The Conversation -- February 26, 2025
Catie Edmondson, et al., of the New York Times: “The House on Tuesday narrowly passed a Republican budget resolution that calls for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a $2 trillion reduction in federal spending over a decade, clearing the way for major elements of ... [Donald] Trump’s domestic agenda. The nearly party-line vote of 217 to 215 teed up a bitter fight within the G.O.P. over which federal programs to slash to partially finance a huge tax cut that would provide its biggest benefits to rich Americans. It came after a head-spinning hour in which Republican leaders tried to put down a revolt among conservatives who wanted deeper spending cuts, failed to do so, canceled the budget vote and then reversed course minutes later and summoned lawmakers to call the roll. The chaotic scene underscored the unwieldy path House Republicans have ahead of them as they try to push through Mr. Trump’s domestic policy agenda through Congress over the objections of Democrats. Approval of the budget plan was a crucial first step for Republicans to smooth the way through Congress for an enormous fiscal package using a process called reconciliation, which allows such bills to steer clear of a filibuster and pass the Senate on a simple-majority vote.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Here's one humorous note: One “of the holdouts, Representative Victoria Spartz of Indiana..., said she received a 'personal commitment' from Mr. Trump to 'save health care and make it better.'” That's right; Spartz changed her vote on a promise from Trump that he would make healthcare programs better. That's the same promise he's failed to even come close to fulfilling on for the decade he was trying to tank Obamacare. Did he tell her he had a concept of a plan?
~~~ Margot Sanger-Katz & Alicia Parlapiano of the New York Times: “What can House Republicans cut instead of Medicaid? Not much.” To pass the bill through reconciiiation, which avoids a Senate filibuster, they must find $880 billion in cuts over the next ten years, and these cuts must come from programs the House Energy and Commerce Committee oversees. “If the budget resolution is going to become public policy, it will require legislation that cuts health programs. Almost a trillion dollars is a lot of money, even in federal budget terms, and health care is where the money is.” ~~~
~~~ Oh, Dear. Jared Gans of the Hill: A “poll from Hart Research conducted for the nonprofit Families Over Billionaires, which advocates in opposition to tax cuts for the wealthy, found 71 percent of voters who backed Trump said cutting Medicaid would be unacceptable. Voters overall were even more opposed to it, with 82 percent saying so. Six in 10 Trump voters also said cutting food and nutrition programs would be unacceptable.” MB: This is not because Trump voters have suddenly become bleeding hearts dedicated to helping poor people. Rather, it's because many of them are poor people who need assistance programs like Medicaid & food stamps (SNAP).
Marianne LeVine of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will replace a controversial visa program for foreign investors with a new initiative to sell $5 million 'gold cards' to wealthy individuals looking for a path to U.S. citizenship. 'They’ll be wealthy and they’ll be successful,' Trump said in the Oval Office. 'And they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people.'... The president shared few details on requirements, aside from the $5 million payment, but said those who buy the gold cards will be given green-card privileges and 'a route to citizenship.'... He said Tuesday that the gold cards will help bring in 'very high-level people' and claimed that companies such as Apple could buy the cards Immigration experts expressed skepticism that the Trump administration could enact the change without Congress, though the president insisted he could do so unilaterally because he was 'not doing citizenship.'... Muzaffar Chishti ... [of] the Migration Policy Institute, said that only Congress can end the EB-5 visa program for investors that Trump and [Commerce Secretary Howard] Lutnick want to replace.” The AP's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Some of you expressed shock yesterday at this Oligarchs Invitational, but it's new only in that Trump & Lutnick ballooned the price of admission. Congress created the EB-5 visa program in 1990, and the current minimum investment to qualify is $800K. As to these “very high-level people” paying a lot of taxes, the whole idea of the budget proposal the House passed last night was to lower taxes for “very high-level people.” So that's bull. Plus, it's pathetic that Trump thinks “rich” and “very high-level” are the same thing.
Palling Around with Despots. Peter Baker of the New York Times: “In a move that redrew the international order, Mr. Trump this week had the United States vote against a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the third anniversary of the war. Among the countries that Mr. Trump joined in siding with Russia? North Korea, Belarus and Sudan. [And as RAS pointed out, Iran.] Those he stood against? Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan and most of the rest of the world. It would be hard to think of a starker demonstration of how radically Mr. Trump is recalibrating America’s place in the world.... He is positioning the United States in the camp of the globe’s chief rogue states in opposition to the countries that have been America’s best friends since World War II or before.... If the United States is going to align itself with international outcasts..., it could force Europe, Canada and Asian allies like Japan and South Korea to go their own way and look elsewhere for alliances. At the same time, Mr. Trump’s deference to Moscow has allowed Russia out of the diplomatic isolation chamber that Washington and the West sought to construct in the three years since its full-fledged invasion of Ukraine.”
