Friday, February 21, 2025

The biggest coward in the Senate, Joni Ernst

Joni Ernst.  She's a veteran of the Iraq War.  She's a US Senator.  She's also a Republican which apparently requires the removal of a spine.

Pete Hegseth as a nominee for Secretary of Defense bothered her because of his anti-woman remarks and because of allegations of sexual harassment.  Then MAGA attacked her online and she folded like a cheap, plastic beach chair.  Now?  Amanda Castro (NEWSWEEK) reports:

The Biden-appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and several high-ranking female officers are reportedly at risk of removal under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

The informal list, circulating on Capitol Hill, includes several notable figures such as Chairman General CQ Brown, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Lieutenant General Jennifer Short, and Lieutenant General Laura Potter. The list is not yet finalized, but its circulation has already prompted concern from lawmakers and defense officials.

The possible shake-up reflects broader changes within President Donald Trump's administration as it seeks to align military leadership with its vision. The administration's focus on removing senior officers who emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs has fueled debate about the military's priorities and its impact on readiness and morale.


What a piece of trash Joni Ernst truly is.  She stabbed women in the back, bad enough.  But she stabbed women in the military in the back.  

Because she's a spineless coward.  If you're in Iowa, you should really pay attention to the coward you sent to the Senate.  She'll steal like a thief but she's always a coward to me.



Let's see if we can get Billy Joel to update the lyrics to "She's Always A Coward" in honor of Joni. 



"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Friday, February 21, 2025.  Chump's bridge to nowhere is falling down, falling down, Chump's bridge to nowhere is falling down, Lady Justice. 


Rachel Maddow, in the most recent ratings, is pulling in two million nightly as she returns to five nights a week -- Monday through Friday -- to cover the first 100 days of Convicted Felon Donald Chump's administration. 




Rachel Maddow:  He is unpopular.  He is historically unpopular.  He is the least popular president in the history of modern polling at this point in his presidency. The country does not like him, they do not like what he is doing, they do not like the people that he is putting in place. The more he talks about specific things he wants you to associate with him the more the American people hate those things specifically.  The more the country shows that the better chance that Democrats will get stronger and faster and more bold in their opposition.  and the better chance that Republicans might start to join them.  It is that simple


If you're not getting how bad it is for Chump, note Keith Edwards report in the video below which starts with a district in Georgia that Chump carried and yet the people, Republican voters, are booing their member of Congress.



Ben Blanchet (HUFFINGTON POST) notes:

Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) got a less-than-warm reception from voters on Thursday as he faced anger and pushback over his support for the Trump administration’s cost-cutting crusade in the federal government.

McCormick ― who reportedly spoke to “hundreds of critics” at the city hall building in Roswell, Georgia ― was met with boos and jeers as attendees questioned whether he was doing them a “disservice” by backing billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency budget-slashing frenzy.

“You don’t think I’m going to stand up for you?” asked McCormick, who received boos from the crowd in response, according to a clip shared by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein.


Matt Young (THE DAILY BEAST) adds:

In another video, one resident questions McCormick, saying, “it’s clear from all the writings of our Founding Fathers that our great republic was never meant to be ruled by a dictator or a king.” The comment was greeted by a large round of applause.

“So you can imagine my shock and pure horror when I woke up to find that our president had given himself unprecedented executive powers and then in a few days named himself King to his followers,” she continued to more applause, before being prompted to ask a question.

“Tyranny is rising in the White House and a man has declared himself our king, so I would like to know, rather, the people would like to know, what you, congressman, and your fellow congressmen are going to do to reign in the megalomaniac in the White House?” The woman received a standing ovation.


And then there's the town hall in Alaska.  Alex Henderson reports:


At a town hall even tin Fairbanks, Alaska on Monday, February 17, Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska) was confronted by angry voters who have been laid off from federal government jobs as part of the mass layoffs campaign being carried out by the Trump Administration with the help of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

One of them told Begich, "I was fired. Now, I have no choice but to leave that community and probably leave Alaska, and so, I just don't understand how these budget cuts are helpful to any Alaskans or their communities. And I'm just wondering what you plan to do about this."

Begich responded that he was "not in a position to approve or deny the cuts" — a statement that drew vehement criticism from journalist Judd Legum on his Popular Information blog as well as in a February 20 thread posted on the Musk-owned X.com (formerly Twitter).

The GOP congressman's statement, according to Legum, showed a failure to understand how the federal government works under the U.S. Constitution.

Legum tweeted, "It was a remarkable statement from the freshman Congressman, sworn into office in January. The Constitution vests the 'power of the purse' with Congress — not an unelected billionaire appointed to a position in the executive branch…. Begich said he finds out about budget cuts impacting Alaska 'on Twitter' and 'had no idea these things were going on' in advance. Begich claimed the same situation was true 'under Biden,' but did not provide examples. He did not mention that he was not a Congressman during (Joe) Biden's presidency."


And it's even worse when a member of the administration has to stand in front of the American people.  Yasmeen Hamadeh (THE DAILY BEAST) reports:


Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was savagely booed Thursday during a news conference on California’s high-speed rail project at the Union Station in Los Angeles. The Donald Trump appointee blasted state authorities for mismanaging the once “exciting” project and claimed it had amounted to a waste of funds. He additionally disclosed that he would be subjecting the project to a “compliance review of funding” to determine whether or not “billions of dollars of taxpayer money” should still go toward it. Duffy’s comments, however, were drowned out by boos from a roaring crowd who chanted slogans like “build the rail” and “we pay taxes, we want trains.” In one moment while discussing layoffs at the Federal Aviation Administration, the crowd got particularly rowdy, almost distracting from Duffy’s words entirely. The secretary acknowledged the protestors in the crowd at one point and said, “These protestors should all be at the steps of Gavin Newsom’s mansion.” He continued: “They should all talk to him about what happened here.”


Sarah K. Burris (RAW STORY) adds:


A video of the conference showed jeers under Duffy's comments. Initial boos were replaced by chants of “Build the rail! Build the rail!”

