#if you support trump or musk or their cronies

[em-orald]

Breaking news: It is unclear what Elon Musk meant this morning when he said “I support extremist hate groups” during his speech, but experts are urging people to not draw conclusions. It does not necessarily mean that he supports extremist hate groups, they say.

“He really could have meant anything,” said Dumbass Shitface, spokesperson of right-wing think tank Neo-Nazi Militia. “Remember that just before this, he brought on stage a cute police dog nicknamed Doge. Wasn’t that so cute? Could someone like that *really* support extremist hate groups?”

“I would be wary of drawing premature conclusions about what he meant, you have to remember that he is autistic,” said Barryme Sixfeetunder, president of Autism Quiet, a group that fights against discrimination due to the disability. “I am not under threat of any kind, legal or financial,” he added later on his public X (formerly known as Twitter) account. His account was recently unbanned following the purchase of Autism Quiet by Musk for $1.3 billion dollars.

According to the human rights watchdog organization Valiant Saviors, “I wasn’t paying attention, what did he say? That must be a mistake, there’s no way that’s true. Why would someone commit political suicide by being so blatant?” They declined to comment about whether or not they will look into this matter further.

“He obviously is in support of extremist hate groups,” said Smallguy Paynoattention, a professor of political science at Legitimate University. “Don’t give into the gaslighting. Hey, you’re not gonna put this at the end of the article so nobody reads it, right?” Unfortunately, our meeting had to be cut short due to a sudden and unrelated scandal that is now taking up all of his attention, and he has not responded to further emails.

Elon Musk is currently the richest man in the world, owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly known as Twitter)(it’s a real website that doesn’t just host porn, please believe us). He was giving a speech at President Trump’s inauguration after being declared the leader of the new executive department Crony Rich Asshole Politicians (CRAP).

————

This story has been updated to correct the name of the new executive department, previously identified as Clearly Really A Payoff.

[thesickleandthepen]

This country will very soon become nothing more than a pseudo-dictatorship, with Trump at the head and his incompetent cronies beneath him, allowing Trump to dl anything he damn well pleases.

Elon Musk is one of the funniest yet most depressing examples. This goddamn nepo baby buffoon who somehow even smiles wrong will soon be the head of a new government department Trump made just for him, its acronym being a reference to a shitty memecoin.

He will also eventually replace the current FBI director with one of his fucking loyalists named Kash Patel, a man who actively criticizes investigations into Trump and has accused the "deep state" of undermining Trumo and making his power and reputation weaker while he was in office the first time. He's called for mass firings within the FBI, robbing civil servants of their jobs, and he may possibly use the FBI's power to silence any media that criticizes him. While that last one is just a fear, I have no doubt it will happen, given how these scumbags act.

Unfortunately, this is a pattern of hirings from Trump. He will hire nothing but his ardent supporters, allowing him to have full control of the entire government. It's only one more example of the broken government we have today, and a painful demonstration of the consequences of the election. This shouldn't have happened; Trump should be in jail, where he fucking belongs. However, wishful thinking won't get us anywhere. I urge all who see this post to be better. Protest, vote, fight back. Help those in need who will be disadvantaged and hurt by the laws that will soon be put in place. Rise above Trump and his supporters; revel in knowing that you are better than them.

[misfitwashere]

The only real firewall against the Trump regime

In the pending Trump regime, federal judges (most of them appointed by Democratic presidents) will form the most important firewall. 

ROBERT REICH

JAN 2

Friends,

As a practical matter, where will we find a firewall against the excesses of the Trump regime? The federal courts. 

You might say it doesn’t matter because the Supreme Court will rubber-stamp whatever Trump and his cronies want to do. 

Not so. The Supreme Court didn’t support all of Trump’s moves in his first administration (remember Trump’s Muslim ban?). 

More importantly, fewer than 1 percent of federal cases ever reach the Supreme Court. Given the amount of federal litigation likely to be created by the upcoming Trump administration, the Supreme Court probably won’t be able to deal with even 1 percent. 

Most disputes will be decided instead by 1,457 federal judges across 209 courts in the federal court system.

Most of these federal judges were appointed by Democratic presidents. 

Of the 680 federal district court judges, 370 were appointed by Democrats compared to 267 by Republicans. 

Of the 179 federal courts of appeals judges, 89 were appointed by Republican presidents and 89 by Democratic presidents. Judges appointed by Democratic presidents hold the majority of seats on seven of the 13 regional courts of appeal. 

(Biden nominated and the Senate confirmed 235 federal judges — a quarter of all federal judges, and one more than Trump.)

***

Examples of federal litigation we can expect:

1. Trump has promised to withhold, by executive action, birthright citizenship from people born in the United States to parents who are undocumented immigrants. 

Yet the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” The restriction, at the time of the amendment’s adoption in 1868, was widely understood to exclude foreign diplomats and native tribes. American Indians later started receiving birthright citizenship under a law passed in 1924.

2. Trump says he’ll refuse to spend money that Congress has authorized. 

“When I return to the White House, I will do everything I can to challenge the Impoundment Control Act in court,” Trump has said. “With impoundment, we can simply choke off the money.”

Wrong. Congress restricted impoundments in 1974 in response to Nixon’s efforts to unilaterally alter domestic programs. Trump’s OMB is expected to argue that the 1974 Impoundment Control Act is unconstitutional. But the Constitution assigns Congress the “power of the purse” to control taxation and spending. 

3. Trump wants to revive a policy from late in his first term making it easier to fire tens of thousands of civil servants despite Biden’s moves to bolster their protections. 

When Trump does this, unions representing federal workers will appeal to the federal courts. 

4. Trump will seek to raise tariffs across the board, arguably a move that requires congressional action. 

To impose 25 percent tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada, as Trump says he wants to do, would require his reliance on an emergency powers law that’s the basis for U.S. financial sanctions, but not the basis for tariffs. Such executive action would almost certainly be challenged by affected businesses. 

5. Trump will try to erode Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid without congressional approval. 

Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-chair (with Elon Musk) of Trump’s so-called “Department” of Government Efficiency, asserts that he and Musk could cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid without Congress’ approval. “The executive branch has no obligation to send out a payment if it is wasteful,” he said. 

I doubt they’ll try to take on these popular programs head-on. More likely, they’ll try to alter eligibility or, as in the case of Medicaid, impose work requirements and make block-grants to the states. 

Where will this issue be decided? Again, in the federal courts. 

6. Trump will seek to undo thousands of regulations through an executive order instructing agencies not to enforce them. 

Musk and Ramaswamy have already boasted that this is what Trump will do. The Administrative Procedure Act requires, however, an open process if agencies want to adopt or rescind regulations. 

Musk and Ramaswamy’s moves (via Trump) will be instantly appealed to the federal courts. 

