Flotsam and Jetsam - DOGE Has Big Balls, Trump Revokes Biden Security Clearance

One of the wunderkinds working for Elon Musk's DOG used the screen name 'Big Balls' during his early life as a gamer, and another expressed some slightly less than politically correct racial language on line earlier, and the Democrats and the Media (but I redund), are running around screaming and crying about it. So naturally, VP Vance, Elon Musk and President Trump forgave them, and caused an even greater ruckus. Dave Strom, Democrats Hysterical About 'Big Balls'. Bill D'Agostino@Banned_Bill, "There are two types of journalists: 1) People who spent all day yesterday saying "Big Balls" on national television. 2) Actual journalists. Yesterday was weird." (video at link). Victory Girls, DOGE Staffer Causes Media Freakout Over “Big Balls” Nickname. Althouse joins the fun with I want a song parody that uses the phrases "Big Balls" and "plastic straws" — maybe to the tune of "Popsicles and Icicles." "Try to include a lot of the Trump-related items that are bouncing around the internet today. I can't blog all these things. There are too many. And it's too absurd. I've already asked A.I., but it just doesn't know how to make it interesting and funny. Here's the inspiration (and note the straws!)" Paula Bolyard at PJM sees the media doxing the "Chaos Monkies", DEATH RATTLE: Release the Chaos Monkeys! Aesthetica @Anc_Aesthetics, "This is the doxxer at the WSJ who doxxed the DOGE team member and got him fired. She worked at Business Insider who have a history of doxxing people and she was funded by USAID. It looks like she was hired solely to go after the DOGE team." Also, "Here’s my view: I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life." ""We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever. So I say bring him back. If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that." Tweeted JD Vance." Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain "By saving that staffer’s job, Trump, Vance, and the team will end up putting an entire class of point-and-sputter journalists out of theirs No one will pay for digging up mean tweets if there’s no payoff at the end." Buck Sexton@BuckSexton, "The old lib media tactic to search/destroy an individual must no longer work. We don’t give care what they think. And we shouldn’t, ever again. Cry more, libs." Quote Mediaite @Mediaite, "JUST IN: Elon Musk To Rehire DOGE Staffer Who Bragged 'I Was Racist Before It Was Cool' https://mediaite.com/a/afniw" Jon Gabriel @exjon "Ages of Revolutionary War figures on July 4, 1776: •Marquis de Lafayette, 18 •James Monroe, 18 •"Light-Horse Harry” Lee, 20 •John Marshall, 20 •Nathan Hale, 21 •Alexander Hamilton, 21 •James Madison, 25", Quote Paul Farhi@farhip, "Musk’s commando staff includes guys who are 21, 23, 24 and 25. One is *19* years old. His job title is “Expert.” When you were 19, what were you an expert at? x.com/propublica/sta…" At Tech Cruch, One of Elon Musk’s young DOGE engineers explains how he won the $700K Vesuvius Challenge. Justine Bateman, @JustineBateman, "Every utility company, every insurance company, every credit card company, every social media company has all this." Quote Rep. Eric Swalwell @RepSwalwell "Your data has been breached. Donald Trump gave unvetted teenagers access to your most private information. We are fighting now in the courts. And, shortly, Democrats will use our votes — in government funding bill — to stop this madness and secure your data. x.com/jasonleopold/s…"

