Dante Gabriel Rossetti Monna Vanna 1866
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889398883786301695
Navarro
“The tariffs are permanent because the problem is permanent” Peter Navarro tells LindellTV how the world has been cheating the U.S., and it ends now. President Trump is bringing back respect to America on the world stage. pic.twitter.com/nxM6c13NbA
— Mike Lindell (@realMikeLindell) February 12, 2025
Harry
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889370026626441606
VDH
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889336313322561852
Hegseth
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889686598498832503
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889684187986210922
X – a thread
NEW – Top Moments From Elon Musk and President Trump's Press Conference in the Oval Office in Under 5 Minutes >yi›|
"It's not optional for us to reduce the federal expenses, it's essential."
=yO‹Bookmark this thread Elon just made history by exposing the truth behind government& pic.twitter.com/hUcR5U7isR
— Overton (@overton_news) February 12, 2025
“Millions of people have died in a War that would not have happened if I were President, but it did happen, so it must end.”
• Putin Invites Trump To Visit Moscow In ‘Highly Productive’ Call (ZH)
Update(1330ET): Just on the heels of the historic Putin call, President Trump has revealed an outline of his call with Ukraine’s President Zelensky, calling it a “meaningful conversation”. He had earlier vowed to inform Zelensky of the contents of the Putin phone call, at a moment European allies are stressing that there can be no peace deal without Ukraine’s direct input and participation.
• Trump: a meeting with Vance, Rubio, Zelensky being set up on Friday
• Trump: It is time to stop the Ukraine-Russia war
• No Ukraine deal without Ukraine and Europeans: French, German, Spanish FMs
• Trump has pledged that talks to end the war will start immediately. Wednesday marks the first known conversation between Trump and Putin since the new US president entered office last month.* * *
US President Trump and Russian President Putin held a nearly hour-and-a-half call this morning which the US president described as “lengthy and highly productive.” Trump said on Truth Social that both leaders had extended invitations of “visiting each other’s nations,” while, the US leader said he would be calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “right now” to inform him about the call. President Trump took to his Truth Social account to explain what was discussed (emphasis ours):“I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects. We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II, remembering, that Russia lost tens of millions of people, and we, likewise, lost so many! We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together. But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, “COMMON SENSE.”
We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now. I have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, to lead the negotiations which, I feel strongly, will be successful. Millions of people have died in a War that would not have happened if I were President, but it did happen, so it must end.
No more lives should be lost! I want to thank President Putin for his time and effort with respect to this call, and for the release, yesterday, of Marc Fogel, a wonderful man that I personally greeted last night at the White House. I believe this effort will lead to a successful conclusion, hopefully soon!”
Interesting twist. Riyadh seems more logical for now, but who knows?
• China Offers To Host Putin-Trump Summit (RT)
China has presented a proposal to hold a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump to help end the Ukraine conflict, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. China has long sought to position itself as a potential peace broker in the Moscow-Kiev conflict, presenting its own roadmap to resolve the crisis. The development comes after Putin and Trump held a phone conversation on Wednesday – their first confirmed contact since Trump returned to the White House last month. The leaders had a “lengthy and highly productive” conversation, according to the US president. Trump later announced that he and Putin had agreed on an “immediate” start of negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
In recent weeks, Chinese officials have put forward a proposal to the Trump team through intermediaries, suggesting a summit between the two leaders and offering to help with peacekeeping efforts following a potential truce, the WSJ reported, citing sources in Beijing and Washington. According to the report, the Chinese offer envisions a US-Russian summit without the participation of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. The proposal goes against the West’s long-standing commitment to involve Kiev in any conflict-related discussions. The White House declined to confirm to the WSJ whether it had received China’s offer but dismissed it nonetheless, with a White House official describing it as “not viable at all.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry also declined to comment on the report, stating only that Beijing is “pleased” to see that Russia and the US are “strengthening ties and intensifying dialogue on a range of international issues.”
During their conversation, Trump and Putin reportedly agreed to visit each other’s countries. The Kremlin press service has confirmed that Putin invited Trump to visit Moscow, but did not provide a time frame for any potential trip. The US president later indicated that their first meeting would “probably” take place soon in Saudi Arabia. No peace talks on Ukraine have been held since the early months of the conflict. The negotiations between Russia and Ukraine held in Belarus and Türkiye broke down in spring 2022, with both sides accusing the other of making unrealistic demands. Senior US State Department official Victoria Nuland said in 2024 that Washington and its allies advised Kiev not to agree to the terms demanded by Moscow.
“..our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security..”
• Hegseth Casts Doubt on Ukraine’s NATO Gamble As Peace Talks Loom (Sp.)
The United States holds the view that Ukraine’s NATO membership is not a feasible outcome of any potential negotiation with Russia, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday. “The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth said during a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting. The idea of returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is unrealistic and pursuing this goal will only cause more suffering, Hegseth said. “We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine, but we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” Hegseth said.
Any future security assurances for Ukraine need to be supported by capable European and non-European forces, which should be deployed under a non-NATO mission and not fall under the purview of Article Five, Pete Hegseth said. “Any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission, and they should not be covered under Article Five,” Hegseth said. Hegseth highlighted that these security assurances will not entail the deployment of US forces to Ukraine. The United States is making its priority deterring war with China in the Pacific, US Secretary of Defense Hegseth said.
“We also face a peer competitor in the Communist Chinese with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the Indo-Pacific. The US is prioritizing deterring war with China in the Pacific,” Hegseth said. The United States under the Trump administration will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship with allies that is based on dependency, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said. “The United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency. Rather, our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security,” Hegseth said.
