Let’s pause and look at what the Elon Musk administration has done so far.
Technology
Elon Musk’s first month of destroying America will cost us decades
There’s been a lot of panic about the immediate but somewhat abstract constitutional crisis as Elon Musk’s misleadingly-named Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) rips the government apart. And as much fun as we all are having watching Congress render itself irrelevant and wondering whether the courts even matter, there’s a concrete nightmare looming. Mass unemployment, the defunding of crucial social programs, and just plain incompetence mean that America, as we know it, is already in for hard times.
The degree to which we have failed not merely ourselves but also our children and grandchildren is breathtaking
The scale of destruction in the past four weeks starts at the Soviet devotion to Lysenkoist biological theories, and at maximum, is the American version of Mao’s Cultural Revolution: a disastrous triumph of ideological purity over basic reality. I am not sure it has occurred to the majority of people that we are about to make a Great Leap Forward and destroy our prosperous, relatively peaceful society.
Musk has, in the short term, set us up for a shock to the economy from both unemployment and frozen government grants. This will be felt more or less immediately.
But the long-term costs will be measured in decades. The degree to which we have failed not merely ourselves but also our children and grandchildren is breathtaking. Musk projects — such as undercutting practical preparations for possible disasters and dismantling an educational and scientific system so good that our actual enemies send their children to us for college — combine with disastrous Trump policies like mass deportation to undermine American society. And by alienating our longtime allies and cozying up to Russia, we set ourselves up to be a pariah state.
Let’s start with the federal workers. How many federal workers has Elon Musk fired? As of Valentine’s Day, Reuters figured 10,000. That number is almost certainly higher now. Many of the “probationary” employees he targeted were, in fact, quite senior — people who had just gotten promoted or who had been working for government contractors and then transitioned to working for the government itself. Often, these people were military veterans. Another 75,000 have taken a buyout from the Musk regime.
Kansas City, Missouri, for instance, doesn’t have enough jobs to absorb all its ex-federal workers
Among those fired: hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration employees, including air traffic controllers that keep flying safe. Over 1,000 people from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides healthcare to vets. On top of these specifics lies the basic fact that unemployed people have less money to spend in the rest of the economy. The pain might be most visible in reputationally liberal areas like the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. But it’s widespread — Kansas City, Missouri, for instance, doesn’t have enough jobs to absorb all its ex-federal workers. There are laid-off workers in Illinois, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Florida — in fact, all over the US.
It gets worse, because the recent pause in federal spending — driven first by an executive order from President Donald Trump and now by the chaos of DOGE — threatens the stability of many, many more people. Take, for instance, farmers and ranchers. They’re Trump voters, mostly, but this may push many of them into bankruptcy, since they depended on government programs to pay for farm upgrades they already made. The dismantling of the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, means that an agricultural buyer who dropped $2 billion into the sector is now gone. Rural areas broadly rely on federal funding, of course.
It gets worse. Acts of aggression toward our trading partners mean that Canadians are starting to avoid US products. The EU is considering an import block on soybeans. That’s fewer places for farmers and ranchers to sell their products. America might not give a good goddamn about science or scientists, but cutting their funds also hits hospitals, which guarantees worse patient care.
Did you think I was done? I haven’t even gotten to the existential disasters. The Department of Agriculture has fired, it says accidentally, a number of people working on bird flu. (The agency is now attempting to rehire those workers.) Because the Musk regime froze all communications, there was no word from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on bird flu for weeks.
There’s no considered plan, just careless mass destruction — and Musk’s desire to control everything, whatever the risks
There are other things to fear. DOGE reportedly fired a bunch of nuclear workers before realizing that they were, in fact, quite necessary, and then struggled to rehire them. Oops! Good thing that’s only nuclear weapons. Nothing to worry about, I’m sure.
DOGE isn’t yet inside the CDC, where all the dangerous microbes are kept, but they’re aiming at it. Also, the CDC has access to all electronic healthcare records — so if, let’s say, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. decides he wants to ship everyone on psych meds to a work farm, a thing he has proposed, he can do that.
