Today is Friday, June 6, 2025. Outraging millions of Americans with their coddling of the Orange Cheeto, the “Extreme” Court allows this fucking DOGE (Disgusting Oligarchs Grabbing Everything”) gain access to your private Social Security data in a divided ruling today. This despicable ruling is examined in an online article entitled “Supreme Court lets DOGE access Social Security data of millions of Americans,” by Ann E. Marimow and Justin Jouvenal. The conservative majority on this partisan court just folded in front of Donald J. Chump. I’m livid with rage over this decision and so should you be!

Today this bastion of putrid conservatism sided with the Dump administration for now in two cases involving the U.S. DOGE Service, a fake agency for everyone to know, whose efforts to slash government agencies and obtain data about Americans have been mostly shrouded from public view.

The justices cleared the way in the first case for DOGE representatives to access the sensitive Social Security Administration data of millions of citizens, while litigation on the matter continues. Again, this ruling should outrage any American who feels his or her privacy has been violated by this permission granted to this phony government agency.

In the second case, which also should be viewed as a terrible decision, the high court shielded DOGE from having to immediately disclose records to a government watchdog group seeking information about the service. What is this court afraid of by not granting the group access to DOGE?

Of course, the court’s three liberal justices disagreed with the conservative majority’s actions in both cases with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warning of “grave privacy risks for millions of Americans.” Go, girl, express your anger here toward your asshole colleagues, primarily Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito and the other conservative bums.

Taken together, the orders were another example of this court granting most of the Chump administration’s emergency requests to lift or scale back lower court rulings blocking his initiatives while legal challenges play out.

To cite some recent horrible decisions, the justices have permitted the administration to bar transgender troops from the military, fire independent agency leaders without cause, halt teacher grants, and remove protections for as many as 350,000 Venezuelans while legal challenges to all those efforts make their way through lower courts.

The only exceptions were in cases involving the due process rights of migrants targeted for fast-track deportation by this cruel administration. In such cases, the justices have required the government to provide notice and opportunity for the immigrants to challenge their removals.

Jackson used her lengthy dissent to criticize her colleagues for allowing the administration’s initiatives to take effect even though lower courts have not yet ruled on the legality of those measures.

Here Jackson tapped on the truth when she suggested the court has different rules for this regime, largely granting its emergency requests when the only emergency is that the government “cannot be bothered to wait.” That’s so true of this devilish administration that it’s not even funny.

Dump and his minions had asked the justices to intervene – which they did without any further ado – after a federal judge in Maryland correctly said DOGE representatives appeared to have violated privacy laws by viewing the personal data of some of the more than 70 million Americans who receive Social Security benefits.

Let’s hope this unfair ruling is not the final say on this continuing story with DOGE that is hated by so many decent Americans for its fucking infiltration into quite sensitive data of millions of people. Naturally, I’m one of those Americans who receives such benefits and are apprehensive of what this court has just allowed this crazy agency to do.

One of the critics of this poor decision, the coalition led by Democracy Forward said it is disappointed by the ruling. “This is a sad day for our democracy and a scary day for millions of people.” Adding in a statement, the group said, it “will continue to use every legal tool at our disposal to keep unelected bureaucrats from misusing the public’s most sensitive data as this case moves forward.”

What distinguished this Friday was Elliot and I having dinner with a regular at the Austin Street Diner who I will call “Jerry.” I’ve met Jerry many times for breakfast throughout the years, but it was Jerry who has always suggested we get together to plan a trip together. Since we really don’t know Jerry other than his anti-Dump views and the fact that he enjoys playing tennis, I thought the best thing was to schedule a dinner first before even thinking of going away with him. So we finally met Jerry at 6 at a local Italian restaurant by the name of Tuscan Hills.

I would say the dinner went quite well in that Jerry did open up a bit – but not too much – about his personal life. We learned he grew up in Oceanside, Long Island, and that he had a brother and sister. Jerry informed us that his brother died just last year, which I didn’t know anything about. He mentioned his sister now lives in Wyoming, but he’s not close to her. Very sad! We never asked why, though.