“They’ve been saying that for a long time, that Ukraine cannot go into NATO, and I’m OK with that..”
• Trump ‘OK’ With Keeping Ukraine Out of NATO (RT)
US President Donald Trump has cast doubt on Ukraine’s chances of joining NATO, aligning with Russia’s long-standing opposition to the move. Moscow has been firmly opposed to Ukraine’s NATO aspirations, calling this a key reason for the ongoing conflict with Kiev. The Kremlin views expansion of the bloc as a threat to national security and insists that Ukraine must remain neutral as part of any peace deal. “I don’t think it’s practical to have it, personally… They’ve been saying that for a long time, that Ukraine cannot go into NATO, and I’m OK with that,” Trump said on Wednesday. His remarks came after a lengthy phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin – their first confirmed contact since Trump returned to the White House last month.
Trump later announced that he and Putin had agreed to begin talks to end the Ukraine conflict. He also indicated that a meeting between the two leaders could take place soon, possibly in Saudi Arabia. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s stance, calling Ukraine’s NATO ambitions and its goal of reclaiming all lost territories “unrealistic.” Speaking ahead of a meeting of the US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, Hegseth stressed the need for Ukraine to prepare for a negotiated peace, potentially supported by international troops, but without NATO membership as part of any agreement. The Trump administration’s willingness to consider certain Russian demands, including keeping Ukraine out of NATO, marks a significant shift in US foreign policy. Trump previously stated that he understands Russia’s stance on the issue.
Speaking to reporters in Florida last month, he said Moscow’s position had long been “written in stone,” but that former President Joe Biden had ignored it, contributing to the current conflict. “Somewhere along the line, Biden said, ‘[Ukraine], they should be able to join NATO.’ Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I can understand their feelings about that,” Trump added. Kiev remains firm in its desire to join NATO. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has stated that membership is a crucial security goal and a prerequisite for resuming negotiations with Moscow. Despite NATO declaring last year that Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to membership, no timeline has been provided. While NATO members have supported Ukraine politically and militarily, they have also insisted that Kiev must meet several conditions before joining the bloc – including resolving the conflict with Russia.
“Mark Rutte has said the US-led military bloc would crush Russia if the country attacks member states..”
This comes as Trump and Putin talk peace. The timing! And without the US, NATO can’t crush as much as a pebble.
The US is planning to undo NATO’s article 5, which obliges help if any member gets attacked.
• NATO Boss Issues Warning To Putin (RT)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that the US-led military bloc would deal a crushing blow to Moscow if it attacks any of its member states.In recent years, senior officials from European NATO member states, including Rutte, have alleged that Russia is harboring aggressive plans toward the military bloc. Putin has repeatedly dismissed this speculation, calling it “nonsense” and a ruse to justify increased military spending. Answering reporters’ questions at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, Rutte said, “At the moment, if Putin would attack NATO, the reaction will be devastating. He will lose. So, let him not try it, and he knows this. The deterrence and defense is very strong.” However, NATO needs to spend more on defense to be able to defend itself four or five years from now, he added.
Rutte urged member states to make “some difficult decisions this year about… defense spending, doing much, much more than the 2% we pledged.” He went on to say that while the West has “fantastic” arms manufacturers, “they are not producing enough,” which needs to be urgently addressed. The question regarding supposed Russian aggression was prompted by a report issued by Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service on Tuesday. According to the document, within five years of ending or freezing the Ukraine conflict, Moscow would be ready to conduct a large-scale onslaught on Europe, based on the assumption that NATO’s defense spending remains at the current level. “Russia is likely to be more willing to use military force … if it perceives NATO as militarily weakened or politically divided,” the intelligence agency claimed, adding that “this is particularly true if Russia assesses that the US cannot or will not support the European NATO countries in a war.”
Last month, Rutte similarly urged NATO member states to “shift to a wartime mindset” to “prevent war.” Those who refuse to spend more on defense might as well “get out your Russian language courses or go to New Zealand,” the NATO secretary-general warned at the time. In December, Rutte suggested that European member states should redirect some of the funds they currently spend on welfare toward their militaries. On Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed that the Ukrainian special services, with Western support, were preparing a false-flag provocation in the Baltic Sea involving Russian-made naval mines, in the hope of dragging NATO into a direct military confrontation with Moscow.
“Nobody listens to them anymore. It’s just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money..”
• Musk Calls For Complete Overhaul of NATO (RT)
NATO should be thoroughly revamped, tech billionaire and US government efficiency tsar Elon Musk, has argued. US President Donald Tump has recently expressed dissatisfaction with the level of defense spending by the bloc’s European members, which he views as a drain on American resources, going so far as to threaten underpaying allies with the withdrawal of US protection. In a post on X on Wednesday, Republican Senator Mike Lee wrote that the “Cold War is over. NATO’s anachronistic.” Trump appointed Musk as a ‘special government employee’ to lead the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) following his victory in the November 5 election, aiming to slash government spending. Commenting on Lee’s message, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO concurred, suggesting that “NATO needs an overhaul.”
Over the weekend, the DOGE chief also took aim at two long-standing state-funded propaganda outlets, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Voice of America (VOA). The two CIA cutouts were prominently used by Washington to counter Soviet influence in Europe during the Cold War. “Shut them down. Europe is free now (not counting stifling bureaucracy). Nobody listens to them anymore. It’s just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money,” Musk wrote in a post on X. Trump has insisted that NATO member defense spending “should be 5%, not 2%” of GDP, accusing some European nations of taking “advantage of us.” The US is spending “billions and billions of dollars more … than Europe,” he claimed, having previously warned that Washington would not defend those NATO countries that fail to meet their financial commitments.
