USAID represents about one percent of the federal budget. It’s the world’s largest provider of food to the hungry. It distributes schoolbooks and vaccines, promotes democracy and good will toward America. In ending it, Trump, ceder of the free world, passes leadership to our adversaries.
It’s what happens when a “president” who knows little and cares less, hands our government to the world’s richest man, unelected, given no powers by Congress. A man who, like Trump, loves dictators and seems to enjoy hurting the powerless.
It’s not only Musk whom Trump loosed upon us. He’s putting in charge, if Republican Senators forsake their duty, people who should never run important agencies, who’ll weaponize them for Trump, as opposed to President Biden’s non-weaponization about which Trump’s cadre of liars lied endlessly instead of legislating.
It’s not as bad as predicted, though. It’s worse. And, like the cliché about drinking from a firehose, it’s impossible to take it all in. Intentional, most likely. Having limited space, we’ll mention only a few transgressions with which we’re being hosed.
Most consequential is what’s happening at the DOJ and FBI. At Trump’s bidding, those critical law enforcement agencies are being turned into Soviet-style tools of repression; agents and prosecutors who did their Constitutional duty are being replaced with ones who won’t. They’ll destroy the lives of innocent citizens while lessening America’s ability to confront terrorism, home-grown and foreign, endangering us all. It’s rule by threat and intimidation.
When federal crimes are suspected, the FBI investigates. If suspects lie or refuse to cooperate, this may include obtaining search warrants. When evidence of crime is uncovered, the DOJ prosecutes; if they make their case, a jury of citizens, chosen by both sides, convicts. It’s how American jurisprudence, till now, has worked. For Trump’s multiple crimes, those steps were followed. People who did their sworn duty are being fired; many will be “investigated.” It’s conceivable that Trump’s minions threaten jurors, too.
If approved, his disingenuous testimony to the contrary, Kashyap Patel will recast the FBI as KGB. (Maybe not the juror thing.) Nothing coming from Republican members of The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body suggests he’ll be rejected, so thorough is their surrender of integrity and respect for the law.
As Florida’s Attorney General, Pam Bondi’s refusal to prosecute Trump’s pre-presidential crimes, after which her campaign received a generous donation from him, means it’s naive to believe she won’t do the same with the DOJ. In fact, hot off the presses, she already is.
While the FBI and DOJ focus on serving Trump’s pathologies, what will happen to their central mission of protecting America from threats within and without, and prosecuting actual criminals? From the once and former “party of law and order,” their silence is profound. But expected.
A sampling of other transgressions deserving mention, for none of which is there space to do justice:
Like the abortive rollout of curtailing practically all government spending, which lasted about one day before Trump was made aware of the predictable consequences, his tariffs on Mexico and Canada went on hold before they happened. Trumpists, of course, assign it to Trump’s cosmic superpowers. Or was it that the markets crashed, his pals lost lots of money, and his benefactors screamed about the negative effects on their businesses? Whatever the reason, Trump’s justifications changed approximately hourly. Which is uncharacteristic of well-reasoned, purposeful plans.
No concession, the 10,000 touted troops Mexico will send to the border are fewer than it sent in previous years. For the interested, here’s an expert’s discussion of the tariffic dangers.
Trump’s heartless, fact-free accusation and purely political response to the air tragedy over D.C. has been hashed aplenty. Was it intended to forestall mention of his scrapping the Aviation Safety Committee? In any case, his lack of empathy for the victims was the opposite of presidential. But pure Trump.
Whatever one thinks of gender pronoun use, Trump’s banning them from government communications seems to violate the First Amendment. Same with LGBT-related words. As opposed to, say, Facebook banning Trump, about which Trumpists continually connipted.
If briefly and clumsily, Trump banned distribution of life-saving HIV drugs. This harbings life (or death) under RFK, Jr, who’s one step away from confirmation.
Removing security details from Milley, Bolton, and other intended targets of assassination by Iran, is just short of doing it himself. But they weren’t nice to him.
Banning public communication from the CDC will harm all Americans, even MAGAs. Same with shutting down the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Samer with purging helpful information from other government sites.
His “turning on the water” in California accomplished only badness.
When his hotels are built in Gaza, will the Mediterranean become "The Sea of Trump"?
Though incomplete, this list makes clear: Trump’s ego and donors are top priorities. Lawfulness is at the bottom. The public weal has no ranking at all.
Bought any eggs lately?
