Jeffrey Goldberg’s Monday bombshell piece in The Atlantic has been met with outrage among Congressional Democrats. In the article entitled The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans – which reproduces text messages among top Trump national security officials – Goldberg explains that “US national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.”

Among some 18 individuals listed as members of a Signal group that the journalist was ‘inadvertently’ invited to included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President Vance, national security adviser Michael Waltz, Secretary of State is Marco Antonio Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Golberg wrote, “What I will say, in order to illustrate the shocking recklessness of this Signal conversation, is that the Hegseth post contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.”

The journalist goes on to identify that it was Waltz who initially added him to the group, and that as the conversation unfolded, he was shocked and alarmed that all involved seemingly didn’t notice his name was listed in the group. We should note that all of this is also very bizarre because Goldberg is so obviously and rabidly anti-Trump.

The group and thread was initially engaged in a policy conversation on how to restore US and global shipping in the Red Sea, and the question potential public backlash if a bombing campaign on Yemen once again commenced…

But then, later on March 15 the conversation continued and actually turned to operational planning and then debriefing after execution of new bombing raids.

“According to the lengthy Hegseth text, the first detonations in Yemen would be felt two hours hence, at 1:45 p.m. eastern time,” Goldberg recalled. “So I waited in my car in a supermarket parking lot. If this Signal chat was real, I reasoned, Houthi targets would soon be bombed. At about 1:55, I checked X and searched Yemen. Explosions were then being heard across Sanaa, the capital city.”

In the wake of the Atlantic author revealing and publishing these messages and more on Monday, National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes has offered confirmation on their authenticity.

“At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” he said in a Monday afternoon statement.

“The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our servicemembers or our national security,” Hughes said.

“Send a message”: the below is among the most interesting moments from the Signal thread released by Goldberg:

Vance elsewhere is actually the only one that calls the war in Yemen “a mistake” that doesn’t advance US interests, but expresses willingness to go along with the consensus

This high-level confirmation has provoked outrage among Dems in Congress. Below are some examples via Axios:

• “This is an outrageous national security breach and heads should roll,” Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement to Axios.
• He added: “We need a full investigation and hearing into this on the House Armed Services Committee, ASAP.”
• “We can’t chalk this up to a simple mistake — people should be fired for this,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), another Armed Services Committee member.

But Republicans are by and large shrugging it off. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, another Armed Services Committee member and former Air Force brigadier general, was cited in Axios as saying, “I’ve accidentally sent the wrong person a text. We all have.”

And more reaction…

Early reaction from Democratic senators https://t.co/Fbig0cmVbU pic.twitter.com/07It4HWKZs

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) March 24, 2025

Unfortunately, as yet none of the pushback and anger coming from Democrat leaders has focused on what we see as the real question and actual scandal–waging war in a foreign nation without Congressional approval— instead, all seem merely focused on the breach or leak aspect itself, involving ultra-sensitive national security conversations. 

Here’s how one prominent geopolitics account on X summarized what’s been gleaned from the Signal chat leak..

So just to recap:

-They didn’t think the Houthis were a real threat

-They didn’t think Americans would understand the strikes

-They did it anyway, to “send a message”

-And they did it on an unencrypted chat app with a journalist inside the group You cannot make this up.

This is how wars are started in 2025.

Jeffrey Goldberg helped start a 20-year failed war based on lies about non-existent WMDs, while we’re on the topic of actually insane national security stories as opposed to fake hysteria from dead-end neocon war pimps. https://t.co/cNKVzeUFrY

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) March 24, 2025

* * *

The question remains why? Why would Goldberg (of all people) be added to such a sensitive group chat? Here’s one theory that makes sense.

Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

“What is the alternative to presidential oversight and management of the agencies listed in this branch of government? They run themselves? That claim means nothing in practice.” 

– Jeffrey Tucker

Surely you know the old joke: “What do you call a thousand lawyers at the bottom of the sea?” (Answer: “a good start!”). There’s a reason why lawyers are so broadly despised. Law is humanity’s instrument for creating order out of the terror and chaos of nature, where anything goes. The result of law theoretically, is a civil society, where only the good, true, and right things can go.

