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    Elon enters the circus

    The shadow president paced around the stage after his speech, sunglasses on, mouth frozen in a grin, raising a chainsaw overhead to the delight of an adoring crowd as a large rectangular canvas made its way from the back of the audience toward him. He grabbed the painting, visibly thrilled. On the canvas, as onstage, he was the focal point. Beams of light emanated from his head, which the artist had superimposed over scenes from the world his real-world counterpart had promised to build: an astronaut surveying a barren red planet, a futuristic civilization complete with flying cars. In the painting, he wore a suit and tie. His real-world attire was more casual: a black blazer over a novelty T-shirt that read “I’m not procrastinating, I’m doing side quests,” a gold chain, his signature “dark MAGA” hat, and the aforementioned sunglasses. In the painting, he was triumphant. Onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), however, Elon Musk had appeared incoherent. Fifteen or so minutes into the interview, a reporter in the media pit turned to me and mimed smoking a joint, mouthing, “Is he high?” Still, the audience was in his thrall. At one point, whe … Read the full story at The Verge.

    'Bloodbath': Social Security Administration Begins Mass Firings

    The Social Security Administration, now under the control of an official installed by U.S. President Donald Trump, began the process of gutting whole segments of the agency and firing a huge portion of its already diminished workforce, sparking alarm among advocates who say the move will almost certainly result in benefit delays and disruptions. The American Prospect, which first reported earlier this week that Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek was weighing staff cuts of up to 50%, obtained an email sent late Thursday indicating that the department has launched an "agency-wide organizational restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions." "The email gives employees until March 14 to decide among a number of options," the Prospect reported. "They can seek voluntary reassignments, or 'separate from federal service through retirement or resignation.' All employees at least 50 years of age with at least 20 years of service are being offered an 'early out' voluntary early retirement; that's lower than the typical benchmarks for federal employees. Early retirees are typically eligible for an annuity." "In addition, between now and March 14 employees can take voluntary separation incentive payments of up to $25,000, depending on job classification. Employees are also encouraged in the email to resign and take the payout of their annual leave," the outlet added. Trump has pledged that Social Security "will not be touched," but the progressive advocacy group Social Security Works argued that the assault on SSA "has only one goal: The total annihilation of Social Security by firing half of the workforce and closing the field offices." "Wall Street billionaires want to destroy Social Security so they can give themselves trillions in tax handouts," the group wrote on social media. The ongoing bloodbath at the Social Security Administration has only one goal: The total annihilation of Social Security by firing half of the work force and closing the field offices. Wall Street billionaires want to destroy Social Security so they can give themselves trillions in tax handouts. [image or embed] — Social Security Works (@socialsecurityworks.org) February 27, 2025 at 8:28 PM The Prospect reported that while the email sent to SSA staff on Thursday "does state that some employees may be reassigned from so-called 'non-mission critical' positions to direct service positions at field offices and processing centers, it would be difficult to achieve large-scale reductions in force without impacting staff at the more than 1,200 field offices across the country." "Already, one large hearing office in White Plains, New York has been shuttered, and there are unclear plans for other lease terminations on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) website," the Prospect observed. SSA, which is highly efficient despite being chronically understaffed, is one of a number of federal departments that Elon Musk's lieutenants have infiltrated in recent weeks as part of a lawless onslaught against government workers and operations. "The goal of this effort is to hollow out an agency that currently delivers retirement benefits with a 99.7% accuracy rate, and hand over the keys to private equity and grifters who want to pillage Social Security for all it's worth." ProPublica reported over the weekend that DOGE staffers' "first wave of actions" at SSA, including the elimination of dozens of jobs and shuttering of local offices, "was largely lost in the rush of headlines." "Those first steps might seem restrained compared with the mass firings that DOGE has pursued at other federal agencies," the investigative outlet noted. "But Social Security recipients rely on in-person service in all 50 states, and the shuttering of offices, reported on DOGE's website to include locations everywhere from rural West Virginia to Las Vegas, could be hugely consequential. The closures potentially reduce access to Social Security for some of the most vulnerable people in this country—including not just retirees but also individuals with severe physical and intellectual disabilities, as well as children whose parents have died and who've been left in poverty." Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said Thursday that "firing half of all Social Security workers will guarantee that seniors will stop seeing their earned benefits arrive on time and in full." "Trump's promises to protect Social Security are a sham, just like the rest of his actions since taking office," Wyden added. "A plan like this will result in field office closures that will hit seniors in rural communities the hardest. The goal of this effort is to hollow out an agency that currently delivers retirement benefits with a 99.7% accuracy rate, and hand over the keys to private equity and grifters who want to pillage Social Security for all it's worth."

