Sunday, February 2, 2025

Weekend Edition | 'It's a Coup': Musk Muscles in on Treasury, USAID

 

Sunday, February 2, 2025

■ Today's Top News 


'Chaos and Fear' at CDC Amid Order to Retract Journal Articles to Purge 'Forbidden Terms'

"How can the government decide what words a journal can use to describe a scientific reality? That reality needs to be named," one journal editor said.

By Olivia Rosane



2 USAID Security Officials Put on Leave After Refusing DOGE Access to Classified Docs

The incident came the day after a similar struggle in the Treasury Department, in which a top official resigned after refusing to grant DOGE access to a vital payment system.

By Olivia Rosane



'It's a Coup': Musk's DOGE Granted Access to Treasury System That Pays Out Social Security

"I can think of no good reason why political operators who have demonstrated a blatant disregard for the law would need access to these sensitive, mission-critical systems," Sen. Ron Wyden said.

By Olivia Rosane



Trump Follows Through With High Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China

"It's 'tariff-ying' and nauseating to watch President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress celebrate as they impose tariffs that will raise costs for the rest of us," one advocate said.

By Olivia Rosane



In 'Enormous Loss for the American People,' Trump Fires CFPB Head Rohit Chopra

"For all the claims Trump and the GOP have made about being the voice of working-class voters, firing Chopra... only satisfies unscrupulous corporations and unelected billionaires like Elon Musk," one advocate said.

By Olivia Rosane

U.S. President Donald Trump moved Saturday morning to fire Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra, who had earned the praise of consumer advocates and the ire of Wall Street for his efforts to return more than $6 billion to ordinary Americans.

Chopra announced his firing on social media, also sharing a letter to the president in which he touted the work of the CFPB and outlined possible priorities for his successor.

"Every day, Americans from across the country shared their ideas and experiences with us," Chopra wrote to his followers. "You helped us hold powerful companies and their executives accountable for breaking the law, and you made our work better. Thank you."

In his letter, Chopra mounted a full-throated defense of the CFPB, which has often been attacked by Republicans and pro-Trump figures, including billionaire Elon Musk. He wrote that the 2008 financial crisis "made Americans question whether regulators and law enforcement would hold companies and their executives accountable for their mismanagement or wrongdoing," especially since many of the companies responsible for the crash only got larger and more powerful following a taxpayer-funded bailout.

"That's what agencies like CFPB work to fix: to make sure that the laws of our land aren't just words on a page," he wrote, adding that "with so much power concentrated in the hands of a few, agencies like the CFPB have never been more critical."

Chopra, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden to head the CFPB in 2021, said that he was "proud the CFPB had done so much to restore the rule of law" during his tenure.

"Since 2021, we have returned billions of dollars from repeat offenders and other bad actors, implemented dormant legal authorities and long-overdue rules required by law, and given more freedom and bargaining leverage to families navigating a complex and confusing financial system," he wrote.

"If civil society does its job, every person unnecessarily taken advantage of by a financial institution will attribute the blame to the right person—Donald Trump."

Chopra also touted the CFPB's regulation of junk fees, inaccurate medical bills, and digital surveillance by Big Tech. Under Chopra, the CFPB sued major financial institutions such as Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase and finalized a rule to strike around $49 billion worth of medical debt from credit reports, according to CNN.

With Chopra in charge, the bureau "has fought against junk fees, repeat offenders, big tech evasions, and corporate deception. It has championed competition, transparency, accountability, and consumer financial health," Adam Rust, director of financial services for the Consumer Federation of America, said in a statement reported by NPR.

Despite the fact that Chopra was originally appointed by Trump in 2018 to serve on the Federal Trade Commission, Chopra's firing was expected as soon as Trump took office, with both major banks and tech companies urging the new president to oust him.

While anticipated, the move was criticized by progressive advocates and lawmakers.

"For all the claims Trump and the GOP have made about being the voice of working-class voters, firing Chopra and attacking the CFPB only satisfies unscrupulous corporations and unelected billionaires like Elon Musk," Revolving Door Project founder and executive director Jeff Hauser said in a statement. "If civil society does its job, every person unnecessarily taken advantage of by a financial institution will attribute the blame to the right person—Donald Trump."

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) called his firing "an enormous loss for the American people."

"My friend Rohit Chopra has done an incredible job leading the CFPB—standing up to big corporations, protecting consumer data, and saving money for poor and working families," Jayapal said on social media.

