Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

Bark louder, little dog.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Let there be snark.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread: “Wasteful Largesse”

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John mentioned Tesla’s catastrophic earnings slide in last night’s open thread, but as your friend and mine Anne Laurie says, let us savor:

Screen shot from the Rachel Maddow show with a graphic of Elon Musk on an earnings call telling investors the protests against his DOGE activities are from people receiving "fraudulent money" and the recipients of "wasteful largesse."

Apologies for springing an image* of the flounder-faced oligarch on you first thing in the morning, but it’s in service of a larger point, i.e., that Musk is so desperate to spin the utter catastrophe he has personally visited on his own car company with his wildly unpopular political activities that he’s alleging Tesla Takedown protesters are either paid agents and/or fraudsters.

As a Tesla Takedown protester my own self, I object. Nope, Musk — I made my signs and stood on a sidewalk in front of your dealership (and will keep doing so) not because someone is paying me or because I’m the recipient of “wasteful largesse” but because you suck, Elon Musk.

You suck because you gleefully and illegally dismantled USAID, obliterating U.S. soft power in ways that will haunt this country long after we’re both dead while causing the immediate immiseration and eventual painful deaths of millions of people whose HIV drugs were abruptly discontinued and millions of malnourished children whose food source was canceled. Their deaths are on you.

You suck because you’ve eliminated or enshittified the government services that millions of Americans rely on to meet basic needs, including earned benefits administered by Social Security and the Veterans Administration and programs that reduce food insecurity and provide access to medical care for millions more, including children and people with disabilities. Their suffering, hunger and deaths are on you.

You suck, Musk, and even if you return to your own fucking office today and stop illegally dismantling programs and fucking with our democracy forever, the damage is done. I protest and will continue to do so because I want to join fellow citizens in feeding your car company’s brand into a fucking wood chipper. The cratering value and resulting turmoil in your flagship company? That’s on you too, motherfucker.

Open thread.

*Image from Maddow’s show last night, which was a barnburner. You can see the part concerning Musk’s earnings call on YouTube here. 

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Wednesday Odds & Ends (Open Thread)

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These people are even weirder than we knew. Last night, the Wall Street Journal published a story featuring Musk’s top fixer, a devout Mormon named Jared Birchall. Birchall is listed as an officer or board member of many Musk companies and was reportedly instrumental in working out the Twitter deal and managing the PAC that bought the U.S. presidency.

But it sounds like his real job is managing Musk’s harem of baby-mamas. Birchall is facilitating Musk’s vision of developing a “legion” of offspring so that they might inherit the earth. It sounds like they might be more numerous than previously supposed since Musk apparently reaches out to minor MAGA influencers on his janky social media platform to offer sperm, and Birchall arranges to purchase their silence.

Here’s a gift link; excerpt below.

In Musk’s dark view of the world, civilization is under threat because of a declining population. He is driven to correct the historic moment by helping seed the earth with more human beings of high intelligence, according to people familiar with the matter.

His businesses are set up to serve the idea: The main objective of SpaceX is to build a rocket ship capable of getting to Mars, and his other companies, including electric-car maker Tesla, help finance the plan.

Musk refers to his offspring as a “legion,” a reference to the ancient military units that could contain thousands of soldiers and were key to extending the reach of the Roman Empire.

During St. Clair’s pregnancy, Musk suggested that they bring in other women to have even more of their children faster. “To reach legion-level before the apocalypse,” he said to St. Clair in a text message viewed by The Wall Street Journal, “we will need to use surrogates.”

He has recruited potential mothers on his social-media platform X, according to some of the people.

Musk has used his wealth to buy the silence of some women who have his kids, according to St. Clair as well as other people, text messages and documents reviewed by the Journal.

Christ, what a weirdo. As a society, we’ve hatched monsters under the bright light of inadequately restrained capitalism. We need to take away most of their fucking money, for humanity’s sake, for democracy’s sake and maybe even for the sake of the monsters themselves.

***

There were developments yesterday evening in the case of the U.S. resident who was abducted in Maryland and illegally transported to a gulag in El Salvador. From WaPo:

A federal judge on Tuesday said she will require the Trump administration to produce records and sworn answers about the U.S. government’s attempts, or lack thereof, to return a Maryland resident who was apprehended by immigration authorities and illegally sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

The decision from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, where she left open the possibility of a contempt ruling against the Trump administration, marks another escalation in the legal showdown with the White House. The case has widespread implications, with Justice Department lawyers arguing that the judge lacks the authority to force them to coordinate with the Salvadoran government to bring Kilmar Abrego García back to the United States.

“It’s going to be two weeks of intense discovery,” Xinis told Justice Department attorneys at the hearing.

