Oh Boy It Never Ends: 2025

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

MARVEL continues to struggle with live action females

The Russo Brothers are assembling the Avengers again for Avengers: Doomsday and recruited Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.

As the Marvel Studios production ramps up filming, all eyes will be on them, especially at locations where paparazzi could snap photos and leak spoilers.

However, the filmmakers recently revealed in an interview that they had planned for that and had been intentional about where they were filming.

“We’re pretty good about shutting that down,” Joe Russo told Collider in an interview with Anthony Russo adding, “We’ve sort of strategized to hopefully be effective with that.”

Okay, first, here's who is announced for the film playing superheroes. The Fantastic Four will be there -- Vanessa Kirby as Sue, Pedro Pascal as Reed, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben. The only other superhero listed at IMDB is Captain America played by Anthony Mackie, of course.

Is that going to be it? Four male superheroes and one female? And call the team the Avengers?

It's another f**k up from MARVEL, if that's the case.

Let me note "It's not needed (Ava and C.I.):"

It's not needed.

Too often, that's our feeling as we look around -- at TV, at the political scene.

Last week, Stan noted the unwelcome return of THE PUNISHER. He is right. It's not needed.

MARVEL live action TV shows in this century largely aired on NETFLIX. And they did very well; DAREDEVIL, JESSICA JONES, LUKE CAGE, IRON FIST and THE DEFENDERS did very well. THE PUNISHER really was where the quality seriously declined. And then MARVEL decided that they were going to make the content instead for DISNEY+.

They did a lot of damage as did girl fannies -- 'critics' who were both male and female and bought into sexism despite many proclaiming themselves to be feminists.

MS. MARVEL, for example, was Little Miss Weakingly. Not only was she a never ending embarrassment, she was also too pudgy to be a super hero. Worst of all, she was a secondary character to the man on the show. (See our "TV: Good taste is the reason viewers ran from MS. MARVEL" from 2022.) Then they took her over to the film and she helped tank that because she was a fat little roly poly there to provide laughs. No one gave a damn about that weakling except for the girl fannies.

And it was the girl fannies who promoted WANDAVISION as a feminist statement. It was not. (See our "TV: Can anything be worse than fall 2020?" and "TV: The way things are or are thought to be .") It was an attempt to ridicule and devalue Wanda. Now after this storyline was established over the nine episodes of that bad, bad series, the character pops up in the film DR. STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS and, all the sudden, girl fannies show up to weakly remake some of the points we'd made a year earlier. (See our "TV: No, MARVEL movies do not make stars.") Some even blamed the director Sam Raimi despite the fact that Raimi had nothing to do with setting up the degrading and trivializing storyline of WANDAVISION.

And then came THE LIFE AND LOVES OF THE SHE-HULK. Or was it LAWYERS IN LOVE STARRING THE SHE-HULK?

It was 'cute' and it was 'funny' and it was mocking women.

Here's the thing, those three bad programs were presented as "woke." Had Kamala Harris won the presidency -- as she should have -- our plan was to do a lengthy feature on all the ways in which bad things were marketed as "woke." They weren't "woke." But they were presented as that and when these bad things bombed, it let the fright wing giggle and chant: "Go woke, go broke."

There was nothing woke about DISNEY's MARVEL series.

They were nonsense and they were garbage.

And they bombed as a result.

But having been falsely presented as feminist and woke, their failures were supposed to reflect upon the left and not upon the minds of idiots who thought weak and frivolous was the way to go.

People do not watch superhero programs to see weak.

Somehow MARVEL -- working for NETFLIX -- got that. JESSICA JONES was about a strong woman. She wasn't giggling. She wasn't competing with the Hulk. She was doing her job.

The backlash to woke was about racism, to be sure. But the reality is that a lot of airheads encouraged and fed the backlash with their pathetic portrayals of women.

And when we should have all been calling the nonsense out. There was never the need for action series for boys and STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE for girls. That was nonsense and that was misgendering.

There are many other ways that certain cultural touchstones and politicians helped further the attacks on woke. Again, had Harris become President, that was the first article we planned to write.

The return of PUNISHER -- and not the actually popular JESSICA JONES -- goes things that are not needed so we're noting the above now.

Going out with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"

Wednesday, March 5, 2025. Donald Chump embarrasses himself (and the country) yet again, Pete Hegseth feels the best he can do as Secretary of Defense is to promote racism, Robert Kennedy Junior thinks posting at FOX "NEWS" nullifies the need to post at the HHS website, and much more.

Last night, Convicted Felon Donald Chump delivered the State of the Fat Guy address and it was frightening.

Ahead of the State of the Fat Guy address, Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:

ICYMI: Senator Murray statement on why she won’t be attending Trump’s Joint Address

Murray has been a leading voice raising the alarm on Trump and Musk’s indiscriminate mass firings that are hurting people in Washington state and across the country— holding multiple press calls with WA federal workers, releasing fact sheets, and speaking out at every opportunity

***WATCH VIDEO HERE; DOWNLOAD HERE***

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, held a virtual press conference with federal workers in Washington state who worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), U.S. Forest Service, and National Park Service before being recently fired—through no fault of their own and with zero justification—as part of Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s unprecedented assault on the federal workforce. Joining Senator Murray for the press conference today were: Scott Olson, a disabled veteran in Seattle who previously worked at the VA helping homeless veterans; Jordan Lewis from Seattle, a former landscape architect designing projects for the National Parks Service across Washington state; Ray Beaupre, a former seasonal worker with the U.S. Forest Service in the Methow Valley; and Ambrose Dieringer, an analyst in the supervision division of the CFPB who lives in West Seattle.

Ahead of President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress, Senator Murray is lifting up the stories of real people in Washington state who are being hurt by Donald Trump’s reckless and illegal moves—from his indiscriminate mass firings across the federal workforce that will undermine services we all rely on and put lives at risk, to his illegal funding freezes that are seriously harming businesses and organizations across Washington state and putting them in financial jeopardy. Senator Murray’s statement on why she won’t be attending the Joint Address tonight is HERE.

