Octopus Overlords

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:09 pm Wow. That has to suck to hear but definitely your fault.

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:11 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:09 pm Wow. That has to suck to hear but definitely your fault.

Harsh.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:13 pm

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:11 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:09 pm Wow. That has to suck to hear but definitely your fault.

Harsh.

Shit, edited. Typo.

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 8:58 pm I just got a call from a former client letting me know that up to 100 people at their agency are potentially subject to "administrative action", primarily because they attended a DEI training course that I sold to them. This was loooooong before any of the current DEI executive orders happened, during first and second year of the Biden administration. Two of their senior leaders have been placed "administrative leave", apparently with that program specifically called out as one of the reasons why.

I need to go vomit now.

Holman wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:18 pm Holy shit.

You're saying clients are being punished because they attended DEI training years before Trump's anti-DEI action was in place?

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 4:38 pm

Blackhawk wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 4:23 pm Now? People are worried that 'civil disobedience' that this nation was built on will end their freedom, their careers, even see their families face reprisals.

That's clearly the goal. And if everyone yields, it's over. Fear and normalcy bias ("this is fine" dog) are what they're counting on.

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:15 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:13 pm

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:11 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:09 pm Wow. That has to suck to hear but definitely your fault.

Harsh.

Shit, edited. Typo.

LOL, I figured.

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:28 pm

Holman wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:18 pm Holy shit.

You're saying clients are being punished because they attended DEI training years before Trump's anti-DEI action was in place?

Appears that way. Here's the article (the program they refer to is mine).

According to the client who called me tonight, the agency has asked specifically for the names of anyone who went through the program. The expectation is that they will receive some sort of disciplinary action this week.

Punisher wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 3:07 am

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:28 pm

Holman wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:18 pm Holy shit.

You're saying clients are being punished because they attended DEI training years before Trump's anti-DEI action was in place?

Appears that way. Here's the article (the program they refer to is mine).

According to the client who called me tonight, the agency has asked specifically for the names of anyone who went through the program. The expectation is that they will receive some sort of disciplinary action this week.

Just curious, but wouldn't those be a class that their job required them to take? Or was it something each person asked for?
I mean if ot was a job requirmentd, what were they supposed to di?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Agency for International Development is on the cusp of being shuttered, according the Trump administration’s billionaire adviser and Tesla CEO Elon Musk — who has been wrestling for control of the agency in recent days.

Early Monday, Musk held a live session on X Spaces, previously known as Twitter Spaces, and said that he spoke in detail about USAID with the president. “He agreed we should shut it down,” Musk said.

“It became apparent that its not an apple with a worm it in,” Musk said. “What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.” “We’re shutting it down.”

His comments come after the administration placed two top security chiefs at USAID on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Musk’s government-inspection teams, a current and a former U.S. official told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Members of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, eventually did gain access Saturday to the aid agency’s classified information, which includes intelligence reports, the former official said.

Musk’s DOGE crew lacked high enough security clearance to access that information, so the two USAID security officials — John Voorhees and deputy Brian McGill — believed themselves legally obligated to deny access.

The current and former U.S. officials had knowledge of the incident and spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information.


Musk on Sunday responded to an X post about the news by saying, “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.” He followed with additional posts on X about the aid agency.

Kate Miller, who serves on an advisory board for DOGE, said in a separate post that no classified material was accessed “without proper security clearances.”

It comes a day after DOGE carried out a similar operation at the Treasury Department, gaining access to sensitive information including the Social Security and Medicare customer payment systems. The Washington Post reported that a senior Treasury official had resigned over Musk’s team accessing sensitive information.

Musk formed DOGE in cooperation with the Trump administration with the stated goal of finding ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations.

USAID, whose website vanished Saturday without explanation, has been one of the federal agencies most targeted by the Trump administration in an escalating crackdown on the federal government and many of its programs.

“It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. And we’re getting them out,” Trump said to reporters about USAID on Sunday night.

The Trump administration and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have imposed an unprecedented freeze on foreign assistance that has shut down much of USAID’s humanitarian, development and security programs worldwide — compelling thousands of layoffs by aid organizations — and ordered furloughs and leaves that have gutted the agency’s leadership and staff in Washington.

The U.S. is by far the world’s largest donor of humanitarian aid, with USAID administering billions of dollars in humanitarian, development and security assistance in more than 100 countries.

Peter Marocco, a returning political appointee from Trump’s first term, was a leader in enforcing the shutdown. USAID staffers say they believe that agency outsiders with visitors badges asking questions of employees inside the Washington headquarters are members of Musk’s DOGE team.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a post on Sunday that Trump was allowing Musk to access people’s personal information and shut down government funding.

“We must do everything in our power to push back and protect people from harm,” the Massachusetts senator said, without giving details.

Punisher wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 3:07 am

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:28 pm

Holman wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:18 pm Holy shit.

You're saying clients are being punished because they attended DEI training years before Trump's anti-DEI action was in place?

Appears that way. Here's the article (the program they refer to is mine).

According to the client who called me tonight, the agency has asked specifically for the names of anyone who went through the program. The expectation is that they will receive some sort of disciplinary action this week.

Just curious, but wouldn't those be a class that their job required them to take? Or was it something each person asked for?
I mean if ot was a job requirmentd, what were they supposed to di?