Ace, Trump to Gut USAID; Deep State Strikes Back as Unions Sue. "Holy crap: Rubio has calculated how many USAID "workers" are really needed: Kyle Becker @kylenabecker JUST IN: Secretary of State @MarcoRubio has just informed USAID workers that he only needs 294 of them. There are 14,000 people who work at the agency. The DOGE Effect." The FOO @PolitiBunny, "Guess we know who’ll be picking our fruits and veggies." Quote, Karen Piper @PiperK, "The new USAID website: "Everyone is fired." 10,000 people losing their jobs overnight." Mike Benz @MikeBenzCyber, "I cannot stress this enough: USAID made a formal program to promote foreign countries to pass foreign laws and regulations to influence content moderation policies of US tech platforms." SNW, EXPOSED: Taxpayer Dollars Laundered Through NGOs to Everytown, Other Anti-Gun Operations. VodkaPundit at PJM, USAID Funds Ended up at BLM (and You Might Not Believe Where Else). The Patriarch Tree @PatriarchTree, "Let me see if I got this right: USAID gave money to Black Lives Matter. BLM rioters burned down the cities. The riots were covered by journalists, also funded by USAID, who said burning down the cities was "mostly peaceful."" Dave Strom at Hat Hair, USAID Helped Fund Hamas Tunnel System and Guess Who Funds The WEF? You Do and Leaked USAID Docs: Helped Overthrow Bangladeshi Government With Military Coup. Nick Arama at RedState likes how Sen. Kennedy Decimates Dems and USAID on Senate Floor With Shocking Details Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes, "Ready to have your mind blown? Senator John Kennedy on Elon Musk and DOGE exposing USAID, “I'll tell you what Mr. Musk discovered. I find it fascinating. He discovered: - The American taxpayers are giving money to Afghanistan - He found that we are giving money to Yemen - He found that we are giving money to Syria - He found that the USAID has 10,000 people employees, and every year they give away $40 billion - He found that the USAID gave money to support electric vehicles in Vietnam. Our money, taxpayer money" and much much more. Twitchy says 'Give Him a Medal': John Kennedy OWNS Dems Whining About DOGE with Damning LIST of USAID Expenses (Watch). Da Fetched, USAID Caught Funneling $260 Million to George Soros Organizations. Mia Cathell at TownHall, Oh, So That's Why Ilhan Omar Is Upset About USAID's Funding Freeze. At Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog Taxpayers Paying For The Systemic Preference Falsification Scam Being Run Against Them. Steve Richards and John Solomon at JTN, Before Trump purge at USAID, memo warned agency it created 'vulnerabilities' doling out foreign aid, "The internal watchdog warned the agency that it was not sufficiently vetting for terrorists or getting the U.N. to comply with transparency requirements." At Da Caller, ‘There’s A Culture Of Corruption’: Former USAID Director Spills Agency’s Abuse And Waste That He Says Runs Deep. Begee Welborn at Hat Hair, USAID and the Power That Be...or Was. Foreign Affairs Committee, ICYMI: Washington Post Exposes Democrats’ Hypocritical Flip-Flop on USAID Reorganization. Bob Spencer at PJM notes Former USAID Official Liz Cheney Rips Elon Musk for Being a... Foreigner. Althouse sees Autocrats everywhere. "Here's Samantha Power, writing "I Ran U.S.A.I.D. /Killing It Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere" (NYT). Of course, she will defend her reign, but what are her most substantive points and does she accept any blame? That's my attitude as I'm reading this to make some excerpts for you. Power begins by listing some things that will seem good to many or most Americans — health programs, "giving girls a chance to get an education," "growing local economies," "helping communities rebuild after ISIS. . . ." If the claims weren't false, would you tell us?"

Nick Sortor @nicksortor "BREAKING : President Trump has just signed an executive order requiring an audit of EVERY NGO which relies on federal funding, per Reuters Biden gave BILLIONS to these NGOs to facilitate an invasion of our country. Like the Red Cross, who was providing LITERAL MAPS to help illegals get to the U.S. Mexico border And now, justice is coming. Anxious anxiously reports a Scoop: Trump orders key government agency to cancel all media contracts. At the European Conservative (EC), Trump’s NGO Apocalypse. VodkaPundit at Insty sees a CHANGE: "Trump orders key government agency to cancel all media contracts. . . . The gravy train is coming to a stop."

At The Freep, Betsy DeVos: Shut Down the Department of Education, "I served as the 11th U.S. secretary of education. That’s how I know it’s beyond repair." Da Caller, ‘Students Will Be Better Off’: Former Education Secretary Pitches Plan To Completely Dismantle Her Old Agency. Insty, As America’s Newspaper of Record notes: Country With Record Illiteracy Worried What Will Happen If Education System Reformed. Twitchy, He Is ALL OF US: Twitter Celebrates BASED Security Guard Saying 'NO' to Screeching Democrats. Ace, Corrupt Senile Democrats Staging an Insurrection at the Department of Education, "They want to see the Department of Education one last time before Trump shuts it down forever." PJM's Matt Margolis reports Democrats Stormed Speaker Johnson’s Office for Some Reason.

WSJ, EPA Begins to Put Environmental-Justice Workers On Leave. "Move would unwind Biden administration program to aid poor communities recovering from environmental risks." WaPoo whines Trump moves to shutter environmental offices across the government, "The administration plans to close the Environmental Protection Agency’s environmental justice office and place 168 employees on leave, as well as remake the Justice Department’s environmental division." From Inside Climate News, they're not taking it well,  ‘It’s Worse Every Day’: Environmental Justice Staffers at EPA Face Uncertain Future as Potential Layoffs Loom.

