Monthly Archives: May 2025

Moneywise: MTG’s $1T fraud claim debunked by experts

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In a digital post dripping with outrage, Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene echoed the claims made by [F’]Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, alleging widespread fraud within the Social Security system.

“Our own government just blindly sends checks to anyone and everyone whether citizen, non-citizen, dead or alive,” Greene said in a recent post on X, formerly Twitter. “We must end this malpractice and outright waste, fraud, and abuse. This is the mission of DOGE.”

Why does Georgia keep electing this brainless piece of sh*t?

MTG’s $1T fraud claim debunked by experts
Is she just dead wrong?′

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/mtg-warns-the-us-government-just-blindly-sends-checks-to-anyone-whether-dead-or-alive-citizen-or-non-citizen-here-s-her-solution-to-save-1-trillion-of-waste-fraud-and-abuse/ar-AA1F3gGq

Independent: Elon Musk endorses conspiracy theory around Biden’s cancer diagnosis

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Musk endorsed a theory accusing the Democrats of an “evil” plan to get rid of Biden as president and to replace him with former Vice President Kamala Harris

President Donald Trump’s ally, [F’]Elon Musk, endorsed a conspiracy theory about former-President Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis in a post on X.

On Sunday night, right-wing podcast host Clint Russell took to X to accuse the Democrats of forging an “evil” plan to get Biden elected into office and strategically drop out because of his diagnosis, to pave the way for Kamala Harris to take the reins.

F’Elon & King Donald are simply despicable. Just have the grace to let Biden deal with his illness peacefully.

Elon Musk endorses conspiracy theory around Biden’s cancer diagnosis
Musk endorsed a theory accusing the Democrats of an “evil” plan to get rid of Biden as president and to replace him with former Vice President Kamala Harris

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/elon-musk-conspiracy-theory-biden-cancer-b2753683.html

Newsweek: Chip Roy fires new warning as Trump’s big bill moves forward: “scam”

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Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) warned that President Donald Trump‘s vast tax and spending bill still “does not yet meet the moment” after it narrowly advanced out of a key committee during a rare Sunday night vote.

The House Budget Committee passed the reconciliation bill by 17-16 votes, but four Republican holdouts—including Roy—only voted “present.” This allowed the bill to move forward while they demonstrated their opposition to the package in its current form.

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But the Republican majority in the House is slight, and representatives have different political calculations to make, leading to divisions on issues like Medicaid spending and deficit-financed tax cuts that make passing the bill a tough task.

There’s still hope that this “hideously ugly bill” that taxes the poor to feed the rich can be blocked or fixed.

Chip Roy fires new warning as Trump’s big bill moves forward: “scam”
The Trump-dubbed “one big, beautiful bill” narrowly got through the House Budget Committee.

https://www.newsweek.com/chip-roy-trump-big-bill-warning-scam-2073956

Alternet: More than revenge: Here’s why Trump is really targeting his own former officials | Opinion

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During President Donald Trump’s first three months in office, his administration has targeted dozens of former officials who criticized him or opposed his agenda.

In April 2025, Trump directed the Department of Justice to investigate two men who served in his first administration, Miles Taylor and Chris Krebs, because they spoke out against his policies and corrected his false claims about the 2020 election that he lost.

Further, Trump revoked the security clearances for advisers and retired generals who publicly criticized him during the 2024 election campaign.

On their face, such moves appear to be a coordinated campaign of personal retribution. But as political science scholars who study the origins of elected strongmen, we believe Trump’s use of the Justice Department to attack former officials who stood up to him isn’t just about revenge. It also deters current officials from defying Trump.

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But to carry out a power grab, incumbent leaders also need allies who will stay silent or, better yet, endorse their attempts to consolidate control.

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Recall that Trump only left office in January 2021 because key Republican officials defied his attempts to overturn an election he lost.

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In authoritarian contexts, loyalty is not an intrinsic quality. Authoritarian leaders do not necessarily select those with whom they have long work experience that leads to mutual trust.

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Instead, the challenge for authoritarian leaders is finding people to do their bidding. And the best people for this job are those who never would have earned their position in politics without the leader’s influence.