From the restaurant, I walked Jerry to MacDonald Park, while Elliot went home. We sat a little talking about my writing endeavors and then we parted as dusk rolled in. I walked Jerry to his building; he’s only about 10 minutes away from us. He suggested having us over for dessert the next time. And I agreed! So possibly we’ve made a nice, new friend late in life. I think that’s quite extraordinary.

Have a good weekend.

And so it went!

Today is Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Rumors are circulating around the Orange Cheeto’s silence the last few days, especially after his former billionaire bro slammed his “big, beautiful bill” as a “disgusting abomination” before he huffed and puffed out of the White House and out of his duties as the head of DOGE (“Disgusting Oligarchs Grabbing Everything”). MSNBC host LawrenceO’Donnell provides some answers as to why TACO Dump has remained silent amid this blowback from a previous fucking rich friend in an online article for Daily Beast called “MSNBC Host Says Trump Is Too Scared to Fire Back at Musk.”

Speaking on The Last Word, O’Donnell claimed the president is simply afraid of Musk. Remember this fecund bastard donated $288 million to Dumpster’s presidential race.

Also, on Tuesday, the longterm MSNBC host said Muskrat’s condemnation of the bill was the moment that all the watchers of Elon Muskrat and Donald Chump have been waiting for since Muskrat joined the Dump presidential campaign.

O’Donnell rightfully states that Dump didn’t respond to Muskrat’s public condemnation of his stupid bill because of the reality that he fears Muskrat. O’Donnell reports, “If you attack Donald Trump and Donald Trump says nothing, Donald Trump’s silence is the biggest expression of fear that he has.”

The MSNBC host says it plainly to explain Dumpster’s silence here. “Donald Trump fears the richest person in the world turning his money against Donald Trump’s candidates in Republican primary elections.” So there it is: the bastard is afraid of losing Muskrat’s millions and is afraid of his turning other repugnicans against the bill, which could mean its eventual death. O’Donnell corroborates this, saying, “And Donald Trump fears the richest person in the world convincing Republican members of the Senate, and the House, not to vote for Donald Trump’s budget bill that Elon Musk now calls a ‘disgusting abomination.'”

A more alarming and dystopian feature of this buffoon’s ongoing dismantling of democratic principles in America is an online article predicting a rebellion by MAGA supporters against Dump and a new initiative that will raise the hackles on everyone living in the United States. The online article appears in Tyla and it’s entitled “MAGA supporters ‘turn against’ Trump after terrifying new citizen database sparks major privacy concerns,” and it’s written by Rhianna Benson.

Thus a group of even the most loyal MAGA loyalists have seemingly turned against the president following a controversial new partnership between the Dump administration and a data analytics firm.

According to a New York Times article published this week, the president and his team of traitors have recently made the decision to partner with a software company called Palantir. The Colorado-based firm, cofounded by Dump billionaire supporter Peter Thiel, would give the unproclaimed king unlimited access to a new compilation of data on all American citizens. This means the bastard would have all of our personal information at his fat fingertips. “The new partnership would therefore be handing the president an unprecedented amount of surveillance power.”

This decision has naturally sparked national outrage – not just among left-leaning Democrats but among thousands of Dump’s former fans. Finally, a cause that can unite all of us against this Orange Cheeto.

“Many Americans now live in fear about the growing influence of technology in the States, specifically with regards to how their personal and professional data will be managed.”

Many people question whether this initiative will affect their right to privacy, as well as their civil liberties.

Now expressing his feeling of betrayal by this convicted felon, one die-hard supporter tweeted, “People are so quick to suggest that I flipped on Trump . . . No, no, no . . . I didn’t flip on Trump. TRUMP FLIPPED ON US.”

Even one of Dump’s previous famous supporters, self-professed white nationalist and far-right voter Nick Fuentes even chimed in on the debate.