The fact that they are mostly failing at all these attempts to dismantle the government is some small consolation. It is infuriating though, that we have to waste time, money, and energy on pushing back at all this crapola. It is also mystifying, at least to me, that there are folks who can't seem to comprehend how much the government is relied upon. We are too big to fail, which is a cliche certainly, but in the case of this behemoth country it is true.
ReplyDeleteSome days I feel calm about what they say and do, because I think they will be largely unsuccessful. I try to remind myself that I can do small things with great love and compassion, and in my small circle, I can make a difference. I am reaching back to 1972 to talk to a girl who once dreamed of changing the world, but knows her limitations in 2025. She's still a right-fighter and she's not done yet.
And she's got grit.
DeleteAnd she looks it! I think grit is a by-product of having one's worldview shattered over the years
DeleteI posted a link below that's is exactly what the Dr. ordered ;O)
DeleteExplains all that stuff ya askin' here today.
About those eggs... I paid $7.00 for a dozen large eggs at Safeway last week. I occasionally eat them for breakfast but more often have them hard boiled on salad for dinner. I always have some on-hand for baking. Today I'll need two for "Katharine Hepburn's Brownies".
ReplyDeleteIn the long-ago days of 2016, I happened upon a woman named Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin who was broadcasting a video almost daily on Facebook. Her following grew a lot, and she named her FB page "Resistance Live". She's no longer on FB or any META platform, but she is on YouTube and Patreon, and she sends out a newsletter. She's very smart (duh!), and her newsletter yesterday was about eggs. She went to Costco (in New Jersey) and saw people buying up to 6 dozen--not a typo--72 fresh eggs at one time. That was the limit set by Costco. Hoarding eggs. That's what we've come to.
Defunding the NIH? Leaving WHO? Letting Bobby-the-bear-carcass-thief be in charge of American health? I just have to SMFH.
Trader Joe has them for around $3.50/dozen. They usually sell out by noon, and they limit one carton per customer. I wonder how the people who stole 100,000 of them plan to fence them.
DeleteIt's gonna interesting to see if any R senators vote no on the big three: Patel, Gabbard, RFKJ. If so, enough to block approval. Seems increasingly doubtful.
Safeway had them $3.09 for all last month. They were out of eggs all but 6 of those days.
DeleteI imagined the businesses and other individuals hoarding them. They are 7 bucks everywhere else at the time.
Fact is? Price gouging is a thing. Renters and sellers of homes colluding on Real Page. EVERYTHING in Seattle is monetised.
Thursday Night Football on Prime. BIG event. They came to town with Green Bay Sans Lombardi.
The entire first rows were Packers fans and when they scored? The announcers went "WHOA!" "It sounds like a home game" the cheering was so loud. Panning the crowd? It was legit 50/50 Hawks vs. Packers.
Kraken season tickets? 32K requests the first hour. Today? They are free to watch. Why? They did not renew the 3 year tickets. Why? Well, if you read the comments in the Times and elsewhere? It's because the teams losing. Because they can't monetise their tickets anymore. That's why.
So why this all the sudden? Everything is way overpriced? Tech Bros! They have found clever ways to monetise everything. They have the money to do it. Get a couple buddies. Buy season tickets and sell them. Taylor Swift tickets? Same.
Name it...They monetise it. When all you have is wins in the market? Why stop?
Fact is...Revolts start with starvation. Food insecurity is where we are as a nation.
DeleteAm thinking you could do an acronic, like you did for the Herald once, using "DOGE", which is the most ridiculous acronym I've ever seen and heard oft-repeated. If you do, have it repeat in sets, like Psalm 119. (just a thought)
ReplyDeleteDOGE and the ilk is ingenious.
DeleteI am a broadcaster. They are broadcasting to THEIR audience.
So who's their audience based on facts.
Their audience are low information voters. They are not functionally literate. They are older. They are whiter. More Male. I mean, just in general? 20% of America is functionally illiterate. Fact is the red team has far more than blue teams. Economics has a lot to do with it. Blue states are generally in better shape overall. A handful of blue states supports the rest of America. Like 10 states support the other 40. Something very close to that. CA. New York, WA. alone support more than 1/2 of the red states. CA. is like the 9th largest economy in the whirled...some shit like that.
This is a great eppie of this podcast. Now that we've seen the reaction to "flooding the zone" in the courts and beyond.
ReplyDeleteTOO MANY MUSKS ON THE FIELD:
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/too-many-musks-on-the-field?r=23rcq5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true