Unqualified appointees who can’t ascend to political power based on their merits have little choice but to stick with the leader. These people appear loyal, but only because their careers are tied to the leader staying in power.

www.alternet.org
More than revenge: Here’s why Trump is really targeting his own former officials | Opinion

https://www.alternet.org/trump-revenge-2672110754

Moneywise: Social Security Administration issues a statement countering Elon’s claim of a ‘huge problem’ with dead beneficiaries, says it gets roughly 3M death notices a year. But how accurate are they?

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Amid widespread confusion and accusations from Elon Musk suggesting “millions of dead people” are receiving benefits, the Social Security Administration has issued a clarification.

In a recent press release, the SSA says it receives more than three million death notices every year. The release offers a glimpse behind the curtain to explain how deaths are reported to the agency and why the SSA believes that, contrary to Musk’s claims, the records on file are “highly accurate.”

“Of these millions of death reports received each year, less than one-third of 1 percent are erroneously reported deaths that need to be corrected,” the SSA states in its press release.

Social Security Administration issues a statement countering Elon’s claim of a ‘huge problem’ with dead beneficiaries, says it gets roughly 3M death notices a year. But how accurate are they?
The SSA offers a glimpse behind the curtain to explain how deaths are reported to the agency.

https://moneywise.com/news/americas-social-security-administration-issued-statement-on-devastating-erroneous-death-reports-confirms-it-gets-roughly-3m-death-notices-each-year-how-accurate-are-they

Miami Herald: ‘Unlawful’: Trump’s Mass Layoff Plan Suffers Blow

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A federal judge has paused the Trump administration’s plans for mass layoffs and program closures for two weeks. The decision prevents two dozen agencies from proceeding with cuts deemed illegal without congressional approval. The pending “reductions in force” are part of the administration’s downsizing strategy and may affect hundreds of thousands of employees.

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In her ruling, Judge Susan Illston of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California stated that the government’s attempts to lay off workers and shut down programs threaten essential services. She emphasized that reorganizing federal agencies requires congressional consultation and cannot be solely decided by the president.

Lawyers supporting the lawsuit submitted about 1,300 pages of sworn statements showing how federal cuts have harmed local services.

‘Unlawful’: Trump’s Mass Layoff Plan Suffers Blow
More for You

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/unlawful-trump-s-mass-layoff-plan-suffers-blow/ss-AA1F1vV1

CNN: Trump warns America’s businesses: Eat my tariffs, or pay the price

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President Donald Trump is sending a stern warning to Corporate America: He will use his bully pulpit to publicly shame companies that dare to raise prices because of tariffs.

Walmart:

After Walmart last week said it would have to jack up some prices because of high costs of the global trade war, Trump on Saturday responded forcefully in a Truth Social post, demanding Walmart reverse its decision.

“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump said. “Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, “EAT THE TARIFFS,” and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”

The rebuke was the White House’s third such public reprimand of a big American business that discussed the possibility of raising prices because of the steep cost of tariffs.

Amazon:

On April 29, after Amazon reportedly considered displaying an additional tariff charge next to the listed price on its Haul platform, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a press briefing held up a photo of Amazon Chairman Jeff Bezos and called the move a “hostile and political act.” Trump, whom a senior official described as “pissed,” called Bezos to complain, saying the company’s founder “solved the problem very quickly.”

Amazon said that although it was considering displaying the tariff cost, the plan was ultimately not approved and “not going to happen.”

Mattel:

A week later, on May 6, Trump threatened a 100% tariff on Mattel after the Barbie and Hot Wheels maker said it would have to raise prices. Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said Trump’s tariffs won’t bring toy manufacturing to America, because toys couldn’t be manufactured in America and still be sold at affordable prices.

“We don’t see that happening,” Kreiz told CNBC after Mattel warned that tariffs will increase toy prices for American consumers.

Trump fired back from the Oval Office, threatening the company and its CEO.

“We’ll put a 100% tariff on his toys, and he won’t sell one toy in the United States, and that’s their biggest market,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t wanna have him as an executive too long.”

Trump = a narcissistic bully suffering a severe case of arrested development!

