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jlevy

@jlevy1954.bsky.social
17 followers 9 following 82 posts
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
Yesterday's NY Times reported that the library of the U.S. Naval Academy, by order of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has purged books critical of racism but kept those defending white power. For example, Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is out, while Hitler's "Mein Kampf" is in.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
The constitutional guardrails are straining but still hold, for now: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lives for another day, thanks to Judge Amy Berman Jackson. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Thank you for your service. As a token of our thanks, we bring you VA voicemail hell. www.cnn.com/2025/03/28/p...
cnn.com
‘Heartless and Dangerous’: Slashing of VA call centers part of aggressive layoff plan | CNN Politics
The call centers that America’s military veterans rely on to schedule appointments and arrange medical care may no longer have a live voice on the other end of the line because the agents who handle t...
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
“We will never know if SpaceX would authentically win competitions for these awards because all of the offices in government intended to prevent corruption and conflicts of interest have been beheaded or defunded.” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/u...
nytimes.com
Musk Is Positioned to Profit Off Billions in New Government Contracts
The boost in federal spending for SpaceX will come in part as a result of actions by President Trump and Elon Musk’s allies and employees who hold government positions. Supporters say he has the best ...
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
To gain concessions on Ukraine, Putin gives Pres. Trump a “beautiful portrait” commissioned from a Russian artist. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/w... The gift seems to be working.
nytimes.com
Putin’s Aims in Trump Talks on Ukraine
Moscow sees economic and geopolitical benefits in humoring President Trump’s push for a cease-fire in Ukraine. But the Kremlin’s war aims haven’t shifted.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Trump DUI hire, Peter Hegseth, broke rules and endangered the military. He needs to resign. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | If Pete Hegseth Had Any Honor, He Would Resign
A defense secretary intentionally using a civilian app to share sensitive war plans without noticing a journalist was in the chat would be egregious.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Here's today's ruling by Judge Boasberg continuing to block Trump's deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members. The ruling was cautious and well thought out. A key point: the deportees are owed a due process right to try to prove they weren't gang members. ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...
ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov
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Reposted by jlevy
Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 24/03/2025
The apparent security breach published by the Atlantic magazine has triggered a firestorm in Washington, with both Democratic and Republican politicians lambasting Donald Trump's administration. www.ft.com/content/ddb1...
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
HOW WE CARE FOR VETERANS, THEN AND NOW THEN: Abraham Lincoln: We must "care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan…" NOW: Under Donald Trump and DOGE, mental care for vets is trashed. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/u...
nytimes.com
Trump and DOGE Propel V.A. Mental Health System Into Turmoil
A chaotic restructuring order threatens to degrade services for veterans of wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
The Alien Enemies Act applies only when "the President ... shall make public proclamation" that there is been a war or invasion by a foreign nation. Trump now admits he didn't sign the proclamation that led to flying alleged gang members to a prison in El Salvador! The deportation was invalid.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
Pres. Trump, who accused Pres. Biden of not having signed his pardons, or not knowing what he was signing, now says that he (Trump) didn't sign the proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act, even though the Federal Register shows one with his signature. Crazy. www.cnn.com/2025/03/21/p...
cnn.com
Trump says he didn’t sign proclamation invoking Alien Enemies Act | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed his involvement in invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1789 to deport Venezuelan migrants, saying for the first time that he hadn’t signed the proclamation, e...
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
And another dictator for Trump: the Chinese state news media is gloating about drastic budget cuts to Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/w...
nytimes.com
Chinese Nationalists Praise Trump’s Cuts to Voice of America
Beijing has long criticized the outlet, as well as Radio Free Asia, for highlighting human rights abuses in China.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Another dictator for Trump: Trump deported hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador this week, paying that country $6 million to take them. El Salvador's leader, who sought the deal, has called himself the world's "coolest dictator." www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/w...
nytimes.com
Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s Leader, Sees Opportunity in Trump’s Deportations
President Nayib Bukele’s role in the Trump administration’s deportation strategy signals a new level of power and global visibility for the young leader.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Health Secretary RFK, Jr. would allow bird flue to spread unchecked on poultry farms. Scientists say that would be disastrous. To paraphrase Dirty Harry, "Do you feel lucky, punk?" www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/h...
nytimes.com
RFK Jr.’s Prescription for Bird Flu on Farms: Let It Spread
The health secretary has suggested allowing the virus to spread, so as to identify birds that may be immune. Such an experiment would be disastrous, scientists say.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
We are now facing a constitutional crisis. This weekend Trump's team deported hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to a prison in El Salvador over the weekend. It appears that this action was without legal basis and a deliberate violation of a federal court order. Let me explain why.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the military to revive the Confederate names of military bases, restoring honor to traitors to our country who fought for slavery. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/u....
nytimes.com
Hegseth Revives the Old Name of Another Military Base
The base’s name was changed to Fort Moore in 2023 as part of a bipartisan effort to eliminate military honors bestowed on Confederate officers.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Trump has proposed using taxpayer money to create a crypto currency reserve. Proposals for crypto reserves by Trump and his allies will include crypto currencies sponsored by his donors and Trump himself. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/b...; truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Crypto Reserve Plan Raises Doubts. Here’s What We Know.
The prospect of using taxpayer money to stockpile cryptocurrencies in a national reserve has drawn criticism from lawmakers and investors.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Trump’s trade war, which the Wall Street Journal has called the “dumbest in history,” www.wsj.com/opinion/dona..., may well trigger a global recession. mishtalk.com/economics/a-...
wsj.com
Opinion | The Dumbest Trade War in History
Trump will impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for no good reason.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
In last week's speech to Congress, Trump claimed that the U.S. has spent $300 million to aid Ukraine; the real figure is $175 million. www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
wsj.com
How Much Aid Has the U.S. Given to Ukraine?
