Seriously... our road to insecurity
Only 1,370 days to go...
“A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.” ~Dalai Lama
Anyone who was of age on September 11, 2001 will never forget that day — where they were, who they were with, and what they were thinking.
For me, personally, I was in my car on Lake Shore Drive by Lake Michigan. It was one of those days that we treasure in Chicago - the air was crystal clear, the sky was a bright azure, the temperature was perfect. I was looking out across Lincoln Park at my beautiful lake, when I turned on the car radio and heard Dan Rather interviewing another reporter.
It confused me at first, because he usually was only on in the evenings. Then I heard the panic in the on-site reporter’s voice to whom Rather was speaking. The second plane had just hit the South Tower. My heart sunk and my hands started shaking. I almost drove my car into a guard rail.
Like I said, who can forget that day?
I can’t — anymore than I can forget November 22, 1963 or April 4, 1968 or May 4, 1970 or August 8, 1974 or January 17, 1991 or September 29, 2008 or March 11, 2020 or January 6, 2021.
For most of us, we’ve been incredibly lucky. We don’t live in places like Gaza or Kiev or Aleppo. I know shelter and security are not a guarantee for some in our country, but for the vast majority of Americans — we have been shielded. We go about our lives and don’t think much about what is happening in the world. We go to work or the grocery store, see our friends, watch TV, do our housework, read a book — whatever. Life is normal and all is well. We don’t think much about our existential security.
But then there have been days in our history, where it has felt as if the ground beneath our feet is moving and we feel our very safety and security are at stake. These are moments, when we pray our government is looking out for us and is taking care of us and that we have responsible people in positions of authority.
One of the things that still amazes me about September 11th was how quickly our Secretary of Transportation, Norm Mineta, was able to ground all air transport around the country. We’ll never really know for sure, if there were other planes destined for other locations. On that day - as terrifying as it was - I felt that we had grownups in charge — serious people, who took the situation seriously.
It makes me wonder whether our current transportation secretary, former FauxNews host, Sean Duffy would have known enough to do the same.
It makes me wonder whether Homeland Security Secretary, Krisi Noem would have taken the moment seriously or whether she’d just use the event as a backdrop for another photo-op to showcase on her social media account.
It makes me wonder whether our Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, would be reaching out to her friends in Moscow to get their input on how to manage the situation. (Tulsi Gabbard’s history with Russia is even more concerning than you think).
Just by looking at the texts from Signalgate, you can see how immature, incompetent, and fundamentally unserious these people are. I’m beginning to wonder whether Vladimir Putin gave Trump a checklist of actions to follow to weaken the United States. It certainly looks like #FOTUS’s team is following an authoritarian playbook (AKA, Project 2025) or Trump’s playbook is Viktor Orbán’s.
With more than a half-dozen national security officials fired on the advice of wacko conspiracy theorist, Laura Loomer, I believe I have cause to feel unsafe with this inept and corrupt administration. (Although, with that said, Loomer was only 17 when Trump started his “birtherism conspiracy” campaign. Maybe Laura Loomer is the product of Trump’s wacko behavior rather than the other way around. Just take a look at all of the nonsense he has promoted over the years: List of conspiracy theories promoted by Donald Trump)
I saw this in Axios:
A Trump official frantically told Harvard that a three-page demand letter — which provoked a tectonic battle between the administration and the university — shouldn't have been sent and was "unauthorized." Three sources said the letter's contents were authentic, "but there were differing accounts inside the administration of how it had been mishandled."
Or just look at the way the ridiculous tariff policy has been mishandled with their whiplash of on again - off again speed.
Trump Advisers Took Advantage of Navarro’s Absence to Push for Tariff Pause
Yes, who is in charge?
These are not serious people.
Sadly, I’ve added another date to my list of dates: November 5, 2024. This is the day, when all the fear and terror of September 11th rushed back to me. From that day until January 19th, I felt incredibly worried, depressed, heartbroken and sad.
Since January 20th, it has been more of a combination of incredulity, fear and anger. So many emotions are in play with this administration… but mainly a feeling of hope…hope that there are still a few people left in the FBI or the NSA or HSD or HHS or DOD, who will quietly make the competent and ethical decisions.
