From Huffpost: Elon Musk’s DOGE Posts Classified Data On Its New Website.
Elon Musk’s team at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency has posted classified information about the size and staff of a U.S. intelligence agency on its new website, raising bigger concerns about where Musk’s programmers got this information and what they are doing with it. …
…The website states in tiny print at the bottom that its database excludes information from U.S. intelligence agencies.
But an easy search shows that DOGE’s database provides details on the National Reconnaissance Office, the federal agency that designs, builds and maintains U.S. intelligence satellites. Not only are NRO’s budgets and head counts classified, but the prospect of Musk’s tech team meddling in sensitive personnel information is setting off alarms for some in the intelligence community.
“DOGE just posted secret NOFORN info on their website about [intelligence community] headcount, so currently people are scrambling to check if their info has been accessed,” said one Defense Intelligence Agency employee, who requested anonymity to avoid retaliation from senior leaders.
If you haven’t been following the Mayor Eric Adams scandal, this bit from last night’s Chris Hayes show will help. Basically, the SDNY prosecutors have a massive case against Adams going back to 2014 or so. He’s been accused of accepting undisclosed gifts and bribes from foreign interests for a long time. There is a ton of evidence. But Adams cozied up to Trump, and a quid pro quo was worked out with the new people at DoJ that the charges would be dropped (but without prejudice; he might still be prosecuted in the future) as long as he was on Trump’s team regarding handling of migrants. Basically, Mayor Adams now works for Trump instead of NYC. So now a number of high-level prosecutors have resigned because the quid pro quo was so obvious that they couldn’t put their names to it. As of this writing I’m not sure the charges have been dropped yet. I understand the DoJ has now filed to have the case dismissed.
And here is the background on how Musk and Trump helped themselves to $80 million in New York City’s bank account and, of course, lied about what the money was for to justify the theft. Watch Chris Hayes break up over the overdraft fee.
Since last night another U.S. attorney resigned over this scandal. Here’s the letter he wrote. It’s worth reading. Here’s just a bit.
In short, the first justification for the motion—that Damian Williams’s role in the case somehow tainted a valid indictment supported by ample evidence, and pursued under four different U.S. attorneys is so weak as to be transparently pretextual. The second justification is worse. No system of ordered liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives.
Today Mayor Adams appeared on Fox News with “Border Czar” Tom Homan. It seems like an open admission that the Trump Administration owns Adams.
Meanwhile, J.D. Vance and Pete Hegseth are in Europe, scaring people to death. Vance made a speech to the Munich Security Conference, which was supposed to be about security, but instead was a stew of culture war crap. The other attendees were, um, alarmed. And Hegseth isn’t getting rave reviews, either.
Here’s another one, from CNN: Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee the country’s weapons stockpile, sources say. Of course they did.
I’m just exhausted.
The department of Energy firings is really something. If we had an actual congress this would absolutely be grounds for impeachment and conviction. But in GQP stumpland it's just another day of cutting "waste, fraud and abuse". I think Stump is going with the theory that if he just fucks everything up everyday nobody will notice?
When will people realize donnie trump is working for Vlad Putin?
Bingo. Exactly right, whether or not he realizes it, the effect is the same. I suspect he realizes it but the damage is the same either way.
Worst thing is, they fired them, and now, they don't have contact information to get them back. Plus, they're saying "oh, we cancelled the firing, so if they don't come back to work, they *QUIT*!"
One person who did come back said "of course I'm looking for other work; I don't trust my job here to be safe."
Frankly, if a private company did that, every single one of those employees would say "no, you have to *re-hire* us." But, the rules of normal people do not apply – it's in the press that "oopsie, we get a mulligan for the firing", so they go back to work, or hope a lawyer recovers money for them, five, ten years down the road.
I understand your exhaustion.
How can you not be?
I read every post you put up.
I come here because you and the commenters give me food for thought.
I really appreciate almost everybody here.
Thank you
Almost?
