Tag: DOGE

Frieda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Well, gosh darn if another of PINO Trusk’s cabinet members didn’t speak and stun me with his out-of-touch arrogance and stupidity. The honor today goes to Howard Lutnick.

When Howard Lutnick was ‘nominated’ — we use that loosely here, given how the GOTP is rubberstamping everything that PINO Trusk does — for Commerce Secretary, his disclosures showed he had over $806,000,000 in assets. His estimated net worth is $1.5 billion.

Why is this important?

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says his mother-in-law wouldn’t complain if her Social Security check didn’t arrive this month

As the staff cuts at the Social Security Administration leave monthly benefit payments to tens of millions of Americans up in the air — alarming former SSA leaders on both sides of the aisle — Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, doesn’t think you should be complaining if your check doesn’t show up.

“Let’s say Social Security didn’t send out their checks this month — my mother-in-law, who’s 94, she wouldn’t call and complain. She just wouldn’t,” Lutnick told All-In Podcast hosts David Friedberg and Chamath Palihapitiya on Thursday. “She’d think something got messed up, and she’ll get it next month.”

Yes, I’m sure Howard Lutnick’s MIL is very dependent on her social security check to make ends meet. I mean, her daughter is married to a billionaire. Poor darling is probably living hand to mouth – not.

It’s a little bit of a different story for most senior Americans. They don’t have billionaires in the family.

Two-Thirds of Seniors Rely on Social Security for More Than Half Their Income

When the Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley estimated that the program is “the difference between dignity and poverty” for about half of seniors in a May 2024 press release, he may have needed a fact check. The sentiment was right, but the estimate was low: 67 percent of seniors said they rely on Social Security for more than half their income in TSCL’s 2024 Retirement Survey (Figure 1).

Among the survey’s more than 3,000 respondents, 27 percent said their entire income came from Social Security. An additional 20 percent depended on the program for between 76 percent and 99 percent of their income, while another 20 percent depended on it for between 51 percent and 75 percent of their total earnings.

The rest of Lutnick’s comments:

“She’d think something got messed up, and she’ll get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining,” the billionaire businessman said.

“Anybody who’s been in the payment system and the processes, who knows the easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen, because whoever screams is the one stealing,” he said. “Because my mother-in-law’s not calling, come on, your mother, 80-year-olds, 90-year-olds, they trust the government.”

How dare you, Mister Lutnick. I’ll tell you now, I’m 68. I’m drawing my social security, you know, the system which I paid into since I began working when I was sixteen years old. If my check didn’t show up in my account, I would be calling to see what’s going on and why it wasn’t paid. And it’s not because I’m a fraudster. How dare you suggest it. You may work with fraudsters because you are part of PINO Trusk’s administration. It seems like you, as Donald Trump does, might be projecting by claiming people who would call about their social security are fraudsters. We’re not like you, asshole.

One more point to my disgust with your claim, Mister Lutnick. I would have trusted the government to fix it and make it right until January 20, 2025. On that day, my faith in our government became seriously strained. I have no faith in PINO Trusk; I have less faith in DOGE. And my faith in you has precipitously dimmed.

Wonder how long it’ll take before the Trusk Regime claims Lutnick was ‘taken out of context’ or that he’s being victimized by the mainstream media, basically because they reported exactly what he said?

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Sunda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Rose early, read some stuff. I finished reading a novel, The River We Remember. Then it was to the ‘puter. Normal bidness was planned but I was thinking slow (no coffee yet, you see), and I had a Slate article up already. I delved into it.

Luke Winkie wrote the article, I Wanted One Day of Peace on the Internet. So I swapped my feeds for a dose of what it’s like to live in the certainty of MAGA land.

I go into MAGA land to see what they’re reporting every other day. Luke Winkie is stronger than moi. I get in there and become enraged about the PINO Trusk lies and fawning. Can’t take it at all. Luke Winkie did, though, and wrote about well about why I couldn’t stay in MAGA land.