“President Trump is coming here to the Capitol… this evening to give what he is calling the State of the Union. But I expect that he will give his own fantasy version of an update on how he and Elon Musk are running the country. Because it is pretty painfully clear to me… that these two out-of-touch billionaires really have no idea what they are doing… In short, they really have no sense at all of the actual state of our union. Because they have never really taken the time to listen to the people on the frontlines who are serving our communities before they fired them!” Senator Murray said on the press call today. “Elon and Trump may not care about what these workers did; they may not get that it matters—probably because they don’t take commercial flights, or rely on Social Security benefits, or send their kids to public schools, or struggle to get health care, or have to worry about being scammed by predatory lenders. But you know what? Regular people get it. Regular people understand their work has value, it has dignity, and it makes our lives better. And regular people also understand that mass firing people, like the workers we’ll hear from right now, will make their lives worse.”

“That may not be the narrative Elon Musk and Donald Trump try and spin tonight. But it is the truth, and the people need to hear it,” Murray continued. “I am going to keep doing what I can to lift up federal workers who can share their stories, warn everyone about what is happening, and what it’s going to mean for our country, and push to reverse as much of this damage as possible as fast as possible.”

“Working at the VA gave me purpose. I understood the struggles veterans faced, whether physical, mental, or emotional. I took pride in being part of something bigger than myself, in continuing to serve even after taking off the uniform,” said Scott Olson, a disabled veteran who served for eight years in the Army, including time in combat, and was diagnosed with cancer twice after serving in Iraq for 15 months. Scott worked at the VA in Seattle in Program Support for VA’s Community Housing Program—helping homeless veterans—before he was suddenly fired without cause last Monday, as part of Trump and Elon Musk’s mass layoffs at VA. “The next chapter in my service led me to working with unhoused Veterans. My role was to serve as the initial contact when they came in looking for help with resources. I supported the social workers ensuring they had the ability to transport Veterans in the community. Limiting roles like mine, means other VA employees will have to take on more and cutting into valuable clinical time directly serving veterans. That’s why it was so devastating when, without warning, without cause, I was terminated. No explanation, no justification just a cold dismissal from a role that meant everything to me. It felt like a betrayal, not just of my dedication but of the values I thought the VA stood for. I had fought through war, through cancer, and through every challenge life had thrown at me only to be cast aside by the very system I had believed in.”

“The CFPB has been open for less than 14 years, but in that time has returned over $21 billion dollars to harmed consumers in the form of compensation, principal reduction, canceled debts, and other relief. Fo every $1 spent, about $2.85 has been returned to consumers. How is that inefficient?,” said Ambrose Dieringer, an analyst in the supervision division of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) who resides in Seattle. Ambrose and many of his colleagues were suddenly put on administrative leave last month and ordered to cease working after Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought took over as Acting Director of the CFPB, where he is working with Trump and Elon Musk to cripple the nation’s leading agency protecting consumers from financial fraud—raising serious conflict of interest concerns.

“These recent firings are a disaster for public lands, we are already suffering from years of backlog maintenance and the effects of heavy wildfire damage across the landscape. If we do not act now to save these recreation programs, they will be lost forever along with our beloved trails,” said Ray Beaupre, who was a permanent seasonal volunteer coordinator and trails lead with the U.S. Forest Service in the Methow Valley Ranger District, before being recently laid off without cause by Trump and Musk.

“In my role with the NPS, I was responsible for planning and implementing critical repair and upgrade projects across national park sites in the Pacific West Region, including Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. My work included renovating campgrounds impacted by wildfires, upgrades to picnic areas and outdoor restroom facilities, implementing trail projects, and much needed visitor center improvements for accessibility,” said Jordan Lewis from Seattle, a former landscape architect with the National Park Service who worked on several important projects across Washington state including: a trail project at San Juan Island National Historical Park to protect endangered Marble Butterfly habitat, a roadway safety project for bicyclists and pedestrians also at San Juan Island National Historic Park, critical upgrades to aging visitor facilities at Ross Lake Overlook and Cascade Pass in North Cascades National Park, and needed accessibility improvements at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site to meet compliance with ADA laws. “On February 14^th at 4:50 PM, without warning, I received a generic email terminating me immediately. The letter stated that my skills and abilities did not meet the needs of the Department and that my position was no longer required—despite an exceptional performance review and a backlog of urgent repair projects I was hired to implement. Overnight, my dream job was taken from me and my life has been turned upside down by people I have never met. But beyond my personal loss, these mass firings of probationary employees are already having serious consequences for our national parks. On February 14th, more than 1,000 probationary employees were fired from NPS alone, creating staffing shortages that are now affecting park units nationwide. Our division has been forced to indefinitely suspend several critical projects due to the indiscriminate removal of dedicated NPS employees.”

Senator Murray has been raising the alarm nonstop about how mass firings at all manner of federal agencies will hurt families, veterans, small businesses, farmers, and so many others in Washington state and across the country. Senator Murray has spoken out on the Senate floor against this administration’s attacks on federal workers and held multiple press conferences to call attention to how Trump and Musk’s mass layoffs are hurting federal workers in Washington state and undermining services for everyone. Earlier this month, she released both a national fact sheet and a Washington state fact sheet detailing what we know about the mass layoffs so far. Senator Murray also sent an open letter to federal workers and a newsletter to her constituents in Washington state outlining her concerns with the administration’s so-called “Fork in the Road” offer.

Senator Murray has also sent a flurry of recent oversight letters demanding answers about indiscriminate staffing reductions across federal agencies—including letters to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on mass firings across HHS as well as a letter focused specifically on firings at FDA, Energy Secretary Chris Wright on indiscriminate firings at BPA, HUD Secretary Scott Turner on reports of massive staff cuts at HUD, Interior Secretary Doug Burham on National Parks Service staffing cuts, and Acting USDA Secretary Gary Washington on the universal hiring pause for USDA firefighters, among others.

Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered on today’s press call, are below and video is HERE:

“Thank you to all of you for joining us today. I think as everybody knows, President Trump is coming here to the Capitol, where I am, this evening, to give what he is calling the State of the Union. But I expect that he will give his own fantasy version of an update on how he and Elon Musk are running the country.