These days, lawyers are hard at work to replace civilized order with the terror and chaos of nature — which is to say, the seeking of raw power: this is what I can do to you! That primal despotism is the motivating engine of the Democratic Party in its terminal phase, a feral, power-seeking monster. It was why, in case you hadn’t noticed, the essential drive of Woke politics was the sadistic pleasure it took in exacting its endless punishments — cancellation, personal ruin, censorship — not correcting alleged injustices against marginalized minorities. And that tells you, by the way, exactly why the J-6 defendants were treated so harshly by the likes of Judge James Boasberg, Tanya Chutkan, and their colleagues of the DC federal district.

The enabling device for that monstrous power-seeking of the Democratic Party was the colossal racketeering operation they implanted in every corner of the federal government, an insidious process that accelerated during the Obama years, eluded discipline during Trump One — with the many distracting ruses such as RussiaGate — and surged into final overdrive during the perfidious term of “Joe Biden,” America’s first false-front president.

The racketeering operation was perfectly illustrated in the DOGE’s recent deconstruction of USAID. That agency worked as a gigantic money laundering matrix to pay Democratic Party activists for the sole purpose of maintaining and expanding the party’s power — its ability to push American citizens around, control our lives, tell us how to live, how to think, and, ultimately, in the Covid-19 scam, telling us to take our shots, get lost, and die. Pitifully, a lot of those vaxx victims were the Democratic Party’s own rank and file, which shows you how psychotically suicidal the Democratic Party became.

By and large, it was conservatives who avoided the vaxxes because they were able psychologically to entertain the evidence that Covid was a nefarious set-up and that, month-by-month, the vaxxes were proving to be both ineffective and harmful. Democrats, in their Woke fugue state, could not do that. Even today, they insist that their vaxx injuries are “long Covid” and would be worse if not for the additional boosters they took. Poor dumb bunnies.

Mr. Trump was played masterfully in the initial 2020 Covid roll-out by the likes of Dr. Fauci, Deborah Birx, and the faithless Veep Mike Pence who directed the Coronavirus Task Force (and whoever was behind it). The president could not bring himself to oppose or cast doubt on their diktats and to this day he must remain embarrassed about how that all worked out. But he also probably learned to not be fooled again.

And so, after the fishy 2020 election, and during the disastrous “Biden” years, Mr. Trump had time to lay careful and comprehensive plans for ending the massive racketeering and for restructuring the federal apparatus into a leaner, more efficient, and more lawful enterprise for managing the civil society known as the USA. Which brings us to the present.

Mr. Trump’s lawfully appointed agent, Elon Musk, and his legally chartered investigative advisory unit, called DOGE, has begun making recommendations for severe cuts in agencies and employees, which have been executed by the lawfully confirmed heads of agencies, and the chief executive himself. Thus, the rapid, systematic disassembly of the Democratic Party’s grift machine and the end of its immense revenue stream. No more USAID and its thousands of NGO money laundromats. No more Department of Education and its Grant-O-Matic depredations in the universities. No more work-from home (but not really) nonsense. No more DEI reverse racism in hiring. No more flooding the swing state voting precincts with illegal aliens. No more stupid proxy war in Urkaine. No more gender pretending chaos. You see how it goes now.

Also, thus, the Democratic Party’s last resort: the federal judiciary, 235 new judges jammed into office in the twilight weeks of “Joe Biden” (as Senate Minority Leader Schumer bragged on Sunday’s TV talk circuit), plus the ones such as Boasberg, Chutkan, et al., already on the bench, primed to thwart Mr., Trump’s efforts to govern at every turn. They are the Dem’s only remaining lever of power. And they can only be activated by lawyers filing suits against Mr. Trump — hundreds having been filed in the past eight weeks. And these, as you learned in the Friday post here, are directed by attorney lawfare field marshal Norm Eisen, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, using the many well-paid lawfare lawyers at his disposal.

In politics, momentous things often happen on weekends. This past Saturday, Mr. Trump released a White House memorandum directing the Attorney General and the Director of Homeland Security “to seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States or in matters before executive departments and agencies of the United States.”

More specifically, the president’s memo asserts:

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 prohibits attorneys from engaging in certain unethical conduct in Federal courts. Attorneys must not present legal filings “for improper purpose[s],” including “to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation.” FRCP 11(b)(1). Attorneys must ensure that legal arguments are “warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law.”