Earlier this month, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Berlin “could neither afford that nor spend” 5% of its GDP for this purpose while NATO chief Mark Rutte has urged countries to reduce their social support spending to boost military budgets. Against this backdrop, Italian news agency ANSA, citing EU diplomatic sources, claimed in January that President Trump was considering scaling back the number of American troops stationed in Europe by 20%. In recent years, multiple senior officials from European NATO member states have alleged that Moscow was harboring aggressive plans toward the US-led military bloc. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly rejected this speculation, describing it as “nonsense” and “utter rubbish.” He suggested that Western officials employ scare tactics in order to justify increased military spending.
The EU is toothless.
• EU Won’t Give Zelensky 200,000 Peacekeepers – NYT (RT)
The EU is unable to fulfill Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s request for 200,000 peacekeepers to enforce a potential ceasefire with Russia, a senior bloc official has told the New York Times, in an article published on Tuesday. Zelensky has advocated for a substantial European peacekeeping force of some 200,000 troops to uphold a potential ceasefire and deter future Russian offensives. Analysts cited by the New York Times consider this figure unattainable, noting that deploying even 40,000 troops would be challenging and could still fall short of providing an effective solution. “A senior European official said that the continent doesn’t even have 200,000 troops to offer, and that any boots on the ground must have American support, especially faced with the world’s second-largest nuclear power, Russia,” the NYT reported.
“If not, they would be permanently vulnerable to Russian efforts to undermine the alliance’s political and military credibility.” Recent reports by the Financial Times and Politico also indicate that while Kiev has publicly called for 200,000 peacekeepers, it realistically anticipates a deployment of 40,000 to 50,000 troops. The outlets suggested that the lower figure is more feasible, though the EU would still face difficulties assembling a force. Moscow opposes the introduction of international peacekeepers in Ukraine. Russian officials have argued that the move could escalate tensions and complicate efforts to resolve the conflict. Earlier this week, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia stated that any deployment of peacekeepers to Ukraine without Moscow’s consent would be “illegal,” warning that they would be considered legitimate targets.
In an interview with RIA Novosti, he called the rumors about the possible deployment of peacekeepers “bizarre,” noting that they cannot operate without a mandate from the UN Security Council, which Russia is a part of and where it holds the right of veto. Russia remains opposed to a freezing of the Ukraine conflict and the introduction of peacekeeping forces, insisting that the only way to resolve it is to address the root causes of the conflict. Moscow insists that Kiev must commit to permanent neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification, while acknowledging the territorial realities on the ground.
Good. Is RFK today?
• Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed As Director of National Intelligence (ZH)
In what is hands-down the most surprising, and welcome, development concerning a Trump pick for a national security top post, Tulsi Gabbard has been confirmed as New Director of National Intelligence. It was narrow, and predictably along parisan lines… Mitch McConnell was the lone Republican no vote… in a post-vote statement he claimed that Gabbard is “tainted”. “Tulsi Gabbard failed to demonstrate that she is prepared to assume this tremendous national trust. The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a DNI with a history of alarming lapses in judgment,” he said, citing her refusal to condemn Edward Snowden, and her stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.
She’s been subject to years of media attacks branding her a ‘Kremlin agent’ and ‘Assadist’ etc… For example, right up through the vote The New York Times was running its smear campaign in the following: “Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve and a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii. She has taken a sympathetic stance toward Russia and Syria under the Assad family’s rule. And she has defended Edward Snowden, an intelligence contractor who released classified information in 2013. These positions, at odds with the foreign policy establishment in both parties, have made her one of President Trump’s most divisive cabinet nominees.”
But she’s long risen to popularity among military members and veterans especially, given her no compromise approach to blasting America’s regime change wars abroad in the wake of Bush’s Iraq war, taking neocons and liberal interventions alike to task. It’s a new day in the world of the deep state intelligence blob in Washington, and without doubt the old powers that be are nervous, or else running scared. But time will tell. Meanwhile, somewhat surprising to see Thune praising her, the new sheriff in town overseeing the nation’s intelligence collection…
Tulsi Gabbard believes strongly in the mission with which she’ll be tasked: keeping America safe. pic.twitter.com/7hOddSIuEh
— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) February 10, 2025
Pam Bondi is ready to announce the new reality. Trump is going to sue, not be sued.
• Pam Bondi’s DOJ Sues NY, Hochul, Letitia James Over Licenses For Illegals (ZH)
The US Department of Justice on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the state of New York and key officials over the state’s 2019 “Green Light” law, which has allowed thousands of illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, while blocking federal immigration and border enforcement agencies from accessing the state’s motor vehicle database. The lawsuit, filed in US district Court in Albany, was announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi during a Wednesday press conference. Aside from the state of NY, Governor Kathy Hochul, state Attorney General Letita James, and DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder were named as defendants. The 2019 Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act prohibits New York sheriff’s departments and other agencies from sharing motor vehicle data with federal authorities for the purposes of immigration enforcement. It has allowed tens of thousands of migrants to obtain driver’s licenses.
BREAKING: @AGPamBondi announces the DOJ has filed charges against the State of New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul, AG Letitia James, and DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder.
