I read at some point that the Nobel Peace Prize is...I don't remember exactly...a pathetic joke 90% of the time and the most awesome award ever about 10% of the time?
If it's not given to someone who richly deserves it, it's a political farce. I fear these are unserious times.
All this talk of Musk and peace reminds me of the Naughty Nazis in To Be or Not To Be. “ I want peace, peace. A little piece of Poland. A little piece of France.
Except most of those payments are the result of the US government outsourcing the running of social services to private organisations and charities. Some of the line items relate to Medicaid payments, some of those organisations run nursing homes.
I'll be honest with you. I've been trying to hang in there and be strong and not let the daily outrage get to me (part of the reason I re-logged in here, which I consider a "safe space"). But this morning I'm really feeling fearful. Elon's taken over the Treasury and as a recipient of SSI, the fox is in MY henhouse now!
I feel guilty for feeling fearful since I know damn well I'm not the only one he's going to try to rob blind. So I'm headed off to church to try and calm down and be with other kindred spirits. But any reassurances you can think to offer (even vague "maybes") would be appreciated by this old dame.
This is from a newsletter I get. Sorry, I could not find a link to post.
I don't know if facts matter much anymore but I guess I'll still just share some basic facts. When Musk and Flynn begin targeting Lutheran Social Service and Catholic Charities, labeling the payouts in the federal government as "illegal," this is just crazy talk, but crazy talk with consequences.
First of all it's crazy because the government also pays billions to Musk's own companies. Why aren’t there screen shots of those payments labeling them “illegal?”
But it's also crazy because these are either grants awarded to non-profits based on a competitive application process, grants first funded by the government in its budgeting process; or it's replacement designee funding where the federal government said, "We want these basic services to be provided but we are contracting with your organization (because you have a track record of private social services well) to do the work, or make the disbursements."
This kind of rhetoric isn't just absurd; it’s dangerous. It feeds into a broader trend of demonizing institutions that have long provided essential services, especially to marginalized communities. The hypocrisy is blatant—Musk benefits massively from government contracts and subsidies, yet he and Flynn attack social service organizations that operate under the same basic funding principles.
These funds aren't some kind of "secret handout"—they're either competitively awarded grants or designated contracts to ensure critical services are delivered. The government has always partnered with non-profits to extend its social safety net. This isn't new, and it's certainly not illegal.
But the consequences of this kind of disinformation are real—eroding trust in essential institutions, justifying funding cuts, and ultimately harming the people who rely on these services the most.
I’m worried it won’t matter much unless strong counter-forces by the minority party and the courts push back strongly against the clearly illegal moves of Musk and Trump this weekend, but here’s a fact-based pushback detailing what Lutheran Social Services (LSS) does and why public-private partnerships like these are essential to community care:
Lutheran Social Services: A Lifeline for Communities
Lutheran Social Services (LSS) (https://lutheranservices.org) is a network of nonprofit organizations operating across the United States, providing essential social services to individuals and families in need. LSS agencies operate independently in different states but share a commitment to serving vulnerable populations regardless of religious affiliation. Their work includes:
Refugee Resettlement & Immigration Services – Many LSS organizations are key partners in resettling refugees, assisting with housing, employment, and integration services. They work under federal programs like the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, ensuring that refugees receive the support they need to become self-sufficient. The Lutheran part recently rebranded as Global Refuge.
Disaster Response & Housing Assistance – LSS provides emergency relief and long-term recovery services following natural disasters. They also operate affordable housing programs for low-income individuals, seniors, and people with disabilities.
Child Welfare & Adoption Services – LSS agencies provide foster care placement, adoption services, and family counseling to ensure that children in difficult circumstances receive stable, loving homes.
Mental Health & Addiction Recovery Services – Many LSS agencies operate counseling centers, addiction treatment programs, and crisis intervention services, filling critical gaps in mental health care.
Food Assistance & Community Support – LSS organizations run food pantries, meal programs, and nutrition assistance efforts to fight food insecurity in local communities.
Public-Private Partnerships: A Necessary Collaboration
The claim that government grants or contracts with organizations like LSS are “illegal” is not just misleading—it’s a deliberate misrepresentation of how public-private partnerships function in the U.S.
Competitive Grant Process – Many government-funded programs are awarded through a rigorous, competitive grant process where non-profits must demonstrate effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability.
Federal and State Contracting – Governments have long relied on non-profits to administer social services efficiently. These contracts allow organizations with expertise and community trust to carry out federally mandated programs without requiring the government to directly manage every aspect of service delivery.
A Proven Model – Public-private partnerships allow faith-based but non-proselytizing organizations like LSS and Catholic Charities to leverage private donations, volunteer networks, and local expertise, making government dollars stretch further and serve more people effectively.
