t0000 2.0, aka 47

[barnswallow]

Elon Musk’s DOGE Posts Classified Data On Its New Website [Huff Post;2.14.25]

“. . . an easy search shows that DOGE’s database provides details on the National Reconnaissance Office, the federal agency that designs, builds and maintains U.S. intelligence satellites. Not only are NRO’s budgets and head counts classified, but the prospect of Musk’s tech team meddling in sensitive personnel information is setting off alarms for some in the intelligence community.“

In case anyone doesn’t know, DOGE stands for department of government efficiency, which is another corrupt lie as it is a musk-t0000-invented thing-y and not a department by any reckoning other than t0000-musk made it up. It consists of musk and a club he put together of 18- to 25-year olds, plus his 5-year old: X AE xii. Found it and copying and pasting here: X Æ A-Xii. Yep, that’s his name. ‘X’ for the variable, AE is supposed to have the two letters conjoined and serves as a symbol for artificial intelligence, and, from something I read, xii refers to the precursor of a favorite super-fast jet.

 

[barnswallow]

DOJ Enters The Darkest Period In Its Long History

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...

talkingpointsmemo.com

Morning Memo: DOJ Enters The Darkest Period In Its Long History [TPM;2.14.25]

I’ve mostly posted about this in the thread about the mayor of NYC, Eric Adams. I’m putting this report here because it highlights what is happening at DOJ as t0000 tries to force prosecutors to drop the criminal case against Adams, through one of his henchmen, Emil Bove, formerly an attorney for t0000, who t0000 appointed now to be the acting deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice.

Update about Bove, from the comments section of an NYTimes opinion piece about the Department of Justice:
“Bove was kicked out of the DOJ a few years ago for a Brady violation: that's where a prosecutor hides information from a defense attorney that would help clear their client. It is a heinous crime that should bring criminal prosecution but it usually doesn't. It is a character flaw. Yet, Bove, and his boss, Pam Bondi, another attorney of questionable morals, are running the department of Justice.”
Posted by Rocketscientist from Chicago on 2.18.25

Might post the whole piece. It is about how crises at DOJ occur every couple of decades and how this crisis in 2025 is different.

 

[barnswallow]

This one is about the dismantling of USAID [United States Agency for International Development] and the underlying strategy behind this t0000- /musk-ian effort.

Trump and Musk Are Dismantling USAID—and Democracy Along With It

A Combat Veteran’s Warning About the National Security Threat "Real Americans" Aren't Talking About

open.substack.com

Trump and Musk Are Dismantling U.S.A.I.D. And Democracy Along With It [On Offense with Kris Goldsmith;2.13.25]

He also made a short video about this topic, from the point of view of how it affects the U.S., domestically.

Kristofer Goldsmith on Substack

Trump supporters are about to enter their “Find Out” phase.

substack.com

Still figuring out how to post some of this content. I don’t like how that video came up, because I don’t care much for people’s comments. So, I’ll try embedding it, below, and, hopefully that works out better.

Oops. Nope. Substack isn’t among the ‘approved sites’ that can be embedded, so that’s that.

 

[barnswallow]

I like this for its summary of the week in t0000-world, which unfortunately is our world for the next long while. It’s long but if you want a summary with a solid legal analysis, that’s this.


LIVE: Popok GIVES Legal Update on BREAKING NEWS [Meidas Touch;2.14.25]

Blurb: “Legal AF's Popok provides an urgent live briefing on late breaking events. Tonight, Popok takes a deep dive into the growing scandal surrounding the Trump Administration 7 prosecutors who have quit to protest Trump cutting a corrupt deal with NYC's Mayor Adams; he looks carefully at the 68 lawsuits and 19 injunctions in the first 3 weeks of the Administration and what it means for the future; JD Vance being celebrated by Russian TV for his attack of our democratic European allies; and so much more at the intersection of law and politics.”

 

[maplenpg]

Todays headline on Sky News UK. I don't even want to comprehend where all of this could end.

