Trump has done more in two weeks, than most presidents ever do. The Roosevelt boys did quite a bit, but not this fast. Is that good or bad?
President Clinton said, “The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change.”
In context that may have made sense, but in general, change can be positive or negative. I just want what’s best for America, and am trying to stay informed. Let’s puzzle it out.
The New York Times and NPR are not a trusted news source. They hid Biden’s mental decline and would not report on Hunter Biden’s laptop prior to the 2020 election. The NYT sets the tone for corporate media, so anyone who relies on them, won’t be fully informed.
Prior to the 2020 election, 51 high ranked former intelligence officials signed a letter stating that Hunter Biden laptop was likely to be a Russian intelligence operation. 42 of the signers were from the CIA, with 5 of them having been in charge of the CIA.
In a 2022 article, the New York Post explains,
Not one of the 51 had seen any material from the laptop or bothered asking for it, but their letter, instigated by, signed and delivered to Politico by Democratic operative and former John Brennan aide Nick Shapiro, killed the story stone dead.
None of those facts are arguable. The CIA, and possibly other intelligence agencies, are corrupt. They have their own agenda.
Elon Musk has been digging into the books at USAID and tweeting about it. Musk says that Politico, the media outlet who received the “51 Intelligence officials” letter, was paid $8 million by USAID. How true is that?
The Dispatch says the money was for subscriptions, and other governmental organization do the same thing.
In July 2020, for example, HHS paid $73,857 for a Politico Pro subscription licensed for 37 users.
That sounds plausible, and comes to $2000 per user subscription. A federal department like Health and Human Services has access to governmental information and analysis. How can a $2000 subscription to a Progressive media company make any sense? It’s appears to be thinly veiled corruption.
Forty years ago, the Speaker of the House, Jim Wright, had his speeches repackaged into a book. Wright received 55% royalties on the sale of the book. People or organizations that wanted to curry favor, bought thousands of the dreary book. It was a scam to get around bribery and campaign finance laws. Wright resigned.
Unless someone wants to defend the subscription, Politico Pro looks like a scam to have the federal government pay partisan organizations to work against the current president.
Investigating USAID, Elon Musk says, “We don’t have an apple with a worm in it. We have a ball of worms. USAID is a ball of worms.”
USAID issues grants to organizations that issue grants to other organizations, and it’s like that, all the way down. The entire network is convoluted. It’s hard to tell who is getting paid.
One analysis shows that Republican anti-Trumper, Bill Kristol, along with Linda Chavez and Mona Charon are getting money from USAID. That would be difficult to defend.
One investigator says that the CIA works through USAID to project their influence in foreign and domestic affairs. That may or may not be true, but it certainly sounds like something the CIA might do.
USAID probably does some good work in poor countries.
USAID certainly funds some ludicrous projects like Tranny comic books in Peru.
USAID could be funding unaccountable partisan organizations that sew chaos in America.
After that Pennsylvania assassination attempt, President Trump may have a divine mandate. Let’s not bank on that. It’s prudent to assume that Trump and his associates will get some things wrong. I recently posted about this NYT survey. This table is illuminating.
Only a quarter of America believes that the federal government is working for us. Those numbers are bad enough that it makes sense for Trump to take apart the federal government, clean it out, and put it back together. The USAID business makes me nervous, but other issues have been resolved faster and better than expected.
If Tom Homan remains at this phase of deportations, America is substantially better off. ICE is collecting dangerous criminals and repatriating them. No serious person opposes that.
China was getting their shit-hooks into the Panama Canal. Marco Rubio has resolved that as long as the State Department follows through.
Secretary Hegseth is pushing DEI out of the military. Politics don’t matter on this one. Trans people require ongoing medical support. People with milder medical issues are unfit for military duty. That isn’t arguable.
Trump and his people may over-reach. It would be splendid to have an opposition party that acts like functioning adults to push back.
Americans who only rely on corporate media will not understand what is going on or why it’s necessary. Perhaps when the bribes are eliminated, corporate media will straighten up in order to survive.
Republicans are not immune to shady work. Trump currently has majorities in the House and Senate. His executive orders must be backed up with legislation. When shady Republicans realize that the curtain is being pulled back, one hopes they will get serious.
Whatever happens, we certainly live in interesting times.