Remember when Maher gave a million dollars to the Democrats to fight for Senate control during Trump’s first administration — because legislatively checkmating the mad king was crucial to the future of U.S. democracy?
Remember when Maher predicted that Trump wouldn’t leave the White House without a fight, then spent the four years after the insurrection telling us, “I told you so”?
Even this is a bridge too far for former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh, who spent the final weeks of the presidential campaign listening to Trump supporters and trying to pull them to Kamala Harris.
“I respect Bill Maher, and my whole mantra is sitting down with anyone, but this is a bullshit business move by Maher,” Walsh wrote. “I would never sit down with Trump.
“Trump is purposely ignorant and cruel, he lies as he breathes, and he tried to overthrow an American election. Trump is our democracy’s enemy. Bill Maher deserves ZERO props for meeting with Trump. In fact, those of you who love our democracy should condemn Bill Maher.
“Because by sitting down with Trump, Maher is only normalizing Trump and helping Trump politically.
“And f–k you, Bill Maher by calling those of us who criticize you for doing this as ‘mean girls.’ I’ll sit down with any Trump supporter. Sitting down with Trump is completely different. And you know it. But you’re trying to score points here.
“And by the way, shame on you, Bill Maher, for taking an ugly cheap shot at Zelensky by saying that, unlike Zelensky, you’ll ‘wear a suit when you meet with Trump.’ Hey, Bill, lead a country that’s been invaded, a country at war, a country that’s already lost tens of thousands of its men and had tens of thousands of its children abducted, and then criticize Zelensky for not wearing a suit.
“And by the way, Bill, Trump stands with Putin, the evil dictator who invaded Ukraine and stands against freedom, sovereignty, and the free world. Why don’t you ask him about that while you’re enjoying your steak with him?‘”
“And there will be lots of people on the left who will be like, ‘How dare you talk to this man.’ It’s, like, f— you, I’m not playing this game that you mean girls play,” Maher said. “‘Oh, you know what? You can’t sit at my lunch table, because I’m just not talking to you.’ Not talking to you? You lost the election. Who the f— do you think you have to talk to?”
speaking of Dodo and things military President Bone Spurs forbids military DEI programs Attribution: President Bone Spurs forbids military DEI programs by Malcolm McGookin, CagleCartoons.com
Malc McGookin is a Brit/Australian whose cartoons are published all over the world. A former animator, amongst other projects, he worked on Danger Mouse, Count Duckula and The BFG feature movie He also directed and scripted series for Childrens Television Workshop (the Sesame Street people). He draws for the Sunday Mail in Brisbane; he’s drawn for Prospect and Private Eye as well as the now defunct News Of The World and many other Fleet Street papers.
“Trump wants the new $20 billion plane named F-47. The 47 for his presidency number. He might reconsider because of how sane people will automatically read the “F”.”
jamie, yeah, adding a “U” just to be sure he gets the message.
Well, it’s pretty apparent that the doge effort is running headlong into federal judges, who aren’t as stupid as the combination of Dumbass and skuM. Be interesting to see how this all plays out i’m really not looking forward to seeing what kind of shenanigans those two motherfuckers come up with.
Hey everyone… I won’t be doing “today’s meme” until next weekend.
Rick and I are going up north for a vacation in a few hours. Rick no longer skis… but we will enjoy the resort anyways.
In case anyone is interested – there are more cases of measles in Texas than the number of Transgender athletes in all of the U.S. (that is the meme going around – here are the numbers)
Twitter grok states 309 cases of measles in Texas as of 20MAR25.
MS AI states there are 10 Transgender athletes in the entire U.S,. collegiate athletic system.
The APWU, which represents over 200,000 USPS employees and retirees, announced these protests earlier this month. The union warned at the time that if privatization happened, the move would lead to “higher prices, reduced service, and the destruction of tens of thousands of union jobs.”
APWU President Mark Dimondstein told me that the DeJoy-DOGE partnership didn’t surprise him since lawmakers and corporationshave spent decades trying to gut the agency. “We don’t think they’re about efficiency at all,” he said, referring to DOGE. “We think they’re about how to rip off the public sector for the benefit of private profit.”
Dimondstein was also concerned about privacy for workers and people, pointing to DOGE’s threat to government-held data: “If need be, we’re ready to roll into all sorts of action, whether it’s enforcing our rights under our union contract or going into court to defend the privacy of postal workers.”
Earlier this year, Dimondstein told me that the US needs to reframe its approach: Instead of attempting to privatize the Post Office, what if it was expanded?
There’s new opportunity for financial services—tens of millions of low-income people are either unbanked or underbanked. In many parts of the world, people do basic banking and financial services through a public postal service.
*It is not federally funded, so why in the F is Elon even allowed to stick his ketamine-addicted brain into it?
anonyesamericansarethatstupid
11 days ago
brace yourself for cognitive dissonance from the maga idiots in your life, they’re getting angry as a result
Last edited 11 days ago by anonyesamericansarethatstupid
anonyesamericansarethatstupid
11 days ago
i’m not on Facebook but the Trumper bullies in my friends and family circle are bullying my gentle lib friends on Facebook and I am about to correct some ************s, ‘bout to get off some Xmas card lists
anonyesamericansarethatstupid
11 days ago
pretty neat trick that the GOP nazis can just prolong the aggrieved psychology of its adherents and then continue to exploit it for propaganda purposes, after they’ve already taken power
now they gotta hold it
the trumpers should be the happiest fuckers in town, do your local trumpers seem happy?
fookin idjits
Last edited 11 days ago by anonyesamericansarethatstupid
“Tesla’s Sales Are Falling So Much That the Cash It Rakes in for Carbon Credits Is Under Threat”
“A number of major carmakers — including Toyota, Stellantis, Mazda, and Subaru — “pooled” their emissions with EV makers Polestar and Tesla earlier this year, in an effort to comply with tougher European Union carbon emissions rules.”