And while existing inside of MAGA land may be a reprieve from thTrade War Retaliation Will Hit Trump Voters Hardeste horror of existing outside of it, this is not a sane place to be either. The constant reaffirmations of loyalty must grow tiresome, even for the most committed of Trump accessories. We’ve become desensitized to the ritual by now, but slobbering over an elected official—of any stripe—is, and always will be, unbecoming. With my patience for the groveling wearing thin, I yearned for my ancestral home of belligerent progressives. I do not consider myself a person at risk of being red-pilled, and no surprise, but the propaganda did not work on me.

Second came a NYTimes article, Trade War Retaliation Will Hit Trump Voters Hardest. Ah, yes, I wanted to see that. FAFO, all that.

China has targeted corn farmers and carmakers. Canada has put tariffs on poultry plants and air-conditioning manufacturers, while Europe will hit American steel mills and slaughter houses.

Mr. Trump has argued that tariffs will help boost American jobs. But economists say that retaliatory tariffs can cancel out that effect.

Robert Maxim, a fellow at the Brookings Metro, a Washington think tank that has done similar analysis, said that other countries had particularly targeted Trump-supporting regions and places where “Trump would like to fashion himself as revitalizing the U.S.” That includes smaller manufacturing communities in states like Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan, as well as southern states like Kentucky and Georgia, he said.

The message foreign countries are trying to send, he said, is, “You think you can bully us, well, we can hurt you too. And by the way, we know where it really matters.”

But, you know, will MAGA land ever learn about this? I’m doubtful. Go into MAGA land and see how rosy it often looks.

Besides, I doubt the veracity of any organization led by a known, documented liar. In example, the CPI report released the other day said that inflation cooled in February. But this is PINO Trusk’s Department of Labor. DOGE has been in there. I think if PINO Trusk or his minions see a report with information that will render PINO Trusk and his economy less that awesome, they’ll just change the numbers.

This all leads up to the depressing aspect of PINO Trusk and their approach. They polarize. Divide to conquer. Foment distrust of each other and of the press, and now, the Federal government. It unites them in MAGA land because it keeps looking like the future’s so bright, they gotta wear shades. But for those of us outside of MAGA land, the future is getting dark.

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Frieda’s Theme Music

Winter is perched in Ashlandia and its surroundings for another day. Yesterday, we sequenced through snow, sleet, rain, sunshine, repeat. Today seems like a duplicate effort. Snow is falling, the temperature is crowding 38 F with a questionable chance the air temp will light up 48 F. This is Frieda, March 14, 2025.

I read with serious dismay that the US Postal Service struck a deal to let DOGE ‘improve’ services.

That’s great news, innit? Yes, that’s snark.

I don’t find it great news at all. All that I’ve seen of DOGE so far is cutting headcount without having knowledge about what they’re doing. This has fed chaos in many areas of government. Facing outrage and backlash to the chaos, GOTP politicians have stopped holding townhalls and avoid meeting their constituents. Meanwhile, many agencies which had DOGE cuts had to hire people back, either because vital positions had been cut, or courts ruled that what DOGE did was illegal. Coupled with PINO Trusk’s tariffs, economic war, and imperial military interests, the stock market is rushing down, talk of a Trumpcession is heating up, and corporations are putting plans on hold and laying off/terminating employees due to ‘economic uncertainy and instabilitly’. Good times! So much winning!

Anyway, I’m not optimistic about what will happen to the mail system with DOGE’s ‘help’. The length of time needed for mail to be delivered has already increased. So have stamp prices. Post offices and satellite offices have been closed. We all drive further to wait longer to get postal business done. Our mail takes laborious, convoluted routes. Doesn’t go from A to B no even A to C. No, it now goes A to K and then back to H, up to P, back to D, and then, finally, B, it’s destination. Dog knows what DOGE will do to it.

