Episode 878 of The Professional Left Podcast examines how the Republican party built a "democracy-destroying machine" over 50 years, and why attempts by Never Trumpers to reform it from within consistently fail. The hosts analyze a recent Bari Weiss column as a case study of how conservative critics must attack Democrats and marginalized groups to establish credibility with the MAGA base. They discuss recent developments including Trump's attacks on Zelenskyy, Nikki Haley's "evolving" (revolving) stance on Trump, and Kash Patel as FBI director. The episode includes commentary on Senate #FAIL, astronauts pushing back against Elon Musk's claims, and concludes with a brand new "Thursdays with Royko".
Note: This podcast contains explicit language and is not safe for work.
You may only know Stephen A. Smith as a C-list loudmouth stupid-opinion-haver
who has made ESPN unwatchable. But did you also know that Stephen A.
Smith also has loud, stupid opinions about politics? And culture?
And...stuff?
So, apparently having run out of moderately famous people they know so
come on their show and complain about Democrats, the Pod Save lads have gone
further afield -- into the world of this guy occupies...
Relatable!?! Show of hands: Anyone in your Black family have 88 felony charges pending, filed for bankruptcy 6x, made an attempt to overthrow a presidential election and our democracy, and still have the ability to fall asleep in court and dream of being POTUS? #BLASPHEMOUShttps://t.co/xtG40vpTQ2
decimation:historical -- the killing of one in every ten of a group
of people as a punishment for the whole group (originally with reference to a
mutinous Roman legion).
Musk, whose U.S. DOGE Service is leading the drive to downsize
government, over the weekend shared triumphant messages on X, the social
media platform he owns.
Close to 2 a.m. Monday, he reposted a picture of himself in a gladiator
outfit and declared he was destroying "the woke mind virus."
A few hours after the post, Downey, the U.S. Forest Service employee,
climbed into her car. She drove a half-hour to her office and signed her
name to a letter putting an
end to the income she relies on to support three children, an ailing
mother and a husband who just lost his own job.
Before she walked out, she jotted five words above her signature:
"Received and accepted under duress."
Trump admin scrambles to rehire hundreds of nuclear weapons workers
The Trump administration rescinded firings of hundreds of employees at
the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the
nation's arsenal of nuclear weapons, in a reversal that has fueled
scrutiny over Elon Musk's efforts to cut the federal workforce.
A spokesman for the Department of Energy, which the semi-autonomous
NNSA falls under, told USA TODAY less than 50 workers had their jobs
terminated. About 325 NNSA workers initially received notices late last
week that they had been laid off, according to Reuters.
The dismissals are part of Trump's wave of mass firings throughout the
federal workforce, engineered by Musk's Department of Government
Efficiency. The original notices prompted one senior NNSA staff member
Friday to issue a public call to action before the terminations were
halted.
Trump’s cuts hit red states, triggering GOP pushback
GOP lawmakers try to intervene with the Trump administration as local
fallout grows.
Republican lawmakers are pushing back against sweeping cuts to the
federal government launched by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, as
their downsizing crusade begins to hit GOP constituents.
A growing number of GOP lawmakers are trying to intervene with the Trump
administration and are weighing legislation to circumvent the changes. But
with the Department of Government Efficiency and the Office of Management
and Budget moving at a rapid clip and flouting federal law to carve up the
government, the lawmakers face monumental challenges in getting the White
House to spare their constituents from the ax.
Trump administration fires 20 immigration judges, amid mass dismissals of
federal workers
Despite a backlog of nearly 3.7 million cases in U.S. immigration court,
the Trump administration has fired 20 immigration judges without an
explanation, according to a union representing federal workers.
That included seven assistant chief immigration judges and a class of 13
immigration judges hired in December who had completed their training and
had yet to be sworn in, according to the International Federation of
Professional and Technical Engineers, the union that also represents
immigration judges.
Additionally, two immigration judges and five senior managers have been
dismissed since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, bringing
the total removed from the U.S. Justice Department’s Executive Office for
Immigration Review to 27, the union said. Some heard cases as well as
scheduling deportation hearings.
Thousands of employees with the U.S. Forest Service were fired over the
weekend, including some in Southern Oregon and Northern California.
Up until this weekend, Tanya Torst thought it was safe to say she was a
stellar employee of the U.S. Forest Service. In just shy of two years
working as the North Zone Partnership Coordinator, she won a handful of
awards for pulling together projects to protect rural communities from
wildfires across California's North State.
