🐾 Carbon Pawprint

☀️ April 18, 2025 ☀️

🐾 Now Let’s Sic ‘Em! 🐾

The State Department’s small but critical foreign disinformation watchdog has been put down. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the closure of the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office, claiming it was misused to censor Americans. Never mind that courts found no evidence of actual coercion or censorship.

The office’s real mission? Tracking and exposing propaganda from authoritarian regimes like China and Russia. But it became a favorite chew toy for DOGE, which has made dismantling oversight tools look like a national sport.

Musk called the office the “worst offender” in so-called censorship (especially as it relates to Twitter (currently called X)), and now Rubio’s proudly scrapping it, even as he admits there's no direct proof linking it to platform bans.

Unsheltered. DOGE Has Gutted Federal Homelessness Council.

DOGE has effectively shut down the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, a small but vital body coordinating federal homelessness policy, by placing all staff on administrative leave.

Despite a modest $4 million budget and bipartisan support since 1987, the council fell under DOGE’s chopping block in Trump’s latest executive order slashing government “to the maximum extent.”

Once instrumental in reducing veteran homelessness and helping cities manage record-high unsheltered populations, the council's dismantling clears the path for Trump’s harder-edged policies that shift focus away from “housing first” strategies. Critics say this move will worsen the homelessness crisis just as rents soar and encampments grow.

"This agency was built for efficiency and solutions,” said its former director Jeff Olivet. “Now it’s being euthanized by the one department that claims to care about both.”

Cutting efficiency in the name of efficiency seems pretty on brand for DOGE.

Carbon Pawprint. DOGE Pulls the Plug on Climate Funding, Leaving Green Firms in the Dust.

In a major reversal, DOGE is reportedly slashing nearly $10 billion in clean energy funding from the Department of Energy — putting hydrogen hubs, carbon capture projects, and even Big Oil-backed decarbonization efforts on the chopping block.

Internal memos reveal cuts could dismantle two key DOE offices managing America’s climate tech push and undermine federal contracts already signed or pending.

The decision leaves big companies like Exxon, Chevron, First Solar, and SunPower scrambling for new funding. Many of these firms were counting on support from the Inflation Reduction Act, but now the government is backing out. With DOGE reversing earlier commitments, major clean energy projects are being left in the lurch at a critical moment.

Guess climate policy was only renewable until further notice.

Unsafe Kibble. FDA Suspends Food Safety Quality Checks After DOGE Cuts.

After mass layoffs at Health and Human Services, the FDA is suspending its key food lab quality control program, halting critical safety checks across a 170-lab network designed to sniff out pathogens and contaminants.

The Food Emergency Response Network’s proficiency testing program — essential for detecting hazards like Cyclospora in spinach or glyphosate in barley — has been put on pause due to the loss of key chemists, microbiologists, and quality control staff.

The move, driven by DOGE-backed budget slashing and Trump’s goal to gut $40 billion from HHS, puts the nation’s food supply on shakier ground, just as public health capacity is already being gutted. Experts warn there’s no clear backup to fill the void.

Missile De-fence. Musk's SpaceX Bidding to Build Trump’s Golden Missile Shield.

Everyone knows Co-President Trump has long been obsessed golden things raining down own him. Well, now he wants to build a “Golden Dome” to protect the United States from any enemy’s showering missiles down on the country.

Co-President Musk’s SpaceX is leading the pack vying to make Trump’s wet dream a reality. Teaming up with Palantir and Anduril — two startups run by other Trump backers — SpaceX stands to score lucrative deal to launch a vast satellite network meant to detect, track, and swat down incoming threats.

The early plan? Hundreds of satellites in orbit, plus a smaller set armed with missiles or lasers for interception — but SpaceX is expected to stay hands-off when it comes to actual weaponry. Instead, it’s proposing a subscription-style model for government access to its tech, raising eyebrows over cost, control, and procurement norms.