"New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops — it stops TODAY." pic.twitter.com/YkKAPTdtyX
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 12, 2025
Yet, as the Times Union notes, the program has been mired in fraud. “The Times Union reported in 2021 that there had been allegations of widespread cheating in the driver permit program, involving schemes to illicitly obtain driving credentials for immigrants. Many of those individuals allegedly also used the licenses to falsely prove New York residency in order to receive unemployment benefits under the state’s pandemic-era Excluded Worker Fund. The $2.1 billion program had provided unemployment benefits for a short period in 2021 for immigrants who did not qualify for regular state and federal benefits.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889805417318064384
In December, following an investigation by multiple agencies, including the New York inspector general’s office, five men, including two immigrants who had returned to Brazil, were indicted on federal charges in Massachusetts for conspiring to apply for New York driver’s licenses for more than 1,000 undocumented immigrants who did not live in New York. Those charges allege the group’s conspiracy took place between November 2020 and last September, and that they typically charged customers about $1,400 to obtain a driver’s license. The scheme relied on fraudulent residency documents and falsified driving school certificates, according to the indictment.”
When the law was enacted, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and other Democrats said it was intended to improve public safety by ensuring that illegal immigrants are authorized to drive – with advocates remaining silent on subsequent allegations of widespread fraud. “From a state point of view, I want to make sure the people who are driving on our roads pass a driving test. It is a public safety issue,” Cuomo insisted during a February 2020 interview. In February 2020, former acting director of ICE, Matthew T. Albence, said that law enforcement leaders urged Cuomo and state lawmakers to restore access to NY’s motor vehicle database for ICE and the US Customs and Border Protection.
“New York has barred these two agencies, and only these two agencies, from obtaining information we need to do our jobs, and to keep you safe, and it was done purely for political purposes,” Albence said at the time. “As a 25-year law enforcement professional, it’s unfathomable that information which could be used to prevent crime or a potential terrorist attack is purposefully being withheld in this state, the same state that less than 20 years ago suffered the worst terrorist attack on American soil.”
“How could a judge want to hold us back from finding all of this fraud and finding all of this incompetence?”
• Trump Sees ‘Tremendous Kickbacks’ In US Government Contracts (RT)
US President Donald Trump has sounded the alarm over what he described as rampant corruption in the American government, while vowing to crack down on inefficient bureaucracy that costs the country billions of dollars. The president delivered his remarks in the Oval Office on Tuesday, with Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and a close ally, standing next to the Resolute Desk as the two outlined their vision for cutting government spending. Trump noted in particular deals between the government and private contractors, recalling one case in which a consultant – whom he did not identify – was hired for three months, but continued to receive money over 20 years. “I see a lot of kickbacks. Tremendous kickbacks. Because nobody could be so stupid to give some of these contracts,” he argued.
Meanwhile, billions of dollars go “in waste, fraud, and abuse,” Trump said, adding that “nobody had any idea it was that bad, that sick, and that corrupt.” He stressed that he ran on promises to fight corruption, and he planned to do precisely that. Echoing the president’s remarks, Musk noted that “there are quite a few people in the bureaucracy who have ostensibly a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars but somehow managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars.” The Trump administration and DOGE’s mission is “to restore democracy,” he added. He also noted that the US has no choice but to usher in major reforms. “We’ve got a $2 trillion [budget] deficit. And if we don’t do something about this deficit, the country’s going bankrupt,” Musk said. Trump also criticized the US judiciary for attempts to stop DOGE from auditing government agencies, particularly the Treasury Department’s payment system.
“If I need a vote of Congress to find fraud and abuse, it’s fine with me… How could a judge want to hold us back from finding all of this fraud and finding all of this incompetence?” he charged. While Trump has insisted that the goal of audits is to eliminate corruption, opponents have accused Musk and his agency of overstepping authority, seeking to dismantle critical government programs, and potentially misusing sensitive data for political purposes. As part of its push to combat government inefficiency, the Trump administration has already cracked down on the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington’s primary vehicle for funding political projects abroad, by suspending most foreign aid. The US president earlier called for the agency to be shut down, calling it run by “radical lunatics.”
“..a political class that classifies an estimated fifty million documents a year [..] is voicing disgust over Musk’s team’s occasional use of discretion.”
• Why They Really Hate Elon Musk (Mises)
As Elon Musk continues to take over and wind down parts of the federal bureaucracy, establishment figures from across media and politics are growing increasingly resentful of the tech entrepreneur. If you read a national newspaper, turn on a major news channel, or tune into one of the establishment’s many late-night “satire” shows, you’re bound to see Musk getting mocked and criticized relentlessly. He’s framed as a rich person using government to get even richer and as a political operative willing to skirt rules and norms to get what he wants. Many establishment types also like to remind their audience Musk is “unelected” at any chance they get—a not-so-subtle suggestion that the actions he’s taking in DC right now are illegitimate. You’ll also hear Musk and his team criticized for conducting some of their work in secret.
And then there’s, of course, the swipe that’s become popular in the wake of his gutting of USAID: that he is willing to hurt poor people to make himself better off. Setting aside the many flaws and inaccuracies with these characterizations of Elon Musk, it’s worth noting that all of them apply even more accurately to the American political establishment itself. To start, “rich people using the government to benefit themselves” has defined the American political system for more than a century. As Murray Rothbard laid out in great detail in his book The Progressive Era, the transition from the laissez-faire, hyper-limited government system of the mid-1800s was not driven by the bottom-up plea to protect workers and keep food clean that we were taught about in elementary school.