“Because it is pretty painfully clear to me, from all of the contacts we are getting from around our state and everywhere, that it’s pretty clear that these two out-of-touch billionaires really have no idea what they are doing. They have no idea how painful cuts and mass firings they have gone on with such glee—how that’s hurting our families, and in short, they really have no sense at all of the actual state of our union.

“Because they have never really taken the time to listen to the people on the frontlines who are serving our communities before they fired them.

“So on this call, today, I am going to make sure we hear from some real people, real federal workers who were actually doing the work of the American people, and know what the damaging effects have been over the last few weeks.

“Because the truth is: the state of the union is that Trump fired forest rangers. The state of the union is that he fired cancer researchers. He fired people who keep Social Security running. And he fired thousands upon thousands of veterans who work to serve all of our communities.

“And at risk of saying the obvious—that will make our country weaker, it will make life a lot worse for folks back home. It is going to mean less safe conditions, longer lines at our National Parks and forests, places like Mt. Rainer, and North Cascades, and Olympic National Park, and Mount St. Helens. […]

“It’s going to mean longer wait times to get help with Social Security benefits. It is going to mean clinical trials at the Fred Hutch getting canceled, and promising cures will not happen, they’ll just get tossed in the shredder. It is going to mean slower response to disease outbreaks, and slower recalls of contaminated food. It is going to mean less help for people trying to get health insurance, or find child care. Fewer workers supporting air traffic control that keeps our skies safe at SeaTac.

“And despite what we might hear from Trump tonight, we know it’s not about saving money. Because we actually saw them fire Bonneville Power Administration workers—they are not paid by taxpayers, they are paid by ratepayers in the Pacific Northwest.

“We also know this is not about merit, because they mass fired so many people who had recently been promoted for doing a good job!

“Right here in Washington state, they even fired a NOAA employee of the year—someone who worked on saving orcas, and salmon, and wildlife from oil spills.

“I don’t know who Trump and Musk think they are fooling, but it doesn’t take a lot of common sense to realize: you don’t make the government work better by giving the richest man in the world a baseball bat and letting him smash it to pieces. This has been just heartbreaking, and infuriating.

“I have spoken to so many federal workers, public servants—who took so much pride in the work they do to strengthen our country, building our communities, supporting families, helping our neighbors.

“As you will hear this evening, the work they do is because they care. Because they know it’s important. And that’s why they were federal employees.

“Elon and Trump may not care about what these workers did; they may not get that it matters—probably because they don’t take commercial flights, or rely on Social Security benefits, or send their kids to public schools, or struggle to get health care, or have to worry about being scammed by predatory lenders.

“But you know what? Regular people get it. Regular people understand their work has value, it has dignity, and it makes our lives better. And regular people also understand that mass firing people, like the workers we’ll hear from right now, will make their lives worse.

“That may not be the narrative that Elon Musk and Donald Trump try to spin tonight for everybody. But it’s the truth, and it’s really important that people hear it.

“And I am going to keep doing what I can to lift up our federal workers, help share their stories, warn people about what’s happening, what it will mean for our communities and our country, and really work hard to reverse the damage that’s happening so fast.

“So I really appreciate the workers who are on here tonight to share their personal stories. I know it’s been really traumatic and difficult for all of you, so thank you for coming on this evening.”

###

While Patty addressed actual issues, Chump delivered none.

His speech was never-ending -- and people complained about Adrian Brody's speech Sunday?

Why did he talk so long? Because he was singing his own praises.

Buy a clue, when you have to sing your own praises, there's a reason -- no one else is praising you.

It was disgusting and never ending giving you plenty of time to wonder how someone ends up so screwed up.

Did Daddy make Donald touch his wee-wee?

Is that what damaged him so?

He turns 79 years old in a few months and that's really too old -- regardless of your baggage -- to act that way.

He delivered another performance of victimhood that I'm sure spoke to all the other impotent males out there who tug away furiously but never get stiff.

The speech was not about America or where we can go and what we can be.

It was about an elderly boy with Daddy issues insisting with rage that he was somebody and he had accomplished something and Daddy was wrong about him.

No, Donald, whatever your father said to you? He was being too kind.

You are a failure and you've been one your entire life.

When he used to mock and tell you that you weren't a man?

He was right.

Anytime you could have offered service, you ran like the coward you were, are and forever will be.

It didn't start with Vietnam but, yes, avoiding that war did prove you weren't a man. Your father was right there.

And that judgment that he passed on you is the same judgment we continue to pass.

You can scream and you can bully but all we see is an elderly brat who never grew up and never knew how to.

You embarrassed and shamed the country last night. Your lies promoting yourself cheapen the office. Your tantrum was seen on the world stage.

Not being a man, you merely repeat on others the cycle of abuse you endured from you own father. And that's why your children will breathe a sigh of relief when you finally pass away. You've screwed them up and screwed them over.

You blustered and bullied and acted like the crazy maniac that you are.

And it's gotten old.

Lets move on.

Cara Lynn Shultz (PEOPLE) reports:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called the deadly measles outbreak in Texas a “top priority” for his department — after previously calling the situation “not unusual.”

“I am deeply concerned,” Kennedy, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in a op-ed piece for Fox News — where the longtime vaccine skeptic touted the benefits of the measles vaccine: “Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” he wrote.

The most recent update from the Texas Department of State Health Services confirms that there are 146 cases of measles, with 20 hospitalizations, and one death of a school-aged child.

No, Cara, he isn't "deeply concerned" and he hasn't made this a "top priority." You did very well on stenography and we'll be sure to let HR know that you're ready should a secretary job open up. But you're not a reporter, are you?

Kat noted Monday ("That disgusting anti vax freak Junior") that Junior's 'big' statement on vaccines? Is available for the public to read . . . at FOX "NEWS." At the government website for Health and Human Services, it wasn't there. As Kat noted, the most recent thing on Monday was about Chump's attack on trans people. There is a new one. No, not Junior on measles. It's this "HHS, ED, and GSA Announce Additional Measures to End Anti-Semitic Harassment on College Campuses."

