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"It seems as if the Trump administration is rushing to tear apart as much as it can as opponents of its wholesale destruction of the United States government organize to stop them."
~ Heather Cox Richardson
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #authoritarianism #destruction #chaos #education #libraries #museums #purges #FederalGovernment #firings #grants
/1
"Today, members of the 'Department of Government Efficiency' team showed up at the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which helps to fund libraries and museums across the country and whose elimination Trump called for in an executive order last week. They sent employees home, swore in a new acting director in the lobby, and proceeded to cancel contracts and grants."
#Musk #Trump #fascism #authoritarianism #destruction #chaos #education #libraries #museums #FederalGovernment #firings
/2
"The attack of Trump and his MAGA supporters on the courts and the rule of law has illustrated how quickly the United States is sliding from democracy to authoritarianism. “'Honest to god, I’ve never seen anything like it,' Harvard political scientist Steven Levitsky told Amanda Taub of the New York Times."
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #authoritarianism #destruction #chaos #education #libraries #museums #purges #FederalGovernment #firings #grants
/3
"Along with his colleague Daniel Ziblatt, Levitsky wrote How Democracies Die. 'We look at these comparative cases in the 21st century, like Hungary and Poland and Turkey. And in a lot of respects, this is worse,' Levitsky said. 'These first two months have been much more aggressively authoritarian than almost any other comparable case I know of democratic backsliding.'”
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #authoritarianism #destruction #chaos #purges #FederalGovernment #firings
/5
"The toxic brew of irresponsible pseudo-news outlets and the successors of the Tea Party movement radicalized the electorate to a fever pitch. The result was a collective desire to smash the existing order to smithereens and allow Donald Trump to replace it with chaos."
~ Mark Mansour
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #authoritarianism #destruction #chaos #purges #FederalGovernment #firings
/6
https://mmansour.substack.com/p/the-demise-of-the-old-republican
"There is a myth harbored by some that Trump turned the Republican Party into a cynical, unprincipled institution that preyed on the poor, on minorities and on working people. In fact, Trump was elected precisely because those characteristics preceded his rise. He was the perfect vessel for a large sector of the Republican constituency."
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #authoritarianism #destruction #chaos #purges #FederalGovernment #firings
/7
"Most people in this country, most of them are unaware of what’s happening right now. They do not know the direness of the threat that we’re under. They just don’t, people don’t understand what’s happening. Plenty of people do, for sure. And plenty of people are also for it; you know—they love Trump, they love MAGA, they think Elon Musk is a genius, they’re just fascists, whatever."
~ Greg Olear
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #destruction #chaos #media
/8
https://gregolear.substack.com/p/ramble-on-this-is-all-totally-normal
"There was a time when people collectively agreed on what constituted 'the news.' Walter Cronkite would sign off with “And that’s the way it is,” and most Americans nodded along. The New York Times was the 'paper of record,' and if something appeared in its pages, it existed as fact in our shared reality.
That world is dead. And we should stop pretending otherwise."
~ Parker Molloy
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #destruction #chaos #media
/10
https://www.damemagazine.com/2025/03/19/is-legacy-media-dead/
"When the New York Times was treating Trump’s Tesla stunt on the White House lawn like a car show instead of corruption, independent outlets were the ones pointing out that having a president use the people’s house to promote his billionaire donor’s private company is, in fact, a serious ethical breach."
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #destruction #chaos #media #NewYorkTimes
/11
"What independent journalism offers that legacy media increasingly doesn’t is transparency about where it’s coming from. There’s no pretense of objectivity that masks institutional biases and billionaire influence."
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #destruction #chaos #media #NewYorkTimes
/12
@wdlindsy@toad.social"The Administration is taking a wrecking ball to services and institutions Americans rely on for essentials, as well as the fundamentals of American civic life. For example, this week:
• An Executive Order directed at the evisceration of the Department of Education"
~ Joshua Kolb
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #destruction #chaos #DepartmentofEducation #education
/13
"• The Trump Administration targeted private universities — canceling $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University; pausing $175 million for the University of Pennsylvania; and Johns Hopkins cut research after losing $800 million in USAID grants
• Trump began dismantling Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Asia"
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #destruction #chaos #universities #research #grants #USAID #VoiceofAmerica
/14
"• The Administration is implementing policies at the Social Security Administration — no longer verifying identities over the phone, but instead requiring online verification or in-person identity checks for new and existing recipients — that, contrary to their claims, will make this system less efficient, and actually serve the purpose of dismantling the program"
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #destruction #chaos #SocialSecurity
/15
As Dan Rather reports, with Trump's blessing, Elon Musk continues to go after Social Security, and,
"Trump and Musk must be betting that Americans care more about possible waste, fraud, and abuse at the Social Security Administration (SSA) than they do about getting their monthly benefit checks.
That’s a bad bet."