She said she had a panic attack when a termination letter from the Forest
Service arrived.
“The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not
demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the
public interest,” the email read.
Similar notices were sent out to around 3,400 other Forest Service
employees this weekend, part of President Trump’s efforts to cut the size
of the federal government. The firings targeted relatively new hires still
on their probationary period, which generally lasts up to a couple
years.
'President Trump, please come': Tampa VA union president offers invite to
show effect of layoffs
"Hundreds" of more employees also might take deferred resignation offers and
leave by the end of the summer.
From mass layoffs to deferred resignations, the federal workforce
has been reduced by nearly 90,000 employees, since President Trump took
office almost a month ago.
That includes at least three in Tampa Bay who were probationary employees
for Veterans Affairs, including workers at James A. Haley Veterans’
Hospital in Tampa, according to Christopher Young, the American Federation
of Government Employees Local 547 acting president.
Oh my sweet summer child, whatever gave you the idea that Grandpa Syphilis
gives a single, solitary fuck about veterans?
F.D.A.’s Food Safety Chief Resigns Over Trump Administration Layoffs
The chief said the loss of critical employees overseeing the nation’s food supply made his work impossible. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s new health secretary, has pledged to gut the division.
Anger, chaos and confusion take hold as federal workers face mass layoffs
...While much of the administration’s attention was focused on disrupting bureaucracy in Washington, the broad-based effort to slash the government workforce was impacting a far wider swath of workers. As layoff notices were sent out agency by agency, federal employees from Michigan to Florida were left reeling from being told that their services were no longer needed.
In a sign of how chaotic the firings have been, some who received layoff notices had already accepted the administration’s deferred resignation offer, under which they were supposed to be paid until Sept. 30 if they agreed to quit, raising questions about whether others who signed the deal would nonetheless be fired. On Friday evening, the Office of Personnel Management, which serves as a human resources department for the federal government, acknowledged that some employees may have received termination notices in error and said the buyouts agreements would be honored.
“This has been slash and burn,” said Nicholas Detter, who had been working in Kansas as a natural resource specialist, helping farmers reduce soil and water erosion, until he was fired by email late Thursday night. He said there seemed to be little thought about how employees and the farmers and ranchers he helped would be impacted.
“None of this has been done thoughtfully or carefully,” he said.
The Vandals were more judicious during the Sack of Rome.
On the other hand, burning it all down is so much easier once you've sacked
the fire department and scrapped all the emergency equipment.
It's time to explore "Resistance Theater" through two powerful World War II-era films: "Passage to Marseilles" (1944) and "Pimpernel Smith" (1941). These classic propaganda films draw fascinating parallels to current events, and it's worth examining how MAGA forces are attempting to erase and rewrite history through modern tactics. From book banning at military bases to corporate attempts to appease Trump, this episode analyzes how resistance to fascism remains relevant today. The episode includes discussions of historic films while tying them to contemporary threats to democracy, media manipulation, and the importance of preserving historical truth. This wide-ranging conversation also covers notable news, including Wisconsin voting rights, DeJoy's departure from USPS, Trump's Ukraine plans, and Musk's invasion of YOUR Social Security data.
“Do you think politics is only about winning the argument? That whoever has the right fact at the right moment wins? Clinton had facts. Kennedy had facts, yeah. But Reagan? He couldn’t have summoned a fact if his life depended on it.” -- Theresa D’Agostino, The Wire
The Professional Left Podcast with Driftglass and Blue Gal
Content warning: Contains strong language and adult themes. Not safe for work or children.
In this spicy episode, Blue Gal and Driftglass explore the history and strategic importance of profanity in political discourse. They particularly focus on how the mainstream media's obsession with "civility" has been weaponized against progressives. They trace this phenomenon from David Broder's pearl-clutching about "vituperative" liberal bloggers to today's both-sides coverage of Trump's attacks on the press.
The hosts examine how the media rushed to defend Fox News when Obama questioned their legitimacy while remaining largely silent as Trump systematically excluded mainstream outlets from coverage. They also cover significant developments, including Trump's lawsuit against CBS, mass firings of inspectors general, devastating proposed Medicaid cuts, and Elon Musk's expanding influence over federal agencies.
The Professional Left is recorded live from the Cornfield Resistance. You can support the podcast at proleftpod.com.