The Hypocrisy of the Attacks
Elon Musk's companies—including Tesla, SpaceX, and The Boring Company—have received billions in government subsidies, tax breaks, and contracts. If federal funding of LSS is “illegal,” then so are the billions funneled into private corporations through tax incentives, defense contracts, and technology investments. The real issue here isn’t legality—it’s an attack on the very idea that society should provide care for the most vulnerable.
LSS and similar organizations exist precisely because communities need them. Cutting off their funding wouldn’t eliminate the need for food, housing, or resettlement services—it would simply make it harder for people to get help. The alternative is an overwhelmed and inefficient government bureaucracy, or worse, leaving people to fend for themselves.
These attacks aren’t just reckless rhetoric; they undermine the social fabric that makes communities stronger. If the goal is a healthy, self-sufficient society, then supporting organizations like LSS is not just smart policy—it’s essential.
What gets me is Musk has gotten access to the Treasury payment system. Who authorized this? Certainly was not Congress. Criminal offense?
Giving someone like Musk (or his underlings) access to information that they have no legal right too seems consistent with the attitude of someone who thinks a bathroom is a suitable place to store secret documents they had no right to hold onto.
What gets me is Musk has gotten access to the Treasury payment system. Who authorized this? Certainly was not Congress. Criminal offense?
Giving someone like Musk (or his underlings) access to information that they have no legal right too seems consistent with the attitude of someone who thinks a bathroom is a suitable place to store secret documents they had no right to hold onto.
I predict a bunch of US citizens are about to have their IDs stolen. Several thousand US agents around the world are going to lose their lives, and a number of US government systems are going to be compromised by foreign intelligence.
I'll be honest with you. I've been trying to hang in there and be strong and not let the daily outrage get to me (part of the reason I re-logged in here, which I consider a "safe space"). But this morning I'm really feeling fearful. Elon's taken over the Treasury and as a recipient of SSI, the fox is in MY henhouse now!
I feel guilty for feeling fearful since I know damn well I'm not the only one he's going to try to rob blind. So I'm headed off to church to try and calm down and be with other kindred spirits. But any reassurances you can think to offer (even vague "maybes") would be appreciated by this old dame.
I find these cheer me up somewhat when politics gets to me:
What gets me is Musk has gotten access to the Treasury payment system. Who authorized this? Certainly was not Congress. Criminal offense?
Giving someone like Musk (or his underlings) access to information that they have no legal right too seems consistent with the attitude of someone who thinks a bathroom is a suitable place to store secret documents they had no right to hold onto.
I predict a bunch of US citizens are about to have their IDs stolen. Several thousand US agents around the world are going to lose their lives, and a number of US government systems are going to be compromised by foreign intelligence.
A truly frightening scenario - surely the security of the US would be severely compromised, too, and would the military stand for that?
True, but I was sort of wondering what might happen if the new regime tried to order the military to do something illegal.
That is a scary question. I think it'll take a while for them to get the infrastructure in place for that sort of thing. Maybe that's what the tariffs are for, starting a war passive aggressively.
War is imminent - a trade war, that is - which will benefit no-one except those who already have most of the world's money in their pockets.
They forget (or choose to forget) that there are no pockets in a shroud, though that's cold comfort to those who suffer because of their greed and insanity.
All right, home now after church and a long visit to a bookstore. Decided to immerse myself in print for a while, to spend less time on angst-producing screens (present company excepted!) and give myself some breathing room. Thanks! Will back off and let you get back to your normal Hellish discussions. ;-)
Let me get this right.
Someone gives access to the treasury payment system to Elon and team
They lock out the workers who legally work there.
They claim Lutheran Social Services is a money laundring outfit
They halt all payments to US contractors (including LSS)
And they say USAID is a criminal organization that should be shut down.
Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
Let me get this right.
Someone gives access to the treasury payment system to Elon and team
They lock out the workers who legally work there.
They claim Lutheran Social Services is a money laundring outfit
They halt all payments to US contractors (including LSS)
And they say USAID is a criminal organization that should be shut down.
It's started to affect government workers overseas. The app they are supposed to use to request assistance from in case of emergency has stopped working:
One of the next impacts will be to a subset of farm subsidies (the wheat and dairy products USAID distributes as aid overseas is bought from agribusinesses within the US).
Further, there are indications that the treasury has stopped payments to all external contractors:
"The demands led to a tense standoff during which a senior deputy to Musk threatened to call the US marshals in to grant access to the building. The officials said John Voorhees, USAid’s director of security, and a deputy blocked efforts by members of Doge, a special group that Trump has created, to physically access restricted areas.
Musk’s deputies may also have sought access to Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, or SCIFs, and servers used to access sensitive cables with top-secret classifications."
