Friday, February 21, 2025

The Snapshot

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.

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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.

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