The Conversation -- February 20, 2025

Apparently one type of climate-change denial is to deny and ignore the effects of climate change, even when they slap you upside the head AND rip your guts out: ~~~

     ~~~ Christopher Flavelle of the New York Times: “The Trump administration plans to all but eliminate the office that oversees America’s recovery from the largest disasters, raising questions about how the United States will rebuild from hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities made worse by climate change. The Office of Community Planning and Development, part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, pays to rebuild homes and other recovery efforts after the country’s worst disasters.... The administration plans to cut the staff in that office by 84 percent, according to a document obtained by The New York Times. The number of workers would be cut to 150, from 936 when Mr. Trump took office last month.” ~~~

     ~~~ Plea to the Gods: Send a devastating hurricane to -- and only to -- El Castillo Real de Mar-a-Lardo, Playa del Palma, Florida. You will recognize it by its ostentation. P.S. Be sure to level that bachelor pad where Elon stays.

Marie: I think the following is an exact quote. I mean, not a translation. I think Vlad learned to say this in English the way Boris would say it to Natasha. Because it's so absolutely true. Vlad wants you to know, America! Thanks to RAS for the lead. ~~~

Vladimir Putin: "I moved on Trump like a bitch. When you're a tyrannical dictator, he'll let you do it. He'll let you do anything."

[image or embed]

— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot.bsky.social) February 19, 2025 at 2:01 PM

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He who saves his country violates no law. -- Rod Steiger, playing Napoleon in the film "Waterloo" ~~~

~~~ Naftali Bendavid of the Washington Post: “... Trump is barreling through the executive branch with the conviction that it is his to rule alone, no matter the laws Congress has enacted — even if that means destroying agencies, intervening in the justice system or granting enormous authority to a wealthy donor. That is not how most presidents have seen a job that the Constitution arguably defines — beyond its military and diplomatic duties — as essentially doing what Congress tells him, saying he must 'take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.'... Trump is the first president who is essentially ignoring the existence of Congress, [said historian H.W.] Brands.... 'What makes this moment particularly dangerous for those who care about our constitutional system is that Donald Trump believes he has a mandate to act this way — and so far, the American people haven’t pushed back,' said Timothy Naftali, a historian at Columbia University.... If Trump’s move to assert such expansive power is novel, so, too, is Congress’s willingness to cede it.”

We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The M.T.A. has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We’ll see you in court. -- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a statement responding to delusion man who thinks he's king ~~~

As distributed by the White House. Really.~~~ He Who Causes Traffic Jams Is King. Benjamin Oreskes of the New York Times: “Mr. Trump ... liken[ed] himself to a king as he celebrated his administration’s move to kill New York City’s congestion pricing program. 'CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED,' he wrote. 'LONG LIVE THE KING!' The White House then reinforced the message, recirculating it on Instagram and X with an illustration of Mr. Trump wearing a crown on a magazine cover resembling Time, but called Trump. Mr. Trump’s expansive views of his power have been evident in his words and deeds. By killing congestion pricing, Mr. Trump suggested he was saving New York.... He vowed during the election to halt the program.... On Wednesday, the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy..., laid out Mr. Trump’s objections to the program in a letter sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul and said that federal officials would contact the state to 'discuss the orderly cessation of toll operations.'” A Guardian story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Time to invoke the 25th Amendment. One irony here: every time King Donald travels in New York City, he causes massive traffic jams. Here's the underlying story: ~~~

~~~ Ana Ley, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump intends to revoke federal approval of New York City’s congestion pricing program, fulfilling a campaign promise to reverse the policy that tolls drivers who enter Manhattan’s busiest streets to help finance repairs to mass transit. In a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday, the president’s transportation secretary outlined Mr. Trump’s objections to the program, the first of its kind in the nation, and said that federal officials would contact the state to 'discuss the orderly cessation of toll operations.' The letter, from Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary, cited the cost to working-class motorists, the use of revenue from the tolls for transit upgrades rather than roads and the reach of the program compared with the plan approved by federal legislation as reasons for the decision.” ~~~

~~~ Alas, King Donald is not finished with running large cities: ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Schwartzman & Peter Hermann of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump said Wednesday night that the federal government 'should take over the governance of D.C.,' claiming that leaders of the nation’s capital are not doing enough to reduce crime, clean up graffiti and remove homeless encampments.” MB: When you have a king, see, you can forget about self-governance. Besides, anything you can do, Trump can do better.

⭐ Heather Cox Richardson on Substack: "The past week has solidified a sea change in American — and global — history.... Under Trump, the United States is abandoning the post–World War II world it helped to build and then guaranteed for the past 80 years.... The principle of national sovereignty is being tested in Ukraine. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine held about a third of the USSR’s nuclear weapons but gave them up in exchange for payments and security assurances from Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom that they would respect Ukraine’s sovereignty within its existing borders.... 'We now have an alliance between a Russian president who wants to destroy Europe and an American president who also wants to destroy Europe,' a European diplomat said. 'The transatlantic alliance is over.'” MB: Read this. I can barely imagine a better summary of how we got here than this essay. If you don't have time today, read it tomorrow. ~~~

~~~ Andrew Kramer & Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: “The simmering feud between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and ... [Donald] Trump escalated on Wednesday when Mr. Zelensky said the American leader had been 'caught in a web of disinformation' from Russia and Mr. Trump mocked his counterpart as a 'dictator without elections' who had done a terrible job as president. The pointed exchange came one day after officials from the United States and Russia opened talks to end the fighting in Ukraine that excluded the Ukrainian government. Hours after that meeting in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Trump suggested that Ukraine had started the war, a comment that brought a strong rebuttal from Mr. Zelensky on Wednesday morning. 'I would like to have more truth with the Trump team,' Mr. Zelensky said in some of the most overt criticism yet of Mr. Trump and his view of the war in Ukraine.... In a post on his Truth Social account, Mr. Trump responded with a scathing attack on Mr. Zelensky. 'Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle,' Mr. Trump wrote. Like his assertions a day earlier, his comments were filled with falsehoods. The United States, for instance, has allocated $119 billion for aid to Ukraine..., not $350 billion.” The AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: “By vilifying Mr. Zelensky and shifting blame for the war from Moscow to Kyiv, Mr. Trump seems to be laying a predicate for withdrawing support for an ally under attack.... [Mr. Trump's attacks on Mr. Zelensky amounted to] a striking distortion of reality. Mr. Zelensky did not talk the United States into giving him money 'to go into a war.' He and his country were attacked [by Russia], and only then did the United States under President Joseph R. Biden Jr. respond with expansive financial assistance. And even then, it has been only about a third of what Mr. Trump claimed.... Mr. Trump went on...: 'He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.”'... [Mr. Trump called Mr. Zelensky a 'dictator without elections' and said is poll ratings were at four percent.] While Ukraine has suspended elections during the war, Mr. Zelensky was in fact originally elected by a landslide in 2019 in a contest deemed free and fair by the international community — unlike Mr. Putin, an actual dictator who has stayed in power for a quarter-century through elections widely deemed to be farces. And Mr. Zelensky enjoys a 57 percent approval rating, according to a new poll, higher than Mr. Trump’s.

“The president’s 'dictator' jab came just hours before he referred to himself online regarding a domestic issue as 'the king,' followed up by a White House official who posted an illustration of Mr. Trump in royal garb. The president’s attack on Mr. Zelensky, while sparing any harsh words for Mr. Putin, provoked outrage among European leaders, Democrats in Washington and even a few Republicans who were willing to speak out.” ~~~

~~~ David Ignatius of the Washington Post: “Tuesday was a dark day for the United States.... Donald Trump and his administration embraced Russia as a peace partner without demanding that it pay any price for its illegal invasion of Ukraine. And then, in a statement that turned morality upside down, the president blamed Ukraine for causing the war.... The tragic loss of life in Ukraine will mean nothing — and a true resolution of the conflict will be impossible — if we can’t distinguish between the attacker and the victim.” Ignatius seems to think Marco is doing a good job, or at least would be if Trump could keep his mouth shut & stop making everything about Trump. MB: Fat chance. ~~~

~~~ Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: “In appealing to ... [Donald] Trump, the Kremlin has zeroed in on his desire to make a profit.... Remarkably, the Trump administration appears to be engaging with Russia’s message without demanding payment up front. After Ukraine suggested the possibility of natural resource deals to Mr. Trump, his treasury secretary pushed to have the country sign away half its mineral wealth. And Mr. Trump continues to portray American allies as freeloaders, threatening more tariffs and demanding they pay more for their own defense. With Russia, by contrast, the administration seems to be signaling that the one thing Mr. Putin has to do to pave the way for a full reset in Moscow’s relationship with Washington is end the war in Ukraine. Many Europeans and Ukrainians fear Mr. Trump will seek a peace deal on Russia’s terms, especially after the American president suggested on Tuesday that Ukraine was to blame for the Russian invasion.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ King's Courtiers Bow & Scrape. Robert Jimison of the New York Times: “As ... [Donald] Trump makes an abrupt pivot toward Russia, upending generations of American foreign policy, he is also defying members of his own party in Congress, many of whom have spent their careers arguing for a hawkish stance against Moscow and strong backing for allies in Europe facing its most immediate threats. But the response from Republicans on Capitol Hill has been muted, in some cases to the point of silence. There has been little G.O.P. pushback on Mr. Trump’s efforts to draw closer to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia or blame Ukraine as he seeks to bring a quick end to the war that began when Russia invaded the country. While some Republicans have expressed dismay at Mr. Trump’s moves and statements, there has been no concerted effort to challenge him from G.O.P. leaders or senators who play pivotal roles in overseeing military and foreign policy in Congress. 'Right now, you have got to give him some space,' Senator John Thune, the South Dakota Republican and majority leader, said at a news conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday after a closed-door Senate lunch with Vice President JD Vance.”

