Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Today in Politics, Bulletin 88. 3/10/25 THANK YOU SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ)!

 

Today in Politics, Bulletin 88. 3/10/25

… It was a bloodbath for Tesla shareholders today as the stock fell off a cliff, which followed a long string of losses in the last several weeks. The stock took a beating, losing an astounding 15.43% of it’s value after a worldwide boycott has taken hold because of people’s hatred of Musk. Tesla shares fell 40.52 to close at 222.15

… The Dow was also down another 890 points today. It is now down 2,514.59 over the last month, as people watch their 401Ks go in the tank.

… Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA): “Trump policies are going to rebuild the middle class. Some short-term Wall Street pain is worth the long-term gain. America will be stronger.”

… After Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) posted a lengthy thread after his trip to Ukraine this week. Musk posted this deranged reply to it: “You are a traitor.”

… What did Kelly post that caused Musk to make such a serious accusation against an Iraq War fighter pilot, astronaut, and Senator? “Just left Ukraine. What I saw proved to me we can’t give up on the Ukrainian people. Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraine’s security and can’t be a giveaway to Putin. Let me tell you about my trip and why it’s important we stand with Ukraine.”

… “Hospitals should never be targets in war, but Putin is a war criminal who targets hospitals routinely. I visited one in Kyiv. Injured soldiers told me how they want to get back to the fight. Nurses there shared their stories of the invasion with me through tears. Stories of violence that women and children of Ukraine suffered during the invasion. These nurses told me how they witnessed Russian soldiers raping children in front of their parents and then murdering these children in front of their parents. Horrendous war crimes which can never be forgiven. Trump says he trusts Putin and is trying to make him look like a friend and a good guy. I look forward to seeing Putin rot in prison.”

… I met with Ukrainian pilots, one who I had met in AZ when he was learning to fly the F-16. They are flying challenging combat missions against the Russians who are protected by a considerable electronic warfare and surface to air missile system defense. They’ve learned a lot and they are getting better and having more success. When Trump cut off these pilots from US intelligence that they need to plan their missions, he blinded them to the threat and put them and their aircraft at risk. But worse than that, it helps the Russians advance further into Ukrainian territory and murder more Ukrainians. Trump says the Russians are ‘hitting them hard’ in a tone of voice that implies approval. It is sickening to see from an American President. ‘Hitting them hard’ means more dead Ukrainian kids.”

… If we abandon our ally Ukraine, we will be viewed by other countries including our other allies as untrustworthy and in the future we shouldn’t expect their help. As significant as that is, what is a bigger deal is the reaction we would see from China. The Chinese watch everything and they want to take Taiwan. If they view our partnerships and our loyalty to our allies as weak they are more likely to try to take Taiwan by force. If that happens, this President or any future President will have to make one of the most consequential decisions in the history of our country. My goal is to avoid that decision. We avoid that by strengthening our alliances, not weakening them.”

… “The world will become a very cold and lonely place if we continue this ridiculous ‘screw you, go it alone’ foreign policy. It’s dumb and it won’t age well and puts you and your kids and your grandkids at risk. America is the strongest, richest country in the world. We didn’t get there by being bullies like Putin, we got there by leading from the front and bringing our allies. That’s why I’ll continue to share with everyone who will listen why we must keep supporting Ukraine.”

… Kelly later responded to Elon calling him a traitor: “Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do.”

… People never talk about Mark Kelly as a presidential candidate. I think they should. He would be a fantastic matchup for Democrats against JD Vance - I think he would beat him in Arizona and Georgia, and not many Dems whose names are being tossed around for the nomination could do that.

… Russian state media is complaining about a video posted by “Ukrainian TikTok Witches who were “putting death curses on JD Vance.” There was a 0.0% chance that I wasn’t going to watch the video after that description.

… The video showed several Ukrainian women who were putting pins in a photo of Vance. The photo was placed in a shallow grave in front of a wooden cross, and it was then buried by the women. It’s not like he didn’t ask for it.

… Polish PM Donald Tusk responded to Musk insulting his Foreign Minister and combat veteran Radek Sikorski, calling him a ‘small man’: “True leadership means respect for partners and allies. Even for the smaller and weaker ones. Never arrogance. Dear friends, think about it.”

… Musk’s X social media platform was down for a few hours today. When it finally came back, Musk posted: “There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against 𝕏. We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved. Tracing …”

… Former Trump NSA and General Michael Flynn said Deep State operatives in the CIA hacked X: “Check to see if the CIA was acting behind the scenes first before going off on China or Russia please. There is a silent war still on going inside of the US to undermine the admin of Donald Trump.”

