Pics Of The Day

 

In recent days, Tesla dealerships -- one in Colorado and one in Oregon -- have been attacked in apparent protest of Tesla CEO and fascist co-President Elon "Dick" Musk's increasing cruelty in intimidating and firing Federal workers as part of his DOGE scam to eliminate agencies regulating his businesses, redirect resources to his pet projects, and harvest sensitive data on Americans.

Gunfire shatters windows at Tesla dealership in Salem, Oregon:

Cybertruck / WankPanzer and Swasticar vandalized in Loveland, Colorado:

Sad! It would be wise to avoid Tesla dealerships and people exercising their Second Amendment rights there.

BONUS: Some creative people projected a message on the Tesla factory in Berlin, Germany. 

Mid-Week Songs: Remembering Roberta Flack

 

One of the most compelling and popular voices of the 1970s, Roberta Flack, passed away at the age of 88 on Monday, leaving behind a legion of fans and a discography that will be heard for generations. She graduated from Howard University in Washington, and was "discovered" by musician Les McCann as she performed at Mr. Henry's on Capitol Hill. Her first hit, Ewan MacColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," won the Grammy for Record of the Year in 1973, which she followed with "Killing Me Softly With His Song," winning the following year's Grammy for Record of the Year, the first time an artist has won two years consecutively. She had other hits like "Where Is The Love" with Donny Hathaway (Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance/Duo 1973), and "Feel Like Makin' Love." In remembrance of her, two of her most popular songs are our choices today. 

Republicans: Cut Medicaid And Food Assistance To Pay For Billionaire Tax Cuts

 

Well, they did what they've been telling us they were going to do.  The first step in Republican plan to gut Medicaid and food assistance programs was passed in the House yesterday by the MAGAt cult:

With a push from President Donald Trump, House Republicans sent a GOP budget blueprint to passage Tuesday, a step toward delivering his “big, beautiful bill” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts despite a wall of opposition from Democrats and discomfort among Republicans.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had almost no votes to spare in his bare-bones GOP majority and fought on all fronts — against Democrats, uneasy rank-and-file Republicans and skeptical GOP senators — to advance the party’s signature legislative package. Trump made calls to wayward GOP lawmakers and invited Republicans to the White House.

The vote was 217-215, with a single Republican and all Democrats opposed, and the outcome was in jeopardy until the gavel.

The lone Republican opposed was Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a crackpot who voted no because the cuts weren't deep enough!!  These are programs that roughly 80 million Americans count on.  Some of the semi- lucid Republicans see trouble on the horizon (ya think?!):

Even as they press ahead, Republicans are running into a familiar problem: Slashing federal spending is typically easier said than done. With cuts to the Pentagon and other programs largely off limits, much of the other government outlays go for health care, food stamps, student loans and programs relied on by their constituents.

Several Republican lawmakers worry that scope of the cuts being eyed — particularly some $880 billion over the decade to the committee that handles health care spending, including Medicaid, for example, or $230 billion to the agriculture committee that funds food stamps — will be too harmful to their constituents back home. 

All this to give corporations and the Elon Musks of America $4.5 trillion in tax breaks! 

So, what's their answer to making deeply unpopular and harmful cuts, then?  Why, what do Republicans always do?  They lie:

GOP leaders insist Medicaid is not specifically listed in the initial 60-page budget framework, which is true. Johnson and his leadership team also told lawmakers they would have plenty of time to debate the details as they shape the final package.

But lawmakers wanted assurances the health care program and others will be protected as the plans are developed and merged with the Senate in the weeks to come.  (our emphasis)

They will go down using every mirror and every smoke machine to lull their credulous cult members into believing that the shaft they're feeling in their nether regions is a love offering from the Malignant Fascist.  They can always resuscitate Joe Biden and blame him.

Speaking of the Malignant Fascist, if that lie was the shot, here's the chaser:

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said Trump has promised he would not allow Medicaid to be cut.

