The Common Ills: The Snapshot

Wednesday, February 26, 2025. South African-born racist Alien Musk grows ever more unpopular around the world and, look, it's the return of mercenary Erik Prince.

Let's start with the deeply unpopular Alien Musk. As Senator Elizabeth Warren explained to Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC last night. Musk's plans are about ripping off the American citizens and stealing all the tax money he can.

Warren shreds Musk over his cowardly refusal to attend hearing: Senate Democrats ripped billionaire Elon Musk for not attending a Tuesday hearing Musk’s efforts to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the government’s watchdog agency for the consumer financial industry. Elizabeth…

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— #TuckFrump (@realtuckfrumper.bsky.social) February 25, 2025 at 6:39 PM

US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts): "Elon Musk - is he rooting through all of the information of his competitors? That is staggeringly valuable information, staggeringly illegal for anyone to access it except banking supervisors." 9 minute version: brittain.tech/ewarren225.mp4

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— Craig R. Brittain (@craigbrittain.com) February 25, 2025 at 10:04 PM

Warren: "Our best strategy is to make sure everybody knows exactly what the Republicans are trying to do, and that is they want to give literally trillions of dollars in tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires, and they want to pay for it on the backs of seniors who are living in nursing homes."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 25, 2025 at 8:41 PM

Senator Elizabeth Warren Elon Musk is trying to shut down the CFPB and doesn't have the guts to defend his actions to Congress. Why? Because he knows he's giving free reign to Wall Street to scam you. What a coward. www.threads.net/@senwarren/p...

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— Audrey (@parickards.bsky.social) February 25, 2025 at 4:48 PM

Musk? David Gilmour (MEDIAITE) reports:

Politico journalist Jonathan Martin predicted that Americans might see President Donald Trump dump his cost-cutting bulldog Elon Musk as soon as “this summer or this fall” as he grows “tired” of the billionaire’s “antics” and “unpopularity.”

The take comes as polling suggests that Musk’s aggressive cost-cutting measures within the federal government are losing favor with the public.

A Washington Post–Ipsos poll found that 49 percent disapprove of Musk’s management of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with particular concern over granting DOGE staffers unprecedented access to sensitive government databases.

I don't know why they're being so modest -- afraid Alien will get the big head? It's not just DOGE that's unpopular, it's Alien himself.

I watch the news and wonder, "What are these people smoking?"

Take Ukraine. I've yet to see a report on how it's alienating right wing Christian communities -- Chump's decision to back Russia over Ukraine. Does the media not know how -- especially in the south -- it has been Christian churches helping people relocate from Ukraine, setting them up with doctors, helping them fill out forms. This has been a major operation for many Christian churches in the south (White churches) and these people are not pleased with Chump.

But Alien Musk himself is deeply unpopular. And that's not just in the USA, that's North America. In fact, M.B. Mack (LATINO TIMES) reports:

More than 200,000 Canadians have signed a parliamentary petition demanding that Elon Musk be stripped of his citizenship over his ties to Donald Trump's administration and its repeated threats against the country's sovereignty.

Canadian activist Qualia Reed launched a petition in Canada's House of Commons, accusing Musk of working against the country's national interests by advising Trump, The Guardian reported.

The petition, which has been endorsed by New Democrat MP Charlie Angus, argues that Musk's alignment with Trump makes him a member of a foreign government seeking to undermine "Canadian sovereignty" after Trump repeatedly joked about making the country the US' 51st state.

The petition quickly gained momentum, surpassing 237,000 signatures, far exceeding the 500-signature threshold needed for parliamentary consideration.

Wouldn't it be great if he lost Canadian citizenship and the US citizenship that he illegally got? Criminals need multiple citizenships so they have places to flee too when the hammer starts to come down on them.

Back to DOGE, Robert B. Reich (TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY) has another idea regarding Musk:

Please call your members of Congress today and tell them Elon Musk must be fired. Immediately. (The U.S. Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121. Tell the operator where you’re from and the operator will connect you to your representatives and senators.)

This past weekend, Musk, the richest person in the world, posted a message to millions of federal employees on X — the platform he bought for $44 billion and turned into a cesspool of lies, hate, and bigotry. His message, from his own account, was:

“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

Shortly afterward, all federal employees — including some judges, court staff, and federal prison officials — received a three-line email with this instruction:

“Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager.”