Petty, Vindictive Little Swine. Perry Stein & Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump is targeting the elite Washington law firm that is representing former special counsel Jack Smith, issuing a directive that would strip some of its lawyers of their security clearances and examine the firm’s government contracts. The order signed Tuesday afternoon called for suspending the security clearance of any attorney at Covington & Burling who the Trump administration concludes was involved in representing Smith while he was special counsel. It also directs federal agencies to limit their interactions with Covington & Burling and assess government contracts with the firm to align 'funding decisions with the interests of the citizens of the United States.' The firm has been providing pro bono personal legal services to Smith.... Legal experts said the action is unlikely to have widespread implications for Covington & Burling, because the firm’s revenue does not come from government contracts and relatively few attorneys have cases that regularly require security clearances.
“As he signed the directive, Trump suggested that he should send the pen to Smith, before tossing it to one of the reporters in the audience. When asked if he was targeting the law firm, Trump replied: 'I was targeted. ... Don’t talk to me about targeting.'” Politico's report is here.
Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: “Over the last several days, more than a dozen federal agencies, primarily led by Trump-appointed Cabinet secretaries, told employees that they did not need to comply with a Musk directive to email a list of what they had done in the past week. The rebuke was the most striking display yet of internal dissatisfaction with DOGE’s moves across the federal government.... But Musk has fought back, publicly condemning those who resisted and calling for federal employees to face a second order to explain their work accomplishments. His DOGE team, meanwhile, escalated its multipronged assault on the bureaucracy, preparing for a new round of even more sweeping layoffs and moving to cancel additional grants and other forms of federal spending.... Musk’s surrogates, for instance, have in recent days directed the Department of Veterans Affairs to cut more than 800 existing federal contracts.... DOGE helped implement at least a partial freeze on government credit cards, ceasing the work of employees who need to bill expenses.”
Ask Amy. Name of Mystery Woman Revealed. Here's some news. After attorneys for the White House were unable to answer federal judges' simple questions about who headed up DOGE, the White House finally found somebody willing to pretend she's in charge of DOGE: “The White House confirmed Tuesday that Amy Gleason, who used to work for the firm founded by DOGE adviser Brad Smith, will be the U.S. DOGE Service administrator. (Musk himself is officially a 'special government employee' who’s advising the White House and DOGE’s effort, the administration has said.)” ~~~
~~~ Update. Here's a full WashPo story on Gleason's new job: “Gleason’s appointment is unlikely to change any perception that Musk is in charge of DOGE, but it answers a key question as to its organizational structure.” The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Luckily, it won't matter who's in charge, because DOGE is planning to have AI fire federal workers. It will be this fabulously efficient automated system where nobody is reponsible for those pink slips. Think of the boon this is to supervisors who have a smidgen of empathy left and feel bad about destroying the lives of people who have dedicated themselves to public service. It's a great concept! Genius! as Trump would say: ~~~
~~~ David Edwards of the Raw Story: "Employees connected to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are reportedly updating government software that would automate the firing of federal workers.... Wired revealed that DOGE had obtained access to a Department of Defense software program called AutoRIF — which is shorthand for Automated Reduction in Force. The software was designed to create lists of employees eligible to be fired.... 'With new software and the use of AI, some government employees fear that large-scale terminations could roll out even more quickly,' Wired reported." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The system could automatically send the pink slips in cardboard boxes that the fired employees then could use to load up the decades' worth of tchotchkes & family photos they had cluttered their space with. Perhaps there would still have to be some human contact in order to collect the employees' badges and key cards or whatever, though maybe these could be sent to HR through a pneumatic tube or something. Oh, be sure to deduct the cost of the cardboard boxes from their final paychecks.
Well, maybe not fraud, but I'll give ya waste and abuse ~~~
~~~ Julian Barnes of the New York Times: “Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, said on Tuesday that more than 100 intelligence officers from 15 agencies had been fired for having sexually explicit discussions on a government chat tool. The chat program was administered by the National Security Agency and intended for discussions of sensitive security matters. But a group of employees used it for discussions that contained sexual themes, intelligence officials said this week. The chats also included explicit discussion of gender transition surgery, officials said. Transcripts of the chat were first disclosed Monday by Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who writes for City Journal.”
Emily Davies & Hannah Natanson of the Washington Post: “Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas A. Collins took to social media on Tuesday to tout sweeping cuts to contracts that he said would save the department nearly $2 billion without touching core services. But the 875 contracts on the chopping block help cover medical services, fund cancer programs, recruit doctors and provide burial services to veterans, according to internal VA documents.... Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a statement Tuesday...[,] 'This is just another reckless cost-cutting decision that will harm veterans and tax payers for years to come.'” MB: Traditionally, most politicians did not boast about stiffing ailing or dying veterans, but this is MAGA and I suppose those veterans are suckers and losers.
