The envelope please — Most bizarre Oval Office performance

The 30 minutes or so of performance by leading actor Elon Musk and barely supporting actor President Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office yesterday — as Musk babbled about all that he is doing as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was the most bizarre the Oval Office has ever hosted.

The richest man in the world “explained” all that he is doing in his volunteer job to slash the federal budget by (not billions, not $500 billion, as was stated along the way) $1 trillion (!!!!) in a single year by stopping 150 year-old Social Security recipients from collecting their checks, to $50 million in condoms being given to the Taliban (oops, not really. He’s not perfect, mistakes will be made as he slashes spending), all while being as “transparent as possible,” according to Mr. Musk, “a special government employee,” which means he doesn’t have to release his personal information to see if there might be — no, there couldn’t be anyway, he’s Mr. Transparency! (he said so!) — conflicts of interest.

All that, and more, without producing a shred of evidence, without turning over to authorities the alleged crooks and civil servants they accused of breaking laws, without offering to testify before Congress, under oath about all they have found in their mere days of investigating the federal budget.

Oh, and “deleting,” as Musk put it, regulatory agencies that are, among other things, legally obligated to check up on potential irregularities by people (like Musk) who are operating in regulated areas.

That’s a lot in 30 minutes! And, all that playing into already perceived realities of millions of Americans who likely have never heard of the alphabet soup of agencies Mr. Musk is closing and think all government is made up of crooks trying to steal their tax dollars.

Uh, that is until those folks who are on disability begin to see their benefits cut, and wish they were among those who, as Trump said, sign a three-month contract with the government yet seem to keep getting checks for 20 years!!! All without the government ever auditing those accounts, or the Internal Revenue Service catching those millions of dollars they “earned” for doing nothing.

What a country!

Like the investigations into Trump’s behavior toward Russia or attempting to steal the 2020 election by causing an insurrection, the system is rigged!!!! People are being paid billions by the government for doing — nothing!!!

Look, sure there is waste, fraud and abuse in the government — that’s a reason those Inspectors General were created in every department to keep a watch for the fraud and waste. Oh, wait. Those are the folks Trump laid off a week or so ago, so no one is really watching for that anymore.

OK, but that’s a reason the Legislative Branch was created to have oversight over the Executive. Oh, wait, the Speaker of the House has said he has no problem with it.

So, thank you, South Africa, for Elon Musk!! Another (white) immigrant who is saving our country from ourselves!!!

Oh, about that young man who bragged about being a “racist before it was popular” on social media? He worked for Musk at DOGE, after careers at two Musk-owned companies. He’s 25. He was fired for his tweets. There is justice.

Oh, wait, he’s being rehired because as Musk put it, “To err is human, to forgive divine.” Even a racist braggadocio.

For the record, his name is Marko Elez, so you can follow his no doubt still rising career and be aware of where he is all the time (no, I don’t say that so he can be harassed or threatened, just so we can all be following his no-doubt further successes along his way to Musk-dom).

The appearance by Musk, with (by the way) the President of the United States, came because of allegations Musk is acting with unchecked power and no accountability.

His standing alongside the Resolute Desk should give us confidence that he is now accountable.

And if you don’t believe that, you can follow the DOGE account on X, as he suggested, to see the accountability in 244 characters or less. Yay for technology!!!

We also should feel better now that Trump, who fortunately had that nose surgery so his schnoz wouldn’t grow every time he told a lie, has said he will, of course, follow court rulings but he will appeal, as is his right, if he thinks it’s appropriate.

Uh, but what happens when you run out of places to appeal, though?

Trump and his acolytes claim that by eliminating the federal government (in large measure) he is simply doing what he campaigned to do.

But while he did say some of that, most of us remember him promising primarily to stop illegal immigration and make America affordable again (OK, I made up that phrase, but the President is free to use it if he wants. Just, it won’t fit easily on those $40 hats he sells).

Also, let’s remember that when Musk’s role initially was announced by Trump months ago, he was to head an outside government advisory group that would make recommendations on how to reduce government spending. Not an inside-the government entity led by a “non-government employee” who now apparently has walk-in rights to see files not supposed to be seen by people without the proper clearances and put people on leave on the spot.

But, that’s being picky, I guess.