I am posting a large excerpt from Olga Lautman’s Tyranny Tracker. Christine Langhoff shares this link with us. I urge you to subscribe. I have given up trying to keep track of Trump’s destructive orders, but Olga Lautman has not. She is a patriot. Trump is not. He is Putin’s puppet. Hillary warned us.
Olga Lautman posted yesterday:
📆 Trump Tyranny Tracker: Feb 14
Welcome to today’s Trump Tyranny Tracker, where I’m breaking down the key news from the day alongside ongoing developments as Trump and his regime move swiftly to consolidate power, undermine democracy, and dismantle civil rights and freedoms.
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!!
🔥 In Corruption News
Musk’s Treasury Appointee Retains CEO Role, Raising Conflict Concerns
What Happened: Elon Musk ally Tom Krause, newly appointed to oversee U.S. government payments, is still CEO of Cloud Software Group, a private tech company. Treasury’s ethics office approved the arrangement, which is a massive conflict of interest.
Why It Matters: A sitting CEO running federal payment operations raises ethical and security concerns over potential financial manipulation, insider deals, and corporate favoritism. With Treasury’s $5.45 trillion in annual transactions, watchdogs warn of unprecedented conflicts as Musk’s allies tighten their grip on government finances.
Source: WIRED
Trump DOJ Guts Public Corruption Investigations
What Happened: Trump has dismantled federal efforts to fight public corruption, pausing investigations into corporate bribery, weakening the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and considering eliminating the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section. Trump also fired inspectors general across multiple agencies. The move follows the DOJ’s controversial dismissal of charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams, sparking mass resignations among prosecutors.
Why It Matters: The Justice Department is shielding Trump’s allies while curbing corruption investigations, signaling an unprecedented shift in enforcement priorities. The DOJ’s politicization raises concerns about legal accountability under Trump’s regime.
Source: CNN
Kash Patel’s Undisclosed LLCs Raise FBI Nomination Concerns
What Happened: Trump’s FBI director nominee, Kash Patel, failed to disclose multiple LLCs tied to a $1.8 million Virginia land deal in his Senate financial disclosures. His filings contradict each other on the land’s value, and he delayed submitting records until after his Senate hearing, avoiding scrutiny.
Why It Matters: Patel’s lack of transparency and hidden financial dealings—including ties to Kremlin-linked payments—raise serious ethical concerns for a potential FBI director. His pattern of secrecy and conflicts of interest fuels fears about his ability to lead an impartial agency.
Source: Mother Jones
🛡️ In Power Consolidation News
Mass Layoffs Spark Chaos as Trump Purges Federal Workforce
What Happened: Trump and Elon ordered mass layoffs of probationary federal employees, impacting thousands. Over 1,000 VA workers, including cancer and opioid researchers, were fired. The CDC lost 1,300 employees, cutting 10% of its workforce, while the Education Department, USDA, and DOE also saw deep cuts. Many were terminated without warning, including some who had already accepted buyouts.
Why It Matters: This politically driven purge weakens veterans’ services, public health, and environmental protections, prioritizing loyalty over competence. The purge will cripple government operations and vital social services.
Source: Associated Press
IRS Prepares for Mass Layoffs Amid Tax Season
What Happened: The IRS is set to fire thousands of workers, including many probationary employees, just as tax season reaches its peak. The move follows Trump and Elon Musk’s federal purge, aimed at gutting the government. The IRS had 100,000 employees, including 16,000 probationary workers, many of whom are now at risk.
Why It Matters: The cuts threaten tax processing, refunds, and enforcement, gutting Biden-era efforts to audit corporations and wealthy taxpayers.
Source: Reuters
Elon Musk’s DOGE Arrives at Pentagon, Eyes Massive Cuts
What Happened: Elon Musk’s operatives arrived at the Pentagon as part of Trump’s push to gut government agencies and veterans’ services. This follows similar moves across Treasury, DOJ, DHS, and intelligence agencies, where Musk’s operatives have gained access to financial, security, and intelligence data.
Why It Matters: Musk’s Pentagon access raises major conflict of interest concerns, as SpaceX and Starlink hold billions in defense contracts. Unvetted DOGE operatives could gain access to classified military programs, including cyber defense, nuclear strategy, and global operations. The Trump regime’s prioritization of loyalty over security vetting risks espionage, military compromise, and insider financial manipulation.
Source: Reuters
Mass Firings Loom Over CDC and NIH as Trump Reshapes Public Health Agencies
What Happened: Senior officials at the CDC and NIH are bracing for mass layoffs, with up to 700 public health workers targeted, including members of the CDC’s elite “disease detectives” corps—the first responders to global infectious disease outbreaks. Some high-ranking officials could be forced to resign as the regime continues its efforts to gut agencies.