Please note that Alien Musk also avoids government websites and instead misuses his post to drive traffic to Twitter -- which he owns. There is nothing but corruption in this administration and they can't even post public notices on government websites. This isn't transparency and don't pretend that it is.

(The Justice Dept continues to issue press releases.)

Junior has no plan, is doing nothing and his mealy mouth statements are embarrassing even for a Chump administration. Erika Edwards (NBC NEWS) reminds:

It’s a stark contrast in messaging from the previous Trump administration.

In 2019, when two measles outbreaks in New York threatened to reverse the United States' status of having eliminated measles, then-HHS Secretary Alex Azar didn’t mince words.

“Measles vaccines are among the most extensively studied medical products we have, their safety has been firmly established over many years,” Azar said in an April 2019 HHS statement.

He went on to say that “measles is not a harmless childhood illness, but a highly contagious, potentially life-threatening disease.”

We should never forget that Chump attacks trans people. Why? Because they're Americans and Chump doesn't like America. He attacks every group of Americans he can -- and works to tank our economy and destroy our democracy. But let's zoom in on how he's attacked Black people. BIM reports:

US Army Lieutenant General Telita Crosland, who heads the military's health agency and is one of the most senior Black female Army officers, was reportedly forced to end her career.

On Friday (February 28), Crosland was forced to retire from her military role just a week after President Donald Trump fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior officers, sources told Reuters.

Crosland's retirement was publicly announced Friday, but Reuters reported that the senior officer was told she must resign.

"I want to thank Crosland for her dedication to the nation, to the military health system, and to Army medicine for the past 32 years," Stephen Ferrara, acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said in a statement Friday.

The sources, a current and former official, said Crosland wasn't given a reason why she had to retire. The Pentagon also declined to provide a reason why Crosland allegedly resigned.

Crosland's departure comes amid Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's efforts to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at the Pentagon. Last month, Hegseth said he believed that "diversity is our strength" was the "single dumbest phrase in military history." The defense secretary also moved to end commemorations for Black History Month, Women's History Month, and more.

Really, Petey? Because I believe the single dumbest phrase in military history is, "Meet Pete Hegseth, he's the new Secretary of Defense."

Joni Ernst, you put a racist in charge. As Elaine noted last night ("PROPUBLICA reports what happened to Senator Joni Ernst's spine"), we know why now. You're catting around, slutting it up, led you open to charges of unethical conduct and that's what Chump & Company blackmailed you with. Maybe next time, keep your legs closed or chose a bed partner who doesn't have business before the committees you're on.

Hope you got screwed good, Joni, because you certainly screwed over the country -- and women in the military.

In other efforts to promote racism, Pete Hegseth keeps renaming military bases to honor racists and losers -- if, in 2025, you can't admit that the Confederate Army was both racist and a loser, no wonder you don't like history taught in schools.

Noah Robertson (ARMY TIMES) catches us up:

Hegseth first changed Fort Liberty in Fayetteville, North Carolina, back to Fort Bragg, with a memorandum Feb. 10. Rather than recognizing Braxton Bragg, the Confederate general it was once named after, the memo said the name now honored Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II veteran awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart.

Critics of the administration have said the choice amounts to a cynical loophole, given that Congress banned the military from naming posts after members of the Confederacy.

"By instead invoking the name of World War II soldier Private Roland Bragg, Secretary Hegseth has not violated the letter of the law, but he has violated its spirit," Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., wrote in a February statement.

Noah also covers the second one that Racist Pete has renamed:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reinstated the name "Fort Benning" on Monday for one of the nation's largest military bases - the second such reversal he's ordered and the first that requires actually removing the name of a U.S. service member.

The base, located in Columbus, Georgia, had been renamed Fort Moore after Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, whose memoir "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young" chronicled his service in Vietnam. The name also commemorated his wife, Julia, who pushed the military to develop a more humane system for notifying family members of casualties.

Fort Moore, which was officially renamed in May 2023, was the first base named after a military family.

"I'm incredibly saddened," said David Moore, the son of Hal and Julia, who helped lead the effort to rename the post after his parents. "My only conclusion is that [Hegseth] chose to reject Hal and Julia Moore."

[. . .]

Dave Moore had suspected the base would be renamed after he saw the redesignation of Fort Liberty to Fort Bragg last month. Still, he wasn't certain it would change, especially since he believed his parents represented many of the qualities Hegseth publicly affirms - a focus on fighting wars among them.

"I thought we had a fighting chance," Moore said.

Instead, after receiving the news from the base's commanding general Monday afternoon and sharing it with his family, Moore said he was shocked, angry and confused.

"I don't believe we understand what he stands for," Moore said of Hegseth. "Everything he commended Fred Benning for is what he already had in Hal and Julia Moore."

Dave, what Pete stands for is racism. It's what he stands for and it is who he is. His actions make that clear as does that ridiculous tattoo. In other news of the Chump administration's policy of racism, sexism and homophobia, Nick Penzenstadler and Tom Vanden Brook (USA TODAY) report:

A Black soldier in Michigan says superiors referred to him as a “coon.”

Another in Maryland was passed over for promotions by his white superiors.

A gay soldier in Idaho says his commander called gay marriage “immoral” and transgender people “sexual deviants.”

These are three of dozens of incidents documented by the National Guard that paint a picture of discrimination from Topeka, Kansas to Puerto Rico. They come as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made it his mission to eradicate "woke" sensitivities in the military.

"I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength,’" Hegseth said at the Pentagon weeks after being sworn in.

Hegseth, who served in the National Guard and came to President Donald Trump's attention as a Fox & Friends television co-host, now presides over an increasingly diverse force. In 2010, 19.5% of guardsmen were racial minorities. By 2023, the latest figures available, that percentage had risen to 24.2%. Hegseth fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a Black officer, on Feb. 21. On Friday, the Black head of the Pentagon’s sprawling health care system resigned abruptly.