Also taking to X (formerly Twitter), he described the administration’s new partnership as “the ultimate betrayal” of Dump’s “own people.” Fuentes wrote, “They are tracking everybody that criticized Israel, everybody that interacts with somebody that’s criticizing Israel, and whether you’re a citizen or not, whether you’re brown or not, Christian or Muslim, they’re putting you in the Palantir database.” He then added, “They’re putting you on the enemies list. If you don’t see a problem with that . . .”

God, if this disgusting white nationalist himself has a beef with this unpopular president’s initiatives like collecting everyone’s personal information for his own nefarious needs, then maybe this asshole has finally crossed the Rubicon with regard to his horrible policies. I just wish the legacy press gave this story more airtime than what it’s been getting. This will unite all Americans against the Dump administration in a way you’ve never seen since he took office on January 20.

Tomorrow I’m seeing my newfound friend “Harvey” for lunch since we didn’t attend Tuesday’s gay men’s club meeting. We also might see a film afterward, so I’m not sure if I’ll be here tomorrow evening. Time will tell.

Have a good Thursday.

And so it went!

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, February 9, 2025. Are you like me scratching your head in disbelief over what the Orange Ogre has done to upend the federal government in just three weeks or so without any pushback from the Democratic Party? Aren’t you wondering where is that Democratic opposition to the foul things the Orange Turd has enacted in so short a time in his administration? An online article in today’s The Hill outlines one action Democrats are considering to voice their opposition to the actions that Chump has taken, along with the full cooperation of his billionaire crony, Elon Musk, or Muskrat, as I now refer to him. The article is entitled “Democratic senator says his party is ready to shut down government over Trump’s actions,” and it’s by Lauren Irwin.

Today Democratic Senator Andy Kim (NJ) was interviewed on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in which he said he and his fellow Democrats are ready to shut down the federal government over president Drumpf’s recent extralegal actions. Kim stated, “I cannot support efforts that will continue this lawlessness that we’re seeing when it comes to this administration’s actions.” He added, “And for us to be able to support government funding in that way only for them to turn it around, to dismantle the government. That is not something that should be allowed.”

As Dump continues to steamroll over constitutional norms, it’s Democrats who have grown frustrated with what’s going on in Washington over the last three weeks. Many are now calling for them to stage an aggressive reaction to this unconstitutional activity.

Kim said his party is ready to shut down the federal government over the various actions, including shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Muskrat’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) having access to federal payment systems.

Kim tried to push back that he relishes this drastic action since he said he “would be the last person who would want to get to that stage, but we are at a point where we are basically on the cusp of a constitutional crisis.” He added, “Seeing this administration taking steps that are so clearly illegal.”

Understandably, Dump has received sharp criticism for taking these recent actions, including saying he wanted to take over Gaza. Some Democrats have said the idea would amount to “ethnic cleansing” and say it’s a distraction from all of the action within the federal agencies.

Last weekend, DOGE officials gained access to the Treasury Department’s federal payment system, which controls $6 trillion annually and has access to Americans’ tax records. Pretty scary stuff, wouldn’t you say? The president when asked about this unwanted access just says Muskrat’s squad of smooth-faced goons is rooting out billions of dollars worth of fraud – with no discernible evidence at all.

In conclusion, Kim mentioned, “In a few weeks, the Republicans are going to try to figure out how they move forward and they have, for the last two years, needed Democratic votes for every single continuing resolution and they should not count on that this time.” Let’s hope Democrats find their spine at that moment and let them move as one body finally, just like those awful repugnicans.

In the meantime, the odious Muskrat is calling for the impeachment of the judge who rightfully ruled against his infiltration into the Treasury Department. What the fuck! U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, an appointee of former President Obama, in his ruling ordered anyone who is now blocked from access to the Treasury Department payment system, which doles out trillions of dollars, to immediately destroy any material they’ve already downloaded. God forbid they downloaded your or my personal information so far! I’m positive that Americans would not desire this kind of intrusion into their sensitive payment information from a nonelected government official like Elon Musk. So far, this is only a temporary pause, not a permanent one.

