A few Truths

Truth, the first.

Elon Musk is not an auditor, or an economist, or an accountant, or anyone qualified to look into complicated payment systems and financial records in order to identify "fraud and waste".

None of the people he brought with him are any of those things either. They are hackers and software engineers.

So stop defending his criminal invasion of America's information with the "He's performing an audit" bullshit. Real audits take time and expertise.

Musk and his Minions are looting these federal agencies, stealing data, and tampering with their systems.

Truth, the second.

Federal worker salaries and benefits make up about 8% of the federal budget. DOGE and Trump could fire every single one and not make a dent in the annual deficit and the debt. (Of course, they're not actually doing it for efficiency or to save money but to consolidate their power).

If you really want to reduce the deficit, you need to do one of three things.

1) Cut Social Security/Medicaid/Medicare. This would devastate tens of millions of Americans who depend on these entitlements to survive. This would be highly immoral, so of course that's why MAGA wants to do it.

2) Cut the military budget. Transitioning away from being the biggest military on the planet by many times would not only save us money, but would likely reduce tensions all around the world. Unfortunately, this is a pipe dream.

3) Tax the rich. This is the clear answer. It's easy, there are no downsides, and it would happen fast. The rich would still be fine and we'd have money not only to pay down the debt, but to fund programs that would help all Americans. Having billionaires is immoral in a world where people starve and have no home.

So let's stop pretending that what DOGE is doing will help with the deficit. It's a lie, like everything else Trump and President Musk are doing.

Ted Talk

Dear MAGA,

Here's the deal. 

If you don't like being called fascists, stop doing fascist things.

If you don't like being called Nazis, stop doing Nazi things.

Just kidding! I know you secretly like being called fascists and Nazis, because why else would anyone ever do the things you do and support the things you support?

You're welcome.

More corporate cowards obeying in advance

Okay, Google, you're done. 

According to CNBC, Google’s popular calendars no longer tell users the story of Black History Month (February) or Women’s History Month (March), among other historical dates. Other observances, such as Jewish American Heritage Month (May), Pride Month (June), and Indigenous Peoples Month (November), are no longer noted on Google Calendar, either. Neither is Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan. 27).

Google has also changed the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on their maps.

This is because the "President" is a whiny diaper baby who attacks everything that doesn't jibe with his delusional hatred. Of course, Google, of all things, has the resources to resist, but won't.

I am immediately deleting Google Maps from my phone and won't be using Google. (Ugh. Bing? I guess it has to be).

Google owners are cowardly, craven corporate assholes, bowing down to a would-be dictator.

Here are some companies that (so far) haven't bent the knee.

Costco 

Meijer 

Kroger 

Giant Grocery 

Ben & Jerry’s 

Ulta 

Macy’s 

Old Navy 

Nordstrom’s 

TJ Maxx 

GoTo Foods (includes Moe’s Southwest Grill, Mcalister’s, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, Cinnabon, and more…)

Dollar Tree 

Walgreens 

Wegmans
e.l.f 

Pinterest 

JP Morgan Chase 

Microsoft 

United Airlines 

Southwest Airlines

American Airlines 

Delta Airlines 

Apple

Let's hope this list grows.

The Struggle for Democracy

I had been planning a blog post on the various efforts President Musk and his lackey Trump are making to get dedicated, professional civil servants to quit, but events are moving so quickly that it's difficult to keep up. This is all part of their "flooding the zone with shit" strategy.

They tried the "buy-out" which was transparently a scam, illegal, unprofessional, unauthorized by Congress, and obviously came from people who aren't in the government and unfamiliar with how the government works. Luckily, most people just ignored it. Unfortunately, as a manager I have had to participate in no less than an entire work day of meetings over the past week to figure out exactly what is being offered and how it impacts my staff and my agency. 

The 6 day turnaround given to staff to resign under threat of possible firing later was clearly to sow fear and chaos. Since that original email, they've followed up with contradictory and confusing memos which have not made any of this more clear. This is, again, part of the strategy to confuse and demoralize.

In addition, Musk and his minions have taken over at least three federal agencies, locked out staff, and stolen private, confidential information from EVERY AMERICAN. Congress has not authorized ANY OF THIS, but Republicans don't care. In my 34 years of government experience, Congress has always been protective of the agencies they oversee and they fight any encroachment by the Executive Branch. Now that the Executive Branch is their would-be dictator Trump, MAGA in Congress don't care how much power it costs them.

