The Conversation -- February 17, 2025
Quite a good overview of This Month with Donald and Elon: ~~~
~~~ A.R. Moxon takes a similar view here and here and covers much of the same territory. Thanks to RAS for the link.
New York. William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: “Four top New York City officials are expected to resign in the coming days, after the outgoing U.S. attorney for Manhattan accused the mayor of trading cooperation with President Trump’s mass deportation agenda for a dismissal of his criminal indictment, according to three people with knowledge of their plans. The four officials — Maria Torres-Springer, the first deputy mayor, and Meera Joshi, Anne Williams-Isom and Chauncey Parker, all also deputy mayors — oversee much of New York City government, and their departure is poised to blow a devastating hole in the already wounded administration of Mayor Eric Adams. Mr. Adams, a Democrat, is resisting growing calls to resign. Gov. Kathy Hochul is also under increasing pressure to remove him from office.”
~~~~~~~~~~
One Good Way to Mark Presidents' Day. Chandelis Duster of NPR: "Protests are set to take place in several major cities across the U.S. on Monday, the Presidents Day holiday, according to activists. These demonstrations are being organized by the 50501 Movement, which stands for '50 protests. 50 states. 1 movement.' The protests are a response to what organizers describe as 'the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration.' This marks the second nationwide protest by the group, following an event held on Feb. 5."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “In the first case to reach the Supreme Court arising from the blitz of actions taken in the early weeks of the new administration, lawyers for ... [Donald] Trump asked the justices on Sunday to let him fire a government lawyer who leads a watchdog agency. The administration’s emergency application asked the court to vacate a federal trial judge’s order temporarily reinstating Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel. Mr. Dellinger leads an independent agency charged with safeguarding government whistle-blowers and enforcing certain ethics laws.... The court is expected to act in the coming days. The filing amounts to a challenge to a foundational precedent that said Congress can limit the president’s power to fire leaders of independent agencies.... The statute that created the job now filled by Mr. Dellinger, who was confirmed by the Senate in 2024, provides for a five-year term and says the special counsel 'may be removed by the president only for inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.' But a one-sentence email to Mr. Dellinger on Feb. 7 gave no reasons for terminating him, effective immediately. He sued, and Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the Federal District Court in Washington entered a temporary restraining order.... The court’s conservative majority may be receptive to the argument that presidents have unlimited power to remove leaders of independent agencies.” A CBS News report is here.
Alan Rappeport, et al., of the New York Times: “The Internal Revenue Service is preparing to give a team member working with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive taxpayer data, people familiar with the matter said. The systems at the I.R.S. contain the private financial data tied to millions of Americans, including their tax returns, Social Security numbers, addresses, banking details and employment information.... [Donald] Trump has long been a critic of the I.R.S., often complaining that it was overly aggressive in its audits of his finances.... 'Are you sick of being targeted and harassed by the I.R.S.?' Mr. Trump asked [in a fundraising email Saturday]. 'Well maybe it’s time that somebody audited them for a change!'” ~~~
~~~ Jacob Bogage & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: “... taxpayers who have had their information wrongfully disclosed or even inspected are entitled by law to monetary damages — and the request for DOGE access has raised deep concern within the IRS.... It’s highly unusual to grant political appointees access to personal taxpayer data, or even programs adjacent to that data, experts say.... A security clearance is not a sufficient credential for access to taxpayer systems, according to IRS procedures.... [DOGE software engineer Gavin] Kliger arrived unannounced at IRS headquarters on Thursday and was named senior adviser to the acting commissioner.... A White House official said Sunday ... that DOGE personnel at the IRS were full agency employees and not contractors.” An ABC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ He Seems Nice. Amethyst Martinez of the Daily Beast, republished by Yahoo! News Feb. 7: DOGE "staffer Gavin Kliger, 25, was caught reposting white supremacist Nick Fuentes and self-labeled misogynist Andrew Tate on X. He also expressed controversial views about immigrants in posts dating from October to January, Reuters first reported.... He also has a Substack, where he has praised disgraced politician Matt Gaetz, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth." ~~~
~~~ Julianne McShane & Jacob Rosenberg of Mother Jones: “In a since-deleted Substack post..., [Gavin Kliger] wrote about his radicalization, noting a key influence was an essay by Ron Unz — an infamous figure who has written about race science; donated money to the white nationalist website VDare, which according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, is a hate group; and has been accused by the Anti-Defamation League of 'hardcore antisemitism,' including Holocaust denial.... The post was published Friday and was still available online Sunday morning around 9:30 a.m. ET. It was deleted on Sunday.”
