Author: digby

First they came for his cars with insane tariffs and now they want to screw with Space-X? Oh no!

Elon Musk said reports that President Donald Trump’s budget proposal would drastically cut NASA’s science funding were “troubling,” the latest public break between the president and his close adviser.

Musk’s Friday morning comments mark his second major public split with Trump in areas that impact the entrepreneur’s companies, amid reports that Musk will soon step back from his role at the Department of Government Efficiency.

The billionaire has also appeared to diverge from the party line on tariffs — repeatedly targeting Peter Navarro, one of the public faces of Trump’s trade agenda — as the administration launched sweeping duties on global trading partners, causing major market volatility and resulting in billions of dollars of losses for Musk’s Tesla.

Musk’s latest swipe at the administration’s policies comes as reports of cuts to NASA funding surfaced Friday. Musk’s SpaceX is one of the agency’s largest contractors. The SpaceX CEO replied to a report from technology news outlet Ars Technica that the Office of Management and Budget’s draft budget proposal for NASA would cut roughly 20 percent of the agency’s overall budget, and 50 percent of its science agency funding, calling the news “troubling.”

Imagine that. He’s taken a chainsaw to the rest of the government and now it’s coming for him. There’s a lesson in that.

You knew he would do it:

President Trump on Friday put the Pentagon in charge of a narrow strip of land along the U.S.-Mexico border, authorizing the military to detain immigrants suspected of crossing illegally.

The latest directive builds on Trump’s January executive order declaring illegal immigration a national emergency and ordering the military to secure the border.

• Under the order, the military now has jurisdiction over the Roosevelt Reservation, a 60-foot-wide strip of land along the border with Mexico.
• The military can use that land to stage operations and detain immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally.

We really are turning into East Germany. The order says:

“Our southern border is under attack from a variety of threats. The complexity of the current situation requires that our military take a more direct role in securing our southern border than in the recent past.”

Right. Except:

Illegal border crossings have already fallen to their lowest level in decades as a result of policies in place before Trump took office combined with his immigration crackdown, researchers have said.

As we know, Trump has been planning military action against Mexico since his first term. He’s just getting the troops in place.

Pew did some polling. It’s not good:

Trump has convinced himself and his followers that everyone loves everything he does and polls like this are just fake news so I doubt it will change his direction. But other Republicans have to run for re-election and while foreign policy is rarely dispositive in elections, this just adds to the overall sense of chaos.

And those Chinese tariffs are going to be bad news…

One good reason why so many people seem to be fleeing everything American when it comes to finance may just be the open, blatant corruption:

Executives from cryptocurrency exchange Binance met with Treasury Department officials last month and discussed loosening U.S. government oversight on the company, while it was also exploring a business deal with a Trump family crypto venture, according to people familiar with the talks.

The Binance executives asked Treasury officials in Washington to remove a U.S. monitor that oversees the exchange’s compliance with anti-money-laundering laws, some of the people said. The move would mark a first step toward returning the company, which in 2023 pleaded guilty to violating those laws, to the U.S. market.

Binance has also been in talks to list a new dollar-pegged cryptocurrency from World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture backed by President Trump’s family, other people familiar with the discussions said. Listing the token, known as a stablecoin, could catapult it into a huge market and potentially bring in billions in profit for the family.

Those dealings mark the progression of a growing alliance between the Trump family and Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, which paid a record $4.3 billion fine for allowing terrorists, drug traffickers and sanctioned actors to move billions of dollars through its exchange. The Treasury talks took place after Binance had already begun discussing deals with representatives of the Trump family.

Everyone’s been talking about the weird circumstance of people fleeing the bond markets at a time when equities are going over a cliff. To say it’s unusual is an understatement. The words you keep hearing is that they’re “selling America” which will have huge effects on the ability of the U.S. to function going forward.

