Tracking DOGE

[KaraBulut]

Dirty little secret: USAID was a Dubya-era funding mechanism for religious charities. The money from USAID programs - domestic and foreign- was funneled through NGOs, including a lot of church-based charities.

And here's the fall-out for his evangelical base:

Jesuit Refugee Service: Trump funding freeze will impact more than 100,000

In 2024, JRS received $24,049,039 in government funding and $9,224,422 in private donations, according to its financial statements from last year.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Catholic Charities in Houston lays off 120 employees amidst refugee resettlement suspension | Houston Public Media

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in mid-January that suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and stopped federal funding for organizations that have helped refugees for decades. Three national nonprofits are part of a lawsuit filed Monday to challenge the suspension.

www.houstonpublicmedia.org

Exclusive: Catholic Relief Services lays off staff, cuts programs after USAID shakeup

An internal email says CRS is likely to be cut in half this year from Trump's freeze of U.S. foreign assistance. Cuts will "cost people's lives and livelihoods," a former bishops' conference official says.

www.ncronline.org

USCCB lays off a third of migration staff after Trump's suspension of refugee resettlement program - Catholic Standard

www.cathstan.org

I've with worked side-by-side with people from Catholic Charities and Samaritan's Purse. I'm not a fan of the Catholic Church or Franklin Graham, but the field workers are decent people who are living their faith. Their field workers will have to layoff their paid workers, some from the US and others from the local countries. The American employees are stuck overseas, some with families, and they have to figure out how to return home (and possibly not get paid for their airfare).

 

[rareboy]

I guess they'll have to look for ways to fleece their faithful flock, although I suspect that a lot of programs will just shut down.

 

[rareboy]

Follow the investigations.

 

[rareboy]

 

[NotHardUp1]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-claims-150-olds-175602540.html

The Zen man has no idea how bad government systems are.

 

[KaraBulut]

The Zen man has no idea how bad government systems are.

It's likely not the system. It's likely the database. It's very common in databases that when a value is unknown, a standard default value is entered until the actual date is confirmed. We do it all the time in emergency rooms. The irrational date is an alert that the information has not be finalized.

It's also another autocratic distraction. The thing to focus on is that Elon Musk has likely accessed the Social Security database that has the name, date of birth, gender, address, dependent information and social security number of every American. If you have a Social Security number (and note that foreigners with work visas and green cards have social security numbers), you're in that database, whether you are collecting benefits or not.

 

[NotHardUp1]

It's likely not the system. It's likely the database. It's very common in databases that when a value is unknown, a standard default value is entered until the actual date is confirmed. We do it all the time in emergency rooms. The irrational date is an alert that the information has not be finalized.

Nonetheless, he misinterpreted it, and 1875 was the source, so the guy is right at least about the heritage system which probably was COBOL before it migrated to newere databases. The 1875 is no coincidence.

 

[KaraBulut]

Nonetheless, he misinterpreted it, and 1875 was the source, so the guy is right at least about the heritage system which probably was COBOL before it migrated to newere databases. The 1875 is no coincidence.

Exactly. That date was the old standard in ISO 8601.

Because a date of 00/00/0000 couldn't be set, it defaults (or was intentionally keyed) to the low value default, which used to be 20-May-1875 (the date the Convention du Mètre was signed). Unix uses January 1, 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC which would not be used in a birth or death registry because 1-Jan-1970 is a valid date of birth/death.

I knew older women who were born before states issued birth certificates. When they went to apply for social security, they couldn't provide a birth certificate. In one case that I know, the 1910 census was used to estimate the date of birth. Before the actual date of birth was determined, it's likely that she was entered in the database as date of birth 20-May-1875 and then updated later when her eligibility was verified.

This "tech genius" and his Musketeers should know that... but oh... most of them didn't attend or graduate from college. And sadly, the average Fox viewer is unlikely to know that, either. This is what fraud looks like - no, not people with fake DOBs - a bunch of know-nothings, illegally scraping the personal data of Americans from government databases then falsely using a lie about an administrative procedure of the Social Security Administration to head down the path of "We must get rid of the Social Security Administration because they're misappropriating government money".

