Kaz
@kazlefay.bsky.social
7.9K followers 820 following 3.5K posts
Words Are My Thing | Journalist | Author
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kazlefay.bsky.social
Remember DOGE and how we were gonna cut government spending.

Once some contractors made a lot of money and certain people got unfettered access to government data it sure did disappear fast.
Reposted by Kaz
bbkogan.bsky.social
Elon Musk said he was going to cut spending by $2 trillion dollars, but instead spending is higher this year than we thought it would be before Trump took office. Truly incredible stuff.
bbkogan.bsky.social
CBO fy2025 projections for deficit/spending/etc are out

Some issues make simple comparisons apples-to-oranges, so I'll do apples-to-apples & explain in the thread

Relative to pre-Trump projections:
-Primary deficits ⬆️ $34 bn
-program spending ⬆️ $97 bn
-revenues ⬆️ $63 bn
www.cbo.gov/publication/...
	2025 (January estimate, adjusted to fix issues)	2025 CBO estimate (remove student loan one-time revaluation)		2025 (adjusted for student loans) vs. 2025 projection (adjusted to fix issues)
Spending	7061	7166		105
Program spending	6108	6205		97
Interest	953	961		9
Revenue	5163	5226		63
Primary deficit	945	979		34
Total deficit	1898	1940		42
Reposted by Kaz
atrupar.com
Pritzker: "He wants to militarize major cities because he wants us to get used to the idea of troops on the streets. I believe he's gonna post people outside of polling places and if he needs to in order to control those elections, he'll assume control of the ballot boxes & count the votes himself"
Reposted by Kaz
atrupar.com
Pritzker: "It's unconscionable. This has never happened before. They're calling out troops onto the streets of a state that doesn't want them and they're not even telling us where they're gonna go, what they're gonna do. This hasn't happened I don't think since the Civil War."
Reposted by Kaz
judiciarydems.senate.gov
Sen. DURBIN: Madam Attorney General, it's my job to grill you. Investigation of your agency is part of my responsibility. You may not like the experience, but others have weathered this storm and answered questions in a respectful manner.
Reposted by Kaz
walshfreedom.bsky.social
This is NOT making Chicago safer. And this must NOT be what America is.👇
Reposted by Kaz
sanders.senate.gov
If you are a federal worker, there are several credit unions and other financial institutions that are offering zero interest loans during the government shutdown.

Please go to my website for more information: www.sanders.senate.gov/resources-fo...
Reposted by Kaz
smith.senate.gov
Weird how that didn’t make the cut.
Reposted by Kaz
thebandcake.bsky.social
The phone number for the U.S. Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121. #epstein
Reposted by Kaz
Reposted by Kaz
nicholasgrossman.bsky.social
We’re not dealing with brilliant strategists cleverly laying traps, we’re dealing with impulsive whiners whose advantage is contempt for laws, norms, and morality.

They’re not pulling some elaborate trick, they’re just willing—even eager—to do things regular, principled people consider off limits.
Reposted by Kaz
subletteweather.com
"One week from today, Oct. 15, some 1.3 million active duty service members will miss their next scheduled paycheck if nothing is done first. Tens of thousands of deployed or full-time National Guard members and thousands of Coast Guard personnel face the same threat."
punchbowlnews.bsky.social
☀️TOP in @punchbowlnews.bsky.social AM: Day 8 of the shutdown — and the stakes are rising.

1.3M service members could miss their next paycheck if Congress doesn’t act. Trump says troops will be paid, but no plan exists yet to make that happen.

Full story:
punchbowl.news/article/defe...
Will Congress or the W.H. do anything to pay the troops?
This is Day 8 of the government shutdown and some 1.3 million active duty service members will miss their next scheduled paycheck if nothing is done first.
punchbowl.news
kazlefay.bsky.social
This is because even news orgs now make money through affiliate marketing.

We’re a country that worships capitalism and the public’s primary role for some time has not been citizen but consumer.

It’s sort of how we got into this mess.
And the only way out is to stop buying shit.
karlbode.com
twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross
photo of Google News search results for Amazon Prime Day (the second this year)
Reposted by Kaz
mclem.org
The Constitutional crisis you've been waiting for is here.

The right moment to speak up—that moment of clarity you've been waiting for—that's here too.
govpritzker.illinois.gov
I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?
Donald Trump Truth Social Post: Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also.
Reposted by Kaz
taniel.bsky.social
JUST IN: The Republican Mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska’s second biggest city, lost re-election last night to a Democrat.

Mayor David Pruhs is a conservative who fought protections for LGBTQ+ residents; he made comments this year drew condemnation this year from Alaska Natives. He lost to Mindy O'Neall.
Reposted by Kaz
davejorgenson.bsky.social
The Post laid off seemingly the remaining of their liberal-leaning staff members on Opinion last Thursday, when some of them were observing Yom Kippur.

from @oliverdarcy.bsky.social for Status
status.news/p/washington-post-opinion-cuts-adam-oneal
kazlefay.bsky.social
We’re not on the path, sir.
We have arrived.
govpritzker.illinois.gov
I will not back down.

Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.

What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?
Donald Trump Truth Social Post: Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also.
kazlefay.bsky.social
Portland knows how this works. MAKE THEM LOOK RIDICULOUS. Because they are.

More of this. Everywhere.
Keep dancing.
gtconway.bsky.social
THESE PAGAN LIBTARD WAR DANCES CAN ONLY PRESAGE CALAMITY!!

MEIN LEADER PRÄSIDENT TRUMP, HERR REICHSCOUCHVUCKER VON VANCE, HERR VERRÜCKTPSYCHO STEPHANMÜLLER, DER VOLK DEMAND YOU DEPLOY DIE PANZERBRIGADEN NOW!!!

Vielen Damk für your attention to this matter
kazlefay.bsky.social
I prefer they stay at Voodoo. Nobody tell them about Blue Star ok?
ronfilipkowski.bsky.social
Update from the war zone in Portland.
Reposted by Kaz
andycraig.bsky.social
Never before in American history has one state's military force been deployed in another state over its objection.

I say never because the Civil War involved states whose governments legally ceased to exist, their offices vacated by constructive resignation, with no legitimate governors to object.
Reposted by Kaz
sabrinarina.bsky.social
Oregon National Guard Adjutant General, General Gronewold says if they are federalized, that he will advise the Title 10 commander to utilize National Guard Troops to PROTECT protesters at ICE facilities. This is the right answer.
Reposted by Kaz
murray.senate.gov
Here are the 10 states that will see the highest premium increases for families that lose tax credits if Republicans refuse to act.

West Virginia 387%
Wyoming 382%
Alaska 346%
Tennessee 320%
Mississippi 314%
Texas 289%
South Carolina 285%
Alabama 284%
South Dakota 235%
North Dakota 234%