THIS IS AN ONGOING COUP AGAINST THE UNITED STATES.

In addition, Trump's cabinet choices, widely derided as uniquely unqualified when he made them, seem to be flying towards confirmation due to almost universal support by Senate MAGA. They've approved or are about to approve a drunk cheater as Secretary of Defense, an alcoholic, science-denying nutjob as head of Health and Human Services, and an obviously compromised Russian mole as Director of National Intelligence. Vlad Putin must be ecstatic right now as this band of corrupt, stupid, traitors are quickly taking over the US government.

Unless lawsuits are effective at slowing this down or MAGA in Congress grow a conscience and a spine, we're screwed. The United States has been effectively conquered in two weeks.

The Leopards Award - #2

Our next award winner is Héctor Luis Valdés Cocho, a MAGA Activist.

Héctor Luis Valdés Cocho, known for his political activism and his criticism of the Cuban regime, faces an increasingly complicated situation. He is currently in the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), detained at the Broward Transition Center, Florida. However, his case has taken an unexpected turn, not only due to rumors of a possible transfer to the Guantanamo Naval Base, but also due to reports of alleged scams that have darkened his reputation.

I'm sure it was all just a mistake and once he gets in touch with Trump, Trump will personally make sure he's released. Till then, he has my thoughts and prayers.

Blog Stuff

I do intend to post more fun stuff (non-political) in the days ahead. Unfortunately, because of the shitshow America is being subjected to by MAGA and Project 2025, there's a lot to scream about. 

Screaming doesn't help, but it makes me feel a little bit better.

The Night of the Long Knives

It's time for another history lesson, details from The United States Holocaust Memorial Museums' Holocaust Encyclopedia. I'm freestyling most of this, so click on the link if you want more refined details.

After Hitler became German Chancellor in late 1933, the Nazis had to reckon with the growing political power of their own paramilitary wing, the Sturmabteilung, aka the SA. The SA acted as the Nazi's shock troops during the 1920s and early 30s, creating anarchy and violence to terrorize the country. At the time Hitler became Chancellor, SA membership was 30 times the size of the German regular army, mandated by the Treaty of Versailles to no more than 100,000 troops.

The leader of the SA was Ernst Röhm, one of Hitler's only friends, one of the original Nazis, and fiercely loyal to Hitler. But as radicals in the SA felt the Nazis weren't doing enough to consolidate power against Hitler's industrial allies and the regular army, they agitated for continued revolution. It then occurred to the Nazis that the SA was an actual threat to their power. Since Hitler needed the army and the industrialists if he was going to make Germany a military power, and egged on by lies spread by Nazi leaders Himmler and Heydrich, it was decided that a purge of SA Leadership was needed to eliminate the threat.

The purge became known as The Night of the Long Knives.

Mostly committed by Heinrich Himmler's SS, the purge began on the night of June 30, 1934 and lasted until July 2. At the end of those days and nights of violence, between 100-200 targeted Germans were murdered, including Röhm and the other SA leaders around the country. Also killed were a number of non-Nazis, including Hitler's predecessor as Chancellor, Reichswehr General Kurt von Schleicher and his wife, a number of local politicians who had crossed the Nazis, and Willi Schmid, the music critic of a Munich newspaper, whose name was confused with one of the Gestapo's intended targets. In all, over 1,100 others were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

Afterwards, the Nazi-controlled Reichstag made the entire operation legal, and regular Germans celebrated the deaths as necessary to German security, believing Nazi propaganda about the event. The Night of the Long Knives cemented Nazi rule and made Hitler the unchallenged dictator of Germany until he was relieved of that title in 1945.

Hey, did you hear that Trump just pardoned more than 1,500 insurrectionists who had been jailed for their violent attack on Congress on January 6, 2021? And did you hear that Trump has been dismissing security details protecting some of his enemies, including John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, (both once loyal Trumpers) and Dr. Anthony Fauci?

Hmm. Don't know what made me think of that. Funny how the mind works.

Snitches don't get stitches

Hey, this is totally normal in a non-fascist country!

Below is part of the email that all federal agencies were forced to send to their employees earlier this week.