Members of Dictators' Club Stick Together. Jack Nicas of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s media company sued a Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday, accusing him of illegally censoring right-wing voices on social media. The unusual move was made all the more extraordinary by its timing: Just hours earlier, the Brazilian justice had received an indictment that would force him to decide whether to order the arrest of Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president and an ally of Mr. Trump. The justice is overseeing multiple criminal investigations into Mr. Bolsonaro.... The lawsuit appeared to represent an astonishing effort by Mr. Trump to pressure a foreign judge as he weighed the fate of a fellow right-wing leader who, like him, was indicted on charges that he tried to overturn his election loss. Mr. Bolsonaro had explicitly called on Mr. Trump to take action against Justice Moraes in an interview with The New York Times last month.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Do you think when Trump meets, say, Putin or Bolsonaro, they do the secret handshake? Have they made pinkie blood oaths?

“An Explosion of Lies.” Paul Krugman: “... [an] explosion of lies [has emanated] from Musk and Trump these days, ranging from the claim that Social Security is sending checks to tens of millions of dead people to the claim that Ukraine started a war that, as I hope everyone remembers, began with a Russian attempt to seize Kyiv. Why the frantic lying? I suspect that it’s because Musk, Trump and their Congressional allies are flailing.... Beginning late last week Trump officials, clearly operating on instructions from DOGE, laid off large numbers of 'probationary' federal workers — that is, workers who have been hired relatively recently or, in some cases, have experienced a change in job status (often a promotion!) and as a result have fewer job protections than the rest of the federal work force. As I wrote the other day, this was mainly austerity theater.... [They have tried] try to cover up the mess they made with desperate lies — and the lies themselves provide even more evidence that they have no idea what they’re doing.”

Qasim Nauman of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at eliminating federal benefits for undocumented migrants in the United States, describing the benefits as an improper use of taxpayer resources.... Undocumented immigrants are largely not eligible for federal benefits, with only some exceptions allowed for emergency situations, and many immigrant families are hesitant to enroll in programs they are eligible for, according to the National Immigration Law Center.... The White House said Wednesday, without providing details, that undocumented migrants have qualified for various federal welfare programs, and accused the Biden administration of spending billions on supporting people who have entered the country illegally.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When reporters write "without evidence" or some version thereof, as Nauman has here, they have a respnsiblity to add "so there's no reason to believe it's true" or some version of that, so readers understand the person making the allegation is blowing smoke. If the person comes back "with evidence," great. But "without evidence" leaves the naive reader thinking the accuser just forgot or was too busy or something to lay out a spreadsheet full of proof of wrongdoing.

Trump Pretends He Might Send You a Check or Something. Kate Kelly of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Wednesday evening that the newly established Department of Government Efficiency might return a portion of the savings accrued through job cuts and other budget curbs to American taxpayers. The idea of giving back 20 percent of the money saved as a result of initiatives recommended by the new department, known as DOGE, is 'under consideration,' said Mr. Trump. The potential initiative, he said, was 'a new concept' under which his administration would give '20 percent of the DOGE savings to American citizens' and '20 percent goes to paying down debt.' (He didn’t mention what would be done with the other 60 percent of the money.)”

Perhaps concerned that there is not enough gold in Fort Knox to gild all his king stuff, Donald Trump -- following a conspiracy theory promoted by Elon Musk -- questioned whether or not someone had stolen/stollen the gold from Fort Knox. This, although Trump's own Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said earlier Wednesday, “We do an audit every year.... All the gold is present and accounted for.”

From the Amazing Pot ... Kettle File. All federal workers must once again show up to work. Show up to work in person like the rest of us. It doesn't work when you don't show up. You can't work at home. They're not working. They're playing tennis, they're playing golf or they have other jobs. But they're not working or they're certainly not working hard. You could never build a company or a country with that. So, we have a very strong policy and if they don't show up to work they get fired. -- Donald Trump, Wednesday, after spending the workday playing golf

Tyler Pager of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said Wednesday he would have had a 'very nasty life' if he lost the presidential election, a surprisingly public acknowledgment that his legal challenges could have consumed his life and brought jail time. 'If I lost, it would have been very bad,' Mr. Trump said at an investment summit in Miami Beach. 'It was dangerous, actually very dangerous.'... During the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump faced dozens of criminal charges across four different cases.... When Mr. Trump won in November, the Justice Department abandoned the two federal cases against him, and a judge in Manhattan issued an unconditional discharge in his hush money case.”

The King Rules at Many Castles (Where Courtiers Pay for Admission). Philip Bump of the Washington Post: “As of noon on Thursday, Trump will have been president for 31 full days. He will have spent all or part of 16 of those days at four Trump Organization properties. He will have played golf on 10 of those days. He will have spent 19 nights at the White House and 12 nights at properties owned by his private business. He will have spent precisely zero Friday or Saturday nights at the executive mansion. He will have played golf every weekend day except for this past Sunday, when he opted to take the presidential limousine for a spin at Daytona International Speedway instead.”

Trump to Courts: Catch Me if You Can. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: “The Trump administration is systematically exploiting loopholes to effectively keep much of the president’s blanket spending freezes in place, accounts by officials and court filings show, despite restraining orders from judges who have told agencies to disregard the directives. The administration’s strategy is to have political appointees embedded in various agencies invoke other legal authorities to pause spending, while posturing as if those officials had undertaken the efforts independent of ... [Donald] Trump’s original directives. In short, critics say, administration officials are paying lip service to complying with the letter of the court orders while violating their spirit. The tactic shows how aggressively and nimbly the Trump administration is working to keep funds jammed up, and the complexity judges face if they want to compel the administration to unblock the money.”

Charlie Warzel, et al., of the Atlantic: “DOGE has achieved 'God mode.' That’s according to an employee in senior leadership at USAID, who told us that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency now has full, unrestricted access to the agency’s digital infrastructure.... The employee’s account, along with the accounts of several others across federal agencies, offers the clearest portrait yet of just how deep DOGE has burrowed into the systems of the federal government — and the sensitive information of countless Americans.... The federal government does not typically grant such wide-ranging access to a single entity, let alone one that is effectively under the control of an unelected, erratic, and politically extreme actor such as Musk.... The risk of harm, abuse, or political revenge is clear. But simple, brazen corruption is also a concern among the federal workers we spoke with.” Thanks to laura h. for this gift link.

Andrew Duehren & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: “The Internal Revenue Service will begin laying off roughly 6,000 employees on Thursday as part of the Trump administration’s push to downsize the federal work force, three people familiar with the agency’s plans said. The terminations will target relatively recent hires at the I.R.S., which the Biden administration had attempted to revitalize with a surge of funding and new staff.... The I.R.S. employs roughly 100,000 accountants, lawyers and other staff across the country. The layoffs come in the middle of tax filing season.”

As Usual, Everything Is Going Very SmoothlyTM Trump. Hannah Natanson, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration’s sweeping offer [titled 'Fork in the Road,'] of deferred resignations — which the government says will allow workers to get paid until September — was to many a guarantee of short-term financial security amid the tumult of massive cuts in the federal workforce. But, across agencies, some probationary employees were mistakenly fired after taking or attempting to take the 'fork' offer, according to interviews with dozens of federal workers and records obtained by The Post. And now, administration officials and agency leads are scrambling to fix their blunders and get back in touch with employees who have lost access to government emails and work devices.”

Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered senior leaders at the Pentagon and throughout the U.S. military to develop plans for cutting 8 percent from the defense budget in each of the next five years..., a striking proposal certain to face internal resistance and strident bipartisan opposition in Congress. Hegseth ordered the proposed cuts to be drawn up by Monday, according to [his] memo, which is dated Tuesday and includes a list of 17 categories that the Trump administration wants exempted. Among them: operations at the southern U.S. border, modernization of nuclear weapons and missile defense, and acquisition of submarines, one-way attack drones and other munitions.... The budget directive follows a separate order from the Trump administration seeking lists of thousands of probationary Defense Department employees expected to be fired this week. That effort is being overseen by billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service.... The Pentagon also oversees about 1.3 million active-duty service members and nearly 800,000 others who are in the National Guard and reserves, but the Trump administration has exempted service members from its sweeping budget cuts for now.”

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration had adopted a set of official government 'sex-based definitions' to give the public and federal agencies precise terms with which to describe categories including 'male,' 'female,' 'woman' and 'man.' The definitions are listed in a one-page 'guidance' that is aimed, in part, at keeping transgender women and girls out of female sports, discouraging gender-affirming care for young people and fulfilling ... [Donald] Trump’s pledge that the federal government will recognize only two sexes: male and female. 'This administration is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government,' Mr. Kennedy said in a statement. 'The prior administration’s policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over.'” ~~~