7. DOGE’s secrecy itself will be challenged. 

The Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 requires outside groups advising the executive branch to hold open meetings and include a range of perspectives. (The federal appeals court in Washington upheld the requirements during the first Trump administration, when a veterans group sued the Department of Veterans Affairs for relying on a trio of advisersbased out of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club.)

Where will this be decided? The federal courts could order disclosures or even bar agencies from using recommendations from advisers who broke the rules.

***

Trump’s incipient administration is already laying plans for this tsunami of federal litigation against the regime. “Those who seek to delay or stall [Trump’s] agenda by filing litigation against the Trump administration will be subverting the will of the tens of millions of Americans who just reelected President Trump,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. 

Rubbish. In light of Republican control over the White House and both chambers of Congress, litigation in the federal courts may be the only way to protect the rights of the tens of millions of Americans who didn’t elect Trump and even of many who did. 

Given that most of this litigation will be decided not by the Supreme Court but by federal judges appointed by Democratic presidents, there’s a fair chance that many of Trump’s initiatives will be found to be illegal.

[cryptid-crusader]

Everyday I'm forced to read more dumbass shit that's going on in this country/close to my home that's been orchestrated by idiots who lack souls, decency, hearts, and a functioning brain and somehow they just keep doing shit!!! And think it's justified!!!

I hate Nazis! I hate transphobes! I hate Donald Trump and all his shitty little cronies! I hate stupid ass Elon Musk! I hate every close minded hateful idiot who supports any of these cretins! If you are any of these things, fuck off and suffer from mega shits forever until you perish!

[bouncinghedgehog]

Robert Reich:

Friends,

It can be overwhelming. Trump is trying to “flood the zone” so we focus on a few outrages that we find most offensive and lose sight of the big picture — the larger strategy he and Elon Musk and their cronies are pursuing.

Their major goal is not only or even mainly to impose white Christian nationalism on America, nor to downsize the federal government, nor to wreak vengeance on Trump’s enemies.

It is to concentrate ever more power in Trump’s hands, so he can concentrate ever more wealth in the oligarchy’s hands.

The overall strategy boils down to five tactics.

1. Replace federal civil servants with Trump loyalists.

It’s like the communist witch hunts of the late 1940s and early 1950s, only not with loyalty oaths to the United States but loyalty oaths to Trump.

Under one of Trump’s first executive orders, known as “Schedule F,” job protections shielding tens of thousands of senior career federal workers will be eliminated, making it easier to replace them with loyalists.

This week, Trump (via Musk) issued to all 2.3 million federal workers an offer to quit and get eight months pay or face the possibility of being furloughed without pay or fired. This, too, is aimed at getting rid of the professional civil service and installing people more loyal to Trump than to the United States.

Dozens of career officials at the National Security Council have been sent home while their loyalty is being reviewed. Dozens of other career officials, at the U.S. Agency for International Development, have been put on leave for suspicion of resisting an order by Trump.

Trump has conducted a mass purge of more than a dozen inspectors general (in direct violation of a law requiring written notice to Congress with a “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” at least 30 days in advance). The only inspector general who remains is a Trump loyalist.

2. Take over independent decision-making across government.

This past Monday night, Trump froze up to $3 trillion in federal grants and loans to determine whether they “meet his priorities,” even though they had been passed by Congress. This was a direct violation of the Impoundment Act of 1974. (Later in the week, the freeze was rescinded, but it is expected to be reimposed in a form less vulnerable to legal challenges.)

He fired Democratic members of independent agencies — the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — leaving each without enough members to legally act.

This action is also unlawful. The law creating the labor board makes it independent of the White House in part by limiting a president’s ability to fire its members at will, stating: “Any member of the board may be removed by the president, upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause.”

3. Put current officials on notice that defiance will be punished.

The media calls this Trump’s retribution for past perceived wrongs, but as a practical matter, it’s Trump’s warning to current officials that he will punish any disloyalty or defiance.

Trump has fired more than a dozen prosecutors from the Justice Department who worked for the special counsel Jack Smith on investigations into Trump.

A memo to the fired prosecutors from the acting attorney general, James McHenry, says a major factor in firing them was disloyalty to Trump: “Given your significant role in prosecuting the president, I do not believe that the leadership of the department can trust you to assist in implementing the president’s agenda faithfully,” he wrote.

Trump’s Justice Department has also opened an investigation into the actions of career prosecutors who criminally charged the Trump supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Trump has withdrawn security details from former public officials who have criticized him, although the threats on their lives continue — Anthony Fauci, John Bolton, and General Mark Milley. Trump has also rescinded additional protections for certain senior civil servants whose lives have been threatened.

4. Eliminate or intimidate sources of news and facts that have criticized Trump.

Trump has threatened to throw journalists in jail and revoke the broadcast licenses of television networks he perceives as unduly critical of him. He is also threatening universities, scientists, and government research agencies whose findings he dislikes. Trump’s Department of Education plans to control classroom curricula.

The threats are escalating. Days ago, Musk lashed out at the nonprofit Wikipedia after his page there was updated with a description of his controversial Nazi-like salute during Trump’s Inauguration Day celebrations.

5. Divide and conquer.

Trump wants Americans to get so riled up against one another that we don’t look upward and see where all the wealth and power have gone. This, too, is a tactic for consolidating power.

Yesterday, for example, Trump blamed the tragic air crash on Biden and Obama initiatives to make the federal workforce more diverse, claiming they “came out with a directive — ‘too white,’” but that “we want the people that are competent.”

***

It’s important to see Trump’s strategy as a whole. It is designed to consolidate his power. If we see it as a whole, the rest of us are better able to counter it — by demanding action from and fortifying our members of Congress, organizing for the midterm elections in 2026 to take back both chambers, conducting boycotts, and supporting and defending those who are vulnerable to Trump.

Americans don’t want a dictator. We don’t want an oligarchy. We were founded in rebellion against a king and his aristocracy.

Trump’s consolidation of power comes at a time when huge wealth has been amassed in the hands of 640 billionaires, including many who are in Trump’s White House — including the richest person in the world, who is now giving out orders as if he were Trump.

This concentration of power increases opportunities for oligarchic transactions — more power for more wealth, and more wealth for more power — that siphon off wealth and power from everyone else and undermine democracy.

This is the central reality of what has happened during the first 10 days of the Trump regime.

What do you think?

[mariacallous]

Pundits spent the past week expressing wonderment at how Donald Trump has lumbered back into the White House with a massive show of dominance and power. What they missed is that he’s already done more damage to the two most valuable assets of the office — its legitimacy and institutional power — than any prior presidency.

Trumpers have relished the chaos and utter dysfunction they’ve rapidly and deliberately sown, calling it a “shock and awe” operation. Leaving to one side the perversion of likening a president’s governance to the mass bombardment of a military adversary, the comparison of the start of Trump’s second term to the beginning of George W. Bush’s failed Iraq War may prove to be very apt, in a catastrophic sort of way.