It grew out of the recognition among the heads of industry that they could much more effectively protect their market share from smaller competitors and go on to expand it if they used the power of government for their own benefit. In other words, the key to staying on top switched from innovating to lobbying. That started with railroad companies in the late 1800s but quickly grew to include industrial farmers, healthcare providers, and bankers in the early 1900s, followed by weapons companies, Wall Street firms, and many others in the second half of the century. Today, virtually all the giant corporations that dominate these industries owe their positions to government policies set up in their favor—to the detriment of the American public.
The modern political establishment is defined by their willingness and ability to protect and expand this dynamic. It is laughable to hear them falsely criticize Musk for doing the same thing. The same goes for his supposed violation of constitutional rules and norms. Many of the loudest establishment voices condemning this behavior were cheering just as loudly as the George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama administrations launched dozens of undeclared wars, conducted warrantless surveillance, used torture, carried out extrajudicial assassinations on American citizens, and provided aid and comfort to Al Qaeda. At the very least, these are explicit violations of Article 1, Section 8; Article 3, Section 3; and the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution, as well as Section 2340A of Title 18 of the United States Code.
And during the covid pandemic, the political establishment took the exact same kind of approach they’re now criticizing Musk for conducting. Federal and state governments rushed to close businesses, schools, and churches and prohibit people from attending public gatherings—all without even pretending to care about the constitutional rules and norms they’re now feigning concern about. Next, the implication that what Musk is doing is illegitimate because he’s unelected is ridiculous. Not only was it made very clear to voters before the election that Musk would do this if Trump won, virtually the entire federal workforce that the establishment is trying to protect from Musk is unelected too. The millions of unelected officials who conduct the bulk of federal government operations were brought on and set to work without even a fraction of the transparency and publicity involved in Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk.
Speaking of transparency, it’s comical that a political class that classifies an estimated fifty million documents a year—ninety percent of which are “probably unnecessary” according to some establishment legal experts—is voicing disgust over Musk’s team’s occasional use of discretion.
The first of the activist judges collapses?!
• Federal Judge Allows Trump To Push Forward With Gov’t Workers Buyouts (NYP)
A federal judge on Wednesday declined to pause the Trump administration’s buyout program for government workers, giving President Trump a key win in his push to shrink the size of the federal government. US District Judge George A. O’Toole ruled that the union groups suing to block the so-called “Deferred Resignation” program lacked standing and that his Massachusetts-based court lacked the jurisdiction to proceed with the lawsuit. O’Toole, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, temporarily blocked the Office of Personnel Management from moving ahead with the program earlier this week, after unions representing more than 800,000 federal workers charged that that the buyout offers were unlawful. “The plaintiffs here are not directly impacted by the directive,” the judge ruled.
“Instead, they allege that the directive subjects them to upstream effects including a diversion of resources to answer members’ questions about the directive, a potential loss of membership, and possible reputational harm.” “The unions do not have the required direct stake in the Fork Directive, but are challenging a policy that affects others, specifically executive branch employees,” O’Toole continued. “This is not sufficient.” OPM had given some 2 million federal workers unwilling to comply with a return-to-office mandate a Feb. 6 deadline to accept about eight months of pay and benefits in exchange for their resignations. The agency further warned that the buyout offer would not be extended past the deadline and that workers choosing to stay put should expect downsizing, restructurings, realignments and workforce reductions under Trump.
About 75,000 federal workers have accepted the deal, according to OPM. “OPM is pleased the court has rejected a desperate effort to strike down the Deferred Resignation Program,” OPM spokeswoman McLaurine Pinover told The Post. “As of 7:00 p.m. tonight, the program is now closed.” “There is no longer any doubt: the Deferred Resignation Program was both legal and a valuable option for federal employees,” she added. “This program was carefully designed, thoroughly vetted, and provides generous benefits so federal workers can plan for their futures.” OPM had left the program open to resignations after the judge’s initial stay of the deadline.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), one of the groups attempting to block the program, maintains that the program is illegal despite its lack of standing to sue. “Today’s ruling is a setback in the fight for dignity and fairness for public servants. But it’s not the end of that fight. AFGE’s lawyers are evaluating the decision and assessing next steps,” AFGE President Everett Kelley said in a statement. “Importantly, this decision did not address the underlying lawfulness of the program,” Kelley added. “We continue to maintain it is illegal to force American citizens who have dedicated their careers to public service to make a decision, in a few short days, without adequate information, about whether to uproot their families and leave their careers for what amounts to an unfunded IOU from Elon Musk.”
“Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island can be seen in video footage from 2021 accusing Trump of being “a dictator” and claiming that “racism is a white people problem..”
• Federal Judge Blocking Spending Freezes Has History of TDS (AmG)
The federal judge who ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze all funding pauses while federal spending is being assessed, has a history of anti-Trump and woke activism. Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island can be seen in video footage from 2021 accusing Trump of being “a dictator” and claiming that “racism is a white people problem” and that “we all have racism inside of us.” McConnell, who was appointed by president Obama, has ordered Trump to resume all paused funding and to restore any funds that have been withheld or potentially face criminal contempt charges. The judge also mandated that if Trump wishes to delay any payment, he will need to first need to seek McConnell’s permission and justify the request to the judge’s satisfaction. Commentator Scott Jennings, in a discussion on CNN earlier this week, posed the question to fellow panelists as to whether an unelected judge can cover up fraud but the sitting president is powerless to stop it.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889183393855725759
Fellow commentator and former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu raised the possibility that McConnell’s actions, in conjunction with 23 state Attorneys General, were the product of “judge shopping” and that “judges don’t just randomly get these cases.” Sununu told the CNN panel that “there’s a reason that these cases are filed in Boston and Rhode Island.”