     ~~~ OR, as Fenit Nirappil & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post put it in a more explanatory lede: “The federal health department escalated the Trump administration’s campaign against transgender protections Wednesday, releasing public guidance that asserts a person’s sex is 'unchangeable' and launching a website that promotes orders aimed at transgender people.” ~~~

~~~ ⭐Amanda Marcotte of Salon: "It should have always been self-evident that Kennedy is not pro-prevention, since he built his career as a vaccine denialist. Yet much of the press seems to have been snookered. So it's especially noteworthy that Kennedy kicked off his new role with a broad attack on drugs people use to prevent depression, diabetes, and other such conditions. On Thursday..., Donald Trump signed an executive order that echoes Kennedy's lie that he wants to 'make America healthy again.' HHS is ordered to 'assess the prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs.' Kennedy has long had it out for these drugs, and repeatedly argues that the only prevention most people need is better willpower. Kennedy's 'solution' looks very much like punishing them for perceived personal failures by putting people into labor camps, which he euphemistically calls "wellness farms." As Mother Jones reported in July, people would be relegated to these 'farms,' where they would be denied their prescription medications." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So if you or anyone you care about has ever had an illness, is at risk of getting an illness or just might get an illness that can be prevented or alleviated with medication, you should be really scared.

Olly Olly Out Free! Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: “A senior Justice Department official suggested Wednesday that ... [Donald] Trump’s administration is justified in putting aside allegations of corruption against a public official if the official cooperates with the president’s political agenda. The Justice Department official, Emil Bove III, raised the idea during a hearing on Wednesday at which a judge asked him to explain his rationale for abandoning a corruption case against New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams.... Mr. Bove renewed his assertion that the prosecution should be dismissed because it was hindering Mr. Adams’s cooperation with Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown. The judge, Dale E. Ho, asked whether that logic could apply to other officials with critical public safety and national security responsibilities in New York. 'Like the police commissioner, for example?' the judge asked. 'Yes, absolutely,' Mr. Bove said.... His answer underscored how the Justice Department has begun to shift into an enforcement arm of Mr. Trump's agenda. Even the suggestion that the president can decide who should be immune from prosecution based on political or policy considerations would seem to set an extraordinary precedent.”

Corey Kilgannon of the New York Times: “In a rare sign of pushback against ... [Donald] Trump, a coalition of congressional Republicans from the New York area rebuked the president for cuts to a federal program that administers aid to emergency workers and others suffering from toxins related to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In a letter to Mr. Trump, seven Republicans urged Mr. Trump 'as a native New Yorker who lived in New York City as it recovered from the 9/11 terrorist attacks' to reverse the cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program and rehire staff members who were fired several days ago. They echoed the immediate outcry from Democratic lawmakers and advocates when the cuts were made beginning late last week, as part of Elon Musk’s so-called department of government efficiency, or DOGE, which is cutting spending and eliminating jobs across a wide swath of federal agencies. On Monday, New York’s Democratic senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, issued a letter demanding the cuts be restored. The initial reaction from Republicans was more muted, but by Wednesday, as it became clearer that the blowback to the firings was widespread, the Republican resistance grew more vocal, especially from districts in and around New York City, where the memory of 9/11 still resonates powerfully.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Notice these chickenshits only objected after they put their fingers to the wind, and the wind blew off the digits. So call your representative. Call your senator. Gripe!

Eric Tucker of the AP: “The Senate was set to vote Thursday on whether to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director, a decision that could place him atop the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency despite concerns from Democrats over his qualifications and the prospect that he would do ... Donald Trump’s bidding. Patel cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last week by a 12-10, party-line vote and is set for consideration by the Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday afternoon.”

Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: “A federal appeals court panel has denied the Trump administration’s emergency bid to overturn an order blocking ... Donald Trump’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants and short-term U.S. visitors, teeing up another potential race to the Supreme Court. The 3-0 ruling Wednesday from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals maintains for now a Seattle-based federal District Court judge’s order blocking Trump’s policy nationwide. That judge, Reagan appointee John Coughenour, upbraided Trump for seeking to upend more than a century of settled case law on birthright citizenship.”

He's a Better Man Than You, Elon Musk. Marc Elias answers Elon Musk's insult. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: As laura h. pointed out in yesterday's Comments, Tom Nichols of the Atlantic is pretty convinced of the "incompetence" angle, vis-a-vis Don & Elon. Nichols watch Sean Hannity interview Dumb & Dumber Tuesday night and concluded, "This low-key fandango was probably good enough for MAGA fan-servicing purposes, but seems unlikely to reassure the millions of Americans doubtful that the president and the plutocrat know what they’re doing. The president seems only dimly aware of the details of Musk’s adventures, but he’s certain that a smart guy like Musk is furthering his agenda — whatever it is. Musk, who answers to no one, is full of fervor to kill off government agencies he does not understand, because unelected rich men firing probationary federal employees is apparently how true Jeffersonian democracy is restored to an ailing America.... At some point..., Trump ... could end up throwing Musk off the ship of state, as he has done to so many other of his loyal subordinates. But no matter how it ends, Trump will still be president, and Musk will still be rich. The rest of us, unfortunately, will be living with the damage done." Nichols provides some stunning examples of what nitwits Team President* are. The link is a gift link from laura. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: However, as laura also noted yesterday, if you look at Charlie Warzel and others' article linked above, it would appear that the danger Musk poses is both deliberate and accidental. As for some of the accidental destruction and errors, Paul Krugman points out that the Musk/Trump default response is to lie about them.

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Mississippi. Judge Unaware of First Amendment. Michael Levenson of the New York Times: “A Mississippi judge on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order requested by the city of Clarksdale requiring a local newspaper to remove a critical editorial from its website, a move that alarmed press advocates. By Wednesday, the newspaper, The Clarksdale Press Register, had removed the editorial from its website. But Wyatt Emmerich, the president of Emmerich Newspapers, which owns The Press Register, said he planned to challenge the judge’s order at a hearing next week.... Mr. Emmerich said in an interview ... that the judge had targeted 'an editorial that is pretty plain vanilla, criticizing the City Council for not sending out the appropriate notices.' The Press Register, which dates to 1865 and serves about 7,750 readers, published the editorial on its website on Feb. 8 under the headline, 'Secrecy, deception erode public trust.'”

Missouri. Kate Zernike of the New York Times: “Abortion clinics in the staunchly Republican state of Missouri this week resumed procedures for the first time in years, despite a continued push by conservative state leaders to block a constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights that voters approved in November. It was a remarkable moment after an extended fight. Missouri was the first state to enact an abortion ban after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Then in 2024, it became the first state with a near-total ban to approve a citizen-sponsored abortion rights amendment. On the day after voters approved the constitutional amendment, abortion rights groups sued to overturn the ban as well as a host of other restrictions on abortion that preceded the ban. Planned Parenthood, the only provider of abortions outside of hospitals in the state, resumed abortion procedures after a judge on Friday granted a temporary injunction that blocked state licensing requirements imposed on clinics. The clinics had said that the requirements made it impossible to operate. Planned Parenthood still will not provide abortion pills until the state approves a required plan for reporting any complications faced by women who use them. And Republican legislators are still pressing for a raft of bills that would restrict or reverse the amendment passed in November.” ~~~

     ~~~ Here's one of the "raft of bills": ~~~

     ~~~ Robyn Pennacchia of Wonkette: “House Bill 807, the 'Save MO Babies Act,' was introduced by Republican state Rep. Phil Amato, who says [his bill would create a registry of pregnant people 'at risk of seeking an abortion,' which] he imagines ... would also work as an 'EHarmony for babies' that would set up those prospective adoptive parents with those who might have an abortion.... So … if the government deems you 'at risk' of seeking an abortion, people who might want to adopt your kid will be made aware of that so they can, I don’t know, pressure you to give birth so they can adopt your child? You are probably wondering what it is that the state would actually do with this information. Well, one thing we know for sure is that they’d share it with law enforcement, because that is specifically mentioned in the bill.”

The Conversation -- February 19, 2025

Andrew Kramer & Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: “The simmering feud between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and ... [Donald] Trump escalated on Wednesday when Mr. Zelensky said the American leader had been 'caught in a web of disinformation' from Russia and Mr. Trump mocked his counterpart as a 'dictator without elections' who had done a terrible job as president. The pointed exchange came one day after officials from the United States and Russia opened talks to end the fighting in Ukraine that excluded the Ukrainian government. Hours after that meeting in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Trump suggested that Ukraine had started the war, a comment that brought a strong rebuttal from Mr. Zelensky on Wednesday morning. 'I would like to have more truth with the Trump team,' Mr. Zelensky said in some of the most overt criticism yet of Mr. Trump and his view of the war in Ukraine.... In a post on his Truth Social account, Mr. Trump responded with a scathing attack on Mr. Zelensky. 'Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle,' Mr. Trump wrote. Like his assertions a day earlier, his comments were filled with falsehoods. The United States, for instance, has allocated $119 billion for aid to Ukraine..., not $350 billion.” The AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: “In appealing to ... [Donald] Trump, the Kremlin has zeroed in on his desire to make a profit.... Remarkably, the Trump administration appears to be engaging with Russia’s message without demanding payment up front. After Ukraine suggested the possibility of natural resource deals to Mr. Trump, his treasury secretary pushed to have the country sign away half its mineral wealth. And Mr. Trump continues to portray American allies as freeloaders, threatening more tariffs and demanding they pay more for their own defense. With Russia, by contrast, the administration seems to be signaling that the one thing Mr. Putin has to do to pave the way for a full reset in Moscow’s relationship with Washington is end the war in Ukraine. Many Europeans and Ukrainians fear Mr. Trump will seek a peace deal on Russia’s terms, especially after the American president suggested on Tuesday that Ukraine was to blame for the Russian invasion.”

Members of Dictators' Club Stick Together. Jack Nicas of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s media company sued a Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday, accusing him of illegally censoring right-wing voices on social media. The unusual move was made all the more extraordinary by its timing: Just hours earlier, the Brazilian justice had received an indictment that would force him to decide whether to order the arrest of Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president and an ally of Mr. Trump. The justice is overseeing multiple criminal investigations into Mr. Bolsonaro.... The lawsuit appeared to represent an astonishing effort by Mr. Trump to pressure a foreign judge as he weighed the fate of a fellow right-wing leader who, like him, was indicted on charges that he tried to overturn his election loss. Mr. Bolsonaro had explicitly called on Mr. Trump to take action against Justice Moraes in an interview with The New York Times last month.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Do you think when Trump meets, say, Putin or Bolsonaro, they do the secret handshake? Have they made pinkie blood oaths?

Jonah Bromwich & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Wednesday is expected to scrutinize the Trump administration’s extraordinary attempt to abandon corruption charges against New York City’s mayor, a decision that shook the legal community and led to calls for the mayor’s resignation. The judge, Dale E. Ho, ordered the Washington prosecutors who sought a dismissal of the case last week to appear in a Manhattan courtroom to address the Justice Department’s effort to shut down the case, just months before the mayor, Eric Adams, was scheduled to go to trial. Last week, the acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove III, directed prosecutors to seek an end to Mayor Adams’s prosecution. Mr. Bove said explicitly that his directive was based not on the case’s legal merits. The case, he said, was detracting from the mayor’s ability to aid ... [Donald] Trump’s program of mass deportation. At least seven prosecutors resigned rather than obey, including Danielle R. Sassoon, the interim head of the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan.”

He's a Better Man Than You, Elon Musk. Marc Elias answers Elon Musk's insult. Thanks to RAS for the link.

Marie: As laura h. points out in today's Comments, Tom Nichols of the Atlantic is pretty convinced of the "incompetence" angle, vis-a-vis Don & Elon. Nichols watch Sean Hannity interview Dumb & Dumber Tuesday night and concluded, "This low-key fandango was probably good enough for MAGA fan-servicing purposes, but seems unlikely to reassure the millions of Americans doubtful that the president and the plutocrat know what they’re doing. The president seems only dimly aware of the details of Musk’s adventures, but he’s certain that a smart guy like Musk is furthering his agenda — whatever it is. Musk, who answers to no one, is full of fervor to kill off government agencies he does not understand, because unelected rich men firing probationary federal employees is apparently how true Jeffersonian democracy is restored to an ailing America.... At some point..., Trump ... could end up throwing Musk off the ship of state, as he has done to so many other of his loyal subordinates. But no matter how it ends, Trump will still be president, and Musk will still be rich. The rest of us, unfortunately, will be living with the damage done." Nichols provides some stunning examples of what nitwits Team President* are. The link is a gift link from laura. ~~~

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~~~ Marie: The kindliest, most upbeat thing you can say about Trump and his enablers is that they are incompetent. That's the tack Edelberg & Harris take in their analysis of the fiscal crisis Trump is threatening (linked below). But I think they're much worse than bumblers. I think they're vandals and saboteurs. They mean to sack the country and destroy it. 

Overnight, A New World Order. Peter Baker of the New York Times: “... Mr. Trump is in the middle of executing one of the most jaw-dropping pivots in American foreign policy in generations, a 180-degree turn that will force friends and foes to recalibrate in fundamental ways.... As far as Mr. Trump is concerned, Russia is not responsible for the war that has devastated its neighbor. Instead, he suggests that Ukraine is to blame for Russia’s invasion of it. To listen to Mr. Trump talk with reporters on Tuesday about the conflict was to hear a version of reality that would be unrecognizable on the ground in Ukraine and certainly would never have been heard from any other American president of either party.... Mr. Trump uttered not one word of reproach for Mr. Putin or for Russia, which first invaded Ukraine in 2014, waged a low-intensity war against it through all four years of Mr. Trump’s first term and then invaded it in 2022 aiming to take over the whole country.... He makes clear that the United States is done isolating Mr. Putin for his unprovoked aggression against a weaker neighbor and the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people.” ~~~