Robbie Gramer & Paul McLeary of Politico: “Ukrainian officials reacted with a mixture of shock and confusion to the news that top Trump administration officials are traveling to Saudi Arabia to kickstart peace talks with Russia in the coming days — and that Ukrainians were also apparently coming.... 'I saw that someone said that there would be a meeting in Saudi Arabia. I do not know what it is,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. On the prospect of talks without Ukraine at the table, he said: 'Well, this is not a serious conversation, it seems to me.'... And back in Kyiv, Mykhailo Podolyak, a top Zelenskyy adviser..., [said,] 'There is nothing on the negotiating table that would be worth discussing.... Russia is not ready for negotiations.'”
~~~ ⭐David Sanger & Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: “Many critical issues were left uncertain — including the fate of Ukraine — at the end of Europe’s first encounter with an angry and impatient Trump administration. But one thing was clear: An epochal breach appears to be opening in the Western alliance.... European officials who emerged from a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said they now expect that tens of thousands of American troops will be pulled out of Europe — the only question is how many, and how fast. And they fear that in one-on-one negotiations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Mr. Trump is on his way to agreeing to terms that could ultimately put Moscow in a position to own a fifth of Ukraine and to prepare to take the rest in a few years’ time. Mr. Putin’s ultimate goal, they believe, is to break up the NATO alliance. Those fears spilled out on the stage of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday morning, when President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that 'Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs.'...
“President Emmanuel Macron of France has asked 'the main European countries' to come to Paris on Monday to discuss the war in Ukraine and European security.... The Élysée Palace said on Sunday in a statement that the meeting would be informal and involve the heads of government from Germany, Britain, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark. The presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, as well as the NATO chief, would also attend.” This is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: Since no one has complained, I'm assuming these gift links are working. I am limited in the number and can make, and I can offer them only to a few NYT & WashPo articles. ~~~
~~~ Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: “Vice President JD Vance and other top administration officials made their European debut last week, slashing their way through a continent of allies as they embraced far-right leaders, demanded access to mineral wealth and offered sympathy to the views of Russian President Vladimir Putin. By the end of the week, European leaders found themselves potentially cut out of peace talks with Russia, facing down a trade war with Washington and scrambling to answer U.S. requests about how many troops they can marshal to Ukraine to guarantee a truce negotiated without their input.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Nahal Toosi of Politico: “Russian leader Vladimir Putin is eyeing NATO countries for future invasion even as he talks with the Trump administration about ending the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine’s president [Volodymyr Zelenskyy] warns... in an interview with NBC’s 'Meet the Press.'... Putin has grandiose ambitions, a hostility toward NATO, and an awareness of the Trump administration’s skepticism of the military alliance. The Russian leader may calculate the time is ripe to make moves, at least against former Soviet states now in the alliance, Zelenskyy said.... He also said he warned Trump that Putin is not trustworthy. 'I said to him, “No, he’s a liar. He doesn’t want any peace,”’ Zelenskyy said.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Trump Bullying, Ctd. Emma Burrows of the AP has more on the "deal" the Trump administration offered Ukraine. (NYT story by Constant Meheut linked yesterday) Ukraine turned down the deal, largely because it was "You give us half your critical minerals/we give you nothing." (Also linked yesterday.)
