On February 26, President Trump issued an executive order expanding the power of the United States DOGE Service (DOGE), the government initiative controlled by Elon Musk.
The sad part here is that while the NIH source thinks that Elon Musk is lying when he asks what someone is talking about re the credit card freeze impairing cancer research, there's a good chance that he legitimately doesn't know. He's not as smart as he and a lot of other people have been made to believe.
This is an important point . Neither Musk or his “tech people” fully understand any of the intricacies of government agencies and what and how they accomplish.
I have seen no evidence proffered of waste and/or fraud. The perception of inefficiency or laziness or fraud or waste has been largely achieved just by pronouncing it over and over and over. WTF The 2million or so government employees are not alone. About 2/3 of the work of government is done by “private contractors “. The level of government employment is about the same as it was in the 1960’s . This despite the enormous increase in population. The 75,000 workers who opted for the “deferred retirement “ is about the normal amount of retirement. The government work force is aging out. About 30% are nearing retirement.
Musk & Co want to destroy government, not reform it. Sweeping away democratic government opens the way to the authoritarian rule they want to establish.
And get a few more government contracts. Like having what appears in the works: FAA considering canceling Verizon to give the contract to Musk after his criticisms.
Musk has the emotional maturity of a naughty boy caught breaking all the toys in the playroom who got in big trouble for doing so, and rather than feeling bad, decided that someday he was going to be so powerful that he could break whatever he wanted and no one could stop him.
So we have an emotional preschooler just daring the rest of us to stop him from breaking everything with no more appreciation for the people he's hurting than that naughty child had for other kids who wanted to play with those toys.
I used to think Trump was operating as if he were Anthony Fremont from The Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life," episode, but now I'm more convinced that it's Musk in that role. That episode was amusing and disturbing on TV. It's much more disturbing in real life. Musk has complete power and since his position is not spelled out in the Constitution, we can't seem to imagine how to stop him. He really is our very own "Anthony Fremont."
"President Trump issued an executive order expanding the power of the United States DOGE Service (DOGE)." This first sentence may be the most important fact in this article. This proves that Elon Musk is in charge. Trump, who may be suffering from early onset Alzheimer's defers totally to Musk (and to Putin). The statement by Putin to Musk immediately following the election has remained in my head: "Remember to tell Trump that he owes us!" Now, for what would Trump now owe them?
Elon Musk is making thoughtless changes to our government without any concern for their repurcussions. He does not care. As long as he causes far-reaching chaos to our government, he does not care about America's well-being. Of course, neither does Putin.
The resistance is developing, but it's clear that Trump is delegating powers to Musk that Trump, himself, does not possess. Since the President, himself, does not have the constitutional power to simply wipe out agencies created by Congressional actions nor to wipe out the funding Congress has given those agencies, he certainly can't delegate to Musk the power to do those things.
I fear that the "richest man in the world" and his musketeers are going to need to be jailed for "contempt of court" if they continue to defy clear court orders and injunctions. Will the courts have the courage to do so? I hope so, and that the military, in deference to the Constitution to which they are pledged (rather than the President), will be their vehicle in such actions. I hear Guantanamo Bay is already prepared.
Trump/Musk's unprecedented actions must be met with unprecedented actions on the parts of the courts and the military if we are to stop the total destruction of the United States Government as created by the founders in the Constitution.
Judd, as a senior citizen with dementia in the family, I am very grateful for this information, but mostly lost as to what now.
I don't know where else to turn with two concerns that are making me wonder if any action we take will matter.
First, I keep getting messages like this from Common Cause: The Article V Convention is a secretive plot to radically reshape our Constitution against the will of the people – writing far-right policy goals directly into our Constitution while gutting rights like free speech, the right to protest, and our right to privacy. They are saying they only need 6 more states. Is this a real threat?
And next, I was shocked like everyone else at the recent debacle in the Oval Office. Of note was Trump's red-faced rant about Putin "being the only one who stood by him after the 2020 election was stolen" from him. Did they stay in touch for the past 4 years, with Putin soothing poor Donnie's ego? Is that really what all this retribution is about? If so, then he really HATES America and it won't matter if his poll numbers drop or his followers get angry. All of our protests/activities will be for nothing unless we can impeach his entire administration. They are actively cutting us off from our allies as they gut our ability to respond. Am I crazy here?
Four years? Putin has been grooming Trump for decades--he now has a "useful idiot" to act out and fulfill his goal: to have an agent to destroy the functioning of the USA.
