The Dark Side

WE ARE HERE

This image was posted on the official Whitewash House social media pages. 

The blood on his jacket: nice touch

He recently posted on his social media site as well as Twitter: "He who saves his Country does not violate any Law." 

This quote is attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. Go ahead and channel Napoleon, you twit. We know how that ended.

King.... pshaw. Not on my watch!

President Muskrat and the DOGE Bags

What is Muskolini's role? No one knows. SCROTUS doesn't know.

Patriot? 
Employee?
Consultant?
Whatever you want?

I choose criminal asshole. 

What Musk isn't:

Elected

Appointed

Confirmed

In charge of DOGE?

Ignore his blathering about social security in that video. I'll talk about that below.

Meanwhile, while this nonentity is running rampant through our government, the supposed president is golfing. He has no idea what is going on, and he doesn't care.

Fort Knox

Now Muskovite literally wants the keys to Fort Knox. 

Why do I suddenly feel the urge to travel to Kentucky to stand in front of the doors?

(Bonus: I'll actually be in the area in a few weeks, and if this moron decides to go when I'm there, you can bet I'll be in front of the gates!)

LSR's attempt at AI "art"

Social Security

Elon Musk literally wants to steal your social security money.

Wow wow wow. There is so much freaking mis- and disinformation flowing about social security. It messes with a person. 

Let's break it down. 

150-year-olds on the social security rolls?

Well, yes and no. There's a couple things to understand here. Firstly, way back in the olden days, when Social Security was started to become digitized, an ancient language called COBOL was used. Mr. Musk might be too young to remember the language of the grandfather coders, and certainly his baby minions are. (Oh, but Elon isn't a coder at all; he does not understand much in the engineering world other than how to exploit engineers' knowledge for his own gain)

The default year of birth put into the database for unknown DOBs was 1875. Ta-da! 150-year-olds show up.

That doesn't mean they are receiving SS checks.

There is a culling of people on the rolls who are 115 years old. The very few that slip through the cracks have payments stopped. 

AND! Funeral homes are required – and do – send a form (SSA-721) for every death that comes to them. Social Security payments are stopped at death.

All the people that are in the system do not receive Social Security checks! The new Social Security acting chief – installed by the Cheeto himself – clarified this over the last couple days.

The Muskrat and his orange baby man are lying because they want to instill fear and outrage so that they can gut the system and steal our money. 

What a bunch of incompetents!

This moronic move...

Can we just not please?

Below the screenshot, I paste the entire post from The Trumpland Diary. It's worth the read.

Let me give everyone one quick example of why Elon and his pack of flying monkeys at DOGE aren't quite the savvy tech geniuses playing 4D chess MAGA seems to think. They're more like a bunch of idiots playing checkers with rocks, bottle caps, and some saltine crackers the high schoolers keep nibbling on.

Here's how the idiocy began:

1. A wanna-be political influencer named Mario Nawfal went over to USASpending.gov and uncovered what he THOUGHT was a $9M contract between the Department of Defense (DOD) and Reuters (the news outlet) for a nefarious psy-op.

Nawfal then tweets out to his 44 million followers: "DOGE investigations reveal mysterious Defense Department payments to Reuters for "large scale social deception" project between 2018-2022."

2. Elon Musk sees Nawfal's tweet, reads it, doesn't bother to double check the story about what HIS OWN department is doing, and shares it to his 218 million followers.

3. Donald Trump reads Elon's tweet, and "truths" it out to his [sad] 9 million followers on Truth* Social, calling out the "Radical Left Reuters" and demanding they give back the money!!!

Here's WHY it's 9 levels beyond idiotic:

If you go to the USASpending.gov website (which Nawfal actually provides a screenshot of), you can plainly see the contract in question is between the DOD and "Thomson Reuters Special Services LLC."

REUTERS is a news outlet.

THOMSON REUTERS SPECIAL SERVICES is a cyber security firm ( https://www.trssllc.com/ )

Other than having the name "Reuters" in common, these businesses are different entities to each other.

"Okay, Shane, but then why did the DOD give THOMSON REUTERS a $9M contract for some 'large scale social deception'?!? Why is the DOD paying ANYONE—even if they're not a media outlet—to engage in 'large scale social deception?'"

THEY DIDN'T!

Look at the ENTIRE line item Mario Nawfal took a screenshot of:

ACTIVE SOCIAL ENGINEERING DEFENSE (ASED) LARGE SCALE SOCIAL DECEPTION (LSD)

Thomson Reuters Special Services LLC is a cyber security firm that was contracted by the DOD to provide cyber DEFENSE AGAINST "large scale social deception."

This contract DOGE "uncovered" doesn't involve in any way the media outlet they're naming. They got confused because 2 different companies have the same name. And the actual contract they're freaking out about does the exact OPPOSITE of what they're claiming it does.

