maybe they DO need streamlining, etc etc, all while ignoring the plain fact that running the government chaotically doesn't make the populace feel confident, signals to the entire world that we're a giant mess and ripe for messing with. That it makes us insanely vulnerable. I think there's arguments to be made, sure, maybe, that some of our long held institutions need streamlining, or to root out corruption, BUT THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO DO IT. FFS. And sending in the MOST corrupt people to 'root out corruption'?? AS IF Elon isn't finding every single little thing he can to benefit him personally, and his companies. How many of you feel comfortable with Elon having access to your Social Security accounts? How many of you feel comfortable with Elon having access over which government contractors get paid, and which don't? NONE OF THIS IS OK, and I feel like only AOC is calling this a four alarm fire. I know the press doesn't want to make the same mistakes, reporting on Trump as if everything is an emergency, BUT THIS SHIT IS!!
"Disruptor" is 100% tech-bro language for "breaking shit with no plans on replacing it with something that works."
I haven't tried listening to Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman since the election. Normally I'll check in a little every week or so, but her groups' reporting is so urgent and confrontational I can't listen long before my brain switches to overload.
Since this weekend? Shit, DN! might be the only news organization actually ringing the alarm bells at the proper volume.
But also, there is literally an agency for investigating government spending and waste (the Government Accountability Office). There was literally no reason for a made-up bullshit “agency” other than giving Musk access to loot the entire government’s coffers.
Yep the media sanewashing drives me crazy. Nytimes is the worst at this, they launder all his nonsense and treat it seriously to all of our detriment.
I met with the offices of both my Senators on Monday and documented it on BlueSky. I will be at the 50501 protest in Olympia today and will similarly document it on BlueSky. I really hope there aren't Proud Boys or worse there in their fascist cosplay, but if there are, it will change nothing. I will stand in hopefully a massive crowd , I will hold up a sign indicating what I think about this _illegal, damaging power grab by unelected, unconstitutional Elon Musk_, and we will peacefully show how many people aren't up for this fucking bullshit.
Swords. Up.
I would, along with my family today, but we're all suffering with Flu A. I'm the one who's functioning because I'm not the immunocompromised member of the family - it's really knocked the hell out of my wife & daughter.
cheering you on from the UK. Very proud of you. Stay safe and give them hell.
And i don't like reposting, but AOC is exactly right: Keep It Simple Stupid: Economy and privacy. What are the two items to hammer? Trump's actions are going to make things incredibly expensive, and Elon Musk, an unelected foreigner, is stealing all your private information. Repeat those two things over and over and over and over.
I just received a call from someone claiming to be from the "US Border & Customs Patrol." I realized it was a scam and I wanted to get as much information from the caller as possible.
The first thing they did was ask for my first and last name. I told them I wanted to know the reason for the call before I gave my name, they said that my number came up during an investigation and asked again for my name. When I asked what this was about a second time and noted that if they called me they should have my name, they hung up.
I'm sure that once I gave them my name, there would have been an entire script on how I was actually someone who was under suspicion paying a fine will take care of that (or however the script separates a scared Individual from their money).
If you are in contact with someone who this can affect, please get the word out. It only took a week for the scammers to take advantage of the ICE crap.
I posted this in last night's Pajiba Love and am going to post it in tonight's as well because I think it is a good idea for it to get seen by as many of you as possible.
If you can
Spend the 10.00 and get a year subscription to Wired
Spend the 7.99/ month and get a digital subscription to Rolling Stone
Sign up for the Teen Vogue Newsletter
Obviously upgrade to paid here. But Wire, Rolling Stone and Teen Vogue are killing it with their coverage and doing a better job than the NYT.
Honestly, I feel we need to see Senators and congresspeople being arrested. The American People who are only tuning into the 6:30 nightly news need to see this. The news is doing a great job of sanitizing this and we need bold action.
Thanks for reminding me about Teen Vogue. They have been doing great work since Trump’s first election. I’ll take your recommendations as I need to spend less time on Reddit— just *a bit* of a time suck for me. Haha
Trump has no legislative goals. There are no plans or even concepts of plans in that vacuous orange noggin. He’s a stooge—too ignorant to be thoughtful or creative on his own. But here come the bastards who perpetrated Project 2025. Combined with Musk’s arrogance, those avowed destroyers at Treasury and OMB are going to succeed at making ruins out of the widely accepted norms that were created to help people survive. Fighting for everyday Americans my ass.
All Trump *really* wanted was to stay out of jail. Now that he won, I don't think he gives a shit about anything. Basically just saying "Sure, whatever you want" to anyone and everyone he thinks kept him out of jail.
He's an undisciplined child. He'll "reward" himself for staying out of prison by doing more illegal shit!!
There are many pics and videos of him at Mar-A-Lago happily DJing from his tablet. It seems to be all he really wants to do. Bop along with some tunes from his youth while Rome burns.