The smirking contempt for the rule of law that the dictators of the U.S. and El Salvador displayed in the Oval Office on Monday suggest that Trump will go to the mat on this case. He trotted out the press secretary last night to repeat lies about Abrego Garcia being a terrorist, blah blah blah, so it’s difficult to imagine a climbdown. SCOTUS here it comes, I guess.

Speaking of the freshly defiled Oval Office:

Noticed a bunch of these ornate gold medallions slapped all over the Oval Office. We found em on Alibaba. “High-density Home Decoration Polyurethane Appliques Ornament PU Foam Veneer Accessories” from seller Guangzhou Homemax Decorative Material Limited.

sherwood.news/power/shop-t…

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— Jon Keegan (@jonkeegan.com) April 15, 2025 at 5:07 PM

Jesus. Someone in that Bluesky thread noted that the post-bedazzled Oval resembles a knock-off of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg (the Russia one). Trump ought to read up on the fate of its former occupants. And Musk might want to take a look at the fate of fathers who try to build an army of offspring in Greek mythology.

Open thread.

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Trump Tariffs: Economic Policy or Political Weapon?

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Trump put on his big-boy tariff pants and presided over a grotesque spectacle in the former Rose Garden yesterday, surrounded by fellow billionaire/multimillionaire cabinet members with Facebook’s Zuckerberg tagging along and probably Musk lurking somewhere in the crowd.

Team Trump delayed the show by an hour so the markets couldn’t react in real time. Dow futures were down about 1200 points last I looked, and CNBC says a monthly layoffs report released this morning is “exceeded only by when the country shut down in 2020 for the Covid pandemic,” thanks in part to the Musk/DOGE chainsaw effect at federal agencies.

This is all pretty bad. Trump inherited a healthy(ish) economy and could have sat back and taken credit for his predecessor’s effort as he did in 2016. In fact, that’s what I worried he’d do. But because this tariff thing is such a massive self-sabotage, many folks are wondering why Trump is doing this.

Does he hope to replace income taxes with what amounts to a national sales tax that would fall heaviest on working people? Is he just stupid, as foretold by the prophet Fran Lebowitz?

There’s probably some truth to all of that, but Senator Murphy of Connecticut made a compelling case on Bluesky last night to view the tariff regime as an extortion tool that Trump can use to intimidate and control businesses as part of the authoritarian takeover.

Here’s a link to Murphy’s thread; the content is rendered in text form below:

Those trying to understand the tariffs as economic policy are dangerously naive.

No, the tariffs are a tool to collapse our democracy. A means to compel loyalty from every business that will need to petition Trump for relief.

1/ A 🧵 to explain his plan and how we fight back.

2/ This week you will read many confused economists and political pundits who won’t understand how the tariffs make economic sense.

That’s because they don’t. They aren’t designed as economic policy. The tariffs are simply a new, super dangerous political tool.

3/ You see, our founders created a President with limited and checked powers. They specifically put the power of spending and taxation in the hands of the legislature.

Why? Because they watched how kings and despots used spending and taxes to control their subjects.

4/ British kings used taxation to reward loyalty and punish dissent.

Our own revolution was spurred by the King’s use of heavy taxation of the colonies to punish our push for self governance.

The King’s message was simple: stop protesting and I’ll stop taxing.

5/ Trump knows that he can weaken (and maybe destroy) democracy by using spending and taxation in the same way.

He is using access to government funds to bully universities, law firms and state and local governments into loyalty pledges.

6/ Healthy democracies rely on an independent legal profession to maintain the rule of law, independent universities to guard objective truth and provide forums for dissent to authority, and independent state/local government to counterbalance a powerful federal government.

7/ But the private sector also plays a rule to protect democracy. Independent industry has power.

The tariffs are Trump’s tool to erode that independence. Now, one by one, every industry or company will need to pledge loyalty to Trump in order to get sanctions relief.

8/ What could Trump demand as part of a quiet loyalty pledge?

Public shows of support from executives for all his economic policy. Contributions to his political efforts. Promises to police employees’ support for his political opposition.

9/ The tariffs are DESIGNED to create economic hardship. Why? So that Trump has a straight face rationale for releasing them, business by business or industry by industry.

As he adjusts or grants relief, it’s a win-win: the economy improves and dissent disappears.

10/ And once Trump has the lawyers, colleges and industry under his thumb, it becomes very hard for the opposition to have any viable space to maneuver. Trump didn’t invent this strategy. It’s the playbook for democratically elected leaders who want to stay in power forever.

11/ The tariffs aren’t economic policy. They are political weapons.

But as long as we see this clearly, we can stop him. Public mobilization is working. Today, a few Republicans joined Democrats to vote against one set of tariffs.