Devlin Barrett, et al., of the New York Times take a look at the two prosecutors who eventually signed off on acting deputy AG Emil Bove's very dodgy demand that someone dismiss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. One, “Ed Sullivan, a longtime prosecutor in the section, offered to sign Mr. Bove’s motion. Doing so would protect the other lawyers, he believed.... [The other, Antoinette] Bacon, had joined the administration to run the criminal division — an appointment that had been initially greeted with relief by career officials. But as the standoff between Mr. Bove and the career prosecutors persisted last week, many who report to Ms. Bacon came to see her as unquestioningly following Mr. Bove’s instructions, despite her years of experience as a corruption prosecutor. Ms. Bacon’s former supervisor in Ohio, Ann Rowland, expressed disbelief at her actions.... The current conflict, some in the department believe, is even worse [than Richard Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre]. When senior leaders resigned in 1973, they were in essence standing up to the White House, even as political appointees. But now the department’s leaders are taking aim at their own lower ranks....” ~~~
~~~ New York Times Editors: “The confrontation between Mr. Trump’s lieutenants at the Justice Department — led by his former personal defense lawyer, Emil Bove III — and Manhattan’s interim U.S. attorney, Danielle R. Sassoon, and her colleagues is the clearest example yet of this administration’s efforts to bake quid pro quo deal making, coercive tactics, loyalty tests and other dishonorable practices into American government and warp its long-held principle of equal justice before the law.... What is so alarming about the Trump Justice Department’s actions is that the nation’s top law enforcement officials are bent not just on turning an intentionally blind eye to their peers alleging illegal actions and exploiting the misconduct of a desperate lackey like [Mayor Eric] Adams for their own purposes, but on corrupting the prosecutors and civil servants in the department itself.... The damage and destabilization now resulting from this devil’s bargain between the mayor and the Justice Department make it only more urgent that Mr. Adams step down.” Related story linked below under “New York.”
Adam Cancryn, et al., of Politico: “The Trump administration carried out more mass firings across the Health and Human Services Department this weekend, continuing a chaotic purge of the federal workforce that career officials and lawmakers warned would hurt key programs and impair efforts to track threats to public health. The cuts hit staffers at the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.... The administration also terminated some staff at the office responsible for emergency preparedness and response.... Trump officials on Friday cast the layoffs imposed by billionaire Elon Musk’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency as methodical decisions meant to spare HHS’ core functions. Yet those inside the agencies disputed that portrayal..., describing deep cuts that at times seemed indiscriminate — with even some Trump political appointees unaware which of their employees were being fired or why.” ~~~
~~~ Brandy Zadrony & “The Trump administration on Saturday terminated hundreds of employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including fellows responsible for key public health roles.... Among them were about two dozen workers who made up the Laboratory Leadership Service, or LLS, a group responsible for training public health laboratory staffers and supporting outbreak response efforts.... Termination emails, which were sent to LLS staff members Saturday evening, cited poor performance as the reason for the firings, even though most of the dismissed employees have 'excellent' performance reviews, a midlevel CDC official said.... The termination process has been marked by chaos and a lack of transparency.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Obviously, smearing these employees for "poor performance" is the administration's attempt to protect itself from charges of indiscriminately firing essential workers. So now these employees, who have done "excellent" work, are not only losing their jobs for no reason but also will find it very difficult to obtain new jobs because their records will reflect their fake "poor performances." I expect a number of these people went into debt to get college degrees in order to qualify to work for the public good. And this is what they get. It's infuriating. And apparently it's happening elsewhere, as well. ~~~
~~~ Allan Smith of NBC News: “Letters went out to dozens of probationary employees in at least one section of the Department of Transportation that said part of the reason they were being fired was for poor performance, according to a copy of the letter obtained by NBC News. But as a source familiar and a secondary document viewed by NBC News laid out, most of those employees were rated as being “exceptional” performers by their supervisors.... 'These letters that we’re sending these employees, I feel so bad because they’re lying,' [a] person familiar said. 'All of them, pretty much, were exceptional performers. It’s just crazy to me.'... Federal ... regulations state that 'information in the notice as to why the employee is being terminated shall, as a minimum, consist of the agency’s conclusions as to the inadequacies of his performance or conduct.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yes, yes. The supposed reason for firing “excellent” and “exceptional” employees is a defamatory lie AND a violation of the law. But it's all okay. Because, as Smith reminds us at the end of his report, Trump sez, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: “The acting archivist of the United States and several senior staff members at the National Archives and Records Administration have resigned, marking the latest departures at a typically nonpolitical agency that has been the target of ... Donald Trump’s ire since its attempts to recover presidential documents from his Florida home. A source familiar with the situation said that the acting archivist, William J. Bosanko, and the agency’s inspector general, Brett M. Baker, decided to retire and that several other senior officials resigned after Trump officials made it clear they wanted to remove the agency’s leadership team and install loyalists.”