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889312721176265130
The question of whether the president is subordinate to 300 district court judges will likely find its way to the U.S. Supreme Court for further clarification. In the meantime, Judge McConnell’s anti-Trump statements and history of activism casts serious doubt on his ability to maintain impartiality.
‘Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job.’ I want her to make the Education Department unnecessary.”
• Judge Temporarily Blocks DOGE From Accessing Federal Student Aid Data (ET)
A federal judge has temporarily barred Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing federal student loan and financial aid information stored at the U.S. Department of Education. In an order issued Tuesday evening, Judge Randolph Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia barred any members or associates of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from seeing or using information from more than a dozen internal databases related to student finance until next Monday. Both sides of the lawsuit—a group of students at the University of California (UC) and the Education Department—have agreed to the halt as they prepare arguments.
UC students a week ago accused the Education Department of violating the Privacy Act of 1974, a federal law that restricts federal agencies from sharing personally identifiable information with third parties unless specific legal exceptions apply. For example, the FUTURE Act of 2019 authorizes the Education Department to import tax return information from the IRS to streamline the financial aid application process.In their complaint filed at the D.C. federal court, the students allege that the Education Department has been providing DOGE with “continuous and ongoing access” to sensitive information “for an unspecified period of time” without clear oversight or legal authorization.
“Because [the Department’s] actions and decisions are shrouded in secrecy, individuals do not have even basic information about what personal or financial information Defendants are sharing with outside parties or how their information is being used,” the complaint reads. The lawsuit comes amid growing uncertainty over the future of the Education Department, which operates on a multi-hundred-billion-dollar budget and oversees $1.5 trillion in federal student loans owed by more than 42 million Americans. President Donald Trump has expressed strong interest in dismantling the department, a position long held by some conservative and libertarian-minded Republican lawmakers but rarely taken seriously in mainstream political discussions—until now.
Speaking about his nominee for secretary of education, Linda McMahon, Trump said he hoped she would eliminate her own position and return control of education to individual states.“We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, and we’re ranked near the bottom, we rank very badly,” Trump told reporters on Feb. 4 in the White House. “What I want to do is let the states run schools—I believe strongly in school choice—but in addition to that, I want the states to run schools. “I told Linda, ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job.’ I want her to make the Education Department unnecessary.” McMahon’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
“Trump says he’s going to obey the orders, and I don’t think he should… Trump should not obey the orders. That is the fastest way to get it to the Supreme Court, and that is not to obey the orders..”
• Left Will Push Violent Revolution Against Trump – Larry Klayman (USAW)
Renowned Attorney Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and later Freedom Watch USA, predicted that the crap would hit the fan after Donald Trump was sworn into office. He was correct. Now, Klayman says, “Just in the last few days, we have had Chuck Schumer, Maxine Waters and Hakeem Jefferies, the Minority Leader in the House, threating to go into the streets for violence. ..” “We can expect violence, but right now, what they are testing are these federal judges… The Democrats have gone forum shopping in leftist states, I don’t even call them liberal anymore… and they are enjoining every one of President Trump’s major executive orders. It’s an outrage. It’s illegal, and I don’t think President Trump should obey those orders.
I think they are illegal. Trump says he’s going to obey the orders, and I don’t think he should… Trump should not obey the orders. That is the fastest way to get it to the Supreme Court, and that is not to obey the orders. They will be at the Supreme Court lickety-split.” Klayman says, “The President has the right to intervene to see how that money is being spent.” “If he finds fraud, waste and corruption, it should be turned over to (AG) Pam Bondi to prosecute. What they found so far is $50 million worth of condoms for Hamas, all kinds of money going to terrorist organizations and you name it. It’s beyond the theater of the absurd. It’s criminal. Trump pointed out at his press conference today that there are likely kickbacks… There are trillions and trillions of dollars, and that is just what has been wasted in the past.”
Klayman also says the pardons from President Biden for his son and family are illegal. Klayman contends, “These so-called pardons are null and void…” “The pardons were illegal for two reasons: He (Biden) did not have the mental capacity to grant them, and they were not specific. They did not say what people were being pardoned for. I just pardon you for any crime. You can’t do that.” Klayman thinks the fight with the Left is a lot worse than most people think. Klayman explains, “We are going to be in a violent revolution potentially in short order…” “The Left is pushing too hard right now, and they are going to start the violence like they did with Antifa and Black Lives Matter. Look what happened in Philadelphia when the Eagles won the Super Bowl.
Lawless, leftist thugs burned down Broad Street. . . . This is a situation that can only spin more wildly out of control the more Trump pushes. . . . It’s getting to a very dangerous phase… The Left wants us dead – they really do. They want to have complete control. Now that control has been taken away from them in an election, they are not going to go quietly. If they don’t get what they want in court, and they probably won’t, they are going to be violent, and this could ratchet up more and more.”
“..was never about securing classified documents — it was always about weaponizing the full force of the Department of Justice against President Trump by whatever means necessary..”
• Biden WH, DOJ, National Archives Collaborated On Trump Documents Probe (JTN)
Newly published emails show the Biden White House cooperated with the National Archives in the Justice Department’s classified documents case against Donald Trump – which allowed the White House to build a predicate for the federal case against Trump that was ultimately dismissed, America First Legal says. The emails, which were obtained in a lawsuit and released by the nonprofit conservative public interest group, show then-Deputy White House Counsel Jonathan Su took a phone call with National Archives and Records Administration officials to discuss the missing boxes allegedly retained illicitly by Trump in September 2021, delaying the agency’s referral to the Department of Justice until after the White House filed a “special access request” the following year.