While many are already unfurling “Mission Accomplished” banners for The Donald, there are many red flags flying.

Trump damages himself by pardoning cop beaters

Trump has long favored pardoning friends and cronies, as well as the friends and cronies of his friends and cronies. He apparently thinks arbitrarily exercising the pardon power brings him closer to the dictatorial status he aspires to.

But by making one of his first presidential acts pardoning nearly every one of the insurrectionists — including among them those who beat, bear sprayed, crushed, and concussed police officers — Trump immediately diminished himself and his office.

During a particularly unhinged news conference, during which Trump ranted about Southern California’s water supply being shut down by a nefarious plumber who closed a “valve,” the newly inaugurated president casually admitted how little thought or consideration he had given to the vile crimes he was excusing.

In response to a reporter asking why he pardoned an insurrectionist who had tased a Capitol Police Officer in the neck, an apparently befuddled Trump responded with “Well, I don’t know,” and then said he would “take a look” at it. (Watch below.)

As if to attempt to make up for letting off the violent insurrectionists, Trump followed up his cop-beater pardons by pardoning a cop responsible for killing a guy he was chasing for riding a moped without a helmet, as well as the partner who helped cover up the crime. That only amplified the (accurate) impression that Trump has departed from basic standards of decency.

The consequence of the debacle extended well beyond Trump himself. Before he issued his blanket pardons and commutations, his toadies offered assurances that he would not be so irresponsible as to let the violent insurrectionists off. These lackeys were immediately beclowned by Trump’s actions, and then, of course, leapt into action by offering embarrassing excuses for the Leader’s actions.

These apologists aside, a number of Republicans took the rare step of criticizing Trump’s first major presidential action, which a poll showed 58 percent of Americans disagreed with. It’s not a great opening look for a would be populist strongman.

The embrace of fascism

While Trump was busy letting off cop beaters and inviting the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to become part of the “political conversation,” his top White House advisor, Elon Musk, was focused on directly associating the new regime with fascism at home and abroad.

During an inauguration day address, an ebullient Musk flashed two Hitler Salutes at a gathering of Trump supporters. Musk’s apologists later claimed, variously, that he had actually been giving a “Roman Salute” or — in an insult to persons on the spectrum — asserted that Musk’s salute was a product of his alleged “Asperger’s syndrome.”

Musk himself, however, couldn't be bothered to come up with such excuses. Instead, he responded to criticisms of his Sieg Heils with a tweet replete with National Socialist “humor,” including: “Some people will Goebbels anything down!“ and “Bet you did nazi that coming.” He even managed to include juvenile “anti-woke” humor in his Nazi tweet, saying: “His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler!”

Lest there be any doubt that the presidential consigliere’s predilection for fascism is real, Musk later in the week addressed followers of the German far right nationalist party, AfD, and urged them to “move beyond” their “past guilt” and “get excited about a future for Germany.” (Watch below.)

Trump, for his part, has so far remained largely mum about his closest advisor’s now unmistakable embrace of fascism, even while leaders of the AfD attended his inauguration. By entering office announcing their proud association with the far right, Trump and his team of extremists are marginalizing themselves.

Open and notorious illegality

The massive stack of executive orders Trump signed provided the first indications of a serious problem: He and his cronies are simultaneously confirming their status as chronically sloppy bumblers while doing their best to destroy some of the very governmental institutions that GOP presidents, including Ronald Reagan, have used to implement the kind of rightwing policies Trump claims to favor.

Overreaching and amateurish executive orders are nothing new for Trump. He stumbled during his first weeks in office in 2017 when he tried to implement a “Muslim ban” that federal judges repeatedly recognized to be illegal and galvanized resistance throughout the country.

During recent months, Trump associates claimed they had carefully prepared to avoid the stumbles of his first term. It was therefore all the more surprising that, during the first couple of days of his second one, Trump signed many EOs that are patently illegal and gratuitously offensive to many constituencies Trump and his party have come to rely on.

For example, Trump signed an executive order that made a terrible argument for the false proposition that the president has authority to deny citizenship to the children of people born in this country. The order, which purports to deny citizenship to US-born children of undocumented immigrants, is at direct odds with the first clause of the 14th Amendment. Indeed, the order is chock full of embarrassingly false assertions of

It therefore should have come as no surprise when a federal judge appointed by Reagan imposed a temporary restraining order preventing the Executive Order from being enforced, stating that it is “blatantly unconstitutional” and observing: "I've been on the bench for four decades, I can't remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is." Similar rulings are all but certain to come soon, and it seems highly likely that Trump has set himself up for an early, major — and entirely unnecessary — loss at the Supreme Court.

On Monday night, Trump made another blatantly lawless move, ordering his budget office to put a total freeze on “all federal financial assistance.” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed yesterday that the administration’s goal is “to ensure that all of the money going out from Washington DC is in a line with the president's agenda," but those dollars are appropriated by Congress and should flow regardless of Trump’s whims. Leavitt told reporters that organizations concerned about making payroll in light of the freeze should simply directly reach out to OMB Director Russ Vought, ignoring that fact that Vought hasn’t even been confirmed yet and that the order likely violates federal law.

Trump also unleashed a series of initiatives directed at the favorite bugaboo of the far right: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, otherwise known as civil rights. Trump left no doubt that his administration will be welcoming to invidious discrimination, including by revoking an executive order issued by Lyndon Johnson in 1965 requiring government contractors to ensure that their employees are “treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.”

Lest there be any doubt that the Trump administration is doing its very best to gin up an anti-civil rights movement, the Department of Defense ordered its educational personnel to censor training videos about the historic Tuskegee Airmen, until it was publicly shamed into retreating. The administration also established a hotline to snitch on suspected civil rights workers.

While the fair treatment of members of minority groups repulses a relatively small cohort of bigots among the MAGA base, such a governmental assault on non-white Christian Americans is a problematic cause for Trump, who has been trumpeting his purportedly outsized ability to garner votes from Latinos and Black Americans.

Nihilism

In recent days, Trumpers could be heard cackling in joy over the chaos that Trump’s reckless executive orders caused throughout the federal workforce. One apparent goal of this strategy is to drive as many people out of the government as possible.

The “be careful what you wish for” adage, however, could not more aptly apply. In situations like this, it’s always those who have the most sought-after skills and expertise that exit an organization, taking with them essential knowledge and abilities.

Trump’s moves may seem brilliant to nihilists who take glee in blowing up large portions of the government regardless of the consequences. But, as George W. Bush learned during Katrina, people get mighty angry when they find essential government services they rely on have been stripped away or placed in the hands of stooges.