President Trump–who on Monday paused military aid to Ukraine and is expected to address the issue in his speech to a joint session of Congress–has said the U.S. has spent a total of $350 billion
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
In foreign affairs, Trump has already trashed our longtime allies; ignited trade wars; threatened to seize Canada and Greenland; criticized Germany for shunning a neo-Nazi party; cozied up to Putin, a vicious tyrant, and put in doubt whether we will honor our mutual-defense agreements.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Although Trump promised voters he won’t touch Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, the Republican budget cannot meet its target of multi-billion spending cuts without slashing those programs. www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...; www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/u....
newsweek.com
Donald Trump's deafening silence on Medicaid
The president did not mention the health care program during his speech to Congress, amid fears it will be victim to GOP spending cuts.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Meanwhile, DOGE’s “wall of receipts,” a list of supposed savings, has crumbled as basic errors have come to light – millions confused with billions, triple counting, counting contracts already completed or cancelled years ago, and mistakenly thinking that Social Security is paid to 150-year-olds.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
In addition to massive destruction to government operations, DOGE has stripped Americans of their privacy, as DOGE’s kiddie corps has gained access to Americans’ tax returns, health information, and bank accounts.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Musk brags that only unproductive workers are being laid off, but many received their pink slips after recent glowing reviews. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/u...
nytimes.com
Horticulturists, Biologists, Engineers: Federal ‘Bloat’ or Valued Experts?
President Trump’s effort to remake the government is a direct challenge to a decades-long effort to build a civil service stocked with experts. Critics say it will backfire.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Mass layoffs have occurred at the National Weather Service and its parent agency, NOAA. Those agencies have now lost irreplaceable experts in safeguarding the public from hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, and wildfires. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/w....
nytimes.com
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Under Trump, the Veterans Affairs Department has announced plans to eliminate more than 80,000 workers. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/u.... The agency was already understaffed. The cuts this will impair services promised to those who risked their lives and sacrificed to protect our freedoms.
nytimes.com
Veterans Affairs Department Plans to Eliminate More Than 80,000 Workers
The cuts would be a major escalation of the downsizing that has already occurred at the department, which provides health care and many other services to veterans.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Apart from their illegality, the bulk of the DOGE cuts and layoffs are harmful and senseless. For example, DOGE has crippled the U.S.A.I.D., whose spending has helped counter the roots of terrorism and eliminate third-world diseases before they can infect Americans.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, Trump’s biggest campaign donor and media megaphone, is rapidly slashing staff and funding of federal agencies. This supposedly will reduce “waste, fraud and abuse.” In fact, DOGE’s actions are unlawful, harmful, and destructive.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
It's important now and then to step back and remember how fundamentally dishonest Trump is. All politicians lie, but with him lying is a feature, not a bug. He made over 30,000 false or misleading claims during his first administration, an average of 21 per day. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_o...
en.wikipedia.org
False or misleading statements by Donald Trump - Wikipedia
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Yesterday Elon Musk reposted a tweet on X stating “Stalin, Mao, and Hitler didn’t murder millions of people. Their public sector employees did.” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/t... FALSE. Those three men, as absolute dictators, were ultimately responsible for all killings by their regimes.
nytimes.com
Elon Musk Shared, Then Deleted X Post Absolving Hitler, Stalin and Mao of Genocide
The post falsely claimed that Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong were not responsible for the murders of millions of people, but rather public sector workers were.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
The proposed cuts to IRS staff will also customer service positions. Offices will be closed, and wait times for phone calls will grow even longer.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
DOGE plans to cut up to half of the IRS staff with layoffs, attrition, and buyouts. This is supposed to cut “waste.” Many of those to be laid off do tax audits, and every $1 spent on auditing the wealthiest 10% of taxpayers brings in around $12 in revenue. economics.mit.edu/sites/defaul...
economics.mit.edu
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
This week the Trump admin. fired a Justice Dept. lawyer who refused to restore actor Mel Gibson's gun rights, which he lost because of a domestic-violence conviction. Normally, domestic violence is considered diqualifying for gun ownership. However, Gibson is Trump's friend.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Trump logic: Tesla vandalism = domestic terrorism. Rioters who assaulted the Capitol police on January 6, 2021 to try to block a valid election = "victims" and "warriors."
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Since Trump took office, U.S. stocks (S&P 500) have gown down 6.4%, while Russian stocks (RUS) have gone up 8.9%. Coincidence or is Trump a Russian asset?
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Pres. Trump on food prices: Aug. 2024: “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down starting on day one” Dec. 8, 2024: “I won on groceries…We’re going to bring those prices way down.” Mar. 8, 2025: “Shut Up About Egg Prices” (posting on Truth Social an article by his pal Charlie Kirk)
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Since Trump took office, U.S. stocks (S&P 500) have gown down 6.4%, while Russian stocks (RUS) have gone up 8.9%. Coincidence or is Trump a Russian asset?
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
To understand Trump’s approach to governing, I highly recommend “The Fifth Risk,” a 2018 book by Michael Lewis. It describes the invaluable, unsung work of federal agencies such as the Departments of Energy and Commerce, and the mismanagement by Trump's team when they took over in 2017.
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jlevy @jlevy1954.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
WILL TRUMP’S TARIFF’S BE SHORT-TERM? Nope. He says he wants tariffs to balance the budget. But his tax cuts will increase the deficit by $5.4 trillion between 2024 and 2034, even after his draconian social-spending cuts. This means that long-term tariffs, a trade war and a recession.
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