Elect a Clown, Expect the Circus

lousubcap

Monday Clown Show summary-(he!! of a weekend!)

"Elon Musk yesterday claimed that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) workers are shutting down payments to a Lutheran charity providing social services to refugees. The announcement suggests that Musk’s representatives have gained access to the federal payment system after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent greenlit their involvement on Friday. Gregory Korte and Viktoria Dendrinou report for Bloomberg; Andrew Duehren, Maggie Haberman, Theodore Schleifer, and Alan Rappeport report for the New York Times.

DOGE representatives have locked some career civil servants out of Office of Personnel Management (OPM) computer systems containing the personal data of millions of federal workers, two OPM officials said. Tim Reid reports for Reuters.

Several heads of FBI field offices are pushing back on the Justice Department’s instruction for FBI employees to fill out a survey detailing their roles in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack investigations, sources say. Separately, lawyers for prosecutors and FBI agents yesterday threatened legal action over the potential dismissal or public release of names of agents who worked on the investigations in a letter to senior DOJ officials. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO; Josh Campbell, Danya Gainor, Jim Sciutto, and Dan Berman report for CNN.

The Defense Department on Friday announced a new “annual media rotation program,” effectively removing NBC News, the New York Times, National Public Radio and Politico from their Pentagon offices in favor of One America News Network, the New York Post, Breitbart News Network, and HuffPost. Amanda Terkel reports for NBC News.

Trump agreed that USAID needs to be “shut down,” Elon Musk announced on X early today. Separately, incoming administration officials said the Trump administration is considering moving USAID under State Department control. Jennifer Hansler, Alex Marquardt, and Lex Harvey report for CNN; Robbie Gramer, Nahal Toosi, and Daniel Lippman report for POLITICO.

USAID staffers received a notice to stay out of the agency’s Washington headquarters today “at the direction of the Agency leadership.” AP Newsreports.

The USAID director of security and his deputy were placed on administrative leave on Saturday after attempting to deny access to secure USAID systems to DOGE representatives, according to sources. The officials believed they were legally obligated to refuse access because the DOGE employees lacked the necessary security clearances, two officials said. A DOGE advisory board member said that no classified material was accessed “without proper security clearances.” Abigail Williams, Vaughn Hillyard, Yamiche Alcindor, and Dan De Luce report for NBC News; Ellen Knickmeyer reports for AP News.

Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and several Democratic Senators yesterday wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing alarm over reports of potentially unauthorized access to USAID’s classified material and plans to fold USAID into the State Department.

Trump on Saturday imposed tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, set to begin tomorrow. The move was quickly followed by the announcement of retaliatory tariffs by Canada and Mexico. China announced it would file a complaint against the United States at the World Trade Organization and issue “corresponding countermeasures.” David Lynch, Mary Beth Sheridan, and Amanda Coletta report for the Washington Post; Jessica Murphy, Will Grant, and Michael Race report for BBC News; Keith Bradsher reports for the New York Times.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday told Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino that Washington sees China’s presence in the Panama Canal as a violation of the U.S.-Panama treaty and will take “necessary measures” under the treaty if it persists, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. Simon Lewis and Elida Moreno report for Reuters."

Botch

Trump drains CA’s water:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/02/01/trump-california-water-release/ 

Apparently no one's sure just how much water was lost (no longer needed in, nor even routable to LA), water that's normally used for irrigation in the central California Valley, where just over half the US's fruits, nuts and vegetables are grown.  Think grocery prices will jump when/if the tariffs begin tomorrow?  Hold my beer and let's revisit this in August.  

JohnInCarolina

DoubleEgger

It blows my mind that the Dems are not blasting the airwaves right now. 

lousubcap

When you have so many targets it is hard to focus on the top two or three.  Target rich opportunities for sure but... Absent a leader (however defined) the collective will dither.  
And here we are-

lousubcap

Tuesday Clown Show summary:

"President Trump yesterday said that Elon Musk “can't do and won't do anything without [White House] approval.” Separately, White House sources said that Musk is a “special government employee” and has a top secret security clearance. Sareen Habeshian reports for Axios; Kaitlan Collins and Tierney Sneed report for CNN.

Elon Musk and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees do not control the Treasury payment system, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Republican lawmakers in a closed-door meeting yesterday. Jasper Goodman and Michael Stratford report for POLITICO.