“New NARA emails further confirm that the classified documents case against President Trump was a sham prosecution that involved the Biden White House from the start – long before NARA’s official referral of classified documents to DOJ for investigation,” America First Legal posted to X. The federal case that was ultimately dismissed centered on allegation that Trump after losing 2020 reelection took classifiied documents to his Mar-a-Lago home in Flordia. “This new timeline is further proof that Biden’s FBI raid on [Mar-a-Lago] was never about securing classified documents — it was always about weaponizing the full force of the Department of Justice against President Trump by whatever means necessary,” the group said.
On Sept. 15, 2022, NARA general counsel Gary Stern wrote to his colleagues that he had brought Su “up to speed on the issue” of the missing boxes. “this [sic] week Jonathan told me that they are open to having [redacted] participate in a meeting with [redacted] and possibly [redacted], the former Staff Secretary who was [redacted] principal source. Accordingly, they need access to war notes from the last administration, which we now hold — so they will be making a special access request,” Stern wrote. The emails show NARA abandoned sending a letter to the DOJ about the case at that time due to the ongoing discussions between the White House and Trump’s legal team. NARA admitted that the cooperation of Trump’s team on the document issue “could help to clarify, if not actually resolve, the issue,” eliminating the need for a wider probe.
But, as Trump’s team tried to fight the requests to turn over the documents, which they argued rightfully belonged to the former president, America First Legal previously argued that the Biden administration used the future “special access request” to create the predicate for an FBI-led raid of Mar-a-Lago to obtain the documents. Just the News first reported in 2022 how the Biden White House worked directly with the Justice Department and National Archives to instigate the criminal probe into alleged mishandling of documents. The White House eliminated the 45th president’s claim to executive privilege and allowed the FBI to review evidence retrieved from Trump’s Florida estate that spring, kicking the probe into high gear.
Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets. Anna Paulina Luna.
• New Task Force To Probe jFK, RFK, MLK Murders, Epstein’s ‘Lolita Express’ (RT)
A so-called “black book” containing the list of contacts and alleged clients of deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein is set to be released to the public as part of a new declassification campaign, the newly appointed head of a specialized US task force has announced. The Republican-led congressional task force was created to oversee the release of government files linked to a wide range of high-profile topics, including the 9/11 attacks, the origins of Covid-19, UFOs, and the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother and political ally Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights campaigner Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
Epstein worked as a financier and socialized with the rich and famous for years, introducing them to dozens of young women – some of whom were underage at the time – and flying them to his private island in the Caribbean on a jet dubbed the “Lolita Express.” He was arrested in 2019 and died in his Manhattan cell later that year, officially ruled a suicide. Evidence related to his case remained classified even after his death, with media reports claiming that the FBI had found videos potentially containing compromising material on his “guests” during searches of his New York residence and Caribbean island. The newly appointed head of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), has vowed to bring some of this information to light, along with other previously classified materials.
“The federal government has been hiding information from Americans for decades,” Luna said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that “it is time to give Americans the answers they deserve.” A GOP congresswoman and supporter of US President Donald Trump, Luna has repeatedly demanded “transparency” in the federal government. The 35-year-old lawmaker was elected to the House of Representatives in 2022 after serving in the military for six years. The establishment of the task force was announced by the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, James Comer (R-Ky.), who said it would “build on the Trump administration’s efforts to declassify records of national importance.” Trump signed an executive order to release federal records linked to the assassinations of the two Kennedys and King soon after his inauguration in January.
“A low rouble is embraced which helps to offset energy price slumps and brings in bigger surpluses when prices soar. So, even cutting the oil price to $45 – which Trump is talking about – might not have as big an impact on Russia as he believes.
• Switching Off Russian Gas Pipelines Hurts Europe Far More Than Russia (SCF)
European industry is being crippled by high energy prices, and we are told, this is Russia’s fault. But it is driven by self-defeating energy policies in Brussels and Berlin. The only answer is to boost global supply which may involve uncomfortable choices about Russian pipelines. The Financial Times recently reported that some European member states are pondering restarting supplies of Russian piped gas on the back of any future ceasefire in Ukraine. This is proving controversial, not least among hard-line Russophobe states like Poland and the Balts. But it might make economic sense, not for Russia’s sake, but for Europe’s. Before war started, gas prices in Europe were extremely low – comparable to U.S. gas prices today – because of hugely favourable global supply. LNG from the U.S., the Middle East and Africa together with piped gas from Norway and Russia, pushed the wholesale price of gas down to levels not seen since 2005.
European LNG imports had risen sharply after the onset of the Ukraine crisis in 2014 increasing from only 10% of to nearly 50% today, while Russian piped gas kept flowing. As part of this, imports from the U.S. tripled in volume between 2021 and 2023 and they now make up almost 50% of total European LNG imports. Read the European press and you’ll hear often how U.S. LNG is too expensive, which contributes to the economic headwinds manufacturers in Germany and else are facing. Emmanuel Macron has in the past called out the U.S. as ‘unfriendly’ for selling expensive LNG. But this is deeply misleading. Back in 2019, there was more gas than the world could possibly use, bearing down on prices. The fact of piped or shipped was immaterial to the glut in supply. The surge in U.S. supplies was doing to global gas prices what the glut of U.S. shale oil was doing in January 2016 when prices sunk to $26 per barrel.