No, you're not crazy, just thoughtful. But, our allies know that at least half--it's turning out to include Republicans, so more than half--of our citizenry is against all that Musk and Trump and Steven Miller and Russell Vought, etc. are implementing.
Definitely not crazy. The press has reported that there were at least 7-8 calls between Putin and trump while trump was out of office. He constantly brings up Biden and went off the rails in the Oval Office about ‘Russia Russia Russia’ coming out of Hunter Biden’s bathroom and so on. Definitely explains what was on his mind. Old grievances.
I share your concern about the Article V Convention. It has no precedent and therefore no real idea of how it would work beyond the requirement that Congress call for one if 2/3 of the states call for it. No idea what the role of Congress might be after that. A generic call for it seems extremely dangerous.
I don’t know which states have signed on or the specifics. It might be better if 2/3 requested it for a specific change. But I am not certain the Constitution requires that.
Excellent journalism on something so capricious and evil.
"The White House can lie all they want about how they're not stopping cancer research," the NIH source said, "but they're stopping cancer research on [NIH's] Bethesda campus."
Exactly right. Why this is not the lead story on all MSM outlets is a shameful, shocking dereliction of their duty to inform the public. So many people are going to suffer and (possibly) die because of these careless, callous decisions.
Musk answers “I’m not”. Semantics perhaps. The effect of the executive orders and process it creates blocks the use of the credit cards. Whether it is Musk personally or not is irrelevant. The intent is destruction and apparently it is succeeding. How is this efficient?
All Democrats in the Senate and House should boycott Traitor Trump’s State of the Union address!
Show the world our disdain for and disgust with liar, fraud, con, grifter, sex abuser, scumbag, convicted felon, racist, fascist, Hitler-lover, Putin’s puppet, America’s Disgrace Trump!
Contact your elected representatives and demand that they do NOT attend!
This is a real thing we can do. We can demand that the Democrats not show up for this pig's rant and grunt. If they show up, they must turn their backs to him.
I'd suggest that the Democrats identify a leader of the effort, then the first time Trump lies in his speech (the 1st sentence?) the Democrats all silently rise and exit the chamber as a group, hold a press conference, and clearly state that they were unwilling to listen to the President lie repeatedly - that disagreement would be fine, but outright lies, which are Trump's stock and trade, are not acceptable.
They can go on to point out that they favor a government that works well for the people, not the oligarchs, (as it was doing when Trump took office - spelling out each of his claims against the Democrats that have gotten measurably worse since he took office), and that Trump hasn't got a clue what the government even does (because he can't comprehend that level of complexity) nor could he pass a basic Civics test about how the founders laid out our government in the Constitution (of course the Republicans in Congress couldn't pass such a test, either).
Based on today's Stock Market performance, it's likely that, too, will give them ample reason to point out the discomfort that the US business community has with Trump's actions. The summary statement could be that Trump/Musk are lying about the money they're saving (with a few now deleted examples from the DOGE web site). They're not making the government more efficient. They're making it impossible for it to function which will cause countless deaths and much suffering in the US and around the world.
Then they can spell out how they will fight Trump/Musk in the courts at every turn, and in Congress with filibusters in the Senate, now, and with greater action after the 2026 midterms.
This administration ran on a platform that government is too cumbersome; that it's not nimble like the private section so it's less efficient. And, so DOGE adds another level to bureaucracy, making government even more cumbersome. It's perfect for what DOGE is trying to do: show corruption (which barely exists except within DOGE) and the problem with government. Just make it worse and offer a solution!
"Oops it looks like I just totaled your working car with my truck. I'll sell you my old overpriced bicycle to replace it. I know it doesn't work but it's trimmed down (and I just made a huge profit)."
As a lymphoma survivor this really pisses me off. Without this research my rare form of lymphoma would have been fatal. Instead I'm still in remission for almost 5 years. Fuck Musk, Trump and all the spineless Republicans. I wish they would all get cancer and die.
Id like to see every mention of “DOGE” clearly linked to the name “Trump”. EX: “Trump’s DOGE” “Trump Administration’s DOGE head, E. Musk…”, etc. Every statement, every protest sign, every commentary, should implant that vital connection - this is Trump’s DOGE.
Dont let ElDon deflect anger and responsibility from trump - make sure he owns it.
Just appalling, disgusting, reprehensible......we require military and judiciary behind us but is it even there? the sheer evil of all of this is right out in the open with these money hungry, power hungry, blood thirsty oligarchs.. only the human species is capable of this carnage..the animal kingdom has left us in the dust...