“The president was clear about that. I was clear about that,” Lawler said. “We will work through this, but the objective today is to begin the process.”  (our emphasis)

Well, now you know for sure!  The pathological liar has promised he wouldn't allow Medicaid to be cut. (But he didn't say "butchered," so technically, The Truth!).  We're pretty sure Lawler has enough experience with the track record of the Malignant Fascist and his transactional, whatever- benefits- me ethos, so he's either a fool or a charlatan (we say both) to trust anything coming out of the Malignant Fascist's mouth.

The bill faces weeks of committee hearings, and the usual Congressional sausage- making process, then reconciliation with a Senate- passed bill, which is only modestly less draconian.  In the meantime, we don't want to hear any more "But this isn't what we thought we voted for."

BONUS:  Grab your phone.

 

Last night, every single swing district Republican voted to cut Medicaid so they can shovel cash to their billionaire backers. If you’ve got an R representative, call now to let them know you’re furious: indivisible.org/resource/cal...

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— Leah Greenberg (@leahgreenberg.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 7:41 AM

 

(Photo: smug Speaker Mike "Moses" Johnson / Kent Nishimura, Getty Images)

Trump Loses 3 Court Cases In 90 Minutes

 

Some in our judicial system are resisting the Malignant Fascist and his co-President Elon "Dick" Musk's illegal moves.  Yesterday was a good day for democracy and the rule of law:

President Donald Trump in the span of an hour and a half on Tuesday in a series of cases challenging controversial moves taken during the early days of his second term.

The rulings from judges in Washington, DC, and Washington state are the latest to pump the brakes on Trump’s agenda, underscoring the critical role courts have taken on for foes of Trump looking to frustrate his actions.

In DC, Judge Loren AliKhan issued a preliminary injunction that indefinitely blocks the administration from freezing federal grants and loans. The ruling expands an earlier block the appointee of former President Joe Biden issued last month shortly after the White House ordered the funding freeze. [snip]

Shortly before AliKhan issued her ruling, a separate jurist in the DC federal courthouse – Judge Amir Ali – ordered the Trump administration to pay foreign aid-related money owed to government contractors and nonprofit groups by Wednesday night, amid the legal fight over the freezing of USAID and State Department funds.

That order amounted to a legal reprimand after the plaintiffs in the cases repeatedly accused the administration of not complying with Ali’s earlier temporary restraining order that revived the funding contracts and grants that existed at the end of the Biden administration.  [snip]

Meanwhile, across the country in Washington state, a federal judge in Seattle issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday that halts Trump’s executive order suspending refugee admissions and funding.

Judge Jamal Whitehead, who was also appointed by Biden, said that Trump’s “actions amount to an effective nullification of congressional will in establishing the nation’s refugee admissions program.”...

There are more than 80 court cases challenging the actions of the moron madman, which will face further court action, many or most ultimately going to the Republican Supreme Court.  There are certain to be some cases in which the moron madman will prevail.  In those he doesn't, the question will be whether he'll comply.  In any other time, we would like to think that the lawless actions being attempted by the moron madman would have been moot from the start, because no one other than him and his skipping dipshit chaos partner would even try to pull them off.  But, given the broad and deep array of fascists, cowards, charlatans, and crackpots in the Republican cult and the barely- roused response so far from a fossilized Democratic party, we might have to think about that some more.

(Photo:  not so fast, fascist / Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

 

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Christopher Weyant, Boston Globe)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Nick Anderson, Tribune Content Agency)

(Brian Carroll, twopartyopera.com)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com)

(Matt Wuerker, Politico)

(Matt Davies, Newsday)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Maarten Wolterink, Leiden, Netherlands)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Ali Solomon Mainhart, The New Yorker)

Skeets Of The Day

 

A moment that will live in infamy --

For the US to side with Russia and North Korea to oppose a UN resolution condemning the illegal invasion of Ukraine defies all common sense and adds insult to the countless injuries suffered by the brave Ukrainian people. edition.cnn.com/2025/02/24/p...