~~~ Apparently, Trump is bored with the Big Lie, and is now going with a Bigger One: ~~~

~~~ Zoe Richards of NBC News: “... Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that Ukraine was responsible for Russia's invasion of the country three years ago, arguing Kyiv could have made a deal to avoid the conflict. 'You should have never started it,' Trump said of Ukraine while criticizing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had expressed concern that his country was not included in talks between the U.S. and Russia in Saudi Arabia. 'I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it's going very well. But today I heard, “Oh, well, we weren't invited.” Well, you've been there for three years," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort. 'You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Eli Stokols of Politico: “... Donald Trump mocked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a poor negotiator and “grossly incompetent” Tuesday, as tensions continued to rise over the administration’s direct talks with Russia about ending the war it launched nearly three years ago. The comments come amid criticism from European allies and many American intelligence experts that Ukraine and European nations invested in Ukraine’s defense had been excluded from negotiations that began early Tuesday between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "This massive reversal of U.S. policy to back Ukraine against the Russian invasion, justified with propaganda talking points pushed by the Kremlin, triggered immediate outrage from policymakers and national security experts alike.... 'Truly, it’s time for everyone to admit it, Trump is legitimately a Russian asset,' wrote former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).... 'Listening to Trump you’d think Ukraine was bombing its own cities and invading its own country,' wrote New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser." ~~~

~~~ Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: “Shortly after the United States’ opening meeting with Russian officials on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine lashed out at the Trump administration’s negotiating tactics in his harshest terms yet for excluding Ukrainians from talks on their own country’s fate.... Mr. Zelensky protested his exclusion from the discussions by canceling his own planned trip to the Saudi capital.... 'I don’t know who will stay, who will leave, or who is planning to go where. To be honest, I don’t care,' he said. 'I don’t want coincidences, and that’s why I will not go to Saudi Arabia.'... The pointed remarks represented a shift from Mr. Zelensky, who has tried to walk a fine line in the face of Trump administration pronouncements, avoiding direct criticism.”

Natalie Allison, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday challenging the independence of the nation’s major trade, communications and financial regulators, setting up a potential Supreme Court fight that could give him significantly more power over those agencies’ decisions, budgets and leadership. The executive order, which Trump signed at ... Mar-a-Lago..., is the latest in a series of executive actions he has taken since returning to office that advance a broad and controversial theory of executive power. The White House has already insisted Trump has unilateral authority to drastically cut the federal workforce, spending and programs, and essentially dismantle entire agencies without congressional approval. Tuesday’s order adds the suggestion that Trump’s power extends to direct control over agencies ... that — according to laws passed by Congress and signed by Trump’s predecessors — are supposed to enjoy some measure of independence.” Politico's story is here.

David Bauder of the AP: “... Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will continue to restrict The Associated Press’ access to his events and news conferences until the news outlet goes along with his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico in its reports. He acknowledged that the move was a presidential retaliation against the news agency’s editorial policy. 'We’re going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it’s the Gulf of America,' Trump said, speaking to reporters ... at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate.... It was the first time the president himself had commented on the issue since the White House began not allowing AP to cover several of his events last week.... 'The Associated Press just refuses to go with what the law is,' Trump said, an apparent reference to his executive order renaming the Gulf. No law prevents the AP from choosing the style it deems fit.... While Trump characterized AP as standing alone against the name change, outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post are also using Gulf of Mexico.... He also said ... that AP '... [are] doing us no favors. And I guess I’m doing them no favors. That’s the way life works.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: No, this is not the way life works, at least not in a democracy that depends upon a free press to function. It is not the press's job to do “favors” for the government officials it covers. Rather, the press has a responsibility for accuracy, not acquiescence. Notice, too, the attempt to control other peoples' words; Bauder reports, “White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich told Axios that the administration is concerned about AP 'weaponizing language through their Stylebook to push a partisan world view.'” Of course it is not the AP that is weaponizing language but the authoritarian Trump. This may sound like a petty, even a funny, controversy. But at heart, it tramples on the First Amendment and on the functioning of our system of government even as it bolsters Trump's totalitarian tendencies.

Wendy Edelberg & Ben Harris in a New York Times op-ed: “The true risk [of a fiscal crisis in not the debt; it] is our political leaders doing something wildly irresponsible that unnerves financial markets.... [Donald] Trump has brought budgetary chaos with extraordinary speed.... With DOGE itching to meddle in Treasury payment systems, the president may soon have the means to withhold payments at his personal whim. 'We’re even looking at Treasuries,' he told reporters ominously when discussing his plans to commandeer the payment system. 'It could be that a lot of those things don’t count.'... The $28 trillion market for Treasuries — by far the most important financial market in the world — depends first and foremost on trust.... Imagine if Mr. Trump threatens to withhold debt payments....” Thanks to laura h. for the link.

Marie: It almost defies the laws of probability that so few White House reporters play Stump Trump, even though that is, in theory, their job. But wouldn't it be fun to see a reporter ask Trump a question framed around Calvin's assumption here? And then the reporter would follow up if Trump blows her off with "What a stupid question!" And then we could watch Trump's head explode. So then the staff, in deference to squeamish sensibilities, would have to replace Trump's missing head with whatever cover-up they might find nearby: like a pointy white hood. Thanks to RAS for the link.

DOGE Should Cut Trump's Golf Outings. S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: “Donald Trump has already spent $10.7 million of taxpayer money to play golf since retaking the White House last month, an expense that appears to have escaped the attention of his 'Department of Government Efficiency' waste, fraud and abuse hunters. The golf-related expenses — which are likely to recur most weekends while Trump is in office — have somehow flown below the radar of Elon Musk and his 'high-IQ' team, as Trump calls them, of programmers who are ransacking their way through the federal budget and labeling items they do not like or appear not to understand as 'fraud.' Even as they point out five- and six-figure contracts and grants as wasteful, they have ignored each of Trump’s seven-figure golf trips to date.”

Lindsay Whitehurst of the AP: “A federal judge refused Tuesday to immediately block billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing government data systems or participating in worker layoffs. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan found that there are legitimate questions about Musk’s authority, but said there isn’t evidence of the kind of grave legal harm that would justify a temporary restraining order. The decision came in a lawsuit filed by 14 Democratic states challenging DOGE’s authority to access sensitive government data. The attorneys general argued that Musk is wielding the kind of power that the Constitution says can only be held by those who are elected or confirmed by the Senate. The Trump administration, for its part, has maintained that layoffs are coming from agency heads, and asserted that despite his public cheering of the effort Musk isn’t directly running DOGE’s day-to-day operations himself.... [Chutkan wrote that the states'] questions about Musk’s apparent 'unchecked authority' and lack of Congressional oversight for DOGE are legitimate and they may be able to successfully argue them later.” (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to on-air MSNBC reporting, Judge Chutkan did not believe an affidavit submitted to her by the government claiming that Elon Musk was merely a presidential advisor & was not in charge of DOGE. Both Trump & Musk have made statements affirming that Musk runs DOGE. Chutkan rejected the claim that Musk had no authority and told the Trump lawyers to remember that they had a duty to be truthful. But if not Musk, then who? ~~~

     ~~~ Who's the Boss? Joe DePaolo of Mediaite: Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has no idea. Neither does Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Even DOGE employees don't know & have been unable to get a straight answer.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: “A federal judge has temporarily blocked the CIA and the Office of Director of National Intelligence from firing 11 people whose jobs were eliminated to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end federal diversity programs. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga issued an order Tuesday pausing the firings after a hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, in response to a lawsuit filed by intelligence officers who said the dismissals violated their constitutional rights and federal law. Trenga, an appointee of President George W. Bush, issued an administrative stay directing the agencies to keep the employees on administrative leave while barring any effort to cut off their pay or fire them.”