This is the first time that legal discipline has been leveled directly at the lawfare lawyers themselves. (Election-rigging maestro Marc Elias is mentioned by name in the memo.) It means that after eight years of this noxious gamesmanship, they are going to have to start answering for their actions, they will have to lawyer-up on their own account, and they are going discover (the old saying goes) how the process is the punishment.

Next, if it is not already underway at the DOJ, Mr. Trump must direct AG Bondi to explore the parties financing this lawfare — this “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation” — and you should suppose that it has been emanating from the checkbooks of George Soros, Reid Hoffman, and other wealthy seditionists, who, likewise, will have to some serious ‘splainin’ why they should not go prison. One thing for sure: the money for all this is going to dry up.

Authored by Jennifer Kabbany via The College Fix,

New York University’s website was hacked on Saturday and its homepage replaced with purported SAT and ACT scores and GPAs for the 2024 student cohort, broken down by race.

The hacker accused NYU of illegal admissions practices based on race. The alleged data posted on the hacked page reportedly showed that Asian students had higher average ACT and SAT scores, while white students had higher GPAs, compared to Hispanic and black applicants.

The page featured a black background with green writing and the message: “On June 29 2023, racial affirmative action in college admissions was ruled illegal. Computer N–ggy Exploitation (CNE) reveals NYU continued anyway.”

The phrase “TOP SECRET//NIGINT//NONORM” was also written atop the screen.

“The page … included four accessible CSV files revealing NYU admissions data since at least 1989, including over 3 million admitted students’ applications, demographic data, city and zip codes, and citizenship status,” the Washington Square News student newspaper reported.

“The files also show Common Application data, which includes details of financial aid, rejected students, how many students applied Early Decision and personal information about siblings and parents.”

The hacker goes by the name “@bestn–gy” on X.

“There’s a lot more data from their data warehouse that could be analyzed further,” @bestn–gy wrote on X, according to a screenshot published by the New York Post. 

“I only posted (redacted) bare minimum to prove they’re breaking the law.”

“The alleged data showed Asian students performed better on ACT and SAT tests, but that white students finished with higher GPAs.”

While NYU spokesperson’s John Beckman confirmed the hack, he did not say whether the data was correct to Washington Square News or the Post.

“The University reported the hack to law enforcement, is taking steps to make sure the attackers are out of our systems, and is reviewing the University’s systems to bolster their security,” he told the news outlets.

This hacker has also taken credit for previously hacking the University of Minnesota’s website in 2023 during which 7 million social security numbers were exposed.

* * *

Extremely Popular: ReadyWise lighter / flashlight combo…

Cybertruck driver Joshua Hazel told Business Insider about Mardi Gras: “It was not like any other Mardi Gras.”

Calling the crowd “aggressive,” “hateful,” and “violent” he was one of several people who had their Cybertrucks damaged and vandalized after participating in a Mardi Gras day parade. 

What began as a high-energy celebration quickly turned into a disturbing encounter for Cybertruck owners Hazel and Christina G., who were invited to transport parade marshals in their vehicles during New Orleans’ Orpheus parade.

Hazel said he and Christina were “pumped” to be part of the event, along with three other friends, decorating their Cybertrucks with American flags at a pre-staging area. “It was all just high energy, enthusiasm, awesome,” Hazel recalled.

But by evening, the mood shifted dramatically, according to Business Insider.

🚨‼️Can anyone identify this man?
Let’s make him famous in the news and on the internet. He broke the glass on this Cybertruck while the owner was volunteering for a parade on in New Orleans. He needs to be identified, please share.

pic.twitter.com/MgKZEwlDa8

— Gail Alfar (@GailAlfarATX) March 20, 2025

Christina, who requested partial anonymity out of fear of retaliation, told Business Insider, “The energy shift was just so dramatic from what we experienced.”

Spectators began throwing alcohol, shouting slurs, and pelting the trucks with heavy objects. Hazel said one man ran up and “slings a handful of beads” at full force, injuring his wife and shattering a camera panel. “There’s some thick beads, very large beads in there,” he added. Later, full beer cans were hurled at their truck “with baseball fastball throws.”