Another series of uplifted dreams washed through my sleep. I awoke feeling rested, vigorous, and almost joyful. Weirdly, The Neurons inserted a 1986 song called “Mad About You” by Belinda Carlisle into the morning mental music stream. I have nothing against the song; I know it from the car radio. Driving in my car, doing errands, commuting to work, etc. It’s a bouncy tune with easily heard and appreciated lyrics, simple for a sing along, Maybe you know it and will sing along.

Coffee has established its presence in my system. I’m ready to get out into the snow and wind — didn’t mention the wind before, did I, but, yes, there is wind — and get down to bidness. Have the best day possible for yourself and yours. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Thirstda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

41 days into the Trusk Regime, and Trump floats the idea of militarily taking over Greenland. As in, invading them. You know, as Russia did with Ukraine and several others.

Welcome to the New Dark Ages

A bullshit right-wing site claims that Greenlanders ‘want’ to be part of the United States. An actual poll, with supporting information, reports that 85% of polled Greenlanders have no interest in it.

And what of the United States and its people? Do they want to attack nation, as the United States did back at the turn of the century? Have they already forgotten Dubya’s invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan?

Most U.S. voters probably have. Because, you know, it’s hard. Hard to keep up with the Superbowl, the NBA playoffs, March Madness, the Oscars, and the stock market, along with political news, you know, when you’re sick, worried about bird flu, RSV, COVID-19, measles, and a ration of misinformation and garbage spewing from the government. Especially when money is tight and newspaper owners slant the news to kowtow to the Trusk Regime.

Not surprisingly, because this is Donald Trump, MAGA, and the GOTP discussing the idea, some Americans support the idea.

Half in US say Greenland takeover a bad idea: Survey

More than half of U.S. voters in a new survey don’t support the U.S. taking over Greenland, a prospect President-elect Trump has entertained publicly in recent weeks.

In the Suffolk University/USA Today survey, 53 percent of likely voters say they oppose the idea — including 86 percent of self-described liberals, 61 percent of moderates and 25 percent of conservatives.

Of course, I’m pretty much a fool, discussing polls and voters under the Trusk Regime. As if polls and voters matter. As if the law has a place in it. Only thing that matters in the Trusk States of America is what Trusk wants. Donald J. is the figurehead, and the GOTP answers to his whims.

Just a pause, you know, a sidebar to the activity, invading Greenland would probably take a chunk of money. Moving troops in there, etc. You know, like we’re doing along the southern U.S. border, where we now have 9,000 military members stationed there. Maybe it’s just me, but you’d think that while the Trusk Regime and the Grand Ol’ Trump Party are working to cut money to reduce the deficit, you know, probably by cutting Medicaid, they would be leery of spending money on a new military boondoogle.

But that’s probably just me. Truth is, if Donald J. wants to go after Greenland, the GOTP will quickly feed the propaganda machine about what a great idea it is and indulge him. Meanwhile, a third of the nation probably will be oblivious to it happening.

It’s the American Way in the New Dark Ages under the Trusk Regime. Because, In DOGE They Trust.

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Sunda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Mellow and quiet are the best descriptions for Ashlandia today. Turning attention to politics for a bit, I found a few sites with ideas that merit being shared with others.

Lithub presents, What Is Donald Trump Doing? Three Theories for the Madness.

  • Theory 1: Trump is a Russian Asset. This theory isn’t new, but let’s be real: If someone had laid out Trump’s actions over the past several years and presented them without names attached, the conclusion that he’s working to advance Russian interests wouldn’t sound like a wild conspiracy.
  • Theory 2: Trump is Trying to Foment Global Chaos. For a man who ran a campaign on the promise of putting “America First,” Trump sure seems intent on making the world and America a far more unstable place.
  • Theory 3: He’s Just Worse at Presidenting Than Last Time. As shocking as this might sound, it’s possible that Trump’s presidential skillset second term is shaping up to be even less stellar than his first.