So much for FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Musk fired the people responsible for handling the requests. It is, of course, against the law to deny FOIA requests without cause. (And, no, "cause" is not "we fired the staff.") ~~~

~~~ Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: “Members of the 'privacy team' in an office that oversees the hiring of federal workers were fired, which limits how much access the public is granted to government records. CNN learned about the firings in the Office of Personnel Management after filing a request for records under the Freedom of Information Act related to security clearances for Elon Musk and anyone else involved with the Department of Government Efficiency. 'Good luck with that, they just fired the whole privacy team,' responded an agency email address to the network's FOIA request. The agency's privacy team ensures data privacy practices meet legal requirements and protect the public's trust, according to the office's website, and complying with records requests is a legal duty that carries penalties enforceable in court. 'The move to block outside access to government records related to DOGE personnel also runs counter to Musk’s claims that his team is attempting to be as transparent as possible,' CNN noted.”

File Under "Whoops! Did Not Know What We Were Doing." ~~~

     (a) Kelsey Ables of the Washington Post: “The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that it is moving to correct the accidental firing of several people working on the federal government’s response to an outbreak of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu.... The USDA firings come as bird flu is wreaking havoc on the agriculture sector and as egg prices soar to a record high.” The NBC News story is here.

     (b) DOGE Confuses “Million” and “Billion,” Lies About It. Aatish Bhatia, et al., of the New York Times: “The Department of Government Efficiency ... published on Monday a list of government contracts it has canceled, together amounting to about $16 billion in savings itemized on a new 'wall of receipts' on its website. Almost half of those line-item savings could be attributed to a single $8 billion contract for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. But ... a closer scrutiny of a federal database shows that a recent version of the contract was for $8 million, not $8 billion. A larger total savings number published on the site, $55 billion, lacked specific documentation.... Even the $8 million is an upper bound on the amount saved by canceling the contract.” DOGE later removed a screenshot showing the contract was worth only $8 million, not $8 billion, but it still reported that it had saved $8 billion.

     (c) Lena Sun & Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration reversed a plan to shut down the government website that ships free coronavirus tests to households late Tuesday, after The Washington Post reported that the administration was preparing to end the program and was evaluating the costs of destroying or disposing of tens of millions of tests. The Post reported on Tuesday afternoon that the administration was evaluating the costs of destroying tests that would otherwise be provided free to Americans.... A half-hour before the planned shutdown, Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon sent a statement to The Post confirming that COVIDtests.gov would shut down at 8 p.m. Tuesday. But he said the tests would not be destroyed and 'will remain in inventory until they meet their expiration date.'... Then, 12 minutes before the site’s planned shutdown, Nixon sent a new statement saying COVIDtests.gov would not be pulled offline at this time.... Internal documents show that officials at HHS had been considering two options: either disposing of or continuing to ship more than 160 million tests, valued at more than half a billion dollars. Only a small fraction of the tests are expired....”

No "Whoops!" here. Musk just has no idea what he's proposing. ~~~

     ~~~ Musk Spitballs a $400 Billion Rebate. Sophia Cai of Politico: “Elon Musk said he will bring to ... Donald Trump a proposal to send Americans rebate checks representing a portion of the money they save by slashing the federal government.... The plan calls for returning 20 percent of the savings generated by the Department of Government Efficiency back to taxpayers in the form of direct payments.... Budget experts warn that such a rebate program would require congressional approval, and lawmakers may prefer to use that money in other ways.”

Forget About Food Safety. Christina Jewett of the New York Times: “Jim Jones, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s food division, resigned on Monday, citing what he called 'indiscriminate' layoffs that would make it 'fruitless for him to continue.' In his resignation letter, Mr. Jones estimated that 89 people of the 2,000 in his division were fired over the weekend, many of them freshly hired to do more in-depth work on chemical safety to protect the nation’s food supply.... Mr. Jones also singled out Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the newly appointed secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, for criticizing the F.D.A. as being too beholden to the industries it oversees and for vowing to to dismiss the agency’s nutrition staff. 'The secretary’s comments impugning the integrity of the food staff, asserting they are corrupt based on falsities, is a disservice to everyone,' Mr. Jones wrote in the letter.... The food division’s staff members were among about 700 people fired from the F.D.A. over the weekend. People who were let go by email said their supervisors were not aware of the cuts and had no say in them.”

Kate Selig of the New York Times: “The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston was abruptly closed to visitors on Tuesday, and the federal agency that operates the site did not provide any explanation for the sudden disruption. Members of the Kennedy family said that Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency had fired members of the library’s staff, forcing the temporary closure. Kennedy’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, wrote in a social media post that an official with the National Archives and Records Administration, which oversees presidential libraries, had instructed the Kennedy Library to fire probationary staff members. 'This is a direct attack on our past to rewrite a new future — yet another example of stealing history from the American people,' Mr. Schlossberg wrote in a statement. 'It has nothing to do with government efficiency.'”

Well, you silly old folks. Too bad you're about to be scammed. We of the FBI were going to warn you so maybe you could keep your life savings, but no can do. Meeting cancelled. The president* sez faggedaboudit. Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: When you think about it, the fewer of these types of community outreach presentations there are, the better, as far as Trump is concerned. I mean, how is going to scam people if the FBI keeps warning people off his grifts? (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Besides, we're all just wasted space, in the eyes of the very few People Who Matter. ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Waldman on Substack: “... Trump 2.0 is yet another attack by the super-rich against everyone else.... They believe that there is a small number of people who matter, and a great mass of people who deserve nothing.... Absolutely nothing in what Musk has done to date shows even the slightest interest in 'efficiency.'... [As Musk and his minions see it,] most of humanity is simply not human. We are ... bits of programming to be moved around at Elon’s whim. Only he and the people who aspire to be like him are actors, decision-makers, molding the world to conform to their bold interplanetary vision.... Fire thousands of federal workers, cut off vital services — who cares? Those people don’t matter.” Mitt Romney called47% of Americans "moochers,"; his running mate Paul Ryan said 60% of Americans were "takers"; Elon and Donald apparently believe 99% of us are exendible. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Marie: I guess it isn't bad enough that in fear of diversity initiatives, the Muskrats are firing federal employees whose jobs it is to protect civil rights (see Natanson/Dehghanpoor story linked yesterday). Now a Trump official is suggesting it is illegal for members of Congress to even inform constituents of their civil rights: ~~~

~~~ Ailia Zehra of the Hill: Donald “Trump’s 'border czar' Tom Homan said Monday he asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) whether Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) efforts to educate people about their rights while facing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is impeding the agency’s operations. Speaking on Fox News, Homan said he finds it disturbing that 'any member of Congress wants to educate people how they evade law enforcement.'... When the Fox News host asked him if he thought Ocasio-Cortez was breaking the law, Homan said he would leave that question to the DOJ.” Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm no lawyer. But it seems to me that what Ocasio-Cortez is doing is similar to what a cop does when s/he -- as is required by U.S. law (and the Constitution) -- reads an arrestee his or her Miranda rights. Both AOC and the cop may prevent a person who in fact is guilty of a crime from incriminating himself. Here's the thing: that's an integral part of the American system of justice. Read yer Bill o' Rights, Tom. 

Carol Leonnig & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: “The head of the criminal division in the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. resigned Tuesday morning after declining to comply with an urgent Trump administration demand to freeze the assets of a multibillion-dollar Biden administration environmental grant initiative and launch a criminal investigation, according to two sources familiar with the matter and the official’s resignation letter. Veteran prosecutor Denise Cheung’s resignation came in response to a Justice Department effort to assist ... Donald Trump’s new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who said last week that he would try to rescind $20 billion in grants awarded by the Biden administration for climate and clean energy projects, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss it publicly. Cheung wrote in her resignation letter that while she and the FBI were ready to ask a bank to freeze the assets immediately, she refused a last-minute order from interim U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. to open what she called an unfounded investigation sought by the office of acting Deputy Attorney General Emil S. Bove, according to a resignation letter obtained by The Washington Post.” Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Jeremy Barr & John Hudson of the Washington Post: “The State Department has ordered the cancellation of all news subscriptions deemed 'non-mission critical,' according to internal email guidance viewed by The Washington Post. The move aligns with the Trump administration’s crackdown on media companies that count the U.S. government as paying customers. A Feb. 11 memo sent to embassies and consulates in Europe described the mandate as part of an effort to reduce spending.... Embassy security teams rely on news coverage to prepare for diplomatic travel in conflict zones.... A Feb. 14 memo directed procurement teams at embassies and consulates to prioritize the termination of contracts with six news organizations in particular: the Economist, the New York Times, Politico, Bloomberg News, the Associated Press and Reuters. State Department personnel were told that they could submit a request to maintain a news subscription but that it 'must be done within 1 sentence.'”

Amanda Seitz of the AP: “To earn the vote he needed to become the nation’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a special promise to a U.S. senator [Bill Cassidy (R-La.)]: He would not change the nation’s current vaccination schedule. But on Tuesday, speaking for the first time to thousands of U.S. Health and Human Services agency employees, he vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases. 'Nothing is going to be off limits,' Kennedy said, adding that pesticides, food additives, microplastics, antidepressants and the electromagnetic waves emitted by cellphones and microwaves also would be studied.”