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— Richard Branson (@richardbranson.bsky.social) February 25, 2025 at 4:29 AM

 

By every conceivable measure, the United States is now more isolated and less secure than at any other time in the modern era.

— Andrew Weinstein (@andrewjweinstein.com) February 24, 2025 at 10:45 PM

 

Not the solid endorsement Habba thinks it is  --

 

Accidental truths: The Trump/Musk Crime Syndicate is bankrupting the US government and driving down its value and reputation the way Trump bankrupted casinos and Musk blew $44 bn on Twitter so he could destroy 80% of its value.

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— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha1.bsky.social) February 25, 2025 at 1:28 PM

 

Gutting Medicaid/ SNAP to pay for Musk's and other oligarchs' tax cuts --

 

Urban Institute: reducing the #Medicaid expansion match rate – as some GOP plans have proposed – would create a $44.3B funding shortfall for states in 2026. If states respond by dropping their expansions, up to 10.8 million people would become uninsured. www.urban.org/research/pub...

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— Gideon Lukens (@gidlukens.bsky.social) February 24, 2025 at 2:45 PM

 

The House is expected to soon vote on a budget resolution laying the groundwork for $230+ billion in cuts to #SNAP. It's not possible to cut that much from SNAP without widespread harm to low-income families. Our new paper shows the impact in your state: www.cbpp.org/research/foo...

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— Katie Bergh (@katiebergh.bsky.social) February 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM

 

Here comes the phony numbers to sell the deal. The illusory smoke and mirrors of waste, fraud, abuse, and future tariffs. It’s 1981 and David Stockman redux.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) February 24, 2025 at 10:23 PM

Trump's klepto-kakistocracy:  you might want to hire a food taster now --

 

Merit is when you hire don jr’s buddy who has no experience whatsoever. Racism is when you hire a black person who is qualified for the job. bsky.app/profile/kath...

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— Adam Serwer (@adamserwer.bsky.social) February 25, 2025 at 9:25 AM

What's that Musk-y smell?  Tesla, "the swasticar," and starving kids --

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— Stephen King (@stephenking.bsky.social) February 25, 2025 at 9:29 AM

  

Awful news --> Delivery of therapeutic food assistance to nearly 400,000 severely malnourished kids abroad is suddenly in doubt due to Trump-Musk firings at USAID, two manufacturers of the product tell me. "Starving children are waiting," one says. New from me: newrepublic.com/article/1919...

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— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) February 25, 2025 at 11:23 AM

 

What resistance looks like --

 

Breaking: WASHINGTON (AP) — 21 civil service employees are resigning from Elon Musk's DOGE, refusing to "dismantle critical public services."

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) February 25, 2025 at 11:20 AM

 

Civil servants are showing much more of a spine than members of congress. Bravo 👏🏽

— One Woke Citizen (@onewokecitizen.bsky.social) February 25, 2025 at 11:21 AM

 

Reaching the bottom --

 

Nadir Of Western Civilization To Be Reached This Friday At 3:32 P.M. theonion.com/nadir-o...

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— The Onion (@theonion.com) February 25, 2025 at 10:00 AM

 

 

Fun Facts: DOGE And Cancelled Contracts

 

Not that they won't lie about it, but a good percentage of DOGE-cancelled contracts won't save any money:

"Nearly 40% of the federal contracts that President Donald Trump’s administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save the government any money, the administration’s own data shows.

The Department of Government Efficiency, run by Trump adviser Elon Musk, published an updated list Monday of nearly 2,300 contracts that agencies terminated in recent weeks across the federal government. Data published on DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” shows that more than one-third of the contract cancellations, 794 in all, are expected to yield no savings.

That’s usually because the total value of the contracts has already been fully obligated, which means the government has a legal requirement to spend the funds for the goods or services it purchased and in many cases has already done so." (our emphasis)

Looks like South African fascist, megalomaniac, and co-President Elon "Dick" Musk will need more wood to cut with his chainsaw to make his quota.