    Elon Musk fans truly believe he can make Dogecoin the currency of Earth

    At a time when many analysts are declaring memecoins dead, the most popular memecoin of all time, Dogecoin, not only perseveres but appears likely to become more mainstream than ever in 2025. Most memecoins—cryptocurrencies inspired by Internet memes—remain controversial. Their prices can suddenly skyrocket before abruptly crashing, causing extreme gains and losses at a moment's notice, often triggered by a celebrity mention that tenuously amplifies short-term interest. Donald Trump's memecoin is a recent example. Within two days of its launch, it peaked at above $70 before falling to $17 shortly after, Reuters reported. Seeing that politically backed token take off apparently inspired Argentine President Javier Milei to endorse another memecoin called Libra, which seemed to set off a brief price surge before a devastating crash that caused most traders to endure losses. Only about 34 investors in total reportedly profited $124.6 million from Milei's endorsement, which a federal judge is now investigating as an alleged "rug pull" scheme, Reuters reported. Read full article Comments

    Federal Judge Rules Trump Mass Firing Order Was 'Illegal' and 'Should Be Stopped'

    A federal judge in California ruled Thursday that the Office of Personnel Management—an agency taken over by lieutenants of billionaire Elon Musk—violated the law earlier this month when it ordered the firing of thousands of probationary employees across the government. OPM "does not have any authority whatsoever under any statute in the history of the universe to hire and fire employees at another agency," said Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, a Clinton appointee, siding with a coalition of labor unions and advocacy groups that sued the federal agency. Alsup also castigated OPM for falsely claiming the terminations it ordered were performance-based. The agency's order was "illegal" and "should be stopped and rescinded," said Alsup. "That's just not right in our country, is it, that we would run our agencies with lies like that and stain somebody's record for the rest of their life?" the judge said. "Who's going to want to work in a government that would do that?" It was unclear, however, whether Alsup's ruling would do much to stem the Trump administration's sweeping purge of the federal workforce, as it was limited to agencies directly involved in the case. It was also not clear that the ruling would result in fired probationary employees getting their jobs back. According to Bloomberg Law, "the judge listed the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the National Science Foundation among the agencies that are barred from engaging in layoffs ordered by OPM." Politico noted that "Alsup stopped short of ordering the agencies to reinstate the fired workers or to halt looming firing," saying he "doesn't currently have the authority to do that." "We will continue to move this case forward with our partners until federal workers are protected against these baseless terminations." Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, said in a statement Thursday that "we know this decision is just a first step, but it gives federal employees a respite." "While they work to protect public health and safety, federal workers have faced constant harassment from unelected billionaires and anti-union extremists whose only goal is to give themselves massive tax breaks at the expense of working people," said Saunders. "We will continue to move this case forward with our partners until federal workers are protected against these baseless terminations." Shortly before Alsup's ruling, the Trump administration fired hundreds of probationary employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including staffers tasked with maintaining key radar systems and creating weather forecasts. More broadly, the Trump administration and Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency are aiming to gut the Social Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and other key federal bodies as part of their far-right ideological project. Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said Thursday that Alsup's ruling underscores the administration's "disdain for federal employees and desire to privatize their work." "Our union will keep fighting until we put a stop to these demoralizing and damaging attacks on our civil service once and for all," Kelley added.

    Swasticar

    I’ve written two or three times about Shakira. One day, I’ll write more. For today, all you need to know is this: She owns a Tesla. She approves of this message – front and back. And, its distribution to the windshields of all Tesla owners. I’m carrying around a stack. Should you want a printable version, you can find one here. Dear Tesla Owner, I genuinely appreciate your amazing vehicle. Tesla’s engineering brilliance, performance, and environmental benefits are undeniable. I’ve admired these cars for years and came incredibly close to buying one myself. I admired Elon Musk until just a few years ago. But. The Tesla brand represents a significant portion of Elon Musk’s wealth and power. Each Tesla on the road contributes to the brand’s value, and that value directly fuels our nation’s descent into fascism. Musk has positioned himself as a key ally in (or maybe even the true author of) Trump’s authoritarian project. Whether you intend it or not, this vehicle represents a continuing investment in that dangerous political direction. And beyond politics, there’s a practical reality you can’t ignore: Teslas’ resale value has begun to decline. As Musk continues his erratic behavior and political extremism, this downward trend will only accelerate. The polarization strategy employed by Musk and Trump is destroying the broad appeal that once made Tesla so valuable. Even if you’re politically aligned with them, the financial math is undeniable – this is the best time to sell before the damage to the brand worsens. Their political strategy guarantees it, regardless of which side you’re on. If resale value matters to you, sell now. I’m not a vandal. No one should destroy property. But as Musk and Trump promote disregard for democratic norms and the law, in ways eerily reminiscent of Hitler’s consolidation of power, Tesla vehicles increasingly function as political symbols. You can see the writing on the wall. I sure can. If I owned a Tesla, I’d be genuinely worried about the damage it might attract. Surely, you are beginning to have these fears. I worry about my Honda being vandalized on the streets of New York! It’s been keyed more than once by what I imagine are just drunk teens! I can’t imagine the anxiety I’d feel if I were leaving a Tesla on the street night after night! I hope you and your family, and your car, are safe in these difficult times – safer than I feel, than those I love feel. And, I urge you: sell your Tesla now. It’s only going to get worse, whether Trump succeeds or not. Sincerely, A genuinely friendly neighbor The post Swasticar appeared first on My Dissolute Life.