In the midst of the stock market meltdown during the week of April 6th, did you see this in the news?
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a pair of presidential memoranda directing government investigations into two top officials from his first administration. One of the orders revoked any security clearances held by Chris Krebs, the former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency responsible for securing the 2020 election, describing him as a “significant bad-faith actor who weaponized and abused his government authority.”
Meanwhile, a separate memo singled out Miles Taylor, chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s first term. In 2018, Taylor authored an anonymous New York Times opinion piece criticizing the president before resigning from the administration a year later.
To be honest, it doesn’t come as a shock given all the other despicable actions #FOTUS has taken in the last few months. But it is breathtaking: the President of the United States of America is directing HIS Department of Justice to investigate two private citizens - one for criticizing him, the other for stating a fact.
“Chris Krebs… this is a man who weaponized his position against free speech in the election context… this instructs your department of justice.. to investigate..” Trump statement on X
Liz Cheney responded:
“In a special mix of incompetence and evil, Trump has combined his disastrous implementation of 1930s tariffs with Stalinesque targeting of political adversaries. The 2020 election wasn’t stolen and speaking the truth is only a crime in countries ruled by tyrants.” Liz Cheney’s response to Trump’s statement about Chris Krebs
I’m trying to feel hopeful and not be fearful. Or maybe I’m just living in denial.
Our road to insecurity is paved with a lot of questionable appointees, vengeance, corruption, incompetence and unseriousness.
It looks like it is going to be a bumpy ride.
Thought for the day in honor of her birthday…
“Power without a nation's confidence is nothing.”
~ Catherine the Great
Must Read Article:
The Conspiracy Theorist Advising Trump
If you don’t spend a lot of time online, you probably don’t know who Laura Loomer is, and that’s healthy. To say that she is a “conspiracy theorist” is not quite enough: She has referred to herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and has claimed that 9/11 was an “inside job”; she has charged that some school shootings were staged, accused Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis of “exaggerating” her struggle with breast cancer, and questioned whether the “deep state” might have used an atmospheric-research facility in Alaska to create a snowstorm over Des Moines. (Why? So that foul weather would suppress the turnout in the 2024 Iowa GOP caucuses and hurt Trump’s campaign.)…
Loomer reportedly walked into the Oval Office with a list of people who should be removed from the National Security Council because of their disloyalty to Trump and the MAGA cause.
Quotes of the day:
“Laura Loomer is a nut job every bit as much as Peter Navarro… during all the tariff drama, she scored an Oval Office meeting with Trump and purged six officials from the National Security Council, as well as the head of the National Security Agency. Firing Timothy Haugh as the head of the NSA was the biggest deal, but the NSC purge was in some ways crazier, because those guys were Republicans and political appointees. What actually went down? Nobody seems to know.”
~ Matthew Yglesias, It’s not just trade
“We are a de facto ally of Russia now.” ~Tom Nichols
What I’m reading today…
I Have Never Been More Afraid for My Country’s Future
It’s commendable that the president honors men and women who work with their hands. But when he singles out coal miners for praise while he tries to zero out development of clean-tech jobs from his budget — in 2023, the U.S. wind energy industry employed approximately 130,000 workers, while the solar industry employed 280,000 — it suggests that Trump is trapped in a right-wing woke ideology that doesn’t recognize green manufacturing jobs as “real” jobs. How is that going to make us stronger?
…The world is now seeing Trump’s America for exactly what it is becoming: a rogue state led by an impulsive strongman disconnected from the rule of law and other constitutional American principles and values. And do you know what our democratic allies do with rogue states?
First, they don’t buy Treasury bills as much as they used to. So America has to offer them higher rates of interest to do so — which will ripple through our entire economy, from car payments to home mortgages to the cost of servicing our national debt at the expense of everything else.
Turmoil engulfs Pentagon as fresh Signal allegations hit Hegseth
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is battling a series of major setbacks that portray the Pentagon as an agency in deep turmoil — including a fresh bombshell report on his use of Signal and the brutal defection of a one-time close ally. The new revelations raise questions about Hegseth's ability to run the nation's largest government agency and who's been privy to typically secret Defense Department communications. It's been a tumultuous few days at the Defense Department, with several officials fired.
