Yesterday in Mistermix’s post on the Musk junta, Kay made the following observation:
Just a reminder that Republicans in Congress could end this in a day. If a majority or even substantial.minority of US Senators and House members came out and said a South African billionaire cannot run the United States that would stop this madness. Every single one if them is complicit. Every single one of them is doing this to federal employees and the US public. Their cowardice and lack of patriotism is allowing this to continue.
100% true. Commenter Frosty plans to adapt that message for a call to a worthless Republican House backbencher. That in turn inspired commenter tobie to leave the following message via a Freedom Caucus lunkhead’s constituent communication form:
I did not vote for Elon Musk for President. DOGE is not a Congressionally authorized agency of the federal government. Mr. Musk has not been confirmed by the Senate to run any agency of the federal government. Neither he nor his employees have had background checks. Yet they have been given full access to my personal data and the data of hundreds of millions of Americans, American businesses, and contractors in the US and abroad and have downloaded this data onto private servers. This is a breathtaking breach of Americans’ privacy and a serious threat to national security. Who can ensure that this information will not end up in the hands of foreign governments and/or hostile non-state actors? You have a duty to the Constitution. Mr. Musk’s access to and now possession of information on every US citizen, resident and business is a violation of US law. Congress must stop this takeover of the US government by an unvetted private interest.
Today Mr. Musk and Mike Flynn bragged on X about cutting Congressionally authorized payments to Lutheran Family Services. Imagine if a Democratic donor, outside the government, were given the authority to cut funding to Foundations of Life Pregnancy Centers? You would be up in arms. The issue is not ideology. It is the forking over of the US government to an unelected, unvetted, and unauthorized individual to do as he pleases with this massive power. Some might call this a takeover of the government, yet the duly elected representatives of the people are silent on this issue. I am stunned.
Well done, all!
Whether we’re represented by Republicans or Democrats, all of us can reach out and let our reps know exactly what we think of this illegal government takeover by the unelected sieg heil guy.
Open thread.
Hunter Gathers
I fully expect that everyone’s tax refund will be processed in a timely manner.
All those seniors are going to abslutely LOVE having to get a Shitter account to access their benefits, minus Musk’s take of course.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
This is basically the US brexit. The fun will really start when people cease to get their checks.
planetjanet
I already did this morning, as soon I read that Scott Bessent granted access to the Treasury to a private citizen and political operative, Also noted my Senator’s recent vote for said Bessent. I don’t think I have ever sent a strong a message as that one.
Lobo
Sometimes I wonder if the blue states and a few others will say fu&$ it, and leave saying “Enjoy your Thunderdome.”
I was being snarky about my references to 1984 last night, not prophetic. Also Jamelle Bouie mentioned this is resegregation, like I mused whether we were in the second post-reconstruction, but applied to everyone not a straight white male christo-nationalist.
Hang in everyone, it’s going to be a rough ride. Be gentle with yourself and others.
Butch
Contacting Jack Bergman is a waste of time, but I copied the above message (I couldn’t have said it any better) and sent it to Slotkin.
frosty
@Hunter Gathers: What!!?!?? I will have to get a Xitter account? I haven’t seen that yet. Got a citation?
different-church-lady
They could. They just don’t want to.
catclub
And you thought getting Rupert Murdoch was an immigrant billionaire who made the nation worse, was bad enough.
Musk is worse.
different-church-lady
@frosty: I think Hunter is engaging in exaggeration.
Exaggeration which will probably come true before it’s all over.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Lobo: the problem is that the blue states send their money to the Federal government via individual income taxation, so that has to stop somehow or be rerouted through the states for the blue states to cut off the red states.
I attended a meet& greet last week with a local NY official and everyone was asking this; but his only response was, we’re going to the courts.
catclub
@frosty: you might want to adjust your sarcasm meter. Or credulity.
different-church-lady
@catclub: I mean, maybe this immigration thing ain’t all that after all.
different-church-lady
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: It’ll be even more fun when Musk starts publicly posting private information about why they’re not getting them.
different-church-lady
@catclub: No no, the credulity meter is operating properly. We’re just not used to it being pinned in the red.
schrodingers_cat
Excitement galore instead of boring old competent Joe Biden. People voted for this.