… Right-wing influencer Mike Cernovich: “These terrorist attacks against Elon Musk’s companies are a direct act of war on America.”

… Musk pal Tom Renz says it was George Soros: “We are digging. Dark Storm Team is reported to be tied to Russia but the group seems to have a lot in common with Soros and some of the leftist anti-American groups that hate Trump and the work of Elon Musk and DOGE.”

… Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO): “They tried to bankrupt and jail Trump. They’re now coming after Elon Musk, Tesla and X. It won’t stop with there. These are the tactics of communists. They’d rather burn it all down than lose power. Now’s the time to take a stand. The stakes couldn’t be any higher.”

… Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN): “He can’t even keep his hellscape of a social platform online … yet Republicans trust him with the keys to all of our data?”

… Vanity Fair reported that protests have been raging across the country outside Tesla showrooms, dealerships, and charging stations. Musk posted that he thinks Soros is behind it: “An investigation has found 5 ActBlue-funded groups responsible for Tesla protests: Troublemakers, Disruption Project, Rise & Resist, Indivisible Project and Democratic Socialists of America. ActBlue funders include George Soros, Reid Hoffman, Herbert Sandler, Patricia Bauman, and Leah Hunt-Hendrix.

… Forbes: “There is no evidence linking Soros or Hoffman to the Tesla protests. ActBlue does not fund groups, but instead is a platform through which donors can give money to campaigns or organizations.”

At the end of today’s Bulletin, I explain in some detail the process I use to research and put this together each day. I also explain the sources of info that are most useful to me as well as those who aren’t all that important. Also, if you missed the weekend bulletin yesterday, you can read it here.

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… CNN reported that, in addition to Trump’s tariffs and other factors impacting the economy, another factor that hasn’t been widely reported in his deportations. US companies in agriculture, construction and health care are losing employees to deportations and are struggling to find people to fill them.

… Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC: “Uncertainty about the outlook for tariffs could lead businesses to slow their hiring. And restrictions on immigration could limit the supply of labor available, weighing on employment gains over the next few years.”

… Mike Pence’s Chief of Staff Marc Short: “The President’s tariff agenda is a huge wet blanket on the economy. After the stifling over regulation of the Biden years and runaway inflation, markets wanted to believe Trump 2.0 would be like Trump 1.0, but the President is setting the table for a significant protectionist trade agenda.”

… Financial Times reports that Trump’s policies are going to cost the US defense industry billions: “Almost two-thirds of the arms imported by European members of NATO over the past 5 years were produced by the US. Arms imports by the European nations more than doubled between 2020-2024 compared with the previous 5 years. The US supplied 64% of these arms.” But the report says they will now be looking to spend that money elsewhere.

… Trump says people need to be patient with his failures for now, because everything will be amazing in the long run: “We're going to become so rich, you're not gonna know where to spend all that money. I'm telling you—just watch!”

… That is exactly what he said in his infomercial for Trump UniversityBefore it went out of business, he kept all the students’ money, and nobody got a degree or transferable credits.

… Financial Times says Trump is Making Europe Great Again: “Trump will never win the Nobel Peace prize. But he should be a strong contender for the Charlemagne prize - which is awarded each year to the person who has made the greatest contribution to European unity. The US president has courted Russia, undermined faith in the NATO alliance, threatened the EU with tariffs and boosted the far right in Europe. All this has had a galvanizing effect on the EU. Fundamental steps towards greater European unity - stalled for decades - are now underway.”

… “A poll last week showed that 78% of British people regard Trump as a threat to the UK. 74% cent of Germans, and 69% of the French agree.”

… “It is also a moment of opportunity. Europe can now plausibly offer a more stable business environment than Trump’s America — which may already be reflected in the relative performance of stock markets in the US and Europe. As the Trump administration increases its assault on US universities, there is also a chance to attract leading researchers to Europe.”

… The Economic Times reported that the US has never been less popular around the world: “Canadians have taken to booing the American national anthem and Panamanians to burning US flags. The British tabloids have tarred and feathered Vance for insulting British troops. A carnival float in Germany, displayed giant puppets of Trump and Putin shaking hands while squeezing Zelensky between them into a bloodied pulp. A sign on the float read Hitler-Stalin Pact 2.0.’ Back at home, WaPo has published a guide on how to navigate hostility abroad (‘dress neutrally, not patriotically).”