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: “The Senate on Tuesday voted 51 to 45 to confirm Howard Lutnick to be ... [Donald] Trump’s commerce secretary, putting in place one of the administration’s top economic officials who will help oversee an agenda around tariffs and protectionism. Mr. Lutnick, who was the chief executive of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, became a central economic adviser to Mr. Trump over the past year and led his transition team. He has defended tariffs as a tool to protect U.S. industries from international competition, promoted lower corporate taxes and called for an expansion of energy production.”

Please, Sir, May I Have More? Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: “Even as many Republicans praise the ultimate goal of streamlining the federal government, some GOP senators spanning the ideological spectrum from Katie Boyd Britt (Alabama) to Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) have lobbied the Trump administration to reconsider its cuts or pauses to federal grants that support biomedical research and labs, or for programs supporting Native American tribes.”

Dan Froomkin, who has a new site called Heads Up News, has "put together an eclectic list of somewhat more concrete things you can do to resist the Trump agenda." Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: I have been looking for sensible suggestions like Froomkin's. Most Oh-What-Can-We-Do suggestions run to fairly dumb or very narrow. Dan has some good ideas. For you and me.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Evan Hurst, in a Tuesday morning round-up at Wonkette seemed a tad unimpressed with Peter Baker's thesis about how "Making [Canada] a state ... would almost surely cost Republicans control of the House, trim their majority in the Senate and make it harder for them to win the White House in future elections." Hurst writes, "Much of the internet is currently about how the New York Times’s Peter Baker is a bad journalist and doesn’t understand journalism and thinks this is all a fucking game and is no better than a Nazi collaborator the way he normalizes Donald Trump. But sure, Peter, WHAT IF WE JUST SEIZED CANADA? Is there a BOTH SIDES to consider here? Fuck you." MB: In fairness to Baker, he does preface his "analysis" with a disclaimer: "Few in Washington take the prospect all that seriously, of course." As for me, I would not mind being part of Canada. In fact, had I been living in Canada all my life, I would be able to speak French, albeit with a bad Canadian accent (or as some French would argue, Canadian dialect). (Also linked yesterday.) 

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Brazil. Jack Nicas of the New York Times: “Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former president, was charged on Tuesday with overseeing a vast scheme to hold on to power after losing the 2022 election, including one plot to annul the vote, disband courts and empower the military, and another to assassinate the nation’s president-elect. The accusations, laid out in a 272-page indictment, suggest that Brazil came strikingly close to plunging back into, in effect, a military dictatorship nearly four decades into its modern democracy. Attorney General Paulo Gonet Branco indicted Mr. Bolsonaro and 33 other people, including a former spy chief, defense minister and national security adviser, accusing them of a series of crimes against Brazil’s democracy. The charges essentially adopted recommendations from Brazil’s federal police made in November.” The AP's report is here; thanks to RAS for the link.

The Netherlands. Marie: I was think yesterday it wouldn't be so bad if Canada bought the U.S. Now RAS finds this Dutch fellow who makes me think it might be a better idea to sell off the country a piece at a time: ~~~

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Outer Space. Robin Andrews of the New York Times: “Astronomers on Tuesday said that the asteroid designated 2024 YR4 had become the most likely sizable space rock ever forecast to impact planet Earth. The object, first detected in December, is 130 to 300 feet long and expected to make a very close pass of the planet in 2032. Its odds of impacting Earth on Dec. 22 of that year currently stand at 3.1 percent.... Although 2024 YR4 would not come close to decimating a country, it could scar or demolish a city with a direct hit. And there is a very slim chance that it might.” MB: The U.S. astronomers tracking YR4 work for the Asteroid Threat Assessment Project, part of NASA. Trump and Musk will probably fire them. Because they're redundant, or poor performers, or corrupt, or 150 years old, or have salaries in the $8 billion range. Whatever.

The Conversation -- February 18, 2025

Apparently, Donald Trump is bored with the Big Lie, and is now going with a Bigger One: ~~~

~~~ Zoe Richards of NBC News: “... Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that Ukraine was responsible for Russia's invasion of the country three years ago, arguing Kyiv could have made a deal to avoid the conflict. 'You should have never started it,' Trump said of Ukraine while criticizing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had expressed concern that his country was not included in talks between the U.S. and Russia in Saudi Arabia. 'I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it's going very well. But today I heard, “Oh, well, we weren't invited.” Well, you've been there for three years," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort. 'You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Eli Stokols of Politico: “...Donald Trump mocked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a poor negotiator and “grossly incompetent” Tuesday, as tensions continued to rise over the administration’s direct talks with Russia about ending the war it launched nearly three years ago. The comments come amid criticism from European allies and many American intelligence experts that Ukraine and European nations invested in Ukraine’s defense had been excluded from negotiations that began early Tuesday between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.”

Lindsay Whitehurst of the AP: “A federal judge refused Tuesday to immediately block billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing government data systems or participating in worker layoffs. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan found that there are legitimate questions about Musk’s authority, but said there isn’t evidence of the kind of grave legal harm that would justify a temporary restraining order. The decision came in a lawsuit filed by 14 Democratic states challenging DOGE’s authority to access sensitive government data. The attorneys general argued that Musk is wielding the kind of power that the Constitution says can only be held by those who are elected or confirmed by the Senate. The Trump administration, for its part, has maintained that layoffs are coming from agency heads, and asserted that despite his public cheering of the effort Musk isn’t directly running DOGE’s day-to-day operations himself.... [Chutkan wrote that the states'] questions about Musk’s apparent 'unchecked authority' and lack of Congressional oversight for DOGE are legitimate and they may be able to successfully argue them later.”

Carol Leonnig & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: “The head of the criminal division in the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. resigned Tuesday morning after declining to comply with an urgent Trump administration demand to freeze the assets of a multibillion-dollar Biden administration environmental grant initiative and launch a criminal investigation, according to two sources familiar with the matter and the official’s resignation letter. Veteran prosecutor Denise Cheung’s resignation came in response to a Justice Department effort to assist ... Donald Trump’s new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who said last week that he would try to rescind $20 billion in grants awarded by the Biden administration for climate and clean energy projects, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss it publicly. Cheung wrote in her resignation letter that while she and the FBI were ready to ask a bank to freeze the assets immediately, she refused a last-minute order from interim U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. to open what she called an unfounded investigation sought by the office of acting Deputy Attorney General Emil S. Bove, according to a resignation letter obtained by The Washington Post.” Politico's report is here.

Marie: Is our children learning? I just called an American company which is named Bank of America, and I got an American person living in Houston, Texas, which is still an American state, and he  spoke standard English with a standard American accent. When I told him I lived in New Hampshire, this American person asked if that was anywhere near Kentucky. And I was wondering how this country could be so screwed. (After he settled my business issue, I told him that he was an American citizen and it was his duty to know his county, and he needed to go home and in his spare time learn where every state in his country was located.) Yeesh!

Marie: It almost defies the laws of probability that so few White House reporters play Stump Trump, even though that is, in theory, their job. But wouldn't it be fun to see a reporter ask Trump a question framed around Calvin's assumption here? And then the reporter would follow up if Trump blows her off with "What a stupid question!" And then we could watch Trump's head explode. So then the staff, in deference to squeamish sensibilities, would have to replace Trump's missing head with whatever cover-up they might find nearby: like a pointy white hood. Thanks to RAS for the link.

Marie: I guess it isn't bad enough that in fear of diversity initiatives, the Muskrats are firing federal employees whose jobs it is to protect civil rights (see Natanson/Dehghanpoor story linked below). Now a Trump official is suggesting it is illegal for members of Congress to even inform constituents of their civil rights: ~~~

~~~ Ailia Zehra of the Hill: Donald “Trump’s 'border czar' Tom Homan said Monday he asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) whether Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) efforts to educate people about their rights while facing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is impeding the agency’s operations. Speaking on Fox News, Homan said he finds it disturbing that 'any member of Congress wants to educate people how they evade law enforcement.'... When the Fox News host asked him if he thought Ocasio-Cortez was breaking the law, Homan said he would leave that question to the DOJ.” Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm no lawyer. But it seems to me that what Ocasio-Cortez is doing is similar to what a cop does when s/he -- as is required by U.S. law (and the Constitution) -- reads an arrestee his or her Miranda rights. Both AOC and the cop may prevent a person who in fact is guilty of a crime from incriminating himself. It's an integral part of the American system of justice. Read yer Bill o' Rights, Tom. 

Well, you silly old folks. Too bad you're about to be scammed. We of the FBI were going to warn you so maybe you could keep your life savings, but no can do. Meeting cancelled. The president* sez faggedaboudit. Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: When you think about it, the fewer of these types of community outreach presentations there are, the better, as far as Trump is concerned. I mean, how is going to scam people if the FBI keeps warning people off his grifts?

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Evan Hurst, in a morning round-up at Wonkette seems a tad unimpressed with Peter Baker's thesis about how "Making [Canada] a state ... would almost surely cost Republicans control of the House, trim their majority in the Senate and make it harder for them to win the White House in future elections." Hurst writes, "Much of the internet is currently about how the New York Times’s Peter Baker is a bad journalist and doesn’t understand journalism and thinks this is all a fucking game and is no better than a Nazi collaborator the way he normalizes Donald Trump. But sure, Peter, WHAT IF WE JUST SEIZED CANADA? Is there a BOTH SIDES to consider here? Fuck you." MB: In fairness to Baker, he does preface his "analysis" with a disclaimer: "Few in Washington take the prospect all that seriously, of course." As for me, I would not mind being part of Canada. In fact, had I been living in Canada all my life, I would be able to speak French, albeit with a bad Canadian accent (or as some French would argue, Canadian dialect).