“Those weak sales stand to directly undermine the ongoing plan to “pool” carbon credits. The company is already far behind its 2025 emissions targets, according to an analysisfrom the International Council on Clean Transportation (ITCC). That’s despite a healthy 34 percent increase in EV sales overall, suggesting the problem is Tesla, not waning demand.
“If things go bad for Tesla and they don’t sell enough cars this year, they might not have enough credits for what they promised Stellantis and the others,” ITCC managing director Peter Mock told Politico. “Tesla is under pressure.”
“Over 200 Canadian car dealers are crying foul after Elon Musk’s Tesla claimed tens of millions of dollars worth of rebates mere days before the government shut down a subsidy program in January.”
“A single dealership in Quebec City claimed that it had sold more than 4,000 EVs in a single weekend, asking for over $13 million in public subsidies, according to the newspaper’s reporting last week.”
“As experts have since pointed out, there’s a good chance the EV maker heavily fudged the numbers. But it remains to be seen whether Tesla actually broke the law — or abused a system that was ironically designed to drum up some much-needed demand.”
“The four Tesla-run showrooms claimed a total of 8,653 EV sales in just 72 hours and asked for almost $30 million in rebates.”
“Tesla had a run on the bank,” Canadian Automobile Dealers Association spokesperson Huw Williams told the Star. “Somehow, Tesla gamed the system. What we can’t figure out is how this could have happened without setting off alarm bells.”
“It remains unclear whether Tesla broke any laws and we’ll likely have to wait for Transport Canada to conclude its investigation before we can draw any conclusions — but given the glaring sales numbers, it’s not a stretch to wonder if something dodgy was afoot.”
“Polestar began life as a Swedish racing team that tuned up Volvos. The Swedish brand acquired it and made it the company’s performance line before Geely, the Chinese automaker that owns Volvo, decided to separate Polestar as a maker of performance EVs.
It builds vehicles in China, Europe and South Carolina, and is rapidly expanding its model line into new segments. The Ridgeville, S.C., plant, which also builds Volvos, plays a key role in the company’s plans for U.S. growth, as does building its least expensive model, the EX30, in Europe to avoid tariffs targeting Chinese-built EVs.”
“Tesla drivers can get up to $20K discount by switching to EV rival Polestar”
*Is grabbing market share from TeSSla going to be considered “terrorism,” too?
Tesla CEO Elon Musk turned Delaware’s corporate law into a hot-button topic last year after a judge there ruledthat his $56 billion pay package from 2018 was illegally granted and should be rescinded.
In social media posts, Musk smeared the judge and became an outspoken critic of Delaware’s judiciary, moving the site of incorporation for Tesla and his other companies out of the state while encouraging others to follow suit. Dropbox moved its site of incorporation to Nevada, and Bill Ackman said his Pershing Square Capital Management would exit Delaware. Meta and Walmart are reportedly considering leaving.
On Thursday, the state Senate voted to pass an amended version of SB 21. If it passes Delaware’s House of Representatives, in a vote expected next week, and gets signed by the governor, the bill would change the state’s corporate law. Notably, it would alter howcompanies can use independent directors and other officials to ensure deals they’ve made will pass muster in court, and limit the records that shareholders can obtain from companies when investigating possible wrongdoing.
Many institutional investors, legal scholars and shareholders’ attorneys have opposed the bill, arguing that it would harm minority shareholders and allow boards and executives to make decisions based on their own interests rather than for the broader investor base.
anonyesamericansarethatstupid
11 days ago
you’re getting into the weeds on TSLA, BiD, we gotta dumb down the message
RR – Maybe a house wouldn’t have fallen on Felon if he hadn’t let Elon half-defund NOAA, and there had been tornado sirens instead of racist dog whistles.
Have fun!
I planted a tree today; the rhubarb is up; tomato and lavender is sprouting inside. The indoor chives are still in hiding.
Last edited 11 days ago by blueINdallas
anonyesamericansarethatstupid
11 days ago
ooh nice job, i planted two trees, yesterday, my arms are so sore!
Legal community shaken by a powerful law firm’s decision to give in to Trump’s demands
On Thursday, the powerful law firm Paul Weiss caved.
It agreed to give Donald Trump’s administration $40 million in free legal work for causes the president supports and, according to a social media post from Trump, get rid of any internal diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
In response, Trump rescinded his executive order that targeted the firm and could have cost it significant business.
The agreement shocked many in the legal community, and for Rachel Cohen, an associate at another large firm — Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP — it was the final straw.
On Thursday night, Cohen fired off an email to her firm that said she was giving her two-weeks’ notice, unless leaders there agreed to a number of conditions that would, in effect, stand up to the Trump administration — including by refusing to cooperate with the targeting of DEI programs.