The people still have the power.

One critical point to keep in mind about this issue (and to bring up in real-life discussions) is that tariffs aren’t a magic wand that only the president can wave. Congressional Republicans could stop Trump from ruining the economy right now. Josh Marshall at TPM:

Point one is that we should remember that Presidents have no inherent power over tariffs whatsoever. This isn’t like war powers or pardons where these are questions the Constitution assigns to the will of one person. They are entirely delegated by Congress and could be taken back at any moment. They are also explicitly reserved for emergencies. They aren’t meant to be used as to create entirely novel trade regimes. But Congress lets the President decide what constitutes an emergency. The logic of that delegation is based on the flexibility and convenience the delegation creates and the assumption that the president wouldn’t be nuts. The Republican Congress could bring this absurd gambit to a halt tonight. So it’s all on them, every one of them individually.

It wouldn’t even take that many Repubs nor require much political courage. If a dozen or so in swingy districts/states would nut up and vote with Democrats, they could stop Trump from plunging us into a deep recession or worse.

Heck, it would probably even redound to their political benefit and hurt Dems who’ve been doing the right thing all along! Imagine the media hosannahs that would greet Republicans who showed a little independence — a new John McCain to worship.

If a handful broke ranks, one of their number would probably be hyped all the way to the White House in 2028 by a drama-addicted political press that is wired for the GOP. But so far, Repub lawmakers are still frozen in fear of the sundowning orange geezer. It’s beyond pathetic.

Open thread.

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My Fair Share of Abuse (Open Thread)

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On Saturday, I joined a Tesla Takedown protest in Tampa with a couple of friends. It was part of what the organizers billed as a “global day of action” that aimed to place picketers at every Tesla showroom in the U.S. and hundreds worldwide.

As usual, the Brits had the most clever visual props and signs. This was from the protest in London:

A dinosaur with a message from history at #TeslaTakedown London

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— southlondondave.bsky.social (@southlondondave.bsky.social) March 29, 2025 at 11:38 AM

Can’t take him anywhere
#elonmusk #tesla #teslatakedown

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— Overthrow Musk (@overthrowmusk.bsky.social) March 29, 2025 at 8:27 AM

Wish I’d thought of modifying a whacky inflatable tube guy like that!

Anyhoo, the dealership we picketed is located on a main drag in Tampa, U.S. 41, aka Florida Ave., along with tons of other car showrooms. Protesters lined both sides of the street in front of Tesla, and there was some running back and forth across it, which was sort of like playing Frogger because of the traffic and drivers distracted by sign waving, drums, occasional melee, etc.

I stayed put on the sidewalk on the shady side of the road opposite the dealership but still managed to get a sunburn, even though I was wearing a hat and had copiously applied sunblock. (I swear, on a sunny day, I could get a sunburn inside a bank vault while wearing a lead-lined burka. I have no idea why my stupid ginger ancestors migrated to this sun-blasted peninsula.)

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PSA: Delete Your DNA From 23andMe Right Now

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PSA: Delete your DNA from 23andMe right now.
It just declared bankruptcy. And California’s attorney general has issued an unusual “consumer alert” about how to protect your privacy.
Instructions and details in my @washingtonpost.com column: wapo.st/4kUsBEF

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— Geoffrey A. Fowler (@geoffreyfowler.bsky.social) March 24, 2025 at 10:18 AM

Washington Post gift link:

If you’re one of the 15 million people who shared your DNA with 23andMe, it’s time to delete your data.

The genetic information company, best known for its saliva test kits, announced Sunday that it is headed to bankruptcy court to sell its assets. And 23andMe’s financial distress prompted California Attorney General Rob Bonta to issue an unusual privacy “consumer alert” about it Friday.

“I remind Californians to consider invoking their rights and directing 23andMe to delete their data and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company,” he said in a statement…

The company said there will be “no changes” to the way it protects consumer data while in bankruptcy court. But unless you take action, there is a risk your genetic information could end up in someone else’s hands — and used in ways you had never considered. I have instructions on how to do it below.

It didn’t take me long to delete my data. The company’s website was not working for some users on Monday morning — perhaps because of the number of people trying to scrub their information. But it appeared to improve in the afternoon…

Founded in 2006, 23andMe was a pioneer in the quest to unlock knowledge from the human genome. It offers customers information about their family tree and hereditary characteristics, while researching new kinds of treatments.

But in recent years, 23andMe has been slammed by simultaneous business and security challenges. It went public in 2021 but burned through its cash and watched its value drop from about $6 billion to around $50 million now.

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Saturday Morning Open Thread: Howard Lutnick Is Socially Secure

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That rich coming from Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, a billionaire. ??