The deadline to reply was listed as today at 11:59 p.m.

Musk is drunk with power. His messages are illegal. He had no authority to send them and has no authority to fire or threaten to fire anyone.

A Department of Justice official, granted anonymity to avoid retribution, noted that the email was labeled as coming from an “external,” server, adding they “cannot legally respond to this” because they handle classified material.

Federal court officials instructed federal court employees not to respond to the email. “This email did not originate from the Judiciary or the Administrative Office and we suggest that no action be taken,” officials wrote.

One of the reasons Alien is so hated is because he's so hateful. Troy Matthews (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) reports:

Co-President Elon Musk mocked the hundreds of thousands of Americans he has put out of work in a post on X Tuesday, seeming to revel in the destruction of the American middle class that he has helped cause.

"This time, the DC swamp is actually draining," Musk posted in response to a tweet that quoted an CNBC study stating that unemployment is spiking in Washington, D.C. as a result of the Trump and Musk purge of federal employees.

Chump put his boyfriend in charge and the whole country suffers. And just the look of it -- he fires them and he mocks them?

But what does it matter to him? It's not his country he's destroying. And, again, he's not a nice nor a decent person (few smut peddlers are decent people). David Oliver (USA TODAY) reports:

Elon Musk has the ear of one of the most powerful people in the world – President Donald Trump – making him one of the most powerful people in the world, too. He's been given unfettered access to adjust the federal government's budget and headcount.

So what's he doing posting a slur multiple times targeting the disabled community on social media?

Musk – who boasts nearly 220 million followers on X, the social media platform he owns – has repeatedly used the "R" word to describe people with whom he disagrees. In the last week alone, he's included it in at least three tweets. The use of this language has sparked criticism from people with disabilities and their advocates, who were beginning to see a world where such terms were deemed unacceptable. USA TODAY has reached out to Musk for comment.

"When we, disabled people, speak out against its usage, our concerns are frequently ignored or minimized with excuses like 'I’m not using it in a harmful way,'" says Nila Morton, a 26-year-old disability advocate. "This dismissive attitude implies that the feelings of disabled people are less important, like our pain does not matter. In reality, the casual use of this word further marginalizes our community that already struggles to secure equal opportunities and fair treatment in society."

Again, he's not a nice person, nor is he a decent person. And that's a reality that people are awakening too around the world. Ashifa Kassam (GUARDIAN) explains:

When Mike Schwede first sat in a Tesla Roadster 15 years ago, he felt like it was a glimpse into the future. By 2016, he was the proud owner of a Tesla, revelling in the thumbs up he would get from other drivers as he whizzed along Europe’s highways in the electric vehicle.

But of late the sheen of owning a Tesla has begun to wear off. For years the brand has been synonymous with Elon Musk and his stance against the climate crisis. Recently, Schwede watched aghast as the Tesla CEO poured hundreds of millions into backing Donald Trump as he made promises to ramp up domestic oil and gas production.

“He was getting more and more weird,” said Schwede, an entrepreneur and digital strategist based in Switzerland. The final straw came when Musk made back-to-back fascist-style salutes during Trump’s inauguration in January. “I felt nothing but utter disgust,” said Schwede. “And I no longer enjoyed sitting in my Tesla.”

On Tuesday, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association showed sales of new Tesla cars almost halved in Europe last month. The figures left analysts scrambling to assess how big a factor customers turning their backs on the brand because of Musk’s foray into far-right politics may be.

Frank Landymore (FUTERISM) offers this ruling, "According to the latest data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), sales of new Tesla cars in the continent have plummeted to just 9,945 vehicles in January, down from 18,161 in the same period last year, per the Guardian. That's a whopping 45 percent decrease." And it's not across Europe that Telsa's struggling, Rob Wile (NBC NEWS) reports:

But since mid-December, the tech titan's net worth has declined by more than $100 billion, or approximately 25%, as a sell-off in shares of Tesla, his electric car maker, has accelerated in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, the stock closed down another 8% to $302.80 and is off 20% year to date. The latest drawdown comes as new data showed new Tesla vehicle registrations plummeting in Europe, down 45% year-on-year for January, even as overall sales growth of electric-battery vehicles on the continent climbed. Sales in China also recently came in trending down.