Dorothy A. Winsor
To me, Musk looks like he thinks he’s playing a video game. That his actions have no real life consequences. After all, no matter what happens, he can just walk away.
rosalind
we still don’t know the depths of Musk’s 2024 presidential election interference work: micro-targeting voters with inflammatory ads to suppress turnout for some and increase turnout for others, and on. he has now stolen the Crown Jewels of our country, and with the data treasure trove can completely weaponize his actions and ensure we never have a free and fair election again. wish i was being paranoid.
hrprogressive
I really wish this framing would stop.
The GOP is not “cowardly”, “scared”, or “lacking in patriotism”.
The Fascist Republican Party is 10,000% on board with, and okay with, what is happening.
They want to be the iron-fisted rulers of this country, and to subjugate everyone who isn’t a Fascist white cishet allegedly Christian male.
This has been Their rallying cry for the last 15 years if not longer.
I need left of center people to stop thinking the GOP is anything except a “tool of evil”, to borrow a phrase, and that any of them are going to “step up” or “do the right thing”.
As far as they are concerned, they already are doing “the right thing” by installing the Musk Reich with figurehead Donald Trump in the oval office.
Please stop giving them more credit than they are due.
different-church-lady
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Sociopaths are like that.
Sister Golden Bear
Meanwhile in today’s edition of our failed-state air safety… the FAA’s system for sending real-time safety alerts is experiencing a “temporary outage.”
I guess the migration to only publishing NOTAMs on X is taking longer than planned. /s
Seriously, this is Big Joe Biden Deal. Pilots are required to check NOTAMs before every flight, and the airspace restrictions include things like no fly zones over the CA wildfires, or for sporting events like the Super Bowl. It’s an important part of the America’s air safety.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
That was about South Dakota – that’s why it worth talking to your GOP congress critters.
different-church-lady
@hrprogressive:
Needs to be repeated relentlessly. They will go along with Dumbfuck Hitler as long as they gain power as a result. They’re not hapless, they’re complicit.
cmorenc
This kind of data breach will inevitably end up causing a fair number of ordinary citizen’s financial accounts to get hacked. Does Musk understand that his (and his minions’ ) lack of any official standing in the government exposes *him* to huge liability? I doubt even hard-core MAGA types are going to take very well having their bank and retirement accounts hacked by info exposed to be harvested on the dark web. That would be difficult for Trump and Musk to spin blame away on Biden or the Ds.
different-church-lady
@cmorenc:
Already a futile question.
Lobo
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: I meant literally leave. I really wonder if the tensions of the two types of states can last. One is a race to the bottom. The other is a race to the top. Everything before now was unimaginable but not now.
MobiusKlein
It pains me to admit, but my son is interviewing at Tesla this week. I used to think it’s fine to work at a Musk owned company, because people gotta pay the bills somehow.
Not now.
We’re not going to kick him out of the family for this, and it’s not likely we can talk him out of accepting a job there. But damn, it’s not easy navigating the new world order.
Sister Golden Bear
@frosty: I believe Hunter Gathers was joking. But…. Given Musk’s ambitions to turn X into a financial app — actually an “everything app” like China’s WeChat — there’s definitely lots of speculation that Musk plans to hijack the government’s payment system and run benefits payments, and more, through the vaporware X finance app.
azlib
Already contacted my Republican rep and also Gallego here in AZ. I fully expect lawsuits on both the Musk junta and the tariffs to be filed Monday. The takeover of the payment system is incredibly dangerous.
Lobo
@Sister Golden Bear: NTSB communications all running through X.
Sister Golden Bear
@different-church-lady:
“Well you see, trans people lied about their gender, therefore it’s illegal to send them their tax refunds.” I wish I were joking.
Sister Golden Bear
@Lobo: Yes, I know. That’s why I half suspect that they’ll run NOTAMs through X as well. Which would be a fucking nightmare because NOTAMs is a database of notification for every airport/airspace in the country. Trying to find notifications for a particular one in a news feed would be impossible.
Which is why they’d probably do it. Trump’s Razor: The stupid possible explanation is the correct one.
hedgehog the occasional commenter
I trust tobie will not mind if I borrow their language (with a few tweaks) for my Congresscritters. Good news is they are all Dems. Bad news is both my Senators voted for Burgum for Interior. Snarl.
