The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Is the defunding of USAID good? Was the behavior of the dem-wits bad in the RFK, Tulsi, Kash hearings? Is the Trump plan for the Gaza Riviera resort and casino ugly? These and many other questions below the fold...featuring a variety of characters...

The world is gray...is it the darker shade of gray or the lighter shade of gray?
A Whiter Shade of Pale (Procol Harum) 1967 with lyric

Just sayin' good, bad, and ugly are difficult to distinguish from one another, and there's plenty of bled over between categories.

The Good

My initial idea was the defunding of USAID is good. Of course, it will depend on how it is implemented.

Plus, there are challenges...
A federal judge has temporarily barred the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington’s primary vehicle for funding political projects abroad, from putting thousands of employees on paid leave. The order was in response to a lawsuit filed by two labor unions representing federal workers. A “limited,” temporary restraining order issued by Judge Carl Nichols in the US District Court in Washington, DC, on Friday, banned the US government from placing around 2,200 USAID workers on administrative leave or evacuating them from their host countries before the end of the day on February 14. The ruling also reinstates some 500 employees who had already been furloughed.
additionally...
A federal judge has temporarily barred the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Elon Musk, from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans kept at the Treasury Department.

We all knew the blob would fight against losing one of its primary tools.

Soft power corruption

(20 min) The video discusses revelations about USAID's extensive funding and influence over global media, NGOs, and political activities. It explores the implications for US soft power, international relations, and media integrity, as well as potential changes in US foreign policy approach.

If you want the deep dive for 2+ hours listen to this interview with Mike Benz and Tucker.
Mike Benz Takes Us Down the USAID Rabbit Hole (It’s Worse Than You Think)
Mike Benz: “USAID is effectively a rent-a-riot operation that raises questions about the Black Lives Matter protests.”
Here's an 11 min tease.

So what has USAID funded? Well, the rethugs are calling out the woke shit, but I've not really heard them slam the funding of color revolutions, hired protesters, and regime change. None the less, the list Kennedy reviews needs to be publicized and stopped.

(10 min) Senator Kennedy's Defense Of Elon Musk's DOGE Left The Room Speechless.

Democrats and Deep-State Stooges FREAKING ABOUT About Elon Musk's DOGE!
Viva Frei and Robert Barnes (10 min)

- Samantha Power was sworn in as Administrator of USAID on May 3, 2021
- Her financial disclosure filed in Jan 2021 showed her assets were estimated at $6.7 million to $16.5 million
- Today, in 2024, her net worth is estimated at up to $30 million
“How does a government job multiply wealth like that? Her salary at USAID was 180,000 annually.”
“Samantha Power is a Top Administrator that is now fired from her position. Samantha Powell is a far, far leaning left individual.”
“She's on national TV complaining about the good work she has done. What work is that laundering her money?”

Worth a click and a full read

Politico Pro and USAID. (1st 10 min or so),
Alex then moves to other topics.

USAID Media Payments Could Be ‘Biggest Scandal In History’ – Trump
Billions of dollars have been stolen at USAID and used to pay for positive media coverage of Democrats, US President Donald Trump has said. The claim comes in conjunction with a White House announcement that it will stop “subsidizing” Politico. In January, the Trump administration initiated significant changes to the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Trump ordered a near-total freeze on foreign aid, aiming to align assistance with his “America First” policy. Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday to warn that “the biggest scandal in history” was brewing, after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that American taxpayer money had been used to subsidize government subscriptions to Politico and other media outlets. Leavitt was referring to Politico Pro, a premium legislative and regulatory tracking service used by multiple government agencies.Politico Pro subscriptions are reported to cost up to $10,000 annually.
It is even worse...

Controlling the narrative is a primary tactic of US power.

Jimmy had an interesting take about how Trump's rapid actions have the deep state disoriented.
How Trump Is SHORT-CIRCUITING The Media Narrative Control System!
Since the moment the oath of office left his lips, Donald Trump has been employing a “flood the zone” approach to governance, overwhelming the opposition, the media, the courts and the public with a head-spinning array of executive orders and executive actions.
Jimmy and Kurt discuss how this approach not only puts all Trump’s critics on the defensive, practically knocking them off their feet, but also disrupts the narrative driving channels embedded withing the Deep State-media nexus. (19 min)

WikiLeaks: USAID Has Been Funding Over 6,000 Journalists Worldwide

Brian Berletic's take was interesting. He suggests the regime change arm of USAID simply moves to the state department, and Musk simply scraps the "woke" funding. I remember when Elon said, "We'll coup who we want." after the coup we fomented in Bolivia.
Former president of Bolivia Evo Morales (2013): "We have decided to expel USAID from Bolivia... never again USAID, who manipulates and uses our leaders with handouts"
Brian may be right.

