The Conversation -- March 6, 2025
David Lynch & Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: “Less than 48 hours after slapping tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico..., Donald Trump agreed to a one-month reprieve for automobile imports that qualify for duty-free treatment under the North American trade agreement negotiated during his first term. The president’s decision followed a phone conversation with executives from the Big Three automakers — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — who sought relief from the new import taxes. Each of the automakers over the past several decades has developed complex supply chains that cross North American borders multiple times before delivering a finished product. Along with disrupting those supply lines, Trump’s tariffs would have increased the cost of the typical new car by more than $10,000, industry groups said. Ford CEO Jim Farley warned last month that the president’s tariffs 'would blow a hole in the U.S. industry' and give Asian and European producers a distinct competitive advantage.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~Marie: That's odd, because just the previous evening, during remarks before Congress, Trump said that U.S. auto companies were so delighted & s-o-o-o excited by his economic measures, including tariffs. Lawrence O'Donnell said Trump backed down because he's a coward. ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE, in Canada. Tavleen Tarrant & Colin Sheely of NBC News: "As the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, Canadians discovered empty shelves where U.S. liquor products were once stocked. Canadian social media users posted photos and videos of stores across the country seemingly pulling U.S.-made liquor from their inventories."
Stephen Groves of the AP: “The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning an 'aggressive' reorganization that includes cutting 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care for retired military members, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. The VA’s chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, told top level officials at the agency that it had an objective to cut enough employees to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000. That would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration, as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act. The memo instructs top-level staff to prepare for an agency-wide reorganization in August to 'resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure.' It also calls for agency officials to work with the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency to 'move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach' to the Trump administration’s goals.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Ben Finley & Stephen Groves of the AP: “More than 9 million veterans get physical and mental health care from the VA.... The VA manages a $350 billion-plus budget and oversees nearly 200 medical centers and hospitals. Veterans have shown up at town hall-style meetings with Republican lawmakers to voice their anger, and groups like the Veterans of Foreign Wars are mobilizing against cuts.”
Laura Meckler of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump is set to issue an executive order as soon as Thursday directing his newly confirmed education secretary to work to close the department she now leads, two people familiar with the situation said. A draft of the executive order that circulated on Wednesday recognizes that the president does not have the power to shutter the Education Department. It would take an act of Congress and 60 'yes' votes in the Senate, which is unlikely given that Republicans hold only 53 seats. Rather, the draft calls on Education Secretary Linda McMahon to 'take all necessary steps' to facilitate the closure of the department 'to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.'”
That guy (Elon) who recently said that Social Security was “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time”? He is running the Social Security Administration, albeit by proxy, since he has delegated a group of ignorant boys to do the dirty work. ~~~
~~~ Lisa Rein, et al., of the Washington Post: “The newly installed caretaker at the Social Security Administration acknowledged this week that Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service is calling the shots as the agency races to slash thousands of jobs and shrink its budget, telling a group of advocates, 'Things are currently operating in a way I have never seen in government before.' In a meeting Tuesday with his senior staff and about 50 legal-aid attorneys and other advocates for the disabled and elderly, acting SSA commissioner Leland Dudek referred to the tech billionaire’s cost-cutting team as 'outsiders who are unfamiliar with nuances of SSA programs,' according to detailed notes from a participant in the meeting.... 'DOGE people are learning and they will make mistakes, but we have to let them see what is going on at SSA,' Dudek told the group.... 'I am relying on longtime career people to inform my work, but I am receiving decisions that are made without my input. I have to effectuate those decisions.'”
Josh Gerstein of Politico: “Thousands of fired workers at the Department of Agriculture must get their jobs back for at least the next month and a half, the chair of a federal civil service board ruled Wednesday. The ruling said the recent dismissals of more than 5,600 probationary employees may have violated federal laws and procedures for carrying out layoffs. The decision from Cathy Harris, the chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board, is a blow to the Trump administration’s effort to drastically and quickly shrink the federal bureaucracy. Though it applies only to the USDA, it could lay the groundwork for further rulings reinstating tens of thousands of other probationary workers whom the Trump administration has fired en masse across the government. But it’s far from a final resolution of the legality of the mass terminations. The administration may have further options to place the reinstated workers on administrative leave or fire them again as part of a formal 'reduction in force.'” (Also linked yesterday.)