… Mark Carney was elected by a landslide to take over as PM and leader of the Liberal Party from Justin Trudeau in Canada. He went right after Trump in his victory speech: "Americans should make no mistake. In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win. We can't let Trump succeed.” He then said he will keep tariffs on place “until the Americans show us respect.”

… Carney concluded his speech with this: "I know these are dark days. Dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust. We're getting over the shock, but let us never forget the lessons: we have to look after ourselves and we have to look out for each other. We need to pull together in the tough days ahead."

… Marge Greene is calling for Rep. Jasmine Crockett to be stripped of her committee assignments after she posted on Facebook a video of stick figures labeled as Crockett and AOC hitting a Republican stick figure: “When Pelosi was Speaker, she kicked Paul Gosar off a committee for posting an anime cartoon that showed violence against AOC. Will the same standard apply now?”

… Gosar posted a video that showed himself, his actual face, plunging a large knife into the back of AOC and killing her. Her actual face. A little bit different than this:

… After selling out Ukraine, Trump promised to protect Greenland if they join the US: “As I made clear during my Joint Address to Congress, the US strongly supports the people of Greenland’s right to determine their own future. We will continue to KEEP YOU SAFE, as we have since WWII. We are ready to INVEST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to create new jobs and MAKE YOU RICH — And, if you so choose, we welcome you to be a part of the Greatest Nation anywhere in the World, the United States of America!”

… Members of Putin's United Russia Party gave gifts to mothers of dead soldiers for International Women's Day that included flowers and meat grinders. United Russia officials in Northern Murmansk took pictures with the women smiling and holding the meat grinders still in their boxes. The Russian strategy of attrition in Ukraine has often been called a "meat grinder" since their battle strategy is to throw as many troops as possible at Ukrainian forces with massive casualties. Not sure if they see the irony.

… CNN reported that State Department spokesman Darren Beattie deleted several tweets that ripped his new boss Marco Rubio. One tweet said Rubio had a “low IQ” and suggested that he once attended a “foam” party at a gay nightclub. The deleted tweet: “Forget Wainwright park, forget the foam, forget the war promotion and the neocon sugar daddies, forget the low IQ, forget the 2016 primary, Rubio is TOUGH ON CHINA (and good for military industrial complex) So be a good DOG and vote for him!!!”

… Beattie was fired from his job as a speechwriter during Trump’s first term after he attended a white nationalist event, but he got back in the fold after he was the first to launch the MAGA conspiracy that J6 was instigated by undercover FBI agents just weeks after the insurrection happened. His fabricated conspiracy was promoted by members of Congress, including Jim Jordan, Clay Higgins and Ron Johnson in Committee hearings with FBI Director Chris Wray.

… Rubio made this announcement about USAID: “After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID. In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs we are keeping (approximately 1000) to now be administered more effectively under the State Department. Thank you to DOGE and our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform.”

… Alex Isenstadt has a new book coming out called, Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power. Daily Mail highlighted the book’s section on Trump’s feud with Ron Desantis: “Trump didn't just want to stop DeSantis from winning the Republican nomination, he wanted to destroy him and make it impossible for him to run for anything ever again. The ex-president was incensed that DeSantis wouldn't wait his turn - and run in 2028 instead.”

… They launched a strategy to portray Desantis as a weirdo: “The group exchanged alleged tales portraying the governor in an unflattering light - like the time DeSantis shoved chicken fingers in his jacket pocket, the time he clipped his toenails in the back of a security vehicle, and the time he had a bathroom mishap aboard an airplane. There was the story of how DeSantis supposedly drove a golf cart behind his wife Casey, as she ran around the neighborhood so she would lose weight. Or how, when he was a congressman, he allegedly stockpiled dirty underwear in his gym locker.”

… Trump is still not over Desantis having the audacity to run against him: “Trump told aides that he would have endorsed DeSantis as his successor if the governor had waited another four years to run for president. But DeSantis had burned the relationship down and destroyed his political career.”

… Sen. Rand Paul says he will not vote for Mike Johnson’s CR: “Despite DOGE ’s findings of loony left-wing USAID programs, the Republican spending bill continues to fund the very foreign aid Musk proposes to cut! The bill continues spending at the inflated pandemic levels and will add $2T to the debt this year. Count me as a hell no!”

… Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is out too: “If it passes this week, the CR obligates Trump (from now until September) to spend the same amounts of money on generally the same things Biden spent money on in his last 15 months in office. We could pass recisions later to undo some things, but there’s no commitment to do so.”

… Mike Johnson told Fox he’s considering additional discipline for Rep. Al Green after he disrupted Trump’s speech. He said he didn’t appreciate Green making a joke out of his censure, and he might be removed from his committees now: “Every Member has the right to bring a privileged resolution, which is effectively an end-run around the Speaker. It’s not always my decision about these things.”

… They can’t pass a budget, but they sure do have lots of time for nonsense.

As promised, I am going to give a brief overview of how I put this together, which is a 14-hour process each day.

From 6-7:30 AM I am focused on what I missed while sleeping. I review replies and comments from my social media posts and these Bulletins. Then I run through social media to find things that happened overnight. This is a very fast process where I just screenshot things that look interesting that I want to come back to later.

From 7:30-9:00, I jump on several news aggregator sites that link to hundreds of stories from mainstream media around the world. It is at this point that I start dumping things into my draft article bucket. I’m grabbing pieces of articles - quotes, paragraphs, etc, and pasting them into the draft area.

From 9:00-11:00 I am monitoring shows, events, hearings and podcasts since that is when lots of things are happening live in politics. People who clip TV and events are very valuable, as are indy journalists and activists out in the field covering things as they are happening. Again, I am grabbing things and dumping them into my draft bucket.

From 11-1:00 I jump back on social media because that is when a lot of new articles are being posted there by reporters. The key to this column to me is more the research than the writing. I follow such a wide range of news sources and reporters from mainstream to indy, foreign and domestic, across the ideological spectrum. I also follow hundreds of people who are experts in one particular field. Finally, I follow every member of Congress from both parties and political leaders from around the world. This process involves a lot more screenshotting.

1:00-3:00 is when I then go back through everything that I have screenshotted that day - opening up articles and reading, grabbing pieces of them and quotes, and dumping them into the draft bucket, which at this point is getting pretty out of control with tons and tons of stuff from all over the place. This stage is really a grind.

3:00-7:00 is the hardest part. I am going back through everything I have in the bucket and polishing and shaping things into paragraphs. Lots of cutting and shaping here - there is so much fluff and filler in news articles. As I go through this process, I am also rearranging things to put them together so everything fits and makes sense since some things relate to others. I cite the sources for you to easily Google if you want to see the whole thing, but I don’t want 100 links cluttering it up. The aesthetic matters to me and I want this looking as clean as possible.

7:00-8:00 - I’m trying really hard to get this out every day between this hour. This is when I am going back to proofread, but I’m also under a time crunch most days here and really trying to get it done. I also take one final quick search through the news for any late-breaking major story. This is when Brett and Acyn are my enemies, because I’m pretty much ready to go unless they find something to add to delay me. This is also the time when I add my own brief comments about several items as well as photos.

8:00-8:30 - Immediately after it goes out, I run back through and do my 3rd and final proofread, which I do on my phone. It is arranged a little different on a phone and just seeing it in a different format helps me find 3-4 more typos and it should be good. But, if you are one of the roughly 45,000 people who reads this right away, you may be in the group that sees these last few typos before I get to them.

This Bulletin has gained an average of 50,000 new readers a month since I started it in late September. It now routinely goes over 300,000 reads for each one now and continue to grow.

People I follow who are most useful to meElected officials, reporters covering Congress and the WH, reporters who are out in the field at events, investigative reporters, and people who are experts in their field. I want raw material and facts only.

People I follow who are least useful to meTV hosts, political commentators, political consultants, social media influencers. It is extremely rare for any of these people to provide me information that I don’t already know. Just not as useful to me as the other group. If I follow them, it is for entertainment purposes only or just curiosity.

I am glad so many people find the finished product useful. I probably read, watch and digest more political news on a daily basis than any person on earth, and my goal when I started this was to show people the key parts of thousands of things I see every day so they can be as informed as any citizen could be about what is happening out there.

… Ken Casey, the lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys, stopped his concert when he saw a man wearing a MAGA shirt in the front row of his concert. He challenged the man to bet and said if he won he would give him a shirt and $1,000. Casey noted that all Murphys’ concert tees were made in the USA, and bet the man that the Trump shirt he was wearing probably wasn’t. Event staffer checked his tag - and it was Made in Nicaragua.

… That was the safest bet on the planet to make for Casey that night.


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