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Minho Kim, et al., of the New York Times: “Thousands of protesters opposing broad swaths of ... [Donald] Trump’s agenda took to the streets across the United States on Monday, calling Mr. Trump a 'king' on Presidents’ Day for his efforts to terminate thousands of federal workers and to fire prosecutors and independent watchdogs within the federal government. On Saturday, Mr. Trump suggested on social media that he would not heed concerns that his sweeping actions could be breaking laws, posting a riff on a phrase often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte: 'He who saves his country does not violate any law.' 'No king, no crown, we will not back down,' chanted those who gathered a few hundred feet from the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall in Washington.... The major group organizing the protest identified itself as the 50501 movement, a grass-roots effort to push back against what it views as Mr. Trump’s second-term 'overreach' in reshaping the government.” MB: And you-all put “overreach” in quotation marks because???

Marie: After reading the following report, I'm beginning to think I've midjudged the Musk/Trump presidency*. Rather than being anything nearly approximating a joint administration, what Trump has pioneered is the Rent-a-Presidency. In the first-ever instance of a U.S. Rent-a-Presidency deal, Trump has sold the right to run a huge government into the ground for the low, low price of $250 million. ~~~

~~~ Don't Blame Elon! He's a Nobody! Kyle Cheney of Politico: “Elon Musk is not the leader of DOGE — the mysterious Trump administration operation overseeing an effort to break and remake the federal bureaucracy. In fact, he’s not even technically part of it at all, the White House said in court papers Monday night. In a three-page declaration, a top White House personnel official revealed that Musk’s title is 'senior adviser to the president,' a role in which he has 'no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself.' That explanation, provided to a federal court by Joshua Fisher, the director of the White House’s Office of Administration, seems to directly contradict the way ... Donald Trump and Musk have spoken publicly about the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.... The sworn statement instead deepens the questions surrounding DOGE.... Fisher’s filing was delivered to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is weighing a legal effort by Democratic attorneys general to bar Musk and his DOGE allies from continuing to exert influence on the federal government.... She ... asked the Trump administration for more details about the mass firings it appears DOGE has been directing across the government. A Justice Department attorney, Joshua Gardner, declined to detail the job cuts DOGE has been involved in so far, despite Chutkan’s request for specifics.” ~~~

     ~~~ Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: “U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday appeared poised to reject an effort to immediately bar Elon Musk and his allies from accessing data or causing firings across a broad swath of the federal government. The judge said an effort by Democrat-led states lacked enough concrete evidence to justify that extraordinary restriction.” MB: See also my related comment beneath Zach Montague's report about Musk's Raiders gaining access to Education Department systems. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's a brief AP report on the hearing. ~~~

     ~~~ Marcy Wheeler: "Yesterday, Judge Tanya Chutkan had a Presidents Day hearing on a lawsuit challenging DOGE’s actions. While she reportedly seemed inclined not to grant an emergency restraining order, she did order the government to provide her with two pieces of information: how many people had and were going to be fired, and what Elon Musk’s status is. In a response and declaration, the government blew off the first question, but on the second, denied that Musk has the power of DOGE. He’s just a senior Trump advisor, one solidly within the White House Office, and so firewalled from the work of DOGE, yet still protected from any kind of nasty disclosure requirements.... [The plaintiffs in the case argue that Musk's role requires the advice and consent of the Senate under the Constitution's Appointments Clause.] The statement is quite obviously an attempt to retcon the structure of DOGE [sic], one that Ryan Goodman has already found several pieces of evidence to debunk.... The retconning of his role is all the more obvious when you understand that the right wing judges on SCOTUS feel very strongly about the Appointments Clause. And Trump is on the record relying on it, most spectacularly in convincing Aileen Cannon that Jack Smith had to be confirmed by the Senate before he could indict Trump."

There is no way to overstate how serious a breach this is.... S.S.A. has comprehensive medical records of people who have applied for disability benefits.... It has our bank information, our earnings records, the names and ages of our children, and much more. -- Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, a group that promotes the expansion of Social Security ~~~

~~~ Alan Rappeport, et al., of the New York Times: “The top official at the Social Security Administration stepped down this weekend after members of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency sought access to sensitive personal data about millions of Americans held by the agency, according to people familiar with the matter. The resignation of Michelle King, the acting commissioner, is the latest abrupt departure of a senior federal official who refused to provide Mr. Musk’s lieutenants with access to closely held data.... Mr. Musk’s team at the Social Security Administration was seeking access to an internal data repository that contains extensive personal information about Americans.... Mr. Musk’s team has been embedding with agencies across the federal government and seeking access to private data as part of what it has said is an effort to root out fraud and waste. Social Security payments account for about $1.5 trillion, or a fifth, of annual federal spending in the United States.... It is not clear how many members of Mr. Musk’s staff sought access to it, whether they ultimately succeeded or whether they had been granted full employment status at the Social Security Administration....

“Ms. King was replaced by Leland Dudek, a career official who has been overseeing the agency’s anti-fraud office, according to people familiar with the matter. He did not respond to a request for comment. Before he was named, Mr. Dudek posted comments on LinkedIn praising Mr. Musk’s team and saying he had been assisting its efforts, according to people who saw his posts. Mr. Dudek has deleted his account.” The Washington Post broke the story. An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ digby points to a crazy conspiracy Elon likes to tell. Here here is on X (undated): "The REAL reason so many Democrats are upsets about entitlements (social security, medical, etc) fraud investigations is that they are using your taxpayer money as handouts to attract and retain ILLEGAL immigrants. Their future voters. That's what it's all about. Truth." No, it's bullshit. This is the Great Replacement Theory which Musk signed on to some time ago.... Illegal immigrants do not get social security, Medicare or Medicaid. If they become citizens, they will be entitled to them but there is no guarantee that they will vote Democratic.... It’s not surprising that Musk would be a promoter of this racist fringe conspiracy theory. But now that he has the keys to the government, he’s in a great position to destroy social security in ways that will impact all of us.... Trump has promised not to cut Social Security and Medicare but he’s a liar. And even if he’s sincere in that desire he’s so easily manipulated by Musk et al that they can easily convince him that the cuts are merely curbing fraud and that real people will not be hurt by it.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: And if we must use that term and if we're going to point at "ILLEGAL immigrants," let us remember that Elon himself was once an ILLEGAL immigrant to the U.S.

“St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” Hannah Natanson, et al., of the Washington Post: “Many federal government employees were dismissed over the holiday weekend as managers confronted a Trump administration demand to fire workers by Tuesday. In group texts and in online forums, they dubbed the error-ridden run of firings the 'St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.' The firings targeted new hires on probation, who have fewer protections than permanent employees, and swept up people with years of service who had recently transferred between agencies, as well as military veterans and people with disabilities employed through a program that sped their hiring but put them on two years’ probation....

“The firings have extended to touch employees at almost every agency, including map makers, archaeologists and cancer researchers..., in choices that some workers said contradicted a U.S. Office of Personnel Management directive to retain 'mission-critical' workers.... The termination letters hitting inboxes all struck the same note: Probationary workers were getting the ax for poor job performance. But many of those fired had just received positive reviews, or had not worked in the government long enough to receive even a single rating.... Firing employees en masse with the same claim of poor performance is illegal, said Jim Eisenmann, [whose law firm specializes] in litigation by federal employees.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: To add gross insult to significant injury, the richest man in the world is gloating over firing and lying about the performance of modestly-paid employees who have dedicated themselves careers designed to help Americans. According to the Post report, Elon “Musk, whose U.S. DOGE Service is leading the drive to downsize government, over the weekend shared triumphant messages on X.... Close to 2 a.m. Monday, he reposted a picture of himself in a gladiator outfit and declared he was destroying 'the woke mind virus.'”

Julia Ainsley of NBC News: “The Trump administration is preparing to fire hundreds of high-level Department of Homeland Security employees this week as part of a move to rid the country’s third-largest agency of people deemed to be misaligned with the administration’s goals, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The sources said the Trump administration has a 'centralized plan' and a list of people in high-level positions across every component of DHS who are to be targeted this week. The firings will come on top of hundreds of more general cuts that began across DHS on Friday night, which targeted the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Those firings were the latest in a governmentwide effort to reduce the federal workforce.”

Revenge of the White Supremacist Boys. Hannah Natanson & Chris Dehghanpoor of the Washington Post (Feb. 15): “A team of workers from the U.S. DOGE Service developed step-by-step plans for carrying out ... Donald Trump’s order to purge diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from the federal government — and over the next six months intends to expand that campaign dramatically, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. DOGE aims to target staffers who are not in DEI roles and employees who work in offices established by law to ensure equal rights, internal DOGE documents show. In the coming weeks, the documents show, DOGE has planned for the Trump administration to trim staff from dozens of offices..., including those that protect employees’ civil rights and others that investigate complaints of employment discrimination in the federal workplace. Among the groups targeted are a Veterans Affairs office that works to ensure all veterans receive equal access to care and an office within Health and Human Services that provides information about the health of minority populations.... In the weeks leading up to the inauguration, DOGE positioned and envisioned itself as the executor and enforcer of Trump’s executive order against diversity.”