So, if that’s the case, I gotta ask: What the hell are you thinking?
What I mean is, if you think Trump doesn’t spell the end of democracy, then you have to believe there will be more elections. And if there are going to be more elections, you have to believe that there will come a time when Democrats will win an election again. And yet, the way Trump and Republicans are governing—or “governing”—you’d think Republicans will never, ever, lose another election.
Trump administration seeks explosive expansion of nation’s immigration detention system
If President Donald Trump’s administration has its way, the capacity to hold tens of thousands more migrants will soon be added around the country as the U.S. seeks an explosive expansion of what is already the world’s largest immigration detention system.
Trump’s effort to conduct mass deportations as promised in the 2024 campaign represents a potential bonanza for private prison companies and a challenge to the government agencies responsible for the orderly expulsion of immigrants. Some critics say the administration’s plans also include a deliberate attempt to isolate detainees by locking them up and holding court proceedings far from their attorneys and support systems.
Show Me the Man and I’ll Show You the Crime
…amid the public jubilation over being liberated from “Liberation Day” was the signing of two new executive orders, one aimed at Chris Krebs, the other at Miles Taylor.
Krebs led the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency during Trump’s first term, placing him in charge of, among other things, detecting and preventing any tampering with America’s election technology. The president fired him on November 17, 2020 not for doing his job poorly but for doing it honestly and well. Krebs insisted repeatedly after Election Day that there had been no security breaches involved in Joe Biden’s victory. That qualified as insubordination in the Trump White House.
Taylor served in the Department of Homeland Security during the president’s first term and published a famous op-ed—anonymously—in 2018 titled, “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” After leaving DHS in 2019, he turned it into a book (also published anonymously) arguing against Trump’s reelection before revealing himself as the author in October 2020. Even before then, he had begun giving interviews to the media on the record about the more hair-raising presidential episodes he witnessed while working for DHS.
We’re About to Find Out What Mass Deportation Really Looks Like
Using the budget-reconciliation process, Republican lawmakers are now preparing to lavish ICE with a colossal funding increase—enough to pay for the kind of social and demographic transformation of the United States that immigration hard-liners have long fantasized about achieving.
Phase Two Will Be Worse Than DOGE
During the first two months of his presidency, the prevailing theme of Trump’s White House was the Elon Musk–led attempt to drastically cut federal agencies. The purge is incomplete—the U.S. DOGE Service continues to seek cuts at more agencies, and litigation has slowed or blocked some of the cuts—but we seem to have already moved into the next stage: revenge.
Trump took one of his most chilling steps toward retribution last week, when he directed the government to investigate two officials in his first administration: Chris Krebs, who headed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Miles Taylor, who was chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security.
I’m planning a business trip to Europe. I don’t scare easy, but despite the fact that I’m an American citizen and have committed no crime, I am worried about what might happen when I attempt to come home. Will Customs and Border Patrol agents pull me from the customs line as they did to Amir Makled? He’s an American citizen too, a lawyer born and raised in Detroit who was returning from a vacation in the Dominican Republic. But he happens to represent a pro-Palestinian student protester. CBP detained detained Makled and demanded access to his phone.
Loomer’s Role in Firings Shows Rising Sway of Fringe Figures on Trump
With more than a half-dozen national security officials fired on the advice of Ms. Loomer, unsettled even some veteran Trump officials. But the situation perfectly encapsulates Mr. Trump’s longtime penchant for soliciting information from dubious sources. The difference now, in Mr. Trump’s second term, is that he has fewer people around him who try to keep those voices away.
Trump's Unusual Pick for Joint Chiefs Chairman Approved by Senate in Overnight Vote
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, who President Donald Trump plucked out of retirement to replace the Black general he fired as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been confirmed by the Senate to become the nation's top general. In the predawn hours Friday morning, the Senate voted 60-25 to approve Caine to get a fourth star and become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs. The approval will make Caine, who required a presidential waiver to bypass the statutory qualifications for the job, the first chairman who has not previously been a four-star general or admiral.