At another point, the crowd chanted, “We pay taxes, we want trains!”

Duffy yelled at the crowd that they should be complaining to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic legislature.


As US House Rep Nancy Pelosi noted yesterday, the emperor has no clothes on: "I'm saying this to say, 'We're here to talk about Medicaid, Mr. President.' We will not be distracted with other things. He called himself a king the other day. Really? King of what? Anyway, the emperor has no clothes as far as I'm concerned."

Nancy's saying it and, across the country, the American people are saying it. 


Who's going to rescue Donald at this point?  Some of the Latino voters who voted for Chump but can now be found every evening on your local news explaining how they regret the vote and didn't realize that when he said he would deport all the criminals that -- to Donald Chump -- they're all criminals -- even those who were born (first generation) in the US.  Having left those voters feeling stabbed in the back does Chump really think they're coming back to him?


This is all blowing up much faster than Chump and his team anticipated.  They thought they had some good will in the bank (they didn't) and that they could ride through 120 days -- forget the first 100 -- doing whatever they wanted.  They thought people would be scared to speak out or stunned by the moves (illegal moves) he was making.  But he underestimated the strength of the American people.


He may have even underestimated the strength of his own party.   Michael Luciano (MEDIAITE) reports:


Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH) said some of President Donald Trump’s executive orders have gone too far by usurping the authority of Congress.

Since taking office a month ago for the second time, Trump has issued a spate of executive orders – some of which are potentially illegal. Of particular concern has been the “Department of Government Efficiency” led by billionaire Republican donor Elon Musk. Along with a group of young staffers, Musk has fired scores of federal employees and frozen funds already appropriated by Congress. The moves have prompted a series of lawsuits, including a challenge to Musk’s access to sensitive data at the U.S. Treasury.

Speaking at a Westerville Area Chamber business lunch on Thursday, Balderson said Trump’s executive orders are “getting out of control.”

“Congress has to decide whether or not the Department of Education goes away,” Balderson told local business leaders in attendance, according to The Columbus Dispatch. “Not the president, not Elon Musk. Congress decides.”


Better watch it, Balderson!  Chump and his AG might be about to draft a nasty letter to you.  Sarah K. Burris (RAW STORY) reports:


Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) posted a letter he received from U.S. Attorney Edward Martin on Department of Justice letterhead asking about his attacks on Elon Musk.

"As a United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, I receive requests for information and clarification. I take these requests seriously and act on them with letters like this one you are receiving," Martin began, not indicating who sent him the "requests."


This is the response from US House Rep Garcia to attempts to bully and intimidate him -- governmental attempts to bully and intimidate him:


Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) released the following statement after receiving a threatening letter from the Department of Justice in response to him calling out Elon Musk’s vast overreach in the federal government.

“No reasonable person would view my comments as a threat. We are living in a dangerous time, and elected members of Congress must have the right to forcefully oppose the Trump Administration. We will not be silenced,” said Congressman Robert Garcia.

Congressman Garcia has always fought back against tyranny to protect the foundation of our democracy. At the first DOGE Subcommittee hearing in February, Congressman Garcia called out Elon Musk for his billions of dollars in conflicts of interest with the federal government and for leading a power grab against our democracy. A day later, Congresswoman Nancy Mace (SC-01) introduced a resolution to censure

Congressman Garcia for using a figure of speech and speaking out against Musk’s blatant attempts to take over our democracy. After continuing to push back on Musk for his attempts to gut the social safety net to enrich himself and his billionaire friends, Washington D.C.'s Acting U.S. Attorney, a Trump appointee and ally, sent a threatening letter to Congressman Garcia as part of an effort to silence individuals willing to oppose Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s dangerous overreach. Congressman Garcia will continue to stand up to prevent billionaire oligarchs from overthrowing our democracy.

###

Matthew Chapman (RAW STORY) notes:


Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) tore into acting District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Ed Martin in a post on X, after it emerged that he sent a letter vaguely threatening criminal investigation against Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) for his comments critical of tech billionaire Elon Musk.

"Hey @USAEdMartin, I’m an American," said Walsh, a former Tea Party representative who turned against Trump shortly after his first election and has become one of his most outspoken conservative critics. "I have a right to call @elonmusk a d---. Just like I have a right to call Trump a Russian asset. It’s called the First Amendment. Hey Ed, take your government intimidation and shove it up your a--. Don’t you dare impinge upon my freedom."

[. . .]

This is not the first time Martin, who is already racking up a long list of alleged ethics violations, has threatened people for exercising their First Amendment rights. He similarly issued a public warning of investigation over "threats" to Elon Musk's associates, right around the time people posted the names of software engineers who were helping Musk infiltrate government systems.


 Let's start winding down.  Morgan Music's "Approval of Republicans in Congress Hits All-Time High as Approval of Democrats Sinks to All-Time Low: Poll" for LATINO TIMES.  A number of e-mails to the public account on this article.  Or the headline.  Do we not know how to read beyond the headline?


A number of you clearly don't as you do drive-by e-mails to the public account.  I did not miss this 'news' in yesterday's snapshot.  It does not change anything I said in yesterday's snapshot.  I could've included it but felt like I was hitting on the Socialist issue enough as it was.


But since some of the drive-bys are from Socialists who think this proves something good about themselves -- it doesn't -- we'll not just cover it, we'll open with it.


DSA-ers, I know you've got a country to destroy and more scams to run.  So reading beyond a headline is too time consuming for you.