Cohen told NBC News on Friday that her calculus wasn’t whether her letter was going to backfire, nor was it whether she was going to be fired. (Cohen said her email access was suspended soon after she sent her letter.)
Her key question was: “Is this going to be unhelpful to the aim that I am working towards, which is the protection of not just my colleagues, but the rule of law in the United States of America? Because the stakes really are that high.”
“They move so quickly that you have to make judgment calls — that can cost you a lot — off of what you think is going to happen next, because you do not have time to wait it out and see what happens next, you will be too far behind,” she said.
Cohen said she didn’t want to be in this position and wishes she weren’t. She believes “a coup” is happening in America right now. She wishes the most powerful attorneys in the country had immediately banded together and decided to send a clear message that Trump’s actions were unacceptable.
We are in this moment where the president is testing what he can get away with and whether the structures that we have in this country that are supposed to prevent us from having a dictator will hold,” she said. “We are not the first or the biggest line of defense. The big law firms are not going to save us, but we are a brick in a wall, and we’re pretty close to the bottom.”
Cohen’s message highlighted conversations that are happening behind the scenes at law firms and within the Justice Department in the chaotic two months since Trump took office.
Trump has directly targeted corporate law firms by issuing executive orders that either strip lawyers of security clearance or prevent them from working with the federal government.
The decision by Paul Weiss sent shockwaves through the corporate legal world, with lawyers worrying that it emboldens the administration to take similar action against more firms.
Any joint effort by firms to make a public stand against Trump has so far fizzled, although there is an ongoing discussion among firms over filing an amicus brief in a case brought by Perkins Coie against an executive order Trump issued targeting that firm, the lawyer said. Reluctance about speaking up is driven mostly by commercial interests, namely the fear of losing clients, the lawyer added.
“The conversations are happening at the firms. The people that I know in the law will say out loud, ‘This is what is happening.’ And they are just scared, and they’re hiding behind notions of fiduciary duty,” Cohen said.
A lawyer at another major law firm said the justification their firm has used for keeping its head down is that it needs to keep its management team happy — not look out for the welfare of the country. The lawyer said the Trump administration’s goal appeared to be to bankrupt several of the big law firms.
George Conway, a frequent Trump critic and a former partner at a major law firm, told NBC News that firms need to look beyond the bottom line.
“They have a moral duty to defend the very system that has allowed them to make the kind of money that they make. These law firms are now basically so profit-driven that they are putting their own economic interests…above the system,” Conway said. “That to me is not only morally appalling and morally fraught and just contemptible, but at the end of the day, self-defeating.”
Trumpiest Congressmen gets burned by Trump and, boy, is he angry
Lawler slammed the decision to close the only Social Security hearing office in the Hudson Valley in a statement on Thursday. He said that concerns about mold in the office “don’t justify abandoning folks in the Lower Hudson Valley.”
“This office handles over 2,000 backlogged cases and conducts hundreds of in- person hearings every year. Telling my constituents that they now have to travel hours to Lower Manhattan, New Haven, the Bronx, or Goshen is completely unacceptable,” he added.
Many social media users criticized Lawler for speaking out against the closure of the office when he supports Trump’s plan to gut the federal government. In response to the criticism, Lawler attempted to blame the Biden administration for the office closure.
“To resolve any confusion, this was an action initiated by the Biden admin,” he said, noting that the decision to close the office was made in December 2024.
However, it appears the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is touting the closure of the White Plains office on its website’s “Real Estate” tracker. It shows that a lease termination notice for the Social Security Administration in White Plains, N.Y. was sent on Jan. 29, 2025. The lease will expire on May 31.
The White Plains office is just one of dozens of Social Security offices that are set to close in 2025 due to DOGE’s efforts to cut down on spending, according to an analysis from The Associated Press. The closures come despite a new policythat will require residents to visit Social Security offices to verify their identity instead of calling the agency.
The office of the New York Attorney General also said in February that the Trump administration announced plans to close the office. Lawler said in a statement at the time that the decision should not be carried through.
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins also criticized the Trump administration’s decision to reject a plan to keep the office open in a statement on Thursday. According to Jenkins, Acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek told U.S. Rep. George Latimer (D-N.Y.) that constituents could instead travel to other locations if they need Social Security services.
GOP rep sounds alarm over Dems ‘inciting far-left activists’ after private luncheon protest turns physical
Lawler, in a repost of Schumer’s interview on X, said that “in other words, @SenSchumer admits that he is coordinating with far-left activists and groups like Indivisible to organize protests and gaslight folks.”
A town hall hosted by Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., was disrupted by protesters who heckled for over an hour during the congressman’s event.
*A) Shut up, Chuck! *B) The violence was started by right-wing (yt supremacists) in the audience, because they don’t want any back-talk at the town halls *C) Just because someone disagrees with the coup happening in this country, doesn’t mean they are activists planted in the audience *D) No amount of Fox Noise (or anyone else) gaslighting folks into thinking nobody else is against DOGE, nor is speaking out against DOGE, is gonna stick
anonandonitgoes
11 days ago
back when cube steak was a luxury, my kind breaded it
Target was banking on Easter to help boost sluggish sales. But then came the church-initiated boycotts of the retailer
During a quarterly earnings call on March 4, Targetreported that quarterly net sales declined 3.1%, while in February, when only the first three days were included in the quarter, CEO Brian Cornell stated that there was a “sales decline,” without being specific.