I suspect that the fact that Trump and his oligarch cronies are now just openly corrupt is part of this. (Look at Elon…) The instability resulting from Trump’s insanity is overwhelming enough, but without the rule of law or even any necessity to keep up the appearance of honesty it’s pretty easy to see why people would look elsewhere to put their money

Even the National Review is sickened by what Trump’s buddy Steve Witkoff, until now a real estate guy, is doing in Russia:

Beyond his remit as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, a role in which he attempted to guide Israel toward a conclusion of conflict with Iran’s proxies on terms negotiated by the Biden administration, Witkoff is also taking point on negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and Russia amid its expansionist adventure in Ukraine. Witkoff is in Saint Petersburg today, where he met directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. There, Trump’s all-purpose negotiator seems to have been comprehensively outmaneuvered by his Russian counterpart.

According to the “two U.S. officials and five people familiar with the situation” with whom Reuters reporters spoke, “The fastest way to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, said Witkoff, was to support a strategy that would give Russia ownership of four eastern Ukrainian regions it attempted to annex illegally in 2022.”

Imagine that! If the United States and its allies sanctioned the appeasement of the Kremlin by forcing Ukraine to give up the territories Moscow tried to seize by force, it could enjoy a temporary reprieve — at least, until Putin presses his territorial ambitions in Europe once again. That’s quite the insight. Why didn’t anyone else think of that?

Russia could be enticed to enter a temporary cease-fire that allows it to regroup, rearm, and reorient its exhausted forces in exchange for reintegration into the global economy and the spoils of territorial conquest it didn’t even manage to secure through force. That probably wouldn’t take much arm-twisting. The Ukrainian people, not just Volodymyr Zelensky’s government, would have a tougher time of it.

As he points out, giving away even portions that Russia doesn’t control would be particularly unpleasant for the Ukrainians who live there due to all the raping, torturing and kidnapping that’s already happening in those territories with more to come. Not that Trump cares. Nor does he care about Europe, obviously.

Indeed, it seems that arriving at that sort of ignominious peace, even if it is so clearly unjust and pretextual that it only sets the stage for another war on terms favorable to America’s enemies in Moscow, is the only objective Witkoff has in mind.

I think we always knew this was Trump’s big “plan.” He’s just been thwarted so far by the parties’ unwillingness to accept it. One could expect nothing less from Zelensky, of course but Putin’s continued intransigence seems to have taken Trump by surprise. Apparently, it didn’t occur to him that Putin isn’t as invested in his desire to get the Nobel Peace Prize as he is.

If Witkoff keeps going maybe he can give away Eastern Europe while he’s at it without Russia having to fire shot. He seems to be that good at his job.

Some good news for the long term:

A pair of critically endangered, nearly 100-year-old Galapagos tortoises at the Philadelphia Zoo have become first-time parents.

In an announcement Friday, the zoo said it is “overjoyed” at the arrivals of the four hatchlings, a first in its more than 150-year history. The babies are the offspring of female Mommy and male Abrazzo, the zoo’s two oldest residents.

The quartet is being kept behind the scenes inside the Reptile and Amphibian House for now, “eating and growing appropriately,” the zoo said. They weigh between 70 and 80 grams, about the weight of a chicken egg. The first egg hatched on Feb. 27 and more that still could hatch are being monitored by the zoo’s animal care team.

“Mommy arrived at the Zoo in 1932, meaning anyone that has visited the Zoo for the last 92 years has likely seen her,” she said. “Philadelphia Zoo’s vision is that those hatchlings will be a part of a thriving population of Galapagos tortoises on our healthy planet 100 years from now.”

I don’t know about you but I’m soothed by the idea that these tortoises have been on this earth a hundred years and, if things don’t completely blow up, they’ll still be here long after most of us are gone. Giving birth now just seems like a hopeful sign to me.

Happy weekend everyone.

I’m talking about the United States of America

Photo credit: George E. Marsh

They are winning the war on science and we’re all going to be caught in the crossfire:

The Trump administration plans to eliminate the research arm of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, close all weather and climate labs and eviscerate its budget along with several other NOAA offices, according to internal documents obtained by CNN.

The move would devastate weather and climate research even as weather is becoming more erratic and extreme. It could cripple the US industries — including agriculture — that depend on free, accurate weather and climate data and expert analysis. It would also halt research on deadly weather, including severe storms and tornadoes.