 

[maplenpg]

This one is about the dismantling of USAID [United States Agency for International Development] and the underlying strategy behind this t0000- /musk-ian effort.

Trump and Musk Are Dismantling USAID—and Democracy Along With It

A Combat Veteran’s Warning About the National Security Threat "Real Americans" Aren't Talking About

open.substack.com

Trump and Musk Are Dismantling U.S.A.I.D. And Democracy Along With It [On Offense with Kris Goldsmith;2.13.25]

He also made a short video about this topic, from the point of view of how it affects the U.S., domestically.

Kristofer Goldsmith on Substack

Trump supporters are about to enter their “Find Out” phase.

substack.com

Still figuring out how to post some of this content. I don’t like how that video came up, because I don’t care much for people’s comments. So, I’ll try embedding it, below, and, hopefully that works out better.

Oops. Nope. Substack isn’t among the ‘approved sites’ that can be embedded, so that’s that.

I listened to a half hour podcast (The Rest is Politics 370, the last 30 mins) the other day about the dismantling of USAID and why it is devastating for the US, and indeed the wider world. Trump has been successful in getting other countries to increase the amount they are going to have to spend in overseas aid, but at what wider cost to us? It's fuelling the fires of our right wing who, just like Trump, use overseas aid as an political gimic. Germany has its general election on Sunday and it seems widely accepted that either a centre right, or indeed far right party will take control. In the UK Reform, our far right party, is making strides by bemoaning the cost of overseas spend.

The video you posted in interesting because it asks the question about what happens when the US (maga) people realise that they themselves could well be worse off under the administration they voted for? I also really liked the quote from the video that said, "military might doesn't work without foreign aid and diplomacy" - so true.

 

[barnswallow]

Here’s one from MSNBC. I usually only post from alternative media. But. I liked this report for the interviews with the President of Aviation Specialists AFL-CIO, and with other experts. It jumps around from the implications of elon musk and co. gaining access to the social security administration and the Internal Revenue Service’s computer systems to what’s happening with Russians and t0000 reps meeting in Riyadh to discuss ending the war in Ukraine while excluding Ukraine, (whose sovereignty has been violated by putin these last 3 years amidst atrocities that surpass any understanding) and excluding Europe, our allies these many years. Anyway! This one looks at a number of impactful occurrences.


Social Security threats and FAA firings: Trump’s First 100 Days - Day 29 | MSNBC Highlights [2.18.25]

 

[barnswallow]

Trump-Musk Threats Darken as Their Anger at Enemies Takes Ominous Turn

Podcast Episode · THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent · 02/18/2025 · 20m

podcasts.apple.com

If not on Apple’s platform, find this on your own.

Trump-Musk Threats Darken as Their Anger at Enemies Takes Ominous Turn [The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent;2.18.25]

Blurb: “Our descent into authoritarian rule continues. Over the weekend, Elon Musk raged on Twitter that people at CBS News deserve a “long prison sentence” based on a fabricated rationale. Meanwhile, President Trump tweeted out a line saying straight out that his presidency is above the law. And Trump nominated a nominee for U.S. Attorney in D.C. who has elevated the idea that DOJ should have no independence from the president. According to scholars of authoritarianism, these are the things that happen when a country is sliding into authoritarian rule. We talked to one such scholar, Steven Levitsky, co-author of a great new piece* that charts what the path to American autocracy looks like. He explains how Trump-Musk’s latest moves, show how far along on this slide we truly are.”

* The ‘great new piece’ is in Foreign Affairs magazine and is titled

The Path to American Authoritarianism [Foreign Affairs;2.11.25]

Sub-title: “What Comes After Democratic Breakdown.”

I haven’t read it.

 

[barnswallow]

I listened to a half hour podcast (The Rest is Politics 370, the last 30 mins) the other day about the dismantling of USAID and why it is devastating for the US, and indeed the wider world.

Hi maplenpg . . . I looked for that podcast. Couldn’t find it. Is ‘The Rest is Politics 370’ the name to look for?