The Business Insider article says that Christina’s Cybertruck suffered similar damage. “People were pummeling the vehicle with an unknown heavy object that broke the top glass,” she said. “It feels surreal.”

The group messaged parade organizers and contacted security but said it took over an hour to exit the route. “We were really left to just sit and suffer,” Christina said. “It felt like 40 days.”

The backlash took on a political edge. Hazel and Christina said they were called Nazis and told to leave the city. Hazel, a veteran with over two decades of service, was appalled. “I’m not a Nazi in our American government, American military. That talk is just horrendous.”

Children were reportedly encouraged to flip off the vehicles and throw beads. Christina said online reactions have been equally jarring: “The celebration that some people were experiencing in causing us harm and attacking us” has been “eye-opening and scary.”

Both filed police reports. Hazel estimates his repair costs will top $7,000, including the wrap and scratched tonneau cover. Christina’s repairs have already topped $2,000, with more expected. “It’s just broken, it’s wrong,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking to see these people who have worked hard and have decided how to spend their own finances to be attacked andhave their property vandalized.”

Despite the ordeal, neither plans to back down. Hazel doubled down with a purchase of 185 Tesla shares. “We bought more Tesla shares, we’re looking at adding another Tesla to the stable,” he said. “I wouldn’t allow any kind of bullying to dictate the vehicle I drive.”

Christina, too, leaned in—ordering a collectible Cybertruck model as she left New Orleans.

Authored by Sam Dorman via The Epoch Times,

A federal judge in Washington has denied the Trump administration’s request to remove two orders blocking the administration’s ability to deport members of a Venezuelan gang under the Alien Enemies Act.

In an opinion on March 24, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said he had jurisdiction to adjudicate the issue and that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their argument that they are entitled to an individualized hearing to determine whether the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 applies to them.

Boasberg also said the plaintiffs who challenged the Trump administration’s action couldn’t be deported until a court had ruled on the merits of their challenge. He noted that they disputed that they were, in fact, members of the Tren de Aragua terrorist group.

Boasberg’s decision follows a contentious hearing on Friday, when he said the administration had used “intemperate” and “disrespectful” language.

At one point, he advised Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney Drew Ensign to ensure that his team at the DOJ retained a lesson about their reputation and credibility being the most valuable treasure they possess. Boasberg and the DOJ have clashed in recent days over the nature of his authority and, in particular, whether an oral order he issued on March 15 was binding.

In filings last week, the DOJ described Boasberg’s orders as “an affront to the President’s broad constitutional and statutory authority to protect the United States from dangerous aliens who pose grave threats to the American people.”

Another filing on March 19 showed the administration suggesting that the case had “devolved into a picayune dispute over the micromanagement of immaterial factfinding.”

“In a series of orders this Court has requested the Government to provide it details about the movements of aircraft outside of the United States and interactions with foreign nations which have no bearing on any legal issue at stake in the case,” it said.

Trump, meanwhile, has called for Boasberg’s impeachment. Chief Justice John Roberts appeared to respond just hours later in a statement last week.

“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times.

On March 24, the District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear oral arguments in the case. It’s just one of many testing presidential authority and making its way through the courts under the Trump administration.

Hyundai Motor Co. plans to invest $20 billion in the U.S., a move President Trump will highlight during a White House event with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, according to Bloomberg.

A portion of the investment will fund a new steel mill in Louisiana, expected to employ 1,500 workers and supply Hyundai and Kia’s American EV production. The announcement comes amid growing trade tensions, with Trump set to roll out reciprocal tariffs on April 2 targeting countries he deems unfair to U.S. trade interests.

Hyundai’s decision mirrors a broader trend of foreign companies increasing U.S. production to avoid Trump’s escalating tariff threats.

The Bloomberg article notes that the president has already imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum and has hinted at new levies on sectors like autos, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. South Korea, labeled a trade abuser by Trump, may be among the nations targeted, though officials have yet to release a final list.

Trump’s aggressive tariff agenda has injected uncertainty into global markets and rattled domestic industries, particularly autos and steel. While domestic steelmakers may see short-term gains, analysts warn that high borrowing costs, inflation, and weakening demand could dampen the benefits.