At Althouse, "Good trouble." Ellen L. Weintraub (@ellenlweintraub.bsky.social) @EllenLWeintraub, "Received a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner & Chair of @FEC. There’s a legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn’t it. I’ve been lucky to serve the American people & stir up some good trouble along the way. That’s not changing anytime soon." From the NYT article on the subject: "“Congress explicitly, and intentionally, created the F.E.C. to be an independent, bipartisan federal agency whose commissioners are confirmed by Congress,” said Trevor Potter, a former commissioner and chairman of the commission].... “As the only agency that regulates the president, Congress intentionally did not grant the president the power to fire F.E.C. commissioners.”..." I think Potter means to say the President can't fire her at will, but he can fire her for cause. That's what Weintraub means by "There's a legal way." The relevant statute says: "Commissioners may be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office." Is there cause? The NYT says: "Ms. Weintraub was the chief architect of a novel strategy to further paralyze the commission in partisan deadlocks in order to compel enforcement of the nation’s election laws through the courts. She previously described it as a last resort after years of enforcement efforts being stymied by the three Republicans on the commission...." Yer out!

Sundance at CTH says Oh Boy – DOGE Team Now Reviewing Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, The Elizabeth Warren Shakedown Racket and U.S Debt Clock Now Tracking DOGE Savings. Beege Welborn, DOGE Is Coming for the Bureau of Labor Statistics - Knees Are Already Knockin'. Jeff Blehar at NRO asks Who Let the DOGEs Out? "Some depressing news: It feels like every other media company in America was getting paid beaucoup bucks by the federal government for digital subscriptions over the last four years except us." Dave Strom, Dems Go to Hoaxes Again... "Did you know that Elon Musk is the real president of the United States? Did you know that he is going to defund all public schools in America? Did you know that Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are going to stop issuing checks? How about his dastardly plan to crash every airplane in America?" VodkaPundit at Insty, SO NOW THE MEDIA IS ALL INTERESTED IN THE POWER BEHIND THE THRONE? "Trump ran with Musk at his side, promising to unleash him and the DOGE boys on government spending. Biden was a senescent puppet who was never that bright or honest to begin with — and the media happily covered for Biden and the cabal. You do not despise them enough." Capt. Ed tells The Dirty Secret of DOGE: Dems Built It. "At first they claimed that Elon Musk had no authority to operate his DOGE project or access government information, until it turns out ... he did. As attorney Tom Renz explained in a lengthy Twitter/X thread, Trump took an agency launched by Barack Obama in 2014 called the US Digital Service and renamed it the US DOGE Service, and made Musk a special adviser to it. Trump then installed Musk's team as US DOGE Service staff and retasked the agency to find and expose all government spending in the executive branch."

At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.07.25 (Morning Edition), EBL, USAID Scandal and Media Corruption, Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt gives White House briefing, and The Left Is Freaking Out, Twitchy: Dan Bongino Levels Eric Swalwell For Crying About Protecting His Data From Elon, Woke WSJ Journo Who Doxxed DOGE Op & Got Him Fired Has Damning Connections To USAID, and The Tater Says X Is “Bursting With Wild Falsehoods About Government Spending”, Louder With Crowder: Democrat congressman files NEW articles of impeachment against Trump, claiming “dastardly deeds”, Democrat attempts to resist Elon Musk’s alleged “shadow government” are so far off the rails, even CNN’s laughing at them, Karoline Leavitt reveals insane amount of taxpayer dollars a media outlet got and what the Trump Admin is doing about it, Vox Popoli, The Media was Always Fake, Bugscuffle Gazette: Government Fooled Around, Dana Loesch: Politico Got Paid From USAID & Other Government Agencies and Don Surber: Who These Little Boys Are.

At Da Wire, Tennessee Attorney General Files Brief In Support Of Trump’s Order Limiting Birthright Citizenship, "TN AG Skrmetti argued that precedent does not support the broad interpretation of birthright citizenship."  Beege Welborn sees The ICE Man Went to Aurora and Met With a Frosty Reception. Former Lawman, ICE Raids Infamous Tren de Aragua Stronghold in Colorado, Arrests 100+ Suspects and Wealthy NY Elites Panic, Fear ICE Will Deport Their Illegal Alien Maids, Gardeners and Nannies. Ace, 10 Tren de Aragua Prison Gang Members Arrive At Their New Home -- Guantanamo Bay, "And so it begins. Posted by: Guy who always thinks things are beginning. Trump is taking out the trash, and he's taking it to a Marine base in Cuba." Charlotte Hazard at JTN reports DHS Secretary Noem goes to Guantanamo to finalize logistics on housing deported illegal migrants. John Sexton at Hat Hair, San Francisco Sues Trump Administration Over Sanctuary City Crackdown and LA High School Walkout to Protest ICE Turns Into Street Brawl, One Person Stabbed. 