Aren't we all so lucky to have DOGE uncovering all this "waste, fraud, and abuse?"

Here's more stupidity:

I don't know much about coding, but I'm including this for posterity. Follow this thread about the making of the DOGE website which shows what absolute incompetents are on the inside taking over our systems! People Who Know Stuff are exposing these idiots for what they are. Half-wits! Dangerous half-wits!

How 'bout this blunder:

The Accidental Firings

Oopsie! Did we really want to fire the people overseeing our nuclear supplies? 

Yeah, so it happened. A bunch of experts were fired and purged from the government systems. When someone raised a finger, ummmm, maybe we need these people, they couldn't find them because all of their information had been erased from databases.

You can't make this shit up! 

And what about those people tracking and mitigating bird flu? 

Fire them! 

Oh no, wait! – my bad – Get them backkkkk!

Consider this idiocy...

DOGE has claimed $55 billion in "savings" so far. But the math doesn't math.

Just like LSR trying to figure out her part of the tab after a cocktail or two, they just can't get their numbers straight.

One of the discrepancies listed a contract cancellation that netted $8 billion "savings." Ummm, except that the contract cited was worth $8 million. 

Billion, million, you say tomato....

I'll let The New York Times tell you more, because, well, yanno.... LSR and numbers....

This. This is why we don't hire pimply-faced post-pubescent coders to "audit" for fraud. See, an accountant wouldn't make a 1000-fold mistake like that.

Speaking of pimply-faced post-pubescent coders...

Big Balls now has access to our cybersecurity agency. This 19-year-old fucker, along with his buddy, 38-year-old software engineer Kyle Schutt, has infiltrated the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Forget hacking! Just walk in through the front doors!

Not only are they infiltrating our most sensitive data, DOGE is sharing classified information with the entire world. 

People, this is concerning. Our most sensitive information is being seized and disseminated! Please, call your Members of Congress again today. Here is the script from 5calls.org. Please!

DOGE checks?

Ahhh, yes, let's bribe American citizens to overlook the rape of their government and theft of their tax dollars by offering them $5000.

There's a bunch of problems with this plan, of course. Things like economics, Congress, laws, ....yanno, stuff DOGE hates. 

If they do send a check, and if you receive it, and if you decide to cash it, inspect the accompanying documents carefully. Make sure there is no hold harmless clause. That would prevent any future action against the criminals, say in a class action lawsuit. 

Muskrat's Neuralink company is facing investigations

Just a quick note, because LSR does not have time to go down every rabbit hole.

His firm has been under scrutiny for years. From 2022, Reuters: the firm was accused of unethical animal treatment during testing of the device.

This month, Reuters reports that staff at the FDA who was investigating Neuralink were fired. 

Because of course. How can a megalomaniac take over the most powerful country in the world without eliminating people who stand in his way?

The FAFO Files

Ahh, yes. They fucked around on November 5. They are finding out now.

"I will lower prices on Day 1".

Americans want lower prices. Period. He ain't delivering, and as much as we will suffer for it, it may be his undoing (is that what Elong meant by "temporary hardship?").

I'll let Rachel Maddow tell you about other FAFO moments.

And the amazing Rep. Jasmine Crockett also outlines some more FO:

Crockett: "Down in Alabama, who's broke. Down in Louisiana, who's broke. I can go through pretty much the entire south and tell you that they're broke and rely on a lot of welfare from the government. To be perfectly honest, it is tax dollars from these big blue states...we're in the find out phase"

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 19, 2025 at 4:05 PM

Finally, Yair Rosenberg in The Atlantic writes about more. 

CIA

So this is complete conjecture, but do you think the CIA is working on something WRT Napoleon Fingers and Elong?

I'm sure I'm not the only one to have this idea, but it came to me when I learned of a 1943 Report on the psychology of Adolph Hitler. I got to wondering, is anyone working on a counter-intelligence report on the Rabid Demented Incompetent Incontinent ? Who would do that? The CIA, of course. They get to do lots n lots of secret things.

Yes, technically the CIA is under the executive branch, but we know they act on their own! TЯUMP is a national security threat, as is President Muskolini. Will the CIA do anything, or are they too entrenched? 

Other CIA stuff: He's trying to revoke the clearances from a bunch of former intelligence officers. He is trying to fire a bunch of CIA agents, but the courts are pushing back. And the agency is shooting themselves in their own foot by sending an unclassified email with the names of several newly hired (under probation; easy to fire) agents so they can be dismissed. This kind of stupidity puts real lives at risk. 

Brief notes on other shit nuggets

Eric Adams fallout

The newest: the judge in the case conducted a hearing about whether to drop charges against Adams. Judge Dale Ho wanted to know why. Was dropping the charges in exchange for cooperation with immigration policies? 🤔

Breaking: Today, Judge Ho appointed an outside lawyer to examine the case and present arguments. 