 

MAGA Crime Blotter: Lawless U.S. Attorney

 

One of the more rabid MAGAts in Washington is the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin, who has vowed to protect President Elon "Dick" Musk from his opponents, among other affronts to justice. Now, he's protecting a fellow MAGAt, Rep. Cory Mills (FL) who was accused of assaulting his apparent girlfriend (Mills is married, of course) by refusing to sign the arrest warrant:

"Police in Washington D.C. reportedly tried to arrest a Republican member of Congress for an alleged act of domestic violence, but U.S. Attorney Ed Martin is apparently not signing the arrest warrant.

That's according to a Monday article by NBC 4 Washington, which reported that an arrest warrant for Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) was sent back to D.C. Metropolitan Police unsigned. According to the report, Martin – who is the Department of Justice's top prosecutor in D.C. — said the case merited "further investigation" after declining to sign the warrant.

NBC 4 noted that in the police report, an unidentified 27 year-old woman who was not Mills' wife accused Mills of assaulting her at his apartment. The alleged victim said Mills 'grabbed her, shoved her and pushed her out of the door' and showed responding officers bruises that officers on the scene described as 'fresh.'"  (our emphasis)

Martin, who recently claimed that he and his lawyers were "President Trump's lawyers," previously served  as president of the right-wing Christofascist group "Phyllis Schafley Eagles," named after the late crusader against women's rights and other right wing causes. His "X" account is peppered with quotes from the Bible, to give you an idea. He has no experience as a prosecutor or jurist, but is a true believer who won't enforce the law if it impinges on fellow MAGAts.

(photo: Jason Rosenbaum / St. Louis Public Radio)

 

QOTD -- "These Moments Will Live In Infamy"

 

"Winston Churchill is credited with saying that America does the right thing after exhausting the alternatives. Donald Trump has turned that aphorism on its head. In the past 10 days, he has all but incinerated 80 years of postwar American leadership. Those who thought America was a friend or ally, notably Ukraine and NATO, are dropping once safe assumptions to cope with a world in which America is an unabashed predator. Countries that were treated by Washington as adversaries, notably Vladimir Putin’s Russia, are suddenly America’s friend.

"There were hinge moments in history when the US displayed its character as global leader, such as Dwight Eisenhower’s repudiation of Anglo-French imperialism in the 1956 Suez crisis, or Ronald Reagan’s 1987 exhortation to the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall. They defined the world’s idea of America. Trump’s assertion this week that Ukraine 'should have never started' the war is the dark version of those. His account of Russia being provoked to invade Ukraine came straight from Putin’s talking points. So too was JD Vance’s Valentine’s Day speech in Munich in which the US vice-president identified liberal democracy as Europe’s real threat from within.

"These moments will live in infamy..." --  from an editorial in The Financial Times (London, excerpted in Hullaballoo).  To America's everlasting shame, the convicted felon Malignant Fascist ("Agent Krasnov"?) and his corrupt, fascist cultists have forever changed the relationship between our longtime allies and ourselves, threatening peace and stability in Europe and around the globe.  There have been two "hinge moments" in recent American history:  when the Malignant Fascist was elected in 2016, ushering the first era of chaos and authoritarianism;  and his re-election by tens of millions of childish idiots.  Sic transit gloria, America.

Chaos, Vengeance, And Incompetence Reign In Trump's Dystopia

 

Let's take a quick run through a few news items to see how chaos, vengeance, and incompetence reign in the moron madman's dystopia.

President Elon "Dick" Musk's dick-tat to federal workers

Elon Musk, President Donald Trump's point person to root out what he says is government waste, on Monday renewed his threat to fire federal workers who do not comply with his demand to justify their jobs, even after the Trump administration said workers did not have to respond.

The U.S. agency that oversees federal employees said on Monday they could ignore a weekend email from Musk that required them to summarize their work or face losing their jobs. The directive sparked widespread confusion across the federal government and raised questions about how much actual authority Musk, the world's richest man, possesses within the administration.