    Critics Warn Trump 'Flatly Illegal' Firings at NOAA Will 'Cost Lives'

    Critics on Thursday decried the Trump administration's firing of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration staffers, part of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency's plan to eviscerate the federal government. Following the playbook of Project 2025, a blueprint for gutting the federal government, the Commerce Department this week fired hundreds of NOAA staffers, many of them specialized climate scientists and weather forecasters. In addition to issuing weather watches and warnings, NOAA monitors and studies the planet's climate. We’re mobilizing scientists to protect NOAA and we need you too. Get involved: [image or embed] — Union of Concerned Scientists (@ucsusa.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen's (D-Md.) office said in a statement that the senator stressed that the firings "would be plainly unlawful and pointed to the Merit Service Protection Board's decision yesterday that stayed the terminations of multiple federal employees on probationary status." "I take this opportunity to remind the department of its legal obligation to notify the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations regarding the large-scale termination of employees," the senator added. Specifically, Section 505 of Title V, Division C of Public Law 118–42—a provision of the American Relief Act, 2025 (Public Law 118–158)—states, in part: None of the funds provided under this act, or provided under previous appropriations acts to the agencies funded by this act that remain available for obligation or expenditure in fiscal year 2024... shall be available for obligation or expenditure through a reprogramming of funds that... reduces by 10% funding for any program, project, or activity, or numbers of personnel by 10%; or…results from any general savings, including savings from a reduction in personnel, which would result in a change in existing programs, projects, or activities as approved by Congress; unless the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations are notified 15 days in advance of such reprogramming of funds. "Other agencies in my subcommittee's jurisdiction have cited ' poor performance' to move forward with drastic layoffs," Van Hollen added. "This has been exposed as a lie. Many terminated probationary employees have already come forward with evidence of recent glowing performance reviews, laying bare the flimsy pretext of these firings as gross misrepresentations of fact. The department must not become a purveyor of such lies and must comply with its legal obligations." Juan Declet-Barreto, senior social scientist for climate vulnerability in the Climate and Energy Program at Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement that "today's mass layoffs of NOAA staff signals a grim new reality: one where career federal scientists will be recklessly discarded, and the lifesaving science they do will be significantly undermined." "When testifying under oath, Howard Lutnick assured congressional members that if confirmed as commerce secretary, NOAA wouldn’t be dismantled under his watch—a promise that was broken today," Declet-Barreto added. "It seems either Lutnick willingly lied to Congress and the American people or that he has caved in record-breaking time to the destructive agenda of the Trump-Musk regime." Oceana U.S. vice president Beth Lowell said that "our oceans have become political carnage, but the real victims are hardworking Americans—the people you care about—and our future generations." "These are American jobs that warn us about severe weather, protect our most vulnerable marine life like whales and turtles, ensure abundant fisheries, and maintain a healthy ocean for those whose livelihoods depend on it," Lowell added. "We're calling on Congress to save NOAA from these disastrous cuts, while also protecting American jobs, communities, and the oceans." More than 2,000 scientists have signed a letter to members of Congress and the Commerce Secretary urging protection of NOAA.