Some reports have suggested European buyers are revolting against Musk's active role in the Trump administration, which is effectively resetting longstanding European relations.

Investors may also simply be locking in the extraordinary gains of the past year or so: Even with the recent drop-off, the stock is still up 52% over the past 12 months.

On Tuesday, Gary Black, managing partner at The Future Fund investment group, said Tesla shares could fall even further this year given an apparent revision in recent Tesla corporate management guidance about deliveries in 2025.

Also looking at US sentiment, Tobi Raji and Joe Heim (WASHINGTON POST) report:

About 10 years ago, Tom Blackburn became one of the first 100,000 people to buy a Tesla Model S. The purchase was part of a broader effort to adopt a more environmentally conscious lifestyle, which also included installing solar panels on his Virginia home.

Now, the 76-year-old is worried about the message his car might send to others: that he supports Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, who has embraced right-wing politics, boosted antisemitic conspiracy theories on his personal X account, and become a central figure of President Donald Trump’s administration. As a small act of protest, Blackburn purchased a bumper sticker that reads, “I bought this before I knew he was crazy.”

Marylander Carla Harne, 41, has watched the tide turn against Tesla and Musk from the front seat of her sleek, fiery red Model 3. Harne’s interactions with others over her car had mostly been positive — until last year, when, hours after Trump was elected president of the United States, someone threw “probably a dozen” eggs at her car as she drove home from work.

“My windshield was just covered,” Harne said.

Andrew Loewinger of Northwest D.C. sold his Model S in November to protest Musk and his “abhorrent politics and actions.”

“After I sold the car, I got a customer satisfaction survey from them, and what I wrote, which I still believe, is that Musk has irretrievably damaged the brand, and I would not associate with that brand again, period,” Loewinger, 71, said.

Nobody wants to be associated with him. Not even the people working with him on DOGE. Valerie Volcovici, Tim Reid and Alexandra Alper (REUTERS) note, "Twenty-one workers resigned from his so-called Department of Government Efficiency in protest on Tuesday, saying in a letter that they refused to cooperate with the downsizing effort." Ken Thomas (WALL ST. JOURNAL) offers, "Many of the employees who resigned had previously worked for tech companies, said one of the employees who resigned. The employees had served in roles such as engineers, data scientists, project managers and designers. Their work had spanned the first Trump administration, the Biden administration and the current White House, the employee said." And Josh Fiallo (DAILY BEAST) provides this context, "It is unknown how many staffers are in the department, but those identified have skewed young and inexperienced for such critical government work."

Here's Rachel Maddow noting last night that DOGE can't pass basic fact checks.

Back to the ones who just quit, Katherine Long (POLITICO) adds:

The civil service employees, housed within the United States Digital Service — renamed the United States DOGE Service once Elon Musk took charge — stated in the letter obtained by POLITICO that “we swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations. However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments at the United States DOGE Service.”

“We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans’ sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services,” they continued.

In a matter of weeks, he has fired thousands of people, thousands of Americans. Americans who, for the record, didn't elect the South African born racist to any office. He was not on a single ballot. But he has no repeatedly fired people -- often, moments later, noting, woopsie!, we shouldn't have let them go, they're over our nukes, they're over our national parks that must open this summer, they're over this and that. And he just fires them. It doesn't bother him. Again, this isn't his country. He looks incompetent because he is. And that's why people are catching on. Elena Schneider (POLITICO) observes, "House Republicans in several red districts have already begun to face angry constituents at town halls in recent days over the DOGE’s cuts to the federal workforce. Clips of Republican House members being booed by constituents at town halls went viral on social media. Anti-Musk protesters gathered outside of congressional offices in swing districts in Arizona, New Jersey and Pennsylvania."

Jennifer Bowers Bahney (RAW STORY) notes how despised Alien Musk truly is:

The relationship between President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk could soon sour if CNN's data expert Harry Enten's latest polls are taken seriously by the White House.

Enten claimed Tuesday that, regardless of who they voted for, Americans overall appear to be no fans of Musk.

"If there's one person that they really don't like in the Trump admin, it's Elon Musk and his role," Enten said, pointing out that 54% of registered voters disapprove of Musk's actions as head of DOGE.