A source familiar with the plan told CNN that while the draft budget for fiscal year 2026 will have to be approved by Congress, it is also being distributed to the agency now as guidance on how to slash its current operating budget for the agency, which means the cuts could be implemented this year.

The budget proposal eliminates NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research office and stops funding regional climate data, climate competitive research or sea grant programs. Overall, it cuts the funding for programs currently under the research office by roughly 75%.

The proposed budget also severely defunds other key offices of NOAA, such as the National Ocean Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, and transfers most of the fisheries service functions to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which sits under the Interior Department. (NOAA currently is housed within the US Commerce Department).The internal Trump administration document says the National Marine Fisheries Service “should prioritize permitting” to “unleash American energy” from activities like offshore oil drilling.

This isn’t just Trump. It’s a full blown assault coming from the Republican Party which is determined to turn this country into a dangerous, backwards shithole for Jesus.

This interview in Vox explains:

Noel King

When Russ Vought says his politics are Christian nationalist. What does that mean?

Simon Rabinovitch

The way that he describes it is that he wants to basically bring Christianity into all aspects of society, especially government. It’s not that he wants to do away with the separation between church and state, but he believes that Christianity is a formative foundational influence in the way that the American government operates, and that has been muffled for too long.

Christian nationalism doesn’t just give him sort of a guidepost in terms of his views on abortion, but also brings a certain righteousness of conviction to the way that he approaches his work, a belief that in some cases the ends justify the means.

It’s one of the reasons why in Trump’s first administration, no matter what President Trump did, Vought stood beside him. He thought Trump was a key ally for propelling his vision. You can hear that in the way that he talks and you can read it in the way that he writes. And it’s sort of inflected with these righteous tones. He talks about “the storm clouds being upon us,” and “the duty is ours, the results are God’s.”

Christian nationalism is a really, really important motivational force for him.

Noel King

I’ve wondered about his speech. He can be quite mean. He talked about wanting to traumatize civil servants. Make them realize that nobody likes them. If we were 5 years old, we would say, “That’s not very nice.” Now that we’re older, we would say, “Don’t don’t talk about traumatizing people, it’s unnecessary.”

Simon Rabinovitch

It’s really weird, because if you meet him — and I’ve had a long conversation with him — he has this very scholarly demeanor. He’s always very buttoned up, with a very nicely trimmed beard. He’s soft-spoken. But when you actually listen to what he’s saying, it’s really quite radical.

I think this is really just a reflection of the strength of his convictions: This is stuff that he truly, deeply believes in. And more than that, I think that the manner in which he speaks is something that helps to inspire people who work with him. He has a devoted group of small allies who share his vision. He’s not transactional. He might say he’s not corruptible. This is just stuff that he really wants to do.

Science is the enemy to people like this because it interferes with the primitive superstitions that so many of their fellow fundamentalist types believe (and, not incidentally, something that can interfere with their rich patrons’ bottom lines.)

This couldn’t be happening at a worse time. Climate change is not only an acute danger in itself it’s fomenting new threats from disease and we have stupidly decided to become like one of those ancient civilizations that killed itself off because of irrational beliefs. Unfortunately, we’re so powerful that we could take the whole world down with us.

Apparently, people do understand that Trump is wrecking the economy. Even Republicans.

Consumer sentiment plunged 11% this month to a preliminary reading of 50.8, the University of Michigan said in its latest survey released Friday, the second-lowest reading on records going back to 1952. April’s reading was lower than anything seen during the Great Recession.

President Donald Trump’s volatile trade war, which threatens higher inflation, has significantly weighed on Americans’ moods these past few months. That malaise worsened leading up to Trump’s announcement last week of sweeping tariffs, according to the survey.

“This decline was, like the last month’s, pervasive and unanimous across age, income, education, geographic region and political affiliation,” Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director, said in a release.

“Sentiment has now lost more than 30% since December 2024 amid growing worries about trade war developments that have oscillated over the course of the year,” she added.

