So the problem, as I am coming to understand it, is that Elon Musk is really only interested in obtaining private information on citizens in order to turn these over to the dark web to associates and like-minded bad actors can use these data to hack into bank accounts and steal identities. This is Musk’s motivation for taking over the agencies and departments of the federal government. That’s what I hear. Elon Musk is taking over the government.
Is that what people think is going on here? That the chief executive, Donald Trump, has no business determining what the agencies and departments under his authority are doing and the money they are spending and that he has no authority to determine the composition of the team that will determine this? What kind of chief executive has no fiduciary responsibility to his constituents? Isn’t that one of the most important functions of a chief executive?
Apparently not if it’s Donald Trump. Special case. Obviously. Trump has to be stopped from the doing the job he was elected by the majority of the nation to do. The people shouldn’t know how the government spends their money and what it spends it on.
But to get serious for a moment, on the information gathering front, I suggest that folks might consider the fact that the corporate state, in its vast array of agencies and departments, has been collecting data on all of them for decades.
Where is the flipping out over the National Security Agency (NSA)? Have folks not heard of SIGINT? No? It gathers information by monitoring a myriad of communications—emails, internet activity, phone calls—to establish “total situational awareness,” ostensibly for national security purposes. It’s a giant broom that sweeps up all your data.
Under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, the NSA collected (past tense?) bulk phone metadata (who called whom, when, and for how long) from US telecom providers. We know this because Edward Snowden, who Democrat Senators recently called a “traitor,” blew the whistle on the practice in 2013. Now the government says it isn’t doing this anymore. Unless it needs to.
Trump didn’t do that. That program was established by the man who crudely paints, needs help putting on a raincoat, and gets hugs from Michelle Obama. Still, as adorable as he is, given the vast amount of data the NSA collects, the agency’s surveillance practices and the significant threat these pose to privacy, those concerned about matters of privacy might put the NSA on their list. Maybe gather in the streets with signs and slogans and demand the government take down that agency and its programs. Maybe get a Democrat delegation to march on the NSA headquarters and demand to speak to the administrative assistant at the welcome desk.
If they’re serious about privacy, of course.
Did readers know that government agencies, businesses, medical facilities, and educational institutions routinely require your Social Security number (SSN) for identification and record-keeping? The Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) use SSNs to manage their records. The SSA assigns and manages SSNs for tracking earnings and benefits. The IRS requires SSNs for tax reporting and processing. Other government agencies—Medicare, state DMVs, welfare programs—use SSNs for identification and benefits administration. Financial institutions (banks, credit bureaus, lenders) use SSNs to verify identity and credit history. Medical facilities use SSNs for insurance and billing purposes. Educational institutions use SSNs for financial aid and student records.
Then there are Employer Identification Numbers (EINs). Corporations, LLCs, partnerships, non-profits, estates, and trusts rely on EINs for tracking financial, tax, and legal matters, similar to how SSNs are used for individuals. Your identification is strew across the United States, likely across the world. This is because, without proper identification numbers, essential functions like banking, healthcare, legal transactions, taxation, etc., would become inefficient or chaotic. The Executive has access to these data, by the way. Now Elon Musk does.
Did readers know that Franklin Roosevelt implemented audits of government agencies and financial oversight as part of the New Deal to ensure federal programs were running efficiently? He didn’t do this himself, of course. He used teams of auditors. In 1939, he created the Bureau of the Budget, now part of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to provide financial oversight. His administration also strengthened the General Accounting Office (GAO) to audit federal spending. There were no lawsuits filed to attempt to stop him. Not that I know of anyway.
Among the departments Roosevelt closely examined was the US Treasury. He audited the Treasury to determine its finances. That’s because Roosevelt, as President, was the chief executive, and the Treasury Department is under his authority. Because Roosevelt implemented large-scale government spending programs, he closely monitored Treasury finances to fund relief, recovery, and reform efforts. He worked with Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. to determine finances. See, like Trump, Roosevelt was a strong advocate of fiscal responsibility. (See what else Roosevelt did here: Bold Executive Action: A Historical Note.)
But then Trump doesn’t really care about fiscal responsibility. He only cares about letting crackerjacks like Big Balls see your personal data for nefarious reasons.
Now Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has the Jerusalem Cross tattooed on this chest, said yesterday that he is committed to getting the Pentagon to pass a clean audit within four years. The Defense Department has failed several audits in a row. Pete is messing with the DoD’s record. Unfair.
Could it get any worse? Yep. Forbes is reporting that DOGE’s Gavin Kliger (not Big Balls) posted a “problematic” social media post in which he called Hillary Clinton “retarded.”
Let’s call off the Trump presidency. This is unbearable.
freedom and reason 