(about 30 min) Former Marine DEBUNKS USAID Rumors

“It’s SHOCKING the amount of dirt there is on USAID” w Dan Cohen | Redacted (10 min)
Many of you who watch our show know just how terrible USAID has been... funding regime change operations around the world. Drag shows in Peru. Funding the creation of the Covid 19 virus. Pretty awful stuff. The list is endless. But is it dead? Or did little Marco Rubio just get his hands on it at the State Department.

Whitney Webb suggests caution as well...

'Dismantling' USAID Is A Distraction From The Real Agenda | Whitney Webb (6 min)
She suggests FASAB - S-56 is the issue to real national accounting.

In October 2018, while most Americans were focused on the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, the U.S. Congress and the Executive branch adopted Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) Statement 56, an accounting policy that renders U.S. government financial statements essentially meaningless. This follows many years of undocumentable adjustments at the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Defense, now totaling over $21 Trillion. Fitts believes the issuance of FASAB Statement 56 is a “material event” in its impact on the credit of U.S. Treasuries and related securities and recommends that citizens and investors take note, particularly in light of the accelerating growth of outstanding federal debt.

Basicly both Brian and Whittney are saying - You gotta be kidding if you think the US is going to dismantle it's regime change arm.

Elon has hired a group of tech savvy genius types to go through the books...
The TRUTH Behind Elon Musk Hiring SAVANT To Run D.O.G.E.

(22 sec)

Oh boy, the Pentagon is next?

Stand by for more fun, games and exploding heads

So do you think this defunding or even partial defunding of USAID is good? After all the opinions, I think it's good, but we will have to wait and see how it plays out before I'll declaratively state it is a good thing.

The Bad
The bad this week from my perspective was the dem-wit's behavior going after RFK, Tulsi, and Kash. The silver lining is that despite their childishness, it looks like all three will be confirmed. May take Vance's vote again, but it is what it is.

Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr. & Kash Patel Confirmation Hearings

(23 min) Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr. & Kash Patel Confirmation Hearings RECAP & ANALYSIS! Viva & Barnes

Robert F. Kennedy Jr's Chances of Getting Confirmed as HHS Secretary Next Week, w/ Sen. Ron Johnson (12 min)
Megyn Kelly is joined by U.S. Senator Ron Johnson to discuss Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s upcoming senate confirmation vote for HHS Secretary, whether any GOP senators might vote against him and any Democratic senators will vote for him, why he’s the right person to take on corporate interests, the absurdity of RFK's confirmation hearings, and more.

The Rise and Rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
There is much to learn about the way the world works today by watching the confirmation vote on Trump’s pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services. In so many ways, this is a remarkable development with a dramatic story arc, one that speaks presciently to events over the past five years and where they stand in public consciousness.
...
In committee—and likely too in the larger Senate—the vote fell along party lines, but not in the way one would expect. This lifelong Democrat and scion of the great Democrat family was opposed by every Democrat and supported (so far) by every Republican. Not only that, but the Republican-friendly press opposed him tooth and nail. The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and the New York Post all published bitter editorials that called the nominee a crank and conspiracy theorist.
Largely because of a huge push from the grassroots—and because of support from Trump—the Republicans voted for him in any case, while the Democrats simply could not and did not, despite the manner in which Kennedy, in many ways, represented causes long important to many people generally considered to be on the left. Thus does the expected confirmation of Kennedy—his rise and rise for fully five years—embody the best symbolic indication that the old partisan and ideological divides in the country that date back three-quarters of a century find themselves fully scrambled into a wholly new alliance. If you attend any events that bring together MAGA and MAHA, you know exactly what I mean. They are exciting scenes of people who have never been in the same room together, gradually discovering points of agreement and feeling very optimistic about the future.

The Ugly

Have you booked your vacation at Trump's Gaza Riviera Resort and Casino? I haven't either. His idea to simply move out all the Palestinians and take over the real estate is this weeks UGLY idea. People are all over the place interpreting what this means...

