President Trump: Making America Great Again...

[LVAllen]

For starters, much of what Musk calls "fraud" would be better classified as "things I don't agree with". Or excesses or inefficiencies. Words are losing their meaning, and you guys know how much that bugs me.

Or, more accurately, "things I don't understand." And that's a big category.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Or, more accurately, "things I don't understand." And that's a big category.

Yeah, that is probably the biggest category.

[Maximus]

[myboynoah]

You're not the only one. Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, sums it up quite well. I really wish the Dems would stop throwing rocks and figure out a way to get involved. They, and the country, would be much better off with that approach.

Where is that opening for anyone concerned about this process and the countless lies Harry Bolz had put out to the public to get involved? The process is a black hole confined to what Musk wants to share. And when he shares, as JL pointed out, it turns out to be straight up lies or shows his gross misunderstanding of government accounting, payment, and procurement systems. So either he's lying or just stupid. But he still puts this stuff out so the public can seethe over "why are we spending money on this shit?"

The repubs in Congress are totally absent. They should bring Musk and his dudes before the Congress to testify under oath what they have found. Why don't they? At least that would give the dems a chance to engage. But nothing. They voted to budget this money. They control the purse according to the Constitution. Where are they? It's as if they have given control over to the White House and, again, a non-confirmed supposed "genius" who has had no background check and who has billions of dollars of business before and subsidies from the very organizations he is reforming. Does no one see and admit to this conflict of interest?

I have no problem with a review of government programs and whether or not we want to pay for them. Let that be done in the open with Congress taking its Constitutional role. This is not the way to do it and it will bear bad fruit.

I don't trust anything he says our puts out.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Where is that opening for anyone concerned about this process and the countless lies Harry Bolz had put out to the public to get involved? The process is a black hole confined to what Musk wants to share. And when he shares, as JL pointed out, it turns out to be straight up lies or shows his gross misunderstanding of government accounting, payment, and procurement systems. So either he's lying or just stupid. But he still puts this stuff out so the public can seethe over "why are we spending money on this shit?"

The repubs in Congress are totally absent. They should bring Musk and his dudes before the Congress to testify under oath what they have found. Why don't they? At least that would give the dems a chance to engage. But nothing. They voted to budget this money. They control the purse according to the Constitution. Where are they? It's as if they have given control over the the White House and, again, a non-confirmed supposed "genius" who has had not background check and who has billions of dollars of business before and subsidies from the very organizations he is reforming. Does no one see and admit to this conflict of interest?

I have no problem with a review of government programs and whether or not we want to pay for them. Let that be done in the open with Congress taking its Constitutional role. This is not the way to do it and it will bear bad fruit.

I don't trust anything he says our puts out.

Exactly. The trust people put in this guy is mind-boggling.

[myboynoah]

Case in point on the lies and misunderstandings. How can we trust DOGE. But let's move forward, maybe it will work out.

A bad actor using a bad process with bad intentions.

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[myboynoah]

How odd.

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[Shaka]

I'm sure there is a lot of waste, but if it was Congress that appropriated the money, the president does not have Constitutional authority to change it on his own. This strikes directly at separation of powers which is THE fundamental point of the Constitution outside of the Bill of Rights. That sounds preachy, but we brush this aside and we're stuck with what the Founders specifically established to avoid, which was an all powerful king.

You want to stop spending money on certain things, then do it the legal and correct way like Ronald Reagan did.

Or get out the scissors and help cut the remaining threads but go that way and be prepared to lose many fundamental rights.

I don't have a problem with what you stated but I niether do I have a problem with fraud and malfeasence being exposed. If all DOGE does is bring the crapola to light then congress can do something about it. If not then the American people can hold congress accountable. As we stand no one knows the extent of the issues so no one does anything about it. What we do know is if nothing is done then future generations, and possibly my generation, is are going to be screwed.

I view DOGE as an attempt to do something that should have been done a long time ago. Let them produce a list of fraud, malfeasence, and questionable spending and then let the congress or the public do something about it.

[PaloAltoCougar]

...Let them produce a list of fraud, malfeasence, and questionable spending and then let the congress or the public do something about it.

Perfectly fine with this and hope it produces great results. But I very strongly oppose the mass firings, shutting down of agencies, and ending valuable programs and services. As has been said, the Ready, Fire, Aim approach by a team of post-adolescent savants with zero governmental experience or systems knowledge is fraught with terrible long-term consequences.

[Northwestcoug]

The one-two punch of Musk repeatedly overstating fraud/over-spending and then Trump parroting what Musk says is just depressing. Both of them are ignorant of the issues they talk about.

If there is one, just one, instance of Musk finding significant fraud in government funding, and it doesn’t get walked back the next day or earlier, please I am all ears. I want to know about it.

[Northwestcoug]

As has been said, the Ready, Fire, Aim approach by a team of post-adolescent savants with zero governmental experience or systems knowledge is fraught with terrible long-term consequences.

A serious approach would be to have a team of boring forensic accountants with actual auditing experience, and not a bunch of hackers that is a parody at this point. Elon could even still be the titular head of DOGE and he would get more respect. But true to the tech bro stereotype, his success in previous ventures means he believes he can succeed in anything.

[chrisrenrut]

I don't have a problem with what you stated but I niether do I have a problem with fraud and malfeasence being exposed. If all DOGE does is bring the crapola to light then congress can do something about it. If not then the American people can hold congress accountable. As we stand no one knows the extent of the issues so no one does anything about it.

This is either dishonest or just plain lazy. The information is out there in plain site. Anyone with an AOL disk and a CD-ROM equipped PC can access it.

https://www.usaspending.gov

Elon finding this stuff is not strike of genius’s. In fact, he’s exposing his lack of knowledge when he falsely or incorrectly tweets out his takes that are immediately debunked.

We should be holding our congress people account for any waste or fraud found. But that doesn’t provide rating for Fox News, or help the GOP’s biggest donor shield his companies from regulations and investigations.

[Shaka]

This is either dishonest or just plain lazy. The information is out there in plain site. Anyone with an AOL disk and a CD-ROM equipped PC can access it.

https://www.usaspending.gov

Elon finding this stuff is not strike of genius’s. In fact, he’s exposing his lack of knowledge when he falsely or incorrectly tweets out his takes that are immediately debunked.

We should be holding our congress people account for any waste or fraud found. But that doesn’t provide rating for Fox News, or help the GOP’s biggest donor shield his companies from regulations and investigations.

Then why haven't you done it?

[chrisrenrut]

Then why haven't you done it?

Nice deflection. You’ve got the MAGA two-step down pat.

I have written my congressperson, both state and federal. I don’t agree with most of the cuts being made. USAID is an insignificant portion of the overall budget, and they do good work in the USA name all over the world. Funds for the CFPB, IRS, Dept of Ed, and IRS are investments that return many times their value. And I especially don’t agree with how it is being done.

[Shaka]

Cool. However, you should be ok with others that have a difference of opinion. Also, you should have worked harder for your guy to get elected. Since you didn't maybe you should take the L and chill for a while to see what shakes out.