AkaSci 🛰️
Let us make it clear to the People - this is not cost cutting. This is destruction of American institutions built over decades, this is vandalism, this is revenge firing of skilled employees and expertise.
Real cost cutting requires planning, financial analysis, transparency, dialogue and surgical instruments, not machetes.
This is a hostile takeover of the U.S. govt. by a bunch of wealthy lunatics, who are seeking power and wealth for themselves and no one else.
AkaSci 🛰️
From @anneapplebaum - "There’s a Term for What Trump and Musk Are Doing"
"Despite its name, the Department of Government Efficiency is not, so far, primarily interested in efficiency. DOGE and its boss, Elon Musk, have instead focused their activity on the eradication of the federal civil service, along with its culture and values, and its replacement with something different. In other words: regime change."
AkaSci 🛰️
Cost savings or warped ideology and cruelty?
"A team of workers from the U.S. DOGE Service developed step-by-step plans for carrying out trump’s order to purge DEI initiatives from the federal govt — and over the next 6 months intends to expand that campaign dramatically, according to docs obtained by The Wash Post. DOGE aims to target staffers who are not in DEI roles and employees who work in offices established by law to ensure equal rights."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/15/doge-fire-federal-employees-trump-dei/
3/n
AkaSci 🛰️
And here we are, quoting Steve Bannon to expose the illegality and immorality of Musk's wrecking-ball crusade.
“Musk is a parasitic illegal immigrant. He wants to impose his freak experiments and play-act as God without any respect for the country’s history, values, or traditions.”
https://bsky.app/profile/ashmcgonigal.com/post/3lihpvltchk2b
https://unherd.com/2025/02/steve-bannon-is-ready-for-war/
#Politics
6/n
AkaSci 🛰️
Now, we are down to quoting Mike Pence, who seems to be one of the few who has the courage to directly challenge trump.
"
Mr. President, Ukraine did not “start” this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The Road to Peace must be built on the Truth. 🇺🇸🇺🇦
"
Let's keep spreading this message.
#Politics
7/n
AkaSci 🛰️
Is the White House making a proclamation or are they just trolling the nation (owning the libs) with provocative words and images?
8/n
AkaSci 🛰️
The lawless presidency.
trump is openly proclaiming that he will not follow US or International laws.
And his supporters need not either.
But we also know that the full weight of the law will be applied to crush anyone who is not MAGA.
4/n
AkaSci 🛰️
Rep. Jamie Raskin:
"The whole anti-corruption crusade is an absolute fraud. They started by decimating the ranks of the inspectors general. These are the people whose job is actually, day in and day out, 365 days a year, to ferret out waste, fraud and abuse in the departments and the agencies."
https://bsky.app/profile/briantylercohen.bsky.social/post/3liho4ttp6c25
#Politics #Crusade #Fraud
5/n
Steven Sandoval
@AkaSci If there's one thing I learned from Chinese history, it is that bureaucracy run by literate scribes who take exams to prove their competence is what supported their century-long runs of stability.
The small-government ethos of Maga reeks of anti-intellectualism: their children are often excluded from civil service due to lack of education; those that do get an education tend not to join Maga unless they honestly support table-flipping fascism.
AkaSci 🛰️
Good to see Democratic lawmakers striking back at Elon.
It's only words but it will embolden other lawmakers and Democratic leaders to build up resistance and to take action.
And these words will trigger Elon and his ilk to say and do more crazy things.
21/n
AkaSci 🛰️
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) informed agency leaders that employee response to an email asking for a recap of what they accomplished last week is voluntary and that failure to do so will not be considered a resignation.
OPM did not clarify the purpose of the email or the purpose of making federal employees respond to it with a list of accomplishments during last week.
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/5161737-opm-defends-musk-email/
22/n
AkaSci 🛰️
An eloquent and insightful thread on X by Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL-06) about performance reviews, chain of command, efficiency and accountability in the government bureaucracy and the private sector. And why the email by the OPM at the behest of elon musk and trump is so insidious and damaging.
The responses to the thread in the usual ugly blather by MAGA bots on X, human and otherwise.
