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Are you in favor of having a Department of Government Efficiency?

I do think that there's a lot of wasteful government spending, and those are our tax dollars being wasted. Politicians for many years have promised to cut spending, and now something is being done.

I like the idea, but the reality is going to be different.

How will the reality be different, Papa?

Scout wrote: "How will the reality be different, Papa?"

I have two problems with this. On the face, I think it is great idea that we put together a group that can cut the waste. Lots of stupid programs that need not be. However, this is not lawmakers and only Congress has the purse strings. Second, I can see this continue on and become part of the problem. Another government agency that perpetuates itself. So I wait and see.

Papaphilly is correct about this being an executive overreach. To do this legally, Trump needs Congress to grant him Presidential Reorganization Authority. They last granted that to Reagan.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presi...

I feel that we are walking a razor's edge. Trump is correct that the bureaucracy needs to be heavily pruned, to control the budget and limit unelected power bases. But Congress has shown no will to start cutting. It feels a bit like Caesar and the Senate.

The one to keep an eye on is USAID. The alphabet agencies love to portray it as Uncle Sam's charity bowl, paying out to all the unfortunates of the world. In reality, it is the Deep State's bribery and corruption fund.

Yes, they buy some bags of rice for starving children. They also fund viral research labs in Wuhan. And they dole out payola to improve the lives of people in third world countries, by way of those people's corrupt governments.

The last time a populist leaning president got in the way of Langley's plans, it didn't end well for the president.
https://youtube.com/shorts/Ti3Mpv4fwt...

But don't go by me. I'm paranoid. And it's not like that sort of thing could happen today.
https://youtu.be/NsfMPTiIuvY?si=vQUAH...

I don't understand why people are so upset if executive orders have to be backed up by Congress. Nothing has really changed yet, has it? Aren't these just ideas Trump's throwing out there, but not yet enforceable? And my understanding is that DOGE is an advisory group, so why the paranoia about Elon?

I actually do not know much about ASAID. I do worry that there is the baby getting thrown out with the bath water. I do hope there is a scalpel used as compared to a chainsaw on these reductions.

DOGE is a revelation and entirely legal.

From the BBC:

Our statement on USAID funding
https://www.bbc.com/mediaaction/press...

Why were we funding an arm of the UK government?!?!

Good question. Here's another one. "American-born jihadist Anwar al-Awlaki received “full funding” to attend Colorado State University in 1990, USAID documents obtained by Fox News show." https://nypost.com/2025/02/11/us-news...
How could this happen??

He wasn't a jihadist when he received aid to attend CSU. He may have been an "Muslim activist" up to when he was imprisoned for 18 months in Yemeni. That's when he became a jihadist, probably radicalized by other "detainees".

How many American-born, university educated white young men have been radicalized? We don't seem to want to talk about that.

(BTW, I'm about as white as white can be and entitled as they come, so I feel like I can ask that question.)

Journalist Matt Taibbi testifying about the impact of USAID money in journalism.
https://youtu.be/SiwLGLJcuf0?si=A34Jv...

Roger wrote: "He wasn't a jihadist when he received aid to attend CSU. He may have been an "Muslim activist" up to when he was imprisoned for 18 months in Yemeni. That's when he became a jihadist, probably radic..."

I don't know.

USAID was created by the Kennedy administration to act as a funding clearing house for intelligence agencies' dirty games. Before that, the alphabet agencies didn't coordinate, and often overlapped or conflicted. Spooks have been at the core of USAID since its conception.

So, USAID educated this guy. He proceeded to ingratiate himself into the Muslim extremist community, including 9/11 hijackers. He ended up in Yemen where Obama had him assassinated. Yeah, Obama ordered the extrajudicial execution of a US citizen.

Was he just a one-in-a-million bad apple?

Or was he a spooky plant who either went off the reservation or just knew too much?

Does our government do shady things? Hell yes they do. Is that a surprise? No.

When the shady things turn out good for us, we're happy. When they don't, we get all judgy and miffed.

So what should the US do? Be totally neutral like Switzerland? Historically, how has that worked for us? Every time we try to disengage from the world and be an isolationist, the world tends to go to shit. Woodrow Wilson didn't want anything to do with the war in Europe. Franklin Roosevelt didn't want anything to do with the war in Europe. What happened? We were drawn into both wars anyway. Would the wars have been shortened and less people died if we had gotten involved earlier? Maybe, maybe not. But again, historically isolationism hasn't worked out.

Trump seems to want to try this isolationism thing again. I don't think it's going to work out this time either. Maybe if he read more history he would see that. What did George Santayana say? “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Lee Zeldin, new Administrator of US EPA, claims to have found billions of dollars which the previous administration tried to hide in a NGO slush fund.
https://youtu.be/MxkzQn8S5p0?si=awmh6...