‘Less stellar’ made me chuckle. I think the author, Aron Solomon, is being generous.

Over on The Democracy Labs, they’ve provided us with a very useful map. The Trusk Regime is wielding DOGE to curtail leases on thousands of government buildings. This can well mean that people will need to go further and wait longer to reach the Federal office which can assist them. You know, places such as the VA office, FEMA, Social Security, IRS, Medicare, Medicaid, NOAA…

Driving longer distances isn’t good for people or the environment: it came mean longer trips in motor vehicles. If you’re in a gas or diesel powered vehicle, you’ll spew more emissions into the air. And you’ll pay for more vehicle fuel. If you’re worried about inflation, buying more gass can translate into more demand and higher prices.

Driving further and waiting longer will also mean that if you’re a person being paid by the hour or working the gig enonomy, it may well cost you more in your wages. Then there’s the age and handicap issue: traveling longer distance and waiting longer can often be emotionally wearing and physically tiring.

This essentially demonstrates how little the Trusk Regime cares about people.

What this map does is show us what’s being closed where, and importantly, what member of Congress to contact about it. You know what to do with your phones and keyboards, right? That’s right: raise your voice.

Finally, Jill Dennison shares a story of the sublime. Don’t Say That Word!!! covers the growing list that the Trusk Regime forbids to be used in official documents.

What follows is a list of words that are either forbidden or ‘discouraged’ in federal government communications, both formal and informal, under the current regime.  Take a look for yourself … even words like ‘women’, ‘racism’, and ‘pollution‘ are taboo!  And of course ‘Gulf of Mexico’ cannot ever be used in federal communications!  An article in the New York Times provides more information, but do take a glance through this list … it will raise your hackles!  

And that’s always something that I need: something else that the Trusk Regime is doing that raises my hackles.

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WTF, America

In another bit of WTF, America, some new DOGE bullshit springs into the spotlight.

Military to Remove ‘Enola Gay’ Photos for Violating DEI Rules

Images of “Enola Gay,” the aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan are among those targeted by the U.S. military in an initiative to eliminate content related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

They are among a number of photos unrelated to DEI that have been mistakenly flagged, including those from an Army Corps of Engineers dredging project in California, seemingly because an engineer in the image had the last name “Gay.”

I mean, how, how, how amazingly ignorant is the Trusk Regime? How stupid is DOGE?

Beyond the fundamental stupidity of making a decision based on a single word, they are demonstrating amazing ignorance about our heritage. Our history.

Does that history matter to them? No, apparently not.

And that really brings the Trusk Regime’s crock of shit about ‘gay’, DEI, woke into an electron microscope level of insights. Our history is being denied based on some shallow, closed minds? They’ll deny the role of an aircraft in our history because of a single word, literally one of the most critical moments in modern human history, the one and only damn time when one nation used atomic or nuclear weapons on another nation? What are they going to do, rewrite the textbooks so that Colonel Paul Tibbets and his crew flew an unnamed aircraft on that historic mission? How much of a disservice is it to not just the crew that flew that machine but the enemy killed on the ground?

That’s just the damn bottom of the barrel, though. The Trusk Regime and the GOTP is trying to deny the role of anyone who does not fit their narrow, bigoted views. Gay, trans, lesbian military members who fought for the United States are being washed out of history by this pathetic group, most of whom never served in a military capacity.

Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. But those who deliberately wipe it out are bent on creating a new circle of ignorance.

But, I mean, come on. Seriously. What did we expect of ol’ Bone Spurs Trump? His grip on history and logic is pathetically weak.

He who cited the use of aircraft and airfields in the American Revolutionary War.

He who referred to Senator McCain, a navy aviator who was captured and held as a prisoner of war, as a loser.

He who warns of the threats of cancer from windmills, a claim without any merit.

He who used a marker to try to change the projected course of a hurricane.

He who had his staff saying that he suggested nuking a hurricane.