 

As the deadline for response grew near on Monday, Musk, whom Trump appointed to head up a newly named Department of Government Efficiency that Trump has tasked to radically downsize the government, seemed to acknowledge that his plan had run aground.

 

"The email request was utterly trivial, as the standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send!" Musk posted on X, the social media site he owns. "Yet so many failed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers."

 

Musk went on to say, "Subject to the discretion of the president, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination."

 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk's remarks.

 

It was unclear whether Musk was aware of the guidance the U.S. Office of Personnel Management released earlier on Monday telling human resources officials at federal agencies that employees would not be let go for not replying to Musk's email - nor were staff required to respond to it...  (our emphasis)

The unelected, ketamine-crazed oligarch is running the executive branch because of the ignorance, weakness, and sloth of the golf- playing Malignant Fascist.  One agency had to warn that the information provided could be read by "malign foreign actors" (not including Musk, we presume). The fool even sent his emails to employees of the judicial branch, over which he has less than zero authority.  Apparently, Dick wants to use AI to "read" the employee responses, for his own self- serving ends, no doubt.  But don't count on him being reined in soon.

 

"God has a plan" for fired workers!

Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) gave cold comfort to federal workers who have been laid off under President Donald Trump by telling them that the loss of their jobs is part of God’s plan.

After taking office last month, Trump named billionaire Republican donor Elon Musk to lead the “Department of Government Efficiency,” which has been laying off scores of workers and freezing spending appropriated by Congress. Musk has claimed the pseudo-agency has “saved” $55 billion, but an analysis by The Washington Post found that this number is wildly inflated.

On Monday, Alford became the latest lawmaker to get an earful.

“Just because you have a government job doesn’t mean it’s a lifetime appointment like a Supreme Court,” Alford said at a town hall in Belton, Missouri, according to The St. Joseph News-Press. “So I would encourage anyone who finds themselves in this situation to realize that we are going to get this economy turning again. There are jobs available. God has a plan and purpose for your life.”

The line did not go over well with the crowd.

“We don’t want your God!” a woman yelled while another exclaimed, “Our God is Christian!”...

Alford's god is a Golden Calf (or, more precisely, a Golden Ass).

The Associated Press and the Gulf of Mexico

A tweet posted by Ed Martin, President Donald Trump’s nominee and the current interim acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, raised alarms among observers across the partisan political aisle Monday afternoon for his comments about the president’s ongoing dispute with the Associated Press.

Among Trump’s first-day flurry of executive orders was one that purported to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and to change the name of North America’s highest peak from Denali back to Mount McKinley, but the AP is only on board for the latter, citing the scope of U.S. presidential authority and its status as an international news organization as the rationale behind how it would identify both places.

The Trump administration has continued to bar AP reporters from the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other official White House events.

On Friday, the AP filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against three Trump administration officials: White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. The complaint specifically objected to the White House ordering the wire service to use specific words in its reporting and stated that it had filed suit “to vindicate its rights to the editorial independence guaranteed by the United States Constitution and to prevent the executive branch from coercing journalists to report the news using only government-approved language.”

Martin’s tweet, posted by the official account for the U.S. Attorney in D.C., included the following statement:

As President Trumps’ lawyers, we are proud to fight to protect his leadership as our President and we are vigilant in standing against entities like the AP that refuse to put America first.

Martin is another one of those MAGAt cultists like Bondi, Patel, and Bongino who are soiling the Department of Justice.  He'll be in charge of prosecuting anyone or anything under his purview who is exercising their Constitutional rights (or not, if you're a Republican who likes to assault women).

Trump forgets his lines, will have to clarify

President Donald Trump was incorrect when he said that Russia will accept European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, the Kremlin signaled Tuesday.

While Trump said Monday during a White House meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron that he had "specifically asked" Russian President Vladimir Putin about peacekeepers and that Putin "has no problem with it," the Kremlin contradicted those comments early Tuesday.