The thread is also posted at https://mastodon.social/@SeanCasten/114059228360762547
#Politics
23/n
AkaSci 🛰️
An email has been sent out to the Fed govt workforce, demanding a reply with "approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week" by Monday noon EST.
Russell Vought, the new head of OMB had notoriously said -
“We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,. When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work, because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. We want their funding to be shut down … We want to put them in trauma.”
And here we are.
#Politics
19/n
AkaSci 🛰️
Meritocracy my a$$. It's about loyalty and fealty. And cruelty towards all who are not members of the Nazi party.
#Politics
20/n
AkaSci 🛰️
There is no sense of decency or character in Elon and trump world.
#Politics
15/n
AkaSci 🛰️
A Confederacy of Dangerous Dunces at CPAC.
#Politics
16/n
AkaSci 🛰️
Other astronauts are speaking out against Elon Musk and offering their opinions on his character or rather the lack thereof.
#Politics
17/n
AkaSci 🛰️
The pace of the decimation of the Federal government and its workforce skyrocketed today with this ugly tweet from this unelected unofficial unaccountable contractor.
Shades of how the twitter workforce was decimated and what is left are those loyal to musk and right-wing ideology.
How are we going to stop this invasion?
#Politics
18/n
AkaSci 🛰️
This exchange between Andreas Mogensen, astronaut from Denmark and commander of ISS for Exp 70, and Elon Musk, on the issue of the return of the NASA astronauts from the ISS, shows the crass level at which Elon operates. And he is now the most powerful person in the US, perhaps the world.
#Politics
13/n
AkaSci 🛰️
Elon next followed up, perhaps in a fit of pique, with this tweet to terminate the ISS immediately (and divert funding to his pet project).
US Space policy by edict by one angry and powerful person. Everyone else be damned or fired.
#Politics
14/n
AkaSci 🛰️
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL):
"I never thought, in the 23 years I served in the military, that I would hear the commander-in-chief of the United States Military parroting a Russian talking point.
It is, astonishing to me that he would also betray our allies in Europe in this way and pave the way for Putin.
The president essentially has just surrendered to Putin and that simply is not acceptable."
AkaSci 🛰️
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska):
"Putin started this war. Putin committed war crimes. Putin is the dictator who murdered his opponents. The EU nations have contributed more to Ukraine. Zelensky polls over 50%. Ukraine wants to be part of the West, Putin hates the West. I don’t accept George Orwell’s doublethink."
👏
#Politics
10/n
AkaSci 🛰️
WSJ Op-Ed:
"Ukraine has delayed elections while it is operating under martial law and fighting a war for survival. Its constitution allows this, and Britain under Nazi siege didn’t hold an election during World War II. Was Churchill a dictator?
The only dictator in the war is Mr. Putin, who poisons exiled Russians on foreign soil and banishes opponents to Arctic prison camps. Call us when he holds a free election."
😲
https://www.rawstory.com/wsj-trump-2671185265/
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-russia-ukraine-volodymyr-zelensky-10464d9c?mod=hp_opin_pos_0
#Politics
11/n
AkaSci 🛰️
Adam Bonica, Professor of Political Science at Stanford:
"The DOGE firings have nothing to do with “efficiency” or “cutting waste.” They’re a direct push to weaken federal agencies perceived as liberal.
The hardest hit agencies are those that regulate industry, protect public health, and expand access to education. Meanwhile, conservative-leaning agencies remain largely untouched.
"
We knew that!
https://bsky.app/profile/adambonica.bsky.social/post/3lil7yl2jvk26
#Politics
12/n
AkaSci 🛰️
Wash Post Editorial:
"Elon Musk is trying to keep his circus going, but his performative demand that 2.3 million federal workers send him five bullet points on what they accomplished last week by midnight Monday offered the clearest indication yet that his U.S. DOGE Service might soon sputter out.
Musk and Trump believe that bureaucrats are mostly lazy, or even evil. These are false assumptions, driven by the men’s contempt for the “deep state.”
"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/24/elon-musk-doge-email-buffett/
#Politics
24/n
Rock DJ :catcrunk: :gigachad: :lmde:
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