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.
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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.
Trump wants those minerals and he wants them now. He believes he will be hailed as a big hero, the prince of peace, if he obtains Ukrainian natural resources as compensation for the U.S. military support and then forces them to surrender to the murderous dictator who invaded them. He really believes that. His latest “negotiating” tactic is to issue a threat to Ukraine that if it doesn’t turn these resources over, Trump’s personal executioner will cut them off: U.S. negotiators pressing Kyiv for access to Ukraine’s critical minerals have raised the possibility of cutting the country’s access to Elon Musk’s vital Starlink satellite internet system, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Ukraine’s continued access to SpaceX-owned Starlink was brought up in discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy turned down an initial proposal from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the sources said. Starlink provides crucial internet connectivity to war-torn Ukraine and its military. The issue was raised again on Thursday during meetings between Keith Kellogg, the U.S.
I highly recommend this piece (gift link) by Adam Serwer about the right wing crusade against DEI. It’s the best thing I’ve read on the subject and it’s profoundly distressing: The nostalgia behind the slogan “Make America great again” has always provoked the obvious questions of just when America was great, and for whom. Early in the second Trump administration, we are getting the answer. In August, speaking with someone he believed to be a sympathetic donor, one of the Project 2025 architects, Russell Vought, said that a goal of the next Trump administration would be to “get us off of multiculturalism” in America. Now Vought is running Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, and the plan to end multiculturalism is proceeding apace. Much of the chaos, lawlessness, and destruction of the past few weeks can be understood as part of the administration’s central ideological project: restoring America’s traditional hierarchies of race and gender.
I learned this morning that David L. Boren passed away. Today, I’m choosing to reflect on his impact – as OU’s President, Oklahoma’s Governor, U.S. Senator, and as a mentor and friend to many who knew him far better than I did. While our interactions were limited, it’s difficult to separate his influence on both […]
A federal prosecutor actually wrote this piece of garbage: That letter was sent around by Ed Martin the Acting DC US Attorney Trump has now nominated to be permanent based upon his lib-owning tweets and DOGE boot licking. He tweeted this two days ago: Right. Remember this? Trump pardoned all of them. “EagleEd” was also at January 6th, he raised money for the rioters and defended some of them, even going so far as to dismiss a case as acting US Atty on which he was also the defense attorney. Hypocrisy can’t begin to describe it. You should see the shrieking on twitter over some protesters with posters that say “off with their heads” and the like about Trump and Musk. Fuck ’em. Trump pardoned all those people for violently threatening the whole US Congress during a joint session of congress to stop the peaceful transfer of power. If EagleEd wants to throw people in jail for some signs at a peaceful protest I think he should try. The result will clarify our situation once and for all.