Mi amigo Americano

"I think the USA is in massive debt though https://www.visualcapitalist.com/97-trillion-of-global-debt-in-2023/ (Canada 3 trillion in debt) not sure how its going to get out of that mess"

Simple-minded people seem to think the Tesla-Chainsaw-Massacre will boost us out of a 35 trillion dollar debt. No?

Saw a bumper sticker on a Tesla yesterday at the local Plaza.
"Bought this before Elon went crazy."

Meanwhile my colleagues over at NIH are getting this email.
https://www.reddit.com/r/NIH/comments/1iwek3t/not_doing_it/

And here's a good thread about making sense of this Reign of Terror and organizing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Whistleblowers/comments/1ivkrvd/an_american_dictatorship_is_taking_hold_in_real/

"

Here are five Republicans who have publicly stood up to Agent Orange on this issue:
Congressman Republican Don Bacon
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick
Congressman Joe Wilson
Senator Roger Wicker
Senator John Kennedy

My plan is to send each one a letter via U.S. Mail thanking them.

I would hold off thanking them until they actually vote the same way. I think they're following the Collins/Murkowski playbook, publicly claiming concerns but (almost always) voting in support of the wannabe dictator and his minions.

I will write personal thank you letters to every Republican Senator who votes in favor of a successful impeachment.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/economist-jeff-rubin-offers-a-map-of-the-new-normal/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0NwC8vSSeE

USA is in some serious debt troubles https://www.visualcapitalist.com/97-trillion-of-global-debt-in-2023 as it tries to raise its debt ceiling, again https://san.com/cc/national-debt-is-at-its-ceiling-on-trumps-second-day-in-office/ and its counting the gold reserves https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/us-news-trump-to-inspect-us-400-tonnes-of-gold-reserves-held-at-fort-knox-why... to back up its spending habits I suspect?

check out https://advisor.visualcapitalist.com/historical-oil-prices/ and https://www.statista.com/chart/1505/americas-debt-ceiling-dilemma/ debt has been a thing since around 1970s it seems?

and oil https://www.worldometers.info/oil/ oil up inflation up interest rates up debt velocity of money halts housing dies can't print/borrow money nor sell bonds (sell the country off)
who needs oil https://marinetraffic.com/ from production to movement of goods https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b053gf85 oil is everywhere now.

good documentaries on money https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE88E9ICdiphYjJkeeLL2O09eJoC8r7Dc https://thegreattaking.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8etB_ft35gU

money and this economy isn't really tied to anything until it bumps up against the finite limits of the planet - resources (oil esp) and people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_ageing https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/charted-the-worlds-aging-population-1950-to-2100/

it's definitely not tied to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_boundaries https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html
maybe it should be?

I’m not sure why so many people are mad at Musk auditing government spending. It’s seems like a non partisan benefit to American taxpayers

You are joking, right? You can't be that naive. This is not about auditing. This is not altruism. This is a malevolent fascist entrepreneur who is vacuuming up as much sensitive, confidential data about citizens as possible for who knows what commercial purposes in the future. Most likely this data will be used for his attempts to turn TwitterX into the financial equivalent of China's WeChat, the payment application that in many parts of the country has almost entirely replaced Chinese paper and coin currency with the blessings of the Communist Party. Did you know that in China, if you jaywalk, before you reach home, your WeChat account will be debited the jaywalking fine? That is certainly what Musk wants. That is just for starters. Fascist governments want total control over their citizens.

One consolation is that the MAGA will go down with the rest of us citizens, probably much harder. You know that Agent Orange calls his MAGA supporters, "Basement Dwellers," right?

SG, have you ever read 1984 or The Lord of the Flies? I guess it is too much to ask if you have ever read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, yes?

I’m not sure why so many people are mad at Musk auditing government spending. It’s seems like a non partisan benefit to American taxpayers

Auditing? What auditing? There has been no auditing.

Instead, there has been the indiscriminate termination of thousands and thousands of employees, not based on the duties they perform, but on the fact that they are in the first year in the position.

It is the flawed process that Musk used when he terminated all of the Tesla employees who were working on the expansion of the SuperCharger network. Then he had to go back to them, asking them to come back.

One can be wasteful and risky with one’s own business. Being wasteful and risky with public services, including safety and security services, is a whole different, and higher, level of folly.