Judge Chutkin's ruling

Judge Tanya Chutkin, sadly, ruled against 14 states, led by New Mexico, in their bid for a temporary restraining order against the DOGE bags. The rejection of a TRO, however, may very well turn out to be a win for the states in the long term. She indicated that a later permanent injunction may win on the merits of the case. Right now, it was a bit early to bring a restraining order. 

Immigration

We are in a world of hurt. 

The official Whitewash House social media accounts shared a disgusting video mocking and dehumanizing immigrants being shipped out. I won't embed the video, but here is the link. 

It has sparked outrage, rightly so.

Have you called your MoCs lately about immigration issues? For example, ask them to oppose H.R. 32.

The Measles Outbreak

Chris Britt

As you probably know, because you haven't seen a case in the last couple decades, measles has been nearly eradicated in the U.S. because of good vaccine programs. I should say had been. West Texas and eastern New Mexico are experiencing an outbreak, with nearly 100 cases so far this month. 

The biggest numbers are in Gaines County, Texas, which also has the (surprise) highest rate of opt-outs for vaccinations. I'm so sad for the kids who have no choice and are at the mercy of their parents' wacko ideas. 

It's not going to get better, friends. Not with the guy running our health agencies. 

Nick Anderson

Mitch McConnell is retiring.

As I had predicted in my last post, he has decided not to run for reelection in 2026.

Good riddance, you fuckface.

Here are true words from Fear and Loathing: Closer to the Edge

Well, well, well—if it isn’t the Grim Reaper of the Senate finally shuffling off into the abyss, his shell cracked, his soul long since pawned off for one last round of tax cuts and judicial hijackings. Mitch McConnell, America’s favorite political corpse, has finally decided to retire—not because of some grand epiphany, not because the weight of his sins finally crushed him, but because gravity and basic bodily function caught up with him first.

It’s been quite a run, Mitch. Five decades of sucking the life force out of democracy like some kind of turtle-faced Nosferatu, leeching every last drop of decency from the American political system until all that remained was a gangrenous husk of partisan hackery and corporate handouts. You were never a visionary, never a leader—just a slithering, backroom dealmaker with the charisma of a tax audit and the moral compass of a used car salesman running a Ponzi scheme out of a strip mall.

And yet, somehow, against all odds, you became the most powerful man in Washington. A political crypt keeper, embalming progress, cackling over the filibuster like some deranged museum curator protecting a pile of dinosaur bones. Your greatest achievement? Turning the Senate into a nursing home for bad ideas, where legislation goes to die and decency is left to rot in the hallway like an unclaimed corpse.

But now, after a series of public malfunctions that made Joe Biden’s verbal misfires look like Shakespearean soliloquies, you’ve decided to hang up your cloak and scythe. And not a moment too soon, Mitch. America has been watching you glitch out like a broken animatronic at Chuck E. Cheese, freezing mid-sentence at press conferences, tumbling down stairs, and getting that haunted “blue screen of death” look in your eyes every time a reporter asks if you plan to run in 2026. Spoiler alert: No, you don’t. You’ll be lucky if you make it to 2026 without turning into a cautionary tale about why we shouldn’t let octogenarians run the country.

But let’s talk about your legacy, Mitch, because that’s what really matters. What will history say about you? That you were a master strategist? A political genius? No, Mitch, history will remember you as the smirking, soulless little gremlin who sold the country down the river one judicial appointment at a time. You thought you were playing four-dimensional chess, but in the end, you were just a pawn in Donald Trump’s undersized, greasy hands—a miserable little footnote in the great tragedy of American democracy.

You could have stopped Trump. You could have buried him after January 6, when you had the chance. But instead, you did what you do best—nothing. You let the orange buffoon off the hook, muttering something about "criminal justice" handling him later, as if the court system you rigged in his favor was ever going to hold him accountable. And now look at you: retiring in disgrace while Trump rides high, surrounded by bootlickers and lunatics, reshaping the GOP into something so grotesque even Richard Nixon would be clawing at the lid of his coffin trying to escape.

You spent your whole life consolidating power, only to end up a punchline—a broken-down, malfunctioning fossil, mumbling your way through press conferences while Trump calls you “Old Crow” and mocks your wife with racist slurs. That’s the best part, Mitch: he never even respected you. You did everything for him, debased yourself, torched every bridge to reality, and he still treated you like a dented can of expired soup taking up space in his cupboard.

But hey, enjoy retirement! Maybe take up painting, like Bush. Maybe shuffle around Kentucky’s bourbon distilleries, sipping Old Crow, wondering if it was all worth it. Because here’s the thing, Mitch—history doesn’t care about "legislative genius" or "tactical brilliance" when it comes at the cost of the country. You’ll be remembered not as a mastermind, but as a political cockroach—scurrying in the dark, surviving, outlasting your enemies, but never actually winning.