We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language. If you are aware of a change in any contract description or personnel position description since November 5, 2024 to obscure the connection between the contract and DEIA or similar ideologies, please report all facts and circumstances to DEIAtruth@opm.gov within 10 days.

There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information.  However, failure to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.

It's totally normal for federal employees to be threatened to snitch on their co-workers, especially for the grievous crime of, hmm, let's see. Oh, yeah, hiring qualified people to add different viewpoints and life experiences to your agency. What a crime!

I was just kidding above. This is NOT normal and is definitely SUPER-fascist. Yay!

It would be a shame if thousands of people spammed that email address.

The Leopards Award - #1

And . . . our first recipient of the Leopards Award during the Trump Administration is . . . 

The Fraternal Order of Police, the nation's largest police union!

The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), which supported President Donald Trump's election in 2016, 2020, and 2024, yesterday criticized his blanket pardon for people charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The FOP, the country's largest police union, is troubled by the president's clemency for Trump supporters who assaulted police officers while expressing their outrage at a supposedly stolen election.

...

they added that they are "deeply discouraged by the recent pardons and commutations granted by both the Biden and Trump Administrations to individuals convicted of killing or assaulting law enforcement officers."

The both-sidesing here is due to Biden's clemency for Leonard Peltier, who spent 50 years in jail for the alleged murder of two FBI agents. (Alleged because there's a lot of evidence that he was railroaded.) Biden's act is not the same as Trump pardoning 1,500+ violent insurrectionists who attacked Capitol Police just four years ago.

In any event, congratulations, FOP! You Fucked Around by supporting Trump and are now Finding Out!

Question Answered

I think that among most Americans who have a layman's knowledge of World War II, there was always a confusion over how Germany, a relatively progressive country, fell under the complete control of a bunch of violent, racist, yahoos and specifically how the Nazis managed to get so many normal, decent, every-day people to commit to all the violence, terror, death and genocide. I certainly didn't fully understand it.

I do now.

Law and Order

The "party of law and order" just pardoned and released over 1,500 violent offenders who had been convicted in a court of law under the regular, established legal procedures of the United States. Two thirds of those pled guilty. Many of those convicted were deeply involved in domestic terror groups, like the Proud Boys. Five people died within 36 hours of the attack.

Reminder, this is them:

Party of law and order indeed.

Many of these people will undoubtedly engage in domestic terrorism on Trump's behalf over the next four years.

The Final Day

Well, today is the final day. 

Possibly of American democracy, but definitely for good things coming from our government for at least four years. I think many people are quickly going to find out how many benefits come from having a functional, well-run government. Many innocents are going to start suffering this week.

Personally, everything is up in the air for me until new Agency management takes charge, so it may be some time before I learn what my job holds. Then again, it's easy to destroy, so maybe I'll find out soon.

A couple of predictions. 

Because Biden leaves office with low inflation, higher wages, increased manufacturing jobs, low unemployment, a record breaking stock market, and job increases during EVERY SINGLE MONTH OF HIS PRESIDENCY, the economy is humming. Trump will take credit for this. 

However, despite inheriting a great economy, Trump will eventually crash it. How quickly depends on whether or not he follows his campaign promise to enact tariffs on everyone who pisses off his fragile ego. What we can absolutely predict is that billionaires will get fewer regulations, more government contracts, and even more tax breaks, while 99% of Americans will have to fight to keep the meager social safety net intact.

If the peace in Gaza holds, Trump will take 100% of the credit, even though the Biden Administration has been working diplomatically for over a year. If the agreement falls apart, Trump will blame Biden and Hamas. In no universe will Trump blame Israel, even if it's Israel's (Netanyahu's) fault.

Trump will push Canada, Mexico, Denmark and Panama to follow his whims and cede territory or whatever other nonsense he demands. They will NOT obey. I really doubt he'll use the military against our allies, but who the hell knows. He and his followers are crazy.

Public health is about to take a huge hit, both from promoting woo woo ideas and prohibiting actual pro-health and life-saving practices like vaccines and flouridation.

Well, I've gone on long enough. Seriously, I could fill pages with the shit that's about to rain down. The bottom line is that bad things are about to happen, there are no adults in charge, and the guardrails are gone.