Throughout his confirmation process, Caine faced questions about his lack of qualifications, as well as his ability to remain an apolitical military adviser to a president who values loyalty and has indicated he sees Caine as a political supporter.
Two top Pentagon officials placed on leave in leak probe
The leaks under investigation include military operational plans for the Panama canal, a second carrier headed to the Red Sea, Elon Musk’s controversial visit to the Pentagon and pausing the collection of intelligence to Ukraine, the other official said.
NSA, CyberCom Firings Stir Worries over How Seriously Trump Administration Takes Cybersecurity
The firing of two top officials at the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command last week has rattled the cyber community, lawmakers from both parties and experts, prompting concerns that President Donald Trump's administration's tack on cyber threats against the U.S. is dangerously rudderless.
The administration inexplicably fired Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, head of both the NSA and CyberCom, and the NSA deputy director, Wendy Noble, on April 3 -- both well-respected within the agencies and on Capitol Hill, current and former officials said -- amid news reports that a far-right conspiracy theorist bent the ear of the president to ensure their ouster on grounds of perceived disloyalty.
What Happened at the Trump Administration’s Annual Threat Assessment Hearing?
Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-VA) went on to criticize the administration for firing some intelligence officers, pointing out both the loss and the expense. Getting someone a security clearance costs tens of thousands of dollars; training them to be a competent intelligence officer easily reaches six figures, more for specialized tactical training. In the House hearing, witnesses said that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) specifically had played no part in their personnel decisions. Patel, Ratcliffe, and Gabbard said DOGE had not been to their offices and had seen no harm to national security because of DOGE’s efficiency measures. However, Gabbard said that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is “going through our own internal assessments to ensure we are achieving the effects in an efficient way that is responsible to the American taxpayer,” strongly suggesting that ODNI is likely to see some staffing cuts in the near future.
'Don’t you see what’s happening?' Experts call Trump’s latest moves 'full blown fascism'
President Donald Trump’s recent escalating rhetoric and actions across multiple fronts have alarmed political experts, who are now warning that the United States is not just drifting but accelerating toward fascism—and may have already crossed the threshold.
The FBI Agent Who Accidentally Became a Hero for the Trump Resistance
Patel and his newly installed deputy director, Dan Bongino, are stirring up internal commotion in ways beyond juggling personnel. Patel has reportedly floated teaming up with the Ultimate Fighting Championship to help with the FBI’s physical training. Bongino, a onetime Secret Service agent turned successful conservative podcaster, spent years harshly criticizing FBI agents. …Yet any personal foibles are less meaningful than how the Trump team is using the bureau’s resources, deploying them in pursuit of the administration’s policy priorities and obsessions. Attorney General Pam Bondi had touted the publication of documents related to dead sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. When revelations didn’t materialize in the first batch of released documents, she blamed the FBI’s New York field office, the bureau’s largest outpost, for failing to disclose all the files. That office typically devotes the bulk of its time to counterterrorism and public corruption investigations, but lately agents in New York—and at least one other office—have burned up hundreds of hours reviewing the Epstein files. Nothing substantial has emerged publicly.
Justice Department will disband its crypto-related enforcement team
he Justice Department is disbanding a team of prosecutors who targeted cryptocurrency crimes and is shifting its focus away from complex crypto-related cases involving banking and securities law, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated Press.
“The Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a memo sent to prosecutors Monday.
It’s the latest move by the Trump administration to try to boost the cryptocurrency industry while undoing the Biden administration’s efforts to crack down on wrongdoers in the industry. The Trump administration’s effort has included a similar shift in crypto-related enforcement priorities at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Blanche’s memo is part of a larger move by the Justice Department to step back from certain white-collar enforcement to align with President Donald Trump’s priorities of tackling illegal immigration, gangs and drug crimes.
White House proposes drastic cuts to State Department and funding for UN, NATO and other groups
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has proposed gutting the State Department’s budget by almost 50%, closing a number of overseas diplomatic missions, slashing the number of diplomatic staff, and eliminating funding for nearly all international organizations, including the United Nations, many of its agencies and for NATO headquarters, officials said.
