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We Democrats Will Fight Back Just as Soon as We Can Get Our Shit Together

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/we-democrats-will-fight-back-just-as-soon-a…
Created
Tue, 04/02/2025 - 05:15

“More than 50 interviews with Democratic leaders revealed a party that is struggling to define what it stands for, what issues to prioritize, and how to confront a Trump administration that is carrying out a right-wing agenda with head-spinning speed.” — New York Times

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In these terrifying times, the Democratic Party would like to assure you that there is nothing we hold more dear than democracy. Our nation’s core values are under attack, and standing up for what’s right takes bravery and courage. That’s why we, the Democrats, have decided to stay seated until we can figure out what to do.

We might take a stand at some point. A bold response isn’t completely off the table, but unfortunately, Elon Musk locked us out of the room with the table, and we haven’t been able to come to a consensus on which locksmith to call. Also, unfortunately, that’s the room with all of the Treasury Department’s payment information.

Paul Keating says Trump may avoid a major war

https://johnmenadue.com/paul-keating-says-trump-will-save-the-world-from-wwiii/
Created
Tue, 04/02/2025 - 04:59
Donald Trump’s “snatch-and-grab” foreign policy rejects the belief in US primacy and exception that was sliding towards a military confrontation with China. Some have been surprised by the speed with which President Donald Trump is moving on his agenda. Yet, his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, served notice only days after last November’s election, declaring Continue reading »

Trump’s Psychotic Ride-along

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/03/trumps-psychotic-ride-along/
Created
Tue, 04/02/2025 - 04:00
During the last election economics were on everyone’s minds. Despite the greater economy being healthy with an extraordinary job market not seen since the 1960s, people told pollsters that they were extremely upset about the high cost of living that had been brought on by the disruption of the pandemic and took a couple of years to finally sort out. In poll after poll, Americans said that inflation was the biggest problem facing the nation. When asked what he planned to do about this, then candidate Donald Trump’s only answers were “tariffs!” and ” growth.” It was the cure all for every economic pain that ailed you. Here he is answering a question about what specific legislation he would propose to deal with the high cost of child care. Yes, you guessed it. Tariffs. He promised over and over again that he was going to lower the cost of living and he made it clear that the way he planned to do it was with his beloved tariffs. Well, we’re about to find out how that’s going to work.

Brace For Impact

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/03/brace-for-impact-3/
Created
Tue, 04/02/2025 - 02:30
Here we go JV Last at the Bulwark provides a handy guide to what’s happening this morning in the financial markets. The question is will the drop stay below 7 percent? The Dow plunged over 600 points right out of the gate. Donald Trump just launched the “dumbest trade war in history.” Thus saith the Wall Street Journal. While people are screaming for more affordable housing, Trump dramatically increased the price of lumber out of Canada just ahead of the spring building season. That’s on top of the “five-alarm fire” Trump started in firing inspectors general and FBI agensts from coast to coast. Oh, and Mr. America First allowing Elon Musk to shut down USAID: In Washington, USAID’s headquarters was closed for the day, with employees told in an email to remain at home. Logos and photos of its aid work have been stripped from building walls. And its website and social media accounts have gone dark, replaced with a reduced version of its webpage on the State Department’s website.

Born In The USA … Every Minute

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/03/born-in-the-usa-every-minute/
Created
Tue, 04/02/2025 - 01:00
When the snake oil bites…. Trump is counting on you to be one of his rubes. Fans of Trumpism, even its operators, are going to feel its impacts very, very soon. Oh, and all y’all as well. The snake behind the oil is about to bite. CNN: Just about everyone thought it was a bluff. Top analysts from the biggest banks on Wall Street said it was highly unlikely. Stocks were trading like it wouldn’t happen. Some companies built contingency plans, but they weren’t exactly rushing to make changes. But the tariffs are coming — in full force. President Donald Trump announced Saturday that a massive 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico and most imports from Canada will go into effect Tuesday. An additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods will be enacted the same day. Trump in a message posted on Truth Social Sunday said, “We don’t need anything they have.

Elon Musk’s Directive on How to Change a Light Bulb in a Federal Building

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/elon-musks-directive-on-how-to-change-a-lig…
Created
Mon, 03/02/2025 - 23:30

“Elon Musk’s government-slashing crew, the ‘department of government efficiency,’ has been given access to the federal payment system, exposing the sensitive personal data of millions of Americans as well as details of public contractors who compete directly with Musk’s own businesses, an influential US senator has confirmed.” — The Guardian

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1. Find a functioning light bulb in a busy work area.

2. Strike the light bulb with a private-sector-manufactured hammer or other hard object.

3. Note any employee who pauses work at the noise or gets distracted. Refer them for Justice Department investigation.

4. Fire the first five people who try to sweep up the shards of glass. They are obviously Biden dead-enders who just want to maintain the wasteful and ineffective status quo.

5. Document the waste, fraud, and abuse of federal workers as they stumble around slowly in the dark, often bumping into each other and the walls of cubicles.

talk with/to the hand

http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=4291
Created
Mon, 03/02/2025 - 19:00
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February 3rd, 2025next

February 3rd, 2025: You can confess anything at all as long as

The M in the PMC

https://crookedtimber.org/2025/02/03/the-m-in-the-pmc/
Created
Mon, 03/02/2025 - 13:25
The other day I received an email from what might be one the few colleagues still checking into Twitter (most seem to have moved to Bluesky, as have I). The email was just a link with the subject title Did you see? I hadn’t. Gosh, I wrote in response (which I gather they found a little understated). My […]

Musk Jugend

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/02/musk-jugend/
Created
Mon, 03/02/2025 - 11:30
Is this what MAGA voted for? Elon Musk’s takeover of federal government infrastructure is ongoing, and at the center of things is a coterie of engineers who are barely out of—and in at least one case, purportedly still in—college. Most have connections to Musk and at least two have connections to Musk’s longtime associate Peter Thiel, a cofounder and chairman of the analytics firm and government contractor Palantir who has long expressed opposition to democracy. WIRED has identified six young men—all apparently between the ages of 19 and 24, according to public databases, their online presences, and other records—who have little to no government experience and are now playing critical roles in Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project, tasked by executive order with “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” The engineers all hold nebulous job titles within DOGE, and at least one appears to be working as a volunteer. Wired has now reported the names and backgrounds of all these young fellows.

Talking Trash to Power: The Public Sphere in the Age of Trump

https://bloodycrossroads.com/2025/02/talking-trash-to-power-the-public-sphere-i…
Created
Mon, 03/02/2025 - 11:16
The late journalist Alexander Cockburn had a good line on the legacy media. Referring to the little ‘Correction’ boxes that would appear most mornings in The New York Times, he suggested that the principal reason the paper made such a show of its fallibility was to bolster its reputation for veracity. In owning to these... Continue Reading →