In the Dark of Night, DOGE Deletes Its Fake Receipts. David Fahrenthold, et al., of the New York Times: “Last week, Elon Musk’s government cost-slashing initiative ... posted an online 'wall of receipts,' celebrating how much it had saved by canceling federal contracts. Now the organization ... has deleted all of the five biggest 'savings' on that original list, after The New York Times and other media outlets pointed out they were riddled with errors. The last of the original top five disappeared from the site in the early hours of Tuesday, even as the group claimed in its latest update that its savings to date had increased to $65 billion. The website offered no explanation for why it removed some items or how it arrived at the higher total.... The 'wall of receipts' is the only public ledger the organization has produced to document its work. The scale of that ledger’s errors — and the misunderstandings and poor quality control that seemed to underlie them — has raised questions about the effort’s broader work, which has led to mass firings and cutbacks across the federal government.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Ryan Foley of the AP: “Nearly 40% of the federal contracts that ... Donald Trump’s administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save the government any money, the administration’s own data shows. The Department of Government Efficiency ... published an updated list Monday of nearly 2,300 contracts that agencies terminated in recent weeks across the federal government. Data published on DOGE’s 'Wall of Receipts' shows that more than one-third of the contract cancellations, 794 in all, are expected to yield no savings. That’s usually because the total value of the contracts has already been fully obligated, which means the government has a legal requirement to spend the funds for the goods or services it purchased and in many cases has already done so.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Desmond Butler, et al., of the Washington Post: “Over the years, [Elon] Musk and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, often at critical moments, a Washington Post analysis has found, helping seed the growth that has made him the world’s richest person.... The total amount is probably larger: This analysis includes only publicly available contracts, omitting classified defense and intelligence work for the federal government. SpaceX has been developing spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office, the Pentagon’s spy satellite division.... The Wall Street Journal reported that contract was worth $1.8 billion.... The Post found nearly a dozen other local grants, reimbursements and tax credits where the specific amount of money is not public. An additional 52 ongoing contracts with seven government agencies ... are on track to potentially pay Musk’s companies an additional $11.8 billion over the next few years.... DOGE ... has sought to cut staff, slash budgets or cut contracts at all seven of the agencies where Musk’s companies have ongoing contracts.”
Brian Slodysko & Byron Tau of the AP: “More than 20 civil service employees resigned Tuesday from ... Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to 'dismantle critical public services.' 'We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,' the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter.... 'However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.' The employees also warned that many of those enlisted by Musk to help him slash the size of the federal government under ... Donald Trump’s administration were political ideologues who did not have the necessary skills or experience for the task ahead of them. The mass resignation of engineers, data scientists, designers and product managers is a temporary setback for Musk and the Republican president’s tech-driven purge of the federal workforce. It comes amid a flurry of court challenges that have sought to stall, stop or unwind their efforts to fire or coerce thousands of government workers out of jobs.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Rachel Roubein & Lena Sun of the Washington Post: “After several thousand probationary workers across the nation’s health department were fired in what some dubbed a 'Valentine’s Day massacre,' the government has quietly asked some to return to their jobs regulating the nation’s food supply, providing help for 9/11 responders and reviewing medical devices.... Patient advocacy groups had decried the firings, saying that they would erode the country’s standing as a global health leader, and well-funded lobbying groups rushed to save some government slots that were in part funded by the private sector, not taxpayer dollars. The rehirings are also the latest wrinkle in the chaotic rollout of ... Donald Trump’s effort to shrink and weaken the federal government via billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Zach Montague of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Tuesday directed the Trump administration to unfreeze foreign aid funding within two days after indications that it was failing to comply with a previous court order to keep money flowing to aid groups around the world. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development must release the funds and pay a number of bills by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, Judge Amir H. Ali of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia ruled. Judge Ali had ordered the Trump administration on Feb. 13 to keep disbursing the funds pending the outcome of a lawsuit brought by two health organizations affected by ... [Donald] Trump’s executive order to pause most foreign aid for 90 days.” (Also linked yesterday.)
David Nakamura & Teo Armus of the Washington Post: “A federal judge in Seattle on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s sweeping ban on refugee admissions, saying the presidential executive order represented an improper nullification of congressional authority. U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead’s granting of a preliminary injunction effectively requires the administration to restart the refugee-admissions program that ... Donald Trump shut down last month as part of a series of actions aimed at tightening immigration controls. The judge’s order will remain in place while the case is adjudicated.” The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Silvia Foster-Frau & Vanessa Herrero of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration flew nearly 180 migrants from the United States to Guantánamo and deported all of them to Venezuela on Thursday. The Post spoke with three men who were detained in the U.S. military prison that has been used to house suspected terrorists since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. All had crossed the border illegally, and although Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem called the migrants transported to Cuba the 'worst of the worst,' The Post could find no other criminal record for those interviewed. [Diuvar] Uzcátegui, José Daniel Simancas and Franyer Montes said they were denied calls to lawyers or loved ones after repeated pleas. They said they were subjected to humiliating and invasive strip searches. They described prolonged periods in isolation, with only two one-hour opportunities to go outside over two weeks.... The migrants’ conditions in Guantánamo 'were horrific, and are far more restrictive, more severe and more abusive than what we would see in a typical immigration detention facility in the United States,' said Eunice Cho ... [of] the ACLU National Prison Project.”
