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The Questionable Gardner

@T_Q_Gardner

Mar 10

With the Save America Act stalled, and resistance to move away from the non-verbal fillibuster, @datarepublican spent much of the day posting a high-engagement series of posts, quotes, and detailed thread sharply criticizing Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

Because, as she suggested, Thune is “compromised.”

The core issue is Thune’s inability or lack of desire to act on the SAVE America Act and unwillingness to end the non-talking filibuster.

The Save America Act already passed the House last month, and would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and voter ID to cast a ballot.

Thune’s lack of action comes despite 85% support from the country and pressure from President Trump.

x.com/datarepublican…

The question then is why won’t he act?

She started break this Monday and laid out a case for Thune either being “compromised” or running a “paid influencer campaign.”

As part of the argument she is argueimg that Thune is compromised by Punchbowl News, questioning if it is an “access laundering” operation.

Among her reporting she noted congressional offices are paying for subscriptions with taxpayer money which she openly stated she is send to all DOGE offices.

DataRepublican also detailed her argument for corporate sponsors buying ads for privileged access to Thune, in return for Thune advancing their policy preferences.

Especially noting that it preserves the nonverbal filibuster and softer immigration/ID enforcement, and the sponsors route PAC money back to him.

x.com/datarepublican…

She started the 2-day with a post stating it “Turns out that @LeaderJohnThune was totally projecting when he said the SAVE Act was an influencer campaign. Senator John Thune is compromised by a company that literally exists to sell access to himself. Pass it on.”

x.com/datarepublican…

Following shortly there after with an exposé thread on Punchbowl which included a bar-chart graphic titled “PUNCHBOWL NEWS: Thune’s Coverage Is Not Just More — It’s Different.”

The graphic depicts 12 times where Thune was the confirmed primary-source between March 2025 to March 2026 including:

“Leader Look/AM Newsletter” leads
1 Fly Out Day episode
4 exclusive sit-down interviews
1 anniversary longform profile (more than double Chuck Schumer’s 5 and far ahead of other leaders.)

She openly requested feedback in a post asking, “Punchbowl, would you like to explain why @LeaderJohnThune has been by and far your most featured Congressional member… Beating out the #2 contender, Chuck Schumer, by more than twice as much.”

With a follow-up post calling Punchbowl “Thunebowl” and suggesting to readers to again “Pass it on.”

Her next round of posts was a thread on donors “Thune’s handlers” as Punchbowl sponsors who also donated to Thune.

It was a rapid-fire series listing a grand total of roughly $1.178 million.

Her post included company, donation amount, and why they benefit from blocking SAVE Act-style enforcement with heavy H-1B usage, lobbying against E-Verify, banking undocumented customers via ITIN accounts, and preferring foreign workers.

Examples she gave included:
Goldman Sachs: $150,000 (top financial H-1B user)
Comcast/NBCUniversal: $120,000 (owns MSNBC; platforms Punchbowl’s own reporter)
Chevron: $111,000
Merck: $100,000 (pharma H-1B leader)
Wells Fargo: $90,000 (ITIN mortgages)
American Express, Google/Alphabet, Meta/Facebook: $75k–$72.5k range (all tied to immigration-permissive lobbying coalitions like FWD.us).1234

x.com/datarepublican…

DataRepublican accompanied that with a second graphic titled “Company (Punchbowl Sponsor) / Total PAC to Thune” listing every donor down to the total.

But, she’s didn’t stop there.

She included a table of five specific Punchbowl–Thune interactions from Sept. 2025 to March 10, 2026, including a Feb. 26, 2026 “talking filibuster dead” piece that framed SAVE Act supporters negatively. Noting it was published just before Trump’s March 9 ultimatum.

“Senator Thune is the paid influencer. That’s the only explanation why he takes the wrong side of a 85-15 issue.”

x.com/datarepublican…

That post drew more than 400 comments summarizing Thune as having “sold out America” as Gunther Eagleman put it.

Before lunch DataRepublican had directly replied to Punchbowl reporter Andrew Desiderio with her signature “Hello…” before going into a lengthy response questioning Desiderio’s outlet of bypassing voters with taxpayer-funded access.