The thing about thse purchase (not actually "credit") cards is that they make government purchases more efficient and less expensive. Purchases still require approval and oversight. Using them eliminates waste. At least that was my experience working in local government that transitioned to P-cards 15 years ago.
I'm a research scientist and I think you did a great job capturing the need for scientists at the NIH to have access to consumables. Even simple items like tubes, plates, and pipets can significantly slow research when they're not available. We saw some shortages in mundane items during COVID and it set everyone back.
I did want to mention one other point for perhaps a future article: up until recently, grant overhead at public universities was used in part to pay for graduate students while they get their PhDs (usually incoming students who haven't picked a research lab yet.) This allowed people like me who were not from wealthy families or attending Ivy League schools to attend graduate school, get a higher degree and pursue a path to a rewarding career. If the funding cuts continue, it has major implications for graduate programs- it could mean science goes back to being an occupation for the wealthy only, which would be a huge loss.
donOLD is using DOGE to fire or force out people who he can replace with his loyal minions. Musk did this at twitter so he could transform it into a propaganda machine. Musk is using his position to mine the government for data and contracts. All putin had to do to convince donOLD to copy Russia was to tell him how rich he became as he created the present day Russia.
The sad part here is that while the NIH source thinks that Elon Musk is lying when he asks what someone is talking about re the credit card freeze impairing cancer research, there's a good chance that he legitimately doesn't know. He's not as smart as he and a lot of other people have been made to believe.
This is an important point . Neither Musk or his “tech people” fully understand any of the intricacies of government agencies and what and how they accomplish.
I have seen no evidence proffered of waste and/or fraud. The perception of inefficiency or laziness or fraud or waste has been largely achieved just by pronouncing it over and over and over. WTF The 2million or so government employees are not alone. About 2/3 of the work of government is done by “private contractors “. The level of government employment is about the same as it was in the 1960’s . This despite the enormous increase in population. The 75,000 workers who opted for the “deferred retirement “ is about the normal amount of retirement. The government work force is aging out. About 30% are nearing retirement.
Musk & Co want to destroy government, not reform it. Sweeping away democratic government opens the way to the authoritarian rule they want to establish.
Perhaps under a Stockholm-like theory that people will be desperate for stability and the chaos to stop and embrace them.
I have bad news for them. 92% of victims don’t succumb.
"Neither Musk or his 'tech people' fully understand" -- I'd omit the word "fully".
It is hard to analyze anything while you take a chainsaw to it.
Elon Musk does no care if he's "wrong"--his intention is to disrupt (and ruin) the systems.
And get a few more government contracts. Like having what appears in the works: FAA considering canceling Verizon to give the contract to Musk after his criticisms.
Musk has the emotional maturity of a naughty boy caught breaking all the toys in the playroom who got in big trouble for doing so, and rather than feeling bad, decided that someday he was going to be so powerful that he could break whatever he wanted and no one could stop him.
So we have an emotional preschooler just daring the rest of us to stop him from breaking everything with no more appreciation for the people he's hurting than that naughty child had for other kids who wanted to play with those toys.
I used to think Trump was operating as if he were Anthony Fremont from The Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life," episode, but now I'm more convinced that it's Musk in that role. That episode was amusing and disturbing on TV. It's much more disturbing in real life. Musk has complete power and since his position is not spelled out in the Constitution, we can't seem to imagine how to stop him. He really is our very own "Anthony Fremont."
"President Trump issued an executive order expanding the power of the United States DOGE Service (DOGE)." This first sentence may be the most important fact in this article. This proves that Elon Musk is in charge. Trump, who may be suffering from early onset Alzheimer's defers totally to Musk (and to Putin). The statement by Putin to Musk immediately following the election has remained in my head: "Remember to tell Trump that he owes us!" Now, for what would Trump now owe them?
Elon Musk is making thoughtless changes to our government without any concern for their repurcussions. He does not care. As long as he causes far-reaching chaos to our government, he does not care about America's well-being. Of course, neither does Putin.
The resistance is developing, but it's clear that Trump is delegating powers to Musk that Trump, himself, does not possess. Since the President, himself, does not have the constitutional power to simply wipe out agencies created by Congressional actions nor to wipe out the funding Congress has given those agencies, he certainly can't delegate to Musk the power to do those things.