    'Alarming': Trump CFPB Drops Cases Against Companies Accused of Cheating Consumers

    Consumer advocates on Thursday slammed the Trump administration for dropping various enforcement actions against companies accused of activities that include ripping off savings account holders, illegally collecting on student loans, and engaging in an unlawful mortgage broker kickback scheme. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's notices of voluntary dismissal came as the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing for Jonathan McKernan, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the CFPB—which Accountable.US executive director Tony Carrk has called "a gift to big banks and special interests." "We're getting a very strong message here that if you're a bank, if you're a student loan servicer, and you're violating the law, the CFPB is not only not going to pursue you, they're going to let you out of your case scot-free." While the former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation board member awaits confirmation from the GOP-controlled Senate, Trump and Russell Vought, the CFPB's temporary leader, have wasted no time trying to gut the agency and undo the work of its former director, Rohit Chopra, who oversaw cases against the following companies: Capital One, accused of cheating millions of banking customers out of more than $2 billion in interest; Heights Finance, accused of loan-churning practices that harvested hundreds of millions of dollars in costs and fees; Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), accused of collecting on student loans discharged in bankruptcy and sending false information to credit reporting companies; Rocket Homes, accused of providing incentives to real estate agents and brokers who steered homebuyers toward its loans; and Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance, accused of trapping people in risky loans for manufactured homes. Court paperwork "in the Rocket Homes case notes that the 'Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dismisses this action, with prejudice, against all defendants,'" according to The Associated Press. "Dismissing a case without prejudice means that it cannot be refiled. Similar wording was used in the dismissals of the CFPB's Capital One and Vanderbilt Mortgage suits." Those decisions came after the CFPB last week dropped a case against SoLo Funds, which the agency accused of misleading borrowers about loan costs. Vought had then teased further action, saying on social media Sunday that "shockingly, the CFPB tried to destroy this company, SoLo, which incurred millions in legal fees and had to lay off 30% of its workforce. It was wrong and we dismissed the case. More to come but the weaponization of 'consumer protection' must end." Meanwhile, critics like Christine Chen Zinner, consumer policy counsel at Americans for Financial Reform, are framing the CFPB's dismissals as a betrayal of the agency's mission. "The old CFPB stood ready to protect consumers and wrestle back the ill-gotten gains of big banks like Capital One," Chen Zinner said Thursday. "With this decision, the Trump-appointed leadership is letting Capital One steal $2 billion from its depositors, another example of this administration standing up for Wall Street at the expense of everyday people who deserve the CFPB's protection." — (@) Erin Witte, director of consumer protection at the Consumer Federation of America, also released a statement focused on the bank case. "The CFPB was created to be a watchdog for big banks, not a lapdog, and dismissing this case is a gift to Capital One," said Witte. "$2 billion is a drop in the bucket for Capital One–less than half a percent of its total assets—but returning this money would make a huge difference to the hardworking Americans who trusted Capital One to safeguard their savings and were kept in the dark about how to earn more." Witte also described the full list of dismissals as "unprecedented," and told Reuters, "We're getting a very strong message here that if you're a bank, if you're a student loan servicer, and you're violating the law, the CFPB is not only not going to pursue you, they're going to let you out of your case scot-free." Accountable.US highlighted that "the news stands in stark and alarming contrast to McKernan's remarks... to senators, promising to review all existing CFPB lawsuits before making any decisions around dropping litigation." Student Borrower Protection Center executive director Mike Pierce said in a statement about the PHEAA case that "Russ Vought and Donald Trump sided with a lawless and corrupt student loan company at the expense of borrowers across the country—another sign that powerful financial interests are driving the capture and demolition of the federal consumer watchdog." "This is a slap in the face to students, student loan borrowers, and working people everywhere," Pierce continued. "PHEAA lied to some of the poorest and most vulnerable Americans, then illegally hounded them for debt that they did not owe, all to make a buck. And today, cowardly political sycophants backed down on the federal government’s only effort to hold PHEAA accountable." "Of course, like all fascist toadies, Russ Vought will rightly be forgotten by history and sink into well-deserved irrelevance. But until then, law enforcement at every level of government must rush in to fill the void left by a federal consumer protection agency that now stands only to serve billionaires and big corporations," he added. "Remember: these people prey on those in need because they are motivated only by the desire to exercise power, and they are motivated to do so because they are cowards. It is everyone's job to remind Vought and his cronies of their powers' limits, and to remind the world of their cowardice." — (@) Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center, also directed some blame at billionaire Elon Musk, the head of Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is leading the administration's efforts to slash the federal workforce and spending. "The Trump administration and Elon Musk are showing us exactly what it means not to have ordinary people protected by a strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—they are dismissing enforcement cases that sought to return billions to working families harmed by corporations accused of egregious conduct that violated the law," said Saunders. "On top of the stop-work order and firing of CFPB workers doing their jobs, this sends a dangerous message to corporate America that financial fraud and abuse will go unchecked. We must preserve a strong, independent, and functional CFPB to stand up to corporate bullies." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a former bankruptcy professor, is the mastermind behind the CFPB. She is also the ranking member of the panel which McKernan appeared before on Thursday. The American Prospect executive editor David Dayen reported that the senator informed the nominee about the dismissals during the hearing. "Literally while you've been sitting here and you've been talking about the importance of following the law, we get the news that the CFPB is dropping lawsuits against companies that are cheating American families, or alleged to be cheating American families," Warren said. "It seems to me the timing of that announcement is designed to embarrass you and to show exactly who is in charge of this agency right now: Elon Musk and his little band of hackers."