Those kinds of facilities normally have physical security - including armed guards - and there would be a risk of getting shot if you tried to access them or - worse - plug in random uncleared devices into those networks/servers.
Cancelling contracts is the sort of thing that ends up in court. Individuals fired without cause may not have the money to challenge the decision in court, but many of the contractors who carry out work for governments have deep pockets and lawyers on retainer.
It does appear that Musks people have been taking memory sticks into the offices and locking doors.
In UK public (private) schools there is the tradition of a fag. A fag is the chief bootlicker to the big bullies in the schools. I am wondering who is the fag Musk or Donald
I have heard that the main reason why Musk hates USAID is because he feels they brought down the white government of South Africa. It is a personal vendetta.
Musk certainly appears to be the power behind the throne.
I wonder how many Trumpians were aware of the existential threat he presents, before they voted for their saviour?
Even if they knew about his plans, a lotta them woulda just seen him as "smart entrepreneur who's gonna cut the fat and make governmenr run more efficiently".
Musk certainly appears to be the power behind the throne.
I wonder how many Trumpians were aware of the existential threat he presents, before they voted for their saviour?
Even if they knew about his plans, a lotta them woulda just seen him as "smart entrepreneur who's gonna cut the fat and make governmenr run more efficiently".
A 25-year-old engineer named Marko Elez, who previously worked for two Elon Musk companies, has direct access to Treasury Department systems responsible for nearly all payments made by the US government, three sources tell WIRED.
Two of those sources say that Elez’s privileges include the ability not just to read but to write code on two of the most sensitive systems in the US government: the Payment Automation Manager and Secure Payment System at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS). Housed on a top-secret mainframe, these systems control, on a granular level, government payments that in their totality amount to more than a fifth of the US economy.
Despite reporting that suggests that Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force has access to these Treasury systems on a “read-only” level, sources say Elez, who has visited a Kansas City office housing BFS systems, has many administrator-level privileges. Typically, those admin privileges could give someone the power to log in to servers through secure shell access, navigate the entire file system, change user permissions, and delete or modify critical files. That could allow someone to bypass the security measures of, and potentially cause irreversible changes to, the very systems they have access to.
“You could do anything with these privileges,” says one source with knowledge of the system, who adds that they cannot conceive of a reason that anyone would need them for purposes of simply hunting down fraudulent payments or analyzing disbursement flow.
The same story is also discussed at Talking Points Memo, which doesn't have the same paywall restrictions as Wired.
According to TPM, there's supposed to be data migration of the system this weekend, which I guess is when we'll find out how Mr. Elaz's untested code changes work in a new (though expected) data environment.
I'm not exactly keeping up with US news on a daily basis, but it seems to me that Musk has taken over from Trump.
Is this, in fact, the case, or is the wretched man's influence overstated?
Hard to say. Trump has burrowed in at Treasury and seems to have gained access to America's checkbook. That's a lot of power, but it's (theoretically) not as broad as Trump's.
On the other hand it's hard to say how much power Musk actually has. Virtually everything he's done is flagrantly illegal.
I think we need the political cartoonists now. Billboards need to be plastered with cartoons of Trump in Musk's pocket, Musk with Trump on a lead taking him for a walk. Hit him where it hurts, right in the bloated, narcissistic ego.
All six of the people Musk has put in have been named. They are all 25 and under and have no experience in the departments they are in. There is a lot of worry that Musk could just delete any money that goes to anyone or any organisation he has data on. Various groups are leading the charge against him. As a Brit I can do practically nothing.
I heard on CNN tonight that there is some concern in other parts of Trump’s inner circle. And apparently the House Speaker has some concerns. The suggestion is that there may be a lack of oversight re Musk’s actions. Particularly in the way he has grabbed information. And the clearance of his team who have access.
It would be interesting if he’s gone too far, even for Trump.
All six of the people Musk has put in have been named. They are all 25 and under and have no experience in the departments they are in. There is a lot of worry that Musk could just delete any money that goes to anyone or any organisation he has data on. Various groups are leading the charge against him. As a Brit I can do practically nothing.
I do wonder if these six realise that Musk will throw them under the bus, and their names being known means they will suffer when Musk falls.
Practically nothing as in absolutely nothing? Along with everybody else. This is the triumph of the will. Of little minds. Everywhere. In every significant government.
Comments
If it's not given to someone who richly deserves it, it's a political farce. I fear these are unserious times.
But it is also a problem in a world that has very little peace in it that, sometimes, there is nobody working on a global scale for peace.
Obviously, Musk is doing the opposite, so should not be awarded it, but we all know that.