This is particularly ominous and totally self-inflicted:

Expectations for inflation rates in the year ahead surged to 6.7% this month from 5% in March, the highest level since 1981, while expectations for the next five to 10 years climbed to 4.4% from 4.1%.

If people do lose faith that inflation will ever get back to normal in the coming years, that would make it extremely difficult for the Fed’s monetary policy to fight inflation.

“History teaches that when higher inflation expectations become entrenched, the road back to price stability is longer, the labor market is weaker and the economic scars are deeper,” Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said Thursday at an event in Dallas.

Inflation expectations these days may be more susceptible than usual to becoming “un-anchored,” since consumers just experienced a period of high inflation, leaving many Americans particularly sensitive to elevated prices.

No kidding. The fact that he had a strong, growing economy and has purposefully thrown it over a cliff is the best evidence there is that there’s something very wrong with him this time. This is not the way he usually operates. He is the guy who takes credit for others successes and blames others for his failures. Something’s different and he’s even more reckless and rash. His faith in his own instincts is completely dominant now and that’s terrifying.

People can see this and it’s translating into pessimism about the economy. And that could end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy as we watch him decompensating before our eyes.

Rep. Mackenzie on measles outbreak: Many of these instances that are coming into our country are from illegal immigrants who have crossed the border and they are bringing these diseases into our country. There is a reason why measles has started to spread in our country pic.twitter.com/8JMjyo25Mx

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 11, 2025

If he believes that the least he could do is tell his constituents to get vaccinated. But of course he doesn’t really believe that. He just wants to use the fact that a lot of people are really stupid and self-destructive to demonize immigrants.

I’ve been wondering when I would hear this. It’s a very old story and perfect for Trump. I’m just shocked they haven’t fully implemented the traditional plan.

For decades, U.S. health authorities used noxious, often toxic chemicals to delouse Mexicans seeking to cross the border into the United States. Before being allowed to cross, Mexicans had to bathe, strip nude for an inspection, undergo the lice treatment, and have their clothes treated in a steam dryer.

The treatment included gasoline baths and toxic fumigations (including DDT). The Bath Riots began when 17-year-old Carmelita Torres rallied 30 others in 1917 to refuse.

The Mexican housekeepers who revolted had good cause to be upset. Inside a brick disinfectant building under the bridge, health personnel had been secretly photographing women in the nude and posting the snapshots in a local cantina. A year earlier, a group of prisoners in the El Paso jail died in a fire while being deloused with gasoline.

U.S. and Mexican troops eventually quelled the riot, and young Torres was arrested. Though she’s been compared to Rosa Parks, Torres’ protest had little effect, Romo says.

The baths and fumigations (DDT and other insecticides were later used) continued for decades, long after the Mexican typhus scare ended.

It’s worse than that:

In Ringside Seat to a Revolution, author David Dorado Romo reveals some of his findings from the National Archives in Washington DC:

I discovered an article written in a German scientific journal written in 1938, which specifically praised the El Paso method of fumigating Mexican immigrants with Zyklon B. At the start of WWII, the Nazis adopted Zyklon B as a fumigation agent at German border crossings and concentration camps. Later, when the Final Solution was put into effect, the Germans found more sinister uses for this extremely lethal pesticide. They used Zyklon B pellets in their own gas chambers not just to kill lice but to exterminate millions of human beings.

Yep. We’ve always been an inspiration to the world.

U.S. Attorney Alina Habba:

Habba: I have instructed my office today, to open an investigation into Governor Murphy… anybody who gets in our way will be charged in the state of New Jersey for obstruction, for concealment… those investigations will start immediately pic.twitter.com/PyYYQBNKNc

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 11, 2025

She was “chief counsel” for a parking lot company, went on Fox news, caught Trump’s attention with he fervent defense and Central Casting Mar-a-lago looks and became his “personal lawyer.” She was very bad at it and lost the cases she led. Now she’s a U.S. Attorney intimidating Democrats on behalf of Donald Trump and the GOP. All in four years.

It’s a helluva a career choice.