WSJ, Deal Reached to Protect Names of FBI Agents in Jan. 6 Probes, "Temporary agreement with Justice Department will shield identities from being publicly released over safety concerns," At Da Signal, ‘It Really Disturbs Me’: One Republican’s Dire Warning to His Party "“I’m looking forward to us being the Congress that actually does something other than always talking a big game,” Brecheen told The Daily Signal." Or at least stay out of Trump's way. Also, Georgia Asks AG Bondi to Drop Biden Admin Lawsuit Over Election Law. 

LifeZette finds Dems in Full Panic Mode, Scramble to Block Kash Patel from FBI Role. They're not done shredding yet. From Breitbart, ‘That Bullsh*t Can’t Happen’: Grenell Says DEI Must Not Slow Fire Cleanup. Stephen Kruiser notices President Trump Is an Existential Threat to the Uniparty. At TownHall, Cutie Pavlich reports Trump's Tax Plan Is Coming Together, The White House @WhiteHouse "PRESIDENT TRUMP'S TAX PRIORITIES:  No tax on tips, No tax on seniors’ Social Security,  No tax on overtime pay, Renewing the Trump Tax Cuts.  Adjusting the SALT cap. Eliminating special tax breaks for billionaire sports team owners.  Closing the carried interest loophole,  Tax cuts for Made in America products." 1945 has hopes Donald Trump’s New Tariffs Could Be a Fatal Blow to China’s Economy. At Ace's MORNING RANT: Why Didn’t Principled Free Traders Argue That Canada Would Benefit from Trump’s Tariffs, Since They Advocate that the U.S. Benefits from Surrendering to Foreign Mercantilism?  Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Zelensky to Trump: Keep Ukraine Free, Get a Great Deal on Strategic Resources! War Monitor @WarMonitors, "#BREAKING Egypt says it will work with partners to reconstruct Gaza without Palestinians leaving the strip — Reuters."

 Sundance, Finally – President Trump Announces Executive Order to Make Straws Great Again. "This is a big one, and well worth the November vote all by itself. President Trump has announced his intention to Make Straws Great Again, by signing an executive order reversing the insufferable paper straw dictate from the Biden era." Twitchy, Make the Arts Great Again: Trump Names Self as Chairman of Kennedy Center and Ends Drag Shows for Kids. Sundance, Culture Wars – President Trump Removes Head of Kennedy Center, Appoints Himself and Vows “a Golden Age in Arts and Culture”. Ace, Trump: I'm Appointing Myself Chairman of the Kennedy Center and Dissolving the Previous Board, "And no more trans shows for children."

At the Volokh Report, Josh Blackmun reports on how JD Vance briefly became President for a few minutes, Guest Post from Professor Kurt Lash: (Former) President J.D. Vance. You may have missed it, but, in fact, J.D. Vance was, by law, our 47th President. If only briefly. If you watched the Inauguration Ceremonies, you might have noticed an odd moment of rush and confusion between J.D. Vance saying his oath of office and Donald Trump then saying his presidential oath. During those brief moments, J.D. Vance was commander in chief of the armed forces and chief executive of the United States. Let me explain. J.D. Vance took his oath of office just as the clock was striking 12:00pm. (you can see this on the C-Span feed)According to the Twentieth Amendment, "The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January." This occurred because the ceremony had gone overtime, likely due to a certain politicians deciding to give an elongated comments (for what reason, heaven only knows). So, instead of Vance taking his oath before 12:00 and Trump taking his oath at twelve, Vance officially became Vice President at the stroke of 12:00pm-- the precise moment former President Joe Biden's term expired. There being no other person qualified to be president at that moment, J.D. Vance automatically became the President." Insurrection Barbie@DefiyantlyFree, "People who become billionaires in private industry, and then go to serve the government decrease their net worth. Yet somehow Clinton, Obama, Bush, Biden and all their top staffers increased their net worth after “public service.” Funny how that works. Lifelong public servant is apparently a very lucrative job."