Life-Threatening News. Ian Duncan of the Washington Post: “A team from billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company will help envision ways to overhaul the nation’s aging air traffic control systems, beginning with a visit to the Federal Aviation Administration’s command center Monday, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said.... It was not clear Monday what expertise [SpaceX] engineers have in how the air traffic control system works.... The move was announced as union leaders said the FAA laid off roughly 400 probationary employees as part of sweeping job cuts the Trump administration has imposed across the federal government in recent days. The cuts represent only a small fraction of the agency’s workforce of almost 47,000, and front-line workers such as air traffic controllers and radar technicians appear to have been spared.... The full scope of the job cuts was not clear.... But union officials and Democrats said the cuts could nonetheless imperil air safety as employees have to carry out their duties with less backup.... SpaceX’s rocket launches are regulated by the FAA, and the agency has alleged that the company violated safety rules in the past.” The Verge has a story here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: All things being equal, if SpaceX engineers were to be part of a larger team that would examine, analyze and make recommendations on how to safely overhaul the air traffic control system while at the same time maintaining air safety -- I'd be find with that. But remember that the idea of DOGE which Trump presented during the campaign was that Musk would assemble a group of experts to conduct an audit and recommend efficiencies that would save taxpayers "trillions" of dollars. That, of course, is not what has happened. So if all things being Musk prevails, then everyone who boards an airplane either landing or taking off at a U.S. airport is in danger. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Marie: It looks as if Sean Duffy, the new Secretary of Transportation, is getting his bearings and learning how to better describe (or mask!) what Musk's team is doing. According to the Verge report linked above, “In a post on X, Duffy said the team from SpaceX went to Virginia to 'get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system.' Previously, Duffy said that Musk’s DOGE team would 'plug in' to the FAA to help 'upgrade our aviation system.'” If Duffy's latest post is accurate, the workers he is describing would not be wet-behind-the-ears raw programmers but systems managers/designers, typically more experienced personnel (though not necessarily coders) who determine general goals and specifications for computerized systems. I have no idea, of course, if Duffy is telling the truth, but that's what he's saying.

Zach Montague of the New York Times: “A Federal District Court judge in Washington declined to bar associates of Elon Musk from gaining access to the Education Department’s data systems, finding that the University of California Student Association, which sued to block the incursion, had not shown that students were irreparably harmed in the process. In a late order on Monday, Judge Randolph D. Moss wrote that lawyers representing the students had failed to show that sensitive student data from the department’s databases had been illegally disseminated in a way that would justify an emergency restraining order barring Mr. Musk’s team from the agency’s systems. Judge Moss described potential harms to the students as 'entirely conjectural.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Most actions the U.S. government takes require transparency, at least to the Congress, but also to the public as prescribed by the Freedom of Information Act. Why? Because ours is supposed to be a government of, for and by the people. We're the bosses of them; we are, in theory, the government. President Musk stood up in his black-hatted villain costume during his recent Oval Office press conference, and claimed, “So all of our actions are maximally transparent. In fact, I don’t think there’s been, I don’t know of a case where an organization has been more transparent than the Doge organization.” He directed press and people alike to the sources of all knowledge: "... we post our actions to the DOGE Handle on X and to the Doge website.” This is patently false. BUT Matt Novak of Gizmodo wrote, “The X account for DOGE does indeed post things, though they’re often misleading or outright lies. But the website Musk identifies is empty. The domain is DOGE.gov, the kind of site where Musk could hypothetically be posting all kinds of information about the work he and his goons are doing right now. But there’s nothing except three lines of text.” One purpose of this lie is that litigants seeking temporary restraining orders against the Musk teens' excesses and incursion are forced to go before the court with information that is often, as the judge determined, “entirely conjectural.” ~~~

     ~~~ As many a philosopher, historian and political scientist will tell you, the first tool of the authoritarian is language, which he bends and breaks through lies, distortion, and the alteration or inversion of the meaning of words. I don't know that Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post gets that, but he does provide some raw data for academics can use to bolster their research: “... the White House has adopted a unique lexicon to describe its agenda — in some cases, using words that in ordinary contexts mean the opposite. Here’s a guide to the verbiage, drawn from remarks made by ... Donald Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.” The words & phrases Kessler covers are “transparency,” “free speech,” “fraud and abuse,” and “trade deficit.”

News from the Kleptocracy. Eric Lipton & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: When Donald Trump held a phone conference earlier this month among Jay Monahan, the top executive at the PGA Tour, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the chairman of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf association, and himself, he was “using the power of his office to forge an agreement... and ... pushing a merger that relates to his own family’s financial interest. In other words..., Mr. Trump’s participation in this discussion was a brazen conflict of interest — one of a series that have played out over the past few weeks, with a frequency unlike any presidency in modern times, even in the first Trump term.... Hui Chen, a ... Justice Department adviser on fraud cases[, said,] 'The entire force and power of the United States government is now part of the business support structure for the Trump family.'... ” It isn't just Trump, of course. Most notably, there's Elon Musk, overseeing departments that regulate his multi-billion-dollar businesses, or Edward Martin, whom Trump appointed as the U.S. attorney for D.C., who “resigned from representing a criminal defendant before moving in his capacity as a federal prosecutor to dismiss the charges filed against his client.” ~~~

~~~ Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Monday that he had nominated the interim U.S. attorney for Washington, [D.C.,] Ed Martin, a far-right election denier who sat on a board that raised cash for the Capitol rioters and pushed for their mass reprieve, to run the office on a permanent basis. Mr. Martin, who has minimal prosecutorial experience but a hyperpartisan social media presence, must first be confirmed by the Senate, whose members were forced into hiding by the mob of Trump loyalists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Mr. Martin’s nomination marks a complete reversal for an office that formed the core of one of the Justice Department’s most complex investigations, swapping leaders committed to holding rioters accountable for a man who stood in the crowd outside the Capitol and defied a congressional subpoena to describe his role in the day’s events.... Mr. Martin has already started an internal review of Capitol riot cases in his office and was tapped by Attorney General Pam Bondi to help scrutinize the so-called weaponization of the department during the Biden administration.” ~~~

~~~ Then there's this little tidbit about some of the people Elon fired: ~~~

     ~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "Some of the latest employees on the chopping block at tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency task force are Food and Drug Administration staff who oversee regulation of one of Musk's companies, [Neuralink,] Reuters reported Monday evening. Layoffs at the FDA, according to Rachael Levy and Marisa Taylor, include 'about 20 people in the FDA’s office of neurological and physical medicine devices, several of whom worked on Neuralink, according to the two sources.... That division includes reviewers overseeing clinical-trial applications by Neuralink and other companies making so-called brain-computer interface devices, the sources said.... The development of this technology, however, has been controversial, with early trials in monkeys reportedly leading to horrific deaths — something Musk denied." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I like to watch murder mysteries, and one of the "techniques" murderers use is to pretend to be classic serial murderers; that is, the murderer's target is one individual with whom s/he has a beef. But to throw the cops of their game, the murderer kills a number of people in similar ways in order to make it appear that s/he is a random killer, so the "real" target -- and the killer's motives -- disappear in the "crowd." I think that's what Elon is doing here. By firing thousands of workers, he hopes no one will notice when a few of the people he fires are the very people who can cause his businesses problem. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's Rachel Maddow on some of these dicey firing, including the very questionable firings of FDA personnel overseeing a deadly Musk-brand brain chip. Thanks to NiskyGuy for the link: ~~~

     ~~~ At about 1:45 min. in., Maddow lists a series of lies Musk has told to try to justify DOGE's program cuts and employee terminations. Maddow sees a pattern here and notes that if you have a good reason to do something, you don't have to make up a lie to explain why you did it. ~~~

~~~ Here's the segment Maddow led with last night, which led her to wonder why the people who fired the Nuclear Security staff did fall on their swords and resign. Thanks again to NiskyGuy for the link.

Marie: BTW, if you have a half-hour, especially if you've been having trouble facing what the Musk/Trump administration has been up to for the past month, John Oliver will catch you right up-to-date, in a manner less painful, if no less alarming, than you could gather yourself from reading the New York Times. See the video at the top of yesterday's page.

Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday alleged that the Biden administration 'rushed' an IRS audit of him after he was nominated, suggesting that the former administration ordered a politically motivated income tax review. On the social media platform X..., [Hegseth] posted an image of what appears to be a notice from the IRS to Hegseth and his wife, notifying them that their federal tax return was being audited and they owed a balance of $33,558. 'Total sham,' he wrote. “The party of “norms” and “decency” strikes again. We will never back down.'... Hegseth did not offer any evidence that the alleged IRS scrutiny of his taxes was politically motivated.... Tax experts who have served in Republican and Democratic administrations said audit decisions are made not by political appointees at the IRS but by career employees.... The tax code makes it a crime for White House officials to request an audit of a particular taxpayer or interfere with an ongoing audit, experts noted.” Politico's story is here.

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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.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated to include a new development: “Hours later, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the authority to remove Mayor Adams from office, said she had called a meeting for Tuesday to discuss 'the path forward.' In a statement, she acknowledged that the four officials’ resignations raised “serious questions about the long-term future of this mayoral administration. 'In the 235 years of New York State history, these powers have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor; overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly,' she said. 'That said, the alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored.'” An AP story is here.

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Mexico. Rachel Pannett of the Washington Post: “Mexico is threatening to take Google to court over its 'Gulf of America' name change on maps for users in the United States, pointing out that much of the body of water lies outside U.S. maritime borders in regions controlled by Mexico and Cuba. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday at a news conference that ... Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico applied only to the U.S. continental shelf — the area of seabed to which the U.S. lays claim under the law of the sea and maritime agreements with other coastal states. It has asked Google to fully restore the name 'Gulf of Mexico' to its Maps service for areas outside U.S. territory.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, gosh, I'm in trouble. After Akhilleus showed us how to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico on Mapquest, I changed it to Gulf of Marie. Honest, I thought it was legal. How was I to know?

Russia. Niha Misah of the Washington Post: “Russia has freed an American citizen who was arrested this month on drug smuggling charges. The move came ahead of talks Tuesday between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Kalob Byers, a 28-year-old from West Virginia, was released to U.S. authorities.... Byers was detained along with his Russian fiancée, Naida Mambetova, at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport on Feb. 7, after customs officials said they found cannabis gummies in his luggage. Byers was accused of attempting to smuggle drugs into the country, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.... Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov sought Monday to link the Byers release to the talks in Saudi Arabia. In response to a question about Byers, Peskov told reporters that Moscow expects to discuss 'restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations' during the talks, adding that 'certain events can be viewed in this context,' according to the Associated Press.”