Just as importantly, these attacks on governmental agencies and the personnel that constitute their essential infrastructure will hobble Trump’s efforts to carry out his extremist agenda. His acolytes imagine that they can restock the government with fellow extremists who just happen to have the skills and expertise required to ensure essential functions are preserved. It’s as if Trumpers don’t remember the huge costs past presidents — including Trump — have paid for putting cronies in charge, particularly during emergencies.

The first test is already upon us, as Trump confronts a rapidly escalating bird flu epidemic that is already resulting in egg prices far above those Trump used against Biden during the 2024 campaign. This is happening even as Trump is effectively inviting mission critical scientists and inspectors to leave the government’s employ.

On a longer term basis, Trump is already well on the road to doing just what the most successful far right president, Reagan, deliberately avoided — blowing up the institutions that will be essential to any actually successful effort to “remake” government.

As Reagan and his advisors recognized, it was essential to maintain the foundational infrastructure and prestige of lynchpin agencies like the DOJ, Treasury, and State Departments. Without them, a president’s powers are drastically diminished. But Trump and his acolytes are too enraptured by the flames and explosions resulting from the bombs they have been lobbing at public servants to think much about the potential consequences, including for their own agenda.

While Trump has been playing the role of The Great Dictator and ruling by decree, trouble’s been brewing. He just decamped to the sort of place he will spend much of the next four years, a golf course at a Trump resort. He’s summoned GOP lawmakers to Florida to pay him large sums and discuss perhaps the most important task of Trump’s next two years, but one he clearly finds uninteresting — passing critical legislation.

Trump and his sidekick Musk came close to causing a government shutdown, for absolutely no reason, just before Christmas. Since that time, Trump has evinced a characteristic lack of interest in the nuts and bolts of passing budgetary legislation. He reportedly told congressional leaders to come up with a way to get the debt ceiling raised to pay for his tax cuts and report back to him.

While Trump tries to keep his distance from the excruciatingly difficult task of passing anything through a House that has only a nominal Republican majority, he has also reportedly demanded that Congress pass a single, massive piece of legislation encompassing his entire agenda. It will renew and expand his unpopular tax cuts for the rich and gut essential programs — likely including ones for veterans, healthcare, education, housing, and nutrition.

The problem is that Trump and his team can’t afford to lose more than a couple of GOP votes to pass such a bill. Passage therefore requires a yes from pretty much every Republican lawmaker, from the “budget hawk” extremists to those in perilous positions in swing districts.

This, of course, is where the rubber hits the road. Many of the massive cuts in spending that GOP leaders have been floating will hit key Republicans constituencies even as Trump pushes for even more tax cuts slanted in favor of the ultra rich. Trump and his party are pursuing this strategy despite the fact that similarly regressive tax legislation, as well as a failed attempt to gut the Affordable Care Act, contributed to a major midterm loss for the GOP during Trump’s first term.

Trump is relying on fear and relentless pressure (the only type of politics he understands) to compel reluctant GOP lawmakers to vote for a bill that seems likely to doom some of them in under two years. But if only a few of them conclude that passage of Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” is likely to end their careers, it could be delayed and stripped down. Furthermore, successfully passing the bill on a party line vote could impose huge political costs on Trump and his entire party, given how unpopular key elements of it are likely to be.

In the meantime, Trump’s popularity — which while at a high for him, remains below 50 percent — could well start to decline, lessening his appearance of political invincibility.

Opportunities presented by disaster

Readers should not construe this assessment of Trump’s opening moves as a prediction of either his political demise or triumph.

Trump and his crew are plainly at war with democracy and are determined to stay in power regardless of how unpopular their policies may be. But the unpopularity of many of Trump’s policies, as well as the sheer idiocy of many of the his actions and those of his cronies, offer real opportunities to the opposition.

Whatever happens, nobody will be able to blame Trump and his party for failing to provide their opponents with a lot of ammunition to fight back.

[karadin]

ELON MUSK "special" government employee alert

On Tuesday, millions of federal employees received an email from the Office of Personnel Management demanding that they either accept a huge set of changes to the workplace or resign. a copy of Musk gutting Twitter when he purchased it - you know the social media platform that has lost more than 60-80% of it's value.

Musk is acting without consulting Trump’s inner circle - this is what money can buy you if you offer to keep Trump out of jail.

Musk and a team of college age kids “have locked fed officials and employees out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of people. And security officers were suspended for trying to stop these people Who Have No Security Clearances.

Musk cronies are being put into the Office of Personnel Management, the General Services Administration and the Commerce Department.

The highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department retiring in protest of Musk breaking into sensitive payment systems that disburses trillions of dollars - affecting the lives of tens of millions of Americans who, among other things, receive support from Social Security and Medicare.

Musk also had Investigators General removed, including a woman who was investigating his company Neuralink.

Musk forced out the Head of the Federal Aviation Administration was investigating Space X.

Musk and the Trump are attempting to take over both the Legislative Branch (Congress) and the Judicial Branch (The US Court System) - by STEALING the power of the purse from the House and Senate and OVERRIDING the power of the Courts by stating that they Will Not Follow Court Orders.

The Department of Justice is now threatening lawsuits against anyone who attempts to bring Musk and any of his cohorts to account.

Musk is in the General Services Administration terminating leases for federal offices. This will affect federal contracting and technology services (including those business rivals of Elon Musk) across the government.

Musk demolished Twitters value and sparked a mass exodus of users. It’s deeply disturbing to think what he could do to something as complex and consequential as the U.S. government.

[kenzietensei]

I'm lucky enough to live in a blue state which has good representatives who are not cowards - they openly speak out against the fascists trying to take over the US. So I've never really had to call and complain (because I feel the issues I care about are being considered and worked on appropriately). But I've heard that being vocal in your support is important too. So today (for the first time) I called my congressman's office to pass along the message - I support his stance against Trump and Musk and their cronies, and as long as he continues to keep the line against them, I will continue to vote him into office.

It was a little awkward on my end (because I didn't check out a script beforehand so I felt stilted) but their guy on the phone was nice. All he asked was that I leave my info (name and zip code) and that he'd pass along the message. So although I struggle to do the whole phone calls thing in general, it wasn't a bad experience and I feel glad that I did it.

Anyways, this is a call to action! Even when you feel your political reps are doing what needs to be done, confirming for them that you support that and want them to continue fighting for just policy is valuable. It's a 3 minute phone call. I'd encourage you to give it a shot!

[6ilent-9ufferer]

Don't fall for this email...

Why do I keep getting this email? I never subscribed to it, and yet, I had to unsubscribe. I don't want to buy anything associated with his name or "made" by him.

If you were sent this, too, I urge you: don't buy into this scam. Don't contribute even a cent into that corrupt piece of shit billionaire's fat wallet. Don't buy products from companies or people who only view and treat their customers as numbers and never the human beings that they are.

The email has the audacity to describe him as a "genius CEO".

Stroking your own ego much, Musky?