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote on social media: "Under Rohit Chopra's tenure, the CFPB continued to serve as a shining example of government working on behalf of the people. Chopra took on corporate greed, unnecessary junk fees, predatory lending, and other financial shenanigans. It's telling that Trump just fired him."

According to The New York Times, the CFPB under Trump is expected by financial industry officials to roll back some of Chopra's regulations and to issue fewer new rules and weaken enforcement.

However, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pointed out that this would run counter to Trump's own campaign rhetoric.

"President Trump campaigned on capping credit card interest rates at 10% and lowering costs for Americans. He needs a strong CFPB and a strong CFPB director to do that," she said in a statement. "But if President Trump and Republicans decide to cower to Wall Street billionaires and destroy the agency, they will have a fight on their hands."

Chopra himself, in his farewell letter to Trump, suggested steps the CFPB could take under new leadership. These included:

  • Following up on proposals to stop countries like Russia and China from spying on Americans using commercial data;
  • Following up on proposals to stop large tech and financial platforms from censoring users based on religious beliefs or opinions; and
  • Acting on evidence uncovered during earlier investigations of Big Tech and Wall Street.

"We have also analyzed your promising proposal on capping credit card interest rates, and we see a path for enacting meaningful reform," he wrote to Trump. "I hope that the CFPB will continue to be a pillar of restoring and advancing economic liberty in America."



Trump DOJ Fires Jan. 6 Prosecutors, Top FBI Agents While Threatening Larger Purge

"Trump's outrageous attack on the DOJ and FBI is a clear and present danger to public safety, and a wrecking ball swinging at the rule of law," Rep. Jamie Raskin said.

By Olivia Rosane


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■ More News


'DOGE-Affiliated Goons' Accused of Locking Career Civil Servants Out of Key Databases


Another Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump's Funding Freeze


FCC Probe Into NPR, PBS Denounced as 'Attack on the Freedom of the Press'


'Pretty Sh*tty': Doctor Says LA Times Disingenuously Spun His RFK Jr. Op-Ed

A public health expert on Friday accused the Los Angeles Times—whose billionaire owner recently sparked controversy for restricting editorials critical of Republican U.S. President Donald Trump—of distorting a highly critical opinion piece he authored in order to paint Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a positive light.

Dr. Eric Reinhart, a political anthropologist and psychoanalytic clinician, said his piece, which the Times published on Wednesday, was originally titled, "RFK Jr.'s Wrecking Ball Won't Fix Public Health." However, Times editors ran the article under the title, "Trump's Healthcare Disruption Could Pay Off—If He Pushes Real Reform."

"My first time working with the Los Angeles Times, and I expect also my last," Reinhart said on social media Friday. "A vote for RFK Jr. is a vote for nothing but chaos, the opposite of the essential public-systems building I argue for in the op-ed, and mass death."

"Editors edit and control final copy and [headline], I get that," Reinhart added. "But editing out a very central and timely point in the minutes before sending to press while then also assigning a title and image that suggest an argument entirely opposite to the author's clear intent is bad."

As The New Republic's Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling reported Friday:

The original and final versions of Reinhart's article differ drastically in message. The first paragraph of the published opinion piece takes an optimistic tone about Kennedy's role in the Trump administration, suggesting that the virulent conspiracy theorist could be an answer and solution to the American public's bubbling resentment toward the healthcare industry.

Writing Friday on the social media platform Bluesky, Reinhart—who called the Times editors' actions "pretty shitty"—said his draft does "not leave my stance on RFK Jr. remotely ambiguous."

"He's dangerously ignorant, egomaniacal, and effectively a mass murderer in waiting," the doctor added. "He has no business being anywhere near HHS."

Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, who has owned the Times since 2018, prompted a wave of staff resignations and reader subscription cancellations following his issuance last month of an internal memo asking the members of the newspaper's board and opinion writers to "take a break from writing about Trump."

This, after Soon-Shiong blocked its editorial board from endorsing former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president, a decision he claimed was based partly on a desire for more balance in the Times opinion section and partly on Harris' complicity in the U.S.-backed Israeli annihilation of Gaza.

Earlier this week, Soon-Shiong wrote on social media: "I had not met Bobby Kennedy until a few months ago. The more I got to know him I truly believe he has the American public's best interests at heart. I have worried about toxins and the cause of cancer my entire career. As a physician-scientist I really hope he is confirmed" as health and human services secretary.