When asked about Trump's remarks in a media call, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "the Russian foreign minister has already said everything about it, I've got nothing to add."

Peskov was referring to comments Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made last week in a news conference following talks in Saudi Arabia with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Lavrov said that “the deployment of troops ... [from] NATO countries, but under a foreign flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags ... is, of course, unacceptable to us.”...  (our emphasis)

He needs a teleprompter feed from the Kremlin in future meetings so as not to bungle his/Russia's position.  Putin might need to get another Charlie McCarthy if this keeps up.

"What I Accomplished Last Week," By Vice President Trump

 

From Mr. Newberger's AI Funnies, we have the convicted felon Malignant Fascist dutifully responding to President Elon "Dick" Musk's email to all federal workers asking what they accomplished in the past week:

Skeets Of The Day

 

Three years ago today.  Slava Ukraini! Fuck the New York Times and Trump! --

 

🇺🇦 Zelensky: 3 years of resistance. 3 years of gratitude. 3 years of absolute heroism of Ukrainians. I am proud of Ukraine! I thank everyone who defends it. Everyone who works for Ukraine. And may the memory of all those who gave their lives for our state and people be eternal.

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— The Ukrainian Review (@theukrainianreview.bsky.social) February 24, 2025 at 2:36 AM

 

NYT is claiming it is Ukraine’s fault for two autocrats scheming to carve it up, pillage is assets, murder it people: it should have given Trump more bribes & not have dressed so provocative near Putin.

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— David Rothschild (@davmicrot.bsky.social) February 24, 2025 at 7:34 AM

 

The United States joined Russia to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's war against Ukraine in a stunning shift from years of US policy.

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— CNN (@cnn.com) February 24, 2025 at 1:29 PM

 

Power mad (and just plain mad) Bongino installed as FBI Deputy Director --

 

The Deputy Director of the FBI.

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— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yasharali.bsky.social) February 24, 2025 at 12:29 AM

 

Kash Patel and Dan Bongino: Two of Trump’s most devout sycophants have now been installed at the highest, most powerful echelons of the FBI — a law enforcement agency heretofore known for its tradition of independence. These are two individuals who have never served as F.B.I. agents —…

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— Stephanie Kennedy (@wordswithsteph.bsky.social) February 24, 2025 at 1:50 AM

 

Dan Bongino sued the Daily Beast for $15 million for reporting the NRA fired him for being "unfit for his duties" and not only did he lose but he was found liable for the Beast legal fees and had to pay THEM $40,000

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— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog.lol) February 23, 2025 at 9:02 PM

 

 DUI hire Hegseth saying the quiet part loud again --

 

Hegseth says firing of top military lawyers was about making sure "they don't exist to be roadblocks to anything that happens."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 23, 2025 at 9:58 AM

🎵 There's somethin' happenin' here (need Dems to fight!) --

 

Brutal Town hall. But here’s the truth—Republican politicians aren’t scared of their constituents. They’re scared of Trump and getting primaried. And voters keep electing more extreme candidates, so here we are—officials who don’t care what their constituents think. Republican voters did this!

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— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) February 24, 2025 at 12:31 AM

 

Activists organizer chicken event for rep who won’t schedule a town hall lancasteronline.com/news/politic...

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— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) February 24, 2025 at 12:24 AM

 

New pod: @leahgreenberg.bsky.social is highly illuminating on how the huge anti-Musk backlash hitting House Rs at town halls shows Dems have a big opening to mobilize the opposition along 2017 lines. We discuss the ferocity of the anger over Musk and what it means: newrepublic.com/article/1918...

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— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) February 24, 2025 at 7:17 AM

 

What resistance looks like (😁) --

 

This morning at Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HQ in DC as mandatory return to office began, this video played on loop for ~5 mins on screens throughout the building, per agency source. Building staff couldn’t figure out how to turn it off so sent people to every floor to unplug TVs.

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— Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) February 24, 2025 at 9:51 AM

He could be our deadbeat dad! --

 

Q: “Do you think Elon is a good dad?” MUSK’S DAD: “No.”