"It feels pretty racist," said retired Army Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard, who is also Black. "I know CQ Brown, I know he's a warrior. I served with him in the Middle East. He was doing well as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He did well as the chief of staff of the Air Force. It gives the impression that unless you're a white male in this administration, you're thought of less than. That's a terrible signal to send to the U.S. military and the American people."

Again, this is a war on all Americans. Eric Garcia (INDEPENDENT) reports:

A special program to help autistic students successfully navigate careers in math and science now faces an existential threat thanks to the Trump administration’s bid to curtail diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in American institutions.

Keivan Stassun, a world-renowned physicist and astronomer at Vanderbilt University, is the founding director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering, which has been focused on finding ways to foster neurodiverse talent in higher education and the workforce. But Donald Trump’s focus on ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and its slash-and-burn approach to pausing research grants puts Stassun’s work at risk.

“The tragedy is that our project could not be seen as ‘woke DEI’ by anyone: it is workforce development for the nation's science and technology enterprise, filling the large talent gap that tech companies are facing in AI, cybersecurity, and all forms of engineering,” Stassun said in a text message. “We had a large set of corporate partners involved, and a large network of the biggest engineering schools partnered as well.”

In 2024, Stassun received a MacArthur Fellowship, often called a “genius grant,” for his efforts. For him, the work is also personal: He is the father of an autistic son, named Jamie. The center also includes many people who are autistic themselves, like Dave Caudel, its associate director.

Everyone is a target in Chumpland -- unless you were an on air personality at FOX "NEWS."

We'll wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:

Senator Warren joined Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Massachusetts Congressional Delegation ahead of President Trump’s joint address to Congress

Warren: “The whole Republican plan fits on a bumper sticker: Billionaires win; families lose.”

Washington, D.C. – At a press conference today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation in delivering remarks on Trump’s agenda to benefit billionaires while hurting working people ahead of Trump’s Joint Address to Congress.

Senator Warren called the first six weeks of the new administration a “sandstorm of chaos” meant to distract from President Trump’s goal of jamming through trillions in tax cuts to billionaires at the expense of health care, Social Security, and programs that benefit working people.

Senator Warren was joined by her guest Doug Kowalewski, a former National Science Foundation employee from Wellesley who, after six years of service, was fired unexpectedly in Elon Musk’s and the Department of Government Efficiency’s gutting of the federal workforce. Doug shared his story at Senator Warren’s recent town hall in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Transcript: Press Conference with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Massachusetts Congressional Delegation
U.S. Senate
March 4, 2025

Senator Elizabeth Warren: We are all here today as the federal representatives of the seven million people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And we stand proudly with the Mayor of Boston, who has been “invited” – I think that’s still a word – she has been invited by the Republicans to come and defend Boston and to defend the values that we fight for every day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. So we want to be here, in part, to talk about what this fight is about.

Over the last six weeks, Donald Trump has created a sandstorm of chaos to try to distract us from his real agenda: Tax cuts for billionaires, paid for by cuts to health care and Social Security. These are programs that mommas and daddies and babies and seniors rely on every single day.

Trump and his unelected co-president Elon Musk are dismantling our government, piece by piece, so that it works better for those same billionaires and worse for everyone else. The whole Republican plan fits on a bumper sticker: Billionaires win; families lose.

Trump promised, you may remember, to lower costs “on day one.” Instead, he and co-President Musk have tried to fire the financial cops that keep Americans from getting cheated. They have slashed funding that supports research for cures for cancer and Alzheimer’s. And they have fired thousands of hardworking public servants, including the people who keep us safe when we fly on airplanes, the people who make sure that nuclear materials are safely stored, and people who inspect our food.

One of those hardworking public servants is Doug. Up until two weeks ago, Doug worked at the National Science Foundation — until out of nowhere, he was fired along with over one hundred of his colleagues. And I’ve invited Doug here to share his story. Doug, come on over.

Doug Kowalewski, Senator Warren’s Guest for Trump’s Joint Address to Congress: So, after six years of service at the National Science Foundation, I was fired two weeks ago from today. And me, along with 167 of my colleagues were called into a Zoom meeting to get a mass termination firing with no cause. And this doesn’t just impact me — this impacts all of Massachusetts. A limited workforce at NSF or NST or NIH jeopardizes the billions of federal investments that directly fund our top-notch research and researchers in Massachusetts and powers our local economy.

So, I’m scared for our country. Millions of Americans who have dedicated their lives and dedicated their careers to this country are suffering because of unelected billionaires. I’m here with Senator Warren to fight back against these illegal terminations and to stand up for hardworking civil servants. Thank you.

Senator Warren: Thank you very much, Doug. And I appreciate Doug being here. I just want to say, this is what happens when you go to town halls. I had a town hall in Framingham a week ago and Doug stood up and told his story, as have lots of other people in Massachusetts.

I would say the biggest question at that town hall is: What can we do? And Doug is living proof of what we can do. We can tell our stories because they matter. We build a grassroots movement across this story by not using big words and abstract terms, but by telling the story person by person by person about what kind of work you do and what it means when you just get called in and told, “You’re fired,” because it fits in someone else’s political agendas, so thank you for being here, Doug. I appreciate it.

Alright, I just want to say: Doug is standing up, he’s pushing back and that’s what we’ve all got to do.

###

The following sites updated:

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Oz and Bond at the Oscars

There were not a lot of great musical moments in the Oscars this year. Best Song? The nominated songs weren't even performed live.

There was one and a half good moments.

The first? This:

CorEy Townsend (HUFFINGTON POST) reports:

Ariana Grande’s performance at the Academy Awards sent Judy Garland’s daughter somewhere over the rainbow.

Garland, who portrayed Dorothy in the iconic 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz,” famously sang “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” before being transported to the land of Oz.

Grande’s Sunday night rendition of the song did Garland justice, according to Lorna Luft, daughter of the cinema icon. Grande opened the awards show with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” followed by Cynthia Erivo singing “Home” from 1978′s “The Wiz.” The two “Wicked” co-stars concluded their performance with a duet of “Defying Gravity” from the film.

On Monday, Luft shared a heartfelt message in an Instagram Story screenshotted by People. In it, she thanked Grande, Cynthia Erivo and the Academy “for honoring my mother’s memory so beautifully.”