I fear that the "richest man in the world" and his musketeers are going to need to be jailed for "contempt of court" if they continue to defy clear court orders and injunctions. Will the courts have the courage to do so? I hope so, and that the military, in deference to the Constitution to which they are pledged (rather than the President), will be their vehicle in such actions. I hear Guantanamo Bay is already prepared.
Trump/Musk's unprecedented actions must be met with unprecedented actions on the parts of the courts and the military if we are to stop the total destruction of the United States Government as created by the founders in the Constitution.
Judd, as a senior citizen with dementia in the family, I am very grateful for this information, but mostly lost as to what now.
I don't know where else to turn with two concerns that are making me wonder if any action we take will matter.
First, I keep getting messages like this from Common Cause: The Article V Convention is a secretive plot to radically reshape our Constitution against the will of the people – writing far-right policy goals directly into our Constitution while gutting rights like free speech, the right to protest, and our right to privacy. They are saying they only need 6 more states. Is this a real threat?
And next, I was shocked like everyone else at the recent debacle in the Oval Office. Of note was Trump's red-faced rant about Putin "being the only one who stood by him after the 2020 election was stolen" from him. Did they stay in touch for the past 4 years, with Putin soothing poor Donnie's ego? Is that really what all this retribution is about? If so, then he really HATES America and it won't matter if his poll numbers drop or his followers get angry. All of our protests/activities will be for nothing unless we can impeach his entire administration. They are actively cutting us off from our allies as they gut our ability to respond. Am I crazy here?
Four years? Putin has been grooming Trump for decades--he now has a "useful idiot" to act out and fulfill his goal: to have an agent to destroy the functioning of the USA.
No, you're not crazy, just thoughtful. But, our allies know that at least half--it's turning out to include Republicans, so more than half--of our citizenry is against all that Musk and Trump and Steven Miller and Russell Vought, etc. are implementing.
Definitely not crazy. The press has reported that there were at least 7-8 calls between Putin and trump while trump was out of office. He constantly brings up Biden and went off the rails in the Oval Office about ‘Russia Russia Russia’ coming out of Hunter Biden’s bathroom and so on. Definitely explains what was on his mind. Old grievances.
I share your concern about the Article V Convention. It has no precedent and therefore no real idea of how it would work beyond the requirement that Congress call for one if 2/3 of the states call for it. No idea what the role of Congress might be after that. A generic call for it seems extremely dangerous.
I don’t know which states have signed on or the specifics. It might be better if 2/3 requested it for a specific change. But I am not certain the Constitution requires that.
Excellent journalism on something so capricious and evil.
"The White House can lie all they want about how they're not stopping cancer research," the NIH source said, "but they're stopping cancer research on [NIH's] Bethesda campus."
Exactly right. Why this is not the lead story on all MSM outlets is a shameful, shocking dereliction of their duty to inform the public. So many people are going to suffer and (possibly) die because of these careless, callous decisions.
Musk answers “I’m not”. Semantics perhaps. The effect of the executive orders and process it creates blocks the use of the credit cards. Whether it is Musk personally or not is irrelevant. The intent is destruction and apparently it is succeeding. How is this efficient?
Thoughtlessly mucking about with complex government programs and systems will lead to the catastrophic failure of them.
Which is the point.
And that proves those programs and systems WERE wasteful because look! The damn things' broken. See how wasteful it was?
Now that it's all broked so you can't fix it, we're doing the thing 'they' call "saving money!"
...that's what the non thoughtful will agree with!
All Democrats in the Senate and House should boycott Traitor Trump’s State of the Union address!
Show the world our disdain for and disgust with liar, fraud, con, grifter, sex abuser, scumbag, convicted felon, racist, fascist, Hitler-lover, Putin’s puppet, America’s Disgrace Trump!
Contact your elected representatives and demand that they do NOT attend!
This is a real thing we can do. We can demand that the Democrats not show up for this pig's rant and grunt. If they show up, they must turn their backs to him.
I'd suggest that the Democrats identify a leader of the effort, then the first time Trump lies in his speech (the 1st sentence?) the Democrats all silently rise and exit the chamber as a group, hold a press conference, and clearly state that they were unwilling to listen to the President lie repeatedly - that disagreement would be fine, but outright lies, which are Trump's stock and trade, are not acceptable.
They can go on to point out that they favor a government that works well for the people, not the oligarchs, (as it was doing when Trump took office - spelling out each of his claims against the Democrats that have gotten measurably worse since he took office), and that Trump hasn't got a clue what the government even does (because he can't comprehend that level of complexity) nor could he pass a basic Civics test about how the founders laid out our government in the Constitution (of course the Republicans in Congress couldn't pass such a test, either).