The Trump administration, obviously, would have done some of this damage without Musk — he wasn’t leading the initial federal spending freeze or bringing in witless cronies, like RFK, Brendan Carr, and Kash Patel, with their own idiotic agendas. But DOGE has targeted a shocking sweep of basic government services with an unprecedented level of slash-and-burn nihilism. There’s no considered plan, just careless mass destruction — and Musk’s desire to control everything, whatever the risks.
DOGE is said to be seeking access to detailed financial records about every American taxpayer. Musk also wants access to Notify.gov, which contains everyone’s phone numbers, along with details such as whether they receive Medicaid. A Social Security chief resigned rather than let Musk into those systems. He reportedly has access to bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, and other personal details as part of the “God mode” access granted to DOGE. So far, this access has only been confirmed at USAID — but it’s not difficult to imagine that it’s been granted elsewhere, too. Oh, DOGE is apparently now inside CISA, indiscriminately hacking away at staff. No way that can possibly expose sensitive information to the US’s adversaries, of which there seem to be an increasing number lately.
At no previous point in my lifetime has a sitting president had to appear on television and tell the public that he is not being manipulated by a scheming vizier
How organized is DOGE? Well, they’re struggling to keep straight whether a contract is worth $8 million or $8 billion. This isn’t an operation targeting government waste. It’s about destroying anyone and anything that might be targeted toward having a functioning society — effete goals like feeding the hungry, stopping climate change, and caring for the sick. DOGE relies on operatives’ elite mastery of the Ctrl + F shortcut and their fierce commitment to anti-“woke” Silicon Valley supremacy. Who needs government expertise when you’ve got ideological conviction, right? Destroying bourgeois experts has never led to bad results!
The military was one of the last DOGE holdouts, but lists have already been submitted for layoffs there — supplemented by plans from TV personality and drunkard Pete Hegseth, who is for some reason the defense secretary, to fire generals and other senior staff, possibly as soon as this week.
You may, at this point, be wondering, “What about Donald Trump?” It is perhaps worth noting that at no previous point in my lifetime has a sitting president had to appear on television and tell the public that he is not being manipulated by a scheming vizier. Not even George W. Bush had to do that, and plenty of people were suspicious of Dick Cheney.
Anyway, Trump shares many of Musk’s goals and has spent his free time dismantling the Pax Americana while sanctioning overseas concentration camps for refugees and dubbing himself a king. If Trump decides to try wresting back control of domestic politics from Musk, the destruction will continue — albeit perhaps with fewer people named “Big Balls.”
The Purge is being declared, but only for Trump supporters
Of course, if Musk and Trump turn on each other, that could wreak its own havoc. Sure, Musk has control of all the payments systems, everyone’s personal data, and a bunch of other sensitive stuff, but Trump also has, you know, an army.
Beside atrocities like blocking AIDS relief and the Panamanian jungle concentration camps, attacks on the rule of law might seem a little dry. Who cares that the disgraced mayor of New York may skate on corruption charges in an open quid pro quo arrangement? But let me make it practical: the Purge is being declared, but only for Trump supporters. Any illegal or violent activity they engage in will be excused, especially if it targets Trump or Musk’s supposed enemies. Pardoning January 6th rioters was just the start.
As all this happens, the putative opposition party is still watching SNL, voting to confirm picks for the Trump / Musk regime, and tweeting weird shit about inflation. Aside from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — who is presently being threatened by Trump’s border czar for informing people of their rights — there has barely been pushback. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, perhaps the most lukewarm Democrat in existence, has nevertheless managed to make one of the strongest showings in the party by slamming the “king” comments. Certainly, there’s resistance from some Americans. People have been annoying their elected officials and protesting fairly continuously.
But many more people are simply tuning out — trying to pretend this isn’t happening. Well, it’s a matter of time before all this comes for them: the potential recession; the impoverished dystopia; the sicker, worse America.
Put it all together. We are in the process of being rendered unemployed, sick, helpless, and fearful of a law that works nakedly in the interest of Musk’s power. I still believe it is possible to stop what is in motion, but the window is closing. It has only been a month. Think of what a year will bring — and what we will lose.
If you’re tired of running your vacuum multiple times just to get the dirt and debris out of the carpets in your living room, Dyson’s 360 Vis Nav is worth a look. It’s one of the more powerful robot vacuums currently available, and now through May 11th (or while supplies last), it’s on sale at Woot for an all-time low of $279.99 ($919 off) with a full two-year warranty.