In a statement published Friday by PoliticoTimes vice president of communications Hillary Manning said that "our editors in opinion work with op-ed contributors to edit pieces for length, clarity, and accuracy, among other things," and that "no op-ed pieces are published, as edited, without the permission of the author. That includes the op-ed written by Eric Reinhart."

Reinhart retorted by saying, "What makes it concerning to me is the background of the owner's politics and known record of interference and editorial processes of the newspaper."

He added, "The depressing public health issue that was unfolding just as the op-ed was published... is, 'Are we or are we not going to confirm RFK Jr. for this incredibly important position for which he is massively and dangerously underqualified?'"


■ Opinion


Democrats Are Delusional: Trump Will Try to Stay in Power

I laugh at the thought of him making way for Vice President JD Vance, whom he clearly despises—and often humiliates—let alone a Democrat. No, he won’t make way for anyone.

By Christopher Impiglia


To Stop Billionaires’ Wealth and Power From Metastasizing, Close This Tax Loophole

A gaping U.S. tax loophole I like to refer to as “buy-hold for decades-sell” allows the investment gains of the ultra-rich to compound for decades without facing taxation.

By Bob Lord


Dictator Donald Thinks He’s Invincible; He’s Not

Unless he changes course, he will be brought down by corruption throughout his ranks, plunging polls, resistance by many states, and a Congressional GOP realizing that it is their political skin or Trump’s.

By Ralph Nader


Pig War II

 


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Pig War II

My friends, this is vile.

In fact, it is evil.

They are the words of a Putin or Xi.

They are the words of international gangsterism and thuggery.

These are the words of a Hitler.

They are the words of the president of the United States, and they are a repugnant.

These are the words of expansionism and tyranny.

These are the words of derangement. The screams of delight from his menacing mob do not change the core of the issue firmly in front of us at the edge of national dishonor and terrible sins.

Donald Trump is playing a dangerous and immoral game.

King Donald has either offered us all incontrovertible evidence of mental illness, marked by violent delusions, or made a real threat to destroy the peace between two great nations on a shared continent that coexist across the longest undefended border in world history.

What do you think it is?

What Donald Trump is doing is attempting to take something that he has no right to take.

The American people did not elect Donald Trump to wage economic war against Canada and take military action against Denmark, Panama and Mexico.

Remember this when thinking about the Canadian nation.

It was the country in which an American slave could breathe free air.

Trump will debase our nation in a thousand different ways, and while all of his insanity should be opposed, there are some assaults that must be opposed by the American people with vigor and resolve.

Memory is a good thing. Remember this:

Before continuing, it is good to focus on what is happening and what we are losing.

Elon Musk has been elected to no office. He has been appointed to no office. He has been confirmed to no office. He holds no power in America, and yet he is accumulating the power of a king.

Are we to be his serfs?

When The Warning began I said it was my goal to help you observe and orient to the great events unfolding around us so that you could decide and act.

Teddy Roosevelt, awakened from the dead and briefed for 10 minutes, would know precisely what was happening because he understood the elemental harmony required to maintain what has always fallen.

Mostly, our politics has been stripped of any capacity to convey complex ideas.

This is tragic.

Teddy Roosevelt delivered an incredible address to the New York State Agricultural Association in Syracuse, New York, on September 7, 1903:

Many qualities are needed by a people which would preserve the power of self- government in fact as well as in name.

Among these qualities are forethought, shrewdness, self-restraint, the courage which refuses to abandon one's own rights, and the disinterested and kindly good sense which enables one to do justice to the rights of others.

Lack of strength and lack of courage and unfit men for self-government on the one hand; and on the other, brutal arrogance, envy- in short, any manifestation of the spirit of selfish disregard, whether of one's own duties or of the rights of others, are equally fatal.

In the history of mankind many republics have risen, have flourished for a less or greater time, and then have fallen because their citizens lost the power of governing themselves and thereby of governing their state; and in no way has this loss of power been so often and so clearly shown as in the tendency to turn the government into a government primarily for the benefit of one class instead of a government for the benefit of the people as a whole.

Again and again in the republics of ancient Greece, in those of medieval Italy and medieval Flanders, this tendency was shown, and wherever the tendency became a habit it invariably and inevitably proved fatal to the state. In the final result, it mattered not one whit whether the movement was in favor of one class or of another.

The outcome was equally fatal, whether the country fell into the hands of a wealthy oligarchy which exploited the poor or whether it fell under the domination of a turbulent mob which plundered the rich.

In both cases there resulted violent alternations between tyranny and disorder, and a final complete loss of liberty to all citizens--destruction in the end overtaking the class which had for the moment been victorious as well as that which had momentarily been defeated.

