15 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread”

1. "The Week The USA Started Killing Ukrainians" Phillips O'Brien on Substack.

   A traitor's Actions vs Words: I noticed that Trump announced a cutoff of intelligence and satellite imagery to Ukraine, at the same time he pretended to announce sanctions on Russia.

   Here's O'Brien:

   The United States government took some dramatic steps this week to help Russia and weaken Ukraine—the intended result of which will be more Ukrainian deaths, fewer Russian losses, and the undermining of Ukrainian democracy.

   The steps were comprehensive, layered, and designed to punish Ukraine for not doing what Trump wants. Its worth listing them just so you can see how significant the changes are.

   1. The USA has stopped the delivery of all military supplies to Ukraine. The Trump administration had actually been slowing the supply of remaining Biden era supplies for a while. However now even Biden appropriations are not being delivered.

   2. The USA has stopped allowing Ukraine to attack Russian forces with certain high-value US systems such as HIMARS.

   3. The USA, in a particularly twisted move, has made it far more difficult for Ukraine to defend against Russian missile attacks. What the USA has done is no longer provide Ukraine with warning of such attacks—which will make them far more deadly and effective.

   4. The USA is actually stopping non-military supplies such as medical equipment, which is vital to keep wounded Ukrainians alive. This had started with the USAID cut—but has now reached an extreme level with no medical supplies to treat Ukrainian soldiers. The USA is also forbidding the Ukrainians from having access to Maxar commercial satellite data—which has been widely available to them (and many civilian agencies) throughout the conflict. 

   5. The USA is signalling strong support to Putin that they want to see his strategic priorities met in the short term.

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   1. Conclusion

      As a rule of thumb, Trump only ever takes concrete action to harm Ukraine and only ever takes concrete action to help Russia. In this case, he is admitting to helping Russia kill Ukrainians.

      This is the official position of the US Government and through that the people of the USA. Its amazing how little this is being criticized. 

      Europe needs to understand—if the USA is willing to help Russia kill Ukrainians today, it could easily be willing to help Russia kill other Europeans tomorrow.

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      1. Yes, it continues to amaze me as well. But it is little different from the Nazi effort in the 1930s. Somehow, the hardest thing for MAGATs to do is see reality and admit to it.

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2. Noah Smith:

   DOGE is, first and foremost, an ideological purgerather than an actual push for government efficiency. The point is to purge wokeness from the civil service, and then use a reconstituted civil service to purge wokeness from other institutions. JD Vance pretty much summed it up recently:

   "We need a De-Ba'athification program in the US. We should seize the administrative stae for our own purposes. We should fire… every civil servant in the administrative state. Replace them with our own people."

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   1. Debathificatrion is right : Sadaam video purging parliment of unsuitables 

      https://youtu.be/6bdVtuDl5gY 

       

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3. Since Republicans control all three branches of government (or actually just one, with two nearly useless appendages), I say they broke government, so they own both halves.  They will have to find a way to fix it on their own.

   Republicans unveil another extension to try to avert government shutdown

   With less than a week to go before a March 14 shutdown deadline, it is not clear if Republicans have the votes to pass the continuing resolution unveiled Saturday.

   If all House lawmakers are voting, Republicans can only lose one vote to pass it. Spending bills have plagued House Republicans over the past two years and their leadership has had to rely on Democrats to keep the government functioning.

   House Democrats, however, are not expected to help this time. Democrats are worried that a long-term funding patch will give Trump and DOGE more control over how funds are spent, according to multiple lawmakers and aides within the caucus.

   “We cannot back a measure that rips away life-sustaining health care and retirement benefits from everyday Americans as part of the Republican scheme to pay for massive tax cuts for their wealthy donors like Elon Musk. Medicaid is our redline,” Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Massachusetts), and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-California) wrote in a letter to Democrats Friday.

   Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) described it as “a power grab for the White House and further allows unchecked billionaire Elon Musk and President Trump to steal from the American people.”

   Sen. Patty Murray (Washington), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, described it as “a slush fund.”