 

[rareboy]

Again. what could possibly go wrong?

 

[rareboy]

Well my goodness...DOGE is attracting tech bro billionaires like shit attracts flies.

Airbnb’s co-founder is joining Elon Musk’s DOGE

Gebbia, a close friend of Musk, has praised DOGE’s work and defended it against criticisms on social media

www.independent.co.uk

 

[rareboy]

It is amazing how Musk is so upset at having a trans kid that he will burn down America to hurt them.

DOGE puts DEI on chopping block with termination of over $370M in education department grants

The Department of Government Efficiency revealed it slashed $370 million of spending toward diversity, equity, and inclusion at the Department of Education.

www.yahoo.com

 

[KaraBulut]

The genius Musketeers laid off the people in the Department of Energy who were overseeing the American nuclear arsenal, overseeing the nuclear energy plants and doing cleanup of nuclear waste.

Up to 2,000 workers laid off at US Department of Energy, sources say

The layoffs of probationary workers come after three people representing billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency arrived at the agency last week

www.voanews.com

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has laid off about 1,200 to 2,000 workers at the Department of Energy, including employees at a power grid office, the nuclear security administration and the loans office, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Democratic lawmakers also said the layoffs include workers at national labs, hydroelectric plants and Cold War legacy nuclear sites that pose safety risks. The DOE has about 14,000 federal employees and 95,000 contractors.

Well... among the layoff were the people doing cleaning of radioactive waste from a World War II era plutonium plant in Washington State. The site has leaking barrels of radioactive waste that were buried in the ground under the mistaken belief that they would never leak.

From Wikipedia:

Hanford Site - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Of the 177 tanks at Hanford, 149 had a single shell. Historically single-shell tanks were used for storing radioactive liquid waste and designed to last twenty years. By 2005, some liquid waste was transferred from single-shell tanks to safer double-shell tanks. A substantial amount of residue remains in the older single-shell tanks with one containing an estimated 447,000 US gallons (1,690,000 L) of radioactive sludge, for example. It is believed that up to six of these "empty" tanks are leaking. Two tanks were reportedly leaking 300 US gallons (1,100 L) per year each, while the remaining four tanks were each leaking 15 US gallons (57 L) per year. In February 2013, Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced that a tank storing radioactive waste at the site had been leaking liquids on average of 150 to 300 US gallons (570 to 1,140 L) per year. He said that though the leak posed no immediate health risk to the public, it should not be an excuse for not doing anything. On February 22, 2013, he stated that six more tanks were leaking.

Murray: Trump layoffs leave Hanford nuclear site with ‘skeleton crew’

More than a dozen Department of Energy workers were fired this month at a Central Washington nuclear cleanup site, with at least 30 more federal workers taking buyouts, the latest in President Donald

www.columbian.com

More than a dozen Department of Energy workers were fired this month at a Central Washington nuclear cleanup site, with at least 30 more federal workers taking buyouts, the latest in President Donald Trump and “special government employee” Elon Musk’s quest to slash the federal workforce.

Layoffs at the Hanford site near Richland included safety engineers, environmental scientists and employees who protect workers’ rights, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., in a news release Friday...

The Hanford site was used from World War II through the Cold War to produce two-thirds of the nation’s plutonium for nuclear weapons, leading to major contamination. Federal employees at the site are responsible for negotiating with regulators to make sure environmental cleanup work is completed and meets federal standards....

Hanford previously had about 300 federal employees at the site overseeing cleanup efforts. The rest of the workers at that site, about 13,000, are contractors.

 

[KaraBulut]

The Musketeers seem to be getting access to government buildings and government databases during weekends when employees are not in the office.