Lobo
@Sister Golden Bear:
The only question is how much stupider can this timeline get. I fear the answer is: much, much more stupider. I feel we haven’t hit the limit of TR’s razor. Sigh!
russell
tobie’s message is right on the money. remarkably well done.
this is me asking permission to cut and paste to send to my own reps and/or blast on social media.
if you all have a moment, let me know if that will be cool with you.
and thank you
different-church-lady
@Sister Golden Bear:
You and me both.
different-church-lady
@Lobo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany#Turning_point_and_collapse
AM in NC
Sen. Tillis’s DC lines keep filling up. People are pissed and I’m glad we are making ourselves heard.
Kay
I had to go help a relation who lost control of his car last night and got it stuck in a field. The owner of the property had called state police – its on a state route, so “we” (meaning I) offered him 200 dollars for his trouble if he would just let us pull it out and go on our way. Douchebag took the 200 and then told the trooper he still wanted to file. Trooper said “ok, then give the money back”. That ended that discussion. My Hero :)
It was some tire tracks in a fallow field. I should have offered 100.
Phylllis
I seem to recall a movie about that.
Juju
@Butch: Send it anyway. I have a mostly useless Rep and I sent my own message yesterday and did copy and paste of that letter again today. That letter spells it out beautifully and it may contain bits of information your useless Rep hadn’t thought about. It may not help but it won’t hurt. I sent it to both of my useless senators as well. I sent my own letter to the lesser useless yesterday and the excellent letter today.
The Audacity of Krope
@different-church-lady: Unfortunately, our revanchists were here before the Nazis and have proven far more durable as a movement. The Nazis’ own inspiration.
Intransigent.
NeenerNeener
I used tobie’s screed without asking permission when I used Kaine’s and Warner’s online contact forms. My apologies, tobie, but you said everything, and said it so well that I thought it bore repeating to both of my senators.
tobie
@hedgehog the occasional commenter: Feel free to crib, revise, tweak or slice and dice the letter. There’s no copyright on the note, and I actually owe some poster here a thanks for letting me know about what’s happening with Lutheran Family Services. Well, Lutheran Family Services now has standing to sue and I hope some lawyers are offering them their service pro bono or at a discounted rate.
Off to buy frozen veggies and fruits so I’ll have something to eat if the tariffs make food expensive.
Hang in there, folks. We’ve got a long fight ahead of us.
different-church-lady
@Kay: You’re related to Cole?
Juju
@frosty: Apparently you can only get updates about the two plane accidents from Twitter.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Sister Golden Bear: Yes, what you just described sounds like Musk.
Phylllis
OMG I’m old, because not only do I remember the Black Sunday movie, I remember when Sears tried to do this with insurance, credit cards and real estate. And failed.
NaijaGal
These guys are playing for keeps. These are not the actions of people who expect a turnover in government (that would lead to much needed investigations and a bunch of them going to jail) in two or four years. This is another point to stress to Democratic reps because they are in danger too. They need to slow walk things as much as they can when it comes to appointees, etc. I get that a plurality voted for this administration but many of them didn’t vote for what’s actually happening now.
Can everyday citizens file class action lawsuits about giving non-government-vetted employees of a private citizen access to all their data? Do we have standing (BJ lawyers)?
In other countries people would be demonstrating in the streets or planning a country-wide general strike by now, but that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen (or would work) here.
different-church-lady
@Phylllis: And now Apple and Samsung and Google are trying it.
SC54HI
@tobie: Thank you. Used your good template with tweaks to write my Senators & Rep. They are all Ds but I am not hearing or seeing enough from them in this moment.
We are running out of time to deal with this illegal access to & theft of government information.
NaijaGal
@schrodingers_cat: How does the song go, “you don’t know what you got till it’s gone…”
Juju
@Sister Golden Bear: I wish you were joking too.
hedgehog the occasional commenter
@tobie: thank you! Your message is clear and impassioned, and better that what I could come up with (other than “AAARGHHH”)
Juju
@AM in NC: I couldn’t get through by phone. I sent an email I wrote yesterday and today I did a copy and paste of the one posted here. I also did the same to Ted Budd if I only had a brain, for all the good it will do.
hedgehog the occasional commenter
@tobie: thank you! Your message is clear and impassioned, and better than anything I’ve been able to come up with (other than screaming ARGH into the void)
Kristine
I phoned Durbin’s and Duckworth’s offices on Friday after the Musk news came out. I didn’t have a script, but I did say that he was already flagged as a security risk and had no right or reason to be where he is.
It’s funny to go online on sites like Threads and see all this love for Illinois and Gov Pritzker. I’m used to getting dissed by Indiana and Wisconsin folks because of our higher taxes etc along with the crowing about how folks are leaving.