 

[maplenpg]

Hi maplenpg . . . I looked for that podcast. Couldn’t find it. Is ‘The Rest is Politics 370’ the name to look for?

It's this one. Episode 370. The first half is about UK politics, the 2nd half about US politics.

I've also been listening daily to Trump 100 which is a short podcast each day about what Trump is doing that day. Today it spends time discussing the national parks and its workers. Well worth a listen (day 31). It also discusses the outright lies that Trump is spouting about Ukraine.

 

[barnswallow]

View attachment 6230
It's this one. Episode 370. The first half is about UK politics, the 2nd half about US politics.

I've also been listening daily to Trump 100 which is a short podcast each day about what Trump is doing that day. Today it spends time discussing the national parks and its workers. Well worth a listen (day 31). It also discusses the outright lies that Trump is spouting about Ukraine.

View attachment 6231

yep.
he and his whole crew are atrocious about Ukraine and Europe.

I know you've seen this described elsewhere, but for keeping a record here on P&B: in today's NYTimes, Updates section; 2 hours ago, an update by Matthew Mpoke Bigg: "Many of Trump's assertions about Ukraine are false. Here's a look.."

"In comments that stunned America’s allies in Europe and angered Ukraine’s government, President Trump on Tuesday appeared to blame Ukraine’s leaders for Russia’s invasion.

"He also suggested that they do not deserve a seat at the table for the peace talks that he has initiated with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

"“You should have never started it,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Ukraine’s leaders. “You could have made a deal.” He followed up on Wednesday in a post on social media, calling Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, a “dictator without elections" and saying he had “done a terrible job” in office.

An excerpt from a different article in the NYTimes yesterday, 2/18/25, titled 'Trump's Pivot Toward Putin's Russia Upends Generations of US Policy,' by Peter Baker:

"For more than a decade, the West has faced off against the East again in what was widely called a new cold war. But with President Trump back in office, America is giving the impression that it could be switching sides.

"Even as American and Russian negotiators sat down together on Tuesday for the first time since Moscow’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, Mr. Trump has signaled that he is willing to abandon America’s allies to make common cause with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

"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.

"In Mr. Trump’s telling, Ukrainian leaders were at fault for the war for not agreeing to surrender territory and therefore, he suggested, they do not deserve a seat at the table for the peace talks that he has just initiated with Mr. Putin. “You should have never started it,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Ukrainian leaders who, in fact, did not start it. “You could have made a deal.”

"Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, he went on: “You have a leadership now that’s allowed a war to go on that should have never even happened.” By contrast, 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.

"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. Ever since the end of World War II, a long parade of American presidents saw first the Soviet Union and then, after a brief and illusory interregnum, its successor Russia as a force to be wary of, at the very least. Mr. Trump gives every appearance of viewing it as a collaborator in future joint ventures.

"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. Instead, Mr. Trump, who has always had a perplexing fondness for Mr. Putin, wants to readmit Russia to the international club and make it one of America’s top friends."

 

[barnswallow]

The far right is currently ahead in the polls over here now, the hate is spreading. People are emboldened in their racism and xenophobia.

That’s awful news. It seems as though several nations in Europe are experiencing a swing towards fascism / fascistic tendencies.

When are elections in Britain?

 

[barnswallow]

Congress has approved the very worst of t0000’s choices for cabinet positions: rfk jr at Department of Health and Human Services; Tulsi Gabbard at Department of National Intelligence; pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. kash patel, FBI director.

A few weeks ago, people would speculate that these were impossibilities, that the Senate would not / could not approve all of them. Each one is perfectly ill-suited in their own way for the office they will hold.


I know, t0000 isn’t in the same league yet but I just came across this and it makes a worthwhile point because t0000 does employ this kind of language.

This photo montage was next to the above. t0000, surrounded by mugshots of his entourage.