Luft added that she and her family are “very grateful.”

The half moment?

If they'd just stuck with Doja Cat, Lisa of Blackpink and Raye singing the Bond songs . . .

Then that would have been great. Instead, they had to screw things up by having that dance segment that really made no sense. I know they were supposed to seem to be James Bond -- the male dancers -- but that's not how they came off. It was more like DANCING WITH THE STARS. There should have been some menace to the dance. I'm not calling out the dancers, I am calling out whomever choreographed that nonsense. It had more in common with Madonna's "Material Girl" than a Bond film.

PARADISE wrapped up. Season one. There's got to be a season two as I'm sure you agree if you saw how this wrapped up. I am going to watch PRIME TARGET on APPLE+ and avoid Donald Chump. Life is too short to waste my limited relaxation time watching a racist spew hate.

Going out with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"

Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Chump plans to deliver more vile and disgusting words tonight.

Let's start with Lawrence O'Donnell from last night on MSNBC.

Tonight, Convicted Felon Donald Chump will address the nation.. He'll lie as usual, he'll bluster, he'll probably crap himself -- apparently that's happening more often. But as bad as it will be, it won't be as bad as last Friday's Oval Office.

Natalie Maines was not elected to any office.

In 2003, ahead of the start of the illegal Iraq War, she made some comments on a stage in England and got attacked and savaged. And some attacking her free speech rights -- Diane Sawyer for one -- argued that it was so offensive because the remarks were made on foreign soil.

We had to listen to that garbage from fools and moderates over and over.

Where were these same people in the last days?

The one area of that performance last Friday that has largely been ignored were his comments about Joe Biden, his attacks on former US President Joe Biden.

This was not a campaign event.

This was a US president in the Oval Office attacking a past president with one hateful lie after another.

It was petty and it was shameful and the press corps apparently is going to just remain silent

It was part of Chump's continued attack on this country and his continue hatred of this country.

It was also a further demonstration that he is not fit for office. (Related, see Paul Krugman's analysis of where Ukraine stands now.)

Ahead of tonight's speech, Senator Patty Murray's office released the following:

Senator Murray: “The state of the union is that the President is spitting in the face of the law and he is letting an unelected billionaire fire cancer researchers and wreck federal agencies like the Social Security Administration at will.”

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) issued the following statement on her decision to not attend President Donald J. Trump’s joint Congressional address:

“I will not be attending President Trump’s address to Congress. The state of the union is that the President is spitting in the face of the law and he is letting an unelected billionaire fire cancer researchers and wreck federal agencies like the Social Security Administration at will.

“The state of the union might be great for corrupt billionaires like Elon Musk as Trump guts our foremost consumer protection agency, and even for dictators like Putin, who are cheering on the dismantling of USAID and the betrayal of our allies—but the rest of the country is in a state of emergency as Elon fires the experts responding to bird flu or managing our nuclear weapons stockpile, all while Republicans sprint to tear apart Medicaid and kick families off their health care to pass massive tax giveaways for billionaires.

“Instead, I’m meeting with constituents who have been harmed by this administration’s reckless firings and its illegal and ongoing funding freeze across government. There are farms and small businesses across Washington state and America who are on the verge of collapse because Trump and Elon are illegally blocking federal dollars they are owed. There are thousands of fired federal workers, many of them veterans, who have been carelessly laid off by Trump and Musk with no consideration for the services they provide and how that might harm millions of Americans, whether that’s VA patient safety or the timely disbursement of Social Security checks. I’ll be focused on sharing those stories from Washington state.”

###

Ahead of Chump embarrassing the nation again tonight, Senator Tammy Baldwin's office issued the following:

Baldwin will highlight Republicans’ budget that tees up more than $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) announced that Milwaukee constituent Renee Scherck-Meyer will be her guest at this year’s State of the Union address on Tuesday. Renee has incurable stage 4 breast cancer that has metastasized to her brain, lungs, and liver. Renee relies on Medicaid for her treatment, and without it, she would be forced to ration or forego cancer treatment, hastening her death, or increasing her risk of bankruptcy trying to afford treatment to stay alive.

“Republicans are planning to rip away health care from more than one million Wisconsinites on Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for billionaires,” said Senator Baldwin. “While it’s one thing to cite numbers and statistics about those who will be impacted by these cuts to Medicaid, it’s another thing to put a face and name to one of them. That’s why I am honored to bring Renee, a Wisconsinite who is petrified that her Medicaid coverage might be ripped out from under her, as my guest to this year’s State of the Union. As Renee bravely battles cancer, the absolute last thing she should be focused on is whether she’ll have to ration or forego care because of Medicaid cuts. But that’s the reality she – and so many others – are facing. I’m proud to share Renee’s story and fight against cuts to the health care program that so many Wisconsinites rely on and, in Renee’s case, need to stay alive.”

Republicans are planning deep cuts to Medicaid that will jeopardize the coverage of 72 million Americans, or 1 in 5 people living in the United States who use Medicaid. This includes nearly half of all children, 31.5 million, over 8.3 million seniors, and around 15 million people with disabilities. Medicaid also pays for 6 out of 10 residents in nursing homes, with 5.6 million Americans counting on Medicaid for their long-term care bills and Medicaid paying for over half of long-term care in the United States. Severe cuts to Medicaid will also jeopardize rural hospitals and clinics’ ability to keep their doors open. Over 12 million rural Americans rely on Medicaid for health care.

In Wisconsin, over 1.2 million are enrolled in Medicaid. About 1 in 3 children in both Wisconsin’s rural and metro communities have Medicaid coverage. More than 300,000 kids under age 19 are members of BadgerCare Plus or another Wisconsin Medicaid program.

###

And Senator Elizabeth Warren's office issued this:

Doug Kowalewski was recently fired from the National Science Foundation amid Trump’s and Musk’s unlawful firings, massive cuts to federal agencies

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced that Doug Kowalewski of Wellesley will be her guest at the 2025 State of the Union. Doug is a former National Science Foundation (NSF) employee who, after 3.5 years at the agency, was fired unexpectedly in Elon Musk’s and the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) gutting of the federal workforce. Doug shared his story at Senator Warren’s recent town hall in Framingham, Massachusetts.

