From Josh Marshall:

Was getting a read out a short time ago about firings at CMS (the agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid). The cuts run deep. And giving how much of the health care economy runs through these programs that’s of course worrisome. But the most telling detail is one I’ve heard from numerous other agencies. The people actually running the agency don’t actually know how many people have been fired or who they are. If you’re in charge of and responsible for running the place you really need to know that. But as in other agencies they’re having to piece that together by doing things like seeing whose emails have been turned off or just asking them. Did you get fired? You? Can someone ask Lori if she got fired? Imagine running an agency and finding out that there had been widespread terminations but not being given any details about who they are or how many there are. That’s pretty straightforward sabotage.

Also, counter evidence: https://www.nj.com/politics/2025/02/major-trouble-for-donald-trump-in-new-polling-is-chaos-catching-up-to-him.html

Can JB troll Democrats/Liberals with selectively presented information? Not only can he, he is compelled to do so.

There is a bunch of stuff going on: Musk is currently taking a lot of fire for Trump, the proverbial sh@t has not hit the fan for most Americans, and there is a weird split in favorability and approval.

But this os still low by first 100 days status historically

This is a blatant lie.

Speaking of more local corruption.

The Adams' situation has gotten to the point where Gov. Hochul is holding an emergency meeting today. The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back appears to be the sudden resignation of 4 Deputy Mayors and the head of the NYC council calling for him to resign. These are Adams' own allies and staffers, not his opposition.

Josh Marshall correctly pointed out that the corrupt plea bargain deal gives Trump dominion over NYC effectively.'

We shall see if Hochul is willing to use a never enacted power which lets her remove the mayor from office.

FWIW, I think it is generally good to be cautious about using this power but this is an emergency/break glass situation

https://united24media.com/latest-news/us-russia-peace-plan-allegedly-suggests-three-stages-ceasefire-elections-and-final-agreement-5992

Speaking of "peace" "deals", the stabbing in the back from Trump to Ukraine continues. The three stage "process" includes snap elections which will presumably be used to try and get a Kremlin and Putin friendly Puppet government in charge of things.

"These health burdens have continued to increase alongside the increased prescription of medication. For example, in the case of Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, over 3.4 million children are now on medication for the disorder — up from 3.2 million children in 2019-2020 — and the number of children being diagnosed with the condition continues to rise.

This poses a dire threat to the American people and our way of life."

The language of Eugenics right out in the open.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/establishing-the-presidents-make-america-healthy-again-commission/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1SErud5Tu3NGb7PN1P1SH1bMWrNaqo2aoPvvnNc5WiS2IrAhpLXHlp9bw_aem_jn2B0kbC060F0yDuQBLLfA

Homan wants the DOJ about making a video advising undocumented residents about their rights: https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-investigation-illegal-migrant-video-tom-homan-2031045

The GOP wants to ban mRNA vaccines: https://www.yahoo.com/news/bill-ban-mrna-vaccines-passes-140200324.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACYLVIW00ldqm6UCPi6x0bA7pJPelrx6iePXdC-ZN30G7gQ7wC3svob-8w2UsUyI-nptiG0JHe0W3wykEBUILSX-kxQXPN20PcwNtHOVK2lm32jlGka_UEH8VBrlwrqwSiYyrQgdH4JkZoZ-kmHO5FGuQkOls6wli1DPTQUqEsQH

ETA: Never mind this is Montana only but still dumb

Four NYC deputy mayors are expected to resign rather than collaborate with Trump and Adams: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/17/nyregion/adams-deputy-mayors-resign-trump-immigration.html?smtyp=cur&smid=bsky-nytimes

Bezos pulled ads against Elon Musk so this is really rich

Today in it is totally not a cult:

1. Representative Claudia Tenney (NY-24) proposes turning Trump's birthday into a Federal Holiday.

2. Rep. Luna introduces legislation to carve Trump into Mt. Rushmore

3. House Republicans want to impeach judges that ruled against Trump

https://www.axios.com/2025/02/16/impeachment-judges-republicans-trump

And apparently Starbucks' official reply includes the legalese version of "white dudes are shit at customer service and often overly aggressive, which is why we don't hire more of them.