It's going to be a long, depressing, volatile four years and America may not survive.

One word of optimism. Trump's "mandate" is no such thing; he won by the smallest percentage of a President in decades. Plus, he's a whiny, stupid, man-baby and not some super-villain. He self-sabotages all the time.

There are many smart, resourced people who are preparing to fight Trump, his billionaire backers, and MAGA with everything they've got. We're not alone in this fight and it's not over just yet.

Stay safe.

I'm washing my hair that day

People are getting all verklempt at the news that Michelle Obama is not attending Convicted Felon Trump's inauguration.

Trump himself didn't attend President Biden's inauguration. Why the hell should Michelle attend his? Frankly, NO ex-President or their spouses should attend, as it confers legitimacy on what's an entirely illegitimate fascist takeover of the U.S.

Too many people need to get their heads out of their asses for worrying about shit like this. Bigger fish, people.

An inspiration!

This is Horst Wessel.

Attribution

As you might expect from the fancy duds, Horst was an officer in the Nazi SA, the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. When he was a teen during the 1920s, he founded his own youth group, the Knappschaft, to "raise our boys to be real German men". He also joined the Wiking Liga, which had the purpose of "the revival of Germany on a national and ethnic basis through the spiritual education of its members". 

Hmm. I think I read something similar on Twitter recently.

During the Weimar Republic, German political parties engaged in street violence against other parties. Horst was one of those who engaged in street fighting, mostly with the Communists. Once he had joined the SA at the wizened age of 19, he engaged in fun activities like public speaking, recruiting, the Nuremberg rallies, terror and murder. In January, 1930, Horst was injured, eventually resulting in his death, when a Communist knocked on his door and shot him point-blank. 

The Nazis, led by propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels, made Horst a Nazi martyr, which he remained until the end of the Third Reich in 1945. The Nazis made films about him, named plazas and ships after him, and made The Horst Wessel Song, which he had written before he died, a mainstay of Nazi gatherings. Horst died before the Nazis came to power, but they used his death to inspire their hatred for the next 15 years.

No reason, but here's an interesting article about Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by Capitol police while trying to lead a charge into the U.S. House Chambers where members of Congress were sheltering during the insurrection on January 6, 2021. You should read it.

Good Advice for pathetic men

America’s CEOs are fucking pumped they can act like dicks again

the corner office crowd is fucking pumped right now, because Donny Convict’s second term is going to usher in a new era of aggressively shitting on the peons below you.

Even the way people on Wall Street talk and interact is changing. Bankers and financiers say Trump’s victory has emboldened those who chafed at “woke doctrine” and felt they had to self-censor or change their language to avoid offending younger colleagues, women, minorities or disabled people. “I feel liberated,” said a top banker. “We can say ‘retard’ and ‘pussy’ without the fear of getting cancelled . . . it’s a new dawn.”

life is just one grievance after another with these people. they can’t be happy unless they have something to whine about. we can’t say a word. how fucking small and petty.

I have a better idea. here’s a good rule for going through life: don’t be a dick.

MAGA men are the biggest, most immature babies in the world. It's absolutely no surprise that they are now re-emboldened to be the biggest assholes they can be.

The whole article is worth a read.

Wicked

Last year, Carol and I saw the stage musical, Wicked, for the first time at the Kennedy Center. I loved the story and really enjoyed the show.

A couple of weeks ago we watched Wicked, the movie musical, streaming on Prime and I loved it too. As everyone says, the movie could be a little shorter, but that didn't bother me. I thought it was really well done, beautiful, amazingly performed, and I'm looking forward to part two this year.

Plus, as an added bonus, the storyline is totally relevant to the current shitshow that modern America has become. It's shockingly timely.

It's MAGA all the way down

Just a note. 

On these pages, I will no longer be referring to the "Republican Party". The Republican Party, to which I belonged more than 20 years ago, is dead and buried.

Henceforth, any post involving conservative Americans will label them as MAGA.

They are all MAGA.

Tom Tomorrow - Fire Safety

 

Link

Today's lesson in foreign languages!

Here's a fun German word for you!

Lebensraum (living space) - Definition

The territory that a state or nation believes is needed for its natural development, especially associated with Nazi Germany.