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 9:46 PM

 

Wish I were one of Elon's kids so I'd never see him again

— Mike Scollins (@mikescollins.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 10:31 PM

 

Our new favorite team --

According to “a well-placed insider,” discussions between #Eagles players and their front office resulted in a "massive no" when asked if they would accept an invitation to the White House to honor their Super Bowl Victory, per The Sun

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— Eagles Nation (@phleaglesnation.bsky.social) February 24, 2025 at 8:25 AM

 

 

"We Didn't Elect Democrats To Become Collaborators" (UPDATED)

 

From the Associated Press (currently suing officials of the Malignant Fascist's regime for First Amendment violations) on the Malignant Fascist's White House dinner for governors:

"[Michigan Governor Gretchen] Whitmer said she sat next to Trump at a White House dinner on Saturday night.

'I was the only Democrat at the table. I was a little surprised. I think everyone in the room was a little surprised, to be honest,”'she said. 'But I took the opportunity to talk a little bit about tariffs.'" (our emphasis)

Are you proud of that, Governor? It likely means you're going to be the target of a brief MF charm offensive, followed by threats to comply. The article continues:

"At discussion panels and news conferences at the meetings, state leaders struck a conciliatory tone.

'We always hope that people can disagree in a way that elevates the discourse and tries to come to a common solution,' said Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, the association’s chair, when asked about the Trump-Mills exchange. 'I don’t think that disagreement was necessarily a model of that,' he said.   [snip]

'We’re not going to sit idly by and let our rights be attacked,' [NY Governor Kathy Hochul] said. 'We’ll work with you when there’s common ground, no doubt about it, let’s build great projects and infrastructure. There’s areas where we’re going to work with you on immigration and getting the violent criminals off our streets....'"  (our emphasis)

Conciliatory tone?  Their bending the knee is cowardice, as the MF starts to dismantle the Government they rely on for assistance, throwing their constituents out of work, not to mention the MF's other assaults on democracy. 

At least there were some signs of resistance:

"Hundreds of miles from Washington, another 2028 contender took a different direction.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, in his State of the State address on Wednesday, compared the Trump administration to the Nazi movement and criticized members of his own party, declaring, 'Going along to get along does not work.'

Pritzker’s response resonated with some key voters.

'We didn’t elect Democrats to become collaborators with our oppressors,' said Lori Goldman, founder of 'Fems for Dems,”'a Michigan-based group focused on voter turnout.

'We are beyond angry and we are organizing against Democrats that sell us out,' she said."  (our emphasis)

Take note of these Dem Governors who, after the MF attacked one of their own for her stand on transgender rights, met and dined with the MF, who has zero intention of working with them on anything that doesn't benefit him. Sell outs need to get voted out. 

UPDATE:  This jackass, who took the ranking member position that AOC should've had on the House Oversight Committee --

Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said government workers should comply with an Elon Musk order that is being disputed by others. [snip]

The pro-compliance message echoed continuing weakness from Democratic leaders in response to Trump and Musk’s disruptive and bigoted actions in the executive branch. The party has provided key congressional votes for some of Trump’s nominees and has not deployed the full arsenal of legislative tools that are available to slow down Trump’s actions...

What a disaster for the people of the 11th Congressional District in Virginia.

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon: Eggs-actly!

 

(click to enlarge)

The existential threat to democracy posed by the Malignant Fascist and President Elon "Dick" Musk hasn't sunk in on many Dem politicians, who are cravenly seeking "common ground" with the fascistic group rampaging through the Government and peoples' lives. Groping cluelessly for a "message", Dem political figures can't seem to deal with the monstrous, abnormal behavior of their adversaries, which should be their campaign billboard in their upcoming elections.

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The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

A dozen leaders from Europe and Canada visited Ukraine’s capital Monday to mark the third anniversary of the country’s war with Russia in a conspicuous show of support for Kyiv amid deepening uncertainty about the Trump administration’s commitment to helping it fend off Russia’s invasion.