Why It Matters: Slashing frontline pandemic and disease response teams cripples America’s ability to contain deadly outbreaks. Experts warn this will devastate public health preparedness, drain critical expertise, and politicize key agencies—as the U.S. faces a bird flu outbreak, a resurging measles crisis, and the worst flu season in decades.
Source: The New York Times
DHS Cuts 405 Employees, FEMA Hit Hardest
What Happened: DHS laid off 405 employees, including 200+ at FEMA, 130 at CISA, and others at USCIS and Science & Technology. 12 Coast Guard DEI staff were reassigned to border security.
Why It Matters: This purge weakens disaster response, cybersecurity, and national preparedness.
Source: ABC News
Trump Purges Leadership at National Archives
What Happened: Trump purges senior leadership at the National Archives and Records Administration. Deputy Archivist William Bosanko resigned Friday, following the firing of Archivist Colleen Shogan last week. At least five other senior officials are expected to leave, as the White House moves to replace them with Trump loyalists.
Why It Matters: This purge comes after NARA’s role in referring Trump’s classified documents case to the DOJ, signaling an attempt to reshape the agency’s leadership for political control. The loss of experienced, nonpartisan officials threatens historical preservation and government transparency.
Source: CNN
Diane Ravitch's blog 
What happening here is the Oligarchs of the U.S. have decided they have more common cause with the Oligarchs of Russia than they do with the People of the U.S.
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Vance and Musk prefer the neo-Nazis in Germany to our allies.
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This list is daunting and dangerous. And “dei” or “culture wars issues or revenge items on the list. It’s all actions against hacking millions of citizens’ personal information, millions of jobs lost, government agencies that run the country frozen, trillions of dollars in heath and security and more cut and more.
I am U.S. Post Office real-mailing this list (not just email) to my House rep and Senators and a few media outlets to actually interview those people. And, poll Republicans on their thoughts now about their vote for the presidents (well, at least trump.
It takes 4 House representatives and 2 Senators to speak up and say “enough!”
Republican electeds need to have microphones in their faces explain how they can ignore Republican constituents (yes) who see the actions as destructive.
Be sure to scroll down to end to see “By the Numbers” “What to Watch Next” “Key Takeaways” and “Calls to Action.”
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I went to the library of my high school to get some work done and sat at a corner table to start grading. As I started reading essays I was interrupted by a strangely familiar voice – kind of raspy and gravelly. It grew more intrusive. I got up to investigate. Across the library one of our young business teachers was blasting …. Alex Jones … from a device on his table. Alex Jones. In our library. With no kids. Just me, the MAGA and Alex. Maybe he’s teaching them about crisis actors playing dead children or how Putin deserves Europe. Many young people through no fault of their own are ahistorical and distorted by social media Kremlin propaganda. I’ve been using the term Russia RepubliQans for years – ever since Helsinki. The shoe fits better every day.
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On a somewhat lighter note, which is much needed on this cold ice storm of a Sunday morning in the dismal winter of 2025….
I’m painting my sign for a demonstration I’m going to. One of the many “Protests to Protect Democracy”, to be held tomorrow, February 17.
I’m not quitting my day job, btw, and becoming a sign painter. Yikes!
Anyhoo, I’m in the middle of painting a flag and I needed an image to get my artistic efforts, well, not even close to right. And, I happened on an article about the U.S. flag code, the rules of so-called flag etiquette.
It’s amazing to me how the far right and their ilk have been mistreating “Old Glory” in recent years. Hanging it upside down all over the place every time Biden sneezed, for example.
I remember when Abbie Hoffman got rousted for wearing, God forbid!, his famous U.S. flag shirt back in the 1960s.
But it’s not a surprise at all. Not now.
There was a time when the alleged conservatives used to get in a tizzy about what they called “moral relativism”.
Seems like a hundred years ago…
Mention tRump to many of them today and they immediately default to yapping about Hunter’s laptop or Joe’s pardons (not the same thing) or some unproven conspiracy theory they heard on the hate radio they so love.
Yeah, I know, it’s old-fashioned to talk about the concept of ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’. But the road to tyranny is paved with piles of hypocrisy and trucks loads of self-deception.
tRump’s theirs… they own him. What a fat, grotesque burden to have to carry if you’re actually an honest, kind human.
And the fact is the Republican Party has come to be what they purported to despise: lawless troublemakers.
But, at least give them this: they’ve proven that the idea of American “exceptionalism” does exist….that America can be exceptionally selfish!
So, I’m going to finish my sign painting, before the power goes out.
And, tomorrow mull around in a protest wearing so many layers of warm clothes that I’ll probably look like the Michelin man.
Snowflakes we Democrats certainly ain’t these days.
Stay safe all.
A link to the article about treating the flag right, which I still do.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/04/us/american-flag-rules-july-4-trnd/index.html
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John,
In addition to Hunter’s laptop, there’s Hillary’s emails.
That was in the days when Republicans actually cared or pretended to, about national security.
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On a positive note, it did not end well for the Vichy.
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Glad to see you return, Joel.
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