I keep checking Fox News to see how they are reporting on things. The day after Musk raided the Treasury there was NO story on Fox about it... hmmm,,,
My buddy accepted the "buyout." Both because of the kind of work he does (civil rights), the agency he does it for (dept of ed), and his other activities (union rep). He applied for another job just after the election and got his offer just after the buyout was announced. He'll be doing similar work for more money at the state level, plus, presumably, double dip with 8 months salary.
Someone please explain how the loss of institutional knowledge and talent at full salary is supposed to save money?
Tell your buddy not to count on the 8 months of double dipping. The buyout has no funding.
Not even any real authorization. It's even more vaporous than an oral agreement.
Because then you hire young people who don't know what they're doing and have probably been looking for work for awhile, and they'll do exactly as they're told for way less money. Shareholders win!
(I was about to say "of course, the government doesn't have shareholders", but it has Elon Musk and Donald Trump and their band of corrupt assholes stealing money from the taxpayers, and there's not really a difference.)
That Trump is looking at Gaza like a real estate development where "the people of the world can live in peace" - and that somehow includes Palestinians is beyond crazy.
The dude is proposing ethnic cleansing and trying to put a happy face on it.
Ok so agree on all of this - please yes Democrats fight back. But what is with the best employees are leaving? Feds come in all shapes and sizes and many are the only people who do their kind of job. Many are not leaving because they care deeply about the projects they are doing. It is undeniable what Musk is doing is damaging the administrative state but let's not make their argument for them that the people that commit to their work are less than. That is super gross and I am getting angrier as I write, actually. Let's do better and not add to their bs please.
on r/fednews someone described it as a reverse strike which I thought was brilliant. I'm very impressed and proud of all the fed workers who are refusing to leave b/c they took the oath to serve the constitution very seriously.
Yes! Let's talk about them as who they are: brave civil servants who are working on our behalf!!
100%
They are the people whose expertise makes the government actually work! If they leave we will all see and feel verrrrry quickly why they were important.
A family member and two close family friends have received these emails so we are all very anxious.
My brother in law got one. He reported as spam, so he is holding firm!
YES to ALL of this. This article is falling into the trap that MOST federal employees must be lazy, entitled, and bad at their jobs because they work for the government. Have you tried applying for a federal job? They are extremely hard to get (unless, irony of DEI ironies, you're given veteran's preference). Most of what people might term 'bad' is due to being UNDER-staffed. Are there bad apples? Surely, but they are everywhere, not just the federal work force.
Real estate/property development is one of the few things Trump is consistently serious about. Believe him when he says he has a vision for Gaza. He will evict Palestinians and create a playground for the rich on America's dime (unless the Saudis step in).
Jared was eying Gaza up during Trump’s first term. This isn’t a new idea for these grifters, but now they have the power of the US behind their shenanigans.
I suspect that the Fox News-sphere is on Extra Double Secret Lockdown over Musk's bullshittery. A foreign billionaire rooting through all their private information is an angry rural R voter bingo card from Hell.
Erika the Radiant @ https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/02/odds-are-you-wont-live-to-see-tomorrow:
"A marriage between real estate conmen, nutty fundamentalist Christians, militarists, and libertarian techbros is a marriage from Hell officiated by Satan himself – that they would do a Final Solution of the Gaza problem was as predictable as the tides since it offers something for all four factions"
It's worth noting that the government employees that are taking the resignation offer tend to be the ones that are Trump fans. They believe that he'll honor it and it's a great deal. The rest of the federal employees read the language of the contract that show the rights you'd be giving up and the complete lack of guarantees and say "no thanks". So it's having the exact opposite effect from what he wants - he's purging the government of his own followers.
Just saw some good video of house oversight committee chaos, dems wanted to subpoena Musk and repubs refused. Musk’s overreach is going to hopefully bite trump in the butt and it’s contributing to the chaos that swirls around trump 24/7. The Gaza turning it into a resort thing was talked about before the election but ignored by the people screaming Genocide Joe/Kamala. Good work third party voters.
Anyway it’s going to be 2 years of insanity and hopefully like 2018 it helps get us back the Congress. It’s the only way we can stop scotus and judge appts, overturn crazy republican dismantling of federal govt and maybe another impeachment. I’m exhausted (I’m oldish) and hoping for a Kamala run for governor in 2026.
I know Bluesky is social media Du jour but I’m staying with threads (yeah yeah Zuckerberg is a tool) and hoping people will post in both places.
What does it matter if someone puts Musk “in his place”? He and his barely adult goon squad already have all the sensitive data.
If "their place" is in or under a jail, I'd be ok with that.
Underreported is WTF that data is NOW. It needs to be not impounded, but destroyed. I'd say the same for the toddler goon squad, but they've got human rights.