"USIP filed a motion for a temporary restraining order...
But the most telling moment of the hearing...
She pointed out how eagerly law enforcement has been to aid in DOGE’s hostile takeover, implying #USIP would be outgunned. It was a stunning admission in a court of #law, & revealed the palpable fear that enforcing the law would lead directly to #violence."
https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/us-institute-of-peace-break-in
The Trump administration's 'assault' on Peace
https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/us-institute-of-peace-break-in
"Members of #Doge broke into the #WashingtonDC HQ of the #UnitedStates Institute of #Peace (USIP) on Monday in a foreboding act of #violence.
The independent nonprofit institute is not a federal agency...
#USIP owns their building... but that didn’t stop DOGE...
#Trump has no jurisdiction over this organization, but he sicced his goons on them anyway."
Pentagon Set Up Briefing for Musk on Potential War With China
The access would be a major expansion of Elon Musk’s govt role & highlight his conflicts of interest.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/politics/musk-pentagon-briefing-china-war-plan.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5k4.bz3w.1b2kvAcmfE90&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
"Musk’s #conflicts of interest... continuing to run businesses that are major #government contractors... #Musk... chief executive of both #SpaceX & #Tesla, is a leading supplier to the #Pentagon & has extensive financial interests in #China."
DOGE to Fired CISA Staff: Email Us Your Personal Data
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2025/03/doge-to-fired-cisa-staff-email-us-your-personal-data/
"The message instructed recently-fired #CISA employees to get in touch so they can be rehired and then immediately placed on leave, asking employees to send their #SocialSecurity number or date of birth in a password-protected email attachment — presumably with the #password needed to view the file included in the body of the email."
@Nonya_Bidniss@infosec.exchangeElon Musk to get briefing on China war plans? If so we are already on the tail end of the coup. It's like I threw 20+ years of my life protecting secrets down the drain. There was no reason for any of it. It was a waste. A majority of my neighbors, coworkers, family members thought national security was some kind of joke to be handed to an insane, foreign-compromised billionaire looking to convert the nation into an endless funnel for cash and a malignant narcissist Russian asset. #coup #corruption #natsec #InsiderThreats #treason
Original: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/politics/musk-pentagon-briefing-china-war-plan.html
No paywall/email wall: https://archive.is/eKBWL
"We are in the midst of an orgy of vandalism, not by heedless teenagers, but by the American government. The regime’s ideologues claim there is a plan called Project 25. They assure us there is a strategy, but look closer, and it’s vandalism, the unadulterated display of destruction for its own sake, for the sheer pleasure of wielding the chainsaw."
Judge Denies Emergency Relief For Fired USIP Members After Armed DOGE Takeover
She added that she’s 'offended' by use of 'guns & threats by #DOGE against American citizens.'
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/judge-denies-tro-institute-peace-doge
"As she mulled granting the fired board members’ request... she half-joked that it could spark an “armed battle.”
...calls to #impeach judges who rule against the admn — often amplified by #ElonMusk — have only grown louder on the right"
Bracing for today's news about IMLS. Pray for mojo
DOGE Strong-Armed USIP Security Contractors to Switch Sides
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/breaking-doge-strong-armed-usip-security-contractors-to-switch-sides
"“DOGE threatened to cancel every federal contract Inter-Con [USIP's security] held if they did not... let Kenneth Jackson [the purported new head of the Institute] inside.”
How big a threat was that? According to USASpending, Inter-Con has $209 million in #government contractors currently. So it sounds like #DOGE made them an offer they couldn’t refuse."
"What’s clear is that autocrats everywhere are becoming more emboldened because they know that they will encounter no real consequences from the Trump-Musk administration for their aggressions. They know that the #UnitedStates government is trying to destroy #democracy at home and around the #world."