FBI executives will turn over the names of FBI personnel involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack cases to the Justice Department to comply with what the FBI General Counsel deemed a lawful order, according to FBI officials. Ken Dilanian, Jonathan Dienst, Ryan J. Reilly, and Tom Winter report for NBC News.

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. **** Durbin (IL), received “credible information” that at least 25 FBI special agents in charge might be removed this week and that a loyalty test asking about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 Capitol attack is being implemented in the leadership hiring process, according to a letter to the acting Attorney General and the acting FBI Director signed by all Democratic members of the committee. Derek Hawkins, Perry Stein, and Jeremy Roebuck report for the Washington Post.

The acting U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C, Ed Martin, yesterday stated that he is probing reports of individuals committing “acts that appear to violate the law in targeting DOGE employees." Martin also asked Musk to “utilize [Martin] and [his] staff to assist in protecting DOGE work.” Martin made the public announcement on X. Andrew Goudsward reports for Reuters; Rebecca Beitsch reports for the Hill; 

The State Department has fired about 60 contractors working for its democracy, human rights, and labor bureau, former and current U.S. officials said. Edward Wong, Michael Crowley, and Alan Rappeport report for the New York Times."

lousubcap

Wednesday Clown Show summary:

"The Treasury Department yesterday said it is conducting an “operational efficiency assessment” of its payment systems and that it has not suspended or rejected any payments, also stating that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees have “read-only” access to the systems. Richard Rubin reports for the Wall Street Journal.

A group of House and Senate Democrats protesting DOGE staffers’ access to federal payment systems were denied entry to the Treasury Department headquarters yesterday, Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) said. Andrew Solender reports for Axios.

The Trump administration yesterday announced it is arranging the repatriation of all U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) staff located overseas within 30 days and that nearly all of the agency’s “direct hire” staff will be put on leave effective Friday. Missy Ryan and John Hudson report for the Washington Post.

The CIA yesterday became the first national security or intelligence agency to offer its entire workforce the Trump administration’s “buyout” offer, a CIA spokesperson said. The offer had not previously been made available to most national security personnel and it is unclear whether all CIA employees will be allowed to take it. Katie Bo Lillis and Kaitlan Collins report for CNN.

The Trump administration is moving to open the Office of Personnel Management’s (OMP) chief information officer posts to political appointeesand reduce the position’s protections against firings, the OPM announced in a memo yesterday. Kevin Collier reports for NBC News.

The U.S. Air Force yesterday transferred the first group of migrants from the United States to a Guantánamo Bay detention facility, according to the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. A Homeland Security official said the flight was carrying around 10 migrants with criminal records. Hamed Aleaziz and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times; Priscilla Alvarez, Natasha Bertrand, and Haley Britzky report for CNN.

About 20,000 federal workers have accepted the Trump administration’s “buyout” offer so far, a senior administration official said. Marc Caputo reports for Axios.

China’s foreign ministry today announced it had lodged complaints with the United States over “irresponsible” remarks concerning the Panama Canal and “attacks” on the China-Panama cooperation on the waterway. Reuters reports.

Trump signed a presidential memorandum restoring a “maximum pressure campaign” against Iran, as well as an executive order calling for a review of U.S. funding and involvement in the U.N. David E. Sanger reports for the New York Times; Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.

More than $13 million in U.S. funding for a security force helping fight armed gangs in Haiti has been blocked under Trump’s executive order freezing foreign aid, the U.N. said yesterday. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.

Two sets of FBI agents yesterday filed lawsuits seeking to block the Justice Department from aggregating and publicly identifying FBI agents who worked on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and Trump classified documents cases. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report for POLITICO.

Unions representing federal workers filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to block the Trump administration's employee “buyout” offer. The lawsuit argues the scheme is “arbitrary and capricious” and violates federal law. David Shepardson and Karen Freifeld report for Reuters."

WildmanWilson

What I find hilarious is Biden kept the Trump China tariffs in place and even increased some. Not a single peep from you snowballs that he was killing the American people or any name calling. Imagine that….

JohnInCarolina

Obviously just all part of the massive conspiracy against men.  

JohnInCarolina

These aholes are going to get so many people killed.

DoubleEgger

Sometimes even the circus knows the ringmaster is mentally unstable. 

lousubcap

Thursday Clown Show Summary:

"Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees appear to have gained access to at least some Department of Health and Human Services payment and contracting systems, sources say. Musk’s representatives have been working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in recent days, the sources added. Anna Wilde Mathews and Liz Essley Whyte report for the Wall Street Journal. 