Brianna Tucker & Emily Davies of the Washington Post: “Several employees of the U.S. DOGE Service ... were blocked from entering a small U.S. aid agency focused on African economic development Wednesday afternoon. The standoff, which lasted about an hour at the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) headquarters in downtown Washington, is one of the latest acts of resistance from federal employees as DOGE subordinates attempt to access data systems and federal grants. Around 11:30 a.m., several DOGE subordinates and Pete Marocco — director of the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance and acting deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development — arrived at the USADF building and attempted to gain entry to fire employees.... [After a security guard at the main desk said his boss told him to let the DOGE boys enter, they went upsairs but could not gain entry to USADF offices. An] official said employees remained at their desks and continued to work while the DOGE staffers wandered the halls. The DOGE officials left around 12:30 p.m. but threatened to return Thursday, this time with the U.S. Marshals on their side.”
Never Mind. Jill Colvin, et al., of the AP: “The Trump administration on Tuesday published a list of more than 440 federal properties it had identified to potentially offload, including the FBI headquarters and the main Department of Justice building, after deeming them 'not core to government operations.' Hours later, however, the administration issued a revised list with only 320 entries that excluded every previously listed building in Washington, D.C. And by Wednesday morning, the list was gone entirely. 'Non-core property list (Coming soon)' read the web page where the list had previously been posted. The General Services Administration, which published the lists, did not respond to repeated questions about the changes or why the properties that had been listed had been removed.”
Thank you again. I won't forget it. -- Donald Trump to John Roberts ~~~
~~~ Open Mic Night. Paul Blumenthal of the Huffington Post: “As ... Donald Trump made his way out of Congress following his first speech to the body since retaking office..., he stopped to shake hands with the four Supreme Court justices in attendance. While shaking the hand of Chief Justice John Roberts, he said, 'Thank you again, I won’t forget it,' then slapped the chief on the back. Roberts is the author of the decision in Trump v. United States, which in July 2024 ... granted presidents absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts, and, in doing so, postponed Trump’s prosecution for trying to overturn the 2020 election long enough for him to win the election, putting him in the Oval Office and thus beyond the reach of prosecutors. Roberts gave Trump a get-out-of-jail-free card, and Trump is grateful. Trump’s appreciation is now Roberts’ legacy. It reveals what the court under his leadership has become: an arm of the Republican Party undermining democratic institutions and raising the president — really, this president — to the level of a monarch.... All of Trump’s unlawful actions since taking office must be seen through the lens of Roberts’ decision in Trump v. U.S.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: "Thank you again" suggests to me that the open mic moment was not the first time Don & John had discussed Trump v. U.S. ~~~
~~~ Oh, shame on me. There's a perfectly innocent explanation for Trump's expression of gratitude. Trump wrote Wednesday on his failing social media site, "Like most people, I don’t watch Fake News CNN or MSDNC, but I understand they are going 'crazy' asking what is it that I was thanking Justice Roberts for? They never called my office to ask, of course, but if they had I would have told these sleazebag 'journalists' that I thanked him for SWEARING ME IN ON INAUGURATION DAY, AND DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB IN SO DOING!" Right.
Justin Jouvenal, et al., of the Washington Post: “A sharply divided Supreme Court on Wednesday denied the Trump administration’s request to block a lower court order on foreign aid funding, clearing the way for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to restart nearly $2 billion in payments for work already done. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal justices in the 5-4 order, which was the high court’s first significant move on lawsuits related to ... Donald Trump’s initiatives in his second term. The majority did not explain the reasoning for its decision but directed the lower court to clarify what obligations the government must fulfill to global health groups for work already completed with consideration of the 'feasibility of any compliance timelines.'... The majority’s decision drew a vigorous dissent from four conservative justices who said a District Court judge in D.C. probably lacks the power to compel the federal government to make such payments.” Thanks to Ken W. for the link. NPR's report, by Nina Totenberg, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Derek Hawkins of the Washington Post: “A federal appeals court on Wednesday allowed ... Donald Trump to temporarily remove the head of an independent watchdog agency while the judges decide whether the president has the authority to fire him without cause. A lower court had blocked the president from firing Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit paused that ruling, saying the government had met the “stringent requirements” for securing a stay during the appeal. The brief order had no noted dissents from the panel of three judges, who were appointed by presidents from both parties. It said a full opinion would be forthcoming. Key filings in the case are due in early April.”