"I am overwhelmed by – and grateful for – everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support. Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC from across the country, and around the globe. While it is impossible for me to reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to write. I look forward to hearing more in the future." -Luigi Mangione
What if a jury acquits or hangs? I've already said that I could not be seated because I'm aware of the validity of jury nullification. Federal judges won't seat a juror who knows that it is their right as a juror to set aside a legal verdict if it is unjust in the specific circumstances.
The classic example is a true case in TX where a man was prosecuted for the possession of marijuana (which he had) in clear violation of state law but he was using it to treat glaucoma and would have certainly gone blind without it.
Any corporation must have what's called a "mission statement" which defines why they are in business expressed as a definition of how they will serve society. Corporations that deny service they owe with the certainty that a dead client is no longer a problem are predatory. And there is no legal remedy for what they do.
I can not endorse or encourage what Mr. Mangione did (if the evidence pans out in court), neither can I convict him of a crime for the illegal service to society which he provided. When the justice system allows the families of victims to sue for many times the benefit the insurance company expects to accrue through denial of service, the practice of killing of the patient will end. And then I will take a more critical view of killing off CEOs.
For the moment we are in, I want CEO's to be aware they are a target to the masses, to know we resent the extreme wealth they create for themselves and shareholders by preying on the sick and dying. I'm also not fond of the politicians who take money from the vultures to protect corporations from litigation.
Lots of people are complaining that the democrats don't seem to be doing much in the face of the constant overwhelming onslaught of daily outrages from the Musk/Trump presidency. I realize they ar in the minority and don't have much power to staop the insanity but they sure as hell can do a few things to slow it down. First stop voting for Stumps cabinet picks, Rubio got unanimous approval, now he is buying backing the dismantling of USAID and signed off on purchasing four hundred million dollars worth of Eloon's "cyber trucks" (the ugliest fucking thing on four wheels I have seen in my life, uglier that the Nissan cube)! Only the most unqualified high profile nominees have received unanimous democratic disapproval. I think something else they could and should do is holding a press briefing every single day. They need to spend fifteen – thirty minutes or so summarizing what Eloon and diaper don are up to, status of court cases, etc. They need to pick a democrat that can hold their own and give a clear concise presentation. I would pick Senator Mark Kelly (had Harris picked him instead of that slacker Waltz we might not be in this mess). The democrats need to at least make an attempt at slowing down the media onslaught being carried out by team crazy. Get off your asses fucking do something and do something every god damn day!
I don't think the veep pick made that much difference in the race. Walz got picked apart. If someone else had been the veep, that person would have been picked apart. Ultimately what made the difference was that a great many people bought Trump's stories about crime the rampaging homicidal migrants and also were pissed that groceries were too high.
I agree but I don't think Waltz helped the ticket at all. Kelly may have picked up a few more voters reluctant to vote for Harris but given the losses in PA, WI and MI I don't think it would have been enough, but it might have helped? I just think he is really what the party needs right now to stand up to the crazy.
No disrespect intended, but: we criticize Democrats a lot. And we forget that, if Republican had even the tiniest bit of patriotism, Trump would be in jail.
And the political press pretends like it's Democrats who have to deal with this problem.
And I will grant you Walz might not have been the best pick, but – does that matter? Does making the best of the world we have include that sort of Monday morning quarterbacking?
NB: I'm not saying "no Monday morning quarterbacking" – we need to learn from bad decisions! I just mean, should we complain about the Veep pick, or should we have moved on, and be talking more about how nasty the Republicans are, not even allowing two decent, hard-working, patriotic Americans ascend to the Presidency, choosing to throw *all* their support to Trump?
re the CyberTruck – after an initial splash, Tesla can't unload these turkeys, they're piling up on dealer lots. It's unbelievable that Musk can dump this excess inventory onto the public.
