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We’re Being Maximally Transparent. For Instance, We [REDACTED]

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/were-being-maximally-transparent-for-instan…
Created
Thu, 13/02/2025 - 05:01

“…all of our actions are maximally transparent. I don’t know of a case where an organization has been more transparent than the Doge organization.” — Elon Musk, in a statement from the Oval Office

“In reality, Mr. Musk’s team is operating in deep secrecy… his financial disclosure filing will not be made public.” — New York Times

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Here at the Department of Government Efficiency, we’ve been accused of operating in the dark—surprising agencies, creating turmoil, gaining access to classified information, and providing very little detail about all of it. This couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re all about transparency. For instance, we [REDACTED], which is why we stopped funding cancer research. See? Everything is out in the open. Here’s a few more for you:

Does Trump Secretly Hope The Supremes Will Stop Musk For Him?

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/12/does-trump-secretly-hope-the-supremes-will-st…
Created
Thu, 13/02/2025 - 04:00
In response to’ the flurry of cases being brought against the Trump administration for its radical attempts to slash and burn all aspects of the federal government without constitutional authority, we’re seeing some arguments from Republicans that lead to the conclusion that there is at least some consideration being given to simply ignoring the courts orders. Some have evoked the likely apocryphal statement attributed to President Andrew Jackson in which he was said to have declared “[Chief Justice] “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it” which raises the question if Trump is planning to abide by Court rulings he doesn’t agree with. The NY Times described the famous quote as “potent” because it does perfectly illustrate perhaps the most important “norm” in our system of government, the acknowledgement and acceptance of the idea set forth by The Marshall Court in the 1803 case Marbury v. Madison that “it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.

Criminal Minds, Part Deux

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/12/criminal-minds-part-deux/
Created
Thu, 13/02/2025 - 02:30
If at first you don’t succeed…. “North Carolina will be the first and only state where elections oversight is within the state auditor’s office,” explains Ren Larson at The Assembly. Why is that and how did it happen? Therein lies a tale. Let’s skip the odd bio of Dave Boliek, North Carolina’s newly elected Republican state auditor, and review the subhead, “Eight Years, Six Tries.” It started when Republicans lost the governor’s mansion in 2016 to Democrat Roy Cooper. The Republican-controlled legislature in a lame-duck session attempted a brazen power-grab aimed at transferring to the legislature some of Cooper’s appointment powers, including over the state Board of Elections: In January 2018, the state Supreme Court ruled that the state legislature’s transfer of appointment powers from the executive branch to the legislature was unconstitutional. Yet again Republican legislators struck back, passing a bill in June 2018 to allow voters to decide whether to amend the constitution and allow the legislature to make all eight appointments.

Richard Medhurst, Leading Gaza Reporter, Arrested and Charged with ‘Terrorism’ in European Crackdown

https://www.mintpressnews.com/richard-medhurst-leading-gaza-reporter-arrested-a…
Created
Thu, 13/02/2025 - 02:03

As pro-Palestine journalists face arrest, raids, and terror charges in Europe, the case of Richard Medhurst reveals how far Western governments are willing to go to silence dissent.

The post Richard Medhurst, Leading Gaza Reporter, Arrested and Charged with ‘Terrorism’ in European Crackdown appeared first on MintPress News.

McSweeney’s Books: An Interview with Author Ahmed Naji and Translator Katharine Halls

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-interview-with-author-ahmed-naji-and-tra…
Created
Thu, 13/02/2025 - 01:05

Katharine Halls won the 2024 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation for her work as translator of Ahmed Naji’s Rotten Evidence, published in 2023 by McSweeney’s (and currently available for 20 percent off in our store). Publishers Weekly called the book “a moving testament to the power of free expression,” and the Banipal judges called the translation “a brilliant feat” and “a masterclass.” We spoke to Ahmed and Katharine about their work.