Meanwhile, Trump has offered temporary relief to automakers on tariffs from Mexico and Canada, underlining his broader goal to localize supply chains and reduce reliance on foreign imports.

Recall, in recent days, the Trump team is racking up victories related to bringing investment back to the United States. Among them, Rolls-Royce also announced it was going to be ramping up production in the U.S., Yahoo Finance/The Telegraph reported.

The company, which employs 6,000 people across 11 American sites, is expediting a review that could lead to hiring more U.S. workers and expanding North American operations to avoid the brunt of rising protectionism. Insiders say the firm is “tipping the balance” toward the U.S., aligning—perhaps reluctantly—with Trump’s push to revive American manufacturing through aggressive trade policies.

Meanwhile, the UAE has pledged to invest $1.4 trillion in the U.S. over the next decade, following a meeting between President Trump and an Emirati official, Forbes reported.

The deal, which includes funding for AI, semiconductors, and U.S. manufacturing, marks a major expansion of existing ties and follows Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani’s earlier $20 billion commitment to U.S. data centers.

We certainly did not have a member of Congress conspiring with radical far-left NGOs to sabotage the most made-in-America car company and critical to retirement and pension funds for millions of Americans on our 2025 bingo card. 

But here we are, and far-left Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) joined a “Tesla Takedown” teleconference last week, laughing and rooting for Tesla and Elon Musk’s demise. Other revolutionaries on the call described how they wanted to “kill the Tesla brand” and “drive down the stock price” to push Tesla “into a death spiral.”

Now Attorney General Pam Bondi is getting involved, warning Crockett to “tread very carefully” following her support for the Tesla Takedown.

“She is an elected public official, so she needs to tread very carefully because nothing will happen to Elon Musk, and we’re going to fight to protect all of the Tesla owners throughout this country,” Bondi said on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

‘TREAD VERY CAREFULLY’: @AGPamBondi warned @RepJasmine (D-TX) after the Democrat threatened @elonmusk during a nationwide call with the Tesla Takedown movement, suggesting Musk should be “taken down.” https://t.co/Qp9jxtgium pic.twitter.com/SycJ9bmWfu

— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 24, 2025

Bondi’s warning to the unhinged Democrat comes days after her appearance on the Tesla Takedown teleconference:

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO:

Tonight, Radical Democrat Congresswoman @JasmineForUS Jasmine Crockett spoke on a CALL TO ACTION call organized by the @Tesla Takedown organizers who have been vandalizing and attacking @elonmusk’s Tesla Showrooms and charging stations across the country and all… pic.twitter.com/eqbPsseIhJ

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 20, 2025

Crockett’s alliance with Tesla Takedown is alarming, considering the Soros-funded non-profit Indivisible is preparing a multi-city assault on Tesla service locations nationwide by the end of the month.

There have been far-left terrorist attacks on Tesla service centers, showrooms, Supercharging networks, and vehicles that paint the Democratic Party as in disarray and resorting to communist revolutionary tactics.

DEVELOPING: Video provided to the Review-Journal shows several @Tesla vehicles engulfed in flames after Las Vegas police say they were set on fire by an individual early Tuesday morning.
UPDATES→ https://t.co/sZQr9j1E5A pic.twitter.com/uXeLsdpTVl

— Las Vegas Review-Journal (@reviewjournal) March 18, 2025

Polling data for the party has collapsed, while the latest ploy by the party to improve optics was entirely disproven to be “inorganic” by GPS data. 

‘Inorganic’ – GPS Data Reveals Bernie Sanders, AOC Anti-Oligarchy Rally Was Full Of Serial Protesters https://t.co/TawQtLBvEe

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 23, 2025

The American people are finally getting to see the real Democratic Party—filled with hate and violence as its revolutionaries attack Tesla, all because the owner, Elon Musk, is uncovering massive fraud and waste by the Deep State. 

Remember when Democrats wanted to defund everything after George Floyd? Yet suddenly, now they don’t. 

Bondi ended with: “Domestic terrorism is going to come to a stop in this country.” 

Wonder who Crockett is friends with…

*  *  *

Submitted by OpenTheBooks

Last month Open the Books auditors took a closer look at the Federal Register – the official publication of the U.S. government. It publishes every new rule and regulation, every Executive Order and Congressional hearing, and much more. It should be a reliable encyclopedia of government, but we found at least 75 of the 441 entities listed were defunct – defunded, disbanded, renamed, merged with another entity, completed their mission, etc.