He violates human rights, wants to cut essential programs (i.e. Medicaid, Medicare social security) that a lot of people, me included, rely on, AND he endorses the evil dicktator wannabe who shits himself in public!

Yeah, he's a real "genius" alright.

Don't support Trump cronie Elon Musk. Don't buy his products. Don't fill his overflowing rich-as-fuck pockets with your hard earned money.

[gaykarstaagforever]

The techbros sided with Trump because, yes, they're all toxic misogynists who love money. But that wouldn't be enough, because they know he's an irrational dipshit who can't be trusted.

They sided with him because the whole TikTok mess that HE STARTED proves that he's anti-free market and nativist about tech. He will literally use the power of the US government to eliminate foreign competition for US tech companies, including forcing foreign companies to sell billion-dollar properties to US tech monopolies or be shut out of the market.

He's quit capitalism and is doing crony oligarchism, exactly what places like Russia and China have been doing for decades. The market doesn't matter in those environments; you only make money and survive as a business if the Glorious Leader grants you permission.

They're no doubt smart enough to know that's a horrible thing they let happen, but they're also arrogant enough to be like Musk and just assume they can handjob Trump enough to secure favor. Plus, as his loyal oligarchs, the property he yanks out of the hands of foreign companies will be handed over to them.

Russia's energy sector is a prime example of this. They control everything as gifts from Putin, and he lets them do literally whatever they want with everything so long as they obey him and provide lavish kick-backs.

This is exactly what Trump wants to do with TikTok and AI.

Plus he has to know that if this works, in 4 years when he declares whatever bullshit he will pull to become President-for-Life, the richest men in the world will shrug and support him, because they now need this system to live like god-kings.

And when they do, it won't matter who votes what or what any judge says, because their collective wealth, and the loyal white nationalists who are a big percentage of the military, will insulate them from any balance of power.

This is a formula for how the republic dies. It's not theoretical anymore.

The question is, what do we do about it?

[kharmii]

German follower here:

THANK you!

It is always so comforting and refreshing to see when people point out all that WWII stuff, still pushing and putting down Germans for that.

Even though the majority of people haven't even been around back then. (and of there are any left they slowly die out)

What happened nearly a century ago was horrific, I have been at one of those camp-turned-memorials once and knowing what happened made me sick and sad.

But now, again, nearly a century later we finally need to drop these accusations, the blaming and being pushed down. This has lead to the fact that many young Germans embrace leftism so much because they have constantly being taught the right is bad. (which it is but since we're so far left we need to take a few steps right to get back to center)

I also have been partially raised by my Grandma, who was a young woman during the war and thanks to her I have been taught that no extreme is good. It's the balance that makes a country work. We also shouldn't always look for someone or something to blame or push down but find ways to find ways out of bad situations (might obviously not work all the time but I think you get what I mean..) its better than just sitting there and pointing fingers... which many are VERY GOOD at.

But for real you have a great grasp at politics overall and it is always refreshing to see your takes!

Another thing I should add to the 'comparing Trump to Hitler is effing stupid' rant is that the elites of the time supported Hitler. No elites are supporting Trump. All the career goons in both the Republican and Democrat party were against him after 2016, and they fought him every step of the way. Now that the Democrats have completely destroyed the economy and let in countless drug gangs and terrorist threats, some politicians have FINALLY come around and started supporting him.

Just because one rich shlub like Elon Musk supports Trump, it doesn't mean he has the support of the elite. Remember that United Healthcare guy who was murdered that made the leftists cheer? He was a Democrat donor. Joe Biden made some ridiculous parting shot about how a Trump victory is a victory for the oligarchs, but he is an oligarch. He pardoned his dead-beat criminal son along with a bunch of cronies and 37 mass murderers and child rapists on death row. The criminals who had their sentences reduced to life in prison include a guy who raped and tortured two grade school aged children to death, and a guy who murdered a nineteen-year-old woman and her eleven-month-old baby.

That's the attitude among the left though. They think they can pick or choose who lives or dies based on ideology, and they make the criminal scum of the earth out to be victims. There are posts all over Tumblr about what illegal immigrants can do to avoid being deported, but it has gotten so bad in so many places that even on Tumblr, the posts are full of comments from people saying, "Deportation needs to be done. It's what people want."

[revoltagainstbillionairewelfare]

The Trump Kleptocracy

Trump and his billionaire buddy, Elon Musk, are trying to establish a kleptocracy, in which the richest among us are encouraged to steal the country’s wealth and put it in their own pockets.

In his first administration, Trump loaded up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with his cronies to weaken workers’ protections and roll back their rights to form unions and engage in collective bargaining.  Trump’s Dept. of Labor proposed a rule that employers had ownership of tips with no guarantee that any employee would receive the tip money.  The pushback was so fierce Trump was forced to back down.  When he knew he needed votes in 2024, Trump had a “come-to-Jesus” moment and proposed no taxes on tips.  The cost to be added to the national debt. 

Expect Trump to push through as many anti-American worker actions as he can (e.g. unions can be dissolved, employers can unilaterally set wages, no overtime pay, etc.).  Those with too much pushback, he will reverse course as he did with the employer ownership of tips and add the cost to the national debt.

Expect Trump and his cronies in Congress to pass legislation that gives hugh tax breaks to the ultrawealthy and large corporations with a modest tax break for everyone else so he can sell himself as a “man of the people”.  We already know that billionaires like Trump and Elon Musk  and others, can pay zero tax in some years.  Further tax cuts for them means that they can legally steal part of working Americans’ taxes in the form of tax refunds for themselves.  Of course, Trump will never release his tax returns because he doesn’t want to be exposed as the con man and grifter that he is.  Expect a hugh increase in the national debt.

Expect the national debt to explode under Trump.  What’s not clear is how long before America’s good credit rating is lost and we can’t borrow anymore or borrow only at very high interest rates. 

Meanwhile Trump’s unelected billionaire buddy, Elon Musk, will be telling America that it must live within its means and any money spent on education or healthcare for middle-class Americans must now go to balance the budget. What Trump and Musk won’t tell you is that part of your taxes will be going straight into their bank accounts.  Interesting to see how that dynamic will play out in the Trump kleptocracy.

Remember forewarned is forearmed.

Interesting to see if Trump supporters ever stop blindly trusting him and demand to see his tax returns.  Help people realize that money is borrowed to replace the tax revenue that billionaires and corporations don’t pay and that amount is then added to the national debt.  Remember a lot of Trump supporters will cheer that Trump pays nothing until they realize that money is borrowed to cover that deficit and part of their taxes is used to pay interest on that debt.  Let it become common knowledge that billionaires like Trump contribute little to our tax revenue.

[misfitwashere]

ROBERT REICH

JAN 31

Friends,

It can be overwhelming. Trump is trying to “flood the zone” so we focus on a few outrages that we find most offensive and lose sight of the big picture — the larger strategy he and Musk and their cronies are pursuing. 