By the way, I'm not interested in promoting programs with DSA.  ZETO is bringing on Cori Bush and Jamal Bowman.  We noted both prior to November 2024.  Noted them constantly.  I defended Cori here repeatedly.  I knew they were Socialists -- not Democrats.  I knew Cenk and Kyle though they could lie with Justice Democrats and take over the Democratic Party.  DSA has tried that for decades and they weren't the first Socialist grouping to do that.  But they never succeed.  So it really didn't matter to me and on many issues I do align with Socialists.  By the same token, I loved Rashida Tlaib.  A friend pointed out how a director had asked us at a dinner to go around the table and say who our favorite member of The Squad was and why.  Almost everyone went with AOC.  One went with AP.  I'm shuddering just at the thought. Long before she endorsed violence on Twitter -- and attacked my friend Chris Rock -- it was obvious she was a nightmare.  At any rate, it got to be my turn.  I said Rashida Tlaib.  I was the only one at this large dinner party to say Rashida.  And I said her knowing she was a Socialist -- all members of The Squad were.  And here, we noted Rashida constantly.  Even, when she was under attack -- and too stupid to issue press releases, going so far as to do a post that was just a series of her Tweets.  

But 2024 changed all that as Rashida became the face for the DSA movement to kill Kamala's campaign.  I get it.  I know that we have to walk most people through over and over and over because they're used to lies and liars.  The tricksters -- as Dolce Salon would call them -- who lie.  This was not about Gaza, it was never about Gaza.  "Uncommitted" was started by Norman Solomon.  He wanted Joe off the ticket.  And he failed.  Then came October 7th and Norman and DSA realized that they could screw with the race by hiding behind Palestinians -- this would give them a noble lie to attach to themselves.  So Rashida and her sister stepped up front and became leaders.

They led.  They led Donald Chump back into the White House.

No, that's not forgivable.  As a nation, we should now realize that is not forgivable.  

So DSA is in for a long hard future.  I'm up here doing it every day.  But I'm also -- along with other Democratic Party donors -- working behind the scenes to see that these liars face consquences.

They put Chump in the White House.

SEP?

They're Socialists.  I have not called them out.  The issue for me isn't Socialism.  The issue is you lying that you are a Democrat when you're a Socialist.  Now you were desperate to run on our party's ticket because you're not getting elected, for example, in Texas, if they know you're a Socialist. And I love that Socialist from Texas.  We noted him repeatedly over and over and I've avoided mentioning his name since the election.  Prior to that, he issued a press release about some sport event (I think it was a run) and we posted it here as soon as it was e-mailed to us.  But I can't afford you.

SEP did what SEP does.  I'm not upset by that.  I'm not bothered by the fact that their members -- who are not in political closets -- did not vote for Kamala.  I'm not bothered that the Party for Socialism and Liberation -- also Socialists -- didn't vote for Kamala. They had a worthy candidate in Claudia De la Cruz.  Not bothered in the least about that.  But PSL and SEP never ran as Democrats or pretended to be Democrats.  They didn't use us and then stab us in the back.  DSA did.  And that's really nothing new and that's why you will see me, check the archives, calling out DSA repeatedly for decades.  As an organization, I've called it out.  I've had friends in it.  I've been sometime shocked to find out who was in it -- it seems to be a rule that you have to lie and pretend you're a Democrat to be in DSA.  I think Liza Featherstone is an exception to that rule.  

What does this have to do with the article?  Read the article.  Dems are 'down' to 40% approval.  Republicans are also at 40% approval.  Read the article and grasp that there's no real difference.  It's a catchy headline but read the article and it's a meaningless headline -- click bait and nothing more.

Democrats would be higher right now if it weren't for DSA.

They desperately want to make AOC a party leader.  And the more desperate they get to shove her down our throats, the more pissed off I get and you better pray I don't decide to take her down.  Hers is a house on very flimsy ground and I think I'd just have to huff -- not huff and puff -- to blow her house down.  I don't want to do that.  But DSA is ticking me off.

To pimp AOC, they are attacking Democratic leaders.

Just like they did when they were trying to bury enthusiasm for Kamala during the election.  

We can't afford you, DSA.

You're tricksters and liars.  


And you're trashing our party -- the Democratic Party -- not your party.  You're trashing us and people think, "Oh, look, these Democrats hate Democrats."

No, that's not what's going on.  

Real Democrats realize our party needs to be strong and we're not rushing around attacking this or that Democrat who is trying to fight.  We're not doing Kyle Kulinski's messaging of Hakeem Jeffries must go!

Why, Kyle, because he's Black?

Tabitha of TABITHA SPEAKS does not like Hakeem and wishes he was out of leadership.  That doesn't bother me.  She's a Democrat and I get where she's coming from and have no problem at all with her view point -- it's different than mine but I've done that from the beginning -- posted people that looked at things differently than I did.

I made a comment awhile back that we might be dropping someone because I wasn't sure I could trust them.  Some of you wrongly thought I was referring to Tabitha.  Tabitha is not "old."  But she's not "young" and I specifically noted the woman I was referring to was young.

I was referring to Danielle Moodie.  I thought she was the real deal.  She had passion.  She had a tendency to leap too far in some arguments but that's passion and youth.  Or I thought it was.  When I noted that I was seriously wondering if a young woman was trustworthy to Danielle.  

There's a woman who should have been hollering for Kamala.  She's a liar, this woman, but she was so enthusiastic with her lying for a Democrat a little while back.  Community members know who I'm referring to.  Even long time lurkers know who I'm referring to.  Yes, Ava and I got her fired and banned.  But after that, we were pretty much done with her.  Her continued failure was amusing when we'd hear of it but after she lost her TV job we were honestly done with her.  

So when Danielle Moodie was praising her all of the sudden?  My attitude was: Huh?

Now she's young and may not know about how her 'friend' is a liar who we got banned from PBS for her lying.  

But Danielle should know what's taking place when she mentions the woman.  And I knew what was taking place -- the woman was Tweeting.  But never about Kamala Harris.  Not one Tweet in the three month lead up to the election.  As Debra Winger says in BLACK WIDOW, "I find it strange." Big bad woman going to attack the whole world to get Barack Obama the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2008 but now when Kamala's the nominee, this woman who was so fond of insisting "I'm sitting here in all of my Blackness" -- I mean it was her catch phrase, her Dyno-mite! --  in one media appearance after another.

But for three months, as a Black woman ran to become president, big bad had nothing to say.  