Apart from their ugliness, they have some cool features, but they're absurdly expensive. I've read that they have a far worse fire record than the Ford Pinto, and that Tesla refuses to turn over safety records to the authorities.
re Tesla itself – it's my opinion that this company is going nowhere. After a few innovative models, we get the CyberTurkey, er Truck instead of the low-cost EV, the Everyman EV that was Tesla's initial goal.
It's my opinion that Musk realized the Chinese had beaten him to this market, producing sophisticated low cost EVs that Tesla could never compete with. There is a huge 100% tariff on these vehicles, and so we in the US can only read about them, they'll never be sold here. Musk has said they would decimate our domestic manufacturers.
Tesla is going to morph into a different company, if it isn't absorbed by the other automakers altogether.
Walz' great redeeming quality was that he was a good foil for Kamala Harris, and beyond that, incredibly likeable and engaging. Unfortunately what was called for was a real fighter, someone who could fillet JD Vance effectively.
The bigger problem was Kamala Harris, and don't take this the wrong way – I think she did incredibly well given the hand she was dealt. Biden really blew it by not stepping out of the race early. And despite my love for Joe and what he did, he's out of his mind when, in retrospect, he says he could've beaten Trump.
Paul Waldman made the argument that the Dems really needed someone with a lot of natural charisma. He rated Harris as a B+ political talent, and it just wasn't enough.
No – Biden was never given any support. He was slaughtered over Afghanistan, which was clearly Trump's fault. He never recovered from that, and the rest of the BS was probably too much for him.
Now, I know, maybe you, maybe some people you know, think he had a medical condition that limited him. HE DID NOT. Some people talked about "taking the keys away from Grandpa" as if the White House doctor doesn't see him, first thing in the morning, last thing at night.
He wasn't hiding anything; he was just an old man, with a bit of a stiff gait, and, an unexpectedly quiet voice. His stutter caused him to flub one question.
Now, if we had perfect vision of the future, should we have told Biden of the disastrous first debate performance, and gotten him to cheer on a primary season? Of COURSE. But don't use today's knowledge to criticize yesterday's decisions.
Especially not, because I saw a lot of prejudice and ND-shaming back when the "replace" debate was happening. I'm ND – I know I can't be President, but I also realize that Biden, in much better condition than I, probably knows he *could* – assuming he, himself, thinks he can.
Now that *I* know my limits, I know what I can, and can't, do. I have no reason to assume Biden isn't the same way. And if any Republican starts JAQing off about it, they should be reminded that Trump can barely get a coherent sentence while *on* the teleprompter.
(Hm? Oh: JAQ = "Just Asking Questions", and, technically, you don't need to add "off" to it, but it seems appropriate sometimes.)
I don't know what ND means.
Whatever the right spun about Afghanistan is trivial compared to the obvious fact that Biden is an old man, who spoke quietly – poor stage presence – and despite his achievements – could not connect with enough voters to overcome these intrinsic hurdles against him.
Focusing on Afganistan is missing the elephant in the dining room, IMO. With a younger and more vigorous backbench available – one more expansive than the single member of Vice President Harris – why tie your hands behind your back with so many self-imposed hurdles to overcome with the voters, most of whom know nothing about Afghanistan but who clearly saw that Biden was an old man, definitely lacking in a vigorous stage presence?
Talk to anybody younger than 35, especially those who don't follow politics, and this was more or less what they were thinking.
Never is eighty years. Eighty years ago, the United States was celebrating the defeat of fascism and promising never again. Now, as of the start of state capture, we have both Musk and Vance promoting the fascist leaning political party in Germany and attempting to influence their election.
Shame on us. We broke our word. We also failed to teach American history to the point that Vance was not rejected way before he got a heartbeat away from the presidency.
I am so glad Chancelor Scholz used the word horror. Lately is has become one of my favorite words. Scofflaw is gaining on the list.
The newest horror is the takeover of the Kennedy Center. What an insult to American Culture, as if that is more than an illusion anymore. Artists are in full rebellion. The move is toward a classless class of white supremacists ignorant of history acting as untouchable scofflaws. This is an embarrassment not a shining light on a hill. A horror show on the world stage.
