Posts on Monday, February 3, 2025

Elon Musk’s aides have locked career government bureaucrats out of computer systems that operate a federal government human resources agency. Musk, the owner of social media platform X and the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency — which is tasked with slashing government waste, fraud, and abuse — installed allies at the government resources agency known as the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Reuters, citing government officials who spoke to the outlet anonymously, said career bureaucrats have had their access to governments systems revoked. “We have no visibility into what they are doing with the computer and data systems,” one official said.

Dozens of Democrat leaders are reportedly struggling to find a “coherent message” to fight President Donald Trump. The New York Times reported Sunday that, at private meetings and public events, Democrats “appear leaderless, rudderless, and divided.” Democrats have elected Ken Martin to be their next Democrat National Committee (DNC) chair, who will conduct a post-election review largely based on tactics and messaging. Now, the Times said after more than 50 interviews with Democrat leaders they cannot figure out what the party should stand for, what issues they should focus on, and how to confront Trump.

They’re cleaning house, and there’s nothing these DC bureaucrats can do about it. Even when they try to fight back, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has the full backing of the White House. If they want access to systems, they’ll get it. In short, whatever they want, they get, as USAID found out. A top staffer at that agency tried to counter a DOGE order—the White House placed the troublesome official on leave. This move came after the Trump White House and DOGE recently ordered dozens of security officials to be placed under a similar administrative designation.

An overwhelming number of New Yorkers support deporting illegal-migrant criminals, a new poll reveals. Nearly 80% of New Yorkers statewide told Siena College pollsters that they back kicking out undocumented migrants who have been convicted of a crime, with that figure including 69% of Democrats and 71% of Latinos, the survey released Monday says. The new numbers come as federal immigration officials have been conducting high-profile illegal-migrant arrests around the Empire State in the last week. (Photo) Siena also asked registered voters in the poll more specifically whether New York should support President Trump’s deportation initiatives, to which they were less enthusiastic.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said he believes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is a “criminal organization” that should “die.” “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” Musk posted to the social platform X, which he owns. Musk was responding to the news that senior officials at USAID physically attempted to block people from Musk’s new advisory board, the “Department of Government Efficiency,” from having access to secure systems, NBC News reported. The Trump administration is making USAID a target in its wide-ranging changes to the federal government.

Ice skater Maxim Naumov is being surrounded by his family friends “24 hours a day” after he tragically lost both of his parents in the mid-air collision in Washington, D.C. last week. Naumov, 23, has been spending time with his loved ones after the unimaginable tragedy, which claimed the lives of 67 people after an American Airlines plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. Naumov’s parents, 1994 World Champions Evgenia “Zhenya” Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were aboard the doomed aircraft. (Photo) “I know a couple who is with him right now,” Ekaterina “Katia” Gordeeva, a former teammate and close friend of Naumov’s parents, told People.

We all remember how, in the fall of 2020, the Biden campaign scrambled to discredit the New York Post’s bombshell report on Hunter Biden’s “laptop from hell.” Just days before a crucial debate, they enlisted 51 former intelligence officials to sign a letter suggesting the laptop was Russian disinformation—giving Biden the perfect excuse to dismiss the story when Trump confronted him. That letter also handed Big Tech the justification to censor the story across social media, making it one of the most brazen examples of election interference in U.S. history.

During a Fox News interview, Senator Lindsey Graham says he is a yes on RFK Jr, Kash Patel and now Tulsi Gabbard, specifically because the latter has now assured him, she will support FISA-702 warrantless searches of U.S. citizen communication. Senator Graham states falsely the 702 authorities only pertain to foreign nationals Remember what I said about Kash Patel being the firewall selected by the Senate to make the American people drop their pitchforks and torches? Listen to Senator Graham through that protective prism and you can hear exactly that approach.