The need for "living space" was the justification Hitler gave for re-occupying territories lost during WWI, and then for the conquests of Austria, the Sudetenland, the Czechoslovak Republic, the Republic of Lithuania, Danzig, and eventually Poland, which started WWII.

I was just thinking about the Panama Canal, Canada, Greenland, and Mexico and for no real reason, that word popped into my head.

Enjoy!

News Alert! Peaceful grandmothers kill four and injure 174 police officers!

Deluded MAGA Moron, Rep. Mike Collins, posted this on Jan. 6, 2025.

These people are insane. 

Actually, MAGA is trying to gaslight America into forgetting what actually happened on Jan. 6, 2021. They want to rewrite history to remove their crimes. They're doing a pretty good job of it, as recent polls show disapproval of the Insurrection is softening.

ANOTHER REASON WE MUST RESIST.

A Man on the Inside

We just finished watching all 8 episodes of Michael Schur's new show, A Man on the Inside, starring Ted Danson. I love Michael Schur shows (Parks & Rec, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and this show was no exception.

Danson plays a widower whose aimless life is changed when he's hired by a detective to go undercover at an assisted living facility to solve a theft. It's thoughtful, funny, warm and moving. It also features a trove of great supporting actors. Warning: if you have an elderly parent, it may hit too close to home.

A Man on the Inside can be found on Netflix.

Violent insurrection is NOT the norm

Yesterday was January 6, the fourth anniversary of the attempted insurrection against the U.S. government instigated by Donald Trump. After the insurrection, Congress passed a bunch of security measures to forestall any future attempts to disrupt the certification of a Presidential election. Consequently, there was much more security for the certification vote yesterday. It happened, as usual, very matter of factly.

What pisses me off is that several news sources breathed a rhetorical sigh of relief that the certification went forward without violence.

Of course there was no violence, you stupid twits. 

The side that engages in violence WON the election. They weren't going to be violent against the certification of their own cult leader. And if you thought the Democrats were going to riot to stop the proceedings, what the hell are you smoking? Democrats are still trying to be the adults in the room and set a good example, as if the Republicans could take any lessons from that.

Had VP Harris won, Republicans very likely would have attempted another coup as Trump told them to do throughout the election. We all understand that.

But the Democrats? Sheesh. Have you been paying any attention at all?

Problem-solving

Humans have problems. We all know this. 

Americans, especially, have problems, the biggest one being a huge proclivity to ignore our problems. Mostly unaddressed problems include affordable healthcare, gun violence, homelessness, hunger, political violence, low wages, losing civil liberties, ignorance, pollution, wealth inequality, an out of control military budget, Christian nationalism, racism, misogyny and (if you can believe it) more. Spoiler: we kind of suck.

The most rational way to approach any problem is to put all potential solutions on the table, discuss them with an open mind, and implement the best. If that solution doesn't work, repeat as necessary. Of course, the rich oligarchy in America knows that any actual solutions would imperil their control, so they've trained their Republican representatives and followers to bleat like sheep any time rational solutions are proposed. The intent is to shut down discussion.

Socialism! Communism! DEI! CRT! Politically correct! Woke!

The words are different, but mean the same thing: any policy or program Republicans don't like. Pressed to actually define any of these terms, Republicans will utterly fail. They don't know why, they're just agin' it! This has been going on for decades and has successfully impeded any progress.

For my part, I don't give a damn whether a solution to a problem is seen as "socialism" or "woke". If it's a solution, then it's a solution. America will never move forward until we convince the American people to drop this immature, ignorant reaction to the discussion of solutions to our problems. We need to drop the labels and engage with an open mind.

None of this is rational, but this is the world Americans have made for themselves. It's maddening. It's stupid. And if things don't change soon, it will be engraved on America's tombstone. I'm not hopeful.

Agatha All Along

My family finished watching Marvel's Agatha All Along this week on Disney+. The sequel series to Wandavision stars Kathryn Hahn, who is ALWAYS great. The show was female-centered, queer, fun and witchy and I loved it.

Stupid and Sold Out

In the future, ape historians will wonder why, given the information below, voters elected Trump. They will overlook the obvious answer that Americans are stupid and ignorant.

Wonkette has another data point that's relevant. Article mentions of Project 2025 versus President Biden's age.

That's far worse than I would have imagined. But it's no shock that the corporate media sold out democracy.