The last-gen 360 Vis Nav offers a whopping 65 air watts of suction, allowing it to pull dirt, dust, and pet hair from carpets impressively well. In her brief time testing the robovac, my colleague Jennifer Pattison Tuohy said the Dyson “demolished a pile of dry oatmeal in seconds,” adding that she briefly worried it might even suck up the tassels on her large rug (it didn’t). By comparison, many robot vacuums — including Dyson’s new $1,200 Spot + Scrub AI — require multiple passes to fully eradicate the same kind of mess on your floor.
What’s more, the robovac’s small, D-shaped design and the location of its ultra-fluffy brush allow it to dig into edges and corners more effectively than many of the more roundish robot vacuums, while its lower profile lets it easily get under most beds and sofas. The roomy 500ml dustbin also means you likely won’t need to empty it too often, while Dyson’s built-in handle and terrific quick-release button make removing said bin a relatively simple task when it’s time to do so.
While it is undeniably powerful, it’s worth noting that the 360 Vis Nav lacks a few features found on some of its more modern rivals. Although its navigation worked well enough during our testing, it lacks AI-powered obstacle avoidance and doesn’t come with a self-emptying dock. Battery life is also relatively short at around 65 minutes per charge. Nonetheless, if your top priority is quickly removing dust, dirt, and pet hair from carpets without multiple passes, the Dyson remains an option worth considering, especially at this discounted price.
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We’ve often warned you about romance scams and crypto “investment” opportunities that feel too good to pass up. Now, there’s a major update that shows just how organized these operations have become.
The Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation announced a sweeping international operation that led to at least 276 arrests and the shutdown of multiple scam centers tied to cryptocurrency fraud. These networks targeted Americans and drained millions of dollars from victims.
The operation spanned continents and involved coordinated efforts by law enforcement and tech companies.
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TOP 5 SCAMS SPREADING RIGHT NOW
The Department of Justice and FBI say international scam networks used romance and fake crypto investment schemes to steal millions from victims. (Helena Dolderer/Picture Alliance)
How the cryptocurrency scam crackdown unfolded
Authorities worked with partners around the world, including the Dubai Police and law enforcement agencies in Thailand and beyond. Together, they dismantled at least nine scam centers linked to large-scale crypto fraud.
Several suspects now face federal charges in the United States, including wire fraud and money laundering. Investigators say these operations functioned like businesses, with recruitment, management layers and structured systems designed to deceive victims.
Officials made it clear that this effort sends a message. Fraud crosses borders, and enforcement is now doing the same.
How crypto investment scams target victims
These schemes often follow a pattern known as “pig-butchering.” It is a slow, calculated tactic that builds trust before any money is involved.
A scammer may reach out through social media or a messaging app and start a casual conversation. Over time, that interaction turns more personal. In some cases, it feels like a real relationship. Once trust is established, the topic shifts toward investing, often framed as a unique crypto opportunity.
Victims are guided through setting up accounts and transferring funds to platforms that appear legitimate. The dashboards may even show fake gains to build confidence. At that point, control of the money is already gone. Funds are quickly moved through multiple accounts and eventually end up with the scammers.
Many victims are encouraged to keep going, sometimes borrowing money or taking out loans to invest more. By the time the truth becomes clear, the losses can be devastating.
How Meta Platforms, Inc. helped track scam networks
Meta Platforms, Inc. played a key role in the investigation by providing data that helped law enforcement identify and track these networks.
The company says it has taken aggressive action across its platforms. In 2025 alone, Meta removed more than 159 million scam ads and shut down 10.9 million accounts linked to scam centers. More recently, it disabled over 150,000 accounts connected to these networks as part of a coordinated enforcement effort.
“Meta is committed to combatting online fraud and scams, and we are proud to partner with law enforcement in these efforts,” Chris Sonderby, Meta’s vice president and deputy general counsel, said. “We applaud the DOJ and FBI for their leadership in holding criminal scammers accountable and protecting American consumers.”