“I'm bringing Doug to force Trump to confront the federal workers he fired – the people who make this country run,” said Senator Warren. “The National Science Foundation is the engine that powers our nation's basic scientific research, and by taking a sledgehammer to this agency, Trump and Musk are gutting our research and innovation pipeline and our local economy in Massachusetts. That isn’t efficient — it’s cruel, short-sighted, and it’s costing American jobs and devastating millions of families.”

“Donald Trump and Elon Musk are firing dedicated civil servants and plotting to replace us with new hires who will make critical science funding decisions with a political agenda, not a scientific one. Millions of Americans who have dedicated their careers to this country are suffering because of unelected billionaires like Elon Musk. I’m in Washington with Senator Warren to fight back against these illegal firings and stand up for hardworking federal workers,” said Doug Kowalewski.

At Senator Warren’s town hall in Framingham, Doug shared the story of his unexpected firing from the agency along with 167 of his colleagues. At the NSF, Doug was a Program Director for Partnerships and Innovation, helping bring in millions in funding to the federal government. The NSF provides a quarter of federal support for basic research at colleges and universities across the country.

###

Only Alien Musk knows what Chump will say tonight -- Musk knows because he's the one who gives the orders at the White House while Chump trots along beside him obediently.

Musk?

Alien Musk is not 'the science guy.' He's built nothing. He buys things. He builds nothing. Bill Nye? He's the science guy. Jennifer Bowers Bahney (RAW STORY) reports:

Weather experts predict that Elon Musk's latest round of government firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including at the National Weather Service, will almost certainly make it more difficult to predict dangerous weather emergencies as quickly as needed.

As the Washington Post reported, "The administration let go of meteorologists, hydrologists and technicians that help inform daily weather forecasts in places including Boston and Boise, Idaho. It fired scientists who build, improve and maintain weather models that form the backbone of weather forecasting around the globe. Staff at offices responsible for warning the public about tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes lost their jobs, as did an entire team dedicated to communicating NOAA’s work and science to the public.,"

On CNN Monday, Bill "The Science Guy" Nye claimed that the mass layoffs pointed to "fundamental corruption," as Musk seeks to replace NOAA with his own Starlink system.

"Mr. Musk has this company, Starlink, and he's proposing that NOAA be supplanted by a private company. And just to the young guys that have gone to work on this, that have gone in to the digital services office to destroy or mess up our electronic systems, keep in mind that this is fundamental corruption. This is, it's just corruption when you're trying to monopolize a government service."

At the urging of Welfare Queen Musk, Chump is destroying our country and our government. As the world rejects Musk, Chump just grabs him all the tighter and rubs up against him furiously. Eliot Wilson (CITY AM) reports:

Last week it was reported that Tesla sales in Europe fell by 45 per cent in January compared to the same month in 2024, despite the market for electric vehicles being otherwise buoyant. This has led to inevitable speculation that the European public is turning away from the brand because of the high-profile and controversial involvement of its CEO, Elon Musk, in the provocative antics of Donald Trump’s second presidency: politics is costing him money.

Let us get some technical aspects out of the way which Musk’s supporters will – with justification – offer in mitigation. First, Tesla sales have tended to dip in January over recent years, though not by such a substantial margin. Second, the company’s Model Y compact crossover SUV, its bestselling model, is undergoing a facelift: the new version was launched in China in January for delivery there and in the United States, Canada and Mexico beginning in March, and it has only just become available to order in Europe.

The evidence suggests it is more than this, however. Electrifying.com, an advice site and marketplace for electric vehicles, found that 60 per cent of car buyers have been put off purchasing a Tesla because of Musk’s political views and activities. It is at least a contributory factor.

[. . .]

It is worth noting, however, that Musk’s estimated net worth has fallen by $100bn in the past two months. His wealth, on paper at least, is so great it loses any real meaning: it is comparable to the GDP of Chile or Pakistan. But so substantial a fall demonstrates a relationship which Musk and others on the Trumpian right are eager to point out to their opponents: in business, politics isn’t cost-free.

The reality is that most people are idiots when it comes to money and that's especially true of someone like Alien Musk. Cher has pointed out that when she and Sonny were coming up in their careers, she'd notice how someone raised with money (Jane Fonda) didn't usually spend a lot while she and Sonny did -- Sonny on cars and Cher on kitchen appliances. She wouldn't buy, for example, one blender, she'd buy two or three in case one broke on down the line and they had no money left. They came close many times to having no money left and that's why Cher learned about money. Some never do.

Most people you see as rich really are not. They live beyond their means and borrow tons of money -- that's true of Donald Chump today and it was true of Michael Jackson. If Jackson hadn't tried to go back on tour would his health had held out for a few more years even if he remained addicted to drugs? Very likely. But despite the press on those big deals with SONY, he never got SONY money because he couldn't pull it together to deliver the albums outlined in the contract. He borrowed. He borrowed some more. Near bankrupt, he ended up living overseas on charity.

And still the average American thought he was rich. He should have been but he put up the money making publishing catalogue for collateral on yet another loan. He lost ATV. He lost everything.

Alien Musk wants you to think that he only lost a little money -- especially with all he has.

Reality, when you truly are rich, you don't spend less than $300 million attempting to elect your buddy Chump. That's your first clue that Alien Musk's fortune is over-estimated.

And cash wealth rarely actually matches estimated wealth. That's why Chump has all his grifting schemes. Had he been forced to pay the sum to E Jean Carroll already, he would have been wiped out. And if he wasn't president now, banks would be closing down loans for him because his financial debt is so deep.

Most of the time, an Alien Musk can skate away for years. But when the business community starts noticing them losing millions, it does impact how much a bank with an outstanding loan is ready to work with him.