Trump warns big business: Eat my tariffs, or pay the price | CNN Business
President Trump used his bully pulpit to warn America’s businesses about raising prices due to tariffs.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/19/business/trump-tariffs-price-consumers

MSNBC: I confronted Sec. Noem [Bimbo #2] because our democracy is threatened like never before

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Last month, President Donald Trump shared an edited image of the knuckles of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident with protected status wrongfully sent to a Salvadoran detention facility. The photo showed “MS13” apparently added above his knuckle tattoos, even though other photos of his hand did not have that text. Last week, I had a chance to ask Homeland Security Security Kristi Noem [Bimbo #2] if she had investigated how an edited image came into the president’s hands. Not only did she refuse to answer, she barely acknowledged that the image was edited.

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The groundwork for jailing the innocent is being laid right now — not behind closed doors, but out in the open.

First, Trump appointed Kash Patel as FBI director, an unqualified podcaster who published a book listing names of Trump’s enemies who should be imprisoned. I didn’t make the top 60; rather, I was mentioned in the foreword to Patel’s list as a legislator who should be targeted.

Next, in Trump’s first hours as president, rather than issuing executive orders that would lower consumer costs, he pardoned or commuted the sentence of every Jan. 6 criminal. A man willing to free hundreds of political allies seems more than willing to jail his political enemies.

Accordingly, last month, Trump directed his attorney general to investigate Christopher Krebs, former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Miles Taylor, former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security. Krebs made the mistake of declaring the 2020 election the most secure in history. Taylor had the courage to organize other concerned Trump national security officials to bring to light Trump’s constitutional crimes.

And Trump demonstrated he’s willing to tell any lie to justify jailing anyone — which brings us back to Abrego Garcia. In April, the Trump administration admitted in court that it had mistakenly sent Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.

Every court that’s heard Abrego Garcia’s appeal — including the Supreme Court — has ordered Trump to facilitate his return to the United States. When asked about the case, Trump boasted he “could” return Abrego Garcia, but he “won’t.” To justify the man’s imprisonment, Trump has pointed to the altered image.

Opinion | I confronted Sec. Noem because our democracy is threatened like never before
President Trump has demonstrated he’s willing to tell any lie to justify jailing anyone.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/eric-swalwell-kristi-noem-kilmar-abrego-garcia-rcna207275

New York Times: Hawaii’s Prized Kona Coffee Fields Have Become a Target for ICE

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The Trump crackdown has reached the volcanic Island of Hawaii, where immigrants, some of them undocumented, are crucial to cultivating the rare coffee.

On the mist-wreathed slopes of Mauna Loa, where the earth is rich with volcanic memory and the Pacific glimmers in the distance, a coveted coffee — Kona — is coaxed from the soil.

Nurtured by the Island of Hawaii’s unique mingling of abundant sunshine, afternoon rain and lava-infused soil, Kona coffee retails for more than $30 for an eight-ounce bag. With a devoted following around the world, the distinct coffee has been a point of pride for the Big Island, and for the thousands of immigrants from Latin America who for decades have handpicked the beans in the Kona fields.

Now the fate of many of those immigrant workers is uncertain, as is the future of the island’s coffee industry.

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has reached this remote, rugged island a 45-minute flight from Honolulu.

Federal agents have flown in several times since February, most recently last week, often remaining for days as they search for undocumented immigrants among the 200,000 or so people who live on the island.

Hawaii’s Prized Kona Coffee Fields Have Become a Target for ICE
The Trump crackdown has reached the volcanic Island of Hawaii, where immigrants, some of them undocumented, are crucial to cultivating the rare coffee.

NBC Boston: ICE agents swarm Lowell gas station, round up workers from vans

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A SWAT team was called in alongside ICE and DEA agents, surrounding vans belonging to a roofing company as workers were lined up against a wall

Michael Tabman, a former FBI special agent in charge, said he spent his career working drug interdictions and rarely had to hide his identity from the public or make such a display of force.

“This level of force, and intimidation, and psychological warfare, just doesn’t seem necessary,” he said.

He believes it can be counterproductive, as the immigrant community may make more desperate attempts to evade police.

“The person being arrested should be assured that this is actually a law enforcement operation. We want to reduce the fear, reduce the chance of them fighting back because they fear they’re being kidnapped,” said Tabman.

ICE agents swarm Lowell gas station, round up workers from vans
A SWAT team was called in alongside ICE and DEA agents, surrounding vans belonging to a roofing company as workers were lined up against a wall

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/ice-agents-swarm-lowell-gas-station-round-up-workers-from-vans/3716265