Fifth Amendment? Never Heard of It. Ariana Figueroa of the Daily Montanan, republished by the Raw Story: "Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem late Tuesday announced a campaign to compel people in the United States without legal authority to register with the U.S. government and then self-deport.... Noem said in a press release that if a person without legal status fails to register online, that person will be subject to a fine, imprisonment or both.... Registering would require submitting fingerprint information and other personal information. Adults and children 14 and older would be required to register."
⭐They're Really Trying to Kill Us. Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: “Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has privately urged the White House to strike down a scientific finding underpinning much of the federal government’s push to combat climate change.... The 2009 'endangerment finding' cleared the way for regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act by concluding that the planet-warming gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. Both the Obama and Biden administrations used that determination to set strict limits on emissions from cars and power plants. By repealing the endangerment finding, the Trump administration would be taking one of its most consequential steps yet to derail federal climate efforts. In recent days, the administration has also blocked work that is central to international climate research and barred federal scientists and diplomats from attending a major climate event in China.” ~~~
~~~ All the Best People. Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: “Formaldehyde, the chemical of choice for undertakers and embalmers..., can also cause cancer and severe respiratory problems. So, in 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency began a new effort to regulate it. The chemicals industry fought back with an intensity that astonished even seasoned agency officials. Its campaign was led by Lynn Dekleva, then a lobbyist at the American Chemistry Council, an industry group that spends millions of dollars on government lobbying. Dr. Dekleva is now at the E.P.A. in a crucial job: She runs an office that has the authority to approve new chemicals for use. Earlier she spent 32 years at Dupont, the chemical maker, before joining the E.P.A. in the first Trump administration. Her most recent employer, the chemicals lobbying group, has made reversing the Environmental Protection Agency’s course on formaldehyde a priority and is pushing to abolish a program under which the agency assess[es] the risks of chemicals to human health.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: So this is one of many Trumpity policies designed to kill people, but the upside is that those who die because of Dekleva's regulatory rollback will be pre-embalmed.
Naftali Bendavid & Maeve Reston of the Washington Post: “Rowdy crowds are showing up at lawmakers’ town hall meetings to protest President Donald Trump’s actions. Some people are launching into chants like 'No king!' or shouting down Republican House members. Sen. Bernie Sanders is drawing overflow crowds of his own as he seeks to mobilize voters against Trump’s budget cuts. At the same time, a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general is methodically filing lawsuits against Trump’s orders, and in six out of seven cases, it has been successful in persuading judges to halt them. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Governors Association and liberal groups are seeing a surge in fundraising. And Democratic members of Congress are seizing on a budget clash as an opportunity to coalesce against the president’s plans. Little by little, after an initial phase of stunned confusion, the broader resistance to Trump is beginning to wake up.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: My own Congressional delegation (100% Democratic) is a waste of space. I called them all last week, and when I complained my rep was doing nothing to fight Trump, she sent me a fucking fundraising letter asked me to send her money to fight Trump. What? She can't afford a bus ticket to anti-Trump rally? I wrote her a scathing response and dared her staff to put it in front of her face. She'll be hearing from me again. ~~~
~~~ What to do?? What to do? How about putting your hands over your ears and saying "La La La La" very loudly. Or here's what GOP leadership is suggesting: ~~~
~~~ Melanie Zanona, et al., of NBC News: “House Republicans are becoming weary and wary of in-person town hall meetings after a number of lawmakers have faced hometown crowds angry about the Trump administration’s push to slash government programs and staffing. Party leaders suggest that if lawmakers feel the need to hold such events, they do tele-town halls or at least vet attendees to avoid scenes that become viral clips, according to GOP sources. A GOP aide said House Republican leaders are urging lawmakers to stop engaging in them altogether.”
The iPhone Really Is a Smartphone. Tripp Mickle & Eli Tan of the New York Times: “While using Apple’s automatic dictation feature to send messages on Tuesday, some iPhone users reported seeing ... the word 'racist' temporarily appearing as 'Trump,' before quickly correcting itself. The message blip, which was replicated several times by The New York Times, provoked controversy after appearing in a viral TikTok post, raising questions about Apple’s artificial intelligence capabilities. An Apple spokeswoman blamed the issue on phonetic overlap between the two words, and said the company was working on a fix.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Say what? There is absolutely no “phonetic overlap” between the words “racist” and “Trump.” (Although I'll admit that when I hear someone say “Musk,” I imagine I heard “Nazi.”)