Here's an interesting array of ideas...

Trump’s SHOCKING Gaza Ultimatum BACKFIRES on Israel w/ Scott Ritter, Larry Johnson & Ray McGovern

Trump & Israel’s Gaza takeover plot could change everything and global outcry has exploded over the move. Scott Ritter, Larry Johnson & Ray McGovern break down the crisis and weigh in on it will shape an already chaotic geopolitical reality
Here's Larry's article: What is Trump Really Thinking About Gaza?

Pepe has his own take too...
The “American Problem” In West Asia (Pepe Escobar)
The 14th Middle East Conference of the Valdai Club in Moscow was hit by a geopolitical bunker buster bomb right in the middle of the proceedings: the announcement, by US President Donald Trump himself, of some sort of future Trump Gaza Riviera Resort and Casino in Palestine. Even before international outrage started to overspill, from the BRICS front to ASEAN to the Arab world (which sees it as Nakba 2.0), reaching even Trump-friendly Saudi Arabia and major US allies in Europe, perplexity set in at Valdai among most scholars and academics. Two glaring exceptions were professor at the University of Tehran Mohammad Marandi and former British diplomat Alastair Crooke – always delicately nuanced analysts of West Asia.
Both have long argued that as the US empire is being forced to retreat, it will become much more ruthless and take greater risks. Marandi qualifies Trump as “a gift” to American global decline. Crooke, for his part, wonders whether Israel’s far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu really trapped Trump in a quagmire – when it may be the other way around. Trump now seems to have Netanyahu – which he basically despises – exactly where he wants him: owing favors. Trump made a lot of bombastic promises, which Netanyahu can sell as a major success to the Tel Aviv warmongers who compose his government. So his coalition will hold – for now. Yet, in return, Israel will still have to follow the next steps of the despised ceasefire project.

Pepe explains more in his conversation with Nima...
Pepe Escobar: BRICS, Global Power Shifts & Trump’s America (1 hour)

The Judge featured a variety of different views on the Gaza situation/proposal...
Phil Giraldi : A War Criminal Visits the White House
Max Blumenthal : GAZA Treachery
Aaron Maté : Does Trump Understand Gaza?
COL. Douglas Macgregor : Can the US Own Gaza?
COL. Lawrence Wilkerson : Will US Troops Fight in Gaza?

One thing is for sure, Trump makes heads explode.

This is pretty ugly too...
The Washington Post reported Friday that the United Kingdom’s deep state has demanded that Apple create a back door for them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud—what would be an unprecedented erosion of online privacy and civil liberties. Citing anonymous sources, the Post reported that the British government’s undisclosed order was issued last month. It reportedly requires Apple to give officials blanket capability to view fully encrypted material. Typically, Apple has assisted authorities on a case-by-case basis—such as helping the FBI access a terrorist’s phone, for example. The Post noted that the access sought by the UK “has no known precedent in major democracies.” According to the Post, the UK’s order was made pursuant to the sweeping U.K. Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, which authorizes law enforcement to compel assistance from companies to access user data.

Let's hope apple tells them to go pound sand!

Things are getting ugly in Ukraine with Russia's steady advance. Alastair had a good article suggesting a path to peace...
The greatest (geo-political) showman’s “inside out” political solution
The U.S. needs to always to ‘win’. So does Trump understand that the ineluctable dynamics of this war militate against presenting any transactional outcome as a clear ‘win’ for the U.S.? Of course he does (or will do, when professionally briefed by his team).
The logic of the Ukraine situation, to be blunt, suggests that President Putin should quietly advise President Trump to walk away from the Ukraine conflict – to avoid taking ownership of a western débacle.
Putin hinted this week that the Ukraine conflict could end in weeks, so Trump may not have a long wait.
Should Trump want a ‘win’ (highly likely), then he should be steered by Putin’s many hints: Intermediate missile deployments by both parties are creating heightened risk and ‘cry out’ for a new limitation agreement. Trump could say that he saved us all from WW3 – and there could be more than a grain of truth to it.

Well, that's the good, the bad, and the ugly today. What will tomorrow bring? We'll look at it next Sunday. I want to end as we began, stressing there's some bad in the good, good in the bad, and plenty of ugly to go around too. I hope you'll share your insights, stories, and opinions in the comments below...