And I honestly don't get how Danielle would miss that.  Which is why I said I might be making a mistake by noting someone here.  

And so now Danielle's reBLUESKYING a man who worked to defeat Kamala.  Putting praise on him.  Maybe she doesn't know he's a Socialist?  Maybe she doesn't know he was part of Uncommitted?

I identified with Danielle's righteous anger.  I identified with her calling out the people who refused to vote for a Black woman.  The sexism and the racism involved.  And I loved that this generation -- so far behind mine (that's an insult to me, not her, I'm referring to my age) could have a gusty, passionate leader and she could be everything we ever dreamed of for the future of Black womanhood -- passionate and proud and not willing to be shamed.  She was the Alice Walker character come to life from the page.  


But there's her friend.  And then yesterday's she putting out on social media praise for a man who worked to destroy Kamala.

I don't know.  I honestly don't know about her.  Again, I was filled with so much joy and I was so proud of her and she seemed to be everything we wanted in our leaders when I was younger.  I hope that's what she is.  But you only get three strikes with me.

That's because we can never have 2024 again.  Live and let live, that was my way.  Until we got stabbed in the back.  And now the world suffers because of that back stab.

And the back stab continues because we've got people -- Socialists -- working to destroy Democrats in office. And Danielle's trying to destroy Hakeem.  With Tabitha, I just write it off as a different view -- and am more than willing to say she's probably more informed on this than I am, as I've noted until DSA made their plan to destroy Hakeem, I wasn't paying attention to him.  But with Danielle?  I've already got two question marks.  And if she's now going to be supporting a man who actively campaigned to prevent us from having the first Black woman president?  Then she's not the power I was hoping she was, the leader that we'd all waited to emerge.  

Hope I'm wrong to worry.  But if you see us move on and stop noting her, that's what happened.  I can't afford you, the party can't afford you.  We knew how important 2024 was.  So those of you who worked against the Democratic Party are not going to be forgiven. 

And the story in LATINO TIMES was nonsense.  A headline about how great Republicans are doing and how badly Democrats are doing when both are at 40%.  It's the inability to do the basic math here that is also reflected in the lie that Donald Chump got a mandate. 

I'm not here to tear Democrats down as Chump destroys out country.  I'm especially not here to help Socialists tear my party down.  There are times when you work together to save the country.  And I will work with anyone in good faith.  I will not work with those who have already carried out a betrayal and show no remorse.  

When talking about a new project, I always say I don't mind the unknown but I will not work with someone who threw the set into disarray and made everyone miserable.  It's unproductive and life is too short. 

We'll close with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

ICYMI: Senator Murray on Senate Republicans’ Pro-Billionaire Budget Resolution, Trump and Musk’s Devastating Funding Freeze and Mass Firings

ICYMI: Senator Murray speaks at Budget Committee markup of resolution, offers common sense amendments rejected by Republicans

Washington, D.C. — Tonight on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, put forward an amendment to Senate Republicans’ pro-billionaire budget resolution to address defense and nondefense funding needs equally—tackling national security concerns and pressing domestic challenges like supporting biomedical research, child care, the housing crisis, and much more.

Rather than the $342 billion Republicans are proposing in mandatory funding through the partisan reconciliation process, Murray’s amendment would have provided $171 billion in discretionary funding for defense and $171 in discretionary funding for domestic needs. Unlike the partisan approach taken by Republicans, the funding under the Murray amendment would be available to address a range of critical needs and help hardworking families get ahead. Senator Murray has long emphatically argued that Congress must not leave funding for families and domestic priorities behind.

Republicans blocked Murray’s amendment, #878, in a XX-XX vote.

Senator Murray said on the Senate floor when offering her amendment, #878:

“My amendment does two things: First, it strikes the reconciliation instructions. Secondly, it creates a reserve fund to implement a bipartisan, multi-year agreement to provide $171 billion in discretionary funding for both defense and nondefense.

“Democrats do agree: we need more resources to invest in our national security, address challenges at the border, and counter China—but we cannot leave the rest of our budget in the dust while we do that.

“So let’s deliver investments to do both—and make sure we also support our veterans, agriculture, disaster response, biomedical research, the FAA, child care, and more.

“These are all big challenges; Democrats stand ready to work with our colleagues—as we have in the past, including through our bipartisan efforts on the Appropriations Committee.

“But that can only happen if Republicans are willing to work with us. And working with us means actually working with us—not telling us to accept Elon Musk cutting a trillion dollars in fiscal year 2025 to our priorities, which is assumed in this Republican budget plan. And at the same time, spending $342 billion on their own priorities.

“It also means not sitting on your hands while Elon and Trump rip up our bipartisan laws. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.”

Earlier today, Murray delivered a lengthy speech on the Senate floor where she laid out in detail how Republicans’ budget resolution is a blueprint for deep, painful cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP that help working families—all in service of passing more tax giveaways for billionaires. Murray also underscored how the Trump administration’s lawless mass firings and funding freeze is hurting people and jeopardizing critical services in every part of the country, and why a clean full-year CR is not an acceptable solution to government funding.

Last week at the Senate Budget Committee mark up of Senate Republicans’ Budget resolution, Senator Murray, a senior member and former chair of the committee, put forward six amendments to steer Republicans toward a bipartisan approach to spending, affirm Congress’ power of the purse, reverse cuts to NIH, deliver transparency into the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and more. Republicans unanimously opposed every amendment Murray and other Democrats offered. In her opening remarks, Murray also called for Elon Musk to come before the Committee to discuss his already in-motion efforts to decimate programs people count on.

###



The following sites updated:


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Worm Brain attacks transgender people

You know what I hope?  I hope that worm eats out whatever's left of Robert Kennedy Jr's brain and that, in 2029, his trashy wife leaves him for someone with money and health and Junior ends up in a care facility where the staff is 70% trans nurses and he has to depend upon their kindness.

What am I talking about?  This:


The Department of Health and Human Services will define sex as an "immutable biological classification" and only recognize males and females, officials said on Wednesday.