Marie: Two days ago, I was wondering when White House correspondents would begin to hold Donald Trump's feet to the fire. Yesterday I got the answer: Never. Ever. Not no way.~~~
~~~ Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: “The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it would start handpicking which media outlets were allowed to participate in the presidential press pool, the small, rotating group of reporters who relay the president’s day-to-day activities to the public. The change breaks decades of precedent. It allows the White House to assert more control over which journalists can witness his activities up-close and ask him questions. The White House Correspondents’ Association, a 111-year-old group representing journalists who cover the administration, has long determined on its own which reporters would participate in the daily pool.... Tuesday’s announcement was the latest in a string of aggressive efforts by the Trump administration to erode the access and influence of major news organizations that cover the White House.” Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Justin Baragona of the Independent: “Hours after MSNBC boss Rebecca Kutler officially announced that Joy Reid’s show was ending and the longtime host was leaving the network amid a programming overhaul, Reid devoted her final broadcast to instructing her viewers on the ways to resist throughout Donald Trump’s presidency, warning them that fascism is 'already here.' The progressive firebrand was also joined by some of her fellow MSNBC hosts, who paid tribute to their departing colleague and likened her cancelation as 'losing a limb,' while Reid lauded network star Rachel Maddow as their 'fearless leader.' Reid’s sudden cancelation has sparked backlash among liberals, with some claiming that 'racism' or an attempt to curry favor with Trump factored into the network’s decision. Meanwhile, Reid has said she is 'not sorry' for her unapologetically progressive commentary on her show, 'whether it was the Black Lives Matter issues' or going 'hard for immigrants who've done nothing but come to this country like my parents did and try to make a life and defended them.' MAGA pundits and Trump, meanwhile, have relished in the outspoken host’s departure.”
Rachel Maddow rips the suits at MSNBC for cancelling Joy Reid's & Alex Wagner's shows. (Maddow doesn't name names, but it's apparently that the new president of MSNBC, Rebecca Kutler, is responsible for axing Reid & Wagner.): ~~~
~~~ Anna Betts of the Guardian: “MSNBC has told the majority of the employees who produce Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid’s prime-time evening news shows they are being let go as part of the network’s programming overhaul with the option to apply for new roles, according to two people directly familiar with the matter.... The Maddow team was let go because of a quirk of how they worked on both Maddow’s show and Alex Wagner’s show.... On Monday night, Maddow appeared to criticize MSNBC for the recent programming shake-ups and the treatment of its staff during a monologue on her show.... The anchor also called Reid’s firing a 'bad mistake' during the monologue, and stated that she did not want to lose Reid as a colleague at MSNBC.” MB: “Appeared to criticize”? Nah, she raked management over the coals. And back again. ~~~
~~~ Marcie Jones of Wonkette: “Way back last November, MSNBC (and also CNBC) became no longer affiliated with NBC in any way. The channels’ overlord, Comcast, spun them off into a new company called SpinCo, headed by a guy named Mark Lazarus, who said he wanted to make the channel more appealing to Republicans while keeping its appeal to progressives.... Seems pretty obvious that Joe Buildthewall is not going to start watching MSNBC no matter what, even if the hosts were replaced with topless fire-jugglers. Also probably-not-coincidentally, the week of November 18 when the SpinCo spinoff was announced happened to be the very same week Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough crawled down to Mar-a-Lago to try to find “common ground” with the guy they used to freely call fascist, unmoored, mentally unstable, liar, and an insurrectionist, and who had tweet-called them 'low I.Q. Crazy Mika' with a 'bleeding facelift,' and 'Psycho Joe,' respectively. If you were wondering what the backstory was with their 180. The appropriately-named Lazarus would also like to attract younger viewers, because the average viewer of MSNBC is 70.... And now MSNBC is replacing the only two primetime weekday shows on the network solely hosted by women of color.... [Also,] Jonathan Capehart, Katie Phang, and Ayman Mohyeldin are all losing their weekend shows....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Since they're trying to dump us aged viewers, I guess it doesn't matter what an 80-year-old thinks of their star-studded evening lineup, but the only MSNBC shows I ever watch on purpose are Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow & Ayman Mohyeldin. I occasionally watch Lawrence O'Donnell's first segment, because he covers important stuff, IMO, but I am annoyed with his constant airs designed to remind me that he's better than I am.
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a new trial to Richard Glossip, a death row inmate in Oklahoma whose challenge to his conviction led to an extraordinary concession from the state’s attorney general. State lawmakers from both political parties, along with celebrities like Kim Kardashian, had called for clemency or a new trial. Most crucially, Attorney General Gentner Drummond of Oklahoma, a Republican, had asked the justices to throw out Mr. Glossip’s 2004 conviction and order a retrial. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the majority, said prosecutors had failed to correct false testimony from their star witness, violating Mr. Glossip’s due process rights.... Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Elena Kagan, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined the majority opinion in the case....” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The decision & dissents are here, via the Court. (Also linked yesterday.)
~~~~~~~~~~
Canada. Ian Austen of the New York Times: Since Donald Trump revealed his plans to cripple Canada with tariffs and has called for the U.S. to annex Canada, Canadians have found a new penchant for flying the nation's maple-leaf flag. “
Ukraine, et al. Trump Extorts the Victims. Constant Méheut & Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: “Ukraine has agreed to a deal to turn over the revenue from some of its mineral resources to the United States, a Ukrainian official said on Tuesday, after an intense pressure campaign from ... [Donald] Trump that included insults and threats. The White House did not confirm that an agreement had been struck. The final terms of the deal were unknown, and it was not immediately clear what, if anything, Ukraine would receive in return.” (Also linked yesterday.)
