May 12, 2025

We already have two new AF-Ones on order from Boeing for $3.9 billion

The backstory:
Boeing received a $3.9 billion contract in 2018 to build two new Air Force One aircraft. It was a fixed price that would have saved taxpayers money, so even though it has gone over budget, Boeing will foot the bill and taxpayer money will only pay the original $3.9 billion.

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Now, the two new 747-8s are delayed until 2027 or 2028 because Boeing has experienced unstable labor, engineering changes, and supply. Furthermore, there were issues with subcontractors, forcing Boeing to replace them, only adding to the delay. Moreover, the company struggled finding enough employees who could hold a security clearance. Unfortunately, setbacks like that cost time and money.

President Trump was the one who brokered the original $3.9 billion deal with Boeing, hoping the project wouldn't exceed $4 billion. It was also the president who got to choose the plane's paint scheme. He landed on a dark shade of blue for the underbelly, white for the upper half with a thick red stripe and a thin gold stripe separating the two.

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One could say that President Biden was a traditionalist or he was a fan of the lighter blue paint job the current Air Force One has, but his color scheme would have been the cost-effective choice. The dark underbelly that Trump is a fan of would "...drive additional engineering, time, and cost," according to CNN. A dark paint job on the lower half of the plane could cause the temperature to rise and exceed the qualification limits for electronics that are designed to protect the plane and those aboard. However, with Trump back in the Oval Office, it appears that he has reverted back to his original idea as he cut an Air Force One-shaped cake at his inaugural ball with his color palette.

Read More: https://www.slashgear.com/1778472/why-new-air-force-one-boeing-2-7-billion-dollars-over-budget/

May 10, 2025

Les Mis performer boycott planned for June 11 Kennedy Center fundraiser/performance...heh-heh

When The Master of the House presides over the Kennedy Performing Arts Center next month for a fundraiser/performance of “Les Misérables,” some key performers won't be on stage.

NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA — ONLY THE BEST,” said Trump's Truth Social site in February as he wecomed Richard Grennel on board-- "WELCOME TO SHOW BUSINESS!”

At least 10 to 12 performers in Les Mis are planning to sit out the show on June 11, the night that Trump attends at the Kennedy Center, the sources said. The cast was given the option to not perform the night Trump will be in the audience, and both major cast members and members of the ensemble are among those sitting out, according to the sources.

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During his 2016 campaign, Trump used music from Les Mis during his campaign rallies, which the co-creators of the musical objected to, according to the Guardian.

In a statement to CNN, Grennell, who identified himself as president of the Kennedy Center, said he was unaware that some cast members planned to boycott the performance on the night of Trump’s appearance and that the Kennedy Center will “no longer fund intolerance.”

“Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed,” said Grennell. “In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire - and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience. The Kennedy Center wants to be a place where people of all political stripes sit next to each other and never ask who someone voted for but instead enjoys a performance together.”
(Italics are mine)

The spirit of Les Mis lives on!

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/07/politics/kennedy-center-les-mis-cast-boycott-trump

May 8, 2025

Trump to end "woke handouts" that help disabled, vets, rural areas and others access digital

He posted today:

"I have spoken with my wonderful Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and we agree that the Biden/Harris so-called 'Digital Equity Act' is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL," Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social. "No more woke handouts based on race!"

"The Digital Equity Program is a RACIST and ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway. I am ending this IMMEDIATELY, and saving Taxpayers BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!" he added.

The act, signed into law by former President Joe Biden, targets seniors, incarcerated individuals, veterans, people with disabilities, those facing a language barrier, members of racial or ethnic minority groups, and people in rural areas.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-digital-equity-act/

May 7, 2025

Why is djt hitting Harvard so hard? It may be revenge.

Penny Pritzker, 66, who served as Obama's Commerce Secretary, now heads the Harvard Corporation, which is charge of Harvard's operations, including the power to hire and fire personnel.

Pritzker, meanwhile, is one of the world’s richest women, with a net worth of $4 billion, slightly ahead of her younger brother, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, according to Forbes. Their father Don was president of the family’s Hyatt hotel chain, turning it into an international conglomerate, and in 2014, Penny Pritzker founded PSP Partners, which owns a large portfolio of real estate, marketing and information technology businesses.

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In the 1970s, when Penny Pritzker’s uncle Jay was operating the Hyatt chain, it signed a deal with Trump to buy a failing hotel in New York and rebrand it as the Grand Hyatt, marking Trump’s first major development in Manhattan.

The partnership soured over the next decade, and Trump sued the family in 1993, claiming it had taken advantage of his
financial struggles. (A settlement was reached in 1995.)

“They attacked me when I was down,” Trump told the Chicago Tribune that year. “Now I’m doing great again and it’s my turn. I always said, the first time I got back on my feet, the Pritzkers would be the first people I’d go after.”

