Wednesday, February 12, 2025

One example after another of just how bad Donald Chump really is

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Lincoln Hater"


lincolnhater



There are a lot of people who get blamed.  And they deserve it.  They are politicians.  I am not sure where Chelsea Clinton falls.  She is political.  But I do think the need to lie about her deserves noting that Jake Beardslee (LWR) reports:

Chelsea Clinton has pushed back against viral claims alleging she received $84 million from the embattled United States Agency for International Development (USAID), denouncing them as "misinformation" and "weaponized" attacks against her family.

The allegations surfaced amid broader scrutiny of USAID, an agency that administers billions in U.S. humanitarian and development aid. Both former President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have called for its dismantling, deeming it "beyond repair" and a waste of taxpayer funds. Musk, who heads Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, led a civilian review that recommended shutting down the agency.



She is not a child anymore.  She is a grown woman.  That said, I am not how sure I am that she is "fair game."  Her father and her mother both ran for (and won) public office.  At any rate, the liar Alien Musk knows she is red meat to the MAGA crazies.   


Travis Gettys (RAW STORY) reports on the Convicted Felon Donald Chump:

The White House shut out the Associated Press from an event because the news organization declined to update its style guide to change the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America."

Donald Trump announced in his inaugural address that he would change the name of the body of water between Florida and Texas and then signed an executive order instructing government agencies to reflect his preference, and the White House warned the venerable AP nonprofit news service that it would be banned from an Oval Office event if its reporting did not use the term.
“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,” said Julie Pace, the AP's executive editor. “Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”


I actually like the Gulf of Mexico issue because it exposes the lies.  When we started, as a country, to rightly realize that these monuments to the confederacy needed to come down, there were whiners who insisted they were not racists, they just did not like change.  Have you noticed that it is the same group that is now happy with changing it to the Gulf of America?

It was never about resistance to change and now we should all see that and no longer let the liars get away with their lies.  It was always about racism.  They lied and they are so stupid that they do not even realize how they give away their lies with their latest actions.

I hope the ASSOCIATED PRESS does not cave on this.   Emily Prescott (KANSAS CITY STAR) reports:

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department has terminated over a dozen employees involved in previous criminal prosecutions of him. The decision, announced by Acting Attorney General James McHenry, is consistent with the administration’s effort to reshape the department by removing officials perceived as disloyal. In a related move, Trump recently fired 17 independent inspectors general across various government agencies.

“Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,” a Justice Department official stated.

The official added, “In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda. This action is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government.”

Critics have argued that the dismissals undermine oversight and accountability, with allegations that they violate federal law requiring advance notice to Congress.

Critics, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Md., have condemned the actions as a “purge of independent watchdogs,” suggesting they pave the way for corruption. Former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell has defended the dismissals, arguing that existing inspectors general are ineffective.


The Trump administration has removed a career Justice Department official from his role as the acting head of the DOJ's National Security Division after the top prosecutor served in the position for less than a month, sources told ABC News.

Devin DeBacker served for only a few weeks in the position, which helps oversee the Justice Department's efforts to fight global terrorism, root out domestic extremism, stop foreign espionage operations, enforce U.S. sanctions, and investigate leaks of classified information.

In the first few days of the new Trump administration, as previously reported by ABC News, DeBacker tried to ease concerns within the department's National Security Division after two of its most experienced prosecutors were removed.

But on Monday, Justice Department leadership told DeBacker that he would no longer be leading the division, according to sources familiar with the matter. It's unclear why DeBacker was removed, and a Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment about the matter.



Donald Trump has fired a top official at the independent agency responsible for labor relations with the federal government.

Susan Tsui Grundmann, one of three board members at the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), has been dismissed, a White House official told the Guardian. She served as the agency’s chair.

Trump is “committed to building a team fully committed to advancing his America-First agenda”, the White House official said.

Her profile page on the agency’s website has already been removed, and an organizational chart of its leadership states that the chair role is now vacant.

Tsui Grudmann’s firing was first revealed by a Washington Post reporter on social media.

This is C.I.s "The Snapshot" for today: 

Wednesday, February 12, 2025.  Alien Musk is a teen girl fashion plate . . . from decades ago,  Senate Dems hold a press conference, tricksters line up against Hakeem from the shadows and think we're all to stupid to catch on, FOX "NEWS" caught lying about who they brought on as guests, and much more.


First up, BLUESKY.  An e-mail to the public account (common_ills@yahoo.com) states I don't seem to enjoy BLUESKY.  When we focus on it here or at THIRD, we're generally highlighting something really good or nonsense that the person posting should be embarrassed about.  If there's no comment from me -- like yesterday -- I have no problem with it.  But I'll start off with a BLUESKY that I found clever.