Justice Department lawyers yesterday agreed to a proposed order that would largely prohibit the Treasury Department from sharing sensitive federal payments data with DOGE but allow two Musk-affiliated Treasury Department employees to have “read-only” access to the federal payments systems until a Feb. 24 hearing. Peter Charalambous reports for ABC News.

More than 40,000 federal workers have accepted the Trump administration’s resignation offer so far, an Office of Personnel Management official said yesterday. Lindsay Ellis and Janet Adamy report for the Wall Street Journal.

The Trump administration’s resignation offers could be canceled at any time,top Education Department officials told staff members yesterday. Tyler Kingkade and David Ingram report for NBC News.

Federal government layoffs are “likely” if too few employees accept the deferred resignation offer, a General Services Administration supervisor told staff earlier this week in an email obtained by the Washington Post. Faiz Siddiqui, Emily Davies, and Lisa Rein report.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove yesterday accused the FBI’s acting leaders of “insubordination” over resisting the request to identify Jan. 6 attack investigators. In a Justice Department memo, Bove also said agents “who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner” face no risk of termination. Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer report for AP News.

The White House ordered the CIA to share a list of employees on probation to the Office of Personnel Management by an unclassified email. David E. Sanger and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times. 

The Trump administration on Tuesday evicted former Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan from her house with three hours' notice, two people said. Jonathan Allen and Courtney Kube report for NBC News.

President Trump revoked the security detail for former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, one of the former Trump administration officials facing threats from Iran. Maggie Haberman and Eric Schmitt report for the New York Times. "

lousubcap

The GWN is rightfully pushing back- @Canugghead, @GrateEggspectations, @paqman , @zaphod, @GlennM and many more that I have failed acknowledge-
Canadians support using oil as a weapon against America if Trump follows through on his trade war against the US’s northern neighbor. According to a new poll, there is strong nationwide support for putting export taxes on oil shipments if needed to retaliate against Trump’s tariffs. Overall, 82% of Canadians would be in favor of raising the price on oil exports to the US if Trump tries to put levies on Canadian goods but exempts oil. While export taxes on energy have been considered politically divisive in Canada, the robust backing shows the level of anger among the Canadian public over the 78-year-old Republican’s repeated threats.

Canugghead

you just cancelled @GrateEggspectations lol

lousubcap

Canugghead said:

you just cancelled @GrateEggspectations lol

Bourbon brain fart-since fixed and thanks for the mid-course correction. 

Canugghead

other canucks that surfaced recently... @Mr1egg @poster @Skiddymarker @Mark_B_Good, @Braggart, somone help me remember the username of the double indirect guru 

JohnInCarolina

Canugghead said:

other canucks that surfaced recently... @Mr1egg @poster @Skiddymarker @Mark_B_Good, @Braggart, somone help me remember the username of the double indirect guru 

@AlmaHolzhert ?

lousubcap

Run with it-public service announcement here-

JohnInCarolina

dbCooper

Canada seems to remember (America has forgotten since 2015 or so) that the way you deal with a bully is to punch them in the mouth.  Admiration here for the punches being thrown from up north.

Botch

dbCooper said:

Canada seems to remember (America has forgotten since 2015 or so) that the way you deal with a bully is to punch them in the mouth.  Admiration here for the punches being thrown from up north.

The very first political cartoon I cut out of my folks' newspaper was exactly this; bartender Uncle Sam said, "Nice slap shot, I owe you a beer".  Big burly Canada t-shirt guy had just thrown a punch, and turbaned Iranian ayatollah-kinda guys was on the floor with X's swimming around his head.  
This was '78 or earlier; wish I could remember the exact incident.  

Legume

Sounds like Argo, Botch

Canugghead

Botch said:

dbCooper said:

Canada seems to remember (America has forgotten since 2015 or so) that the way you deal with a bully is to punch them in the mouth.  Admiration here for the punches being thrown from up north.

The very first political cartoon I cut out of my folks' newspaper was exactly this; bartender Uncle Sam said, "Nice slap shot, I owe you a beer".  Big burly Canada t-shirt guy had just thrown a punch, and turbaned Iranian ayatollah-kinda guys was on the floor with X's swimming around his head.  
This was '78 or earlier; wish I could remember the exact incident.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Caper ?