Elon Musk’s Fiji Mermaid

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/12/elon-musks-fiji-mermaid/
Created
Thu, 13/02/2025 - 01:00
Assassination by innuendo By now you’ve seen Tuesday’s bizarre press event in the Oval Office. The leader of the free world expounded at length on rooting out fraud and waste in the U.S. government while Donald Trump, his lieutenant, sat inert behind a large desk. REPORTER: If you have received billions of dollars in contracts from the Pentagon and the president is directing you to look into the DoD, does that present a conflicts of interest? MUSK: First of all, I'm not the filing the contract. It's people at SpaceX pic.twitter.com/JFQKHAQDvZ — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 11, 2025 I don’t know what they teach in journalism schools these days, but insisting that political figures back up wild claims with checkable data and facts seems to have fallen out of the curriculum.

I Know This Is a Bad Time, but I Would Like a Refund for My Ticket to Our American Cousin

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/i-know-this-is-a-bad-time-but-i-would-like-…
Created
Thu, 13/02/2025 - 00:00

Hey there, it’s me again. Just following up on my letter from earlier this week. I know this is a bad time, but I’d like a refund for the April 14 performance of Our American Cousin.

I’m aware the Ford’s Theatre team has been rather busy the past few days. I understand you have so many more things to worry about, but I’d really appreciate a refund. I had a seventy-five-cent balcony ticket.

Not to be a stickler, but I read the theater’s posted policy on refunds. Well, I read part of it before federal agents rushed in and escorted the whole audience out of the building. From what I gathered, though, I’m entitled to a refund. Cash would be preferable. I don’t want a voucher or anything.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s no big deal. The nation is in mourning. The killer is on the loose. I get that. Technically, though, I paid for a full show and only saw part of it. When I spend my hard-earned money on a three-act play, I expect to see every scene, interruptions be damned.

Fossicking in the dark or twenty-twenty foresight?

https://bankunderground.co.uk/2025/02/12/fossicking-in-the-dark-or-twenty-twent…
Created
Wed, 12/02/2025 - 20:00
Rishi Khiroya and Lydia Henning If you asked people what skill they would most love to have, you might receive answers like ‘to fly’, ‘to be invisible’ or even ‘predicting the future’. If you asked people who worked in financial markets in particular, ‘accurately predicting the future’ would probably be top of the list. From … Continue reading Fossicking in the dark or twenty-twenty foresight? →

this comic features a rare and treasured "4th panel blank", truly among the most unique of the blank panels

http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=4295
Created
Wed, 12/02/2025 - 19:00
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February 12th, 2025next

Gaza Ceasefire Deal In Danger Of Collapse

https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/niyBMplQItDC-nfsoIiqNWzTrPWtOTXg
Created
Wed, 12/02/2025 - 13:10
Gaza Ceasefire Deal In Danger Of Collapse

So, Hamas decided to not release any further hostages until Israel meets its end of the phase I deal.

The response from Trump?

“If all (not only those agreed in the ceasefire deal to be released in multiple phases) prisoners are not freed by noon Saturday, the ceasefire will be revoked, and hell will be unleashed on Hamas.”

Trump has also made clear his plan to take over Gaza:

The President, The Co-President and The Secretary of DOGE

https://digbysblog.net/2025/02/11/the-president-the-co-president-and-the-secret…
Created
Wed, 12/02/2025 - 13:00
REPORTER: If you have received billions of dollars in contracts from the Pentagon and the president is directing you to look into the DoD, does that present a conflicts of interest? MUSK: First of all, I'm not the filing the contract. It's people at SpaceX pic.twitter.com/JFQKHAQDvZ — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 11, 2025 Elon Musk: "There's a limestone mine where we store all the retirement paperwork. You look at this picture of this mine, this mine looks like something out of the '50s because it was started in 1955. It's like a time warp. And then the limiting factor is the speed at which the… pic.twitter.com/4CGQcSKk9y — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 11, 2025 Reporters: But if there is a conflict of interest when it comes to you yourself, for instance, you’ve received billions of dollars in federal contracts.. Is there any sort of accountability check and balance in place that would provide any transparency for the American people? Musk: If you see anything you say like, wait a second, Elon, that seems like maybe that’s, you know, there’s a conflict there. They’ll say it immediately.