18 Comments
Reader Comments (18)
Our country's fantasy party is at it again (it never stops).
The EPA's head wants to erase that "endangerment finding" with the stroke of a pen (or a click of a button). Poof! The danger all gone.
When Republicans perform their magic tricks on minorities or matters that don't come to their constituent's (many of them who share the same fantasy world) immediate and obvious attention their magic show works for them.
But now they're wholly in charge of another fantasy budget and cutting trillions to give more task breaks to the wealthy will have real and immediate (like before the midterms) effects.
Perhaps this time they won't be able to keep a little reality from creeping into their fantasy party's tent.
Was there a fix of some kind for this column? Several weeks ago the page kept devolving to a Whoops sort of page and to apparently how the page gets put together (tiny print, differently formatted--)and for the last two, it has not. Certainly I welcome being able to comment and feel it will get somewhere, but I wonder if someone was messing with me on purpose! Yep, paranoia has set in! Maybe DOGE has a new overseer appointed for this column that just does not respect either of the Royal We people...
Of all the crap happening, I think the people showing up at town halls that will disappear pretty quick from red states are the most craptastic. We all lived through the screaming about Obama's ANYTHING and it changed nothing for the better. The only thing new is that thousands have lost jobs through no fault of their own, the new rabble will disappear as soon as the Orange Moron assures them that they will get some of the tax cut (not true) and we have lost the institutional experience needed to run the government. Oh, and now anyone can now run the presidency as long as they buy an election and act like a court jester, since they have billions.
Add Chris Hayes to the list of those talking onscreen about the firing of their colleagues-- he was pretty passionate, as was Rachel. But if it is no longer supported by deep pockets, they will disappear too, I'm afraid. Imagine, they think the Dumpsters of the country want to watch MSNBC. I am still amazed that it is on the air at all.
I think I like Lawrence because he IS very sniffy and has hated Dump since forever, relishes how they hate him, and he has been around a long long time. As an oldster myself, I cannot take some of those people on MSNBC, (Molly Jong Fast? WHYYYYY?). The new press person/blonde stick figure makes me urp, so I have to turn her off too-- and now they will only feature the enemy press... It's all pretty damn hopeless if you ask me, but I am a tired rabble rouser and will go on writing and calling, I guess.
@Jeanne: You're right. About two days ago, the system stopped failing all the time. It would sometimes take me 20 tries to post one update, what with trouble getting into the edit facility, trouble having the edits "take," and trouble closing the edit facility. It was still failing but not nearly as often. Yesterday, it failed even fewer times. Today, I think it failed only once or twice, which was par for the course before these massive failures began last year.
Squarespace gaslighted me and told me it was my imagination that just about every function was repeatedly failing. The only thing I could count on was failure. But at least a month after implying I was crazy, the system started working. At least for now. These system failures don't fix themselves, so it's obvious Squarespace personnel knew they were trying to con me.
I'm sure that any minute now we will hear from RFK Jr condemning the EPA change and the More Poisons in Our Water woman since he cares So much about protecting our health and conflicts of interest /s.
Also did I read that right, Christopher Rufo was leaked the chat logs of a program that is explicitly meant to discuss sensitive government topics? The whole government is now treated as FH'S chandeliered bathroom now with any Right-winger allowed to stop in and browse for any secrets that are laying around.
French Press know how to fight for access. Maybe our American press can take lessons.
"The French press corps stepped in to ensure that a Paris-based AP reporter could go in and ask her first question. They decided amongst themselves to guarantee her entry, contending with Trump’s ongoing efforts to restrict certain news outlets. Talcott’s tweet ignited journalists across the nation and France alike to post words of support, expressing thanks and “solidarité!”"
SNAP
"Millions of Low-Income Households Would Lose Food Aid Under Proposed House Republican SNAP Cuts
The budget resolution that the House plans to take up this week directs the House Agriculture Committee to cut programs in its jurisdiction by at least $230 billion through 2034, with these cuts expected to come largely or entirely from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and to be used to help pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest business owners and households."
New Republic
"Musk Scandal at USAID Takes Ugly Turn, Putting Starving Kids at Risk
Two U.S. nonprofits that manufacture a treatment sent by USAID to help severely malnourished children abroad say the process is in chaos. This isn’t what Marco Rubio said would happen.
But now the delivery of therapeutic food assistance to nearly 400,000 severely malnourished children abroad is in doubt due to ongoing firings at USAID, two manufacturers of this product told me in interviews. The raw materials needed to make the product are sitting in warehouses, but the manufacturers say they’re uncertain whether to proceed because they don’t know if the U.S. government still wants to buy the product—and they can’t be certain it will be shipped."