Top row, L to R: musk, rfk jr (director, HHS); Mike Johnson (R-LA, house speaker). Middle row: tucker carlson, weird talk show guy; t0000, tulsi gabbard, director DNI. Bottom: pete hegseth, SecDef; kash patel, slated to head the FBI; j.d.vance, VP).

 

[barnswallow]

Meanwhile, DOGE continues accelerating the perversion of our government.

DOGE Dives Into Core National Defense and Data Systems Across Government

To share confidential tips about events unfolding in the federal government you...

talkingpointsmemo.com

DOGE Dives Into Core National Defense and Data Systems Across Government [TPM;2.20.25]

Court cases have been brought but the glacially slow justice system is no match, at least from where I sit. By the time anything has been decided, malign actors will have done incalculable damage: infiltrated data systems, fired all civil servants responsible for oversight. And, like the proverbial weasels, left the henhouse in complete disarray, eviscerated.

 

[barnswallow]

Michael Zeitgeist on Substack

“Long live the King”?

substack.com

For some background to the above video, which I hope you can access: In the video, that’s a fake Time magazine cover. Congestion pricing is a practice that was just implemented in NYC to try and get a handle on the insane traffic problem there. It had to do with a fee imposed for vehicles traveling in a certain part of Manhattan. I read one opinion piece that said it was having an immediate, positive effect. Getting around the city immediately became easier/quicker. Then, somehow, t0000 pulled the plug on it. I don’t really know how that happened. I thought states had independence from federal interference. Anyway!!! I just wanted to give some background. After t0000 had this little triumph, he posted the image of the fake Time magazine cover and the statement ‘long live the king.’ What a gag!

 

[maplenpg]

That’s awful news. It seems as though several nations in Europe are experiencing a swing towards fascism / fascistic tendencies.

When are elections in Britain?

We're lucky, we don't have an election for some years (Starmer was only elected in July 24) and we have a centre left government. The way things are going I hope the pushback against the far right may be in full force by then. I heard an interview with the most likely successor for Gernamy's elections on Sunday and he has done a full 180 on Trump. He has now spoken publically about the US and Germany not being a reliable partnership, and that Europe must work together more closely, possibly without the US. Which for a right wing, pro-American party is quite extraordinary.

Europe should brace for Trump to end NATO protection, Germany’s Merz warns

Merz said there was need to discuss Germany coming under British and French nuclear protection.

www.politico.eu

German Opposition Leader Merz: Trump Mirrors Putin’s Framing of Russia’s War in Ukraine

Friedrich Merz responded to Trump’s comments on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, emphasizing the need for a united European strategy to support Ukraine.

united24media.com

 

[barnswallow]

I’ve been on sabbatical. But I thought I’d post this, from Substack.

Woody Haiken on Substack

Written by Senator Chris Murphy Please share as widely as possible. “Last night in the Senate, something really important happened. Republicans forced us to debate their billionaire bailout budget framework. We started voting at 6 PM because they knew doing it in the dark of night would...

substack.com

I’m not accustomed to Substack. Hope this works. I might copy and paste, too.

Written by Senator Chris Murphy

Please share as widely as possible.

“Last night in the Senate, something really important happened. Republicans forced us to debate their billionaire bailout budget framework. We started voting at 6 PM because they knew doing it in the dark of night would minimize media coverage. And they do not want the American people to see how blatant their handover of our government to the billionaire class is.

So I want to explain what happened last night and what we did to fight back.

The apex of Republicans’ plan to turn over our government to their wealthy cronies is a giant tax cut for billionaires and corporations. And they plan to pay for it with cuts to programs that working people rely on. Popular and necessary programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP, are all being targeted.

In order to pass the tax cut, Republicans have to go through a series of procedural steps. Last night, they took the first step which requires them to pass an outline of their plan, but with it, any senator can offer as many amendments as we want. So my Democratic colleagues and I did just that.