And let's be clear that it's not just because Alien's firing Americans. No the hatred for him goes far, far beyond that. There's the corruption and the unethical deals. For example, Joey Garrison (USA TODAY) reports:

The federal agency investigating Tesla's self-driving technology has laid off about 4% of its workforce, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday.

The firings are part of President Donald Trump's mass purge of the federal workforce steered by Tesla CEO Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

[. . .]

In October the NHTSA opened an investigation into about 2.4 million Tesla vehicles with self-driving capabilities following four reported crashes including a collision in 2023 that killed a pedestrian.

The NHTSA launched a separate investigation in January of 2.6 million Teslas following crashes involving a feature that allows drivers to move their cars remotely. That same month, the NHTSA announced recalls of more than 230,000 Teslas over issues with certain models' rearview cameras

And Musk just fires them. Conflict of interest? Absolutely. But apparently being Donald Chump's boyfriend means you don't have to follow ethics or rules. And let's not pretend like that's the only questionable thing going on. Chris Isidore (CNN) reports:

The Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to use SpaceX’s Starlink internet system to upgrade the information technology networks it uses to manage US airspace, raising new concerns about conflicts of interest for CEO Elon Musk in one of his other roles, that of recommending funding cuts at federal agencies, including the FAA.

[. . .]

The contract comes while Musk is leading efforts to make deep cuts in federal government spending, including staffing cuts at the FAA, and some critics are raising questions about conflicts of interest over his role overseeing government agencies that are supposed to be regulating his businesses.

While Convicted Felon Donald Chump pretends there is nothing to see and no misconduct, others can't play dumb as convincingly as Chump. Jennifer Bowers Bahney (RAW STORY) notes a reaction on TV:

CNN pundit S.E. Cupp recounted on Tuesday how Musk "reportedly fired a bunch of workers at the FDA that were looking at his Neuralink program" for possible approval.

"So, yes, he's got his hands in a lot of pots," Cupp continued. "And it's not just that he stands to gain financially; it's that he's overseeing agencies that are regulating his businesses, which is a little like, you know the old saying, ... making the arsonist the fire chief — but also head of HR, head of accounting — and then awarding him a contract for accelerants, is kind of like what all of this is."

And it's not just commentators on TV objecting. Governmental bodies are objecting as well. Paul Blumenthal (HUFFINGTON POST) notes:

The mass firings of probationary government workers roiling the federal government are likely illegal, a federal government oversight agency said on Monday.

The decision comes from the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency that oversees illegal actions taken against federal workers, in a case involving six probationary government workers who were fired from their positions at six separate agencies.

That decision, issued on Friday but not disclosed until Monday, determined that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that agencies engaged in prohibited personnel practices … by terminating the employees in violation of federal laws and regulations governing probationary terminations and reductions in force.”

Possibly sensing that Chump doesn't have the backbone to end it with Alien by himself, some members of his administration appear to be attempting to help the boss out. Sean Craig (DAILY BEAST) points out:

After newly confirmed Federal Bureau of Investigations director Kash Patel told his staff over the weekend to ignore an Elon Musk-ordered demand they report to the Office of Personnel Management on their activities, another of President Donald Trump’s top MAGA allies has seemingly clashed with the White House’s billionaire lieutenant.

On Sunday, Musk quoted a conservative user on X claiming that the United States Agency for International Development had given tens of millions of dollars to a list of “terrorist linked organizations.”

Special envoy Richard Grenell immediately stepped in and questioned the veracity of the post, noting: “Some of these groups are our partners in fighting terrorism.”

There once was a man tight with an Oval Office occupant who was also deeply unpopular. Erik Prince. Remember him? Blackwater mercenaries who terrorized the Iraqi people. Blackwater was Erik Prince's company and it was so unpopular Prince had to repeatedly change the company's name -- to Xe Services, to Academi, to Constellis Holdings. Like a dung beetle, Erik has long circled the anus of Donald Chump dating back to the 2016 presidential campaign.

Alex Woodward (INDEPENDENT) reports:

A group of private military contractors have pitched an army of private citizens to arrest immigrants and camps to detain them, according to a proposal provided to Donald Trump's administration and reviewed by Politico.

The group, which includes former Blackwater founder Erik Prince and former military and law enforcement officials, submitted a 26-page blueprint to Trump advisers before his inauguration, estimating a $25 billion price tag to support the president’s “mass deportation operation” to swiftly remove 12 million people from the United States by 2026.