So, farewell, Mitch. May your retirement be long, humiliating, and filled with endless reminders that despite all your efforts, your greatest achievement was being the guy who enabled Trump, only to be discarded like a used napkin.

Happy retirement, you withered old bastard. History will write your obituary in ink as cold as your heart.

Here are Ann Telnaes's cartoons about him from over the years.

Lots of other stuff. So much comes so fast! 

Ukraine

Gah! Babyhands called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator," accused him of starting the war, and shut him out of deal talks to end the war. Russia was there. Marco Rubio, the "Secretary of State" was there. Zelenskyy, president of the other party in the three-years-long war? Not invited. 

This love affair with Russia. I don't like it.

Veterans cuts

Veterans are worried about job cuts as well as benefits cuts. VA Secretary Doug Collins defends the DOGE cuts but tries to tell us that benefits won't be cut. Don't bet on it! 

Chaos and confusion rule the land. 

IRS cuts

Six thousand IRS jobs were cut, right here smack dab in the middle of tax season. What a shit show. Will we get the help we need to prepare our tax returns? Will we get refunds? When? Will they be able to audit millionaire tax cheats? Can you say: "this is opposite of saving money"?

Gary Varvel

The Purge

Associated Press is keeping track of firings. There are no official numbers – that would mean transparency from DOGE – but they are reporting the best they can.

Walt Handelsman

Fighting Back

Attend your representatives' town halls. Put the fear into Repug reps who are up for re-election in 2026. People like Georgia's Rich McCormick. He faced his constituents recently. They are big mad. 

Watch the meeting here:

@kharrisfans Republicans are NOT the party of the working class and that is LOUD AND CLEAR! #kamala #kamalaharris #kamalaharris2024 #vp #biden #fyp #foryoupage #donaldtrump #viral #joebiden #democrats #washington #republican #jdvance #trump #elonmusk ♬ original sound - kharrisfans

Yes, I know they voted for the Orange Julius Caesar, but we need to support them in their push-back! 

Be like Chris Kluwe.

Video:

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— Adam Parkhomenko (@adamparkhomenko.bsky.social) February 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM

Here's an article about it from the Orange County Register. Go, Chris!

Demonstrate!

The people on the street have a huge say. Do not underestimate your presence! 

Get sign materials ready for the next call for action. Mine is on March 1, when we will be protesting at the Tesla dealership.

Here are a couple events I attended this month. 

• More than a thousand attended our emergency Feb 8 town hall with Rep. Salud Carbajal on February 8. I attended on Zoom. The meeting was featured on Rachel Maddow!

• On February 17, I attended a demonstration in nearby Carpinteria. A bunch of us stood on the four corners of an intersection. It was gratifying to have passing cars honk and wave in solidarity. 

There are pictures in this post. And here I am!

I know; I need to fix my sign and fill in the letters. Thanks for side #1, SRAnne!

Donate or volunteer!

Musk is pouring millions into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Write postcards to Democratic voters in Wisconsin in favor of the preferred candidate for justice, Judge Susan Crawford. Postcards to Voters will help. It's an easy act of resistance. Or donate to Judge Crawford's campaign. Or both!

Wear your colors! 

Buy a T-shirt from Raygun, who teamed up with Brian Gibbs, the former Iowa National Park ranger who went viral for his heart-felt post after being fired (I shared it in the last LSR offering). Stand with rangers! 

AltNPS t-shirts are sold out, but they have cool stickers. Keep your eye on their store. Maybe they will restock shirts!

Be a Karen!

In a good way! 

You know, things like:

Talk to the managers (your members of Congress)! 

Yes, call them again! They need to hear from you oftenly! In blue states: thank them for resisting the current administration. In red states and purple states, tell them plainly that you are paying attention, that you care, and that you vote! Tell them what you want! Use 5calls or resistbot. 

Speak your mind! 

Do not comply! Be courageous!

"Tyranny requires your fear, your silence, and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage." Thanks, Gov. Pritzker!

Tyranny requires your fear, your silence, and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage.

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— Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) February 19, 2025 at 6:14 PM

Boycott!

Here are upcoming events nationwide:

Get ready for NO SPENDING on Friday, February 28. If you must buy essentials, try to use cash and spend at locally owned businesses (bonus if you can find Black-, women-, LGBTQ- or other minority-owned businesses).

Our country needs more Karens!

Again, I remind you: Find joy! Live joyfully! Do not cower in fear. This is exactly what Repug congresspeople are doing. Fear allows you to be controlled. We will not be controlled!

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." – Yoda 

You know it's true.

I leave you with a couple yummy nuggets.

The 🔥 Jasmine Crockett

Your Moment of Beauty

See? Good leaders can be found in Kentucky!

Coming soon: a meme dump. Stay tuned.