What may not bode so well, however, is that the week of March 3 (which included Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent) marked the beginning of a national Lenten boycott of Target, which goes through Easter. Spearheaded by Black clergy, the protest highlights that Target, after years of championing racial justice and social justice, rolled back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program in January. The protest had a goal of signing up 100,000 consumers to participate; more than 150,000 had signed up when this story was published.
But the Target Fast, as organizers refer to the protest, could pack a wallop.
Besides the more than 40-day duration and the sheer number of participants, there’s the matter of Easter. If Target is banking on brisk sales at the same time legions of Christians vow to not shop there until after Easter, it begs the question: Has Target put all its eggs in the wrong basket?
“An insult at the highest level”: Initiated by Jamal Harrison Bryant, senior pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church outside of Atlanta, the protest has a website where participants are encouraged to sign on.
“This is a fast for accountability,” the website states. “A fast for justice. A fast for a future where corporations do not bow to pressure at the expense of marginalized communities.”
The website estimates that Black consumers spend $12 million daily at Target.
*Musk, Thiel, tRUMPutin intended to crash the economy, but they didn’t see the targeted takedown if specific like TeSSla, Target, etc.
ps – Shamr on private companies like Target for rolling back DEI on their own. Complying in advance is a bad look; it really lets everyone know who your really are.
That cube steak is what my grandma used for chicken fried steak.
anonandonitgoes
11 days ago
they even got libs doing their dirty work for them
why punish a company that tried harder than
most to be inclusive?
fuckin rudderless
like target went above and beyond with the inclusivity quite frankly, and I personally liked it, but my opinions aside the Nazi trad-wives on TikTok crippled their business model
Last edited 11 days ago by anonandonitgoes
anonandonitgoes
11 days ago
Target was the safe-space of major retailers so ofc the nazis went after them first, libs happy to help because economics isn’t widely taught and now you see why
it is a good boycott method with coordination and expressed accountability, wrong “target”
Target is paying the price for completing the change from progressive retailer to subservient lessor brand just by doing what the white nationalists wanted. First remove swimwear that offends the senses of the senseless who did not know about it for years. That set off the first wave of LGBTQA+ shopping elsewhere. Then this year going all out and dumping off Blacks, Hispanics and the remaining LGBTQA+ shoppers. If you kick out about half of your shoppers you lose.
By going to the extreme of magats religionists Target made it easy to not bother shopping with them. The old Black slogan of “don’t shop where they would not hire you” means a lot.
Walmart did not change much, they have always been crappy.
anonandonitgoes
11 days ago
oh make sure you get your three favorite dahlias while they’re fresh
Sometimes you kick off something that grows larger than you imagined. I did simple “ask the stupid “AI” program how many Transgender athletes there are in the U.S. collegiate athletic system”. As you read it is ten. I am seeing many posts on many social media sites running with that. I did not even think it would happen that way. I expected a lot of far right magat hate, but that has not happened.
VA blocks its benefits employees from speaking freely to the department’s lawyers
Attorneys at VA, who play a key role in helping veterans receive benefits, are the latest in the Trump administration to face potential sidelining.
The Veterans Benefits Administration frequently turns to VA’s Office of General Counsel for questions on adjudicating claims, handling litigation and interpreting new laws and directives. Cheryl Mason, a senior advisor to VA Secretary Doug Collins, gave directions that VBA business lines and staff offices “should have NO direct contact with OGC” without first receiving permission from Mason, according to a series of emails recently sent to staff and obtained by Government Executive.
“That means no one in VBA should make a call or send an email to anyone in OGC without prior approval,” according to one such email.
anon – My grandmother said that about an apple tree she planted. Several years after her death, someone sent me a photo of her with the apple tree. It was loaded.
Musk, the billionaire tech mogul, met with Reform leader Nigel Farage in December amid speculation he is poised to significantly bolster the party’s coffers.
As a US citizen, the South African-born businessman cannot legally make a personal donation to a British political party.
But he could hand Reform a considerable slice of his vast fortune through one of the UK subsidiaries of his various companies, which include Tesla and X/Twitter.
According to Sky News, the Government is looking at restricting political donations based on how much a company makes.
This would see either profit or share of revenue used to calculate a potential cap for the amount each UK-based business can give.
*If TeSSla stock drops any further, the banks will call in the loans he took out against TeSSla to by (and destroy) Twitter, he won’t have any money to influence the election. Let’s make that happen, world!
Decades Ago, Columbia Refused to Pay Trump $400 Million
A quarter-century ago, the university was looking to expand. It considered, and rejected, property owned by Donald Trump. He did not forget it.
When he did not get his way, he stormed out of a meeting with university trustees and later publicly castigated the university president as “a dummy” and “a total moron.”
Some former university officials are quietly wondering whether the ultimately unsuccessful property transaction sowed the seeds of Mr. Trump’s current focus on Columbia. His administration has demanded that the university turn over vast control of its policies and even curricular decisions in its effort to quell antisemitism on campus. It has also canceled federal grants and contracts at Columbia — valued at $400 million.
On Friday, Columbia conceded some of Mr. Trump’s demands regarding its protest policies, security practices and Middle Eastern studies department. The move alarmed some faculty members who worried that the university agreed to the changes in an effort to win back the full $400 million. The Trump Organization and the White House declined to comment.
colleges capitulating, counselors caving and now come comedians. complicity, thy name is coward.