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— AnnieForTruth (@anniefortruth1.bsky.social) March 21, 2025 at 10:38 PM

Perpetually, proudly grifter-adjacent Cantor Fitzgerald macher Howard Lutnick will never need to worry about a missed earned-benefits check. And I guess he figures that if his security detail was good enough to protect him when he used the last paychecks of his employees slaughtered on 9/11 as a ‘safety net’ for the Cantor Fitzgerald corner offices, they’re good enough to keep the mobs of angry Olds and crips from showing up next time he goes on Fox News to shill for Shadow President Musk’s Wankpanzer…

Imagine what will happen if 25-30% of SS recipients don’t get their monthly payment: They wouldn’t have that money, people who receive payments in following weeks would cut way down on spending, there’d be greater than usual withdrawals from 401(k)’s, etc
It’s one out of five Americans!

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— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) March 21, 2025 at 2:58 PM

Trump Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explains that elderly people who would complain about not receiving their Social Security checks are fraudsters.

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— MaddowBlog (@maddowblog.msnbc.com) March 21, 2025 at 10:51 PM

Gonna invest everything I have into pitchfork and torch futures

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— Phillip Anderson (@phillipanderson.bsky.social) March 21, 2025 at 5:06 PM

Not so fact, Bunky, says Judge Hollander — per the Washington Post, “Federal judge pushes back on acting Social Security head over threat to close agency”:

Acting Social Security commissioner Leland Dudek threatened Thursday evening to bar Social Security Administration employees from accessing its computer systems in response to a judge’s order blocking the U.S. DOGE Service from accessing sensitive taxpayer data.

Less than 24 hours later — after the judge rejected his argument and the White House intervened — Dudek is saying he was “out of line.”

Dudek initially told news outlets, including in a Friday interview with The Washington Post, that the judge’s decision to bar sensitive data access to “DOGE affiliates” was overly broad and that to comply, he might have to block virtually all SSA employees from accessing the agency’s computer systems. But Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, who issued the order, said in a letter that Dudek’s assertions “were inaccurate.”

“Employees of SSA who are not involved with the DOGE Team or in the work of the DOGE Team are not subject to the Order,” Hollander wrote in the letter on Friday sent to lawyers involved in the case. “ … Moreover, any suggestion that the Order may require the delay or suspension of benefit payments is incorrect.”…

Dudek, in a follow-up interview Friday afternoon with The Post, thanked Hollander for the clarification, adding, “The president is committed to keeping the Social Security offices open to serve the public.” He then acknowledged that this was an about-face from his stance in an interview with The Post earlier in the day.

“[The White House] called me and let me know it’s important to reaffirm to the public that we’re open for business,” he said. “The White House did remind me that I was out of line and so did the judge. And I appreciate that.”

Hollander issued a two-week temporary restraining order Thursday that prohibits Social Security officials from sharing personally identifiable information with Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service, which has been empowered to carry out cost-cutting across the government.

Hollander, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, wrote that DOGE “essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion” and “never identified or articulated even a single reason for which the DOGE Team needs unlimited access to SSA’s entire record systems.”…

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It’s Him or Us

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As y’all know, there’s no one weird trick to get us out of the authoritarian jam we’re in right now. But there is one weird oligarch whose wealth we need to keep targeting.

Tesla Motors stock ticker

We talked about this last week when Trump’s corrupt AG threatened Tesla Takedown protesters. “We’re coming after you,” she said. It was the kind of “tough talk” Bondi has been practicing in front of a mirror since she was an assistant state attorney/spokeswoman in Tampa in the aughties.

But while Bondi’s hissing and frantic flapping is supposed to scare us, what it signifies is that the angry goose is keen to protect something. In this case, that something is Trump’s top campaign donor’s primary source of wealth.

Jason Sattler (@LOLGOP on Bluesky) shared some thoughts on that in his Last Billionaires newsletter here. An excerpt:

Elon Musk’s flagship operation’s inflated and entirely suspect value must go down because he has left us no other choice. We are obligated by our history as Americans to do our very best to destroy his companies and him through them until he wisely decides to leave us the fuck alone. Our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor depend on it.

No one elected Musk Emperor of America to threaten our Social Security, cancer research, and personal data. Given the strategically broken manner in which our government now operates, the people have no other recourse for checking a private citizen determined to act as our eternal overlord and, through him, the wannabe tyrant he installed.

Yep. The Republican Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision put a FOR SALE sign on our democracy. There’s not a damn thing we can do about that right now except make the current owner — and other greedy fuck-sticks with similar designs — understand that there’s a hidden cost they didn’t consider when striking the original corrupt deal.

Anyhoo, go read the whole thing — it’s good.

Open thread!

It’s Him or UsPost + Comments (227)