@RAS: Yup. Rufo's expose' is here. He seems to enjoy sharing explicit details of what-all was discussed in these chat rooms. Of course he pegs the miscreants as "woke" employees who "legitimized [the sex chats] as part of the NSA’s commitment to 'diversity, equity and inclusion.'” He writes, "These NSA chat logs suggest the presence of at least hundreds of gender activists within the intelligence services who cannot distinguish between male and female, and who believe that discussing castration, polyamory, and 'gangbangs' is an appropriate use of public resources." Uh-huh.
Jeanne,
I’ve been on the verge of mentioning the Squarespace turnaround for a couple of days but didn’t want to jinx it. We Irish are a superstitious lot. I decided to whistle through the graveyard and just keep posting rather than saying “Gee! Everything works great now!” and risk crashing the whole system. But I’m glad you brought it up. This way, if the whole thing goes kerplooie again it’ll be your fault, not mine.
Thanks!
A year ago, I would have read this piece as dystopian fiction. Now, not so much....
Jared Yates Sexton on Substack
The Birth of a Monster: America's Oligarchs and What They Want
"At the root has been what theorists Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron called the 'Californian Ideology.' This was a mishmash of capitalist, libertarian, and individualism that assured tech creators they were part of a revolutionary class that would, over time, dismantle the sclerotic systems of the tangible world and lead the way into the future. Of course, they would get very rich, but that was just part and parcel of the endeavor. Government had no right to regulate or impede and any attempt should be seen as hindering the birth of the future.
As their wealth and power grew, this megalomaniacal worldiew evolved into full-on messianism. Being completely inundated from consequences, worshiped by sick, sad acolytes, treated like gods by a friendly and adoring press, and enjoying the splendors of historical wealth, the oligarchs began to see the decaying world as theirs to save. Neoliberalism, which created them in the first place, wrought unbelievable damage to political, cultural, and economic systems, but they chose instead to simply see it as inevitable decline because of liberal democracy and 'unfair' suppression of the natural hierarchy. "
This bull crap about firing on air talent at MSNBC so Joe the fucking fascist Plumber will start tuning in is more gaslighting (more like fart lighting).
Look, NBC, with the full approval of then network exec Jeff Zucker, threw Fat Hitler a golden life preserver in the form of the hugely propagandized “The Apprentice” which did far more than legitimize and validate Trump’s lies about being a genius billionaire, it provided the platform he used to PR his failing fat ass into the homes of future MAGAts on a weekly basis, for years. He was a failed circus clown before that. Zucker turned him into a titan of big business.
That fictional show gave his lies and his self-mythologized bad-ass invented character, carefully crafted and edited by NBC producers, the rocket fuel he used to propel his flirting with national politics.
Oh, but good ol’ Jeff Zucker wasn’t done yet, serving as a fluffer for Fatty’s fascist ambitions. After he left NBC, he took the reins at CNN and provided tens of millions of dollars worth of free, non-stop publicity for Fat Hitler’s campaign, instructing producers to interrupt regular programming to go to live coverage of this fat fuck’s every lying press conference and rally, without a scintilla—a stray fucking molecule—of fact checking or pushback or questioning of his River Styx of lies.
More than Fox, or any other Right-wing media echo chamber, NBC and CNN are responsible for Fat Hitler’s current belief that he is an untouchable king.
But NBC and CNN are among the most hated MAGA media targets.
So no way are these imbeciles, weaned on the poison injected for decades by Roger Ailes, Rupert Murdoch and Jeff Zucker, going to suddenly start tuning in to MSNBC.
This purge of truth tellers is another sorry, fearful, sop to Fat Hitler to please don’t hurt us anymore. We’ll be good! See? We fired that awful darkie broad you hate so much and we dumped all of Rachel Maddow’s staff, so pretty please….?
I’d go on, but I have to vomit now.
Oh noooo-- I DID forget to knock on wood or any of the other sayings to keep the boogieman away...Now I am doing that and won't say another word about the miraculous SS rebirth...!
I am wondering, with regard to the Ag shenanigans-- I wonder if the morons don't know SNAP IS food stamps?? Remember how they insisted that we ditch Obamacare but they better not take away their guvmint health insurance...? Half the country (yes, maybe) has failed to learn to read and reason-- Also, Indiana, which we drive through by necessity to get to Chicago and the northern suburbs, appears to have a lot of those utterly dumb folks. That Victoria Who-sis apparently believes an incontinent, balding, Hitleresque vengeful liar (34,000+ documented during his first term-- not counting the last year of candidating) when he says healthcare will be saved and improved, only by him-- dumbo simpleton, I think.
"Cabinet" meeting with a dodo hat-wearing boobieman Elon standing at the head, but I don't have the sound on so I have probably missed the adoring accolades fed to the Orange Maggot as it began-- at least I assume that-- he wouldn't miss an opportunity to gather the troops just to hear how fabulous his fat self is...
Going to dial this off now...
Fat Hitler is posting crazy Gaza fantasy videos.