Canugghead

https://youtu.be/8GXmplRrwgA?si=9v-vvtlmeVIepMH0

dbCooper

If you like history, research what the Canadian troops did, and endured, at Normandy on D-Day.  Juno Beach all the way to Germany.  Now we are ostracizing them, and many more bonded in blood true friends.

To be clear, by "we" I mean anyone not making some effort to oppose the trajectory the USA is on since 20-Jan-2025.

keener75

Canugghead said:

https://youtu.be/8GXmplRrwgA?si=9v-vvtlmeVIepMH0

Thanks for sharing that @Canugghead. 
Makes me feel proud to be Canadian!

Canugghead

Jean Chretien is 91 today and he gave himself a birthday present. He told Donald J. Trump to piss off in the The Globe and Mail. Here's his column:

* * *

Today is my 91st birthday.

It’s an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. To look back on the life I’ve had the privilege to lead. And to reflect on how much this country we all love so much has grown and changed over the course of the nine decades I’ve been on this Earth.

This year, I’ve also decided to give myself a birthday present. I’m going to do something in this article that I don’t do very often anymore, and sound off on a big issue affecting the state of the nation and profoundly bothering me and so many other Canadians: The totally unacceptable insults and unprecedented threats to our very sovereignty from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

I have two very clear and simple messages.

To Donald Trump, from one old guy to another: Give your head a shake! What could make you think that Canadians would ever give up the best country in the world – and make no mistake, that is what we are – to join the United States?

I can tell you Canadians prize our independence. We love our country. We have built something here that is the envy of the world – when it comes to compassion, understanding, tolerance and finding a way for people of different backgrounds and faiths to live together in harmony.

We’ve also built a strong social safety net – especially with public health care – that we are very proud of. It’s not perfect, but it’s based on the principle that the most vulnerable among us should be protected.

This may not be the “American Way” or “the Trump Way.” But it is the reality I have witnessed and lived my whole long life.

If you think that threatening and insulting us is going to win us over, you really don’t know a thing about us. You don’t know that when it came to fighting in two world wars for freedom, we signed up – both times – years before your country did. We fought and we sacrificed well beyond our numbers.

We also had the guts to say no to your country when it tried to drag us into a completely unjustified and destabilizing war in Iraq.

We built a nation across the most rugged, challenging geography imaginable. And we did it against the odds.

We may look easy-going. Mild-mannered. But make no mistake, we have spine and toughness.

And that leads me to my second message, to all our leaders, federal and provincial, as well as those who are aspiring to lead our country: Start showing that spine and toughness. That’s what Canadians want to see – what they need to see. It’s called leadership. You need to lead. Canadians are ready to follow.

I know the spirit is there. Ever since Mr. Trump’s attacks, every political party is speaking out in favour of Canada. In fact, it is to my great satisfaction that even the Bloc Québécois is defending Canada.

But you don’t win a hockey game by only playing defence. We all know that even when we satisfy one demand, Mr. Trump will come back with another, bigger demand. That’s not diplomacy; it’s blackmail.

We need another approach – one that will break this cycle.

Mr. Trump has accomplished one thing: He has unified Canadians more than we have been ever before! All leaders across our country have united in resolve to defend Canadian interests.

When I came into office as prime minister, Canada faced a national unity crisis. The threat of Quebec separation was very real. We took action to deal with this existential threat in a manner that made Canadians, including Quebeckers, stronger, more united and even prouder of Canadian values.

Now there is another existential threat. And we once again need to reduce our vulnerability. That is the challenge for this generation of political leaders.

And you won’t accomplish it by using the same old approaches. Just like we did 30 years ago, we need a Plan B for 2025.

Yes, telling the Americans we are their best friends and closest trading partner is good. So is lobbying hard in Washington and the state capitals, pointing out that tariffs will hurt the American economy too. So are retaliatory tariffs – when you are attacked, you have to defend yourself.

But we also have to play offence. Let’s tell Mr. Trump that we too have border issues with the United States. Canada has tough gun control legislation, but illegal guns are pouring in from the U.S. We need to tell him that we expect the United States to act to reduce the number of guns crossing into Canada.

We also want to protect the Arctic. But the United States refuses to recognize the Northwest Passage, insisting that it is an international waterway, even though it flows through the Canadian Arctic as Canadian waters. We need the United States to recognize the Northwest Passage as being Canadian waters.

