Thursday, February 20, 2025

The Snapshot

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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