Prince was also joined by Bill Mathews, another former chief operating officer at Blackwater, the private military contractor tied to the 2007 massacre of 17 Iraqi civilians, including two children, which also wounded 20 others. The four men convicted of crimes surrounding the killings were pardoned by Trump in 2020.

Janna Brancolini (THE DAILY BEAST) adds:

The founder and former CEO of the military contractor Blackwater pitched the White House a plan to deport nearly 500,000 undocumented immigrants per month before the 2026 midterm elections.

Erik Prince was part of a group of prominent contractors and former immigration officials who submitted an unsolicited proposal to help make good on President Donald Trump’s signature campaign promise to deport millions of immigrations, Politico reported.

Their 26-page plan calls for using mass deportation hearings, military “processing camps,” a fleet of 100 private planes and a 10,000-strong private police to forcibly remove 12 million immigrants by November 2026.

It wasn’t clear if Trump had personally seen the report, but it has been circulating among his advisers since before the inauguration, Politico reported. Since then, Trump has purged top officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement after they failed to meet his targets.

Nicholas Liu (SALON) adds, "Even if implemented, the plan faces significant legal hurdles, experts told Politico. Recommendations likely to face legal challenges include a call to form a screening team of 2,000 lawyers to refer people to mass deportation hearings; create a public database of people summoned to those hearings'; sponsor a bounty program for local police departments; and deputize 10,000 private citizens with federal law enforcement powers."

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

Murray: “There is simply no way to realize the trillions in cuts they are calling for without kicking kids and families off Medicaid.”

***VIDEO HERE***

Washington, D.C. — Today, at Senate Democrats’ weekly press conference, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke about ongoing government funding talks and Republicans’ budget resolution that will be considered on the House floor tonight, which gives billionaires—like President Trump and Elon Musk—a tax break at the expense of working families’ health care and so many other programs they count on.

Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:

“On Sunday, the leader of the Republican Party, Elon Musk, tweeted that he thought a government shutdown would be, quote: ‘great.’

“That’s one totally out-of-touch billionaire who needs a serious reality check. Elon may never depend on receiving benefits on time, but for everyone else, shutdowns are painful and costly.

“Democrats, however, do not want a shutdown. We are at the table, negotiating in good faith to fund the government.

“But Republicans are the majority—in the House and in the Senate. If they want our votes, they need to work with us. We are close on topline spending, but we need to know Republicans are willing to work with us to protect Congress’ power of the purse—and I welcome any and all ideas they may have on how we can work together to do just that.

“That is the absolute bare minimum—and it is frankly not asking a whole lot. Republicans should not be so eager to let Elon Musk cut off cancer research or clean energy jobs in their districts. They should not follow Elon towards a shutdown.

“Now, even though March 14^th is just around the corner, Republicans aren’t really focused on funding the government—and that’s because their number one priority is passing more tax cuts for billionaires.

“Here in the Senate, last Friday, just before 5 AM, Republicans rammed through their pro-billionaire, anti-middle class budget blueprint.

“Possibly as soon as tonight in the House, Republicans are planning to do even worse. To pass their massive tax giveaways for billionaires, Republicans are going to defund Medicaid, slash veterans’ benefits, and force kids to go hungry.

“And I want to be clear: the congressional districts with the highest enrollment for Medicaid in my state are represented by Republicans.

“There is simply no way to realize the trillions in cuts they are calling for without kicking kids and families off Medicaid. They are cutting health care for the children they represent to cut taxes for billionaires.

“Hurting kids—making it so a child can’t see a doctor—to give Elon Musk a tax break he doesn’t need? If that’s the path Republicans want to go down, then I am going to make sure everyone knows it.

“To the American people, now’s the time to tune in to C-SPAN.

“Now is the time to give your Republican Congressman an earful.

“Now is the time to text your family group chat.

“Now is the time to do everything we possibly can to protect health care for our kids and families.

“Every American should understand their story and their voice will make a difference in this fight. Congress needs to hear you—so my advice is to get loud.

“I will be using my voice and my vote to make sure kids can see a doctor and to make sure kids don’t go hungry. I’ll be voting no to give billionaires more tax cuts while kicking kids off their health care.”

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