Anna Merlan of Mother Jones: “... Twenty-six-year-old Kingsley Wilson..., the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary ... is the daughter of Steve Cortes, a longtime Trump advisor and right-wing commentator.... Wilson is also a Trump 2020 campaign alum, and ... ran digital media and communications for the Center for Renewing America, a pro-Trump think tank founded by Project 2025 architect Russell Vought. She’s also an overt internet troll with a long history of bigoted, xenophobic, and deliberately provocative shitposting.... Wilson ... [has reeled] off ... endless tweets excoriating immigrants and trans people, advocating for what she called 'zero immigration and mass deportations,' and bemoaning the 'death of the West,' a term popularized by Pat Buchanan and often used by nativist, isolationist, and white nationalist groups.... At least twice, Wilson also repeated long-debunked lies online about the lynching death of Leo Frank, a Jewish man who was kidnapped from a Georgia prison and murdered in 1915, claiming he was guilty of the murder for which most modern historians agree he was wrongly convicted.” And so forth. ~~~
~~~ Jack Detsch & Joe Gould of Politico: “The backlash over a top Pentagon aide who has touted antisemitic views, white supremacist conspiracy theories and Kremlin-like statements on social media grew wider on Wednesday in a sign of increasing frustration among Republicans about the Trump administration’s seemingly unvetted appointees. Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson’s posts — which include comparing the murders of Israeli babies during the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks to abortion and spreading the far-right “great replacement theory” — have angered lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.”
Liz Goodwin, et al., of the Washington Post: Elon “Musk told a group of Republican senators in a closed-door lunch that he wanted to set up a direct line for them when they have questions, allowing them to get a near-instant response to their concerns, senators said.... Hours later, Musk told members of the House Oversight DOGE Subcommittee that he would set up a similar line of communication for them to reach his team.... The meeting was the first sign that, after weeks of burrowing into federal agencies and attempting to lay off hundreds of thousands of federal workers, Musk recognizes he needs Congress’s cooperation to make a lasting impact on U.S. spending.... But it remains unclear if Republicans are willing to vote to support Musk. Some lawmakers are worried about the political price they could pay for DOGE....” Here's Politico's story. ~~~
~~~ Marie: So after about six weeks of chain-saw governance, Musk suddenly notices half of Congress (the GOP half)?
Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: “Republicans in Congress cannot reach their goal of cutting at least $1.5 trillion in spending over the next 10 years for ... Donald Trump’s 'big, beautiful bill' on taxes and immigration unless they cut Medicaid or Medicare benefits, lawmakers’ nonpartisan bookkeeper reported Wednesday.... The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that reducing costs [by the $880 billion required in the initial budget bill] won’t be possible without cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.... Even if the [House Energy C]ommittee eliminated every program besides those safety net benefits, it would be able to save a maximum of $135 billion.... House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has insisted that the measure will not cut safety net benefits and that Congress can find savings simply by rooting out waste and fraud in the programs and adding new eligibility provisions, such as work requirements.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: The CBO is not saying anything different from what Mikey and the Little Rascals would have learned by reading any reputable publication that covered the budget bill. So was Mikey lying or is he illiterate or is he innumerate? Or what? What's the scheme, Mikey?
Ted Oberg, et al., of NBC: News: “Hayden Haynes, the chief of staff to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and one of the most powerful aides on Capitol Hill, was arrested after ... Donald Trump's joint address to Congress on suspicion of drunken driving after his car struck a Capitol vehicle, two law enforcement sources told NBC News. Johnson's office also confirmed the incident.” MB: Yeah, well, Haynes was probably the designated driver in Pete Hegseth's party.
Jasper Scherer of the Texas Tribune: “U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, a former Houston mayor, state legislator and institution in Houston Democratic politics, died Tuesday evening. He was 70. Turner's death comes two months into his first term representing Texas’ 18th Congressional District, the seat long occupied by his political ally, former U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who also died in office last year amid a battle with pancreatic cancer.... Before joining Congress, Turner served as Houston mayor from 2016 to 2024. He served for nearly 27 years in the Texas House. Gov. Greg Abbott can call a special election to fill Turner's congressional seat for the rest of his term. State law does not specify a deadline to call a special election, but if it is called the election is required to happen within two months of the announcement.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Holly Otterbein, et al., of Politico: “Voters still have a sour view of Democrats six weeks after ... Donald Trump and Republicans swept into Washington with control of all branches of the federal government, according to a new poll. A plurality of voters — 40 percent — said the Democratic Party doesn’t have any strategy whatsoever for responding to Trump, according to the survey by the liberal firm Blueprint that was shared first with Politico. Another 24 percent said Democrats have a game plan, but it’s a bad one.... On Capitol Hill, top Democrats put on a brave face Wednesday in the wake of their widely criticized reaction to Trump’s speech. But across the party, the damage was still reverberating, as elected officials and strategists scrambled to clean up their response. It was an effort mired in finger-pointing and with little agreement over how Democrats should oppose Trump. The strategy for countering the president’s speech — or lack thereof — laid bare how divided Democrats still are on how to counter Trump’s steamrolling of Washington, and how ineffective their efforts to blunt him remain.”