Their major goal is not only or even mainly to impose white Christian nationalism on America, nor to downsize the federal government, nor to wreak vengeance on Trump’s enemies. 

It is to concentrate ever more power in Trump’s hands, so he can concentrate ever more wealth in the oligarchy’s hands. 

The overall strategy boils down to five tactics. 

1. Replace federal civil servants with Trump loyalists. 

It’s like the communist witch hunts of late 1940s and early 1950s, only not with loyalty oaths to the United States but loyalty oaths to Trump.

Under one of Trump’s first executive orders, known as “Schedule F,” job protections shielding tens of thousands of senior career federal workers will be eliminated, making it easier to replace them with loyalists.

This week, Trump (via Musk) issued to all 2.3 million federal workers an offer to quit and get 8 months pay or face possibility of being furloughed without pay or fired. This, too, is aimed at getting rid of the professional civil service and installing people more loyal to Trump than to the United States.

Dozens of career officials at the National Security Council have been sent home while their loyalty is being reviewed. Dozens of other career officials, at the U.S. Agency for International Development, have been put on leave for suspicion of resisting an order by Trump.

Trump has conducted a mass purge of more than a dozen Inspectors General (in direct violation of a law requiring written notice to Congress with a “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” at least 30 days in advance). The only Inspector General who remains is a Trump loyalist. 

2. Take over independent decision making across government.

Last Monday night, Trump froze up to $3 trillion in federal grants and loans to determine whether they “meet his priorities,” even though they had been passed by Congress — in direct violation of the Impoundment Act of 1974. (Later in the week, the freeze was rescinded but it is expected to be reimposed in a form less vulnerable to legal challenges.)

He fired Democratic members of independent agencies — the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — leaving each without enough members to legally act.

This action is also unlawful. The law creating the labor board makes it independent of the White House in part by limiting a president’s ability to fire its members at will, stating: “Any member of the board may be removed by the president, upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause.”

3. Put current officials on notice that defiance will be punished. 

The media calls this Trump’s retribution for past perceived wrongs, but as a practical matter it’s Trump warning to current officials that he will punish any disloyalty or defiance.

Trump has fired more than a dozen prosecutors from the Justice Department who worked for the special counsel Jack Smith on investigations into Trump.

A memo to the fired prosecutors from the acting attorney general, James McHenry, says a major factor in firing them was disloyalty to Trump: “Given your significant role in prosecuting the president, I do not believe that the leadership of the department can trust you to assist in implementing the president’s agenda faithfully,” he wrote.

Trump’s Justice Department has also opened an investigation into the actions of career prosecutors who criminally charged the Trump supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

Trump has withdrawn security details from former public officials who have criticized him, although the threats on their lives continue — Anthony Fauci, John Bolton, and General Mark Milley. Trump has also rescinded additional protections for certain senior civil servants whose lives have been threatened. 

4. Eliminate or intimidate sources of news and facts that have criticized Trump. 

Trump has threatened to throw journalists in jail and revoke broadcast licenses of television networks he perceives as unduly critical of him. He is also threatening universities, scientists, and government research agencies whose findings he dislikes. Trump’s education department plans to control classroom curricula.

The threats are escalating. Days ago, Elon Musk lashed out at the nonprofit Wikipedia, after his page was updated with a description of his controversial Nazi-like salute during Trump’s Inauguration Day celebrations. 

5. Divide and conquer. 

Trump wants Americans to get so riled up against one another that we don’t look upward and see where all the wealth and power have gone. This, too, is a tactic for consolidating ;power. 

Yesterday, for example, Trump blamed the tragic air crash on Biden and Obama initiatives to make the federal workforce more diverse, claiming they “came out with a directive — ‘too white’”, but that “we want the people that are competent.”

***

It’s important to see Trump’s strategy as a whole. It is designed to consolidate his power. If we see it as a whole, the rest of us are better able to counter it — by demanding and fortifying our members of Congress, organizing for the midterm elections in 2026 to take back both chambers, conducting boycotts, and supporting and defending those who are vulnerable to Trump. 

Americans don’t want a dictator. We don’t want an oligarchy. We were founded in rebellion against a king and his aristocracy. 

Trump’s consolidation of power comes at a time when huge wealth has been consolidated in hands of 640 billionaires, including many who are in Trump’s White House — including the richest person in the world, who is now giving out orders as if he were Trump. 

This concentration of power increases opportunities for oligarchic transactions — more power for more wealth, and more wealth for more power — that siphon off wealth and power from everyone else and undermine democracy. 

This is the central reality of what has happened during the first ten days of the Trump regime.

[seashellsoldier]

The January 6th Commission Report (2022)

The evidence is overwhelming and entered into the official, historical record now. Deniers can be damned to whatever fantasyland hell they fear the most, because you are all domestic terrorists and seditious traitors brainwashed by weaponized lies propagated by profiteering grifters. The blame falls on the GOP, its media outlets, and the social media giants and their f-ing algorithms. It also falls on anyone who supported the “Big Lie” after every single instance of malfeasance was utterly disproved (https://www.propublica.org/article/big-lie-trump-stolen-election-inside-creation). We can thank Elon Musk for making such things so rabidly apparent, being voted off his own island and winning the Nimrod of the Year award (https://newrepublic.com/series/28/scoundrels-ghouls-crooks-2022-year-review). We knew his psychological makeup years ago, just as we knew Trump’s decades ago. We need to be vigilant against entitled ego-centric narcissists. Everyone involved in the election denial and the assault on the Capitol should ALL be serving prison terms for conspiracy and sedition, their wealth liquidated into the public coffers, and every single “militia member” never allowed to stroke a gun again. 

As the report cites, “[t]here is an essentially immovable forty per cent of the country whose loyalty to Donald Trump [and “Trumpism”, the newest incarnation of racist, xenophobic, white nationalism] cannot be shaken by anything (p. 25), anchored to the bedrock of their delusional ideology, cognitive dissonance, and willful ignorance. It doesn’t matter how our military generals barely held T-dawg back over and over again (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/15/inside-the-war-between-trump-and-his-generals). It doesn’t matter that T-dawg and some of his cronies flirted with obtaining and selling VA medical records for personal greed (https://www.propublica.org/article/trumps-mar-a-lago-buddies-tried-to-get-the-va-to-sell-access-to-veterans-medical-records). It doesn’t matter that T-dawg has always been a sociopath, pathological liar, and career fraudster. The pathological lies of the GOP and its media outlets don’t matter. Their grift and greed don’t matter. Their moral hypocrisy beholden to Christian teachings doesn’t matter. They don’t care that Walmarts, churches, night clubs, and elementary schools are massacre sites. I doubt it would even matter if Vice President Pence’s bloated body was hanging from a railing inside the Capitol, or if Senator Ocasio-Cortez was filmed by Majorie Taylor Green being gang-raped by MAGAt incels. We cannot expect these people—from the billionaires and their media outlets to the yokels and their Confederate flags and Viking garb—to willingly flush out the flotsam that’s clogging their grey-matter. Research shows how hard it is to deprogram racist ideologies, and this is where I embrace the computational theory of mind coupled with B. F. Skinner’s radical behaviorism to make sense of this nearly incomprehensible brainlessness in the twenty-first century. These toxic demographics must be suffocated politically, and to do that we need every clear-headed citizen getting people to vote for the greater good and the future of all those generations yet born. Nihilism, defeatism, and hopelessness will help no one. 

