This is what it’s come to. A right wing podcaster troll is now working at the highest levels of the FBI with virtually unfettered power under a similar right wing troll as his boss. He does have law enforcement experience as a NY police officer for four years and a secret service agent for nine. So there is that. But it’s his record as a right wing gadfly that really qualifies him for the job as Kash Patel’s deputy. As you can see above, he is uniquely suited to the job of wreaking revenge on MAGA enemies. It’s his raison d’etre. The job doesn’t require confirmation so I assume he’ll be starting right away.
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No wonder DJT hates Volodymyr Zelenskyy On the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (ICYMI: Ukraine did not start it, DJT.), coverage in The Washington Post and The New York Times spotlights U.S.-Ukraine relations and what Donald Trump’s fluffing of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin means for the world more than it addresses what Ukraine continues to suffer at Putin’s hands. CNN on this anniversary leads with the war’s impact on Ukraine itself: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday hailed Ukraine’s “absolute heroism” as he marked the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, and as European leaders began arriving in the capital Kyiv in a show of support for the embattled country. “Three years of resistance. Three years of gratitude. Three years of absolute heroism of Ukrainians. I am proud of Ukraine!” Zelensky wrote on X alongside a video showing scenes from the frontline and Ukrainian civilians supporting war efforts during the grinding conflict. “I thank everyone who defends and supports it. Everyone who works for Ukraine.
“What’s it going to take for us to wake up…?” I thought I’d lived through history during the assassinations of the 1960s, the Apollo 11 moon landing, Watergate and Nixon’s resignation, September 11, and the election of the first Black president. Then came Trumpism, COVID, and the upending of constitutional order. This feels more like the end of history. Heather Cox Richardson makes history her business. She brings that perspective to Elon Musk’s nuttiness even as “the lug nuts on the wheels of the Musk-Trump government bus” seem to be coming off. Fellow historian Timothy Snyder concurs, posting, “Something is shifting. They are still breaking things and stealing things. And they will keep trying to break and to steal. But the propaganda magic around the oligarchical coup is fading.” Let’s hope. Richardson writes from Maine: Historian Johann Neem, a specialist in the American Revolution, turned to political theorist John Locke to explore the larger meaning of Trump’s destructive course.
Considering the carnage being inflicted upon the country by the Trump administration over the past four weeks you would think that the GOP would be the most unpopular political party in the country. After all, the polls show that the public is very unhappy with Donald Trump’s policies while the Republican elected officials appear to be in a state of suspended animation unable to exercise their own prerogatives as an equal branch of government even as the president and his henchmen usurp their power while basically laughing in their faces. Sadly, despite the fact that the GOP is extremely unpopular, the prize for most loathed political party at the moment belongs to the Democrats. The numbers are very bad. According to the Quinnipiac poll, 57% of registered voters have an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party. It’s the highest that’s been since they started asking the question back in 2008. By contrast only 45% of voters are unhappy with the GOP. The Democrats are at a lukewarm 31% favorability rating.
The pessimism, wrong track numbers and general vibes on the economy are already low so I will be surprised if these layoffs don’t turbo charge the negative vibe. (I’ve been surprised by this stuff before, so don’t take my word for it…) Anyway, here are some predictions from economists: The job cuts could ultimately be the biggest in U.S. history. IBM’s purge of about 60,000 workers in 1993 is thought to be the largest corporate layoff. The Trump administration’s purge of federal workers may ultimately amount to the biggest job cut in U.S. history, which is likely to have ramifications for the economy, especially at the local level, according to economists. […] There were about 220,000 federal employees with less than a year of tenure as of May 2024, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Additionally, more than 75,000 federal workers have accepted a buyout offer, according to a Trump administration official. They agreed to resign but get paid through September.
What it is ain’t exactly clear Axios reports that “some Republicans are privately brushing off a spate of raucous protests and town halls in their districts” in response to the Musk-Trump DOGE actions. The T-party, ostensibly riled about taxes (but really pissed off about having a black president) drew more coverage in 2009. One wonders what sort of media these protests against Musk-Trump will earn. Perhaps silly costumes would help? Republicans seem more afraid of MAGA than their other constituents. The question is can Musk-Trump’s opponents keep it up, remain loud enough long enough to matter? Staying power is the right’s strong suit. * * * * * Have you fought the coup today?Choose DemocracyIndivisible: A Guide to Democracy on the Brink
TRUMP: The NCAA has complied immediately. That's good. But I understand Maine — is the governor of Maine here? JANET MILLS: Yeah I'm here TRUMP: Are you not gonna comply? JM: I'm going to comply with state and federal law T: You better do it bc you're not gonna get any… pic.twitter.com/TLaNe8se7Z — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 21, 2025 Thank you Janet Mills: TRUMP: The NCAA has complied immediately. That’s good. But I understand Maine — is the governor of Maine here? JANET MILLS: Yeah I’m here TRUMP: Are you not gonna comply? JM: I’m going to comply with state and federal law T: WE are the federal law. JM: I’ll follow the statutes T: You better do it bc you’re not gonna get any federal funding at all if you don’t. And by the way, your population, even though it’s somewhat liberal, I did very well there, your population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports, so you’d better comply otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding JM: See you in court T: Good I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one.
I’ve been wondering about how many federal workers might be MAGA cultists who are helping the DOGE crew come in and destroy the government. It stands to reason there would be some. It turns out that it’s a good career move. Here’s one in the Social Security administration who was willing to break the law for DOGE and got a big reward for it: Leaders of the Social Security Administration had just opened an investigation into a career employee they believed was improperly sharing information with Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team when President Donald Trump elevated the employee this week to acting commissioner, according to three current or former government officials with knowledge of the events. The agency’s leadership team became aware in recent weeks that Leland Dudek, a data analyst working in a small anti-fraud office who had been unknown to many of them,was sharing unauthorized access to information with representatives of Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service, according to the three, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an internal matter.
A world run by strongmen: This is the best summary of the current geopolitical situation I have seen. Sir Alex Younger was head of MI6 between 2014 and 2020. Really worth watching. pic.twitter.com/XByVBAd5Ri — Nicholas Drummond (@nicholadrummond) February 21, 2025 I found that very interesting. If you can take 7 minutes to listen I think you’ll find it interesting too. And, I’m afraid I have to agree with him although I have zero faith that Donald Trump can see the forest for the trees. Younger’s description of what Trump did with Afghanistan is right on and since he is incapable of ever learning anything, I just can’t see how this ends up any better unless it’s by accident. I’ve been writing about the inevitability of a new arms race ever since Donald Trump won the election in 2016. It was clear that he was so stupid that he was prepared to tear up the existing world order without any thought for the future except his own ego being stroked. It’s happening now and these escalations almost always result in somebody deciding to use their toys. Here’s the whole interview:
If I were more conspiracy-minded…. If I were more conspiracy-minded, I might suspect that the people running our executive branch don’t have American interests and global stability top of mind. The Trump-Musk axis is drowning an awful lot of our government competency in the bathtub, and now in the Pentagon, at a time when 1) NATO’s confidence is shaken, 2) Russia seems poised to annex more of Ukraine, and 3) China waits for Donald Trump to pull the U.S. even farther back from the world stage and leave Taiwan easy pickings. CNN Friday morning: An executive order issued by President Donald Trump this week that seems to give him huge power to interpret the law is raising concerns among legal experts that it could dissuade military commanders from refusing unlawful orders and allow the president to exert influence over the military’s legal processes.