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #destruction #chaos #SocialSecurity
/16
"One of President Donald Trump's closest advisors [Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick] is now suggesting that most of the tens of millions of Americans who rely on Social Security wouldn't be concerned if they didn't receive their benefits."
#Musk #Trump #Republicans #DOGE #fascism #destruction #chaos #SocialSecurity #Lutnick
/17
"We hear this again and again, especially from members of Congress, 'the answer is simple. Elon Musk and his billionaire buddies want to rob you of your social security so he and his fat-cat pals can enrich themselves at our expense.' Wrong, wrong, wrong! Those of us who track this ideology know that their real goals are much more nefarious — they don't want to run the federal government, they want to eliminate it."
~ Dave Troy
#Musk #Trump #DOGE #SocialSecurity
/18
https://america2.news/the-nerd-reich-with-gil-duran/?ref=america-2-0-newsletter
@wdlindsy
Just now received this (2nd) email from Dudek/SocSec Admn:
@valOrie Thanks for sharing this. I'm glad Dudek is standing up.
@wdlindsy
his new title:
Commerser Lugnut
@wdlindsy They are in for a rude awakening if they think seniors won’t revolt over this.
@wdlindsy These fuckers are in for a rude awakening
@wdlindsy I'd be concerned as hell. We could get by but - something totally foreign to these bastards - we actually CARE about other people we don't know and never will.
@wdlindsy Howard Lutnick is worth 1.5 billion, he is so far out of touch with reality, what does he know about seniors need for their social security payments? He does not worry about money and assumes that we do not worry about money. Keep your hands off our social security payments!
"I describe it to people this way: Let's say Social Security didn't send out their checks this month. My mother-in-law, who is 94, she wouldn't call and complain. She just wouldn't. She'd think something got messed up, and she'll get it next month," said Lutnick.
"Elon knows this by heart," he continued. "Anyone who's been in the payment system and the process system knows the easiest way to find a fraudster is to stop payments and listen. ... whoever screams is the one stealing!"
@futurebird @wdlindsy This is a literally psychopathic attitude.
I'm sorry. I don't get it. I must be missing something. Is this a joke? A troll? Is he really this clueless?
Part of the reason I ignore most of what these people say is I can't tell when they say tone-deaf infuriating obnoxious things: are they trying to get a rise out of people? or are they just THAT incompetent and out of touch? or both?
A man who has never had to think about the price of what he puts in his grocery cart. (or, heck, put a thing in a grocery cart himself. ever.)
I find it's far simpler to believe that they are lying thieves.
That perspective clears up all the apparent dissonance.
But, thinking a person wouldn't say something if their check was late?
This makes no sense. I'm lost, I can't understand what he's even trying to say here.
I mean, if you are very well-off you can be casual about cash flow, but even then. Suggesting it's criminal to say something if your paycheck is late.
Who can listen to this and nod along? It's nonsense.
The implication isn't meant to be logical it's purely emotional.
"Only thieves complain!"
That idea _will_ stop someone acting when they're deprived. "I don't want to cause trouble," etc.
The junta and friends are playing an emotional game not a logical one. An emotional game isn't a zero sum game. There's the ability to create _new_ territory to hold. By waging an emotional contest they can create new fronts at _will_.
For what it's worth, I'm not disagreeing with you. It's just that our position isn't relevant in the context that they are propagandizing in.
I think you are right that this must make "emotional sense" not ... you know "sense."
If you have contempt for Social Security it gives you a way to avoid thinking about your nana eating catfood.
However, this is such a large program. I would hope it wouldn't work because even conservatives can comprehend being robbed ... if it happens TO them.
Let us stop paying our bills and when companies complain call them thieves then.
Or taxes... Say FICA, in particular?
@futurebird @401matthall @wdlindsy
they're like the Cardassian interrogator who kept trying to pressure Captain Picard to say there were five lights. They know how many lights there are; that's why they see denial of that reality as proof of their power, that's why they pressure everyone else into complying with said denial. For them, denial of reality is the demonstration and the foundation of power.
@futurebird @401matthall @wdlindsy
I think there are people who have so little understanding of living on a shoestring budget that they look at the amounts sent out by the SSA and think no one could possibly miss that amount for a month.
It's also a lie that scammers *would* complain. They wouldn't want to draw attention.
you've basically got four quadrants
scammer, poor = won't complain (need to bail fast)
real, poor = will complain (need the money and have no other recourse)
real, rich = won't complain (trust the system to be on their side)
scammer, rich = will complain (need the money to pay off their other scams, know the system starts out on their side, need to poison the well to make sure it stays on their side)
guys like this are in the final quadrant
@apophis @401matthall @futurebird @wdlindsy
Good point!
If you're a rich scammer, though, you may be more likely to be scamming Medicare (or the pandemic loans they've stopped investigating) than social security.
@apophis @cshlan @401matthall @futurebird @wdlindsy
The rich are the cheapest people and biggest tightwads there are. You can bet your life that #Klutnik would complain about being 25 cents short, much less 2500 dollars
His firm is Cantor Fitzgerald
Boycott it
@futurebird @wdlindsy neither. He is just making shit up and lying.