Reid Epstein & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: “ActBlue, the online fund-raising organization that powers Democratic candidates, has plunged into turmoil, with at least seven senior officials resigning late last month and a remaining lawyer suggesting he faced internal retaliation. The departures from ActBlue, which helps raise money for Democrats running for office at all levels of government, come as the group is under investigation by congressional Republicans. They have advanced legislation that some Democrats warn could be used to debilitate what is the party’s leading fund-raising operation.... What prompted so many longtime ActBlue officials to leave is not clear.... In recent weeks, congressional Republicans have demanded answers from ActBlue about its security and fraud-prevention measures, as well as how the group prevents certain foreign donors from illegally contributing to candidates.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel, et al. Adam Rasgon, et al., of the New York Times: “U.S. and Hamas officials have had talks in Qatar about hostages held in the Gaza Strip, according to two Israeli officials, a Western official and a diplomat briefed on the matter, breaking with a longstanding American policy of refusing to directly engage groups that it has designated as terrorists.... [Donald] Trump’s nominee to be special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, participated in the talks this week with Hamas officials, the diplomat said.” ~~~
~~~ Matthew Bigg of the New York Times: “In a blistering social media post on Wednesday, Mr. Trump addressed Hamas militants and built on a statement he made in his address to Congress the night before, when he said his administration was 'bringing back our hostages from Gaza,' without providing details. 'Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,' he posted on Truth Social on Wednesday.... 'I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say,' Mr. Trump wrote. 'This is your last warning,' he went on, adding that if the group continued to hold hostages, 'you are DEAD!'” MB: These childish, bullying rage-tweets are so embarrassing to the country.
⭐Ukraine, et al. Warren Strobel, et al., of the Washington Post: “The United States has paused major portions of its intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, squeezing the flow of vital information that Kyiv has used to repel invading Russian forces and strike back at select targets inside Russia, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials. The rupture in intelligence-sharing includes a halt in targeting data that U.S. spy agencies supply to Kyiv so it can launch American-provided weapons and Ukrainian-made long-range drones at Russian targets, Ukrainian officials said. Some Ukrainian missile operators say they are no longer receiving information needed to hit targets inside Russia.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: I cannot adequately express how much I despise the murderous traitors running our country (and Western democracy) into the ground, so I won't try. ~~~
~~~ Ted Hesson & Kristina Cooke of Reuters: “... Donald Trump's administration is planning to revoke temporary legal status for some 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the conflict with Russia, a senior Trump official and three sources familiar with the matter said, potentially putting them on a fast-track to deportation. The move, expected as soon as April, would be a stunning reversal of the welcome Ukrainians received under President Joe Biden's administration. The planned rollback of protections for Ukrainians was underway before Trump publicly feuded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week. It is part of a broader Trump administration effort to strip legal status from more than 1.8 million migrants allowed to enter the U.S. under temporary humanitarian parole programs launched under the Biden administration, the sources said.”
9 Comments
Reader Comments (9)
“Do what I’m tell in’ ya! Right now! Or you’re DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD!!! “
Who talks like this?
He thinks he’s Al Capone ordering his gunsels to whack some guy?
First of all, Bibi has been going at Hamas hammer and tong for over a year. These guys are hardened terrorists, psychos ready and willing to die. Does this bloated bully think his bellowing is going to scare these guys? Three seconds alone in a room with a single Hamas fighter and fat boy would be crying for his momma.
Not only that, he recently sent out a video to the world showing himself as the golden god of Gaza, stretched out next to a pool with billionaires. You think Hamas didn’t see that? You think they’re gonna cave to a fat American who dreams of kicking Palestinians into the desert so he can take over their land, build his gaudy casinos and hang with the South African Chainsaw Massacre Man?
I’m sure they’re shaking. What he’s doing is daring them to respond in the most violent way possible. If I were living in Israel, I would not be happy.
Fucking embarrassing.