Victoria Raverna wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 6:56 am “It became apparent that its not an apple with a worm it in,” Musk said. “What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.” “We’re shutting it down.”

Musk on Sunday responded to an X post about the news by saying, “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.” He followed with additional posts on X about the aid agency.

Skinypupy wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 9:10 am

Victoria Raverna wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 6:56 am “It became apparent that its not an apple with a worm it in,” Musk said. “What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.” “We’re shutting it down.”

Musk on Sunday responded to an X post about the news by saying, “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.” He followed with additional posts on X about the aid agency.

I'm sure he has actual evidence of this criminal activity and it's not just shit he makes up in his mind during one of his ketamine-fueled episodes, right?

Who am I kidding...it doesn't matter. We're fucked.

Skinypupy wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 9:10 am
I'm sure he has actual evidence of this criminal activity and it's not just shit he makes up in his mind during one of his ketamine-fueled episodes, right?

Grifman wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 11:04 am The Republican Congress doesn’t even care about their constitutional prerogatives. Why are they even serving if they are just going to rubber stamp everything Trump does? Just let him rule by decree.

Grifman wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 11:04 am What is going on with AID is patently unconstitutional. Congress set it up and Congress funds it. A president just can’t arbitrarily shut down a govt agency. The Democrats need to draw a line here, else this will only be the first agency illegally shut down. A lawsuit needs to be filed that this is unconstitutional and a stay issued.

The Republican Congress doesn’t even care about their constitutional prerogatives. Why are they even serving if they are just going to rubber stamp everything Trump does? Just let him rule by decree.

Smoove_B wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 2:33 pm

Enough wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 2:22 pm I personally think slash hope this effect will not last and we will start to see massive protests as the real pain starts to be experienced. And particularly hoping so for three letter agencies, military and business power brokers that have played nice so far that will quickly learn they have been conned badly.

I get all that, but short of a general strike nationwide, I'm not sure what we can actually do at this point that will change anything. It's pretty clear the Democrats in Congress are (at best) neutered and at worst, complicit. I don't think the military leadership is going to engage in a coup so that means we need to hope that corporations somehow strong arm the administration into doing things that stop harming the average citizen? If that is the plan you''ll excuse me for thinking we are well and truly boned - and that's just as an "average" American. None of this addresses marginalized populations that have been clearly and actively targeted in the last ~2 weeks.

I'm all for protests, but I'm not sure we're going to protest our way out of this one.

El Guapo wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 11:54 am
Protests aren't a cure all, but they're not useless, and they're probably one of the best tools available. Protests give the media something to cover, increasing pressure on Democrats to do something. Anything big that Democrats do energizes protests, which further pressures Democrats (and other public servants / business / figures), etc.

Of course, someone needs to do something to get all of this started. I don't really know why, for example, there isn't a Democratic senator at the USAID offices with cameras and media, for example.

US President Donald Trump has said he will cut all future funding to South Africa over allegations that it was confiscating land and "treating certain classes of people very badly".

Last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law a bill that allows land seizures without compensation in certain circumstances.

Land ownership has long been a contentious issue in South Africa with most private farmland owned by white people, 30 years after the end of the racist system of apartheid.

hepcat wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 12:16 pm Sadly/Happily, a democracy is only as democratic as its majority allows. We need to either educate people on how awful Trump is (which doesn't seem to work) or wait for rising prices in stores/on auto lots due to tariffs and lack of migrant workers to get things sane again. Unfortunately, non cult members are going to have to suffer too until then....hopefully it's "until".

Meanwhile, I'll continue praying to a giant effigy of Ronald McDonald I had made.

waitingtoconnect wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 12:28 pm Edit was fake never mind

waitingtoconnect wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 12:46 pm No it was a fake tweet from musk saying he’d ban anyone who tweeted badly of the trump administration..

Given where we are, it could be real lol

On January 3, 2025, Andy Biggs (R - AR - 5) introduced a new, if exceedingly brief, piece of legislation that would result in the abolition of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Its formation was the result of the Occupation Safety and Health Act, signed into being by former Republican President Richard Nixon on December 29, 1970.

According to OSHA's website, their mission is to, "Assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance."

As part of his media release regarding the new bill, H.R.86 - NOSHA Act, in which the law has a grand total of only 67 words, Andy Briggs was quoted saying, "OSHA’s existence is yet another example of the federal government creating agencies to address issues that are more appropriately handled by state governments and private employers."

El Guapo wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2025 11:54 am Of course, someone needs to do something to get all of this started. I don't really know why, for example, there isn't a Democratic senator at the USAID offices with cameras and media, for example.

Staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development were instructed to stay out of the agency’s Washington headquarters, and yellow police tape and officers blocked the agency’s lobby on Monday, after billionaire Elon Musk announced President Donald Trump had agreed with him to shut the agency.

USAID staffers also said more than 600 additional employees had reported being locked out of the agency’s computer systems overnight. Those still in the system received emails saying that “at the direction of Agency leadership” the headquarters building “will be closed to Agency personnel on Monday, Feb. 3.” The agency’s website vanished Saturday without explanation.

Outside of USAID headquarters, Senator Brian Schatz:

"If you want to change an agency, introduce a bill and pass a law. You cannot wave away an agency that you don't like or that you disagree with by executive order, or by literally storming into the building and taking over the servers."

BOOM!