"Why should we love our enemies? The first reason is pretty obvious. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says 'Love your enemies' [Matt. 5:44], he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies – or else? The chain reaction of evil – hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars – must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation." – Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977), 53.
#government
️
#Introduction
These make the world better:
#Equality #Liberty #Justice for All
#Compassion #慈 #Frugality #儉 #Forbearance #不敢為天下先
#LandValueTax #SingleTax #Georgism #Geolibertarianism
#Constitutional Orthocratic #Government #FOSS
#Universal Income #Healthcare #Education #Accessibility #Housing
#Libraries #Multiculturalism #Atheism
#Urbanism #Environmentalism #Feminism #Travel
#Music #bass #bassguitar #pedalboard
#Filofax #FountainPen
#TTRPG #bicycle #comics #manga #anime
#TransWomenBelongHere
This is for everyone who has a #government that does horrible things in their name, who voted for a campaign promise but got nothing or the opposite, who has been disappointed repeatedly, who feels unheard, or who never even got a chance to vote!
If you can relate, feel free to use this as your profile image so that others like us can see they are not alone, and those affected by our countries #politics see we disagree!
Struggling With Errors, DOGE Deletes Billions More From List of Savings
For the second time in a week, Elon Musk’s govt overhaul effort updated its “wall of receipts” to remove #mistakes that inflated its success.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/us/politics/doge-musk-contracts-wall.html
"From its start, the list has been full of errors... claimed credit for contracts that had ended years or even decades before...
these mistakes raised questions about #DOGE ’s basic understanding of the federal #government"
"At the #FDA, labs that analyze samples to ensure that #food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics are #safe and meet regulatory standards are already facing shortages...
to keep ultra-cold freezers running. These freezers preserve samples of cells and other biological material that reflect years, and sometimes decades, of #research. Delays in getting liquid nitrogen tanks could destroy that material."
https://www.wired.com/story/doge-elon-musk-spending-cuts-federal-workers/
"The credit card program allows federal workers to bypass the typical procurement process required to buy goods and services. A 2002 report from the Department of #Commerce said that, “by avoiding the formal procurement process, #GSA estimates the annual savings to be $1.2 billion.” It also enables federal employees to avoid paying sales tax on expenses that the #government is exempt from."
https://www.wired.com/story/doge-elon-musk-spending-cuts-federal-workers/
An FDR-Style "State of the Union"
Imagining What He Would Say Today, versus Trump/Musk/Putin
https://davidpepper.substack.com/p/an-fdr-style-state-of-the-union
"The actions of #Musk & his associates mirror those of the #economic royalists I warned about in prior years...
their dismantling of vital #government agencies & services and the bypassing of constitutional #ChecksAndBalances are not acts of #efficiency or savings, but attacks on the foundations of our republic."
DOGE's Misplaced War on Software Licenses
DOGE claims that a #government agency has nearly three times as many #software licenses as employees. Experts say there are plenty of good reasons for that.
https://www.wired.com/story/doge-software-license-cancel-federal-budget/
"licensing for the program is based on the number of devices on which it is installed, not the number of employees...
the #DOGE stuff... “has some salience but is done in a bombastic way to make it seem like they are having more impact.”
All of Trump’s Appointees Are Sick of #ElonMusk
Donald Trump’s appointees are growing frustrated with DOGE’s dangerous shenanigans.
https://newrepublic.com/post/192220/elon-musk-donald-trump-cabinet
"Musk’s #email just isn’t good for efficiency.
...if two million federal employees spent 15 minutes responding to emails, at their average wage of $35 per hour, they would ultimately waste 500,000 hours and cost the #government $17.5 million.
“That’s a conservative estimate""
ElonMail, Take Two – Exec Branch Compliance Watch Update
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/elonmail-take-two-exec-branch-compliance-watch-update
"One rumor or belief that’s been circulating for the last week has been about the part of the emails which says to write the #email and cc their supervisor. A lot of people think that that is to enable #DOGE to create a #government wide org chart"
DOGE's cuts are harming veterans
That's not efficient. It's cruel, it's wrong, & it's unAmerican.