Roger wrote: "Does our government do shady things? Hell yes they do. Is that a surprise? No.

When the shady things turn out good for us, we're happy. When they don't, we get all judgy and miffed.

So what shoul..."

My problem is two fold.

First, we keep creating our own worst enemies. We trained Ho Chi Minh. We trained and armed the Taliban. We trained and funded Osama Bin Laden. Now, we've rearmed the Taliban. Who do you think we'll regret next?

Second, a slush fund for foreign dirty games was being used to fund domestic journalism. Do you think they did that in the best interests of a Republic of free people?

J. wrote: "Do you think they did that in the best interests of a Republic of free people?"

No, I don't. I think that violates the first amendment, and I think anyone, including any POTUS, that violates any part of the constitution should be held accountable. My problem is that we don't hold people accountable for their actions. The left and the right are equally to blame. If it's their side that breaks the law then that's ok. We need to point fingers in a non-partisan way.

Of course, if you think that's going to happen then I have some oceanside property in Nebraska that I'll sell you.

I agree. Government is not to be trusted. It would be nice if the Dems were doing their jobs. But for the moment, it is just Le Grande Orange and his Merry Band of Miscreants.

So the bigger question becomes, does the American people have the right to know everything? It is a very simple question that is actually a very complicated answer. I certainly believe not to trust government. I also think we have the right to know the truth. However, how does a country trying to help its people keep secrets that help the keep the country strong and prosperous? As for blaming one side or the other, both do shady stuff.

I was listening about DOGE on the radio and it sound like they are using a scalpel and not a chainsaw. Not everyone is getting let go and plenty are already back at work.

I like the concept of DOGE and what it can accomplish, but I trust Elon Musk as much as I do Donald Trump. Which is not at all. I believe they both want what is best for them rather than what is best for the country. Sometimes that may be the same thing, but when it isn't, I think they will choose themselves over the country.

I am a big believer in "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." -- JFK

When it comes to presidents, I tend to agree with Frank Herbert.

“I wrote the Dune series because I had this idea that charismatic leaders ought to come with a warning label on their forehead: "May be dangerous to your health." One of the most dangerous presidents we had in this century was John Kennedy because people said "Yes Sir Mr. Charismatic Leader what do we do next?" and we wound up in Vietnam. And I think probably the most valuable president of this century was Richard Nixon. Because he taught us to distrust government and he did it by example.”

Roger wrote: "I like the concept of DOGE and what it can accomplish, but I trust Elon Musk as much as I do Donald Trump. Which is not at all. I believe they both want what is best for them rather than what is be..."

Tell that to the Democrats.

J. wrote: "When it comes to presidents, I tend to agree with Frank Herbert.

“I wrote the Dune series because I had this idea that charismatic leaders ought to come with a warning label on their f..."

The only problem with his analogy was Kennedy was pulling the U.S. out of Vietnam. This was truly Johnson's war.

Papaphilly wrote: "J. wrote: "When it comes to presidents, I tend to agree with Frank Herbert.

“I wrote the Dune series because I had this idea that charismatic leaders ought to come with a warning label..."

We could swap in Obama and the crime he committed against my gas can.

J. wrote: "Papaphilly wrote: "J. wrote: "When it comes to presidents, I tend to agree with Frank Herbert.

“I wrote the Dune series because I had this idea that charismatic leaders ought to come w..."

8^)

Roger, you say you don't trust Elon and Trump. How do you think DOGE is profiting either of them financially? Any proof of that? Now, as far as politically, it is profiting the Republican Party because the wasteful spending has been on obviously left-wing craziness sent to other countries. If you've seen the list, you know what I mean. Whether Republican or Liberal, very few moderate Americans are seeing this as responsible management of their tax money.

What do you think DOGE has accomplished so far? Would you say it's been a good or bad idea? I was looking today at all the jobs that will be eliminated, and I wondered what that will do to unemployment numbers. On the other hand, I saw that people are going back to work where they will be held accountable instead of working from home (and maybe also working at another job???)

There are rumors that Elon may have gone too far in some cases. Trump is saying now that it's up to Department Heads to determine who should be fired for cause.

Wasteful government spending found by DOGE (3-11):

Today,
@NIH
cancelled the following grants:

- $620K for “an LGB+ inclusive teen pregnancy prevention program for transgender boys”
- $699K for studying “cannabis use” among “sexual minority gender diverse individuals”
- $740K for examining “social networks” among “black and Latino sexual minority men in New Jersey”
- $50K for assessing “sexual health” among “LGTBQ+ Latinx youth in an agricultural community”
- $75K for researching “structural racism”

Scout wrote: "Wasteful government spending found by DOGE (3-11):

Today,
@NIH
cancelled the following grants:

- $620K for “an LGB+ inclusive teen pregnancy prevention program for transgender boys”
- $699K for..."

My thanks to the D.O.G.E.