The death-knell of the Republic had rung as soon as the active power became lodged in the hands of those who sought, not to do justice to all citizens, rich and poor alike, but to stand for one special class and for its interests as opposed to the interests of others.

I have many Canadian friends who are asking questions with the deepest confusion, sadness and pain.

Why is this happening? Why is the United States threatening Canada?

It is happening because the American Republic is collapsing.

It is being destroyed from within, as Lincoln predicted in 1838:

At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.

This is a moment of burning, smashing and casual nihilism. Donald Trump, filled with rage, is dismantling the world that emerged from the ashes when freedom barely survived the war with slavery.

When it was over, far better and wiser people than Donald Trump imagined a new one into being that is being murdered in plain day.

This hour has long been dreaded and prophesied, but it has arrived.

Fascism has come to America and it is wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.

There is a better path.

While Trump attacks Canada, let the people of goodwill in these two essential nations not become divided from what unites us under the deliberate attempts to divide us both.

Heed the words of Harry Truman before the Canadian Parliament in 1947. This is what Trump wants to snuff out:

Free men everywhere know that the purpose of the United States is to restore the world to health and to reestablish conditions under which the common people of the earth can work out their salvation by their own efforts.

We seek a 'peaceful world, a prosperous world, a free world, a world of good neighbors, living on terms of equality and mutual respect, as Canada and the United States have lived for generations.

We intend to expend our energies and invest our substance in promoting world recovery by assisting those who are able and willing to make their maximum contribution to the same cause.

We intend to support those who are determined to govern themselves in their own way, and who honor the right of others to do likewise.

We intend to aid those who seek to live at peace with their neighbors, without coercing or being coerced, without intimidating or being intimidated.

We intend to uphold those who respect the dignity of the individual, who guarantee to him equal treatment under the law, and who allow him the widest possible liberty to work out his own destiny and achieve success to the limit of his capacity.

We intend to cooperate actively and loyally with all who honestly seek, as we do, to build a better world in which mankind can live in peace and prosperity.

We count Canada in the forefront of those who share these objectives and ideals.

With such friends we face the future unafraid.

This is what Donald Trump is burning down (from his Truth Social post today):

Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country. Harsh but true! Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State.

With regard to this specific calumny that seeks to eradicate Canada, let us prove they are the musings of an imbecile by refuting them with the words of a giant.

Here is what Dwight Eisenhower said about the contributions of the Canadian National to the rise of humanity in a fallen world in 1953:

As I stand before you, my thoughts go back to the days of global war.

In that conflict, and then through the more recent savage and grievous Korean battles, the Canadian people have been valorous champions of freedom for mankind.

Within the framework of NATO, in the construction of new patterns for international security, in the lengthy and often toilsome exploration of a regional alliance, they have been patient and wise devisers of a stout defense for the Western world.

Canada, rich in natural gifts, far richer in human character and genius, has earned the gratitude and the affectionate respect of all who cherish freedom and seek peace.

After a long and difficult slog north from Boston, General Benedict Arnold discovered much to his dismay that His Majesty’s loyal subjects had no interest whatsoever in joining the colonial uprising.

He retreated, and today, near a charming coffee shop in Quebec City, there is a marker that notes the failed American invasion of Canada.

During the first half of the 19th century the great European powers competed against each other for the riches and spoils of the North American continent.

The newly formed United States quickly became the dominant continental power, expanding westward and south, at the expense of Spain, France and Mexico.

The dominant ideology of the era was called “Manifest Destiny,” and it claimed a divinity that mandated the United States expand until she was a continental nation as much a Pacific as an Atlantic empire.

It was American expansion that fueled the inevitable civil war over an irreconcilable issue that had been postponed, but not resolved. Slavery would cause the greatest and most deadly war in American history.

By the mid-point of the 19th century, only the British remained entrenched in North America.

The border that runs along the 49th parallel was fixed in 1846 after years of American bluster that included the infamous campaign slogan of “54-40 or fight!” which would have annexed most every inch of present day British Columbia as part of the Oregon territory, and made Vancouver an American city.

Sometimes our modern era and its comforts, which include relatively easy access to every inch of North America obscure how new the discovery of every inch is.

The US Army was still mapping west Texas mountains in the second decade of the 20th century. At any rate, maps of the Pacific Northwest were sketchy to say the least in 1846. The last and best maps of the region were drawn by George Vancouver and they were incomplete.