Now, we knew that Republicans would largely unanimously oppose them, but we had two objectives here. One, Republicans were forced to put their opinion on record — many for the first time — on the most corrupt parts of Trump and Musk’s agenda. Two, as I’ve been saying, I am going to make every process and procedure as slow and painful as possible for as long as my colleagues choose to ignore the constitutional crisis happening before our eyes.

So what did we propose? We proposed no tax cuts for anyone who makes a billion dollars a year. We made them vote on whether or not Elon Musk and DOGE should have limitless access to Americans’ personal data. We made them vote on whether to protect IVF and require insurers to cover it.

Every single amendment Democrats proposed was shot down. On almost every single amendment, Republicans universally opposed it. Every Republican voted against our proposal to prevent more tax cuts for billionaires.

The corruption and theft is happening in the open here. The whole game for Republicans is taking your money and giving it to the wealthiest corporations and billionaires — even if it means kicking your parents out of a nursing home or turning off Medicaid for the poorest children.

They know what they are doing is deeply unpopular. They are offering a tax cut to the most wealthy that is 850 times larger than what they are offering working people. Oh and by the way, any tax cuts for working people are going to be washed out by higher costs for basic necessities, like health care and food. It’s a fundamental injustice.

Thanks to your pressure and support, many of my Democratic colleagues have joined my effort to do everything we can to make sure they cannot destroy democracy and steal your money in the dark of the night. We are being loud about what is happening. I’m going to continue to grind the gears of Congress down as much as possible to make it that much harder and slower to get away with this corruption. That’s why the votes lasted until nearly 5 AM.

This is a five-alarm fire. I don’t think we have two years to plan and fight back. I think we have months. It’s still in our power to stop the destruction of our democracy with mass mobilization and effective opposition from elected officials.

So we can’t miss any opportunity to take advantage of opportunities to put Republicans on the record and shine a light on what is happening.

And you have a role to play in this as well. I need you to amplify what’s happening, support the leaders who are fighting for you to make sure they can continue speaking truth to power against Musk and Trump’s billionaire cronies, and show up at rallies and town halls. Use every tool at your disposal to send a message loud and clear about how you expect my colleagues to lead and fight in this moment.”

Senator Chris Murphy

 

[barnswallow]

World Leaders DESTROY Trump from Kyiv AFTER BETRAYAL [Meidas Touch;2.25.25]

Blurb: “MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on world leaders gathering in Kyiv to show support for President Zelensky and powerfully calling out Trump.”

What happened to “Russia, Russia, Russia,” and the “Russia Hoax”? Weren’t those 2 of t0000’s favorite lines?

 

[barnswallow]

This one’s about t0000 cozying up even tighter to putin, about Ukraine and Europe, and, as an aside, the utterly ludicrous leadership now installed at the FBI.

Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory

U.S. VOTES AGAINST U.N. RESOLUTION CONDEMNING RUSSIA FOR UKRAINE WAR. Really. We did that. The Russian economy is on the brink of collapse but Trump is

andrewtobias.com

Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory [Andrew Tobias; 2.25.25]

 

[barnswallow]

I like listening to these 2 guys in conversation. This one’s a free-wheeling romp through the Bosch-like garden of t0000’s imagination.

Here’s a link to the audio-only Apple podcast version:

MAGA gets UNCOVERED as Americans REVOLT Against Trump and Musk

Podcast Episode · UNCOVERED · 02/27/2025 · 1h 35m

podcasts.apple.com

MAGA Gets UNCOVERED as Americans REVOLT Against Trump and Musk [UNCOVERED, MTNetwork;2.26.25]

Blurb: “On today’s UNCOVERED, Anthony and Ron discuss the cuts to Medicaid in the Republican budget resolution, Trump selling citizenship to oligarchs, Musk’s email firings, press room free speech, town hall uprisings, US siding with Russia over Ukraine, extortion, bribes, corruption - and much more.”

It’s long but a good snapshot of this moment, which is just the beginning. Here’s the YouTube rendition:


LIVE: MAGA gets UNCOVERED as Americans REVOLT Against Trump and Musk [2.26.25]