He who was documented to lie over 30,000 times in his first administration.

A man who still lies as much as he breathes.

That individual is a fucking idiot.

And you know what that makes his supporters and enablers.

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Wenzda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

I didn’t watch PINO Trusk’s speech. Several media outlets highlighted some lowlights that provoked some thinking in me.

Look how he’s asking for patience and claiming to be working hard to lower the prices. Why, PINO Trusk sounds just like President Biden, but somehow, we’re supposed to be more patient and tolerant of Trump when he shows none for others.

Egg prices have risen since Trusk took office, for the same reasons they were rising under President Biden. Now, the Times reminds us that last week, ‘Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced $1 billion in efforts to contain the bird flu outbreak and “make eggs affordable again.”’

But, DOGE fired Dept. of Agriculture workers, including the agencies who would administer this program. I give PINO Trusk’s efforts Zero points on the logic scale and Ten points on the bullshit scale.

Remember, zero is the least amount of points rewarded — well, none are — while ten points on the BS scale is the most which can be rewarded. A BS of ten means that it’ll go over great with the unthinking right wing minions while the rest of us respond, “WTF?” This specific promise gets zero on the logic scale because he fired the people who can actually help do what he claims to be trying to do. If it follows that ‘actions speak louder than words’, his actions of firing the people who can help way outweigh Secretary Rollins words.

But what’s new with PINO Trusk? That isn’t. He’s always making promises, claiming what he’s going to do. Remember some of his previous claims and promises:

  • He would reveal his taxes if elected president. No, he would release them if President Obama released his birth certificate, which was part of the Trump birther scam. President Obama released his birth certificate a week after Trump made this claim; Trump took years before they were released.
  • He would build a new wall and Mexico would pay for it. Didn’t happen.
  • He would be ‘too busy’ as President to golf. He ended up playing more golf than any POTUS in history, and scammed the Federal government along the way to make money from it. He’s already spent a quarter of his time in office this year golfing.
  • As early as 2015, Trump promised to replace ‘Obamacare’ — ACA — with ‘something terrific’. Ten years later, he has yet to reveal anything material to do anything of the sort.
  • Donald Trump said COVID-10 would disappear. “…when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.” He said that just over 5 years ago, on Feb. 26, 2020. COVID-19 remains a threat to this day and has killed millions of Americans.

Remember, he’s a failed businessman. Here’s some of that history:

  • The Trump Taj Mahal
  • Trump Shuttle Inc.
  • Trump Mortgage, LLC
  • Trump University (also known as the Trump Wealth Institute and Trump Entrepreneur Initiative LLC)
  • The Plaza Hotel in Manhatten
  • ‘Trump Steaks’
  • Trump Vodka
  • Trump: The Game
  • Trump Magazine
  • GoTrump.com

We have PINO Trusk’s documented track record. We have his documented lies. The bottom line: he promises everything and can’t be trusted.

Only a fool — or a Republican — would.

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Twosda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Stories I followed today.

Elon Musk’s satellite business Starlink may not have officially taken over Verizon’s $2.4 billion contract with the Federal Aviation Administration yet to upgrade the systems it uses to manage America’s airspace. However, on Friday, FAA officials ordered staff to begin finding tens of millions of dollars for a Starlink deal, according to a source with knowledge of the FAA and two people briefed on the situation. 

The sources note that these internal directives have mostly, if not entirely, been delivered verbally — which they say is unusual for a matter like this. The source with knowledge of the FAA tells Rolling Stone that it appears as though “someone does not want a paper trail.”

Isn’t it amazing that while Elon Reeve Musk is busy cutting projects, programs, funding, and contracts legally established by the voters and Congress, he’s working hard to enrich himself.

Kansas Senator Roger Marshall Runs From Veterans – Marshall held a rural town hall expecting softball questions. Instead, his own voters confronted him about Trump’s VA cuts and mass firings under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His response? He fled the room mid-question. SMITE!

