Edgar Rice Burroughs, acclaimed author of 26 Tarzan books, is apparently still collecting social security benefits. Or so said Elon Musk, megamind leader of DOGE, during a joint presser with Trump. Burroughs was born 1875 which puts him at the very ripe age of 175. Explaining that DOGE discovered many 175-year-olds are also receiving monthly checks, he informed:
“There’s crazy things, like, just a cursory examination of Social Security and we’ve got people in there that are about 150 years old . . . Now, do you know anyone that’s 150? I don’t. They should be in the Guinness Book of World Records, they’re missing out.”
Here’s the true story, however, that Musk and his twenty-something mini megaminds did not know because they have done, it seems, zero research about the SSA database. As reported by Daily Kos:
“Reports say that his group at DOGE is made up of fairly young people. What those kids don’t realize is that Social Security uses VERY OLD computers. They’re programmed with an old version of the programming language COBOL.
A bit of history. On May 20, 1875 a bunch of countries got together to create the International Bureau of Weight and Measures which established uniform standards of mass and length. Later on, the Bureau established rules for dates as well. The dates standard used a starting date of May 20 1875 to honor the creation of the Bureau. Old versions of COBOL use that date as a baseline. Social Security’s computers use that old version. Dates are stored as the number of days AFTER May 20 1875.
So what happens if Social Security doesn’t know a birthdate? That field is empty in its records. Thus that person appears to have a birthday of May 20 1875—about 150 years ago. That’s why the crack team of youngsters Musk uses found 150-year-old people in Social Security getting benefits. It’s all really as simple—and as stupid—as that.
You’d think that those bright MAGAheads would notice that ALL those 150 year olds have THE SAME BIRTHDAY: May 20, 1875. But they didn’t. Genius Elon Musk didn’t. And, of course, STABLE GENIUS Donald Trump didn’t either.”
DOGE-Master Elon Musk issued an ultimatum to federal employees on February 25th saying in a post on his social media platform X that federal employees – untold millions of them – must respond to an email justifying the work they completed this week or resign.
Being the good sport that he is Musk submitted his own list as an example of a “good week'”:
Five things I did this week to justify my federal job to myself:
Installed invisible puppet strings on Trump Introduced neurolink biochips into Trump’s Diet Cokes Ignored two of my children’s health crises because…..well….I was busy working Cut myself shaving with my CPAC honorary gold chainsaw Declared Trump a Non Player Character in my new video game
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been oppressively besieged since the arrival of Elon Musk, Trump’s hatchet man. One of the results among the many agencies under attack is the stifling of public communications, including shutting information about the agency on the agency websites. Presently, USAID’s website consists of one page which sounds like a death knell, and it very likely is. Note the final sentence, “Thank you for your service.” Indeed. . .
On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST).
For USAID personnel currently posted outside the United States, the Agency, in coordination with missions and the Department of State, is currently preparing a plan, in accordance with all applicable requirements and laws, under which the Agency would arrange and pay for return travel to the United States within 30 days and provide for the termination of PSC and ISC contracts that are not determined to be essential. The Agency will consider case-by-case exceptions and return travel extensions based on personal or family hardship, mobility or safety concerns, or other reasons. For example, the Agency will consider exceptions based on the timing of dependents’ school term, personal or familial medical needs, pregnancy, and other reasons. Further guidance on how to request an exception will be forthcoming.
Yesterday, Trump levied a worldwide 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports to the U.S.! Yes, the entire world. Most notably Canada, Mexico, both of them our longstanding allies and fellow NAFTA partners. It happens; it happened. It affects 21 Million tons of steel products; our 2023 supply of steel sourced in the U.S. was approximately 90 Million tons, including flat-rolled, mini milled, and tubular. Imported steel goods were, therefore, 19%, a significant amount. Below, I’ll have a look at the Canadian impact, but first:
The chart below shows the world share of steel imports for 2023:
As far as aluminum is concerned, Canadian imports (2024) provided the lion’s share, outpacing all other countries.
The total amount of all imports vs. steel and aluminum imports is illustrated to the left (2024 data). The wedge shows the amount we import worldwide, Canada’s portion of the wedge is smaller than the total, of course.
Thus, Trump’s targeted steel tariffs should have but a moderate effect on overall prices, but a significant impact on steel prices, but a larger impact on aluminum. And these products are not in general, final products, they are intermediate, used in the production of final products. The price increases that will occur during Trump’s tariffs will be passed along to the American public, as higher prices, and will contribute to overall inflation, particularly in auto production costs and consumer sales of the final products. And recall how maniacally worked up Trump was about “Biden’s inflation,” which was brief and directly related to COVID’s effects. Inflation now is running between 2.5 and 3%, within the Federal Reserve’s target rate. So, what does our daft president do to bring prices down as he promised his MAGAs he would do on “day one”? Well. he slaps on tariffs – worldwide – which will accelerate inflation. Of course. Indeed.
Tariff Man!
In truth, tariffs are a mixed bag, and often they do not meet the economic objectives of the country imposing tariffs, for example, aiding the development of home grown industries. Trump, however, has since his early middle age, not gotten the message. On the record, he famously said, “Tariff is the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” and dubbed himself “Tariff Man.” He thinks its an economic nuclear weapon.