   “Instead of turning the keys over to the Trump administration with this bill, Congress should immediately pass a short-term CR to prevent a shutdown and finish work on bipartisan funding bills that invest in families, keep America safe, and ensure our constituents have a say in how federal funding is spent," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) said in a statement.

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   1. I think with the two recent deaths of Democratic House members they can now lose 3 votes.

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      1. I only know of one death.

         The last recorded roll call vote (3/6/2025), the one censuring Rep. Al Green, the vote was 224 aye, 198 nay, 2 present, 8 not voting. .  My math adds up to 432 — leaving 2 vacancies from resignations in Florida, 1 vacancy from the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner, a Texas Democrat,

         Those not voting:

         • Diaz-Balart Republican Florida Not Voting 
         • Gonzales, Tony Republican Texas Not Voting 
         • Grijalva Democratic Arizona Not Voting 
         • James Republican Michigan Not Voting 
         • Kamlager-Dove Democratic California Not Voting 
         • LaHood Republican Illinois Not Voting 
         • Pettersen Democratic Colorado Not Voting 
         • Vindman Democratic Virginia Not Voting  

         The previous week on another roll call, the only names to repeat are:

         • Grijalva Democratic Arizona Not Voting 
         • Pettersen Democratic Colorado Not Voting 

         Pettersen is just back from giving birth, but will no doubt be available to vote on crucial issues.  Grijalva is being treated for cancer, and has rarely voted since last April.

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4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSa52TR9tCA

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5. Ensuring that the rot starts from the head and proceeds with haste downwards, Trump’s DOJ just ousted 3 key national security officials, because they need unqualified stooges to staff the concierge desk when Putin calls requesting assistance.

   Trump’s Justice Dept. ousts national security officials in latest purge

   The transferring of at least three national security officials amounts to a complete gutting of leadership in the highly sensitive National Security Division.

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6. Yep, and they have lickspittles like Pam B(l)ondi, Emil Bove, and Ed Martin to pervert the rule of law so that the DOJ becomes the DODJT

    

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7. I just finished an interview with Representative Ken DeGraff (goes up Monday). The guy is sharp and is focused on issues that will appeal to independent voters. You can dislike his politics but don't assume he will hurt the Republican cause.

   I've had numerous Democrats tell me we're still one election away from a Republican sweep. After talking to Representative DeGraff, I worry a bit more about the Republican's chances.

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   1. I will look forward to reading the interview. 

      I suspect his pragmatic "Republican" approach to energy — maintain fossil fuel, go nuclear for electricity — allows him to sound "appealing" to independent voters. 

      It is when he would get pushed on items near and dear to his "Liberty" and "Rights" agenda, he answers questions about what qualities he would look for in state judges, and what legislation he would veto if elected that I think he would sound less attractive to independent voters.

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8. This is just obscene: War heroes, military firsts among images flagged for DEI

   References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press.

   The database, which was confirmed by U.S. officials and published by AP, includes more than 26,000 images that have been flagged for removal across every military branch. But the eventual total could be much higher.

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9. CPR yesterday: 

   Financial challenges and possible Medicaid cuts puts many rural hospitals at risk of closure, says new report

   Rural hospitals often lose money delivering care, don't earn enough revenue from other sources to offset losses and have low financial reserves, according to the report. 

   “We've got 21 rural hospitals operating in the red right now,” said Michelle Mills, CEO of the Colorado Rural Health Center.

   Over the past two decades, nearly 200 rural hospitals in the U.S. have closed, but none in Colorado, the analysis reports.

   Then there is speculation about the impact of Medicaid and Medicare cuts. Even before that comes, and considering all hospitals (not just rural), there are impacts. 

   The Colorado Hospital Association released a statement acknowledging the challenges that facilities have been facing. 

   “More than 70 percent of our hospitals operate with unsustainable finances after multiple years of increasing supply costs, regulatory requirements, and increasing administrative and reimbursement challenges,” said Cara Welch, its senior director of communications, in an email.

   “And unfortunately, after more than 40 years without a hospital closure in our state – defying the trends that led to closures that were prevalent in other states across the country – we now have two behavioral health facilities that have announced their closure and other hospitals planning service reductions.”

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