Authors: NYT
Jim Tankersley reported from Munich, and Andrew E. Kramer from Kyiv, Ukraine.
The other day Trump said we could/should cut the military budget in half if China and Russia do also. What I read is a desire on Trump's part to cut spending bigly without creating a voter backlash from the old, white guys that are the MAGA backbone.
Cut Social Security benefits? MAGA would riot. Cut Medicare? That will go over well. Trump's charm is based on promising to punish the groups MAGA is conditioned to hate. Mexicans, African-Americans, Jews, Anyone who does not look like they are of white European descent. (That includes all Asian, all Muslim, and groups they don't even recognize, like Sikhs. Not everyone hates all these groups but they are satisfied Trump will crack down on the ones they hate. The federal government isn't pouring big money into any of these groups compared to the military budget.
And don't be fooled. It's all about the money – tax cuts for billionaires and lucrative contracts for Tesla and Space X. And a lot of tech bros. The problem is – Trump's power evaporates when his MAGA popularity evaporates. The GOP in Congress is not in love with Trump (mostly) – they are afraid of the MAGA mob that will vote as Trump directs, to the degree that most of them can be out in their next primary if Trump organizes against them. When the threat os Trump's vengeance isn't there, we will see some independence in the GOP. To the point of impeachment?
It depends hoe much misery Trump inflicts on his voters. When the Trump medical plan looks just like pre-Obamacare right down to pre-existing conditions killing voters, and premiums are three times what they had under Obamacare, a lot of Trump voters will know they were swindled. Grocery prices (not just eggs) are going up. If/as inflation heats up, Trump may grab control of the Fed to slash interest rates, which is kerosine on the fire of inflation. I don't want Trump to implement his monetary policy but where he succeeds, I want the consequences to be catastrophic.
FEMA is a big wildcard. Slash FEMA and you are betting there will be no disasters in red states for four years. Not a good bet. One hurricane, badly managed, did Bush the Lesser in. Trump keeps pissing off our allies – at some point, they could band together to inflict economic pain on the US in retaliation. This is especially likely if Trump uses US troops to clear out Gaza.
If elections survive for four years, things may turn around a lot.
There are peace talks scheduled in Saudi Arabia between the US and Russia. The US reported that Kiev would also be represented but that's news to Zelinski. Ukraine is not planning to attend. (Nobody from Europe was invited – they are not happy.)
This is on a par with Trump and Netanyahu negotiating peace in Gaza.
Is there a Nobel Peace Prize waiting in the wings?
It's more accurate to call them surrender talks. Trump is aligning US policy with the autocrats of the world, giving them what they want. The nimrods / traitors just confirmed to the top defense and intelligence positions are proofs.
This evening there are plans (not talks) for European leaders and Ukraine to to meet to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. .Europe may see the value of stopping Russia now, as less expensive than fighting them across the continent. Will they (can they) commit forces (including troops) to drive Russia out?
I'm not betting they will, but I would not have bet on the rapid (one day) response to the "surrender talks" (hat tip to moonbat) between Putin and Trump. I'm rooting against the short-term interests of the US but if all the countries that Trump has insulted in the last three weeks work together on a boycott of the US, they can put some serious hurt on the US economy. We elected Trump – we earned the consequences.
The biggest lesson of WWII may have been that Hitler could beat any country in the world, but not all the countries of the world. It's time for MAGA to learn that lesson.
How about a Nobel hubris prize?
"It makes Mr Bigslyworth Angry…"
If you are embarrassed, then their plan is working. Revenge is the main function of the government now.
This poem was posted at LGM…
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
I’m not embarrassed for myself, I’m embarrassed for my country. Which MAGA is destroying. They’re taking revenge against the United States? We don’t know if Trump is really taking orders from Putin, but Putin must be ecstatic at the results he’s getting.