Rep. Diana Harshbarger Gets Roasted by Her Own Voters – She confidently declared that “there’s been a mandate for the president from the American people.” The crowd immediately shouted back “NO!!” in unison, shutting her down instantly. SMITE!

Texas Rep. Keith Self Owns Himself – In deep-red Texas, Self tried to calm an audience furious over federal cuts and layoffs. Instead, they booed him and chanted “Do your job!” SMITE!

Just a timely reminder of who the fuck Russia is. I stand with President Zelensky, Ukraine, and NATO. They’re our allies.

The administration’s lawyers waited until the literal 11th hour last Wednesday to appeal the DC Circuit’s action to the SCOTUS, which for all the reasons noted above should have routinely refused to consider it. So it wasn’t a good sign when John Roberts, who oversees appeals from the circuit, paused the operation of the already appealed District Court order requiring the Trump administration to release the already appropriated money.

Now what REALLY isn’t a good sign is that here we are six days later, and the SCOTUS as a whole hasn’t already gotten rid of this ridiculous appeal of a wildly illegal act on the part of the government. 

The Roberts Court, already complicit in the creation of the Trusk Regime, seems to be lending it another helping hand by stalling taking action. WTF.

Georgia recently relaunched its maternal mortality review committee after dismissing all 32 of its members last year. But state officials won’t say who the current members are.

Hiding in the dark, they can do whatever they want and then shift and squirm and pretend that it wasn’t them and avoid responsibility for their actions and try to dodge repercussions. It’s the Grand Ol’ Trump Party way.

‘I don’t know where to begin!’ Morning Joe angrily shreds JD Vance’s diplomatic blunder – Raw Story

Speaking with host Sean Hannity, Vance downplayed Britain’s support for Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky as “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years“

I was appalled, disgusted, and furious over Jackass Vance’s ridiculous fucking comments. How goddamn dare he? True to the Trump Regime nature, Vance shows no honor and little intelligence. He blurts shit, too stupid to realize what he doesn’t know, insulting the fallen and our allies. Damn him, damn him, damn him.

First Trump threatened to nuke hurricanes. Now he’s waging war on weather forecasters – The Guardian

Six weeks into Trump’s second term, the president hasn’t bombed any hurricanes, but he has nuked the US’s weather-forecasting capabilities. Last week, hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US’s pre-eminent climate research agency, were abruptly fired.

Experts and lawmakers have warned that the ramifications could be wide-ranging and deadly. “Ships will not be able to safely navigate through our waterways. Farmers will not have the data they need to manage their crops,” Maria Cantwell, a Democratic senator from Washington, said in a statement. “This action is a direct hit to our economy, because Noaa’s specialised workforce provides products and services that support more than a third of the nation’s GDP.”

Six weeks in, and Donald Trump and his Project 2025 regime has proven to be the most damaging force the United States has faced in our history.

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The Great Pushback

We The People Are Making Our Voices Heard!

It started with the 2024 Elections. PINO Trump won, thanks in part to a large cash infusion by Elon Reeve Musk.

Then came inauguration day and the Great Shitstorm of 2025. As an extension of that, Elon Reeve Musk and ‘DOGE’ was unleashed on the United States government. The results are the Great Undoing.

Now, as the impact of the Great Undoing is felt, the Great Pushback has begun. Our friend Jill shares Scott Dworkin’s recap of events.

Get ready. PINO Trusk has announced that 25% tariffs are being levied on goods from Mexico and Canada. Demonstrating how really ignorant he is of history, international politics, economics, and manufacturing, PINO Trusk said, “It’s a very powerful weapon that politicians haven’t used because they were either dishonest, stupid or paid off in some other form.” Actually, PINO Trusk, such projection! You’re using them because you’re dishonest, stupid, and paid off!

It’s gonna get real. It’s gonna get ugly. It’s gonna get real ugly.

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