This report is obviously free to anyone, but I purchased The New Yorker’s version from Barnes & Noble for two reasons: I support true journalism and consider the staff of The New Yorker’s to be second to none, and this is one simple way to show that; and, I respect David Remnick and Congressman Jamie Raskin and believe them both to be upholders of progressive ideologies who wish to see this country transform in dynamic ways towards a better future for all. Remnick’s preface and Raskin’s epilogue are solid bookends to the report and they carry no illusions about the commission, acknowledging “[t]he committee and its work were far from apolitical, and yet to dismiss the report as merely political would be a perilous act of resignation and defeatism” (p. 24). This line is crucial to all. This nation faces a schism in ideology, nearly militantly divisive by certain factions who are psychologically unhinged and mentally prepared to do whatever it takes to control the levers of power while they can. In a parallel universe, this report could be erased from the historical record, Orwellian style. Now comes the incredibly tough part of prosecution in such a political climate with the GOP being so deranged. 

Look, I have no love for the Cheneys or Congresswoman Pelosi or any politician who has ever favored CEOs and stockholders and Wall Street over the labor force. As an Iraq Vet and the son of a Vietnam vet, I hate the warmongers that keep the military-industrial-congressional complex fat and happy while dehumanizing and vilifying other cultural groups in all too simplistic terms. I hate corporate welfare, the tax-evaders, the wealth-hoarders, the fact that billionaires are even allowed to exist, and everyone who enables it all. That leaves very few standing morally upright in my view. The lower classes must come first in a representative democracy, and we must be focused on creating a new system to replace vampiric capitalism, but the status quo has been corrupted by special interests and corporate entities for a very long time. Perhaps it is beyond hope, but burning it to the ground will forever doom the entire world in the face of slow-motion but catastrophic climate change. Time is not on our side. An idiocracy like Atwood’s Republic of Gilead would be disastrous. 

NPR (https://www.npr.org/2022/12/23/1145209559/jan-6-committee-final-report) and The New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/news/american-chronicles/the-devastating-new-history-of-the-january-sixth-insurrection) both give thoughtful breakdowns of this momentous report, saving me the time and granting more authority to the sentiments I share. This battle for representative democracy is far from over, and every single citizen needs to be awakened to the reality of it all. I’m aware that 60% of Americans cannot afford a $500 emergency bill, that too many are chained to credit-card debt, that inflation has millions of families on the brink of economic poverty in the wealthiest nation on Earth, that our education system has left too many without the skills to critically analyze anything or vet their sources of information, and that screens have captured our brains with Pavlovian addiction, our attention spans suffering from that poisonous overdose. We need drastic changes. The first will be to hold insurrectionist liars and their foot-soldiers accountable. We’ll see if even that can be adequately accomplished and go from there. 

Next up: the antiquated Electoral College system needs to be aborted completely. Guardrails need to be reinforced with severe, punitive consequences to those who seek to usurp them. We need national voting standards that are enforceable, Election Day a national holiday,  and a nation-wide voting system that is secure, accessible, and irreproachable. 

Much work to do, little time to produce it, and monstrous forces of opposition to all of it. 

Wish I could see what historians a hundred years from now have to say about all of this. Every day is one of history. What role are you playing in it? 

[digiinkguy]

Penalize China: A ridiculous argument

Disclaimer: I am neither a Marxist, nor an employee of a Chinese company, nor is my name Chan or Lee. I am just a normal person with a contrarian view. 

So, the Virus is being termed as the Chinese virus, because the bats that carried it had Chinese passports! 😊 COVID 19 is causing mayhem across the world. With close to 3 Million Infected and 2 lac dead the virus has brought the most powerful nations down to their knees.

With IMF estimates suggesting that Global GDP will be shrinking by 3% or USD 2.6 Lakh crore, the Great Lockdown is beginning to create much chaos and destruction than the Great Depression of 1933. To my mind, it is not the great lockdown, because there is nothing great about it.

Just last week Germany’s leading newspaper Bild issued a £130 Bn against losses the country would incur owing to the Corona Virus. Closer home in India almost all of you would have on your social media come across a call for a ban on the use of Chinese products in India, uninstall Tik-Tok, disallowing northeast Indians from renting homes or purchasing grocery and so many other anti-China rhetoric. Why is all this meaningless noise? Let us cut through this non-sense and face the facts.

The great land of America has suspended immigration, Australia is banning the purchase of businesses on its shores by Chinese companies, India has changed its FDI policy and needs government sanction for FDI from China. History is witness that repatriation of the people of Western Allies after world war II did not exactly go as per plan. The overused cliché ‘the world got smaller’ has never been more relevant but with a twist. The world’s heart and mind have got smaller. It hurts people when China declares that Wuhan is now open and the Republic of China has a little over 5000 deaths which is just 2.5% of world mortality for what is termed epicenter of the virus. Are they suggesting that they would be happier if deaths in China were more? The WHO for whatever its worth, investigated Wuhan, and has the fact-finding one needs. There are certain taboos in the world that whether we like or not it is just the playbook. For instance, rape and suicide are such big taboos that whenever they occur the first to put a lid on it are family members, because of the uncomfortable questions they must face from the law and society. I am not suggesting that its ideal to do that, but it is just what happens.

The truth is here. If America doesn’t change its game and continues to be led by a businessman who cannot think beyond himself and what he terms ‘the great American dream’. It may well turn out to be a nightmare that cannot be undone. In the race to be a superpower China is knocking the doors for a while and one can either allow a fair race or brandish them as snake eating cannibals that deserve no place in the world besides the Far east. By blocking them from owning homes in the Bay area or buying companies Down Under, the white clan is only making a mafia that will fall like the Berlin wall. If the west truly believes that the future is about the survival of the fittest, then it needs to get fitter, Quantum easing which is truly put printing more currency is no solution to economic crisis, so this Band-aid ain’t working for long. The US needs major economic policy change. Before any country considers thoughts of repatriations of Chinese, look up the last 5 decades of success in the US and think of the presence of professionals of Chinese and Indian descent in medicine, NASA has its fair share of non-American talent even Elon Musk was born in South Africa . America’s handling of Covid-19 is a clear sign of a botched-up operation. While China put up hospitals overnight, American healthcare workers are protesting to get leave with absence of PPE and shrugging the largely responsibility unlike Chinese or indian healthcare workers who are putting the lives on the line daily to save the country of this crisis. The hospitals in America are unable to handle the continuous growing flow of patients and are turning them away. The anti-China rhetoric is all but a diversionary tactic and refusing to introspect on the state of health infrastructure, state of the economy, and the state of the country overall.