I’ll be taking my bright spots where I can find them.
Cowboy Diva
tobie, that is a well-written argument, thanks for sharing it here. I, too, am distributing it widely.
Melancholy Jaques
@different-church-lady:
And the people who voted for Trump still love him just as much, maybe even more because he is “shaking things up.”
different-church-lady
@Melancholy Jaques: They’ll soon find out the shaking cuts both ways. At which point they’ll just find a new route for the doublethink.
NeenerNeener
@Melancholy Jaques: Won’t they be surprised when “shaking things up” includes publishing all their banking data on the dark web.
narya
Just emailed Durbin and Duckworth with a slightly edited version of the above. Thank you!
different-church-lady
@NeenerNeener: Dark web nothing, it’ll be published on X.
The Audacity of Krope
Maybe this will get us closer to the moneyless utopia Star Trek and Communists are always talking about.
The road sure looks bumpy, though.
Steve in the ATL
@Phylllis: ah yes—I remember walking into a Sears store in the mall and buying a Morgan Stanley IPO on my Discover card. What a time to be alive!
sentient ai from the future
@rosalind: yes, i think his microtargeting efforts, probably involving cryptocurrencies and/or online gambling houses like PredictIt or the indicted Polymarket, will, upon actual scrutiny, prove to be fifteen kinds of illegal and enough to have swung the election in conjunction with other factors.
Lobo
@NaijaGal: A friend told me you can file a small claims case against Musk on based on violation of privacy. It is small enough to put friction in the system without huge cost to yourself. You may not win, but it requires a response by Musk. Anyone else have thoughts on that.
Kristine
@narya: From what info I could find, they did NOT vote for Bessent, so that’s something in their favor.
I’m hoping their weekend is filled with phone calls and Zoom meetings with plans for Monday, but damn idk. Some of them seem bound to ride that institutionalism raft right over the falls.
Phylllis
@Steve in the ATL: All while renewing your car insurance and buying a lawn mower. Amazing times indeed.
kalakal
If I were head of a company that has government contracts I’d be heading to the courts at Mach 12. The US Govt has just handed over commercially confidental information to an unelected non governmental organization. It’s industrial espionage
marklar
Just e-mailed McCormick and, sigh, Fetterman, with an edited version of Frosty’s message too.
Merci bien.
FelonyGovt
Just wrote to Ted Lieu about this, for what it’s worth.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Butbutbut, why should we do this when noted “liberal” “thinker” Noah Smith has said:
How clowns like him have gained any traction on the left, to include here, is saddening beyond belief.
But yeah, my two pale blue Senators (at least Bennett’s been good this week, Hick? Pathetic) have been contacted. My House rep is a back bencher but very reliable.
BellaPea
@tobie: Hey, would like to use your excellent text for a letter to Thune and Schumer. Both my senators are ardent Trumpists and my rep is the idiotic Tim Burchett. Hoping starting at the top will help this protest gain traction.
The Audacity of Krope
@FelonyGovt: I’ll be doing the same for my rep and Senators. I want public statements, in detail, what exactly Musk has been empowered to do and see.
Starfish (she/her)
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: As I was trying to up my econ reading, I saw Noah Smith’s name, and on his website it said “tech optimist,” and I was very much “bye bro.”
This sounds like the type of person who likes to argue that poor people are actually rich because there were no refrigerators or big screen TVs in the 1800s.
eclare
@BellaPea:
Waves from Memphis, at least my rep is Steve Cohen.
The Audacity of Krope
As opposed to not thinking at all…
Lily
removed for length
Lily
Some ideas for action. Some of this is also usable for calling/writing gop Reps. Worth reading his description that precedes this part, too.
from: https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-logic-of-destruction
different-church-lady
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: I’ve never heard of him before yesterday, but I can already tell he’s the new Greenwald.
The Audacity of Krope
@different-church-lady: Needs about 80,000 more words to express half the sentiment.
Lobo
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
RE: Noah Smith: Some of us don’t think Nazis are a good thing.
Starfish (she/her)
I generally see GovTrack as being pretty neutral and teaching us about government. This seems more pointed than I would expect.
dc
@Lobo:
This is an action that is worth looking into, as a mass action of millions of individuals.
dc
@Starfish (she/her): They are breaking the law with federal employees too. They can’t just be fired just because.
MomSense
It’s 1000 X worse than you think. Secure your homes.