Why? He is so dull he does not accept the axiom that tariffs almost always cause price inflation! He insists that tariffs are paid by the tariffed counties; they are not, they’re paid by the importer, and then passed along through the production pipeline as a price increase at the point of sale to consumers. Where is the crater sized hole in his brain? Certainly, he’s heard from many that he is dead wrong, but who in his present administration dares tell him? Could son Barron convince him, he’s probably had some high school level economics? No, Trump is so self-destructively certain and goofily confident that he’s ultimately wholly irrational, across the board. Reasoning with him is, in any practical sense, impossible. There’s no clear definition of how addled he is. But it’s a lot.
So, I expect his tariffs will backfire as the public and business interests (such as the automobile industry) speak loud and clear. Trump will likely try to periodically soften the blow to price inflation by suddenly reducing them, and by striking deals that exempt certain industries from the tariffs, such as agriculture and automobiles. This, of course will defeat the reason for tariffs. He’ll play at tariffs like a boy with a yoyo – up and down, in and out. In doing so he’ll cause massive economic uncertainty that may paralyze whole industries trying to plan their business choices. And this level of uncertainty is anathema to producing a stable economy, and stability is the holy grail of commerce. Trump’s yoyo grift is the tool of a boy, not a man. Certainly not a tariff man . . .
Two days before Trump placed a 25% tariff on nearly all goods from Canada (he placed a 10% tariff on energy and energy resources), Senators Coons (DE) and Kaine (VA) introduced legislation sure to raise Trump’s blood pressure. It’s a bill to restrict a president’s authority to impose tariffs on allies and free trade agreement partners by requiring the consent of Congress. Presently, presidents’ tariff authority is so strong as to be arguably plenary.
Here’s the joint statement by Coons and Kaine. Note that it was introduced two days before the tariffs were imposed. Chances for passage in a MAGA dominated House? Very iffy. . .
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario quickly addressed Trump’s 25% tariff on Canadian products, one of our staunchest allies. It is also a major trading partner from whom we imported $462 Billion in 2023, the year with the most complete data. Here’s what we imported, second only to Mexico. So, we’re talking 25% tax on American importers, that’s a very high tariff rate, which due to NAFTA, was approximately 2%. Now, we’re in a new world where an inept businessman is permitted to impose tariffs willy-nilly.
In any event, here’s an example of how quickly the Canadian Province of Ontario replied to Trump today. (The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is a government agency. It is a Crown agency that is owned by the Ontario provincial government. The LCBO is responsible for the sale and distribution of alcohol in Ontario.). The Premier of Ontario, the wonderfully cantankerous Doug Ford posted this on Twitter/X:
Assuredly, more will follow, and recall that the automobile business is a tripartite arrangement among us, Canada and Mexico. We may see price increases on cars very soon (like tomorrow), So, if you can, buy a new car today. . .
“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump threatened in a post on Truth Social. “We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!”
President Trump – Rapacious Maximus – just punished Colombia for its failure to permit US military aircraft to land and offload our deported immigrants. Colombia’s sovereignty – although a foundational international foundation – was unsurprisingly ignored by Trump’s outburst of venom. He immediately impose a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods, and threatened to raise it to 50% within one week. He did not discuss the inflationary impact on U.S. consumers that this tariff will have on a number of consumer products. After often centering his campaign message on Biden’s inlation, it appears that is in his rear view mirror. . .
There’s much more to learn about this breaking news here and here, including other sanctions placed on Columbia, announcing at the end of his madman dictator’s message that this is only the beginning of U.S. disfavor, and stating that Colombia, by exercising its sovereignty, “violated its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!” What legal obligations, indeed? We’ll see. . .
In any event, here are the top 10 Colombian imports for 2023 (to see the long list see here). Though a small proportion of these items when viewed on the basis of total dollar value of all foreign imports, for Colombia a 25% tariff (and possibly a 50% tariff) will hurt, and for U.S. consumers should the tariffs might cause price rises in certain items sourced exclusively by Colombia. Finally, how long can Colombia hold out?
A staunch supporter of Trump during the 2024 campaign, Florida Congresswoman Maria Salazar, representing Miami, found out that her support for Trump’s immigration disposal project would actually target her own constituents despite a Biden administration policy that protected them. Well, Maria, we told you so.
BACKGROUND. “The Biden Administration’s recent use of the statutory parole authority has attracted scrutiny. Since 2021, the Biden Administration has invoked the immigration parole authority to enable aliens from certain countries — Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela — to enter the United States so long as they satisfy other eligibility criteria. For instance, regulations provide that, to qualify for the parole processes for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (“CHNV”), the applicant must apply in his or her home country, pass a background check, demonstrate he or she has a financial supporter in the United States, and fly into the United States to an interior port of entry. He or she may remain in the United States for up to two years and obtain work authorization.” See Congressional Research Service Legal Sidebar for in-depth coverage.
