Wednesday, February 5, 2025
D+90
2019 Pope Francis admits for the first time that clerics have sexually abused nuns
2020 US Senate votes to acquit President Donald Trump 52-48 on charges of abuse of power and 53-47 on obstruction of Congress
In bed at 9:30, and awake and up at 5:30.
Prednisone, day 292, 5 mg., day 1, Kevzara, day 1/14. 5 mg. of prednisone at 5:40 a.m., and other meds around 8 a.m.
Geri is feeling better after a good night's sleep and a good physical therapy session. She has graduated from the walker she has used the last 20 days to a cane.
Masters of the Universe: Elon Musk's minions have taken over the federal government's computers. From The Economic Times, English edition,
Billionire Elon Musk has enlisted six young engineers as part of the DOGE team, some still in college, to spearhead a government overhaul aimed at slashing waste and inefficiencies, reported Daily Mail. These 19-to-25-year-olds have been appointed to high-powered roles within the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a position Musk was given following his campaign partnership with President Donald Trump. The youngest in the team is 19-year-old Edward Coristine, who is still attending college. Along with Coristine, fellow engineers are 21-year-old Akash Bobba, 22-year-old Ethan Shaotran, 23-year-old Luke Farritor, 24-year-old Gautier Cole Killian and the oldest of the bunch is 25-year-old Gavin Kliger, reported Daily Mail.
My take on this: Donald Trump sold the United States government to Elon Musk for the $288,000,000 he spent helping to elect Trump and other Republicans in the 2024 election. Musk and his 6 brilliant software engineers are collecting on the debt. Trump has never been interested in the day-to-day grind of running the huge federal government; he just wants to be King of the Mountain, the most powerful man in the world with we lesser creatures groveling at his feet and praising him, sort of like God as imitated by Paul Cook, sitting on the mailbox, in the original Bedazzled. "You're so good, God. You're so great. I love you God and only you because You're so good, God. You're so great." Repeat and repeat for eternity. Musk, on the other hand, is a take-charge, hands-on guy. Both men are psychopaths and both are probably megalomaniacs and, malignant narcissists. but of the two, Musk is the more intelligent and more generally capable of running massive complex projects, like Tesla, SpaceX, and his other private ventures. Now Republican voters have given us Trump and Trump has given Musk the 'keys to the Kingdom.' What, me worry?Here’s a closer look at the fresh DOGE engineers and what makes them stand out:
1. Edward Coristine
Edward is a college student at Northeastern University in Boston. He’s already interned at Musk’s Neuralink and is seen as an expert in his field. Despite his age, Edward’s deep understanding of tech and coding has earned him significant responsibilities at DOGE.
2. Akash Bobba
Currently studying at the University of California, Berkeley, Akash brings a mix of academic brilliance and hands-on tech experience. He’s previously interned at Meta and Palantir, and his background in investment engineering and data analysis makes him a valuable asset in streamlining government operations.
3. Ethan Shaotran
Ethan is the founder of Energize AI, an AI-driven startup, and a senior at Harvard University. With a background in computing and autonomous vehicles, he’s a perfect fit for the tech-heavy mission of DOGE. Ethan is also deeply involved in Musk’s other ventures, having participated in the xAI hackathon. His ability to combine AI with real-world problems makes him a key player in the government reform effort.
4. Luke Farritor
Luke is no stranger to high-pressure problem-solving. A former intern at SpaceX, he dropped out of the University of Nebraska to work for Silicon Valley entrepreneur Nat Friedman. Luke’s AI skills were on full display when he helped decipher ancient Vesuvius scrolls, and his knack for cracking complex challenges makes him one of the more seasoned members of the team.
5. Gautier Cole Killian
Gautier, who graduated from McGill University, brings his expertise from the high-frequency trading world, where he worked at Jump Trading. Though currently a “volunteer” with DOGE, Gautier’s background in algorithms and financial markets positions him to make big changes in how government funds are managed.
6. Gavin Kliger
Gavin, the oldest of the group, has a unique role in DOGE, having made waves by sending a controversial email that shook up the USAID staff. A graduate of Berkeley, Gavin’s no stranger to big decisions and leadership roles. His willingness to leave a seven-figure salary to join Musk’s mission underscores his dedication to reforming government systems.
Elon Musk’s surrogates at the Department of Government Efficiency may have been at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, a key Democratic senator said, raising concerns about their access to the private records of both veterans and agency employees.“We should all be deeply concerned about what it could mean to give Elon Musk and his cronies free rein at VA—I am already hearing that DOGE may have barged into VA today,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement.
“Musk and his associates already have the personal financial information of every veteran receiving disability or education benefits because of their illegal data mining at the Department of Treasury,” she said. “Will they now look at private health records of veterans? What else will they do that could put the health and safety of our veterans at risk?”
The apparent visit comes just days after Musk’s team reportedly accessed millions of people’s personal and financial information at the Office of Personnel Management and separately at the Treasury Department.
It’s not clear if Musk himself may have been at the VA or just members of his team. A VA spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
I don't worry about the Musk/Trump/MAGA people accessing my health records and disability benefits. I know that I am of no interest to him and them except as I am a member of a group of governmental beneficiaries that are of interest to him and them, such as all veterans receiving financial and/or health or other benefits. The goal of Republicans in general and Musk in particular is to privatize the Veterans Administration, especially the Healthcare program. If they can throw monkey wrenches into the system through the computer systems that are its lifelines, they can hasten the deconstruction of the VA and the privatization of this 'socialist' or 'Marxist' operation. Mission accomplished.
From Anand Giridharadas Substack pieee "In.Ink" today:
Of all the things going on—including other baldly unlawful actions such as attempting to gut birthright citizenship and to fire people who did their jobs investigating insurrectionists—the single thing we should be most focused on right now, the first among equals of this corrupt and boorish new administration, is this:
The handing over of the keys to the American Republic by a mendacious president to a megalomaniacal oligarch. Elon Musk is a wealthy private citizen who, relatively late in the game, happened to become a Trump supporter when he saw which way the wind was blowing. Now he has burrowed his way into the bowels of the federal government and is waging what can only be called an anti-constitutional coup.
He is deep in the systems of the United States Treasury Department, including payment systems related to your taxes. He is within reach of the most sensitive and private information you have—information you may have always trusted was safe and should not trust anymore. He is rampaging through other federal agencies, claiming the authority to fire people. He has attempted to shut down the federal aid agency USAID, boasting of feeding it to the wood chipper.
There are now fevered speculations about where he and his young coder minions will go next: the Department of Labor? HR records of every federal employee?
What Musk is doing right now, along with Donald Trump—but also usurping Trump’s at least elected authority—is waging a coup against the Constitution of the United States. Undermining the basic distribution of power within the American constitutional order. Usurping the power of Congress for a private citizen who happens to be very rich.
You may have voted for whoever you voted for; you may have done so for whatever reasons you did. But surely the desire to be ruled by Elon Musk was not one of them.
A random thought: Elon Musk is a "special government employee" like Putin's invasion of Ukraine is a "special military operation."
Future project, Kees von Dongen
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