Ex-GOP Rep torches Bill Maher for agreeing to meet with Trump – nj.com
bill last night
The real test for Trump’s DOGE squad will be whether or not they go after the biggest bloat of all: the defense budget.
speaking of Dodo and things military
President Bone Spurs forbids military DEI programs
Attribution: President Bone Spurs forbids military DEI programs by Malcolm McGookin, CagleCartoons.com
“Trump wants the new $20 billion plane named F-47. The 47 for his presidency number. He might reconsider because of how sane people will automatically read the “F”.”
jamie, yeah, adding a “U” just to be sure he gets the message.
Well, it’s pretty apparent that the doge effort is running headlong into federal judges, who aren’t as stupid as the combination of Dumbass and skuM. Be interesting to see how this all plays out i’m really not looking forward to seeing what kind of shenanigans those two motherfuckers come up with.
I’m finding cheap deals on shrimp this weekend..
today’s meme…
Hey everyone… I won’t be doing “today’s meme” until next weekend.
Rick and I are going up north for a vacation in a few hours. Rick no longer skis… but we will enjoy the resort anyways.
Long but interesting Snopes article on the various ways Hegseth and DOGE have been dicking around with history with removals, edits, and replacements on military figures. Investigating claim of Colin Powell’s name being removed from Arlington Cemetery website | Snopes.com
In case anyone is interested – there are more cases of measles in Texas than the number of Transgender athletes in all of the U.S. (that is the meme going around – here are the numbers)
Twitter grok states 309 cases of measles in Texas as of 20MAR25.
MS AI states there are 10 Transgender athletes in the entire U.S,. collegiate athletic system.
Mrs. P’s latest acquisition
What DOGE is Getting Wrong About Privatizing USPS
The APWU, which represents over 200,000 USPS employees and retirees, announced these protests earlier this month. The union warned at the time that if privatization happened, the move would lead to “higher prices, reduced service, and the destruction of tens of thousands of union jobs.”
APWU President Mark Dimondstein told me that the DeJoy-DOGE partnership didn’t surprise him since lawmakers and corporationshave spent decades trying to gut the agency. “We don’t think they’re about efficiency at all,” he said, referring to DOGE. “We think they’re about how to rip off the public sector for the benefit of private profit.”
Dimondstein was also concerned about privacy for workers and people, pointing to DOGE’s threat to government-held data: “If need be, we’re ready to roll into all sorts of action, whether it’s enforcing our rights under our union contract or going into court to defend the privacy of postal workers.”
Earlier this year, Dimondstein told me that the US needs to reframe its approach: Instead of attempting to privatize the Post Office, what if it was expanded?
There’s new opportunity for financial services—tens of millions of low-income people are either unbanked or underbanked. In many parts of the world, people do basic banking and financial services through a public postal service.
*It is not federally funded, so why in the F is Elon even allowed to stick his ketamine-addicted brain into it?
brace yourself for cognitive dissonance from the maga idiots in your life, they’re getting angry as a result
i’m not on Facebook but the Trumper bullies in my friends and family circle are bullying my gentle lib friends on Facebook and I am about to correct some ************s, ‘bout to get off some Xmas card lists
pretty neat trick that the GOP nazis can just prolong the aggrieved psychology of its adherents and then continue to exploit it for propaganda purposes, after they’ve already taken power
now they gotta hold it
the trumpers should be the happiest fuckers in town, do your local trumpers seem happy?
fookin idjits
https://futurism.com/tesla-sales-carbon-credits-europe
“Tesla’s Sales Are Falling So Much That the Cash It Rakes in for Carbon Credits Is Under Threat”
“A number of major carmakers — including Toyota, Stellantis, Mazda, and Subaru — “pooled” their emissions with EV makers Polestar and Tesla earlier this year, in an effort to comply with tougher European Union carbon emissions rules.”
“Those weak sales stand to directly undermine the ongoing plan to “pool” carbon credits. The company is already far behind its 2025 emissions targets, according to an analysisfrom the International Council on Clean Transportation (ITCC). That’s despite a healthy 34 percent increase in EV sales overall, suggesting the problem is Tesla, not waning demand.
“If things go bad for Tesla and they don’t sell enough cars this year, they might not have enough credits for what they promised Stellantis and the others,” ITCC managing director Peter Mock told Politico. “Tesla is under pressure.”
https://futurism.com/tesla-sales-numbers-canada
“Over 200 Canadian car dealers are crying foul after Elon Musk’s Tesla claimed tens of millions of dollars worth of rebates mere days before the government shut down a subsidy program in January.”
“A single dealership in Quebec City claimed that it had sold more than 4,000 EVs in a single weekend, asking for over $13 million in public subsidies, according to the newspaper’s reporting last week.”
“As experts have since pointed out, there’s a good chance the EV maker heavily fudged the numbers. But it remains to be seen whether Tesla actually broke the law — or abused a system that was ironically designed to drum up some much-needed demand.”
“The four Tesla-run showrooms claimed a total of 8,653 EV sales in just 72 hours and asked for almost $30 million in rebates.”
“Tesla had a run on the bank,” Canadian Automobile Dealers Association spokesperson Huw Williams told the Star. “Somehow, Tesla gamed the system. What we can’t figure out is how this could have happened without setting off alarm bells.”