Shayla Love, in The Atlantic, on how
Excessive use of ketamine can make anyone feel like they rule the world
"Ketamine is called a dissociative drug because during a high, which lasts about an hour, people might feel detached from their body, their emotions, or the passage of time. Frequent, heavy recreational use—say, several times a week—has been linked to cognitive effects that last beyond the high, including impaired memory, delusional thinking, superstitious beliefs, and a sense of specialness and importance. You can see why people might wonder about ketamine use from a man who is trying to usher in multi-planetary human life, who has barged into global politics and is attempting to reengineer the U.S. government.
....
[In a study in 2010,] ....even infrequent users—those who used, on average, roughly three times a month—scored higher on a delusional-thought scale than ex–ketamine users, people who took other drugs, and people who didn’t use drugs at all. Those who averaged 20 uses a month scored even higher. People believed that they were the sole recipients of secret messages, or that society and people around them were especially attuned to them.
....
Such theoretical impairments would be concerning in any context—but especially when contemplating a person who has achieved enough power to be unironically described as co-president of the United States. To be sure, ketamine may have nothing to do with his actions. He may be simply acting in accordance with his far-right political ideology. Musk also famously brags that he rarely sleeps—never a good strategy for measured speech or actions.
I figured it out!
Fat Hitler is angling for a commission as a general in Putin’s invasion force. No Russian military high command plotter has been as successful, in three years, as Fatty has been in three days at disabling Ukraine. He’s handing the country to Putin on a platter.
Halt all battlefield intel in order to hamstring Ukrainian defense forces?
Wherever could he have gotten such a devious, treasonous idea?
“A top Russian lawmaker, Andrei Kartapolov, in recent days called for the US to stop providing Ukraine with intelligence, underscoring the boon Trump may have already offered Moscow on the battlefield.
‘It would be much more important if the Americans stopped giving them with intelligence information, then this would allow us to achieve results more quickly,’ Kartapolov said.
Basically, Zelensky has to capitulate to all of Trump’s demands which means licking his boots and agreeing to allow Russia to win the war and take whatever it wants, including retribution. (Trump has already lamented all the Russian losses in the war so I’d expect him to excuse any brutality. To the victor goes the spoils etc, etc. ) That’s what Trump calls “peace.”
Meanwhile Putin is bombarding Kiev on a daily basis so basicallyTrump is killing Ukrainians to extort Zelensky to surrender.
We are now just as bad as Russia, maybe even worse. ‘Brutes’ is actually too kind. We are monsters.”
Some Russian says “Jump”, he jumps. Then asks if he did it right.
This shit is beyond evil.
Test…we’re back to this…
Are the “experts” really this stupid?
I’m seeing tons of breathless reports about how many viewers of Fat Hitler’s Bund rally the other night came away with a positive impression. “Yeah! He’s right!” The media has deemed his Fascist Jamboree a huge success based on polling.
First, who watched and who didn’t?
Who watched? MAGAts, of course. Maybe a fair number of low information types who don’t pick up on the fact that every word out of his mouth is a lie. Probably some so-called Libertarian types who love anyone who talks about tax breaks. And then we have professional watchers, media types who need something to talk/write about.
So who didn’t watch?
Americans who know what’s going on and have already heard all his lies.
So if your first question is “Did you watch?” you’ll get an overwhelming number of viewers automatically inclined to think of Trump as god on earth, then a fair number who just don’t know much of anything, and after that, viewers who had to watch.
Given that group, you’d expect favorability ratings through the roof, 70 or 80 percent favorable. But it was much less than that.
Then you have to account for the millions who purposely stayed away. You think they didn’t watch because they love what he’s saying?
Nonetheless, the verdict is “Great job! Americans approve!”
Jesus Christ.
Anyone know a good voodoo practitioner?
”This Pentagon Press Secretary Has a Long History of Bigoted and Xenophobic Posts”
Absolutely chilling.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/03/kingsley-cortes-wilson-defense-department/
What is the difference between a Republican and a Ukrainian?
Random outsider threatens FAA
"Two weeks ago, SpaceX engineer Ted Malaska showed up at the FAA’s headquarters in Washington to deliver what he described as a directive from his boss Elon Musk: The agency will immediately start work on a program to deploy thousands of the company’s Starlink satellite terminals. Malaska told those in attendance that the employees had up to 18 months to get the new program up and running, an unsettling timeline for aviation safety employees accustomed to a more deliberate pace.
Anyone who impeded progress, Malaska said, would be reported to Musk and risked losing their jobs, The FAA’s networks are instrumental to overseeing 29 million square miles of US airspace and ensuring the orderly and safe movement of 45,000 flights daily."