The parole processes that make up the CHNV program have been available to Venezuelans since October 2022 and to Haitians, Cubans, and Nicaraguans since January 2023. As of the end of October 2024, 110,240 Cubans, 211,010 Haitians, 93,070 Nicaraguans, and 117,310 Venezuelans. See Refugees International Fact Sheet. As of December 2024, about 531,690 people had entered the country under that program, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. See Voice of America News.
On January 20, Donald Trump ended the humanitarian CHNV parole program. Under the executive order “Securing Our Borders,” which outlines various immigration-related actions, including the CHNV program which allowed up to 30,000 individuals per month.
CONGRESSWOMAN SALAZAR’S INTEREST According to the U.S. Census, 70% of Salazar’s district are Hispanic/Latino, especially Cuban. Salazar has been a vocal suppporter of Trump’s deportation goals, patticularly about thos immigrants that arrived under President Biden’s watch. While she is less draconian in her immigration policies yhan the more rabid Trump congresspeople, she had this to say during an interview on PBS News Hour during the GOP convention:
“You need to create a division between two groups of undocumented: the ones who came in during the last three and a half years – eight million people and the thirteen of fourteen [million] who have been here – picking the jalapenos in southern California, or the oranges in Florida – those people, I believe, because they have been here, they don’t have a criminal record, they have American children, they’ve been contributing to the economy, they’ve been paying taxes, those people should be looked at it with a dignity – and we can expand on that later – the people who came in in the last three and a half years, we don’t know what intentions they have. . .”
During the Biden administration, under the CHNV program, more than 500,000 persons entered the U.S. As discussed above they were thoroughly vetted. A significant number arrived in her district from Cuba, for instance.
But (now) there are exceptions. . . Note that Ms. Salazar was staunchly disapproving of the Biden administration’s use of the CHNV program but not those admitted during the Trump administration. Saying of the Biden era: ” the people who came in in the last three and a half years, we don’t know what intentions they have,” disregarding the strong vetting process that the CHNV requires, and that a large number of her own CHNV constituents gained admission to her district.
However, now, faced with Trump’s Executive Orders, assaulting the CHNV program, she has seen the light. And here’s her politically calculated backtracking:
I’m urging Homeland Security to PROTECT Cubans awaiting legal status adjustment through the Cuban Adjustment Act. We must ALSO protect the Venezuelans and Nicaraguans without a criminal record going through the asylum process.
Don’t penalize them for Biden’s screw-ups!
Tweet/X, January 24, 2015 – Representative Maria Salazar, Representing Miami Florida since 2021
And here’s her pleading to the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Bengamine Huffman. What the Acting Secretary’s response will be is presently guesswork, however, Trump’s Executive Order was clear: sayonara CHNV . . .
Today, John Ganz of the blog Unpopular Front wrote a supercharged analysis of “the present state of America,” entitled Welcome to Vichy America: After the Fall. An excerpt is below, a strident and accurate account of how we got here. Without further adieu:
“If you want an analogy for the present state of America it’s perhaps not an out-and-out fascist regime, but a Vichy regime. It’s partly fascist but mostly just a reactionary and defeatist catch-all. It’s a regime born of capitulation and of defeat: of the slow and then sudden collapse of the longstanding institutions of a great democracy whose defenders turned out to be senile and unable to cope with or understand modern politics. It’s a regime of born exhaustion, nihilism, and cynicism: the loss of faith in the old verities of the republic. A regime of national humiliation pretending to be a regime of restoration of national honor. It claims to be at once a national revolution and a national restoration. It’s a hybrid regime: a coalition that includes the fascist far right, of course, but also technocratic modernizers who might have once called themselves liberals, the big industrialists, and old social conservatives. Even some disaffected socialists and leftists for whom liberalism was always the main enemy want to give it the benefit of the doubt. It’s a regime of collaboration and sympathy: the #resistance may have dominated the political style of the first Trump administration, but now, as Trump says, everyone wants to be his friend.”
The first act by the the advisory commission known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is the departure of Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the two top officials to pursue his bid for governor of Ohio. The (quite likely true) rumor is that Vivek’s open mouth policy has caused peptic rumblings among congressfolks and Trump himself. He particularly incensed the America Firster tribe with his recent comments supporting the H1-B visa program primarily by making it quite clear that homegrown Americans are dumb as stumps. He indicted American entertainment culture as the chief culprit. His solution:
“More math tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less ‘chillin.’ More extracurriculars, less ‘hanging out at the mall.’”
Americans of all stripes objected to his comments, and generally, to his overall personality which many compared to “fingernails across a chalk board.” Also, in his usual way, Vivek offered no actual evidence supporting his view; in fact, American engineers are acknowledged as among the finest in the world. Vivek is very efficient if not effective in his thought processes, mouthing off first, thinking later. For instance, he failed to recognize that most high school and college students do their homework “hanging out at the mall.” He lso ignored the vast diversity throughout the world, where most countries exhibit similar characteristics in their societies, the world contains its own entertainment culture, it’s not exclusive to America.
In any event, Ohio needs to brace itself for a Vivek run for governor. As we know he can talk, and talk and talk, all with a self-satisfied certainty. How long will it take for him to talk his way out of contention? As he’s shown in his DOGE exit, he may not get past day one. Let us hope.