“It remains unclear whether Tesla broke any laws and we’ll likely have to wait for Transport Canada to conclude its investigation before we can draw any conclusions — but given the glaring sales numbers, it’s not a stretch to wonder if something dodgy was afoot.”
*Dodgy. DOGEY.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2025/03/19/polestar-incentives-tesla-conquest-offer/82525193007/
“Polestar began life as a Swedish racing team that tuned up Volvos. The Swedish brand acquired it and made it the company’s performance line before Geely, the Chinese automaker that owns Volvo, decided to separate Polestar as a maker of performance EVs.
It builds vehicles in China, Europe and South Carolina, and is rapidly expanding its model line into new segments. The Ridgeville, S.C., plant, which also builds Volvos, plays a key role in the company’s plans for U.S. growth, as does building its least expensive model, the EX30, in Europe to avoid tariffs targeting Chinese-built EVs.”
“Tesla drivers can get up to $20K discount by switching to EV rival Polestar”
*Is grabbing market share from TeSSla going to be considered “terrorism,” too?
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/15/after-elon-musk-delaware-exit-state-weighs-overhaul-of-corporate-law.html
Tesla CEO Elon Musk turned Delaware’s corporate law into a hot-button topic last year after a judge there ruledthat his $56 billion pay package from 2018 was illegally granted and should be rescinded.
In social media posts, Musk smeared the judge and became an outspoken critic of Delaware’s judiciary, moving the site of incorporation for Tesla and his other companies out of the state while encouraging others to follow suit. Dropbox moved its site of incorporation to Nevada, and Bill Ackman said his Pershing Square Capital Management would exit Delaware. Meta and Walmart are reportedly considering leaving.
On Thursday, the state Senate voted to pass an amended version of SB 21. If it passes Delaware’s House of Representatives, in a vote expected next week, and gets signed by the governor, the bill would change the state’s corporate law. Notably, it would alter how companies can use independent directors and other officials to ensure deals they’ve made will pass muster in court, and limit the records that shareholders can obtain from companies when investigating possible wrongdoing.
Many institutional investors, legal scholars and shareholders’ attorneys have opposed the bill, arguing that it would harm minority shareholders and allow boards and executives to make decisions based on their own interests rather than for the broader investor base.
you’re getting into the weeds on TSLA, BiD, we gotta dumb down the message
my $.2, you do you
RR – Maybe a house wouldn’t have fallen on Felon if he hadn’t let Elon half-defund NOAA, and there had been tornado sirens instead of racist dog whistles.
Have fun!
I planted a tree today; the rhubarb is up; tomato and lavender is sprouting inside. The indoor chives are still in hiding.
ooh nice job, i planted two trees, yesterday, my arms are so sore!
did wanna talk gardening with you but not here 😒
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/legal-community-shaken-powerful-law-firm-paul-weiss-trump-rcna197490
Legal community shaken by a powerful law firm’s decision to give in to Trump’s demands
On Thursday, the powerful law firm Paul Weiss caved.
It agreed to give Donald Trump’s administration $40 million in free legal work for causes the president supports and, according to a social media post from Trump, get rid of any internal diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
In response, Trump rescinded his executive order that targeted the firm and could have cost it significant business.
The agreement shocked many in the legal community, and for Rachel Cohen, an associate at another large firm — Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP — it was the final straw.
On Thursday night, Cohen fired off an email to her firm that said she was giving her two-weeks’ notice, unless leaders there agreed to a number of conditions that would, in effect, stand up to the Trump administration — including by refusing to cooperate with the targeting of DEI programs.
Cohen told NBC News on Friday that her calculus wasn’t whether her letter was going to backfire, nor was it whether she was going to be fired. (Cohen said her email access was suspended soon after she sent her letter.)
Her key question was: “Is this going to be unhelpful to the aim that I am working towards, which is the protection of not just my colleagues, but the rule of law in the United States of America? Because the stakes really are that high.”
“They move so quickly that you have to make judgment calls — that can cost you a lot — off of what you think is going to happen next, because you do not have time to wait it out and see what happens next, you will be too far behind,” she said.
Cohen said she didn’t want to be in this position and wishes she weren’t. She believes “a coup” is happening in America right now. She wishes the most powerful attorneys in the country had immediately banded together and decided to send a clear message that Trump’s actions were unacceptable.
We are in this moment where the president is testing what he can get away with and whether the structures that we have in this country that are supposed to prevent us from having a dictator will hold,” she said. “We are not the first or the biggest line of defense. The big law firms are not going to save us, but we are a brick in a wall, and we’re pretty close to the bottom.”
Cohen’s message highlighted conversations that are happening behind the scenes at law firms and within the Justice Department in the chaotic two months since Trump took office.
Trump has directly targeted corporate law firms by issuing executive orders that either strip lawyers of security clearance or prevent them from working with the federal government.
The decision by Paul Weiss sent shockwaves through the corporate legal world, with lawyers worrying that it emboldens the administration to take similar action against more firms.
Any joint effort by firms to make a public stand against Trump has so far fizzled, although there is an ongoing discussion among firms over filing an amicus brief in a case brought by Perkins Coie against an executive order Trump issued targeting that firm, the lawyer said. Reluctance about speaking up is driven mostly by commercial interests, namely the fear of losing clients, the lawyer added.