Now let's move over to MSNBC and Lawrence O'Donnell.


If you have good eyes, you'll agree with Lawrence take on Alien Musk's outfit.  If you have bad vision, like me, you may need to take a closer look.  When I first saw photos of Alien in the Oval Office, I thought he was quite girlish.  I thought he was saluting 80s teen girls -- leggings and a skirt.  Squint and you may see what I'm talking about.  It's like he's embracing his inner BLOSSOM. 

Yesterday wasn't just about Alien Musk trying to look girlish, it was also the weekly press conference from the Senate Democrats.  We'll note this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

***VIDEO HERE***

Washington, D.C. — Today, at Senate Democrats’ weekly press conference, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke about President Trump and Elon Musk’s illegal funding freeze, government funding ahead of the March 14 deadline, and the pending nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:

“We have a funding deadline fast approaching and we need a topline soon to be able to write and pass our bills. 

“I remain at the table with my Democratic counterpart in the House to get a result so we can move forward. But it is extremely difficult to land an agreement on toplines—much less our annual bills—when you have a President and an unelected billionaire ignoring the very agreements we pass each year in our spending bills. 

“What we are seeing now—the absolute lawlessness, the illegal funding freeze that is risking jobs and hurting working people—that simply cannot continue.

“The President is illegally blocking hundreds of billions in approved funding for our roads and bridges, for clean energy jobs, for foreign assistance, and a lot more. 

“What’s more, the problem right now is that it’s not even March 14th yet, and Trump and Elon Musk are effectively shutting down the government—whichever parts they don’t like—all on their own, without any regard for the law or the Constitution or Congress. 

“No one voted for the President to illegally block funding from Head Start classrooms or our rural health centers—but that is what Trump did his second week in office. 

“No one voted to let an unelected billionaire decide what bills the federal government would or would not pay—but Trump is giving Elon the keys to the Treasury. 

“In case Elon needs a reminder: the power of the purse sits with Congress—that means when people vote for us, we are their voice in how their tax dollars get spent. 

“The constitution doesn’t say Elon gets to decide if our elementary schools and hospitals get funding. Congress negotiates how we invest in our communities. 

“So, this has got to change, and we need our Republican colleagues to work with us to make sure it does—and I hope we can resolve things in time to pass the full year funding bills that I actually wanted to finish back last December. 

“Now, as we consider nominations on the floor this week: I want to remind you all it was only 2019 when I co-led a bipartisan Senate Health Committee Hearing with Senator Alexander to educate people on vaccines. With nearly every Republican Senator on that dais making very clear that vaccines are safe, effective, and lifesaving. 

“But now, Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Republican Party is on the verge of confirming, as our nation’s highest health official, RFK, Jr.— a man who has spent years crusading against vaccines. 

“Republicans are choosing to pretend like it is in any way believable that RFK, Jr. won’t use his new power to do exactly the thing he has been trying to do for decades: undermine vaccines. 

“People are alarmed. My phone lines are ringing off the hook with constituents who understand the stakes here and want us to stand up for science and for their health and safety. Because the Health Secretary has real power over whether Americans can get the basic information and care they need.

“I think most of my colleagues know what is really at stake here. They know what sort of agenda RFK Jr. will pursue, and they know what sort of damage he could do if confirmed.

“There are political realities, we all get that—but there is also right and wrong. There is also fact and fiction. There is also people staying healthy, and people dying pointlessly—kids dying pointlessly—from diseases that we can prevent.

“So, I urge all my colleagues to show some courage, show some conscience, and say: no, a vaccine denier should not be our highest-ranking health official.”

###



Now let's move to trickery.   Justin Baragona (INDEPENDENT) reports:

Two Fox News guests who were portrayed by the network as run-of-the-mill “Trump voters” on Tuesday are both heavily involved in Republican politics, with one working as an assistant to an elected GOP official and the other a multiple-time candidate for local office.

During a Tuesday broadcast of America’s Newsroom, anchor Bill Hemmer moderated a discussion featuring two supporters of President Donald Trump, both of whom enthusiastically backed the efforts by the administration and Elon Musk’s meme-based department to dismantle government agencies and slash federal funding.

“President Trump doubling down on his support for the DOGE leader Elon Musk. Which is getting a lot of headlines – basically all of them in the last couple of weeks. It is still early, but they’re moving fast,” Hemmer noted at the top of the segment. “The president is pointing out it’s exactly what he campaigned on. But how do voters feel? I want to bring in Don O’Connor out of Iowa, a Trump voter from Mason City – he’s in banking. And screen right is Nick Schultz; he is outside of Milwaukee in Waukesha.”