-Ruth Ben-Ghiat
https://lucid.substack.com/p/erdogan-arrests-top-opposition-politician
Stand Down, Elon Musk
A court ruling rips the billionaire head of DOGE for his unauthorized actions, but can only go so far to rescue a doomed agency.
https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/stand-down-elon-musk
"yesterday’s ruling from #Judge Theodore Chuang of the federal district of #Maryland was the first time any judge has directly addressed the illegality of Musk’s appointment as head of #DOGE and then ordered his actions unwound."
The Tesla Backlash Is Biblical
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9kmK0St9Jg
“In the past 3 months something of a car crash happened. #Tesla stock almost inexplicably dropped 50% since December 12th. Fifty percent in 3 months! Below where it was before the #election. Now this number is hard to wrap your head around, but Tesla's #market cap loss its valuation lost in this short period is equivalent to $800 billion."
VoteVets | Stop Elon Musk's War On Veterans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gOksDg9BSg
'"It feels like #veterans are being personally attacked by #ElonMusk"
"I did not put my life on the line for some #tech bro billionaire from #SouthAfrica to come in here and try to destroy our country"
And our #Congress person does absolutely nothing.
Stop Elon's war on Veterans now!"
[There are also videos for specific Congress people:
https://www.youtube.com/@votevets/videos ]
Trump Illegally Purges FTC’s Democratic Commissioners, Gutting What’s Left Of Agency Independence
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/03/19/trump-illegally-purges-ftcs-democratic-commissioners-gutting-whats-left-of-agency-independence/
"the #law explicitly protects commissioners from being fired without cause. Trump’s attempt to remove #Slaughter and #Bedoya — apparently for nothing more than being #Democrats who might question his agenda — shows a complete disregard for these vital safeguards."
Republican Rep. Sparks Fury After Telling Town Hall He Supports Musk
Representative Mike Flood of #Nebraska was booed incessantly at his own town hall.
https://newrepublic.com/post/192905/republican-representative-mike-flood-town-hall-musk-fury
"This is yet another installment in the string of tense, confrontational #TownHalls that have occurred as #Republicans have to answer for the actions of #Trump & #DOGE—actions that are directly hurting the people who put them in office."
Sell Your #Tesla Dump Your #Stock
https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/03/19/sell-your-tesla-dump-your-stock/
" ElonMusk has pledged about 1/3 of his holdings as collateral for loans... including loans for the purchase of #Twitter. It seems plausible that the lenders will demand additional collateral or even call the loans if the price sinks dramatically.
... If it were selling at the same PE ratio as the information #technology sector... the price would drop from the current $240 to about $75"
Elon Musk Freaks Out That People Are Bullying Him
Musk continues to insist he’s only doing “productive things.”
https://newrepublic.com/post/192904/elon-musk-freaks-protest-tesla
"Unfortunately for #Musk, #Tesla is not just a “peaceful” company but the customer-facing branch of his #corporate takeover of the US #government, which has seen essential lifesaving programs slashed & thousands of people out of #work.
And customer #feedback can be harsh."
" #DOJ attorneys are trying to bully their way out of a requirement to provide a federal judge with details about whether they violated a #court order blocking them from deporting hundreds of people without due process...
The standoff marks a stunning example of #Trump administration defiance of basic issues of Constitutional #government."
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-admin-insults-judge-in-bid-to-hide-evidence-that-it-flouted-court-order
Amtrak CEO steps down as Musk insists ‘sad’ rail service needs to be privatized
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/amtrak-ceo-steps-down-musk-privatization-b2718279.html
"Amtrak, also known as the National #Railroad Passenger Corporation, is the national passenger #rail service for the #US It is nationally chartered, meaning the federal #government is the majority stockholder...
#Musk called for Amtrak to be privatized, alongside the US Postal Service, earlier this month."
Donald Trump Held Another Million-Dollar ‘Candlelight’ Dinner—With Elon Musk in Tow
Unlike the previous fundraiser, this event did not appear on Donald Trump’s official schedule.
https://www.wired.com/story/trump-million-dollar-candlelight-dinner-elon-musk/
"business leaders could secure a one-on-one meeting with #Trump for $5 million at #MarALago. The $5 million meetings have become a “hot ticket” in the business community"