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1885964969335808217
Except most of those payments are the result of the US government outsourcing the running of social services to private organisations and charities. Some of the line items relate to Medicaid payments, some of those organisations run nursing homes.
I feel guilty for feeling fearful since I know damn well I'm not the only one he's going to try to rob blind. So I'm headed off to church to try and calm down and be with other kindred spirits. But any reassurances you can think to offer (even vague "maybes") would be appreciated by this old dame.
I'm not American, so I'm not directly affected, but, even so, I can't think of any words of comfort or reassurance.
From Lutheran Confessions 2/2/2025
I predict a bunch of US citizens are about to have their IDs stolen. Several thousand US agents around the world are going to lose their lives, and a number of US government systems are going to be compromised by foreign intelligence.
I find these cheer me up somewhat when politics gets to me:
They Shall Not Pass
Losing Side
A truly frightening scenario - surely the security of the US would be severely compromised, too, and would the military stand for that?
The president, I think. And yes, that is totally illegal. But what's a law without enforcement?
I think this is officially a coup.
I don't know if they need the military when they have the purse and a critical mass of compliant congress-critters.
Military isn't supposed to get involved in domestic matters.
That is a scary question. I think it'll take a while for them to get the infrastructure in place for that sort of thing. Maybe that's what the tariffs are for, starting a war passive aggressively.
They forget (or choose to forget) that there are no pockets in a shroud, though that's cold comfort to those who suffer because of their greed and insanity.
I would hope the Army will follow the law. We cannot invade another country without the authorization of Congress. But there is this:
Someone gives access to the treasury payment system to Elon and team
They lock out the workers who legally work there.
They claim Lutheran Social Services is a money laundring outfit
They halt all payments to US contractors (including LSS)
And they say USAID is a criminal organization that should be shut down.
Isaiah 5:20
More about this: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-and-musk-s-friendship-takes-a-dark-turn/vi-AA1yiual?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=12e0cc1b68724f79e02f404f9140814f&ei=20
I read that a majority, possibly a large majority, of military personnel are MAGA.
It's started to affect government workers overseas. The app they are supposed to use to request assistance from in case of emergency has stopped working:
https://bsky.app/profile/kenklippenstein.bsky.social/post/3lhc2k7o5yk2q
One of the next impacts will be to a subset of farm subsidies (the wheat and dairy products USAID distributes as aid overseas is bought from agribusinesses within the US).
Further, there are indications that the treasury has stopped payments to all external contractors:
https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/techandscience/musk-says-doge-is-halting-treasury-payments-to-us-contractors/ar-AA1yibZc
All sorts of issues are going to result, from services US government workers overseas rely on, to local logistics firms not being paid.
Pulling a lot of the stunts that Musk has done in the past few days should - in a functioning country - have resulted in detention or worse:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/02/usaid-officials-put-on-leave-musk-doge
"The demands led to a tense standoff during which a senior deputy to Musk threatened to call the US marshals in to grant access to the building. The officials said John Voorhees, USAid’s director of security, and a deputy blocked efforts by members of Doge, a special group that Trump has created, to physically access restricted areas.
Musk’s deputies may also have sought access to Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, or SCIFs, and servers used to access sensitive cables with top-secret classifications."
Those kinds of facilities normally have physical security - including armed guards - and there would be a risk of getting shot if you tried to access them or - worse - plug in random uncleared devices into those networks/servers.
In UK public (private) schools there is the tradition of a fag. A fag is the chief bootlicker to the big bullies in the schools. I am wondering who is the fag Musk or Donald
I wonder how many Trumpians were aware of the existential threat he presents, before they voted for their saviour?
Even if they knew about his plans, a lotta them woulda just seen him as "smart entrepreneur who's gonna cut the fat and make governmenr run more efficiently".
Yes, I see what you mean.
The same story is also discussed at Talking Points Memo, which doesn't have the same paywall restrictions as Wired.
According to TPM, there's supposed to be data migration of the system this weekend, which I guess is when we'll find out how Mr. Elaz's untested code changes work in a new (though expected) data environment.
Is this, in fact, the case, or is the wretched man's influence overstated?
Hard to say. Trump has burrowed in at Treasury and seems to have gained access to America's checkbook. That's a lot of power, but it's (theoretically) not as broad as Trump's.
On the other hand it's hard to say how much power Musk actually has. Virtually everything he's done is flagrantly illegal.
There will, alas, no doubt be a great deal of collateral damage, to individuals, and to the country.
I normally don't kink-shame, but I might make an exception because I did not consent to witness this performance.
Would you have prefered the more usual "taking him for a ride"?
It would be interesting if he’s gone too far, even for Trump.
I do wonder if these six realise that Musk will throw them under the bus, and their names being known means they will suffer when Musk falls.
I wonder if any of them could be turned.