    The Left’s DOGE Tantrum

    Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos. Hello. This is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. There’s been a lot of commotion lately about the Elon Musk cuts and the Donald Trump rebranding of the entire administrative state and bureaucracy. It’s very strange that it’s almost, the narrative from the Left is almost as if the chemotherapy to cure this problem, that we are running multitrillion-dollar deficits and we owe $37 trillion, but the efforts to stop that financial bleeding, the chemotherapy, is worse than the cancer itself. And we’re starting to see kind of an outrage where people are threatening the life even of Elon Musk. And they’re going hysterical and defending all sorts of indefensible expenditures. And so, we should keep clear of what’s going on. It’s much easier to let in 12 million illegal aliens and to destroy the border than it is the hard work of reconstructing a defensible, secure border and trying to find 12 million people—500,000 of which, we think, pretty sure, have had criminal records. And another million-and-a-half have already gone through the process and were facing deportation. It’s much, much easier to spread money around and gain constituency and print it than it is to say that you cannot do that. We have to be fiscally sound and say, “We can’t give money to this group or Stacey Abrams over—we can’t have her oversee $2 billion.” That offends people. Giving them free money doesn’t for some reason because it’s an abstract, the taxpayer. We don’t care about the taxpayer, who the average household pays about $20,000. Again, it’s much easier to give money out than to save it. It’s much easier to put oil off-limit, to declare 650,000 acres of federal land immune from development, to shut down ANWR [the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge], to shut down Keystone, to shut down liquid natural gas transports than it is the hard work of opening them up, getting rigs in, trying to develop fuel reserves and fuel production for the American people to have affordable energy. What am I getting at with all of this explanation is that the Trump administration inherited a revolution. They are trying to remedy it and bring America back, not hard to the right, right back where it was before the madness started. But we have to keep in context that these revolutionaries destroyed institutions. They destroyed physical sobriety. They destroyed the border. They tried to destroy the fossil fuel industry. They destroyed deterrence abroad. It’s much easier just to say, “I’m done with Afghanistan. Take a billion-dollar embassy. I don’t really care. Take a $300 million Bagram Air Base; $10, $15, $20, $50 billion of valuable military assets and infrastructure and hardware, just give it to the Taliban,” than it is to restore deterrence. That is to take the hard work and say, “You better not do that, Iran. You better not do that, Russia,” and restore deterrence than it is to break it. One thing I think is lost in this messaging, this tough love, this effort to restrain the government is that I think the Trump administration and Musk must convey that. They must say, “We don’t enjoy putting people out of work. We don’t enjoy rounding people up but we have to because these people—the Left, the Biden people, the Jacobins—they put us in that position. They were the ones that destroyed institutions. They were the ones that broke the law. They were the ones that are bankrupting us. We’re the restorers. And restorers, just like people who give tough medicine and pharmaceuticals and chemotherapy to people struck with cancer or congestive heart failure, it’s a tough love. The medicine is very, very difficult. But we gotta remember that the medicine is different than the malady and the disease.” Someone else caused these problems, and now somebody, for the first time in our history, is trying to fix it. I’ll leave you with this historical note. When Woodrow Wilson created the entire progressive project, basically from 1913 to 1920, there were efforts to repeal the growth of government, the introduction of an income tax, but none of the Republicans, not even Calvin Coolidge, could stop it. When Franklin Roosevelt nationalized many of the private pursuits and operations in this country with the New Deal, there were efforts after he left to repeal the New Deal and specifically, the eight years of the Eisenhower administration. He couldn’t do it. When Lyndon Johnson, in a third iteration, created this huge Great Society and these huge Cabinet seats, Richard Nixon could not undo it. Neither could Ronald Reagan. Now we’re on the fourth iteration. This was the Biden effort to make us, essentially, a European socialist country. But guess what? Unlike previous Republican administrations, for the first time, a Republican administration says, “This will not stand. I’m going to try to stop this and undo it and take it back.” And that is hard work. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post The Left’s DOGE Tantrum appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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