Turning to O’Connor, who he called the “senior member of our panel,” the Fox host asked if he liked what he was seeing in Trump’s first weeks and if he thought it would be successful.

Why would FOX "NEWS" do that? 

Trickery.  

To trick the viewers.  That's awful.  How dare you try to put one over on your audience.  Right?  

But I guess Amy Goodman can't shriek too loudly since that's what she did over from August through the end of October on DEMOCARCY NOW! as she brought on one Socialist after another -- never identified as such -- to attack Kamala Harris and to send the message that even Democrats don't like Kamala -- even though these weren't Democrats.  (See "2024: The Year of Betrayal From Inside The Left.")

Now when FOX "NEWS" tricks their readers, we're shocked and disgusted.  But when Amy does it the bulk of the left tries to look the other way.  

She lied to viewers that Kamala and Chump were the same on immigration and the very few segments in the three months before the election -- see "Media: How Amy Goodman harmed immigrants and helped elect Chump."  

Again, when FOX "NEWS" does it, we're outraged.  

In fact, Eoin Higgins rages about FOX "NEWS" doing that sort of fakery in his new book -- a new book where Eoin does his own version of fakersy.  See "Media: OWNED finds Eoin Higgins owned by bad journalism" and note that Eoin writes about and identifies MAGA, Libertarians, Tea Party activists, etc.  But on the other side, we're just all "the left."  It's a lie that helps pass off Socialists as Democrats -- Socialists like Eoin himself and all his friends in the circle jerk that he cites in the book -- in the book where he has a fit over Glenneth Greenwald using Twitter to promote his friends -- the same way Eoin uses a bad book to promote his own friends.  



 If you're a Socialist, you should be proud of it.  SEP members and PSL members don't hide the fact that they're Socialists.  It's really just the tricksters at DSA that hide it.  (See Elaine's "The trickster that is DSA"). 




Why can't they be honest?  Why do they have to lie and try to trick people?




Ellen: I think I've realized that I am -- I can't even say the word.  Why can't I say the word?  I mean, why can't I just say -- I mean what is wrong?  Why - why do I have to be so ashamed?  I mean why can't I just say the truth?


Do we need Laura Dern to stand in front of each of these political closet cases to coax them out of their closets?

They don't want to come out because at their most, they're 80,000 people.  That's not enough for the DSA to win seats in Congress.  So they pose as Democrats and then, the whole time they're posing, they attack actual Democrats.  Over and over, from their political closets.  Again, SEP doesn't hide who they are.  They attack Democrats -- hell, they even attack the fake assery of DSA.  

And that's fine.  

But if you're reading WSWS, the SEP's publication, you know where they're coming from.  They might make an argument you agree with (I've agreed with many) and they might make something that's way too different from what you see.  And when that happens, if you're not a Socialist, you just say, "Okay, interesting take.  That's one of the areas we disagree."

But DSAers lie and they lie online especially.  They pose as Democrats because that's the only way they'll have any influrnce.  They can't buil their own party.  They'e failed since day one.




‪Waleed Shahid‬.  The DSAer attacking Kamala on BLUESKY.  He's a Socialist but lies about that and brings up the ridiculous political closet that is "Justice Democrats."  My replies to his garbage.









Its like with THE MARJORITY REPORT and with Kyle.  Now Kyle's a Socialist.  He and Cenk worked together to form "Justice Democrats."  And there are no Democrats from that group in Congress.  There are Socialists.  And I'm sure Greg Casar has to hide that reality to be elected in his district in Texas.  But my point here is, did you not notice what the White boys are doing online.

Hakeem Jeffries is the House Minority Leader.



And the White boys -- Kyle, Sam and the rests -- are trying to remove him form leadership.

Imagine that.  White boys going after the Black man.

And you wonder why I don't like DSA?  

We're supposed to pretend, are we, Sam, that this just came about.  As opposed to the reality that you are teaming up to be on message and to take out the Black man.

I'm not really sure what you think Hakeem could do.

But I am really sure how much you suck.

Do we remember the last time DSA went after a Black man in Congress? 


Now Tabitha's not crazy about Hakeem and thinks he should step down but she can still see this organized effort to take him out.




Tabitha watched the full conference to find out what Hakeem was saying.  Not the clip that the political closet cases have edited -- a la FOX "NEWS" -- to make him look bad.

Again, when FOX "NEWS" does this trickery, we are aghast.  When people on our side do it, we just look away.