Why it matters: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his first full day on the job released guidance building on on President Trump's executive order seeking to stop recognizing the concept of gender identity.




Kennedy's announcement comes a week after he was confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, over objections from Democrats and medical professionals who criticized Kennedy's history of vaccine skepticism.



The most important part about the USA TODAY article is probably how huge Junior's jowls have gotten.  After that?  How much make up he's wearing.  Miss Sassy wears it, Chump wears it and Junior wears it -- but keep claiming you're bringing back masculinity because we all need a good laugh.

In the meantime, they're destroying lives.  Transgender people are the ones being scapegoated right now, along with immigrants.  But that's just phase one.  He will work his way around to attacking all of us.  




"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Thursday, February 20, 2025.  As more use their voices, Donald Chump's efforts to trick the country into marching to its own slaughter get exposed and the people -- uh, oh, Chump! -- get woke.



A new poll from Reuters shows that the early optimism that greeted President Donald Trump's second term is quickly fading as consumers sour on the American economy.

According to Reuters, Trump's job approval fell by three points since the start of his second term a month ago, and he's being dragged down by perceptions of the economy, which was the issue that many political analysts believed put him over the top in the 2024 presidential election.

"The share of Americans who think the economy is on the wrong track rose to 53% in the latest poll from 43% in the January 24-26 poll," Reuters writes. "Public approval of Trump's economic stewardship fell to 39% from 43% in the prior poll."


We The People are rejecting Convicted Felon Donald Trump and that rejection is only going to increase. That's for a number of reasons including Chump's desire to push his garbage attacks on America through quickly.  The reason for the speed is to avoid the average American catching on.

Political tricksters can't with honesty.  That's why, for example, you get Socialists trying to pass themselves off as Democrats and only embarrassing themselves with self-labels like Justice Democrats.  Over on the right, they have many, many more tricksters. 

And their goal is to try to convince you that you want to turn over all of America's treasures to corporations so that the rich can get even richer -- and without any real oversight.

So they have to push these awful plans quickly.

But people are noticing and that's one thing -- they're noticing that these programs are awful.

The other thing is the speed with which they're trying to dismantle our entire system.

Socialists have the same end goal of Donald Chump -- dismantling our system, taking it down and replace it with something they just know will follow even though they can't articulate what that is -- and if they're DSA-ers, they can't even articulate that they're Socialists.  THE NATION is run by a Socialist (KvH) and a avowed Marxist that she's appointed.  But we're not supposed to notice that.  Or that THE PROGRESSIVE is also not a Democratic outlet but a Socialist outlet.  

DSA, for example, has been trying decades to take over the Democratic Party.  And failing repeatedly.  They could try to build up DSA (which keeps collapsing) but instead, as NBC NEWS reported two years ago, they want to instead try to hide and run as Democrats. 
 

Renée Paradis, a member of the party's National Political Committee said opinion inside the DSA ranges widely, including those who want the group to be more active inside the Democratic Party.

But the consensus coming out of the convention, she said, remains that DSA should keep running candidates in Democratic primaries while building its own outside campaign infrastructure.

"Most working-class voters still heavily identify with the Democratic Party," said Paradis. "Bernie’s campaigns and DSA’s own electoral campaigns have shown that we can build socialist power while tactically using the Democratic Party’s ballot line.”


So they lie about who they are and what their ideology is about -- the end goal is the destruction of our way of life -- again, not unlike Donald Chump.

But as deluded as those left tricksters are, they grasp that they can't rush this forward.  That's why they move slowly.  Donald's not moving slowly.

And I don't care whether it's dropping a certain color of M&M candies or some offering at McDonald's, the people in this country do not embrace rapid change.

And the rush -- forget to what -- that Chump's attempting is turning off people.  

His programs are unpopular and his pace is unpopular.  That's sealing his doom.





All by itself, the pace would be bad enough.  Humankind moves slowly.  But when you add in the effects of this pace?  When you see one example of incompetence after another?  When you see decisions that are leaving the American people at risk?  That's when people really sour on Chump.



If anyone should’ve felt safe in their government jobs, you’d assume it would be the 350 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration, charged with oversight of the country’s nuclear arsenal.

Never assume.

In what the White House is now calling a mistake, a large swath of NNSA employees were fired last Thursday before the Trump administration realized they had cleared out the wrong agency. By Friday, they were scrambling to rehire these essential workers. All but 28 employees had their dismissals rescinded, according to the Los Angeles Times.


Exactly, those workers should have felt safe, their job was to ensure that we were safe.  But they're suddenly gone.  And then, OOPS!, we need those people.

Isn't that something Chump and his flight attendant Alien Musk should have figured out and known before the plane left the runway?  Forget partisanship, that -- and other examples -- say to the American people, he's just destroying, he doesn't know what he's doing. 



 President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, in their hunt for "fraud, waste and abuse" in the federal government, are falsely implying millions of dead Americans are receiving Social Security benefits, experts told ABC News.

It started in the Oval Office last week when Musk -- facing reporters for the first time since the Department of Government Efficiency began its aggressive overhaul of the federal government -- said he found "crazy things" in the Social Security system, including, he said, people who are "150 years old." 

[. . .]

Social Security policy experts and economists told ABC News that they are getting it wrong, contending Musk is misreading the agency's records system. 

  The Social Security Administration (SSA) has multiple databases, including one that gets sent to the Treasury Department each month outlining who is receiving payments.

According to agency statistics, of the 67 million people who receive Social Security benefits, only 0.1% are over the age of 100.

"So, when they're throwing around numbers like tens of millions of dead people are getting Social Security, well there's only 67 million total. What are they talking about? Half the people are actually dead? The numbers are so ridiculous. It's not true," said Kathleen Romig, the director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

SSA does make some improper payments, but they are not widespread (roughly 1%) and most of the mistakes made are overpayments to living beneficiaries, according to a July 2024 inspector's general report. That report found from 2015 through 2022, the SSA made $71.8 billion in improper payments. The agency issues $1 trillion in benefits every year.


