Putin is actually in control of the Russian government and has aptly excised anyone who might dare to usurp him. He speaks in measured tones with veiled threats, and as you noted, has been fortunate enough to have political opponents fall out of windows, suffer mysterious poisonings, disappear, or commit ‘crimes’ causing them to languish in labor camps indefinitely.
Trump just thinks he’s smart enough to do all of these things (he’s not), and unfortunately is facilitated by people who are at least smart enough to the threat of his populism and a cowed Republican party to effectively control the government and excise anyone who might oppose them. (Remember Paul Ryan? Kevin McCarthy? Mark Sanford? Yeah, nobody else does, either.) None of his objectors has yet been defenestrated, or killed in a mysterious hit-and-run accident, or strung up on a light post pour encourager les autres despite Trump’s clear implied encouragement but frankly it is just a matter of time.
Putin is the actual head of the Russian dictatorship. Trump is just a figurehead who imagines he is, but for all of that he’s still way too close to having absolute control courtesy of those people who still keep insisting, “It can’t happen here! We have the Constitution and the Supreme Court!”
There will—barring mass catastrophe or a steamrolling of the government by a collection of Christian nationalists enabled by Project 2025 initiatives—be elections in 2028. Depending upon the state they may be purely for show with viable opponents removed by various quasi-legalistic means or just districts gerrymandered to ensure their loss. Whether the Congress will accept results and certify votes that are not favorable to the GOP is another question entirely.
This is, of course, assuming Elon and his pirate ship of poltroons don’t manage to so totally fuck up the administrative functions of government that the federal government ceases to have any real relevance whatsoever. When masses of employees, contractors, businesses, and financial institutions aren’t getting paid and the “full faith and credit” of the US financial and legal systems stop being the default assumption, who knows what the fuck follows.
In either case of temporarily reassign or place on administrative leave they still get paid.
It it rather hard to fire a Civil Service employee, this sort of crap is exactly why the Civil Service was set up.''And disobeying a court order is one of the things that could get you fired.
So, be annoyed and harassed by your boss, whereupon the Union or the Civil Service comm. or the Courts will step in with injunctions, fines, etc. Or go along and then actually possible lose your job.
The bullshit idea that trump can do anything and everything without fear of reprisals is exactly that- bullshit.
Already many of his Executive Orders have been struck down by the court.
If even 10 years ago someone had tried to pitch a movie with the premise “The richest man on the planet buys the United States of America from the world’s greatest conman, and with his cadre of teen gamers, is hell-bent on destroying it” they would most likely have been told that was too far-fetched. And here we are.
Don’t worry, this is your thread, you cannot hijack it.
And it only cost him $250 million, and he turned those into a profit in no time at all! Who is the greatest conman?
If even two years ago… turns away in despair muttering under his breath
This is my (maga) congressman’s official reply to the letter I wrote concerning Musk.
I’ve held back naming, but I’m sure they all have the same canned reply.
Take it how you will:
"Thank you for contacting my office regarding President Trump’s DOGE initiative. I appreciate hearing from you.
As you may have seen, there are numerous reports regarding Elon Musk and DOGE’s audits of federal agencies. Let me be clear, Elon Musk is not accessing or reviewing personal information. Currently, federal employees assigned to DOGE teams at each federal agency are conducting audits to identify waste and fraud. For example, according to the Secretary of the Treasury, a limited number of qualified Treasury employees have been granted read-only access to their systems. It is completely within the President’s and the Treasury Secretary’s prerogative to ask for a review of the very systems they are responsible for.
The non-partisan Government Accountability Office estimated that the government made $236 billion in improper payments — three-quarters of which were overpayments — across 71 federal programs during the 2023 fiscal year – we know this number is not comprehensive of the entire federal government. Given the hundreds of billions of dollars in improper payments, DOGE’s actions are essential to help identify and stop this misuse of taxpayer dollars.
Additionally, Elon Musk has held a top-secret security clearance since 2022, is a U.S. citizen, and is a federal employee. I understand your concern following some of the reports surrounding recent events, but rest assured that no personal data is at risk, and the agencies are following the law."
…
Across the federal government, civil servants have witnessed the sudden intrusion in the last two weeks of these young members of the billionaire’s team, labeled the Department of Government Efficiency. As Mr. Musk traipses through Washington, bent on disruption, these aides have emerged as his enforcers, sweeping into agency headquarters with black backpacks and ambitious marching orders.
…
In the past week, his aides have descended upon the Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Transportation and Veterans Affairs Departments, along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to people familiar with their activities.
…
Last week, young representatives of Mr. Musk’s team with backpacks stuffed with a half-dozen laptops and phones arrived at the headquarters of U.S.A.I.D., demanding access to financial and personnel records. On Friday, a dozen stayed into the night, powered by a bulk order of coffee. The next day, the agency’s website went dark.
…
One Musk acolyte has leaned into his new status as a Washington celebrity.
Gavin Kliger, a newly minted senior adviser at the personnel office, wrote a Substack post this week titled “Why DOGE: Why I gave up a seven-figure salary to save America” — and asked users to pay a $1,000-per-month subscription fee to read it.
The post behind the paywall appeared to have been left intentionally blank, according to users who saw it.
Below I link an article I found in The Atlantic which describes very well the dangers for the American society at large caused by the intrusion of Musk’s guys into the government IT system.
It is a bit like giving a child a loose canon. They might not be aware of what they don’t know and the consequences thereof. Trump probably has no clue about the complexity of this system and the consequences of allowing people with no security clearance to fidget around with a matter that reaches into the marrow of the bone of the US system. It is like toddlers playing with matches next to a gas tank.
There might be a time limit for access to the link by The Atlantic.
Mind-boggling.