Hakeem Jeffries.  It's interesting to watch them pile on at BLUESKY.  Leave it to a White Socialist to use an offensive term for Hakeem.  (It may not be up now.  It was last night.  I reported it and will do that on all racist language.  Twitter got destroyed we need to protect BLUESKY.)  If you're wondering, it rhymes with "moon."  Now where in the world did a White Socialist get the notion that was an appropriate term to hurl at a Black person?


You don't think Hakeem is doing all you want?


You're probably right.  So pressure him.

He's in a spot that no one's been in for decades.  Nancy Pelosi is probably on her way out the door and that's probably why he went to Silicon Valley.  He's got to walk.  She can't carry him.  For over two decades, Nancy pulled in the big money.  That's why she ascended to leadership to begin with.  That and some well timed and played blackmail.  (A former Texas House Rep still feels the sting from where she burned him.)  Minority Leader or Speaker of the House, they have to reassure donors.  'We don't need big donors!'  Yes, we do.  As 2024 demonstrated, we really can't count on 'the left.'  Democrats can only count on Democrats currently.  And we need to grasp that and move forward.  


I like Chuck Schumer.  I don't even know Hakeem.  But I like Chuck.  That said, I haven't stepped in to try to defend Chuck.  Chuck has been doing his job for years and I am extremely disappointed with what he's doing currently. I'm also aware that no one's coming to rescue us.  We're going to have to rescue ourselves.  So I don't slam Chuck out of rage.  But, again, he's done the job for years and should know what's needed now.  Hakeem is getting ready to solo.  If Nancy has a popular challenger, she will announce she's not running for re-election in 2028.  (I don't see her dropping out in 2026, but I could be wrong.)  So if you want to make demands on Hakeem, do so.  But I'm not grasping the hatred and I'm certainly recognizing an organized campaign from outside the Democratic Party.


And before 2024, I would've just shaken my head and focused on other things.  But what those who hide in the shadows did to us in 2024 will not be forgotten or forgiven.  We are living under Donald Chump's threats and abuses because of DSA and their trickery.  


DSA eats their own.  Greg Casar is a member and they refused to endorse him over the issue of Palestine -- this was before the assault on Gaza began in 2023.  Jamaal Bowman was one of their success stories but then they turned on him and savaged him only to whine later.


You could argue that Jamaal is what should have taught 'uncommitted' (the DSA front) to back Kamala.  They attacked Jamaal and he . . . got replaced by George Latimer who is no friend to Palestinians. Jamaal gave them most of what they wanted.  But not all.  So despite the fact that they really needed him, they cut him loose.  AIPAC was only part of the issue in that race.  DSA-ers are not known for wisdom when it comes to electoral politics. They went after him early on -- the way they've gone after AOC throughout the last year or so.  Jamaal even let his dues paying membership with the group lapse only to rejoin in 2024 when he needed support.  But they'd already destroyed his image with their nonsense and the political equivalent of high school slam books.


And now they're demanding another Black man gets replaced.


But if you're not Black?  The DSA has been awfully accommodating to Greg Casar despite his positions -- plural -- on Israel. Apparently, the White dominated organization only feels the need to castigate and punish if the person showing independence is a Black man.  Not surprisingly, that fits the stereotype of not just DSA but of it's immediate predecessor.  


Latimer didn't struggle in the general election after he beat Bowman in the 2024 primary.  That also should have been a warning to Uncommitted.  While they pretended that the left was on their side 100% that wasn't the case.  

October 30th -- days before the US presidential election -- Linley Sanders (AP) reported on the latest AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll:


But there’s a big partisan split on whether the Israeli government bears “a lot” of responsibility for the war’s escalation. About 6 in 10 Democrats say they do — similar to the share of Democrats who say Hamas bears “a lot” of responsibility — while only about one-quarter of Republicans say the Israeli government bears “a lot” of responsibility.


DSA  preferred to ignore polling that found only 6 in 10 Democrats agreed with them on Gaza.  They had to pretend that in order to demand that Kamala not call for peace and a cease-fire but call for an independent Palestine.  They couldn't be honest about polling and not seem like the whiny, demanding, has to be my way brats that they actually were.  Maybe a new voting rights law can move us from chronological age over to an age of emotional maturity?


Again, Kamala had to navigate the Democratic Party.  And the Democrats were not 100% in support of uncommitted's Gaza plan.  Or even 9 out of 10 or 8 out of 10 or 7 out of 10.  It was 6 out of 10 -- which is a pretty even split.  Now uncommitted could have formed their own party but with a membership of only 80,000 they know they're going no where.  So instead, they glom on to our party and then try to boss us around and demand we do what they want.  Even though it's not what the Democratic Party wants.  