Headlines like REUTER's "Tesla sales decline across Scandinavia as Musk faces test of brand" do not help him. Nor is helped by the information in a BUSINESS INSIDER report entitled "Growing protests target Tesla showrooms with Mariachi bands, raccoon puppets, and cardboard Cybertrucks." AP quotes brand consultant Robert Passikoff who explains, "It's marketing 101: Don’t involve yourself in politics. People will stop buying your products."

Moving from perceived wealth to the economy, Dan Ladden-Hall (DAILY BEAST) reports:

An economist warned Monday that the U.S. is “gagging” on uncertainty around the Trump administration’s economic policymaking, and that the situation could get worse.

Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics chief economist, gave the dire assessment during an interview with CNN in which he was asked about comments made by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the weekend about the potential impact of the tariffs Trump is threatening to impose on China, Canada, and Mexico.

[. . .]

CNN host Kate Bolduan asked Zandi if he agrees with Bessent’s conclusions that the tariffs—which are scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday—won’t drive up prices for American consumers.

“I think they’re going to raise prices,” Zandi answered. “They’re a tax on American consumers. If you add up all of the tariffs that are now in play, those that have already been imposed—like the 10 percent on China—and those that are being discussed, like the 25 percent on Canadian and Mexican imports… That’ll add about $1,250 to the typical American’s bill over a period of a year.”

Others are sounding alarms as well. Nuria Salobral (EL PAIS) reports:

Donald Trump has been president of the United States for little more than a month and few things have turned out as expected at the beginning of last November, when he won the election. Investors and citizens had been forewarned of the significance of his electoral promises, but reality is now imposing caution, if not outright concern, in the face of economic measures that have dispelled the initial optimism with which Trump was received. Beyond the tariffs, which have yet to materialize as announced, U.S. economic indicators suggest a rise in inflation and a decline in confidence that is taking hold in Wall Street. The intensity of this trend, and how the powerful U.S. financial market reacts, will determine the measures to be adopted by the White House, experts warn.

US inflation expectations and consumer confidence are not what they were when Trump won the presidential election on November 5. January marked the fifth consecutive month of rising headline inflation, which reached levels not seen since June, and core inflation, which had moderated last month, returned to 3.3%, the level at which it stagnated during the second half of last year. The first month of the year is usually one of price adjustments, in which updates arise that correspond to the previous year and often cause punctual rises in inflation, but experts at CaixaBank Research believe that the data point to the persistence and rebound of some inflationary pressures. “January’s data do not suggest good progress in the disinflationary process. The last mile of inflation will not be an easy road, and although January may be just a stone on the road, this data will only serve to reinforce the caution that the Fed will take ahead of 2025″, they explain. The PCE index, a personal consumption expenditures deflator that is one of the Fed’s favorite inflation indicators, did provide some relief on Friday. It fell in January by one-tenth of a point to 2.5%, as expected, while the underlying rate, excluding fresh food and energy, was 2.6% year-on-year, two-tenths of a point lower than the previous month. Even so, five-year inflation expectations reflect a clear rise in recent months, from 2.3% before Trump’s victory to 2.6% today.

In terms of confidence indicators, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence indicator showed that U.S. consumer confidence plummeted in February to the lowest level in eight months, while expectations are below 80 points, a level the firm considers to be a precursor to recession. The University of Michigan’s February consumer confidence gauge, released a week ago, fell to the lowest level in 15 months and showed that inflation expectations have shot upward, largely because of the threat of new import tariffs.

Think the pushback at townhalls hasn't been working? You'd be wrong. Phillip Nieto (MEDIAITE) reports:

House Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill criticized Elon Musk’s efforts to target federal workers — with one saying it “seems rash” to “fire people via Twitter.”

CNN anchor Manu Raju noted that the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts and layoffs in the federal workforce have affected people across the political spectrum in terms of Congressional districts.

Raju spoke with Reps. Rich McCormick (R-GA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) and Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) — who expressed their concerns about DOGE coming off as “insensitive” due to the mass firings.

RAJU: Give me a sense on your concerns.
MCCORMICK: To be a little bit more compassionate in the way we message this. It matters to people. And I want to make sure that we don’t come across as insensitive. We care about people. That’s why we’re making the cuts.
MALLIOTAKIS: This idea that they’re going to just fire people via Twitter. Elon Musk, that to me seems rash. It seems not appropriate.
RAJU: DOGE specifically, but the cuts, you have any concerns about that?
CISCOMANI: We’re having conversations in our district about all that.

The townhalls are bringing some needed reality into the worlds of detached members of Congress. Of course, crazy old man Chump sees conspiracy where the rest of the country sees citizens. Molly Sprayregen (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

Republican members of Congress have been met with hordes of angry constituents as they host town halls across the country, and President Donald Trump is claiming that the “boos” are coming from paid actors.

“Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings,” Trump claimed on Truth Social. “It is all part of the game for the Democrats, but just like our big LANDSLIDE ELECTION, it’s not going to work for them!” Trump’s 2024 election wasn’t a landslide: He won only 49.78% of the popular vote and beat his opponent by roughly 2.2 million votes, the smallest margin of victory for any president since Richard Nixon’s 1968 election.

Sorry, Chump, but the "paid actors" would be the members of the Cabinet that you had applaud Alien Musk last week.

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling (THE NEW REPUBLIC) adds:

Unable to acknowledge that Americans might actually be upset with his agenda, Donald Trump has cooked up a bizarre theory to explain the mass protests taking place in Republican lawmakers’ town halls across the country. But the rationale behind the idea sounds awfully familiar to his presidential election conspiracy.

[. . .]

The venomous protests are a warning sign for the Trump administration that public patience is already wearing thin for his aggressive agenda. Last month, Missouri Representative Mark Alford was practically shut down at his own town hall after he expressed support for Musk’s massive layoff plan. At one point, while suggesting to the crowd that they could vote for someone else in the next election if they didn’t approve of Musk’s appointment, one person shouted back, “We didn’t elect Elon!”

Alford seemed to take a page out of Trump’s own playbook in the immediate aftermath, refusing to chalk up the local frustration to his own inaction. In an interview with CNN, Alford referred to his own constituents as “outside agitators.”

Some BLUESKY comments ahead of tonight's State of the Union Address.