Musk on USAID: ‘Time for it to die’

[Belk]

Ooo, let’s to “coffee-stations” next, I betcha they spend oodles on coffee!

Not with tax dollars they don't. I can't even buy bottled water for my guys.

 

[Vambram]

we're not talking about recreational reading or general news reading (like you or I would do), but specific news reporting needed to do their jobs.

But do workers in the SEC or other federal financial institutions need to read the Politico or other opinion pieces in order to do their jobs effectively?

 

[Belk]

Let the employees pay for that access if that is what they want. They are making far more than enough money to afford to do so themselves.

No, this is a professional paid service dealing specifically with items of knowledge needed by government workers not a general news subscription. It is much closer to Gartner or Lexus-Nexus then just news. It is a legitimate tax expenditure.

 

[Vambram]

It is a legitimate tax expenditure.

Respectfully, I strongly disagree.

 

[Belk]

Respectfully, I strongly disagree.

This I do not find surprising.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Well, at least Trump will have to switch FOX news off.

lol, that’s a good point. I haven’t heard anybody crowing about the cable tv subscriptions at the white house.

Respectfully, I strongly disagree.

How can you disagree when you don’t even know what it is they’re buying?

 

[Vambram]

lol, that’s a good point. I haven’t heard anybody crowing about the cable tv subscriptions at the white house.


How can you disagree when you don’t even know what it is they’re buying?

Is it true that they were buying "pro" subscriptions to the Politico and/or other political opinion media? If the answer is Yes. Then I strongly disagree with the federal government buying subscriptions like that.

 

[Bradskii]

Is it true that they were buying "pro" subscriptions to the Politico and/or other political opinion media? If the answer is Yes. Then I strongly disagree with the federal government buying subscriptions like that.

So you need to investigate as to what the situation actually is before you can agree or disagree. Commendable.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Is it true that they were buying "pro" subscriptions to the Politico and/or other political opinion media? If the answer is Yes. Then I strongly disagree with the federal government buying subscriptions like that.

Not "political opinion media", News. The US AID subscriptions seem to before E&E (Energy and Environment), a specialty publication with in the Politico "family". (That said, an agency head or comm shop likely needs access to various firewalled opinion pieces to run their agency's interface with the general public.)

 

[Vambram]

So you need to investigate as to what the situation actually is before you can agree or disagree. Commendable.

I was actually asking a rhetorical question. I am certain that the Federal government & USAID has been buying "pro" subscriptions to the Politico.

 

[Bradskii]

I was actually asking a rhetorical question. I am certain that the Federal government & USAID has been buying "pro" subscriptions to the Politico.

Then considering the number of posts explaining the situation, I guess the only option might be to state an opinion to 'strongly disagree'.

 

[Vambram]

Alleged USAID whistleblower claims bureaucrats ‘got away with far too much’ as DOGE cracks down on agency | Fox News Video

Alleged USAID whistleblower Dr. Mark Moyar reveals what he saw inside the agency and what he has experienced since speaking out on ‘Hannity.’

www.foxnews.com

Dr. Mark Moyar, Chair of Military History at Hillsdale College and author of Masters of Corruption, breaks down the problems with USAID and explores alternative options for humanitarian aid.

 

[wing2000]

IG #18 has been fired.

The White House fired the independent inspector general for the U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday evening, a day after his office issued a blistering report assessing the impact of the Trump administration’s efforts to significantly curtail the agency’s mission.

“Look what happens when you write a report critical of this administration: They fire you the next day,” said Michael Missal, former inspector general at the Department of Veterans Affairs, who was among those fired by Trump last month. “This chills independent oversight, and that’s exactly what we need right now.”

The termination of Martin follows his office’s publication of a widely read report warning that more than $489 million in food assistance was at risk of spoilage or potential diversion after the Trump administration implemented its aid freeze and stop-work order.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/11/trump-fires-usaid-inspector-general/

 

[Vambram]

Liberal Analyst Says Democrats Are Committing 'Political Suicide' by Defending USAID Spending | The Gateway Pundit | by Mike LaChance

A prominent liberal analyst warns that Democrats risk political peril by staunchly defending USAID spending, highlighting a growing disconnect with voter sentiment on bureaucracy and foreign aid. Insights that challenge party strategy await.

www.thegatewaypundit.com

Democrats have reacted to cuts at USAID as if Elon Musk and DOGE are cutting off heat and food for elderly Americans. Nothing could be further from the truth. Musk and DOGE are targeting spending that is shocking to most Americans. Spending that most people did not even know existed and which is disgusting in the face of what has happened in places like western North Carolina, and other American locations in dire need.
The reaction from Democrats has been so over the top that even some people on the left believe they are taking a massive political risk. One of those people is Ruy Teixeira, a progressive analyst who is aligned with people like John Podesta and the Progressive Policy Institute.

He is a man of the left and he is sounding the alarm for Dems.

Teixeira recently wrote at the Free Press:

Defending USAID Is Political Suicide for Democrats

Once again, the party shows it has learned nothing from November 5.

www.thefp.com

 

[essentialsaltes]

Democrats have reacted to cuts at USAID as if Elon Musk and DOGE are cutting off heat and food for elderly Americans.

So you assert.

 

[Pommer]

“Look what happens when you write a report critical of this administration: They fire you the next day,” said Michael Missal, former inspector general at the Department of Veterans Affairs, who was among those fired by Trump last month. “This chills independent oversight, and that’s exactly what we need right now.”

Yes, that’s how it is now, isn’t it delightful?

 

[Vambram]

So you assert.

Have you watched the video reactions from the Democratic Party politicians? To me, it is obvious that they are really over reacting big time.

 

[Pommer]

Democrats have reacted to cuts at USAID as if Elon Musk and DOGE are cutting off heat and food for elderly Americans. Nothing could be further from the truth. Musk and DOGE are targeting spending that is shocking to most Americans. Spending that most people did not even know existed and which is disgusting in the face of what has happened in places like western North Carolina, and other American locations in dire need.

The “Operation Warp(ed) Speed II”, shall we (mis)name it?, they (Musk and his musketeers) started trying to shut things down, (until the courts were like, “whaaaaat!?”), But this wasn’t “let’s check for fraud and abuse”…and then do something about it (like normal, rational people, unified people), but rather go in, (full-attack mode activated),on things that you’re pretty sure your supporters are going to be “okay” with.

If you can do it to one agency you can do that to them all.
They just have to find an agency that isn’t firmly rooted in law.

 

[Yttrium]

If you can do it to one agency you can do that to them all.
They just have to find an agency that isn’t firmly rooted in law.

Or remove the ability of the law to get in the way.

 

[Pommer]

Or remove the ability of the law to get in the way.

The law is the boundary of what is allowable.