(italics are mine)

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/us/penny-pritzker-harvard-board-trump

May 5, 2025

Friend in New England called me yesterday, and said the VA in her area is

a "shit show." She's a VA nurse practitioner and said they're having to turn patients away from packed waiting rooms every day. The staff has been cut in half, and all remaining are working overtime to see at least 50 patients/day. Surgeries have had to be canceled.

New staff scheduled to come on board have been diverted to other VA facilities or opted to take a private practice job.
Any people near retirement, among the most medically experienced, are gone. Even those who will receive just a portion of their pension have gone, too.

TSF said there would be a "little pain." Guess he and the DOGE goons didn't figure on how painful it can be to have your cancer surgery canceled after already surviving a months-long wait.

May 3, 2025

The loathesome face of this administration's policies

Opinion By Michael Signorile, The Signorile Report

That face is Stephen Miller’s, a man who offers loud, hateful bromides to the media, all of which you expect to end with, “Heil Hitler!” This guy is pure evil, salivating over “deporting” brown-skinned 4-year-old American citizens with stage-four cancer.

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Faced with the polling plummeting on those issues and the majority believing Trump is a dictator, you’d think they’d turn to the many smiling, robotic blonde women they have as officials—though, admittedly, Pam Bondi is pretty scary. But they’re putting the grating and horror-movie-ready Miller—a guy who looks like a defendant at the Nuremberg trials—out to defend a president now believed to be a dictator by most Americans.

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And, at least on immigration, when it’s not Miller it’s the really creepy-looking Tom Homan, the so-called border czar, who talks like he has marbles in his mouth and looks like he gives off the scent of three-day-old clothes and cheap bourbon.

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It shows how much power Miller has amassed—because you know there are those in the administration who must loathe him—and how out of touch Trump is to make them the face of policies he’s cratering on. But hey, bring it on.

https://www.alternet.org/trump-stephen-miller/

May 2, 2025

New federal data: 177,000 jobs added in April.

Employers across the U.S. added 177,000 jobs in April, new federal data shows, a sign the labor market is still humming despite ongoing economic uncertainty caused by the Trump administration's trade policies.

Job growth was stronger than expected in April, the Labor Department said Friday in its monthly employment report. Payroll gains exceeded economist forecasts of 135,000 last month, according to financial data firm FactSet.
The nation's unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, matching forecasts from analysts polled by FactSet.

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Health care companies, along with the transportation and warehousing sector, saw the largest gains in employment last month, adding 51,000 and 29,000 jobs, respectively. Federal employment declined by 9,000, up from 4,000 in March. Government layoffs have risen in recent months because of cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which the Trump administration touts as a cost-saving effort.

(Should we be skeptical? Altho furloughed employees are included as working.)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jobs-report-today-april-2025-economy-tariffs-trump/

May 2, 2025

Peter Thiel's ICE tracking system raises privacy concerns for the public

A $30 million no-bid contract with GOP megadonor Peter Thiel's Palantir Technologies will help Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents build a sophisticated system to prioritize people for deportation, including accused gang members and people who have overstayed their tourist visas. The contract with the Denver-based company calls for rolling out a prototype this fall.

The ImmigrationOS project reflects the approach DOGE has brought to the federal bureaucracy under Trump, as Musk's deputies seek technology-focused solutions to make government more efficient. Palantir already runs the ICE system used for Homeland Security investigations, and the new ImmigrationOS will merge data from multiple databases from the government and private sources.

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Civil liberties groups warn systems like ImmigrationOS pose significant risks to the general public, in part because it's unclear how the system would be limited only to people living illegally in the United States. Such a system, they warn, could easily be expanded to target any American.

Trump has suggested that he wants to remove not just immigrants but U.S. citizens if they're deemed dangerous, and said he's ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/02/ice-deportation-tracking-palantir-thiel/83375538007/

May 2, 2025

Cruella Bondi delighted to start executing people

"Mr. President, your first 100 days has far exceeded that of any other presidency in this country, ever, ever!" Bondi exclaimed. "Never seen anything like it! Thank you!"

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She went on to argue in support of an executive order he signed upon taking office that restored the federal death penalty.

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"I'm signing death warrants," she added ominously.

Since Trump was re-elected, Bondi has made it clear that she supports his harsh crime policies. She recently called upon Luigi Mangioni, who is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson back in December, to be executed.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/bondi-declares-she-s-signing-death-warrants-as-trump-restores-capital-punishment/ar-AA1E0m7L

May 1, 2025

Little Marco's busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs...

He's not only Secretary of State, fgs, but also National Security Advisor and --

Acting Archivist of the United States
Marco Rubio
The Archivist is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate and is responsible for safeguarding and making available for study all the permanently valuable records of the federal government, including the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, which are displayed in the Archives' main building in Washington, D.C.

Guess not much will go to the Archives if djt doesn't like it.