Musk and Trump are like Dr Strangelove with a pile of pink slips.

Auditors do not fire people. They study policies and procedures and determine if they are relevant, meaningful, and complied with. In the case of financial audits, they perform tests to assess the quality and accuracy of financial statements and the robustness of a client's accounting practices. Then they make recommendations for future actions by the client's management.

Kid Rock, whom I never thought I would quote, said he achieved diversity in his band by choosing the best people for the job, not at the behest of a government bureaucracy telling him who to hire.

When anyone is quoting Kid Rock, that deep-thinking darling of the wacko right, things have indeed sunk very low. Can we look forward to Hulk Hogan giving fireside chats?

White heterosexual males have been at the top of the heap for a very long time, and not necessarily because they were smarter or had better skills. Just look at the fact that Trump is having to appoint someone to be the new Chair of the Joint Chiefs who doesn't meet the existing requirements.

When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.

We're not against those principles, per se, but many people like me are against a bureaucratic superstructure called DEI that is spending hundreds of millions of dollars with "Chief Diversity Officers" at every campus or workplace and forced "Diversity Statements" where our devotion to "Diversity" is a critical part of our hiring to teach Biology or Medicine;

Are you “for diversity” or simply “not against diversity”?

Are you for women, people of color, non-cisgendered people, ethnic minority people, and others having “equal opportunity” to succeed? Or just not against that?

Do you support the idea that children from financially disadvantaged families should be able to start their day at public schools being sufficiently nourished that they can concentrate on learning?

When they get to secondary school, should women, people of color, non-cisgendered people, ethnic minority people, and others having “equal opportunity” to participate in extracurricular activities, unburdened by barriers? Should the children from financially disadvantaged families get to participate without the need to go to their after-school and weekend jobs?

If they somehow get to college, do you want only the children from wealthy families the be able to accept unpaid internships at top-tier companies, while those other students accept low-paid jobs that do not bolster their resumes, so that they can continue their educations?

If diversity had already been achieved there woukd be no need for DEI policies. The fact that these are needed is a demonstration of the failure of a society.

"(I find it interesting that diversity, along with equity and inclusion are under attack.)."

We're not against those principles, per se, but many people like me are against a bureaucratic superstructure called DEI that is spending hundreds of millions of dollars with "Chief Diversity Officers" at every campus or workplace and forced "Diversity Statements" where our devotion to "Diversity" is a critical part of our hiring to teach Biology or Medicine; there is nothing more illiberal than mandating a written statement in job applications and expecting a response on a certain side of the political spectrum, and it is reminiscent of McCarthy and his Witch Hunt in its lack of respect for dissenting ideology--consider the irony, given that Diversity is the goal. The 14th Amendment says "Equal Protection under the law" and when there is stigma associated with being a white heterosexual male, or any other demographic,in the process of hiring, it becomes a violation of that Amendment and is exactly why DEI, which purports to fight racism, is taking a hit in the courts. Jonathan Haidt talks about this at length, better than I can, in "The Coddling of the American Mind," not exactly a right wing gunslinger, but a sensible Centrist who got fired for his opinions on this. Kid Rock, whom I never thought I would quote, said he achieved diversity in his band by choosing the best people for the job, not at the behest of a government bureaucracy telling him who to hire.

You're confusing DEI with Affirmative Action. Unfortunately an all too common mistake these days.

current one?

On a national level there is really not much that can be done individually. Sure, whatever you do will make you feel better but it won’t really accomplish. The “let’s not buy anything today” movement is laughable. Not buying a toaster from Amazon today but buying it tomorrow doesn’t affect Amazon’s bottom line. Ultimately if he ignores enough court orders he could be impeached, but not with the current numbers in the house and senate. I am hopeful that enough people will be hurt by this insanity that in two years we take back either the house or senate and he can’t accomplish much. Until then there is much more that I (and you) can accomplish locally (as always). We have a mayor who thinks he’s king and a town manager who is an example of incompetence.. We have a candidate who can win and are actively working with her. I’m not saying that we should lay back and enjoy the ride, but we all should recognize that there is very little we can do that will be effective.

In a country with 300+ million firearms, I wouldn't count on "not much that can be done individually" when events reach prime chaos. Scary days ahead.