I don't have a source or cite for this but I believe it.

https://thehill.com/business/5140951-missouri-attorney-general-sues-starbucks-anti-discrimination-laws/

MO's AG is suing Starbucks for having too many female and/or non-white employees are arguing this causes MO customers to wait longer and pay higher prices.

https://bsky.app/profile/ronfilipkowski.bsky.social/post/3li5q2gmsts2b

Trump's view that the U.S. Government can and should act as a mafia protection racket continues.

Adams also appeared on Fox and Friends with Hooman and announced "I'm collaborating."

Dropping the Adams case is going very poorly for the Trump admin: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/14/nyregion/eric-adams-charges-doj

It is like these people don't understand the concept of integrity at all and think everything is transactional.

Former Roberts Clerk Hagan Scotten sent Bove a scathing resignation letter.

https://bsky.app/profile/nycsouthpaw.bsky.social/post/3li5k6sh2l22v

Chevron is playing to lay off up to 20 percent of its staff. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/business/energy-environment/chevron-layoffs-oil.html

https://maxread.substack.com/p/the-zizians-and-the-rationalist-death/comments

Today's non Trump Story. There is apparently a radical offshoot of the so-called Rationalist movement called the Zizzians which is implicated in at least six murders around the United States. The most recent was on January 17 in Vermont. The leader of the group apparently skipped bail a while ago and faked her own death.

Max Read gives a deep dive into Rationalism and why it seems to produce a lot of cults and the whole thing sounds nuts to me. A philosophy that used Harry Potter fanfic to spread its views?

Trump's DOJ is having a very hard time trying to find someone to dismiss the Adams' case: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/defiance-in-new-york

Trump is having a hard time finding someone who will dismiss this case: Since I wrote this initial post things have moved fast. After Sassoon resigned they moved on to the head of the Public Integrity Section in DC. He refused/resigned. Then they went to the head of the Criminal Division. He refused/resigned. Bove himself may end up doing this. Worth noting that these are all “actings” — that’s generally someone you choose from the staff to run things while your nominees move through the confirmation process. So these would appear all to be people the Trump politicals chose or were at least comfortable with letting take over on an acting basis.

Today in Orbanification:

1. The acting U.S. Attorney for the S.D.N.Y resigned rather than drop the case against Eric Adams. She is a Federalist Society member in good standing and a former Scalia clerk so she is not exactly a raging liberal.

2. The Acting Deputy A.G. placed all the attorneys from S.D.N.Y. involved in the Adams case on administrative leave: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b0b3aaa32bd6fcd0508845e489c904650d13a06cbb56a39f5b1e9622ec2f0808.png

Wastefraudabuse demands that we must destroy the National Parks, some of the most popular things in the United States: https://www.sfgate.com/california-parks/article/yosemite-national-park-in-chaos-20163260.php

That's not the deal on the table. The deal on the table is

"Hey Ukraine, fold and give up, and also give us your Rare Earth Metals."

I'm not why sure people still feel the need to give Trump the benefit of the doubt at times.

REPORTER: Right, but every “peace talk” so far has been about what Ukraine has to give up—territory, NATO aspirations, sovereignty. So what exactly is Putin putting on the table?

HEGSETH: Well, I don’t think it’s fair to say we’re just handing Putin concessions.

REPORTER: Okay, so is he withdrawing troops? Paying reparations? Admitting war crimes? Or is his big “compromise” just taking less of Ukraine than he originally wanted?

HEGSETH: Look, negotiations require both sides to make sacrifices.

REPORTER: Yeah, but only one side started a full-scale invasion. If a guy steals your house and offers to return half of your living room, that’s not a “compromise”—that’s a hostage deal.

HEGSETH: I just think it’s time for diplomacy.

REPORTER: Diplomacy is great when both sides want peace. But when one side just wants a “pause” to reload, that’s not diplomacy—it’s a setup for the next invasion.

HEGSETH: So you’re saying no negotiations, just endless war?

REPORTER: No, I’m saying a peace deal where only one side makes sacrifices isn’t peace—it’s surrender with better branding.

Russell Vought's daughter has cystic fibrosis and is helped by a miracle drug wholly or partially developed from NIH research and grants. He wants to cut it to the bone. These people have no moral standing, only rank hypocrisy and power grabbing fantasies of total control and domination.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/project-2025-vought-medical-funding/