From NYPo, Trump says he is ‘immediately revoking’ Biden’s security clearance and access to daily intelligence briefings: ‘I don’t trust him’. You mean Hunter's security clearance? Da Hill whines Trump revokes Biden’s security clearance: ‘Joe, you’re fired’. Trump also referenced special counsel Robert Hur’s 2024 report , which offered insights into Biden’s handling of classified materials. “The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information,” Trump said in the post. “I will always protect our National Security — JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Sundance, President Trump Cancels Joe Biden Security Clearances. Biden revoked Trumps clearance in 2021, setting him up for the Mar-a-Lago raid. Matt Vespa at TownHall, So, That's Who Was Running the Country After Joe's Disastrous CNN Debate, "Hunter Biden ‘commandeered’ the White House after Joe Biden got pummeled by Donald Trump in the June debate on CNN, which eventually became an election-killing event for Democrats. It gets even more insane: Hunter Biden took over the White House. That’s what Li alleges—it wasn’t Lady McBiden, aka Jill, it was Hunter."

Matt Margolis says Joe Biden’s Fake Job Numbers Scandal Just Got Worse. E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. @RealEJAntoni "All months in '24 were revised down in today's jobs report, w/ the average revision being -626k; what's even crazier is the business employment dynamics data from BLS and early benchmark from PHL Fed point to even worse downward revisions in the next annual benchmark:" Justin Hart@justin_hart, "Every single month in 2024 just got revised down in today’s jobs report—by an average of -626k. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the BLS business employment dynamics data and the Philly Fed’s early benchmark suggest even bigger downward revisions coming in the next annual update. Buckle up. h/t @RealEJAntoni"

From the Free Bacon, Biden State Dept Privately Downplayed Use of 'Jihad' and 'Occupation' in UNRWA-Made Study Materials, Saying Only 'Some Other Audiences' View the Terms as 'Inappropriate' "The internal memos, obtained by the Free Beacon, aimed to combat criticism over the Biden admin's decision to resume UNRWA funding."

At Althouse, "I think [the Democrats'] primary currency was shaming and scolding and talking down to people and telling them 'Hey, I know better than you, or you’re dopes...'" "Said John Fetterman, quoted in "Democrat Sen. John Fetterman blasts party brand as ‘toxic’ after years of ‘shaming and scolding’ voters" (NY Post)."

Could We Be Witnessing the End of Liberal Media? Matt Margolis asked hopefully.

Brendan O'Neill at Spec World explains How Trump is liberating the US from the transgender madness. "His executive order is searingly feminist. It’s a manifesto against misogyny." Insty sees HOLLYWOOD, INTERRUPTED: James Woods @RealJamesWoods, "Munchausen by Proxy has become a cancer in leftist culture. Mass hysteria no different than the Salem witch trials. I am speaking of the cultural zeitgeist in generaI. I have no specific knowledge of this tweety bird and her flock of “transgenders.”" Charlie Kirk@charliekirk11 "At a protest against Trump's executive orders targeting child mutilation procedures on minors, Actress Cynthia Nixon reveals that: -Her daughter is transgender -Her niece is transgender -Her best friend's child is transgender -Her daughter's best friend is transgender -Her life is filled with transgender people, "young and old, but especially young." President Trump is saving American children from one of the most destructive social contagions in human history" and Dr. Clown, PhD @DrClownPhD "Charlize Theron is a horrible mother." The problem is, of course, that one way for the child of a Hollywood star to get attention is to come out as gay, non-binary or trans. At Fox, California plans to continue allowing trans athletes to compete in girls' sports despite Trump executive order, "The state has faced multiple controversies over trans athletes competing against girls in the last year." At the National News Desk, London's Science Museum claims Lego bricks can be anti-LGBT. Alas, Legos don't have "bonus holes." 

At Althouse, "Under her leadership articles have included 'How Feminism can Guide Climate Change by Action,' 'Denial of Evolution is a Form of White Supremacy,' and a critique of Star Wars..." "... titled: 'Why the term JEDI is problematic for describing programmes that promote justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.' The author of this last piece called the Jedi 'a religious order of intergalactic police-monks, prone to (white) saviorism and toxically masculine approaches to conflict resolution (violent duels with phallic lightsabers, gaslighting by means of "Jedi mind tricks," etc)'...." From "How magazine went from publishing Einstein to calling Jedi racist/Scientific American has been accused of abandoning objective rigour for a ‘woke’ agenda" (London Times).

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Casual and FMJRA 2.0: Scalped up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.