We all know waste is rampant – but this was more evidence that federal recordkeeping is also a big mess. The scope and complexity of the task before DOGE became even clearer in this context.

So we set out to catalog every agency that reports data – not just their current costs, but the size of their staffs and spending stretching back decades. The result will be the clearest picture yet of government’s growth over time.

We released the two batches of data in the ensuing weeks, tracking spending and headcounts for big Cabinet-level agencies like the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Education, and State; as well as more obscure, independent ones like the Administrative Conference of the United States.

At agency after agency, we found spending outstripped growth of the staff and even inflation – often many times over.

THE FINAL BATCH

This week’s batch of agencies revealed more of the same problematic trend and the reason DOGE is needed – sure, headcounts may be flat or growing modestly, but spending continues to soar much further and faster than even inflation. In multiple instances, upticks in spending since 2021 also appear to comport with key priorities of the Biden administration.

Click here to view the full list of agencies we’ve assessed. And keep reading for one last set of remarkable examples.

The list now includes every Cabinet agency – this week we’ve added the Departments of Housing & Urban Development, Agriculture (USDA), Treasury and Veterans’ Affairs – as well as the Executive Office of the President. Newly added independent agencies include National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, Council on Environmental Quality and the Social Security Administration.

BY THE NUMBERS

Department of Agriculture

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a perfect example of the staff vs. spending pattern. Since 2000, employee counts shrank from 106,715 to 92,072 in 2024. But annual spending skyrocketed in the same period: in 2000, it was $75.07 billion; by 2024, $254.78 billion – 339% higher.

National Foundation the Arts and Humanities

This agency includes the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences.

Headcount has bounced back and forth between 416 and 455 since 2000, settling at 455 in 2024. But outlays have predictably soared, particularly during the Biden administration. In 2000, NEAH was spending $406 million annually; by 2024, it was spending $998 million, more than double.

Previously Open the Books reported on off-the-wall podcasts that were funded using grants from these endowments. Just a few of many examples:

• Subtitle ($227,420 from the National Endowment of the Humanities), about linguistics, has an episode called “the little pronoun that could” about a new gender-neutral pronoun being introduced in Swedish.

• Sacred & Profane ($199,663 from the National Endowment of the Humanities), about American religious life, has an episode on how “Satanists play an important role in American religious and political life, showing us how ideas about religion, pluralism, and the separation of church and state are changing in the U.S.”

• CalArts Center for New Performance Podcast ($20,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts), about new artistic works from UCLA, has an episode on “the specter of Emmett Till’s murder to create a nightmarish reverie on white violence and silence in America.”

• Artists and Hackers ($10,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts), about the intersection of art and technology, has episodes on “Erotic Ecologies and the Fluid Relationships Between Humans and AI,” and an “AI chatbot experiment trained on erotic literature, feminist and queer theory, and an ethics of embodiment.”

FURTHER READING: US taxpayers forked over $8.5M for government-produced podcasts: ‘Left-wing agitprop’ | New York Post | February 21, 2024

Veterans Affairs

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs is a somewhat unique example. Its employee ranks have understandably grown significantly since 2000, as the United States engaged in multiple kinetic wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2000, there were 219,415 employees; by 2024 there were 486,522 employees. The VA had more than double its employee headcount. Over the same period, though, spending grew from $47.04 billion to $345.98 billion. Annual spending had grown 735.5% higher.

Again, in the context of war injuries this may be completely explicable. But the VA continues to report funding shortfalls that could interrupt benefits payments to veterans in need. Congress approved an additional $3 billion in September, before the VA found it had $5 billion to carry over from the prior fiscal year which could have covered the issue. They further predicted a need for $12 billion more taxpayer dollars to be made whole for 2025.

As reported by the Military Times, the confusion and worry has sparked criticism over VA bookkeeping and promises of closer oversight in the future.

“VA’s inability to accurately forecast its budget needs is unacceptable,” said Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, part of the House Appropriations Committee.

According to the Times, “He blasted senior leaders for stoking ‘fear that benefits and pensions would be interrupted’ and demanded better transparency in future budget requests.”