Thanks to DOGE, more government waste of our taxes:

Department of Government Efficiency
@DOGE
·
Mar 13
Other grant examples from
@NIH
:
- $100K for Vanderbilt University to study “social networks” among “sexual and gender minorities”
- $37K for the University of Houston to study “fear of deportation” in “Latinx young adults”
- $681K for the University of Pennsylvania to study “social media anti-vaping messages” among “sexual and gender minority teens”
- $225K for the University of Colorado to study the “effects of hormones on headaches in transmasculine adolescents”

We haven't known until now who exactly is exploring wasteful spending in different departments of government. I had some questions myself about young upstarts doing the work. If you have questions, these two interviews conducted by Brett Baier with Musk and the guys working on this may give you answers.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=916...

https://www.foxnews.com/media/elon-mu...

I can say about this guy, like of hate him, he is doing the work under lots of scrutiny and moving forward. Whether it is good work in the end or not, I reserve judgement, but I am watching and hopeful.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, income tax was supposed to be temporary too.

I'll chirp in. I've lived long enough to see politicians on both sides talk about waste and taxpayers' money for decades. They did nothing but waste more.

I really didn't know much about Elon Musk other than he owned part of Tesla.

When Elon took control of Twitter, which became X, the first thing he did was stop any child porn on that freaking platform and anything to do with pedophilia.
That's big.
He immediately layed off all workers doing a lot of nothing.
X is doing just fine without them.

If 47 wants to find all the fraud eating up citizens social security dollars, that's fine with me.

Elon is using his top tech guys to find it.
120 -130 year olds getting s/s checks? Deceased people? fine with me.

Doge.. millions for gender experiments on mice?!! A laundry list of graft and grifters.

I watched Elon in recent interviews gotta search for the full interviews. Wont find it on MSNBC. He's committed to 130 days.
Then he is out. I'm sure he does not need this S__t. His goal is to retrieve one trillion dollars in waste and fraud.

He and his family get constant death threats.
Animals are throwing fire bombs into showrooms and Tesla cars. Whats next, burning them in peoples garages? They locked up the Unabomber for similar. I don't give a rats ass about anarchists. They can lock them up forever.

Trump wants to save enough to stop the tax on Social Security. Great!

If the government continued spending, it would collapse.
No one would get anything. So if they are allowed to accomplish even half better off than it was.

If the government can't function, people my age would be put on the ice.

My take.. If they accomplish this, I will light a candle for both of them.

This is only my opinion. And my last political word on Doge and Elon Musk.

I'm too old to argue politics. I have a calmly wait and see attitude.
No offense to anyone.

Thanks. :)

If you want to see the interviews, check out post 37. I agree with what you've said here, and I can't understand Democrat leaders staying silent on the fire bombings and destruction of property (and sometimes encouraging it). If they could explain exactly what DOGE is doing that makes them Nazis, I'd be interested in hearing it. But they don't give specific reasons and examples for their hatred and distrust; they just name call and commit illegal acts. I can't go along with that.

Scout wrote: "If you want to see the interviews, check out post 37. I agree with what you've said here, and I can't understand Democrat leaders staying silent on the fire bombings and destruction of property (an..."

The comparisons are less important than the fact that the political left and their MSM puppets have reached the end stage of Godwin's Law.

Scout wrote: "But they don't give specific reasons and examples for their hatred and distrust; they just name call and commit illegal acts. I can't go along with that...."

Silent due to complicit involvement.

Well said.

DOGE strikes!

"BREAKING: After DOGE entered The ‘Institute of Peace’ headquarters, their accountant deleted 1 Terabyte of records.

The data was recovered by DOGE and evidence was referred to the FBI and DOJ."

REF: X: https://x.com/america/status/19180990...

More evidence of a pattern of systemic fraud within the US .Gov.

The full DOGE meeting: tremendous insight.

REF: X: https://x.com/i/communities/185716764...

I'm glad Elon is going back to work on his own companies. He's sacrificed a lot to do the government and taxpayers an important service. He got a lot of hate from Democrats who don't want to see their slush funds dry up. I hope he gets a break from all that.

https://nypost.com/2025/05/04/opinion...

https://www.axios.com/2025/05/01/elon...

This is my fear. A temporary government project to continue on. Want to bet if this happens, it becomes bloated over time?

Papaphilly wrote: "https://www.axios.com/2025/05/01/elon...

This is my fear. A temporary government project to continue on. Want to bet if this happens, it becomes bloated over time?"

I seem to recall posting something about this risk months ago.

J. wrote: "Papaphilly wrote: "https://www.axios.com/2025/05/01/elon...

This is my fear. A temporary government project to continue on. Want to bet if this happens, it becomes bloated over ti..."

I think we both talked about it on another thread.

While DOGE is staffed by volunteers - it won't become bloat...