This is their way ro solve problems: invent lies that move the issue/topic/problem somewhere else.
If the issue/topic/problem inevitably shows up again, try different lie or double down.
This also seems like what is happening.
And it makes me more confident to avoid wasting too much time listening to, reacting to and responding to what they say is pointless.
I will keep focusing on what they are doing. And failing to do.
Even breaking down this interview is a huge waste of time. There is no content, no communication. I could be "outraged" but what does that accomplish?
Let's find out more about who this guy is and how to make his life difficult.
@futurebird @wdlindsy yes! Exactly the correct reaction!
(Also, in general:"don't listen to what people say, watch what they do." is the best life advice to give to anyone. (*))
(*) unless it's a blind person, that would be very rude. (**)
(**) in so sorry, i cannot help trying to be funny..
@futurebird @wdlindsy
This is socializing their audience to the idea of criminalizing protests.
If the people who complain are the problem, then it’ll be their fault when Trump locks them up.
Lutnick appears to be trying to create a pretext to dismiss the complaints of everyone who will be rightly angry if Social Security is disrupted.
It is a particularly self-serving lie.
But it makes no sense... like not even if you take him up on most of his premises.
Consistency is not something that authoritarians care about.
(I keep writing this, because it keeps being way too relevant in way too many places.)
"It's one banana, Michael, how much could it cost?
@futurebird @wdlindsy …what? I just… by what logic does this mean anything? “I know an old woman who would rather tighten her belt for a month than go through the bureaucracy of complaining, therefore anyone who doesn’t respond that way is illegitimate and therefore defrauding.”
Alright, I see obvious false dichotomy fallacy, I see a slippery slope fallacy in the complaint=fraud, and I suspect a variant on Straw Man in the old lady being embellished. 3 fallacies, min!
Everyone who gets a social security check worked for years, often decades paying money into the system.
If a single penny doesn't arrive as expected I think it's proper to hit the roof.
What is this man doing with his mouth? What are the sounds coming out of it?
@futurebird @wdlindsy He comes from a world where if the cheque doesn't come this month he can survive, even if the the cheque doesn't come next month, because he trusts and believes that _eventually_ the cheque problem gets sorted and he is made whole.
He is totally unprepared for the wrath of people and their families that are _dependent_ on this month's cheque.
In his world the fraudsters are the ones to worry about, and he is about to find out that he is very, very mistaken.
@futurebird @wdlindsy I love the stupidity of this, actually, because getting personal with retirees is going to be like throwing gasoline on a fire. If you are old enough, you may recall this: https://youtu.be/qre7DzEtxyc
Edit: that’s a link to video of angry seniors mobbing then-House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski and refusing to let his car move. These are not passive people.
@futurebird @wdlindsy and he's quite happy if grandma, who won't complain, starves. Again the logic of the ducking stool, damned if you do, damned if you don't
@futurebird @wdlindsy "If she floats, she's a witch and must be burned."
@wdlindsy When was this photograph of Trump taken? I’m no expert on facial expressions but surely this is not the face of a stable genius that should be leading a nation. This is the look of a troubled boy who needs reform.
He's always been an SS kind of guy
MAGA voted for "efficiency & less waste".
However, the biggest sources of waste are tax subsidies to the hugely profitable fossil fuel industry...
Tax cuts & tax evasion for billionaires...
Profitable frauds & scams like DeVos's ponzi scheme Amway...
Self-dealing "Let's Privatize Everything" Wall Street sharks...
Lucrative no-bid contracts going to corrupt Republican donors...
But yes, let's focus on the 80 year old who got $2.18 too much on Social Security...
Wow treating their students poorly really worked out for Columbia didn't it?
To be fair(!) it seems they'd have lost that money anyway [Edit: as they just did], so hurting those students is just moronic and spiteful.
Ma'am, if your "they" there is the US - and some other places - then you probably know that those governments absolutely want an uninformed and uneducated population. One can spin nonsense much more easily if the listeners have never gone to college perhaps, or even been taught about 'critical thinking'.
It's the most beautiful country, and I've done a couple of 1,000 mile roadtrips over there. But right now I am soooo glad I don't live there.
I guess I'm just a little disappointed the Columbia still has illusions about their status with respect to those in power now. They cannot do anything to make them anything but something to be dismantled if possible.
That said their endowment is massive. They will be fine.
I guess liberals really struggle with the concept that THEY could be just as hated as the "embarrassing" scruffy left. I keep saying "they can't tell us apart!"
Sure, but maybe the nonsense going on in the US might just possibly wake a few more local people up who would eventually go "NO! Feck off with that!"
Just hoping that it might happen sooner rather than later.
@wdlindsy This is the dumb-down phase of a fascist takeover. Can't have a well-educated population to challenge the dictator.....