With Musk now head of DOGE and having donated over $250M to Trump’s campaign, critics worry about the incestuous nepotism between the Co-Presidents, given that Musk has already obtained countless government projects and sweetheart deals.

Initial costs for the “custody layer” alone could run up to $10 billion — with the full system potentially costing hundreds of billions.

Surely, DOGE will have some cost-cutting ideas if the project gets that far, right?

"Trump Demands UK Abolish Laws Protecting LGBTQ People Before Any Deal"
In a new twist on trade diplomacy, Trump is reportedly demanding that the UK repeal its hate speech laws — including protections for LGBT+ groups — as a condition for finalizing a US-UK trade agreement. The demand signals an alarming extension of Project 2025-style policies beyond U.S. borders, treating trade talks like a whip to flog allies into alignment and submit to his fascist agenda.

“Mike Lindell Begs Judge for Mercy, Claims He's Broke After Election Lies”
A tearful Mike Lindell told a federal judge he’s “in ruins” and has no money left to pay the $56,000 in sanctions owed to voting tech firm Smartmatic. The MyPillow CEO, long allied with Trump’s election fraud fantasies, begged to delay payment until after a final judgment, saying he’s broke after laying off employees, losing warehouses, and owing millions to the IRS. Smartmatic wants immediate payment, but the judge gave Lindell until Friday to submit financial records. Lindell, still claiming he was targeted by "lawfare," said, “I have nothing to hide” — except maybe a solid defense. To raise funds, he should write a tell-all memoir called FAFO.

“Trump’s Russia-Friendly Pick for D.C.’s Top Prosecutor”
Trump’s pick to permanently run the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. — a critical post that handles high-profile federal cases like January 6 prosecutions — has made over 150 appearances on Russian state media, often parroting Kremlin-friendly narratives. Ed Martin, already serving as interim U.S. Attorney, failed to disclose these appearances on official Senate paperwork, raising serious red flags. He’s also been a vocal Stop the Steal advocate and pledged to target critics of Musk’s DOGE agenda. Senate Democrats and legal watchdogs are demanding an investigation, warning that Martin’s cozy media ties and partisan behavior make him unfit to lead one of the nation’s most important prosecutorial offices.

“Trump’s Tariffs Leave U.S. Wine Industry Fermenting in Crisis”
Trump’s tariff war has corked the U.S. wine industry, with Canada responding by yanking all American wines off its shelves in a full-blown boycott — gutting a $1.1 billion export market overnight. The fallout is being felt across the country, from Napa to the Finger Lakes, as wineries face surging costs for bottles, barrels, and corks due to global trade tensions. Industry leaders warn that even if tariffs were lifted today, the damage to consumer trust and business pipelines could take years to recover.

“Don Jr. Hunting Show Pitched to Warner Bros As a Way to Brown-Nose Trump”
In a wild attempt at scoring political brownie points, Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly explored offering Donald Trump Jr. a hunting and fishing show as a way to curry favor with the Trump White House. The idea was floated by someone in the Trump orbit, citing Amazon’s pricey $40 million Melania doc deal as a tail-wagging example of how to play nice. According to journalist Michael Wolff, WBD confirmed it reached out seeking advice on how to improve its “Trump-age odor.” All of this, so WBD’s CEO David Zaslav might need Trump's SEC to approve future deals and/or mergers.

Well, that was a lot to chew on… Again.

So as your reward, here are a few treats.

Some doggy goodness to calm your nerves… lift your spirits… and get you through to tomorrow…

Your Daily Dog.  The Best Pups from the Internet.

👆 This week, a 2-year-old boy went missing in the Arizona wilderness, sparking an overnight search — but it was Buford, a 6-year-old Anatolian Pyrenees, who rescued the kid and brought him home safely the next morning. Legend. 🙌

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🙌 Thanks for reading. Have wag-nificent weekend. See you on Monday! 

🐾 And until then, do your best to stay pawsitive!