We also need to reduce Canada’s vulnerability in the first place. We need to be stronger. There are more trade barriers between provinces than between Canada and the United States. Let’s launch a national project to get rid of those barriers! And let’s strengthen the ties that bind this vast nation together through projects such as real national energy grid.

We also have to understand that Mr. Trump isn’t just threatening us; he’s also targeting a growing list of other countries, as well as the European Union itself, and he is just getting started. Canada should quickly convene a meeting of the leaders of Denmark, Panama, Mexico, as well as with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to formulate a plan for fighting back these threats.

Every time that Mr. Trump opens his mouth, he creates new allies for all of us. So let’s get organized! To fight back against a big, powerful bully, you need strength in numbers.

The whole point is not to wait in dread for Donald Trump’s next blow. It’s to build a country and an international community that can withstand those blows.

Canadians know me. They know I am an optimist. That I am practical. And that I always speak my mind. I made my share of mistakes over a long career, but I never for a moment doubted the decency of my fellow Canadians – or of my political opponents.

The current and future generations of political leaders should remember they are not each other’s enemies – they are opponents. Nobody ever loved the cut-and-thrust of politics more than me, but I always understood that each of us was trying to make a positive contribution to make our community or country a better place.

That spirit is more important now than ever, as we address this new challenge. Our leaders should keep that in mind.

I am 91 today and blessed with good health. I am ready at the ramparts to help defend the independence of our country as I have done all my life.

Vive le Canada!

lousubcap

Friday Clown Show summary:

"The chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission, Ellen Weintraub (D), yesterday said that President Trump had attempted to fire her and that she does not see the move as legally valid. “I've been so fortunate to serve the American people and stir up some good trouble along the way. That's not changing anytime soon,” she said in a social media post. Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times.

A DOGE staffer resigned yesterday after being linked to a deleted social media account that advocated racism and eugenics. The 25-year-old was one of the two DOGE employees with court-approved access to the Treasury’s payments systems. Katherine Long reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the FBI to disband its Foreign Influence Task Force, a team combating foreign threats to U.S. elections. In a separate directive, Bondi also disbanded efforts to seize Russian oligarchs’ assets. Ken Dilanian reports for NBC News.

The FBI yesterday provided the Justice Department with names of employees who worked on Jan. 6 Capitol riot investigations, after previously relaying information on employee ID numbers only, FBI acting Director Brian Driscoll said. Evan Perez and Hannah Rabinowitz report for CNN.

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers have gained access to sensitive Office of Personnel Management records of millions of federal employees, U.S. officials said. Isaac Stanley-Becker, Greg Miller, Hannah Natanson, and Joseph Menn report for the Washington Post.

The Treasury Department's chief of staff, Dan Katz, pushed for DOGE to have operational control over the federal payment systems so that it could freeze transfers to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), emails reviewed by the New York Times show. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously said that DOGE did not attempt to block payments. Andrew Duehren, Alan Rappeport, and Theodore Schleifer report.

USAID is expected to be reduced down to about 290 workers from the more than 5,000 foreign service officers, civil servants, and contractors it currently employs, sources say. Abigail Williams, Vaughn Hillyard, and Zoë Richards report for NBC News.

The White House is working on an executive order to fire thousands of Department of Health and Human Services workers, sources say. Liz Essley Whyte and Betsy McKay report for the Wall Street Journal.

Trump yesterday signed an executive order aimed at eradicating “anti-Christian bias” in federal agencies. Erica L. Green reports for the New York Times.

Trump has nominated Anthony Tata, a retired brigadier general with a history of inflammatory comments, to be the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Helene Cooper reports for the New York Times.

The White House has directed the General Services Administration to terminate “every single media contract” expensed by the agency and pull “all contracts” for Politico, BBC, E&E, and Bloomberg. Zachary Basu and Marc Caputo report for Axios."

Legume

I just want to highlight this nugget from the post above.

Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the FBI to disband its Foreign Influence Task Force, a team combating foreign threats to U.S. elections. In a separate directive, Bondi also disbanded efforts to seize Russian oligarchs’ assets. Ken Dilanian reports for NBC News.

This is Russia's wet-dream. China, North Korea and Iran too.  I would love to hear any rational explanation for this.

Legume

#winning

or not.