The Former C.I.A. Officer Capitalizing on Europe’s Military Spending Boom
As President Trump throws the future of the trans-Atlantic relationship into question, governments across Europe have outlined plans to potentially spend hundreds of billions of euros on weapons, missile-defense programs, satellite systems and other technologies to rebuild their armies. Technologists, entrepreneurs and investors are racing to take advantage of the spending boom by creating new defense start-ups…
Mr. Slesinger is now in the unusual position of a former American intelligence officer who is trying to profit from Europe’s planned military transformation. His one-man venture capital firm, 201 Ventures, is completing a $22 million fund to invest in young start-ups at the intersection of tech and national security.
F.B.I. Suspends Employee on Patel’s So-Called Enemies List
Mr. Auten worked on two major investigations that angered Mr. Trump and Mr. Patel, including the F.B.I.’s investigation into Russian meddling during the 2016 presidential election. He was also involved in analyzing the information found on Hunter Biden’s laptop, a discovery that roiled the 2020 presidential campaign.
Mr. Patel has called the Russia investigation a hoax, and singled out Mr. Auten in his book, “Government Gangsters.” In the book, Mr. Patel claimed that the F.B.I. was trying to “hide and spin” what he called “the Biden family corruption” buried in the laptop, even as agents investigated the matter.
Politicians Shouldn’t Get to Delete Inconvenient Facts
President Trump’s administration has targeted information curated by government agencies, erasing vast swaths of knowledge. While database updates and website changes are routine, this is probably the first time Americans are witnessing deletion weaponized on a large scale as a political tool. These deletions undermine basic good government — and the historical record. Democratic governments need far more robust legal frameworks and safeguards for data that is essential to citizens’ well-being. Scientific practices may change, policies may shift, and history may be debated, but the record of government should endure, regardless of who holds power.
Tim Haugh’s Firing Is a Red Alert for the Nation—and Your Privacy
It hardly registered in the mainstream news cycle when General Timothy Haugh was ignominiously removed as dual-hatted Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command. Perhaps in the chaos of Trump 2.0, another outstanding leader being ousted is just business as usual. For the ones that did mention it, they pointed out that the action could seriously hurt America’s cyber defenses and make it a lot easier for foreign adversaries to strike our networks. They’re correct. But let me be even clearer about what’s not being talked about: this is not just another reshuffling of power—it's a five-alarm fire for anyone who values their privacy and civil liberties.
And it wasn't just Haugh who was shown the door. Wendy Noble, the highly respected civilian Deputy Director of the NSA, was also reassigned back to the Department of Defense. This wasn't just a firing but a purge of institutional memory, experience, and moral backbone.
Tim Haugh wasn't just any flag officer. He was beloved by his workforce, respected by national security professionals across the political spectrum, and known as much for his integrity and superb leadership skills as for his mission expertise. Haugh's departure leaves a void in one of the most sensitive and consequential roles in government. Whoever fills that vacuum could alter the trajectory of one of our most fundamental American freedoms: the right to privacy.
Trump’s Top D.C. Prosecutor Really Loves to Go On Russian State Media
President Donald Trump’s pick to be Washington’s U.S. attorney has appeared on Russian state media over 150 times…Earlier this week, a group of high-level officials including lawyers and a former member of Congress sent a letter to the D.C. Court of Appeals urging an investigation into Martin’s conduct.
Chinese Intelligence May Be Trying to Recruit Fired U.S. Officials
The National Counterintelligence and Security Center warned on Tuesday that China’s intelligence services were using deceptive efforts to recruit current and former U.S. government employees.
The center, along with the F.B.I. and the Pentagon’s counterintelligence service, said in an advisory that foreign intelligence agencies were posing as consulting firms, corporate think tanks and other organizations to recruit former U.S. officials.
The American government has long said that China uses social networks to secretly recruit people. But former U.S. officials say China now sees an opportunity as the Trump administration shuts down agencies, fires probationary employees and pushes out people who had worked on diversity issues.
What I am watching…
“The Russian and American presidents are now speaking the same words. They are telling the same lies. We are watching the international order in real time.”