Heather Cox Richardson writes a history lesson on how we got from FDR to Trump. Not surprisingly, racism plays the most prominent role (tho that's not exactly how Richardson puts it). But now, Richardson speculates, the Trump/Musk administration is doing something that could put the brakes on the anti-government trend: "For forty years, Republican politicians could win elections by insisting that government spending redistributed wealth from hardworking taxpayers to the undeserving because they did not entirely purge the federal programs that their own voters liked. Now Trump, Musk, and the Republicans are purging funds for cancer research, family farms, national parks, food, nuclear security, and medical care — all programs his supporters care about — and threatening to throw the country into an economic tailspin that will badly hurt Republican-dominated states.... Forty years of ideology is under pressure now from reality, and the outcome remains uncertain." (Also linked yesterday.)
Annals of “Journalism,” Ctd. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: “The Washington Post this week backed out of a 'Fire Elon Musk' advertising order that was to run as a wrap on some of its Tuesday editions, according to the advocacy group Common Cause. The group said it signed a $115,000 agreement with The Post to run the ad that would have covered the front and back page of the Tuesday paper as well as a full-page ad with the same theme inside the paper.... Common Cause President Virginia Kase Solomón said The Post’s advertising sales representative was informed of the nature of the ad and seemed confident that running it over the paper wouldn’t be a problem.... She said The Post did not provide an explanation for why it decided not to run the wrap ad.” MB: Do you think the “reason” could be spelled B-E-Z-O-S?
Third Act Texas: "A U.S. Economic Blackout — a nationwide economic protest — is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. On this day, participants are encouraged to refrain from making any purchases, both online and in-store, from large corporations. The aim is to demonstrate the collective power of consumers and to advocate for economic change. Essential purchases, such as paying bills and buying necessities, are generally considered acceptable, but the emphasis will be on minimizing non-essential spending to make a significant economic impact." Thanks to Hannah'sOtherSister for the link. MB: I'll be participating.
~~~~~~~~~~
New York. Emma Fitzsimmons & Sean Piccoli of the New York Times: Mayor Eric “Adams, a New York City Democrat who is running for re-election, made clear that he would not leave office on his own after the Justice Department’s push last week to drop the corruption case against him, which raised concerns that he is now beholden to ... [Donald] Trump. 'People are dancing on my grave,' the mayor said on Sunday, but he predicted that he would rise from the dead like the biblical figure Lazarus. 'I’ve got a mission to finish,' he said at Maranatha Baptist Church in Queens, adding: 'I am going nowhere.' The mayor was greeted warmly at the two Queens churches he visited, and their pastors gave him effusive introductions.”
~~~~~~~~~~
We discussed Trump’s bold vision for Gaza’s future and will work to ensure that vision becomes a reality.... We have a common strategy, and we can’t always share the details of this strategy with the public. -- Benjamin Netanyahu, to reporters ~~~
~~~ Israel/Palestine, et al. Jullian Borger of the Guardian: “Benjamin Netanyahu has said his government is working closely with the US to implement Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, which involves US ownership of the coastal strip, the removal of more than 2 million Palestinians and the redevelopment of the occupied territory as a resort. The Israeli prime minister was speaking after a meeting in Jerusalem with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who defended the Trump plan as bold and visionary. Rubio and Netanyahu blamed Iran for the violence in the Middle East and insisted Tehran would be stopped from developing nuclear weapons. Trump’s shock proposal earlier this month for a 'Riviera of the Middle East' has been condemned around the world as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing, but Rubio and Netanyahu insisted it would proceed.”
Share Article
Reader Comments (14)
The NY Times editors, trying to sound forceful and determined…and stuff…say “Ahem…The damage and destabilization now resulting from this devil’s bargain between the mayor and the Justice Department make it only more urgent that Mr. Adams step down.”
Okay…and…that’s gonna do what, exactly? “Damage, destabilization, Devil’s Bargain! [ooh, that’s a good one], Justice Department, urgent!”
And…?
Sorry, guys, Eric Adams stepping down ain’t gonna do nothin’. Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah. Fat Hitler and his Bovine lawyer guy, Pam Bondi and the rest of the slimy pathogens now running the Injustice Department will just pull this QPQ playbook out and run this same bullshit on the next crook caught with handcuffs on about to be led away to hard time. All that crook has to do is agree to join Fatty’s Army of Anal Cysts.
The damage is done. The message has been sent. If the Times really cared about a functioning Justice Department, they shouldn’t have been pissing on Biden and Harris while Both Sidesing Fatty McHitler Face, normalizing his bullshit and editing his slurred word salad to sound like it made sense.
But yeah, Eric Adams should step down. Like that’s gonna happen. But hey, thanks for stopping by.