In December of 2016 when we discussed the possibility of President Trump’s then new and unique tariff approach, we predicted negligible impact – if any at all. It was a theory at the time, but predicated on the looming possibility that impacted nations would inevitably devalue their currency. It was the currency devaluation, in combination with directed subsidies, that would offset any tariff impact to U.S. consumers. By the time we got to December 2019, we were no longer discussing theory. Deflation due to currency devaluation, subsidy and a rising dollar actually became reality. The lookback data (2017 through 2019)

Canada’s dollar and Mexico’s peso took a hit Saturday, with Canada’s dollar sliding to its lowest level since 2003, one day after President Trump imposed tariffs on the two nations. The Canadian dollar dropped 1.4% to roughly C$1.47 against one U.S. dollar. The Mexican peso also fell more than 2% to 21.15 against one dollar U.S., Financial Times reports. Chief economist at Mexico’s Banco Base, Gabriela Siller, says, “If the tariff stays on for several months, the [peso’s] exchange rate will reach new historic highs.” She added, “If the tariff stays on, it will be a structural change for Mexico . . . and Mexico could go into a profound recession

Below are translations of excerpts from three recent videos from three of my favorite Ukrainian bloggers, who talk about how leftist Ukrainian wolves in sheep’s clothing are in panic mode thanks to recent actions by Trump (use YouTube translate for subtitles but be aware that it often makes mistakes). I have the impression that Americans are not hearing what they are saying. I’ve spent a year in Ukraine during the war (after seven years in Russia) and I understand the language. My income (and ego) does not depend on pushing lies about Ukraine.

President Trump on Sunday defended his decision to impose sweeping tariffs on the United States’s top three trading partners, even as he acknowledged there may be “some pain” caused by the economic fallout. Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday morning after he signed off on 25 percent tariffs on Canada, 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and 10 percent tariffs on China, which appear likely to set off a significant trade war. Trump hit back at critics and argued the decision was necessary because of “major” trade deficits with those countries.

President Donald Trump recently floated a fantastic idea: Arab nations, he said, should accept large numbers of Gazans as refugees, a move that “could be temporary or long term.” The accommodation would allow Israel to eliminate the remnants of Hamas, which, in turn, would allow the international community to rebuild Gaza. Not only would such a policy enhance the prospects of peace, but it’s also humane. While Gazans shouldn’t be compelled to move from their homes, they should be allowed to escape the generational tragedy foisted on them by the Arab world and their nihilistic leaders. And Israelis should monetarily incentivize them to move to safer environs.

The failure of the Palestinian Authority's security operation against the Jenin gunmen shows why the PA cannot be trusted to assume control over the Gaza Strip, where thousands of Hamas and PIJ terrorists continue to operate, especially after the recent US-brokered ceasefire-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas. Like Abbas, no Arab country will invest in or get involved in the Gaza Strip as long as Iran's Islamist proxies continue to dominate it. Given the recent return of hundreds of convicted terrorists released from Israeli prisons to the streets in exchange for hostages -- many of whom are dead --

Taiwan will support companies that plan to relocate to the United States, including helping them find partners, the economy ministry said on Monday, outlining assistance it will offer after U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariffs. Trump's orders for additional levies of 25% on imports from Mexico and most goods from Canada, as well as 10% on goods from China, were light on detail. But they kick in on Tuesday and have jolted markets as investors feared a broader trade war could severely hurt global growth. Shares in Taiwanese tech companies with factories in Mexico fell heavily on Monday, with Foxconn closing down 8.1%, Quanta down 9.8% and Inventec off 6.7%.

Likely Dem primary voters in the upcoming mayoral election overwhelmingly say New York City is in crisis — with nearly half saying that if things get any worse, they may leave, a dismal new survey shows. The pessimism is broad and deep. Eighty percent of the respondents say they are worried about the current level of crime, while 75% believe their city is in a state of crisis, and 70% are “fearful and anxious” about its future, according to the poll by Democratic strategists with the Honan Strategy Group. (Photo) Nearly half, or 45%, of respondents say that if things get any worse, they “may be forced to move out” of Gotham.