No Nym
I would change the last line of tobie’s message: “How long can Republicans expect to last as representatives in a system that no longer even pretends to represent the people?”
They want us to be stunned. Don’t give it to them.
DAS
@schrodingers_cat: Yep!
No Nym
I am wondering if refusing to file taxes is a thing that could gum up the works? Don’t really expect an answer here, but I am sure they can’t arrest everyone. At least not while they are doing all this other shit.
MrPug
@Sister Golden Bear:
JFC, I’m set to fly to ATL on Tuesday. Kinda thinking I’ll drive.
dc
@No Nym: Lot’s of people get money back from taxes they’ve already paid, the vast majority of us are forking over $$ directly to the Federal government with each paycheck. For people who aren’t, maybe an option if there are enough of them.
Quiltingfool
@Kay: Oh for Heavens sake! I cannot believe that asshat would call the cops. Hope that guy is an outlier.
Years ago, I was in the front yard and a young girl lost control of her car and took out our mailbox. I rushed to see if she was okay; the poor thing was sobbing and apologizing. I told her she was more important than a stupid mailbox, and what could I do to help?
She called her mama, her dad got her car out of the ditch, and they offered to replace the mailbox.
I live in the country. Decent people help others.
Kay
@Quiltingfool:
Nosypants said “how did he get it so far out there?”
I acted offended – how DARE he ask our personal driving business!
I don’t know how he got it so far out there and I don’t want to know.
Alls well that ends well!
Marc
The FAA renamed “Notice To Airmen” to “Notice To Air Missions” a few years back, my assumption is that will be unDEI’d when the primary system is functioning again.
feebog
I’m in California 27, one of the three congressional districts that flipped from red to blue. My new Congressman is George Whitesides, who defeated the abominable Mike Garcia. Sent him an email this morning about the Musk takeover of the Treasury Dept. Asked him to be vocal and persistent. Not worried about my Senators, they are on board.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Dorothy A. Winsor: this.
And he’s a guy who cheats at video games.
Quiltingfool
@Kay: Um, Newton’s First Law of Motion, maybe?
Doesn’t matter, that guy is an asshole.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Lobo: Here in NYC after the election people were discussing the idea of a Greater Canada in which the east coast, west coast, and the area immediately around the Great Lakes (Minnesota, Milwaukee, Chicago, etc.) would seceded to Canada.
The only problem we came up with was how to incorporate New Mexico and Colorado. Every other continental blue state has some access to Canada.
Jim Appleton
@No Nym:
I like this as a stand-alone comment to my worthless R rep.
No Nym
@dc: Oh, I know, I fork over plenty of $$ with every paycheck and usually file in February. Until now, I didn’t mind, either, because I enjoy roads, schools, libraries, post offices, and so forth. I was thinking of not filing as more of a civil disobedience action than a financial move. With the guy in charge of the IRS, I am not really sure we can expect them to honor refunds where they are due. President Musk thinks it all belongs to him now, and I suppose it does.
Ohio Mom
@No Nym: If you don’t file taxes and are owed a refund, you don’t get it. If you don’t file and owe, you are fined, I believe in ever increasing amounts.
The IRS is used to people “forgetting” to file, or filing late, or making mistakes on their returns (even math whiz Ohio Dad made an addition mistake once). They’ve seen it all before and are not going to get flustered. Anyway, most of your taxes are already in their hands due to withholding.
Sister Golden Bear
@Marc: It’ll get renamed to “Notice to White Christian Airmen.”
Victor Matheson
Just so everyone understands, Lutheran Family Services doesn’t really do family planning. It mainly provides, mental health services, family crisis counseling, and immigrant/refugee services. They are a target either because of their services provided to recent immigrant or because Flynn and Musk saw “Family Services” and incorrectly thought they were a Lutheran Planned Parenthood.
No Nym
@Jim Appleton: I am “represented” (NOT) by Josh Hawley and Eric Schmidt. I know worthless firsthand.
Princess
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: The only problem you have is that Canada doesn’t want you. Stay home and fix your own problems.
frosty
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: Blue states secede? How do we incorporate Austin. And Atlanta. And Nashville.
How to deal with downstate Illinois and eastern Oregon and Washington and Bakersfield and upstate New York who will riot if they have to be Canadians.
This is a non-starter in so many ways.
Ksmiami
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: nosotros vaminos a Mexico- Adios
Ksmiami
@frosty: rebellion has to come from somewhere