Oops.  Caught lying yet again.  Yet again.  And Social Security is popular with voters -- regardless of party i.d.  And now we know, as a nation, that he's lying yet again.

And that Alien Musk is 'overseeing' an agency he has no knowledge of.  He doesn't know what he's doing and he doesn't care.  This isn't his country, after all.  That's why he's a citizen of two other countries -- Canada and his birthplace South Africa.  

What happens in America matters to American citizens.  American citizens don't have citizenship in three countries -- not if they're committed to our country.  The Iraqi Constitution of 2005 addressed that issue of citizenship for officials. The US government largely wrote it -- right wingers -- so grasp that they're not crazy about Alien either.

And as Chump and Alien rush to destroy, they remind the American people of what we don't like.


The Trump administration admitted on Tuesday that it accidentally fired "several" USDA employees who were working on resolving the H1N5 bird flu outbreak in the United States. The USDA said in a statement it was working on bringing those agency employees back.

"Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," a USDA spokesperson said in a statement reported by NBC.

"USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfill our statutory mission."

The DOGE purge of the federal government had already claimed 300 employees at the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) last week, which then had to be walked back after it was revealed they were in charge of maintaining the safety of the United States' nuclear arsenal.


Another accidental firing carried out by Donald Chump's sugar daddy Alien Musk.  Alien who was not elected to government office and who does not hold a position that the Senate might confirm.  South African-born Alien Musk coming into our country, having the nerve to fire American citizens and then, over and over, OOPS!  


Oops?


The first oops made it clear Alien didn't know what he was doing and should not be over anything to do with the US government.  The man is seen as a security risk by our own government.  And, along with accessing our data that should be protected from him, he's firing people and clearly doesn't know what they do, what their duties are or how important they are to running this country.


He doesn't know.


And he doesn't care to know.


Chump's put his Sugar Daddy ahead of the citizens of this country.  


RAW STORY notes:


In just a few short weeks, the Trump administration has brought drastic changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health. Beginning with the removal of websites and key public health datasets in January 2025, the Trump administration has taken actions to dismantle established public health infrastructure as part of its second-term agenda.

In addition, the administration has begun a widespread purge of the federal public health workforce. As of Feb. 19, around 5,200 employees at the CDC and the National Institutes of Health had been let go. About 10% of the CDC’s staff have been removed, with plans for additional firings. 


How is any of this helping the American people?


The vast increase in the price of groceries since Chump was sworn in?  He's not addressing that.  He's not honoring his word that the prices would go down on the first day of his administration.


That's what he told people. 


That's what he campaigned on.


But he's not doing anything about it.  He's too focused on destroying our country and advancing his plans before the entire country catches on to how he's looting American taxpayers and treasures to enrich people like Alien Musk.


Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early (TAP) report:

In a scene that has become familiar in Washington these days, angry federal workers and concerned members of Congress gathered outside a government office to protest the latest depredations of the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) created by President Trump.

On February 13, the venue of the day was the Vermont Avenue headquarters of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), an agency with the second-largest workforce and third-largest budget in the federal government.

The Senate Democrats who rallied, in person or via press release, to “Protect Our Veterans” trained their fire on the evil meddling of the billionaire boss from Tesla, SpaceX, and X, the social media site previously known as Twitter.

In her statement of support, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) warned that Musk and his crew were accessing data that included personal information about VA patients, which is supposed to be safeguarded by the secretary of veterans affairs. “Veterans risked their lives to defend our country,” Murray said. “And they deserve better than to have an unelected billionaire reviewing their medical records, targeting the benefits they have earned, or using their private information for personal gain.”


He's going after Social Security, he's going after Medicare, he's going after Medicaid and he's going after veterans.  


Those of us who support those four programs?  We outnumber Chump and Alien.  We're right and we're left and we're center.  And we have the numbers.  Even a dumb ass like Ted Cruz -- one of Texas' two idiot US senators -- has to grasp that reality if his constituents call his office, write him, demand a face-to-face, protest -- all of it.  


Even dumb Ted Cruz knows Chump's not going to protect Cruz's ass.  Chump will protect his own ass.  But at the end of the day, he's not doing anything for Cruz.  So confronted with angry constituents, Cruz does have to develop some form of a spine and stand up for his constituents.



A President’s Day weekend swept by fear and grief from the sudden termination of thousands of federal employees in the US Forest Service and Department of Interior left chaos and uncertainty after the latest assault on the federal workforce by the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

For people on the ground in mountain communities, small towns and rural areas, the cuts were nothing short of devastating. They came with no explanation, warning or discernment, and the impact on public land and wildlife, observers say, will be felt for years.

“It’s pretty hard to fathom,” said Claire Thompson, 35, a trail leader who was fired Friday afternoon after eight years with the US Forest Service. “It feels like they’re punishing the people who least deserve it. We have chosen to stay in careers working for so little money. We are literally the boots on the ground, physically working all day.”

Jobs cut included park rangers and interpreters, National Environmental Policy Act coordinators, endangered species biologists, trail crews, maintenance staff, and wastewater treatment operators.



This is across the nation.  It's not just in some liberal college town like Corvallis, Oregon.  That's not an insult to Corvallis, I've visited the city many times and spoken there many times.  It's a great city.  And they are active.  But this is cities across the nation.  This is towns.

The reason we call out trash like Joe and Mika is because they are surrender monkeys.

What was needed from the start was for brave voices to step up and speak out.


The Emperor's got no clothes on
No clothes? That can't be; he's the Emperor
Take that child away
Don't let the people hear the words he has to say

One small voice
Speaking out in honesty
Silenced, but not for long
One small voice speaking with the values
   we were taught as children

So you walk away and say, Isn't he divine?
Don't those clothes look fine on the Emperor?
And as you take your leave
You wonder why you're feeling so ill-at-ease
Don't you know?