“The conversations are happening at the firms. The people that I know in the law will say out loud, ‘This is what is happening.’ And they are just scared, and they’re hiding behind notions of fiduciary duty,” Cohen said.
A lawyer at another major law firm said the justification their firm has used for keeping its head down is that it needs to keep its management team happy — not look out for the welfare of the country. The lawyer said the Trump administration’s goal appeared to be to bankrupt several of the big law firms.
George Conway, a frequent Trump critic and a former partner at a major law firm, told NBC News that firms need to look beyond the bottom line.
“They have a moral duty to defend the very system that has allowed them to make the kind of money that they make. These law firms are now basically so profit-driven that they are putting their own economic interests…above the system,” Conway said. “That to me is not only morally appalling and morally fraught and just contemptible, but at the end of the day, self-defeating.”
https://www.nj.com/politics/2025/03/trumpiest-congressmen-gets-burned-by-trump-and-boy-is-he-angry.html
Trumpiest Congressmen gets burned by Trump and, boy, is he angry
Lawler slammed the decision to close the only Social Security hearing office in the Hudson Valley in a statement on Thursday. He said that concerns about mold in the office “don’t justify abandoning folks in the Lower Hudson Valley.”
“This office handles over 2,000 backlogged cases and conducts hundreds of in- person hearings every year. Telling my constituents that they now have to travel hours to Lower Manhattan, New Haven, the Bronx, or Goshen is completely unacceptable,” he added.
Many social media users criticized Lawler for speaking out against the closure of the office when he supports Trump’s plan to gut the federal government. In response to the criticism, Lawler attempted to blame the Biden administration for the office closure.
“To resolve any confusion, this was an action initiated by the Biden admin,” he said, noting that the decision to close the office was made in December 2024.
However, it appears the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is touting the closure of the White Plains office on its website’s “Real Estate” tracker. It shows that a lease termination notice for the Social Security Administration in White Plains, N.Y. was sent on Jan. 29, 2025. The lease will expire on May 31.
The White Plains office is just one of dozens of Social Security offices that are set to close in 2025 due to DOGE’s efforts to cut down on spending, according to an analysis from The Associated Press. The closures come despite a new policythat will require residents to visit Social Security offices to verify their identity instead of calling the agency.
The office of the New York Attorney General also said in February that the Trump administration announced plans to close the office. Lawler said in a statement at the time that the decision should not be carried through.
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins also criticized the Trump administration’s decision to reject a plan to keep the office open in a statement on Thursday. According to Jenkins, Acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek told U.S. Rep. George Latimer (D-N.Y.) that constituents could instead travel to other locations if they need Social Security services.
I’m ready for the recession, just got cube steak at $4.99 a pound..
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-rep-sounds-alarm-over-dems-inciting-far-left-activists-after-private-luncheon-protest-turns-physical
GOP rep sounds alarm over Dems ‘inciting far-left activists’ after private luncheon protest turns physical
Lawler, in a repost of Schumer’s interview on X, said that “in other words, @SenSchumer admits that he is coordinating with far-left activists and groups like Indivisible to organize protests and gaslight folks.”
A town hall hosted by Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., was disrupted by protesters who heckled for over an hour during the congressman’s event.
*A) Shut up, Chuck!
*B) The violence was started by right-wing (yt supremacists) in the audience, because they don’t want any back-talk at the town halls
*C) Just because someone disagrees with the coup happening in this country, doesn’t mean they are activists planted in the audience
*D) No amount of Fox Noise (or anyone else) gaslighting folks into thinking nobody else is against DOGE, nor is speaking out against DOGE, is gonna stick
back when cube steak was a luxury, my kind breaded it
https://fortune.com/2025/03/21/target-easter-sales-boycotts/
Target was banking on Easter to help boost sluggish sales. But then came the church-initiated boycotts of the retailer
During a quarterly earnings call on March 4, Targetreported that quarterly net sales declined 3.1%, while in February, when only the first three days were included in the quarter, CEO Brian Cornell stated that there was a “sales decline,” without being specific.
What may not bode so well, however, is that the week of March 3 (which included Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent) marked the beginning of a national Lenten boycott of Target, which goes through Easter. Spearheaded by Black clergy, the protest highlights that Target, after years of championing racial justice and social justice, rolled back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program in January. The protest had a goal of signing up 100,000 consumers to participate; more than 150,000 had signed up when this story was published.
But the Target Fast, as organizers refer to the protest, could pack a wallop.
Besides the more than 40-day duration and the sheer number of participants, there’s the matter of Easter. If Target is banking on brisk sales at the same time legions of Christians vow to not shop there until after Easter, it begs the question: Has Target put all its eggs in the wrong basket?
“An insult at the highest level”: Initiated by Jamal Harrison Bryant, senior pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church outside of Atlanta, the protest has a website where participants are encouraged to sign on.
“This is a fast for accountability,” the website states. “A fast for justice. A fast for a future where corporations do not bow to pressure at the expense of marginalized communities.”
The website estimates that Black consumers spend $12 million daily at Target.
*Musk, Thiel, tRUMPutin intended to crash the economy, but they didn’t see the targeted takedown if specific like TeSSla, Target, etc.
ps – Shamr on private companies like Target for rolling back DEI on their own. Complying in advance is a bad look; it really lets everyone know who your really are.