China has built its production prowess over 4 decades moving almost every industry to its shores. It is the world’s largest exporter with over 12% of global exports originating from China compared to 3% in 1995. Its export in 2018 to the US alone was $480 Bn compared to $156Bn it imported from uncle Sam. It is crystal clear that at this breakneck pace China will go on to be a superpower greater than US and Covid-19 is the perfect opportunity for America to pull the rug with a below the belt blow. All is fair in the race to be the best. But for India it remains strategically important to walk the tight rope as there is little to choose between the rock and the hard place.

  Why does an anti-China rhetoric hurt India?

 China has and will continue to block India’s     ask for a permanent seat on the UNSC. A diplomatic approach to a bruised     dragon may change the fortunes and china may well support it the next time     it comes up

Chinese Investments are responsible for 18 of     the 23 unicorns of India. A strict FDI policy that hurts China more than     Nepal Bangladesh and Pakistan 😊 is futile. This has to be ammeded.

Military aggression from China and activity in     the Indian ocean has in the recent past threatened the peace in the     region. There is no better time to call truce than now when the cornered dragon     will appreciate a powerful friend.

 By no means am I suggesting an anti-America stand. But America will degrow and with Trump in power. India has continuously got setbacks.

H1B visa will have stricter scrutiny creating     unemployment for Indian IT talent

Students planning to study at American     universities will have to answer more questions than have answers

Indian Muslims will continue to face the wrath     whether it is at airport security or in practicing their faith freely.

 During 2019-20(April to Dec), India received a total of ~ USD 37 Bn the maximum FDI equity inflows from Singapore (US$ 11.65 billion), followed by Mauritius (US$ 7.45 billion), Netherlands (US$ 3.53 billion), Japan (US$ 2.80 billion) and USA (US$ 2.79 billion) China (US$2.34 billion). Surely a lot of the fund coming from Singapore is private equity funds that largely has contribution from China.

However, leave the commercials for a bit, just pause to think that if you contracted flu from your brother when he came back from China or America, would you take him to the doctor with you and ensure both are cured or would you send him your medical bill? If you choose the former then the answer is clear. 

Let us stop throwing the baby with the bathwater. Let us not allow ourselves to fall prey to propaganda from the west which wants to check China’s economic progress and therefore are calling for a worldwide ostracization of China. Ponder to think that there may be a case where a virus after a few years may originate from India. How would we feel if the world did that to us? If you believe what is good for the goose is good for the gander, then stop this discrimination and encourage a free fair world. We are only divided by boundaries, do not fall prey and let crony capitalism and power-hungry politicians to divide us in our hearts and minds and stop them from peddling hate and discrimination.

[silviajburke]

Trump Defies Corporate America

This post Trump Defies Corporate America appeared first on Daily Reckoning.

Many Americans hold a cartoonist’s view of the corporate titan.

They see him as a sort of Wild West cowboy… or an Ayn Rand oversoul cursing the heavy hand of government… as a fellow who pounds his drum for laissez faire.

Yet after Trump withdrew from the Paris climate accord and its bible of government regulations, who sobbed loudest?

The corporate titans.

From a New York Times editorial, bearing date of 1 June 2017:

In January, 630 businesses and investors — with names like DuPont, Hewlett-Packard and Pacific Gas and Electric — signed an open letter to then-President-elect Trump and Congress, calling on them to continue supporting low-carbon policies, investment in a low-carbon economy and American participation in the Paris agreement.

In fact, a “nearly united corporate front” took out full-page advertisements in the Times, the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, all declaring for Paris.

And so the fierce corporate man of myth goes herding into the regulatory pens… willingly and happily.

This because Corporate America has discovered its soul… or at least its conscience.

That’s the impression they’d like to leave, anyway.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announced his piety by revealing he would no longer counsel Trump:

“Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.”

Alex Gorsky of Johnson & Johnson moans: “We have established science-based goals to decrease our carbon footprint and we remain committed to achieving them.”

Ah, but here, Wal-Mart president and CEO Doug McMillon gives the game away:

“Addressing climate change is a win-win: good for society and good for Wal-Mart.”

Key element: “Good for Wal-Mart.”

One eye fixes on society, that is… the other on the bottom line.

Which eye do you think Mr. McMillon favors… or the other gentlemen?

Cast to one side your opinion of climate change and consider this question:

Why is Corporate America so hot to be regulated?

Real America deserves a square answer.

Regulation saddles business with extra costs and saws into profits, after all.

And a study by National Economic Research Associates suggests that complying with Paris emissions targets could cost 2.7 million jobs by 2025.

Another study says Paris would have slashed U.S. GDP over $2.5 trillion by 2035.

According to our lights, the answer is this:

Corporate America embraced the Paris accord because it would have gained from it.

Regulation annoys the Johnson & Johnsons, Whirlpools and DuPonts.

But it’s an impossible burden for the striving upstart or the fellow on the middle rungs. They can’t afford it. So they can’t compete.

Regulation therefore builds protective moats around corporations. It pulls up the drawbridge on competitors. It repels invaders.

In nuce: corporations consider costly regulation a trade-off well worth the annoyance.

Economists have a term for it: “rent seeking.”

To cement our case, we summon the small businesses of America to the witness stand…

The New York Times:

The move… has opened up a fissure between smaller companies and some of the biggest names in business…

While multinational corporations such as Disney, Goldman Sachs and IBM have opposed the president’s decision to walk away from the international climate agreement, many small companies around the country were cheering him on, embracing the choice as a tough-minded business move that made good on Mr. Trump’s commitment to put America’s commercial interests first.

“This just heightens the divide between big business and small business,” testifies Jeffrey Korzenik, investment strategist for Fifth Third Bank. “They really have different worldviews.”

And so the prosecution rests…

Here at The Daily Reckoning, we have no heat against corporations as such.

And no one has ever accused us of hostility to capitalism… or to the shade of Adam Smith.

But we hold a violent prejudice against swindle… against fraud in all his forms… in brief, against crony capitalism itself.

We say stand business on its own two legs and let it rise or fall on its merit — let the winners take their cut and let the devil take the hindmost.

Or to return to our castle metaphor, drain the moat… pull down the drawbridge… and let society’s true innovators through the gates.

It might not necessarily be the American way… but it’s the honest way…

Regards,

Brian Maher Managing Editor, The Daily Reckoning

The post Trump Defies Corporate America appeared first on Daily Reckoning.