Lies take your soul
You can't hide from yourself
Lies take their toll on you
And everyone else

One small voice speaking out in honesty
Silenced, but not for long
One small voice speaking with the values
   we were taught as children
Tell the truth
You can change the world
But you'd better be strong

-- "One Small Voice," written by Carole King, first appears on her SPEEDING TIME album.


That's what it boils down.  One voice.  And that one voice brings out another and soon We The People are going to be heard.  That's how it works.  

In a democracy, that's how it works.



Donald Trump called himself “THE KING” on Wednesday, and the rest of the White House was overjoyed to see the president was dropping the pretense of democracy. 

Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that his administration would challenge New York City’s recent policy installing congestion pricing, with an added rhetorical twist. 


Chump's not the king.  As Ann noted last night, "King?  Please.  He's not strong enough to be a Drag Queen, forget King.  He's nothing but a court jester dancing for his master Alien Musk."  Justin Kaufmann (AXIOS) notes Illinois Governor JB Pritzker spoke yesterday and noted the US does not have kings:


What they're saying: "My oath is to the Constitution of our state and of our country," Pritzker said in the speech.

  • "We don't have kings in America — and I don't intend to bend the knee to one. I am not speaking up in service to my ambitions, but in deference to my obligations."

Context: Pritzker, a Democrat who has both attacked and sued the Trump administration in recent weeks, is considered a rising national star in his party.

Zoom in: Pritzker's own budget office revealed a $3.2 billion deficit for 2026 in November, but the governor's office has since revised that to a $1.7 billion deficit.

  • The budget calls for revenue to grow by almost 3% to offset the deficit, along with a slew of cost-cutting measures, like streamlining state purchasing and a freeze on new hiring.


The power we have is our voice.  In a democracy, our voices matter.  And our voices are already exposing the corruption and the misdeeds of Donald Chump.  We just need to increase the pressure.  Carl Gibson reports:

Centrist Republicans in Congress who have publicly criticized President Donald Trump have nonetheless turned out to be reliable votes for his Cabinet nominees. This may be due to fear of retribution.

That's according to a Wednesday article in Vanity Fair, which quoted several Republicans who say there's fear among GOP elected officials in Washington D.C. about the potential for political violence from Trump's base if they outwardly oppose him. Vanity Fair's Gabriel Sherman spoke with longtime Republican strategist Stuart Stevens — who worked for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign before joining anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project — who said today's Republicans have lost their spine.

"These are the heirs of the Greatest Generation, and they turned out to be the worst generation," he said. "A guy sends a mob into your workplace to kill you, and you’re okay with that?"

One of the more moderate members of the Senate Republican Conference who has publicly criticized Trump is Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is running for reelection in 2026 in a relatively purple state. But Tillis turned out to be the deciding vote to confirm former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense. One of Sherman's sources said Tillis was made aware of "credible death threats" by the FBI ahead of the final vote.

"They’re scared s---less about death threats and Gestapo-like stuff," said an unnamed source who worked in the first Trump administration.


We may go into more of that tomorrow.  For now, Edith Olmsted (THE NEW REPUBLIC) explains:

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency may be trying to inflate the numbers of its spending cuts.

DOGE published an itemized list of canceled government contracts Monday accounting for an alleged $16 billion in spending. Almost half of those savings were attributed to a hefty $8 billion contract for D&G Support Services to provide “program and technical support services” to the Office of Diversity and Civil Rights at the the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

There was just one problem: The DOGE website included a screenshot of the award, which showed that it was only worth $8 million, not $8 billion, as was the amount listed directly below the image. 


We have to expose the lies, we must demand accountability.  Last night, Ali Velshi  spoke with Senator Elizabeth Warren about Alien Musk.




There is so much at stake.  And that's why Alien and Chump have to lie.  They don't want the truth out there, they want to trick the American people.  Oscar Maung-Haley (DAILY EXPRESS) notes:


The 45th and 47th President of the United States arrived at Daytona International Speedway via jet, a figure which some users on social media have speculated cost taxpayers $25,000. While that figure has not been verified, it is an objective fact Trump flew in for the beginning of the race, stayed 11 laps and then left.

"Trump burned $25,000 in jet fuel, doing laps around Daytona in Air Force One, which will be paid for by tax money. Someone alert DOGE," wrote one user on Reddit.

"Trump's Daytona flyover? More like a taxpayer-funded ego trip!" said another on X. A third wrote: "Waste fraud and abuse written alllll over it. But since it's maga sponsored race, they won't complain lol."

And a fourth said: "Receipt that it costs millions to travel?"


Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:

ICYMI: Senator Murray on Trump Indiscriminately Firing Workers at Hanford and Bonneville Power Administration, Threatening Energy Security in Washington State

***VIDEO FROM PRESS CALL HERE***

***NEW FACT SHEET: Impact in Washington State of Trump and Musk’s Reckless Mass Layoffs***

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, held a virtual press conference with federal workers in Washington state who were recently laid off through no fault of their own and with zero justification, as part of Trump and Musk’s unprecedented assault on the federal workforce. The speakers underscored how the mass firings Trump and Musk have ordered over the last few days will severely jeopardize essential services that families in Washington state rely on—and leave us all worse off. A fact sheet compiled by Senator Murray’s office on some of the impacts in Washington state of these reckless mass layoffs is available HERE.

Murray was joined for the press call by Gregg Bafundo, Former Lead Wilderness Ranger at the U.S. Forest Service’s Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest and a former U.S. Marine who lives in Okanogan County; Raphael Garcia, a veteran and former Management Analyst for the US. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who has served as the only management analyst for the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Disability Rating Activity Site at the Seattle Regional Office for the past 7.5 months; and Liz Krumpp, former Washington Constituent Account Executive at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), who retired from BPA in 2023 and resides in Olympia. Both Gregg and Raphael were let go last week as part of the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers.