The boundary line was disputed because in reality there were two possible straits through which it could be drawn.

The first is present day Rosario Strait that runs through the San Juan Islands.

The second is Haro Strait that separates the San Juan Islands from Vancouver Island. What this meant as a practical matter was that the last unsettled land dispute between the British and the United States was over idyllic and beautiful little San Juan Island.

The negotiations over the joint claims of sovereignty continued at a languid pace through the 1850s with neither side willing to budge off their claims.

By the end of the decade, the Hudson Bay Company had set up shop and there were upwards of 50 American farmers on the island.

One of them was named Lyman Cutlar, a beet farmer. While likely untrue, it is claimed that in the year 1859, Mr. Lyman Cutler, American, said the following to Mr. Charles Griffin, manager of the Hudson Bay Sheep Ranch, loyal subject of the King and nascent Canadian:

“It was eating my potatoes,” to which Mr. Griffin replied,” It is up to you to keep your potatoes out of my pig.”

Of course these positions are completely irreconcilable, and therefore it was war. The Pig War to be exact.

The two farmers could not agree on compensation for the pig, and so Royal Marines were sent to arrest the American farmer who was soon protected by scores of American soldiers. Both sides set up camp on opposite sides of the island and got ready for battle.

Within a short span of time the situation escalated completely out of control until there were hundreds of heavily armed American soldiers and Royal Marines spoiling to provoke the other into firing the first shot.

George Pickett, a Virginian who graduated last in his West Point class, and would lead his divisions into complete annihilation during “Pickett’s charge” at the battle of Gettysburg four years later, was the American commander.

Eventually word reached horrified officials in London and Washington that war was about to break out over a small island in the pacific northwest.

The situation was quickly de-escalated and the American and British forces decamped to opposite ends of the island where they quickly settled into a peaceful island lifestyle filled with sports, competition and all manner of socializing.

Yet, the sovereignty of the islands remained in dispute. Ultimately, both sides submitted the matter to international arbitration and both agreed that the wisest statesman of the time should hear the case.

Of course that was Kaiser Wilhelm, and in the end, he awarded the islands to the United States and set the boundary lines for what had become the longest, peaceful border in the history of humanity.

Each day American park rangers raise and lower the British Flag over their old camp with full honors. It is one of the few places on Earth where a foreign flag is raised and lowered by Americans like that. It is done to denote respect, affection and our shared story.

There were many consequences from the Pig War, including a growing unease with decision-making from far away London.

One of the results of the dissatisfaction was manifested on this day, July 1, 1867. Three colonies became the Dominion of Canada, and the world became a better one.

Every American should appreciate the giant country that spans the North American continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Rocky Mountains to the Arctic.

She is the world’s oldest bilingual, pluralistic, parliamentary democracy and a force for human dignity, rights and liberty around the world. Wherever the Canadian maple leaf flies, it is as a symbol of tolerance, freedom and equality.

Canadians and Americans have fought and died with each other from the killing fields of the First World War, Normandy Beach, the Pacific, Korea and Afghanistan. Our peoples have married and raised families together (including me) that have strengthened the bonds between our countries.

We share sports leagues and a vast economy that trades more than a trillion dollars a year across the most prosperous border in the world. The bonds between America and Canada are unbreakable.

More than 50,000 Canadians volunteered to serve in the US Armed Forces during the Vietnam War.

Canadians rescued scores of Americans during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1980, and sheltered thousands during the terrifying hours of 9/11.

Canadians are our friends, colleagues, partners and spouses.

They are our family, and we are theirs.

The Canadian nation is 41 million strong and growing. It is a land of great and modern cities filled with the energy of new immigrants.

It is a country of ephemeral beauty.

The birth of Canada is among the most momentous events in human history for it means a land where justice, peace and prosperity was born.

Let us understand that the Second Pig War is at hand.

Once again it has been started by a pig.

A pig named Trump.

This pig has done something most indecent.

He has raised his hand against Canada. Every American should reflect with the deepest shame about that before the inevitable consequences begin.

Perhaps the Canadian economy will crater, but so will that of America. If that is what is necessary to stop this madness from swallowing us all, then let it be.

I stand with Canada because I am an American patriot, who will not accept this shame without comment, protest or fighting back against it.

Join me.

I have a specific question for Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who seems to be the only elected official in North America who understands Trump, alongside JB Pritzker:

When will you call for the formation of a Canadian-American Friendship League?

Summon your friends.

Let us stand together against this awfulness.

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