Bits n’ pieces from east, west and beyond
East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact.
A recent sampling, heavy on the dismantling of Constitutional norms:
Following the fractious Trump-Vance-Zelenskyy meeting in the Oval Office, the Washington Post reported the Trump Administration may end shipments of military aid to Ukraine. This follows a Feb. 24 refusal by a Trump administration delegation to the United Nations to support a U.N. principle: one nation must not invade another. The U.S. delegation aligned with 18 pro-Russia countries.
The global response to the recent Zelenskyy-Oval Office meeting: in the U.K. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was warmly welcomed and promised “full backing.”
Support for Ukraine came from leaders in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldov, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the European Council, the European Parliament, the European Union and more. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich: “The emergence of the Trump-Putin axis is the most cynical and dangerous change in American policy in 80 years.”
A former chief economist at the Dept. of Labor told the Telegraph “it seems almost unavoidable that we are headed for a deep, deep recession.” Why? Private industries are cutting back due to DOGE budget slashing and tariffs are a “paralyzing” influence. Predictions for economic “devastation” are targeting April and May; job losses could be 400,000 a month.
The Lever reported on Trump-Musk cuts to federal firefighting services: The Trump Administration froze $3 billion in wildfire mitigation efforts.
Various media: Terminated federal employees report being told their performance was poor (bringing into question eligibility for unemployment), despite positive evaluations.
Trump’s recent Congressional address was attended by federal workers who have been fired in the Trump Administration’s effort to shore up tax cuts for the wealthy. They included veterans and a wildfire prevention worker.
“I am speaking out because I cannot see how employing veterans in the federal government is fraud, waste or abuse,” stated a disabled Army vet fired from Veterans Affairs.
Trump-Musk DOGE chainsaw actions have put monthly Social Security benefits at risk, (over 72.5 million receive SS), former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley told CNBC.com. In 80 years SS has not missed a payment. O’Malley: “Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits. I believe you will see that within the next 30 to 90 days…people should start saving now.”
The Guardian: Congressional Republicans are dodging critiques of Trump’s policies due to fears of physical safety for themselves and their families. They don’t want to hire round-the-clock security protection to defend against MAGA extremists ready to act on Trump’s criticism of perceived enemies.
What do Libertarians think about the Trump Administration? The Washington Post turned to the Cato Institute’s Ilya Somin, a law professor: “bad on the metrics of both economic and personal liberty”; attacking freedom of the press is “troubling,” as is Trump’s “kissing the rear end of a dictator like Vladimir Putin.”
Somin likes some of the efforts to cut regulations and taxes, but “the horrible things Trump is doing massively outweigh many times over the good that he might do in a few areas.” Also offensive: Trump’s circumventing Congress’s spending authority; the GOP budget will “massively add to the deficit;” concentrating power into the “hands of one man;” giving taxpayer’s personal info to un-vetted DOGE members and packing the FBI and Justice Dept, with “loyalists.”
Somin added that if Trump exempts the “executive branch from being subject to judicial review and judicial orders” that undermines the Constitution and installs authoritarianism. “And that’s bad from a libertarian point of view.”
Relevant headlines: Defense Secretary Hegseth has paused cyber offensive against Russia [analysts were told not to follow or report on Russian threats]; Judge says Trump's mass firing of federal employees is illegal; Nearly 40% of contracts canceled by Musk’s DOGE are expected to produce no savings; US consumer confidence plummets in February, biggest monthly declines since 2021; Elon Musk’s business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding; “Pro-Ukraine protests erupt across US after Trump and Vance ‘ambush’ Zelenskyy”; Trump admin approves $3 billion bomb sale to Israel without Congressional approval; Russia celebrates US foreign policy that now "coincides" with Moscow’s worldview; Democrats warn of ‘largest Medicaid cut in American history’ [impacting 72 million]; [Unvaccinated] Child in West Texas is first U.S. measles death in a decade; Social Security Administratin Offers Buyouts to Staff Ahead of Planned Workforce Reductions and Field Office Closures; Trump Administration Slashes Protections, Paves Way for [significant increase in] Logging in National Forests and Government shutdown looms as Trump tries to assert new spending powers.
Blast from the past: “Mitlaufer” is a German word for ordinary citizens who became complicit in Nazi crimes by following the current. Post-WWII, to avoid prosecution, no one wanted the mitlaufer label.