Elon Musk pressured Reddit’s CEO on content moderation
"Reddit took action after Musk messaged CEO Steve Huffman about users blocking X links and threatening DOGE staffers."
https://www.theverge.com/command-line-newsletter/637083/elon-musk-reddit-ceo-content-moderation
#ElonMusk and #Trump win fight to keep DOGE’s work #secret
Elon #Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency ( #DOGE ) don't have to turn over information related to their government cost-cutting operations, at least for now, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday.
#security
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/03/elon-musk-and-trump-win-fight-to-keep-doges-work-secret/
Musk Hides ‘Big Balls’ as DOGE Goons Spew Wild Claims on Fox
https://www.thedailybeast.com/musk-hides-big-balls-as-doge-goons-spew-wild-claims-on-fox/
Elon Musk cherry-picked his more seasoned Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) lieutenants for a primetime interview on Fox News Thursday, opting to leave out the numerous twenty-something foot soldiers—and even several teenagers—who have dominated news cycles with their hostile takeovers of agencies across the federal government.
Washington Post continues to surprise readers w comprehensive reporting on White House, #DOGE plans to destroy the govt. The plans reveal overall goal to fire over 50% of govt employees - #project2025 is the playbook - Read free - White House document details layoff plans across U.S. agencies While officials stressed that the estimates were subject to change, the snapshot suggests how agencies are working to meet Trump’s mandate to shrink government. https://wapo.st/4l334sO #corruption #trump
Tesla owners are offloading their cars in droves
https://www.businessinsider.com/used-tesla-listings-elon-musk-2025-3
Featured guest on “WatchCats” podcast March 25
Experienced ex-govies Julian Sanchez and Noah Kunin, started the WatchCats podcast a couple of months ago to report on DOGE and its doings throughout the federal government. I am the featured guest on the March 25 episode. Listen for the inside story of what went down at USDS between the election and when 44 USDSers (including me) were fired by DOGE on February 14.
#politics #USPol #DOGE #USDS #WatchCats
https://blog.kamens.us/2025/03/27/featured-guests-on-watchcats-podcast-march-25/
Robert P. Jones lives in the D.C. metropolitan area. He writes,
"In our inner circle of friends and neighbors, only two families have not had at least one spouse lose his or her job since January 20th. … They are already burning through vacation days and preparing to cash out retirement and college savings accounts to pay the mortgage and buy groceries."
#Musk #Trump #DOGE #chaos #destruction #FederalGovernment #firings #workers #economy
https://www.whitetoolong.net/p/talking-about-the-r-word-in-the-south
" Democrats! Some 34,000 people just turned out at Civic Center Park in Denver to hear Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a “Fighting Oligarchy Tour.” Hours later, the two spoke before a crowd of about 11,000 at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley."
https://substack.com/home/post/p-159919662
#Trump #DOGE #Democracy #Politics
Federal officials are preparing for agencies to
CUT b/w 8 & 50% of their EMPLOYEES in the FIRST PHASE of a Trump admin push to shrink the fed govt.
1st round cuts:
— 30% Commerce
— 43% SBA
— 33% IRS
— 25% Interior
— 50% HUD
— 28% NSF
2nd round CUTS would be BIGGER.
If Trump isn't stopped, there will be a deep #recession. He'll DECIMATE the #economy,100s of thousands of people will be w/o jobs +it’ll reverberate across the country.
#DOGE #Resist #Musk #Trump #USPol https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/27/federal-worker-layoffs-government-agencies/
"The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is discussing plans to eliminate an entire team responsible for publishing and maintaining critical atomic measurement data in the coming weeks, as the Trump administration continues its efforts to reduce the US federal workforce, according to a March 18 email sent to dozens of outside scientists. The data in question underpins advanced scientific research around the world in areas like semiconductor manufacturing and nuclear fusion.
“We were recently informed that unless there is a major change in the Federal Government reorganization plans, the whole Atomic Spectroscopy Group will be laid off in a few weeks, in particular, since our work is not considered to be statutorily essential for the NIST mission,” Yuri Ralchenko, the group's leader, wrote in the email, which was seen by WIRED.
Ralchenko noted that atomic spectroscopy has been used to discover many new exoplanets and develop powerful new diagnostic techniques, among other applications. “Unfortunately, the story of atomic spectroscopy at NIST is coming to an end,” he wrote."
https://www.wired.com/story/nist-doge-layoffs-atomic-spectroscopy/
"The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones in place of receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. Amid all this, the agency no longer has a system to monitor customer experience because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk.
And the phones keep ringing. And ringing.
The federal agency that delivers $1.5 trillion a year in earned benefits to 73 million retired workers, their survivors, and poor and disabled Americans is engulfed in crisis — further undermining the already struggling organization’s ability to provide reliable and quick service to vulnerable customers, according to internal documents and more than two dozen current and former agency employees and officials, customers and others who interact with Social Security.
Financial services executive Frank Bisignano is scheduled to face lawmakers Tuesday at a Senate confirmation hearing as President Donald Trump’s nominee to become the permanent commissioner.""
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/25/social-security-phones-doge-cuts/
"The job market is ‘FROZEN.’ It’s not a good sign for DOGE casualties. And an ‘unprecedented’ surge in applications.
Data released earlier this week from employment search site Indeed highlights an increase in federal workers searching for new jobs: In February, DOGE-adjacent applications ROSE 50%, ending the month at 75% ABOVE THEIR 2022 LEVELS.:
h/t G Berger for the graphs.
#DOGE #Firings #Musk #Recession #Trumpcession #Resist #USPol
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/27/economy/us-jobless-claims-doge-federal-applications/index.html
"We had such a busy caseload, and now that our office is eliminated, what does this mean for cases where there are more immediate needs, like, if a student is taking a test and they need more time, and they’re not receiving that additional time?"
https://www.texasobserver.org/department-of-education-trump-union-cuts/
The #TrumpMusk regime is letting children DIE bc #DOGE defunded the 64-yr-old #USAID. This precious child is DEAD, & others will suffer & die.
"It was indeed difficult to obtain photos of the orphans who had died bc of the collapse of USAID: Bc they were dead, I couldn't photograph them, & impoverished orphans don't leave photo archives. But this is Evan Anzoo, from a social worker who helped him before he died
when USAID stopped providing his 12-cents-a-day med."
-N Kristof
Other states threatened by #Trump and #DOGE should consider the same!
Tax on Maine #millionaires heard in committee
By Keenan Mills
Published: Mar. 26, 2025 at 4:24 PM EDT|Updated: 22 hours ago
AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) - "Public hearings on two bills that would raise taxes for high-income households were held in Augusta today. One bill would add a four percent surcharge on Mainers who have a yearly income of one million dollars or more.
"This money would be used to guarantee the 55 percent of the state’s share of education funding which currently is built into the biennial budget, but there are questions surrounding potential cuts.
"According to supporters, all Maine people currently making more than 61-thousand dollars share the same taxes.
"No Republicans were listed as sponsors of the bill. They’re concerned about increasing taxes on those who make more money."
https://www.wabi.tv/2025/03/26/tax-maine-millionaires-heard-committee/
#TaxTheRich #MainePol #Education #USPol
Good article on #SocialSecurity and how #TheTrumpMuskGOPClusterFuck and #DOGE are damaging the #SafetyNet. In this #NewNihilism as long as there are more #RedState #GOPGrannies and #GOPKids experiencing more #Chaos and #Destruction than #BlueStates, #WeAreWinningTheNihilisticGame https://www.brookings.edu/articles/doge-is-disrupting-social-security/