“Right now, President Trump, and his co-President Elon Musk are breaking American government. They are firing workers left and right—with no plan, no strategy, and no concern for who gets hurt,” said Senator Murray.“We know Trump’s firing spree isn’t about merit because they are targeting new employees, people who have been recognized for outstanding performance, and people who were recently promoted—who are now getting fired from their newly earned jobs. Trump and Musk are, by design, pushing out, some of our best performers—and fresh blood in the federal workforce. We know Trump’s mass firings aren’t about saving money. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to fire hundreds of workers at the Bonneville Power Administration. After all, these positions are funded by ratepayers—by all of us in the Northwest—not from federal funding. And these are people who literally help keep the lights on. But no matter—they’re being fired on a whim because two billionaires don’t have a clue about what they do, and don’t care to learn.”

“I swore an oath to serve our country—first in the U.S. Army and then at the VA—only to be abruptly terminated by the very institution that promised to care for those who have served,” said Raphael Garcia of Seattle, who was laid off through no fault of his own and with zero justification from the VA last week. “My termination isn’t just a personal tragedy; it’s a stark reminder that our federal government is dismantling essential support systems for Veterans and vulnerable communities. When cost-cutting means sacrificing dedicated, disabled service members and committed federal employees, it isn’t about efficiency—it’s about eroding the trust and dignity that our nation owes to those who answer the call to serve.”

“For 18 years I have faithfully served the American People—eight as a US Marine and ten as a Wilderness Ranger. I have always put myself between the danger and my fellow citizens and now I have been cast aside as the parasite class or some kind of fraud. These heartless and gutless firings will lead to loss of lives and property,” said Gregg Bafundo of Okanogan County, who was laid off through no fault of his own and with zero justification from the Forest Service last week.

“Bonneville is the source of nearly 50 percent of the electrical power that is consumed in the State of Washington and owns, operates, and maintains over 15,000 circuit miles of high voltage transmission from Montana, across Idaho, Oregon and Washington, extending into Wyoming, Nevada and California. Critically, Bonneville has over a dozen new transmission projects in the planning stages—which its customers are asking for—to serve the increasing demand for electricity and to interconnect new power generators being built. Bonneville is self-funded by selling transmission service or selling electrical power. That’s it. No federal tax revenues fund its work or its employees. Cutting its employees does not save the federal tax payer a dime,” said Liz Krumpp, who worked at BPA for 15 years before retiring in 2023 and resides in Olympia. “These arbitrary lay-offs and hiring freezes will make it increasingly harder for the remaining employees to do their jobs and do them safely. Currently, its customers are asking Bonneville to expand its transmission system, not shrink it. Bonneville helps keep the lights on in the Northwest.  Its work costs taxpayers nothing.”

Late last week, Senator Murray released a fact sheet detailing how Trump and Musk’s mass firings at all manner of federal agencies will hurt families, veterans, small businesses, farmers, and so many others across the country who need a government that works for them. Senator Murray has spoken out on the Senate floor against this administration’s attacks on federal workers, and recently sent an open letter to federal workers and a newsletter to her constituents in Washington state outlining her concerns with the administration’s so-called “Fork in the Road” offer. Senator Murray has also sent recent oversight letters demanding answers about indiscriminate staffing reductions across federal agencies including to HUD Secretary Scott Turner on reports of massive staff cuts at HUD, Interior Secretary Doug Burham on National Parks Service staffing cuts, and Acting USDA Secretary Gary Washington on the universal hiring pause for USDA firefighters, among others.

Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered on today’s press call, are below and video is HERE:

“Right now, President Trump, and his co-President Elon Musk are breaking American government. They are firing workers left and right—with no plan, no strategy, and no concern for who gets hurt.

“And we know there is no plan because they fired hundreds of people in charge of ensuring the security of our nuclear arsenal—only to desperately turn around and try to hire them back.

“That is the height of incompetence. And these other firings are just as senseless and reckless.

“In the middle of the bird flu threat—they are firing public health experts.

“Weeks after the deadliest plane crash in years—they are firing FAA workers.

“After the devastating wildfires recently—they are firing members of the Forest Service, and we’ll hear from one of them in a minute.

“They are firing people who work in law enforcement, who do food and drug inspections, who research deadly diseases, and who are cleaning up nuclear waste.

“I’ve spent years trying to get the Hanford cleanup the resources it needs. We’ve made so much progress—but it has still been understaffed, even before these pointless layoffs last week cut it down to a skeleton crew.

“We know Trump’s firing spree isn’t about merit because they are targeting new employees, people who have been recognized for outstanding performance, and people who were recently promoted—who are now are getting fired from their newly earned jobs.

“Trump and Musk are, by design, pushing out, some of our best performers—the fresh blood in the federal workforce.

“We know Trump’s mass firings aren’t about saving money. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to fire hundreds of workers at Bonneville Power. After all, these positions are funded by ratepayers—by all of us in the Northwest—not from federal funding. And these are people who literally help keep the lights on.

“But no matter—they’re being fired on a whim because two billionaires don’t have a clue about what they do, and don’t care to learn.

“And Trump is not tossing workers out on the street to make government more efficient.

“VA researchers are being fired as well—VA Puget Sound workers are being fired despite doing lifesaving research to prevent veteran suicide, build lifechanging prosthetics, address opioid addiction, and more.

“That is not just a betrayal of these public workers—it is a betrayal of our women and men in uniform who trust we will take care of them when they come home.

“Especially considering they have laid off many veterans as well—people who served their country and wanted to keep serving their country. And that really underscores an important point about exactly who Trump is firing.

“These are people who love their country and love their communities. They are people who work hard, make an honest living, and have families to support. And I’m so grateful to be joined by some of them today, who will speak about what they have been through.

“And I’d like to say to them all—thank you for the work you’ve done for our country. You deserve so much better than how you’ve been treated.

“What Elon and Trump are doing is going to set our country back. But we are not powerless—and your decision to share your stories today is proof of that.

“We each have a voice, and we can all speak out for a government that works for middle-class families, regular people—not just billionaires who will never need to call about their Social Security benefits or file a disability claim at VA.

“So I want to thank everyone for joining this call today—and now I’ll turn it over to Gregg.”

###




The following sites updated:






 

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