The 2016 oil price collapse put immense pressure on Russia’s economy, which is heavily reliant on tax from oil and gas exports. Russia’s current account surplus in 2016 hit its lowest level since 1999, pinching tax income significantly. And that was at a time when Russia was pumping record amounts of oil and gas. Because herein lies a truth; the global price of energy has a much bigger impact on Russia than the amount of energy that you buy from Russia. When President Trump talks to OPEC about slashing the oil price, and, by extension, the gas price, he thinks that this will damage Russia’s economy more than cutting Russian supplies However, Russian monetary policy today is very different to 2016. A low rouble is embraced which helps to offset energy price slumps and brings in bigger surpluses when prices soar. So, even cutting the oil price to $45 – which Trump is talking about – might not have as big an impact on Russia as he believes.
And, in any case, those prices will only be possible by radically changing the supply equation. Mothballing Russian pipelines as putative punishment for Putin’s war in Ukraine is having the opposite effect – restricting supply, pushing up prices and hurting Europe far more than it is hurting Russia. In 2018, Europe imported 201 BCM of gas from Russia, mostly through pipelines, accounting for 38% of its total gas imports. Since the war started, Europe has shut down 185 BCM in potential yearly supply, or 35% of its total gas imports. This includes the destruction or suspensions of the Nordstream pipelines (110 bcm), the suspension of the Yamal Pipeline via Belarus (33 BCM) and now the cutting off of gas transit via Ukraine at the start of 2025 (42bcm). That leaves just 17.5 BCM in pipeline capacity through Turkey for Russian gas.
“..could ultimately come in a billion dollars a mile.”
• Trump Admin Eyes Billions Going to California High-Speed Train (Turley)
Despite a plethora of challenges, the Trump Administration is pushing ahead with its top-to-bottom review of government spending. It has already halted billions in what it views as wasteful spending. It now looks like one of the most wasteful, runaway public works projects in the country could be on the chopping block: California’s high-speed rail project. The project to build a bullet train from Los Angeles to Sacramento is an outrageous example of a public work that lacked any fiscal responsibility or oversight from the state government. Nevertheless, Democrats continue to push for billions more from the federal government as well as California taxpayers. There is currently $4.3 billion in unspent federal funds for California’s high-speed rail project, and Trump should seek to claw back the money in light of the gross negligence shown by the California authorities.
The project was initially approved in 2008 with the support of Gov. Jerry Brown (D) as an environmental and technological advance for the state. It proved a costly bait-and-switch. Voters approved a $9.95 billion bond issue in 2008 after absurdly low estimates of the projected cost. Influential figures and companies stood to make a fortune, and the key was to get a “buy-in” worth billions so that it would be more and more difficult to abandon the project as overruns and delays sent the costs soaring. Now the official estimate of future ridership has dropped by 25% and it demands billions more to complete a project that would be delayed by decades to complete. Remember that this entire project was meant to create a rail line of only 171 miles. It is projected at over $128 billion and could ultimately come in a billion dollars a mile. There are still uncompleted environmental assessments and challenging rail lines through the mountains.
In his first term, Trump criticized the project and withheld a billion dollars in federal aid. However, when President Joe Biden came into office, he opened the federal coffers and approved billions more despite well-documented mismanagement and dubious spending. Trump is now pledging an investigation, which is long overdue. There is ample reason to suspect fraud and other possible violations in this multi-billion dollar boondoggle. Indeed, this week, the inspector general, Benjamin Belnap, issued a scathing report on the first phase of still uncompleted project. That is only the stretch from Merced to Bakersfield which was supposed to be completed by 2033.
Belnap wrote: “With a smaller remaining schedule envelope and the potential for significant uncertainty and risk during subsequent phases of the project, staying within the 2033 schedule envelope is unlikely. In fact, uncertainty about some parts of the project has increased as the authority has recently made decisions that deviated from the procurement and funding strategies that were part of its plans for staying on schedule.” The Merced-Bakersfield line alone would now cost $35.3 billion, more than the 2008 projection for a complete system. California Democrats have continued to throw money at the project without making meaningful changes on the overruns and delays. There is currently only $28.7 billion in state bonds left. The inefficiency of the project has been raised for years.
Even if completed, the system would reduce auto travel by 10 million miles a day in a state where citizens drive a billion miles a day. As noted by Cal Matters, “A 10 million-mile reduction would ostensibly cut emissions by scarcely 1%.” It added: Logically, spending emission auction money on more direct carbon reduction programs, such as reducing emission-spewing wildfires, would make more sense. The current estimate for linking San Francisco with Southern California is $107 billion. Officials don’t even know how to fully finance Merced-Bakersfield, much less raise the other $72.4 billion they would need. Both a federal investigation and a cessation of funding are long overdue. It is time to bite the bullet. California has every right to spend over $100 billion during budget deficits, but the rest of the country should not subsidize it.
Talent
Little man should had been a contestant in Olympics pic.twitter.com/kUQvit1zou
— Enezator (@Enezator) February 10, 2025
Reindeer
This is a “Reindeer Cyclone”.
A swirling mass of threatened reindeer stampeding in a circle making it impossible to target an individual. The weakest and fawns are in the middle..
pic.twitter.com/EgqF4qyt2f— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) February 12, 2025
Explain
Explain this! pic.twitter.com/ignPaAMExH
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) February 11, 2025
Blackjack
This is Blackjack. He was throwing a bit of a puppy tantrum. But just like a toddler, he immediately calmed down when his favorite show came on. 12/10 pic.twitter.com/uIJjp3NHBp
— WeRateDogs (@dog_rates) February 11, 2025
Zanzibar
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889579116162158607
Penguin
https://twitter.com/i/status/1889578911207477372
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Home › Forums › Debt Rattle February 13 2025