⚔️ DOG FIGHT!

☀️ April 24, 2025 ☀️

🐾 Now Let’s Sic ‘Em! 🐾

Here we go again…

Elon Musk told Tesla investors he’s stepping back from his role at DOGE — but then immediately contradicted himself by saying he’ll still be spending “a day or two per week” helping run the government through 2029.

Contradictory to say the least, but most likely his vague hedging is to deliberately skirt legal limits on “special government employees,” who are only allowed to work 130 days per year in public service.

Needless to say Musk’s dual role — tech CEO and self-appointed government chainsaw — is riddled with ethical landmines. He's been firing federal workers and reshaping agencies while holding vast private financial interests directly affected by his own policies. And the use of the “special government employee” loophole is an abuse of the law meant for limited, temporary expertise — not billionaire overlords moonlighting as federal hatchet men.

Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service calls DOGE “nontransparent and wasteful,” noting that gutting IRS staff during tax season could cost more in lost revenue than the entire federal payroll. Meanwhile, Musk’s claims of saving a trillion dollars remain unverified PR vapor.

Despite Trump once saying Musk would leave DOGE, there’s little sign of that happening anytime soon. So the call with investors was most likely just lip service and an attempt to plug some holes in the drowning ship that is Tesla.

Blocked Collar. HHS to Cut LGBTQ Youth Crisis Hotline Funding.

The Department of Health and Human Services, under Bear Carcass Lover Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is planning to eliminate LGBTQ-specific services from the national suicide hotline, 988 — a move sure to could cost lives.

A leaked budget draft shows the program, which received over 1.3 million calls, texts, and chats since 2022 and averages 2,100 contacts per day, would be defunded by October.

Mental health advocates warn this will leave LGBTQ youth — already four times more likely to attempt suicide — without culturally competent support. The Trevor Project, which handles about half of LGBTQ-specific contacts to the hotline, says the plan would strip vulnerable callers of trained, compassionate counselors who understand the unique stressors LGBTQ youth face, including harassment, political attacks, and family rejection.

It’s part of DOGE’s wider campaign to gut federal services across the board. The NIH is facing a 40% cut. CDC chronic disease programs? Slashed entirely. Even Head Start is on the chopping block.

Paolo del Vecchio, a former federal mental health official, called the move "pulling the life preserver away from thousands of people." And not just any people in this case — vulnerable kids.

Data Fetch. Scientists Scramble to Save Data Before Its Deleted.

Across the country (and beyond) scientists are scrambling to save decades of taxpayer-funded data from being deleted by the Trump administration and DOGE.

Entire databases on climate, health, weather, and environmental justice are vanishing from government websites with little warning. A volunteer army of archivists is working around the clock to fetch and preserve what’s left before it’s gone for good.

Under the guise of “efficiency,” federal agencies like NOAA and the CDC are seeing mass data purges. Tools like EJScreen — which identified pollution risks for vulnerable communities — have already been pulled. Researchers describe the work as “heartbreaking,” often receiving midnight alerts to download troves of data before they disappear. The stakes are high: once deleted, this information — some of it decades in the making — may never be recoverable.

Experts say it’s not just sabotage — it’s erasure. Without long-term datasets, climate forecasting, disease tracking, and disaster preparation collapse. Scientists are now storing backup data overseas, fearing U.S.-based tech platforms could be forced to purge archives.

Wonder if hard drives burn at Fahrenheit 451 too? Grr.

Marked Territory. Protesters Mark Earth Day With Anti-DOGE Graffiti at Tesla Showroom.

Climate activists in Manhattan marked Earth Day by raising a hind leg and writing a message to Elon Musk on the facade of a Tesla showroom.

Members of Extinction Rebellion NYC spray-painted the Tesla showroom on Washington Street, scrawling messages like “FUCK DOGE” across the glass in protest of the billionaire’s role in the Trump administration’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

In a fiery press release, the group accused the government of “chaos and cruelty,” warning that mass marches alone won’t stop the erosion of democratic rights under Trump and DOGE. “We refuse to be bystanders,” they wrote. “We refuse to wait for this emergency to proceed beyond the point of no return.”

The stunt, part of a wave of recent protests targeting Musk-linked institutions, resulted in two arrests. But the message was loud and clear — for these demonstrators, DOGE isn’t about cutting waste. It’s about gutting the country.

Here’s a video of the graffiti rebels in action.

DOG FIGHT! Musk and Scott Bessent Go For the Throat In White House Scrap.

🍿 Grab your popcorn… for this juicy, gossipy, and satisfying recounting of a recent schoolyard scrap between Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. (Props to Axios for this detailed scoop…)

So, apparently, Musk and Bessent got into a heated shouting match in earshot of Trump and other officials in the White House last week during a dispute about the IRS.

"It was two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing," one witness said of the argument. (Bessent's net worth is actually $520 million.)

The clash — with both men in each other's face — showed how much Musk's personality and style have rankled some senior administration officials since he began running roughshod through agencies with DOGE.

Bessent and Musk had a disagreement over who would lead the IRS. But the chest-to-chest clash between the two men a day earlier hadn’t been reported previously.