This weekend, the Musketeers were at the Social Security Administration, trying to access the databases that have the information about all Americans who have Social Security numbers and whose payroll taxes are remitted to the the SSA.

The acting commissioner of the SSA quit.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/17/doge-social-security-musk/

The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration left her job this weekend after a clash with billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service over its attempts to access sensitive government records, three people familiar with her departure said Monday.

Michelle King, who spent several decades at the agency before being named its acting commissioner last month, left her position Sunday after the disagreement, the people said.

 

[KaraBulut]

Back in December, 2024 (before Trump became President), there were reports in the NYC press that Trump was seeking to defund a program setup to assist workers who had helped with the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) cleanup. Those workers had been told by the Federal government that the site was safe, but later many developed severe lung disease or cancers.

https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/12/20/funding-for-9-11-health-care-program-in-jeopardy-after-failure-of-trump-backed-plan-to-avoid-government-shutdown/

As House members scrambled to pass a stopgap spending plan Friday, lawmakers removed legislation that would have fully funded the World Trade Center Health Program through 2040, outraged 9/11 advocates said.

A measure that would have drastically reduced the proliferation of lithium-ion battery fires by setting national safety standards for the rechargeable batteries was also removed from the spending package.

Both measures were pulled before they could be brought to the floor for another vote Friday after President-elect Donald Trump’s insistence on including a debt limit increase had failed. The House eventually voted to approve the spending package — but without the 9/11 and lithium batteries bills.

Last week, DOGE targeted employees at HHS and CDC who had been working on the WTC worker project.

9/11 community advocates warn of staffing cuts at federal health program

The staffing reductions come as the Trump White House continues to slash the federal government.

spectrumlocalnews.com

'It lacks humanity': 9/11 community advocates warn of staffing cuts at federal health program
Advocates for the 9/11 community are warning of staffing cuts at a federal program that helps first responders and others sickened by toxic smoke and debris receive medical help.

As the Trump White House continues to slash the federal government, advocates say the World Trade Center Health Program has seen a staffing reduction of 20% — a combination of layoffs and buyouts. That cut, they warn, will undermine efforts to help patients and certify their ability to receive treatment.

“There was always a backlog, but it was getting better, and now it's going to create a bigger backlog,” John Feal, a 9/11 responder and advocate, said.

WUSA9

Get the latest news and information from around the DC Metro area here on WUSA9-TV's You Tube page.

www.wusa9.com

Military spouse who was a probationary employee at the CDC fired over the weekend

Rachael Shaw thought she found her calling with the Centers for Disease Control.

“I had been working there for a year and a half, and I loved it," said Shaw. "It has a really good mission where you get to help people, first responders that were exposed to 9/11, get healthcare.”

Shaw worked in the CDC's World Trade Center Health Program under the Department of Health and Human Services. She says about 40% of that program's staff is expected to be cut.

“I am worried that people that people that gave up their health and their well-being on 9/11 and in the cleanup after are going to be hurt by these blanket, mass layoffs," said Shaw who found out she was unemployed hours before talking with WUSA9.

“On Friday I got notice that because I’m a probationary employee that I was going to be terminated," said Shaw. "I got the official notice about 8 o’clock last night.”

Along with a letter Shaw says was sent to all probationary employees let go at Health and Human Services Saturday night. It reads, in part, her "performance has not been adequate to justify further employment at the Agency."

 

[rareboy]

 

[rareboy]

And Big Balls is the guy that probably now has access to all your personal information.

 

[rareboy]

So TrumpCo. has said in a court filing that Musk is not head of DOGE or actually employed.

Likely because of the lawsuits.

 

[rareboy]

Ah yes. America's golden age.

 

[rareboy]

 

[rareboy]

Another DOGE/TrumpCo. fuck-up.

This time, frantically trying to rehire the people at the USDA who were working on the Bird Flu epidemic.

USDA accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is now trying to rehire them

An Agriculture Department spokesperson told NBC News that officials are "working to swiftly rectify the situation."

www.nbcnews.com