I was against the Iraq War before it started; however, I did not withhold my 2004 vote in the presidential election.  (I voted for John Kerry who, by the way, the DSA endorsed.  But Kamala they had a problem with.) And, again, I was for Katie Porter in the primary and thought she was the best.  I wasn't pleased that she did not make it onto the general election ballot.  That did not prevent me from voting for Adam Schiff and I have been pleasantly surprised by how hard Adam's been working since being sworn in.  


Hakeem's not saying everything you want him to?  Oh, the horror!

Some try to act as though this is an attack on Socialists on my part.  No, it's not.  It's an attack on liars who scheme together and plot together against the Democratic Party and then want to show up and pretend that they're Democrats.

You can search the archives.  We've long quoted PSL, we've cited WSWS probably more than any other publication the left, we've noted Sunsara Taylor (Communist activist) and hundreds of others.  We've not WORKERS WORLD repeatedly at this site (and used to repost in full back in the day when they encouraged that).  I didn't just fight online to get Lynne Stewart released from prison, I leaned on everyone I knew who had any say in that issue.  I don't fear being associated with radicals.

The DSA is a different issue all together and we saw their predecessor did and DSA is even worse.

And I'm glad that it upsets BLUESKY when the truth is pointed out.  First, those offended and in denial go to the fact that DSA should not be treating Socialism as an embarrassment and something to hide.  Your actions -- not mine -- are freaking voters out.  Second, those offended because they are DSA are comical as they to launch their defense -- when there's no defense from trying to influence someone's vote and political action while lying to them about who you are.  

Wasn't that why we called out The Tea Party?  Because it wasn't backed by grassroots funders?  Because the whole thing was a scam?

DSA gives the left a bad name.   And by hiding in political closets, they give Socialism a bad name as well.


Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:


“The next Secretary of Education must fight for the best interests of students and families, not greedy and predatory for-profit colleges and inept loan servicers, and must reject extreme policies and efforts to eliminate the Department.”

“[Y]ou have a minimal track record on education issues and strikingly little experience pertaining to education policy.”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.), member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, sent Linda McMahon, Secretary-Designate for the U.S. Department of Education, a 12-page letter with 65 questions on McMahon policy views in advance of her nomination hearing this week.

“[Y]ou have a minimal track record on education issues and strikingly little experience pertaining to education policy,” wrote the senators. “This lack of a public record means that the American people have not been afforded the opportunity to evaluate your views on topics related to the Education Secretary’s core responsibilities.”

Given McMahon’s lack of experience, the senators pushed McMahon to explain her views and the extent to which they overlap with certain extreme stances taken by President Trump, his Project 2025 allies, and President Trump’s former Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos.

These include her views as they relate to: 

  1. President Trump’s extreme views, including his repeated call to “abolish ED” and his reported plan to do so by executive order; his history of proposing severe cuts to the Department of Education’s budget, and his proposal to eliminate the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which millions of teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants have relied upon for debt relief.

    “President Trump has said that he wants you to ‘put [your]self out of a job’ by helping him eliminate the Department. The harm that such a proposal would cause to students and families is grave,” wrote the senators.
  2. Project 2025’s extreme proposals, such as allowing unaccredited, often predatory, schools to receive federal funding; privatizing the federal student loan system, leaving students at the mercy of unaccountable private lenders, and replacing existing student loan income-driven repayment (IDR) plans with a new repayment plan that would raise costs for millions of Americans.

  3. Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ extreme policies, such as rescinding a rule that would hold shady for-profit colleges accountable for graduates’ employment outcomes; obstructing federal and state regulators’ investigations into the misconduct of federal loan servicers; refusing to enforce existing regulations requiring that ED provide debt relief to students who were defrauded or misled by their schools, and dismantling the team at ED responsible for investigating predatory for-profit colleges.

    “During her tenure, Secretary DeVos implemented numerous policies that harmed students while allowing incompetent student loan servicers and greedy for-profit colleges to rip off students and taxpayers,” wrote the senators. “The American people deserve to know whether you will repeat Secretary DeVos’s extreme policies.” 

Senators Warren and Kim are demanding that McMahon arrive at her February 13 hearing prepared with answers.

“We need a higher education system that is accessible to all Americans, not just those with the means to afford skyrocketing costs without taking on student debt,” concluded the senators. “The next Secretary of Education must fight for the best interests of students and families, not greedy and predatory for-profit colleges and inept loan servicers, and must reject extreme policies and efforts to eliminate the Department.”

###





The following sites updated:






Posted by at