FROM FRIENDLY TEXT TO FINANCIAL TRAP: THE NEW SCAM TREND
Federal authorities announced a sweeping international crackdown that led to at least 276 arrests tied to cryptocurrency scam centers targeting Americans. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
New tools to stop cryptocurrency scams in real time
Meta is also rolling out new protections across its apps to help users spot scams before they get pulled in.
On Facebook, users may see alerts tied to suspicious friend requests, especially when an account shows unusual behavior such as limited connections or inconsistent location details.
On WhatsApp, new warnings are designed to prevent scammers from linking their own devices to someone else’s account, giving users a chance to pause before approving a risky request.
Messenger is also expanding its scam detection tools. When a conversation shows patterns linked to common fraud tactics, users may receive prompts that explain the risk and suggest actions like blocking or reporting the account.
Why this cryptocurrency scam crackdown matters to you
This operation highlights how organized these scam networks have become. These are not random messages from a single person. They are coordinated groups running structured operations designed to build trust, create urgency and move money quickly.
Even with hundreds of arrests, the threat remains. New networks continue to emerge, often using the same playbook with slight changes. That means staying informed is still one of the most effective ways to protect yourself.
Ways to stay safe from cryptocurrency scams
Scammers follow familiar patterns, which means there are clear warning signs you can watch for and simple steps you can take to protect yourself.
1) Slow down unexpected connections
If someone you do not know reaches out and quickly builds a personal connection, slow things down and question the situation. Scammers rely on momentum, so taking a pause can help you spot inconsistencies.
2) Verify investment platforms before sending money
Before sending money to any investment platform, take time to verify that it is legitimate. A professional-looking website or app does not guarantee it is real. Look for independent reviews and official registration details.
3) Avoid sending crypto to unknown sources
Avoid sending cryptocurrency to individuals or platforms you cannot confirm. Once those transactions go through, they are extremely difficult to recover.
4) Watch for pressure and urgency
Be aware of pressure. If someone pushes you to act quickly or invest more, that urgency is often a warning sign.
5) Use strong antivirus protection
Strong antivirus software can help block malicious links, fake investment sites and other threats before they reach you, adding another layer of defense against scam attempts. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.
THE ONE THING SCAMMERS CHECK BEFORE TARGETING YOU ONLINE
Meta said it removed more than 159 million scam ads in 2025 and helped investigators track networks tied to cryptocurrency fraud. (Halfpoint/Getty Images)
6) Limit your personal data exposure
Scammers often rely on publicly available information to build trust. Reducing how much of your personal data appears online by using a data removal service can make it harder for them to target you in the first place. Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting CyberGuy.com.
7) Strengthen your account security
It also helps to strengthen your digital security. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your accounts and use trusted security tools to reduce exposure to malicious links and messages.
8) Report scams as soon as possible
If you believe you have been targeted or defrauded, report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov as soon as possible.
Kurt’s key takeaways
This global crackdown is a meaningful step forward. It shows what can happen when law enforcement, tech companies and international partners work together. At the same time, these scams are not going away. The tactics will continue to evolve, and new networks will take the place of those that were shut down. Awareness and caution remain your strongest defenses.
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We report a lot about scams but not so much about scammers getting caught. Does this make you feel like real progress is being made in stopping them? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.
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Asus’s latest gaming monitor is a little smaller than usual. The ROG Strix XG129C, announced on Friday, is a 12.3-inch touchscreen IPS display that’s intended to be a sidekick for a larger main monitor, similar to the 14.1-inch secondary display in the 2020 Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15. It’s a slightly smaller competitor to Corsair’s Xeneon Edge, which has a 14.5-inch display, but the same 720p resolution.
Asus says the XG129C covers 125 percent of the sRGB color gamut and 90 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut. It also comes with a one-year subscription for the hardware monitoring tool AIDA64 Extreme, which would usually cost $65. Besides acting as a performance monitor for your PC, sidekick displays like this can also be handy as an extension for streaming or editing setups, much like Elgato’s Stream Deck.
Along with the little XG129C, Asus also announced the ROG Strix OLED XG34WCDMS, a 34-inch RGB Tandem QD-OLED gaming monitor. It features a 280Hz refresh rate and a 3440 x 1440p resolution, and, according to Asus, covers 99 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Asus has not yet officially announced pricing for either display.
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