Waiting for Trump to suggest that Zelensky build a wall around
Ukraine and make Russia pay for it. Like the wall that Mexico
didn't pay for.
Trump’s Anti-DEI Order Stops Maryland National Guard from Celebrating Frederick Douglass – Mother Jones
(Apologies if already posted: I’m an RC Late-Comer)
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/trumps-anti-dei-order-stops-maryland-national-guard-from-celebrating-frederick-douglass/
Hanna’sOtherSister,
If your post took several (five, six, 348) attempts before it showed up, not to worry. The Squarespace gods are equal opportunity obstructionists. In any event, welcome.
And speaking of equal opportunity obstruction…yeah. How a figure so important to our national history, to the story of America, as Frederick Douglass, gets erased by that racist pig’s hatred and fear of non-white, non-male, non-straight ‘mericans, can be easily explained.
Trump thinks Frederick Douglass is still alive. And there’s only one person alive now in this country deserving of special recognition: himself, Fat Hitler. If the Maryland National Guard feels compelled to honor someone, then, by Satan, it’s gonna be his fat ass, not some darkie with funny hair. (Only Fatty’s funny hair is worthy of special honors. I mean, Jesus, it takes him hours to get that orange bird’s nest to look like that.)
Forrest,
So who’s gonna pay for the wall around Ukraine? Moldova? Slovakia? Hungary??
No, scratch Hungary. All the extra money they have goes straight into Orban’s piggy bank.
Hmm…Luxembourg? Chile? Burundi?…
@Akhilleus & @Forrest Morris: Why not ask Steve Bannon to set up a GoFundMe page for "We Build the Ukraine Wall"?
Don't know when we will get the answer but the question of the decade has already been asked:
Yeah, it was the majority of voters who elected Trump. And that's why I'd prefer to believe they did so because they swallowed his facile lies about stopping inflation overnight and bringing down the price of groceries his first day in office.
Otherwise, I'd have to believe America's voters actually wanted a dishonest, ignorant, greedy, racist, misogynistic autocrat who encouraged a violent reaction to his 2020 election loss to head our government for the next four years.
Maybe they did. We'll see.
Garrett Graff
"Musk, Trump Establish New Era of Kleptocracy in America
A third dispatch comparing how the US media would cover this moment if it was happening overseas"
Defiance
The worst and the dimmest
I think Musk should pay for the wall around Ukraine.
He could take it as a tax deduction.
Oops! I forgot, some people don't pay taxes.
I think there for I am
Giving Fat Hitler’s “plan” (such as it is) for Gaza the thumbs up is a win-win for Bee-bee.
First, if this becomes the very first plan in his entire life that he is able to make happen on his own, ie, shoving two million Palestinians off into the desert to die, so’s he can build luxury condos on the “Mediterranean Riviera” (*cough-cough*), Fat Hitler will hand Bee-bee and his far-right illegal settler supporters exactly what they want.
If, however, this stupendously illegal and amoral scheme triggers a response by Hamas, it will give Bee-bee the excuse he needs to shiv the ceasefire, restart his war and murder every last Palestinian where they stand, it’s a gift to those same far-right Israelis whose support he needs to stay out of jail.
Sooo…Fat Hitler’s stoopid and illegal scheme gets millions more killed and then he can start building his condos, which will never be finished, because he’s a loser and a liar and never pays for anything, and whose planning skills are right up there with Adolf Musk, who fired every last federal employee overseeing nuclear weapons. .
The ones paying the price will be Palestinians.
Aren’t those Palestinian supporters who kicked Joe Biden to put Trump in the Bleak House happy?
Re: RAS’s “defiance” link…
I saw my very first Tesla truck today. It looks like something the Little Rascals would have cobbled together for a go-cart race. “Hastily constructed” is a hugely kind description.
Anyway, this Muskovite decided his Truck thingie, which we are soon to be paying $400 million for, could easily make it through a road closed off because of flooding hereabouts.
After swerving around a giant “Road Closed” sign and running over blocking road cones, this idiot plunged into five feet (I’m guessing now) of flood water. His MuskMobile conked out and I’m further guessing (didn’t stick around for acts 3 and 4) emergency personnel and vehicles—at taxpayer expense—will be needed to rescue his stoopid MAGA ass.
A microcosmic example of what’s happening on a macro level across the entire country (except in the macro version, there’s no one around to help because they’ve all been fired).