"They were not physical in the Oval, but the president saw it, and then they carried it down the hall, and that's when they did it again," the first witness said… "It was quite a scene. It was loud. And I mean, loud….” said a second. “Everyone thinks DOGE is great, but Elon's antics are just a bit much," a third administration official said.

For context, Musk and Bessent had a choppy start during the presidential transition. Musk lobbied hard for Howard Lutnick to get the Treasury post. But Trump went with Bessent instead, and picked Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department.

Once Trump became president, Musk and Bessent clashed over Treasury hires. "It wasn't a fight about right or wrong. It was about control," said one official.

Musk is a move-fast-and-break-stuff iconoclastic business leader and social media celebrity. Bessent is a cerebral, reserved financial guru who's much more comfortable explaining markets than being in the news. Or in a dispute with Musk, whom Bessent has at times praised along with DOGE.

"What surprises a lot of people is Scott is so mild mannered. But he has his limits and he can roar," a Bessent ally said. "Scott can't stand Musk. That goes pretty deep and pretty far back. But he's acting like a grown-up about it."

The latest trouble between Musk and Bessent began brewing on April 16, when Trump named Gary Shapley (Musk's choice) as acting commissioner of the IRS. Bessent wanted Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender in the position.

Bessent lobbied Trump to install Faulkender and fumed that Musk was causing trouble by going behind his back. Finally, at a meeting in the White House, Bessent confronted Musk… and "the F bombs started to fly."

Bessent criticized Musk for overpromising and under-delivering budget cuts with DOGE. Musk clapped back by calling Bessent a "Soros agent" and accusing him of having run "a failed hedge fund." (Trump has praised Bessent's financial acumen.)

The argument was so heated that an aide stepped in between the two men to separate them. It also took place within earshot of visiting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Two sources who overheard the argument recalled that at one point Bessent yelled, "Fuck you!" To which Musk replied: "Say it louder."

That night, even Trump loyalist Laura Loomer tried to get in on the action and began torching Bessent on X for allowing an unrelated "Trump hater" into Treasury for a financial literacy event. Musk piled on by commenting: "Troubling."

But on Friday, Bessent had the last word when the Times reported that Shapley was out and Faulkender was in.

There's little appetite by Musk or Bessent for a rapprochement, and White House insiders wonder who'll fire the next shot. "Scott won that round," one source said. "But I would not want a guy like Musk as an enemy."

"Rubio Flakes, Zelensky Refuses to Bow on Crimea"
Co-President & Habitual Victim Blamer Trump lashed out at Zelenskyy for refusing to recognize Russia’s control of Crimea, calling it “very harmful” to peace talks — never mind that Ukraine’s constitution forbids surrendering it. Meanwhile, Marco Rubio ghosted a high-level London meeting on Ukraine, reportedly deciding it wasn’t worth his time. The U.S. still pushed a proposal that would freeze territorial lines and hand over Crimea, but Zelensky made it clear: “There is nothing to talk about.” With war raging again and nine civilians killed in a Russian drone strike, peace looks more like a political performance than a serious plan.

“MN Republicans Introduce Vaccine Criminalization Bill Drafted by Hypnotist”
Ummm… Just take one second to re-read that headline. Oy. So… Eight Minnesota Republicans introduced a bill that would make mRNA vaccines a felony, branding them “weapons of mass destruction.” The kicker? The language came straight from a Florida hypnotist and conspiracy theorist, Joseph Sansone, who thinks COVID shots are “nanoparticle injections” worse than world wars. The bill would outlaw not just COVID vaccines, but also emerging cancer treatments and gene therapies developed by institutions like Mayo Clinic. It’s dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled legislature, but its high-level GOP backing shows where the pack’s headed if they get the leash back.

“Hackers Mock DOGE With Fake $1T Ransom Demands”
A ransomware group calling itself FOG is taunting victims with parody ransom notes inspired by Elon Musk’s DOGE emails — including demands like “Give me five bullet points on what you accomplished for work last week or you owe me a TRILLION dollars.” The gang uses DOGE branding and even name-drops Edward “Big Balls” Coristine, a Musk ally with a sketchy cyber reputation. Victims, often small orgs in education and manufacturing, aren’t actually being shaken down for trillions — real demands hover around $1,000 in Monero. Still, it’s a pitch-perfect spoof of Musk’s delusions of fiscal grandeur.

“Rubio Says War with Iran Would Be Messier Than What People Are Used To”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that a U.S. war with Iran wouldn’t be a surgical drone strike affair — it’d be “much messier and more complex” than what Americans are used to. He echoed Trump’s official stance: avoid full-blown conflict, even while keeping the option to stop Iran from going nuclear. Rubio admitted peace talks are a long shot but claimed Trump is “committed” to diplomacy. Meanwhile, nuclear negotiations continue — slowly — with Oman and Italy helping broker talks. As Rubio put it: “Peace is hard.” Why does it feel like groundwork is being laid for war with Iran?

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

So as your reward, here’s a treat.

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

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🙌 Thanks for reading. See you on Friday.  

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