Some of Ukraine’s most important backers, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, were among the visitors greeted at the train station by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and the president’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak.

In a post on X, von der Leyen wrote that Europe was in Kyiv “because Ukraine is in Europe.”

“In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It’s Europe’s destiny,” she wrote.

Ukrainian and European officials have been rattled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s cordial approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his tough words for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. [snip]

The guests, also including European Council President Antonio Costa as well as the prime ministers of Northern European countries and Spain, were set to attend events dedicated to the anniversary and discuss with Zelenskyy further support for Ukraine.

The shift in Washington’s policy has set off alarm bells in Europe, where governments fear being sidelined by the U.S. in efforts to secure a peace deal and are mulling how they might pick up the slack of any cut in U.S. aid for Ukraine. The changes have also placed strain on transatlantic relations...  (our emphasis)

Thanks to Putin's puppet ("Agent Krasnov"?), it mostly will be up to Ukraine and others to fight for democracy there, while we fight for it here.  We're ultimately facing the same enemy.  Theirs is a deadly war of Russian aggression that's resulted in much destruction and cost many lives in three exhausting years, while so far here we're fighting with words and maneuvers in courts, but that may change.

The bad:

The Trump administration’s purge of federal workers may ultimately amount to the biggest job cut in U.S. history, which is likely to have ramifications for the economy, especially at the local level, according to economists.

The White House, with the help of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, has fired or offered buyouts to workers across the federal government, the nation’s largest employer.

While the precise scale of the job cuts is as yet unclear, evidence suggests it’s at least in the tens of thousands so far, economists said.  [snip]

Job loss can be painful for household finances.

Affected workers who can’t quickly find new jobs may be forced to make ends meet without regular income. Unemployment benefits may offer a temporary stopgap to eligible workers, but they replace only about a third of prior wages, on average, according to Labor Department data.

The majority of workers who suffer job loss are affected long term, as they have trouble finding new full-time jobs and subsequently earn less money, according to a 2016 research paper by Henry Farber, professor emeritus of economics at Princeton University, who studied data from 1981 to 2015.

“There are economic impacts to [laid-off workers], their families, to the businesses they would have bought goods and services from,” said Erica Groshen, a senior economics advisor at Cornell University and former commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The economic consequences of layoffs are like a domino effect that spread across local economies to businesses that seem to have no connection whatsoever to the federal government,” said Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Yale University Budget Lab...

The klepto-kakistocrats running amok in our country seem determined to wreck everything, and to hell with whoever gets in their way.  One month in, and the hurtful consequences of their actions are already being felt across the country.  Unfortunately, it's only bound to get worse.

The ugly:

The conservative CDU/CSU is on course to win the German federal election and form a new government, with its leader Friedrich Merz expected to lead it in a coalition arrangement that would most likely involve the SPD and potentially the Greens as the third party, if needed.

Speaking as the presumed next chancellor, Merz stressed Europe’s need to be more self-reliant on defence faced with the US under Trump, as he warned the new US administration made it “clear that this government is fairly indifferent to Europe’s fate”. He also repeated his criticism of Elon Musk for his involvement in German politics and support of the far-right AfD. His comments came shortly after congratulations from Trump.

The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party celebrated its highest-ever result in a federal poll, with its co-leader Alice Weidel criticising the CDU/CSU for refusing to work with her party. She predicted an “unstable government which will not last the next four years”, saying the AfD would be waiting in the wings to take over the helm... (our emphasis)

Ugly, yes.  Not helped by the involvement of ketamine-fueled fascist man-baby Elon "Dick" Musk.  But for now, the pro- Ukraine, anti-Putin Merz will be leading Europe's arguably most important nation. An ugly win is a win nonetheless, for now. (A revealing note:  the neo-Nazi AfD swept nearly all of the districts in former Soviet East Germany except for Berlin, and was nearly shut out in the districts in former West Germany.  Old habits die hard?)