By December, the $12 billion request had also been revised, leading Rep. Derrick Van Orden to criticize the VA for “fearmongering statements.”

There were also troubling reports that the Biden administration had mismanaged taxpayer dollars by having some migrant medical care bills processed through the VA’s Financial Service Center for reimbursement. In effect, staff and resources were being diverted from an already-strapped VA to those in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“The Department of Veterans Affairs is not a tool to be wielded for political benefit, but a mechanism to protect and care for the brave servicemembers of this great nation,” Sen. Joni Ernst and her colleagues said in an August 2024 letter to then-Secretary Denis McDonough.

Ernst, who has established herself as an advocate for veterans getting the care and benefits they’re owed, introduced legislation on the shortfall in September. The Protecting Regular Order (PRO) for Veterans Act would create a three-year requirement for the VA to “submit quarterly, in-person budget reports to Congress. Additional financial shortfalls would result in withholding bonuses for senior VA and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) personnel.”

DOGE should examine VA bookeeping and operations, identifying efficiencies that ensure veterans get what they’re owed amid unprecedented use of benefits and medical appointments.

Council on Environmental Quality

This advisory council is part of the Executive Office of the President and has consistently maintained a tiny presence on the White House campus. From 2000 through 2020, there were between 1 and 3 members each year. But during the Biden administration, the number immediately started to go higher: 4 in 2022, 9 in 2023, and 17 in 2024. That’s more than five times as many staff in relatively short order.

Spending also jumped after having been on a steady downward trajectory. In 2000, CEQ spent $22M; in 2020 it had fallen to $12 million. But by 2023 it had exploded to $45 million – and then $51 million in 2024! Since 2000, annual spending had more than doubled. But since 2020, it has more than quadrupled!

This may be reflective of the Biden administration’s focus on “environmental justice” and “Green New Deal” style policy proposals, which received enormous funding for grantmaking through the Environmental Protection Agency via the Infrastructure Bill and the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.

The Council on Environmental Quality advises the president on environmental policy issues both nationally and internationally, and prepares on annual report on environmental quality to Congress. It was created as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969.

CONCLUSION

Time after time, at agency after agency, we see spending skyrocketing since 2000, even when headcounts grew modestly and stayed flat. In this most recent batch of examples, we also saw Biden administration spending priorities reveal themselves through the outlays at key agencies. In particular, the VA faces increasing scrutiny for its delivery of care and benefits that won’t go away as spending and staff grow to unprecedented levels.

In the case of the National Foundation of the Arts and Humanities, it may already be in the crosshairs of DOGE. President Trump signed an executive order to slash the Institute for Museum and Library Services; he placed restrictions on grants related to “gender ideology” from the National Endowment for the Arts; and National Endowment for Humanities Chair Shelly Lowe left the fund “at the Direction of President Trump,” according to a press release.

Even as Open the Books has documented over 200 federal agencies by headcount and annual outlays – with great historical context – there’s still more to be uncovered.

The Federal Register lists 441 agencies, of which we found at least 75 were defunct. On top of that, there are a number of funded-only agencies. That means that although there are no federal employees at those entities, they operate using taxpayer dollars, so we still collectively pay for their activities.

This is yet another category of spending to tackle in future reports and for DOGE to scrutinize as it goes about its project of restoring efficient, effective government for taxpayers.

German agricultural and pharmaceutical giant Bayer fell in European trading after a Georgia jury ordered Monsanto’s parent company to pay $2.1 billion in damages to a man who claimed the company’s Roundup weed killer caused his cancer. 

Late Friday, the State Court of Cobb County, Georgia, reached a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, John Barnes, who filed a lawsuit against Monsanto in 2021, seeking damages related to his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. 

“It’s been a long road for him … and he was happy that the truth related to the product (has) been exposed,” Barnes’ attorney Kyle Findley stated, adding the verdict is an “important milestone” after “another example of Monsanto’s refusal to accept responsibility for poisoning people with this toxic product.”

Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018 and has since been battered with dispute claims that Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, causes cancer. The German company has set aside over $16 billion to settle the lawsuits. 