Pasted from RAS' paste above: "... (the House bill would cut at) ... least $230 billion through 2034, with these cuts expected to come largely or entirely from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)"
Those cuts are needed to allow the ultra Freedom Caucus reps to vote for the tax cuts and the debt ceiling increase. They insist on major cuts to expenditures.
They also don't think that tax cuts are expenditures. They are "math challenged."
Also ... cutting SNAP takes a large portion of that cash away, immediately, from retail and wholesale food sellers. Hardpressed parents will substitute high carb low fiber cheaper foods ... Dollar Store dented cans. Grocers will deal with even slimmer margins than now. Children will have less healthy diets (RFKJ, you there?).
The wealthy in the past have not applied such tax cuts to growth and investment that otherwise would go undone, they have used them to buy down securities, buy bigger houses, go private, and pay themselves bonuses and options. The SNAP cash that poor people would inject right into the economy instead increases the portfolios of those who already have it made.
The Republican dream.
Getting to that incroyable* Trump-Gaza video shortly, but first, this other bit of MAGA idiocy:
Science conference attacked because…well, Fat Hitler’s brown shirts don’t really need a reason, do they?
MSN reports that “Donald Trump supporters allegedly trashed auditory research displays/posters at an otolaryngology conference in Florida because they thought research on ‘diversity in afferent firing’ was a reference to DEI.
Such an incident is, sadly, not difficult to believe as the MAGA attack on medicine and research is already well underway. Reports have arisen that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) now treat words like ‘female,’ ‘women,’ and ‘disability’ as if they are banned words or trigger words. Any current research and grant applications that utilize words like ‘women’ are flagged for review due to Trump’s desire to cut government funding of anything it considers ‘DEI.’ It has raised fears that the administration wants all scientific research related to benefitting the lives of women, minorities, or the disabled community to be cut off from funding. Immediately after entering office, Trump also demanded that NIH halt all external communications and travel, which led to delays in considering tens of thousands of grant applications.”
I’ve also read reports that a biodiversity conference in Hawaii was canceled because Fat Hitler’s Agriculture Secretary thinks biodiversity is DEI. I couldn’t find a mainstream news item about this (and why would I? A biodiversity conference in Hawaii being killed isn’t gonna make the Nightly News, not when they can repeat a few hundred Fatty lies word for word with zero fact checking).
But, lo and behold, here it is on the USDA’s own site:
USDA conference in Hawaii canceled.
The excuse was an $11,000 tab for conference room rental. Are you shitting me? That’s what Fat Hitler charges the Secret Service for golf cart rentals at one of his crappy golf courses so they can spend hours following his fat lazy ass around the course three times a week.
The USDA page I found that on gloats about all the “dangerous Biden era DEI expenses” the Trump-Musk Reich is killing. So this wasn't about saving $11,000, which is what Junior runs through in cocaine per day. It’s a word that has “diversity” in it. Oooooh bad! Kill it!
But this is just the tip of a Jupiter sized iceberg in the all-out assault on science across the board.
Forgot the “incroyable” part. The English word “incredible” has been used so frequently to describe the fascist goings on that it has lost its oomph, so I picked a French variant. Just flailing around here trying to keep up with the mounting piles of horrors.
Okay, so now the Trump-Gaza video. And I’m not gonna say “incredible”. Nope. This is out and out fucking insanity. Check out the link RAS posted. Then come back. I’ll wait.
………..
Didja watch it? Is your head still attached? Barely? Yeah. You watched it.
So…in the middle of a vicious war between Israel and Hamas that has decimated the Gaza Strip, with a tenuous ceasefire in place and delicate hostage negotiations still going on, this fuckhead posts a video showing the Gaza Strip devoid of Palestinians, operated by and for billionaires like Adolf Musk (shown eating, relaxing, and being showered with money), luxury hotels, casinos, and a gigantic, Soviet style golden statue of the Fat Fascist in place for worshiping purposes looming over everything…
This is delusional dementia at it’s most extreme.
And does he think Hamas will love seeing this?
He doesn’t give a shit. It’s another fantasy wet dream, like the Apprentice was for him. Who cares what real live people on the ground think? This is Fat Hitler and his Nazi PM relaxing poolside while money rains down on them.
It’s beyond sick.
More budget skullduggery…
So the Fat Hitler budget that squeaked by (he’ll call it a massive victory) on the votes of obsequious traitors, directs certain agencies to cut hundreds of billions to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. The agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid is instructed to cut hundreds of billions. The Ag Dept is also directed to do the same.
Please to be explaining to me how they can cut almost a trillion dollars without touching both Foodstamps and Medicaid?
But here’s the snaky part. Nowhere in the budget does it say “Cut Foodstamps and Medicaid!” They’re pinning that on the specific agencies that oversee those programs. That way, R traitors can say “Oh! That wasn’t me! I never voted to cut those programs! (Heh-heh)”
But they did. And they will.
So Elon Musk can get new tax breaks.