Following an explosion of antisemitism in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) on Wednesday that ordered law enforcement to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses, including removing pro-Hamas activists with student visas from the country. "It shall be the policy of the United States to combat anti-Semitism vigorously, using all available and appropriate legal tools, to prosecute, remove, or otherwise hold to account the perpetrators of unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence," the EO reads.

During Sunday’s broadcast of CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said he was still at odds with President Donald Trump despite his election victory last November. The Kentucky Republican said he still harbored ill-will for what he had alleged was Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Partial transcript as follows: STAHL: How would you describe your relationship with President Trump? MCCONNELL: Well, we haven’t spoken for quite a while. I was very upset about what happened January 6. STAHL: You had to be evacuated from the Senate along with other leaders. Your staff was in your office. The rioters

Anti-Trump leftists can’t stop spreading disinformation in a desperate bid to make their skewed worldview make sense. In Chicago last week, local Democratic leaders stoked panic over claims that ICE agents had shown up at a local elementary school. Chicago Public Schools Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova claimed school staff had “kept ICE agents outside of the school” and affirmed that “we will not coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker piled on, blustering, “After a week of Republicans sowing fear and chaos, the first reports of raids in Chicago are at an elementary school.” One problem: There were no ICE agents at the school. They were Secret Service agents,

Venezuela has agreed to take back its violent criminal migrants nabbed in the US — including members of the Tren de Aragua gang wreaking havoc on the Big Apple and other cities, President Trump says. “We are in the process of removing record numbers of illegal aliens from all countries, and all countries have agreed to accept these illegal aliens back,” the president wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. “Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua,” Trump said.

It’s galling to hear sleazy Democrats like Rep. Jamie Raskin and self-serving government bureaucrats whine about “due process” as Donald Trump sets about cleaning house in the out-of-control administrative state. Last time Trump was president, he and his appointees were sabotaged and obstructed by Machiavellian Deep-Staters who perverted concepts such as “due process” into protective shields around wrongdoers and turned them into weapons against their adversaries — that is, anyone trying to carry out the wishes of the democratically elected president. That won’t be happening again. It’s called democracy. The FBI raided Trump’s home and rummaged through his wife’s underwear drawer. They tried to lock him up and bankrupt him.

In a striking prediction, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that Europe would eventually come under the influence of President Donald Trump. Putin’s comments reflect the rising concern among European elite leaders about the return of a strong America led by Trump, whose "America First" policies could alter the balance of power on the global stage. For conservatives, this prediction may validate Trump’s approach to international relations, which prioritized national sovereignty and held European allies accountable for their own defense and economic commitment, making it clear that Trump’s influence remains a formidable force in the world.

President Trump held an impromptu press conference Sunday night on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews as he returned to the White House from Palm Beach, Florida, and he discussed numerous subjects like the newly announced tariffs against Canada and Mexico. One area that stood out was when he lambasted the United Kingdom and the European Union for their unfair trade practices. They stack the deck, he charged: [The EU has] taken advantage of, I said, you know, we have over $300 billion deficit. They don't take our cars, they don't take our farm products, they take almost nothing, and we take everything from them—

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he is suspending all U.S. aid to South Africa after the latter passed a law on land expropriation, which many fear could lead to Zimbabwe-style seizures of land owned by white citizens. The president made the surprise announcement on Truth Social, his own social media platform, on Sunday evening: (TRUTH) South Africa received $273 million from the U.S. in 2023, according to ForeignAssistance.gov. (Reuters puts the sum at $440 million.) That includes funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). South Africa also has key trade deals with the U.S.

Update: Kanye West and his wife Bianca Censori were kicked out of the Grammys. “Kanye and Bianca were not believed to have been officially invited to the Grammys,” a source told The Sun. “They’ve both since been kicked out.” The two were seen leaving in a silver car, The Sun reported. Kanye “Ye” West’s wife Bianca Censori stunned onlookers when she showed up to the Grammys red carpet at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angles completely nude on Sunday evening.