Based on today's Stock Market performance, it's likely that, too, will give them ample reason to point out the discomfort that the US business community has with Trump's actions. The summary statement could be that Trump/Musk are lying about the money they're saving (with a few now deleted examples from the DOGE web site). They're not making the government more efficient. They're making it impossible for it to function which will cause countless deaths and much suffering in the US and around the world.
Then they can spell out how they will fight Trump/Musk in the courts at every turn, and in Congress with filibusters in the Senate, now, and with greater action after the 2026 midterms.
...have to think (reflect on repercussions), but some very dramatic action is called for.
This administration ran on a platform that government is too cumbersome; that it's not nimble like the private section so it's less efficient. And, so DOGE adds another level to bureaucracy, making government even more cumbersome. It's perfect for what DOGE is trying to do: show corruption (which barely exists except within DOGE) and the problem with government. Just make it worse and offer a solution!
"Oops it looks like I just totaled your working car with my truck. I'll sell you my old overpriced bicycle to replace it. I know it doesn't work but it's trimmed down (and I just made a huge profit)."
As a lymphoma survivor this really pisses me off. Without this research my rare form of lymphoma would have been fatal. Instead I'm still in remission for almost 5 years. Fuck Musk, Trump and all the spineless Republicans. I wish they would all get cancer and die.
Id like to see every mention of “DOGE” clearly linked to the name “Trump”. EX: “Trump’s DOGE” “Trump Administration’s DOGE head, E. Musk…”, etc. Every statement, every protest sign, every commentary, should implant that vital connection - this is Trump’s DOGE.
Dont let ElDon deflect anger and responsibility from trump - make sure he owns it.
Kd, I think this separation is deliberate and when Musk finally implodes, Trump can wash his hands and say, "Wasn't me."
Exactly. Thats why every media outlet needs to keep pounding that this is Trumps doing. We all need to keep that front and center. And loud!
Yup. A rich coffee boy? Somehow I don’t think it will work out well. Those pesky executive orders and a billionaire’s revenge?
Just appalling, disgusting, reprehensible......we require military and judiciary behind us but is it even there? the sheer evil of all of this is right out in the open with these money hungry, power hungry, blood thirsty oligarchs.. only the human species is capable of this carnage..the animal kingdom has left us in the dust...
Honestly, how is any of this legal?
Honestly? It can't be. History will prove this decisively. Unfortunately, that will take a bit of time, you see?
I fear that time is not on our side.
Maybe not for you or I personally but in the meantime, let's fight for democracy in whatever way we can!
I was here. https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/030125_tesla_protest/photos-around-1000-people-protest-musk-trump-tucson-tesla-dealership/
Thanks, these localized demonstrations are multifold and thus powerful statements.
You go Patt. That's what I'm talking about! Thank you for sharing. I'll be here tomorrow:
https://www.threads.net/@indivisiblechicago/post/DGhIGyZuBEm/march-4-democracy-sharing-this-announcement-from-the-chicago-chapter-of-the-5050
The thing about thse purchase (not actually "credit") cards is that they make government purchases more efficient and less expensive. Purchases still require approval and oversight. Using them eliminates waste. At least that was my experience working in local government that transitioned to P-cards 15 years ago.
This is SO unacceptable! When is congress going to step in?? Our Supreme Court unleashed these monsters!
I'm a research scientist and I think you did a great job capturing the need for scientists at the NIH to have access to consumables. Even simple items like tubes, plates, and pipets can significantly slow research when they're not available. We saw some shortages in mundane items during COVID and it set everyone back.
I did want to mention one other point for perhaps a future article: up until recently, grant overhead at public universities was used in part to pay for graduate students while they get their PhDs (usually incoming students who haven't picked a research lab yet.) This allowed people like me who were not from wealthy families or attending Ivy League schools to attend graduate school, get a higher degree and pursue a path to a rewarding career. If the funding cuts continue, it has major implications for graduate programs- it could mean science goes back to being an occupation for the wealthy only, which would be a huge loss.
donOLD is using DOGE to fire or force out people who he can replace with his loyal minions. Musk did this at twitter so he could transform it into a propaganda machine. Musk is using his position to mine the government for data and contracts. All putin had to do to convince donOLD to copy Russia was to tell him how rich he became as he created the present day Russia.