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/doges-cuts-are-harming-veterans
" #ElonMusk... bought access to the president... so he could launch his #DOGE program... that is firing hard working, essential, middle-class employees, including #veterans.
Firing veterans who perform essential duties isn’t #government efficiency, it’s cruel...
The real Trump/Musk objective appears to be #cruelty more than efficiency."
Trump Is About to Hide DOGE’s True Costs From the Entire Country
Trump’s commerce secretary is preparing to mess with the country’s economic statistics.
https://newrepublic.com/post/192216/trump-lutnick-economic-statistics-gdp-doge
"The #Trump administration might exclude #government spending from gross domestic product reports to cover up upcoming poor #economic reports, and to hide the true scope of #DOGE cuts.... [which] could have a negative impact on the #economy."
Vulture Capitalism Comes for #Democracy
The playbook #Trump & Musk are following to dismantle govt resembles the one used to pick apart America’s newspapers.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/vulture-capitalism-comes-for-democracy
"Trump & #ElonMusk... are taking their chainsaws to the federal #government. Waiting in the wings are Trump’s #billionaire buddies—including 13 in his administration—who are salivating at the prospect of govt agencies being privatized"
US may exclude govt spending from GDP, obscuring effect of Doge cuts
Howard Lutnick’s remarks echo #ElonMusk... [lies]
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/03/trump-government-spending-gdp-doge
"spending cuts pushed by... Elon Musk’s so-called “dept of govt efficiency” ( #Doge) could possibly cause an economic downturn...
Govt spending is traditionally included in the #GDP because changes in #taxes, spending, deficits & regulations by the #government can affect the path of overall growth."
AOC calls Elon Musk a ‘leech’ on the public as their tit-for-tat feud continues
‘No matter how many billions he gets in tax cuts & #government contracts, it will never be enough for him’...
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-elon-musk-leech-doge-b2707377.html
“Now he’s going after the #elderly, the #disabled & orphaned #children so he can pocket it in #tax cuts for himself... It’s disgusting.”
“If you want to start with waste, start with Elon’s defense contracts at the #Pentagon"
Elon Musk publicly supports call for US to exit NATO, UN
https://kyivindependent.com/elon-musk-publicly-supports-call-for-us-to-exit-nato-un/
"Both #NATO & the #UN were founded by the #US & other victors of #WorldWarII to promote #diplomacy and cooperation between nations as well as to prevent another global #war.
#Musk, an unelected official, currently heads the so-called Dept of Govt Efficiency, which has cut significant amounts of #government spending, including life-saving foreign aid."
‘It Feels Like It’s Chaotic on Purpose’
Elon Musk’s Dept of Govt Efficiency laid off a team whose purpose was to make the #government more efficient.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/doge-elon-musk-18f-elimination-efficiency/681894/
"Late #Friday night, the #Trump admn, as part of its push to modernize the govt with #software, laid off roughly 90 people from the General Services Admn—all federal technologists whose role was to **modernize the govt with software."**
A letter to the American People:
https://18f.org/
"18F was doing exactly the type of work that #DOGE claims to want – yet we were eliminated.
When former #Tesla engineer Thomas Shedd took the position of #TTS director... he acknowledged that the group is the “gold standard” of civic #technologists... He repeatedly emphasized the importance of the work, and the value of the talent that the teams bring to #government"
GSA shutters 18F, possibly leaving agencies in the lurch
On early Saturday morning, the General Services Administration eliminated the program.
https://fedscoop.com/gsa-shutters-18f-possibly-leaving-agencies-in-the-lurch/
"18F workers appear to have lost access to their #government email accounts immediately after Shedd’s announcement, which was sent around 1am. Employees then began calling each other in the middle of the night to discuss the news."
"18F was popular among the agencies; annoying to the contracting community; & frightening to the contractors & consultants who could charge unsuspecting agencies whatever they could get away with. Small, but mighty, #18F was the OG #DOGE, but with a mission to create actual efficiency...
Their dismissal with a late-night #email demonstrates that this admn either doesn’t know how to effectively enhance #government efficiency, or really doesn’t care."