As you know, I didn’t watch today’s Stupid Bowl. What garnered a lot of attention is that the Orange Turd actually attended the game – for what reason, no one can ascertain – making him the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl, which featured the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles. I’m hearing on X right now that people in the stadium booed the liar in chief as he took to his seat. I wish the boos were loud enough for him to actually hear them.

And so it went!

Today is Monday, February 3, 2025. The latest outrage from the nascent Dump administration is the power that Chump has invested in his billionaire chum, Elon Musk, to take a sledgehammer to legitimate government agencies, one especially, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) which primarily offers food assistance to countries around the world.

Congress created USAID, the organization that dispenses foreign aid for the U.S. government to developing nations around the world, back in 1961, but Musk and Dump seem intent on trying to shut it down completely, which is clearly unconstitutional.

Without any evidence – Musk takes his playbook from his Orange Turd friend – compared the agency to a rotten apple, a “ball full of worms,” during an appearance on his social media platform. He said there’s nothing worth saving with regard to the agency.

During an appearance in the Oval Office today, Dump dismissed USAID workers as “radical left lunatics.” What an insane thing to say, but Dump is not sane, as we should all know by now. Dump insisted that he would not need Congress to undo the agency they originally set up if “there was fraud.” Again, a baseless claim. Hah! Dump failed to elaborate on the fraud allegation, as expected, but he did repeat a specious claim that USAID paid tens of millions of dollars for condoms to go to Hamas. There is no evidence of such a ridiculous claim from the “president.”

But there is a palpable sense of dread at the agency, where the website has been taken down and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been named acting director.

Dozens of senior officials have been placed on leave after the president ordered that foreign aid be placed on hold.

More than 10,000 officials at the agency were informed not to come to agency headquarters today. Security officials were placed on leave after refusing to allow representatives from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to headquarters over the weekend.

Critics of this disgusting action stood up to the president. One of those critics was Jeremy Konyndyk, who served at the agency during the Biden and Obama administrations, during an appearance on CNN today, and said, “This is the world’s richest man [Musk] deciding the world’s richest country should stop helping the world’s poorest people.” He added, “That is the story here. The president does not have the authority to unilaterally shutter a federal agency that has been established in congressional and congressional statute.”

Another agency Dump and his billionaire pal have their sights on is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in which agents have been asked by the Department of Justice (DoJ) to fill out a questionnaire explaining their work on cases involving the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. This could be viewed as a precursor to a mass firing at the agency, according to a report from CNN’s justice team.

However, agents are being encouraged to stay and wait to be fired.

Dozens of officials who worked on January 6 cases have already been fired at the DoJ after they were told by acting Attorney General James McHenry they cannot be “trusted” to faithfully” implement fucking Dump’s agenda. In other words, they were perceived as too independent. As you must know, an autocrat demands only undying fealty to him and no one else.

I won’t write about Dump’s declared war on allies Canada and Mexico in his dimwitted declaration to impose tariffs on goods coming from both countries. Already, this has backfired in his fat, puffy face. Today he retreated from the tariff threat for both Mexico and Canada. Of course, Dump will declare this retreat a win since he supposedly got concessions from the two countries. Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, promised to send 10,000 troops to Mexico’s border with the United States. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to work together on policing the flow of fentanyl – which is truly minuscule – into our country and said that Canada would spend $1.3 billion to ramp up its border security.

The former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who is a Democrat but was openly critical of the Biden administration over its economic policy, said that imposing tariffs will help no one but American enemies since it will alienate allies and warn other countries from negotiating with a madman like Dump.

Oh, and this is only two weeks into the Dump administration. It seems far longer.

I will not be posting here tomorrow since I have my monthly reading group meeting at 6:30, where we will be discussing Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! This time I might be going to Julius’s after the meeting, depending on how I feel. Actually, I’m meeting a former school colleague for the first time since I retired way back in 2017 at 12:30 on the East Side. So I’ll be busy tomorrow.

Enjoy your Tuesday.

And so it went!