That cube steak is what my grandma used for chicken fried steak.
they even got libs doing their dirty work for them
why punish a company that tried harder than
most to be inclusive?
fuckin rudderless
like target went above and beyond with the inclusivity quite frankly, and I personally liked it, but my opinions aside the Nazi trad-wives on TikTok crippled their business model
Target was the safe-space of major retailers so ofc the nazis went after them first, libs happy to help because economics isn’t widely taught and now you see why
it is a good boycott method with coordination and expressed accountability, wrong “target”
imo
Target is paying the price for completing the change from progressive retailer to subservient lessor brand just by doing what the white nationalists wanted. First remove swimwear that offends the senses of the senseless who did not know about it for years. That set off the first wave of LGBTQA+ shopping elsewhere. Then this year going all out and dumping off Blacks, Hispanics and the remaining LGBTQA+ shoppers. If you kick out about half of your shoppers you lose.
By going to the extreme of magats religionists Target made it easy to not bother shopping with them. The old Black slogan of “don’t shop where they would not hire you” means a lot.
Walmart did not change much, they have always been crappy.
oh make sure you get your three favorite dahlias while they’re fresh
tubers in a bag
Sometimes you kick off something that grows larger than you imagined. I did simple “ask the stupid “AI” program how many Transgender athletes there are in the U.S. collegiate athletic system”. As you read it is ten. I am seeing many posts on many social media sites running with that. I did not even think it would happen that way. I expected a lot of far right magat hate, but that has not happened.
AnonOfTheDay – What types of trees did you plant?
methely plum and pink lady apple
looked really healthy and priced fair, ill probably be dead before they fruit (read good things about methley though) but you know what they say…
https://www.govexec.com/management/2025/03/va-blocks-its-benefits-employees-speaking-freely-departments-lawyers/403916/
VA blocks its benefits employees from speaking freely to the department’s lawyers
Attorneys at VA, who play a key role in helping veterans receive benefits, are the latest in the Trump administration to face potential sidelining.
The Veterans Benefits Administration frequently turns to VA’s Office of General Counsel for questions on adjudicating claims, handling litigation and interpreting new laws and directives. Cheryl Mason, a senior advisor to VA Secretary Doug Collins, gave directions that VBA business lines and staff offices “should have NO direct contact with OGC” without first receiving permission from Mason, according to a series of emails recently sent to staff and obtained by Government Executive.
“That means no one in VBA should make a call or send an email to anyone in OGC without prior approval,” according to one such email.
anon – My grandmother said that about an apple tree she planted. Several years after her death, someone sent me a photo of her with the apple tree. It was loaded.
😊
“Joe Rogan COLLAPSES In Ratings Disaster As Fans Turn Against Elon Musk”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14518819/Labour-seeking-block-Elon-Musk-giving-Reform-UK-huge-100m-cash-injection-ministers-drawing-plans-restrict-foreign-donors.html
Musk, the billionaire tech mogul, met with Reform leader Nigel Farage in December amid speculation he is poised to significantly bolster the party’s coffers.
As a US citizen, the South African-born businessman cannot legally make a personal donation to a British political party.
But he could hand Reform a considerable slice of his vast fortune through one of the UK subsidiaries of his various companies, which include Tesla and X/Twitter.
According to Sky News, the Government is looking at restricting political donations based on how much a company makes.
This would see either profit or share of revenue used to calculate a potential cap for the amount each UK-based business can give.
*If TeSSla stock drops any further, the banks will call in the loans he took out against TeSSla to by (and destroy) Twitter, he won’t have any money to influence the election. Let’s make that happen, world!
*Musk looked spacey in Bedminster, last night. K
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jessica-aber-former-federal-prosecutor-found-dead-virginia-home/
“A former federal prosecutor was found dead Saturday morning at a home in Alexandria, Virginia, authorities said.”
“They arrived to find 43-year-old Jessica Aber, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, dead at the scene, police reported.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/nyregion/trump-columbia-university-400-million.html
Decades Ago, Columbia Refused to Pay Trump $400 Million
A quarter-century ago, the university was looking to expand. It considered, and rejected, property owned by Donald Trump. He did not forget it.
When he did not get his way, he stormed out of a meeting with university trustees and later publicly castigated the university president as “a dummy” and “a total moron.”
Some former university officials are quietly wondering whether the ultimately unsuccessful property transaction sowed the seeds of Mr. Trump’s current focus on Columbia. His administration has demanded that the university turn over vast control of its policies and even curricular decisions in its effort to quell antisemitism on campus. It has also canceled federal grants and contracts at Columbia — valued at $400 million.
On Friday, Columbia conceded some of Mr. Trump’s demands regarding its protest policies, security practices and Middle Eastern studies department. The move alarmed some faculty members who worried that the university agreed to the changes in an effort to win back the full $400 million. The Trump Organization and the White House declined to comment.
Ruck Joe Fogan.
Weird one tonight,
“Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummy”
Sturg – That seems to be the consensus on Rogan.
Skipping Svengoolie to watch “Wicked” or “Resident Alien.”
“Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummy” – 1950’s favorite of mine.
Good evening Mr. and Mrs. America and All the Ships at Sea.
doing potatoes in pots the trees came in
Good night Mrs Calabash, wherever you are.
Turns out it wasn’t Abbot and Costello but instead it was “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”.
NEW THREAD by Trail friend Jack