Bayer responded to the penalties awarded that include $65 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages for the plaintiff:

We disagree with the jury’s verdict, as it conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory bodies and their scientific assessments worldwide.

We believe that we have strong arguments on appeal to get this verdict overturned and the excessive and unconstitutional damage awards eliminated or reduced.

Earlier, Goldman’s James Quigley, Rajan Sharma, and others noted that this is the first case in Georgia, “typically awards are reduced on appeal.”

Here’s more from the analysts:

Late on Friday night (post EU market close), a jury ruled against Bayer in the Barnes Roundup case, leading to an award of $2.065bn (being $2bn punitive damages and $65m compensatory damages – see here). While each case is different, and this is the first case in Georgia (see Exhibit 1), typically awards are reduced on appeal. Bayer intends to appeal the judgment. As a reminder, at the end of 2024, the provision related to glyphosate related litigation was $5.9bn.

Bayer has been engaging with policymakers around the force of labeling regulations in the US (see here). Recently, in Georgia, both the state House and Senate approved SB 144 which ensures that any pesticide registered with the US EPA and sold under a label consistent with EPA standards, is sufficient to satisfy state label warning requirements. Bayer believes that this should prevent such state based claims from moving forward in court.

In addition, we also note that Bayer was recently granted an extension on the filing of the Johnson case with the US Supreme Court until April 18, 2025 (see here). As discussed in our 2025 outlook note for Bayer (see here), we continue to see positive risk/ reward into a potential Supreme Court filing/ acceptance by mid-25, with a final outcome expected by the end of the 2025/26 Supreme Court session.

Bayer glyphosate trial record

Quigley has a “neutral” rating on Bayer shares in Germany with a 28 euro 12mo price target:

Valuation: Our DCF is €30 per share which assumes a 10.8% WACC and TV growth rate of 1.5%, while our multiple based valuation is €28 per share, leading to our 12-month target price of €29 per share. Our target price suggests Bayer trades on c.6x 2026E P/E, with a 2026-29E PEG of around 1.0x which is below the sector average, but we think this is justified given uncertainty around the pipeline and the litigation overhang. We are Neutral rated.

Upside/downside risks:

1. Litigation outcomes (SCOTUS – glyphosate, Washington Supreme Court – PCB).

2. Success of clinical development pipeline and its ability to offset patent expirations.

3. High soft commodity price environment leading to sustained pricing power in the Crop Science division.

4. Slower-than-anticipated realisation of the cost and operational benefits form the new DSO operating model.

Bayer’s shares are down about 5% in European trading. Zooming out, shares are trading at 2004 lows….

. . . 

Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com,

Michael Saylor’s Strategy has acquired over $500 million worth of Bitcoin as institutional interest and exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows make a comeback.

Strategy acquired 6,911 Bitcoin for over $584 million between March 17 and March 23 at an average price of $84,529 per coin, according to a March 24 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Source: US SEC

Following the latest acquisition, the company now holds more than 500,000 Bitcoin, with a total of 506,137 Bitcoin acquired at an aggregate purchase price of roughly $33.7 billion and an average purchase price of approximately $66,608 per Bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses.

The milestone comes a day after Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor hinted at an impending Bitcoin investment after the company announced the pricing of its latest tranche of preferred stock on March 21.

Source: Saylortracker

The preferred stock was sold at $85 per share and featured a 10% coupon. According to Strategy, the offering should bring the company approximately $711 million in revenue scheduled to settle on March 25, 2025.

Saylor’s Strategy buys the dip despite global tariff concerns

Strategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, continues buying the dips despite widespread investor fears of a premature bear market.

Strategy’s latest investment comes amid global trade war fears, which analysts say could weigh on both traditional and digital asset markets at least through early April.

Despite a multitude of positive crypto-specific developments, global tariff fears will continue to pressure the markets until at least April 2, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.

BTC/USD, 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

“I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with the tariffs from April 2nd onward. Maybe we’ll see some of them dropped, but it depends if all countries can agree. That’s the biggest driver at this moment,” the analyst said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction daily X show on March 21.

Risk assets may lack direction until the tariff-related concerns are resolved, which may happen between April 2 and July, presenting a positive market catalyst, he added.

US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff rates are set to take effect on April 2 despite earlier comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicating a possible delay in their implementation.