In which she included the full “THE INFLUENCE CYCLE” infographic which has since been posted and reposted numerous times.

She outlined how Congressional staff & committees subscribe to Punchbowl News → Sponsors buy ads in Punchbowl → Direct access to Senator Thune (photo of Thune) who advances sponsor-friendly policies → Sponsors benefit & donate to Thune/Congress via PACs → and the loop repeats.

Labeled “Repeating Loop of Power & Money,” and calling the “paid influencer” label insulting to grassroots voices who were doxxed by the same system.

The entire output was this cohesive, escalating thread/series, noting Thune as “definitely the strongest connection” to Punchbowl among Senate leaders.

x.com/i/communities/…

Read 6 tweets

The Questionable Gardner

@T_Q_Gardner

Sep 16, 2025

Following up on @DOGECommittee posts regarding cloud seeding, here is some additional information. a thread 🧵

Introduction to Cloud Seeding

Cloud seeding goes back to 1946, when General Electric research laboratories caused snow to fall near Mount Greylock in Massachusetts.

Seeding involves dispersing substances like silver iodide, potassium iodide, dry ice, or hygroscopic materials like table salt, and even propane into clouds causing the formation of ice crystals or water droplets, thereby increasing precipitation, often used to address water scarcity.

Common methods include aircraft-based dispersion and ground-based generators, with applications ranging from enhancing rainfall to suppressing hail or dispersing fog.

While it may seem like a solution to droughts, it comes with significant risks that need careful consideration.

The technique has been used in various regions, including the U.S., China, the UAE, and Australia, often in response to increasing water demands exacerbated by climate change and megadroughts.

Current estimates place seeding revenue around $128 million last year in the United States, which currently ranks 3rd globally; and projects to remain so as revenues steadily climb.

Unintended Weather Consequences:
Cloud seeding can lead to unintended and sometimes catastrophic weather events.

For example, it has been linked to increased urban flooding, as seen in the United Arab Emirates, where heavy rainfall overwhelmed infrastructure, and in the UK, where severe flooding was associated with cloud seeding operations.

Historical incidents, such as a deadly blizzard in China, have also been attributed to weather modification efforts, highlighting the difficulty in predicting and controlling outcomes.

Specific cases, like Oregon’s 1974-1975 Hood River seeding, caused overpowering rainfall leading to street collapses and mudslides, prompting discontinuation the following year.
(Image source: NYTimes)

Impact on Sensitive Ecosystems:

Cloud seeding over environmentally sensitive areas, such as Kosciusko National Park in Australia, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, has raised concerns about its effects on local wildlife and ecosystems.

It has been linked to algal blooms in pristine glacial lakes and potential harm to species like the pygmy possum, though these claims are disputed by peer-reviewed research summarized by the International
Weather Modification Association.

The rapid environmental legislation changes in such areas add to the complexity, with limited long-term studies to assess impacts.

Read 12 tweets

The Questionable Gardner

@T_Q_Gardner

Jul 20, 2025

At the same time we face a declining population crisis, the government is handing out grants to educate about "the detrimental effects of overpopulation."

The more we search, the more we find attempts to weaken the US through population control. (a thread) - but more the financials show a deep story.

"The primary exempt purpose of Negative Population Growth, Inc. (NPG) is to educate the American public and political leaders about the detrimental effects of overpopulation on our environment, resources, and quality of life. " according to their IRS filings. "NPG is a membership organization that advocates a smaller and truly sustainable United States population accomplished through voluntary incentives for smaller families and reduced immigration levels."

thank you to @DataRepublican for the tools to find more of this and to @twinforces for the Sankey chart that helped flag this.

And how did they do it? Through targeting youth of course through the main stream legacy media

"In an effort to broaden the reach of our critical message to millions of Americans, we run advertisements in national publications such as the Washington Times National Weekly, Washington Examiner, and several special editions of USA Today," the filings show. "We enlist the activism of our nation's young people through our annual NPG scholarship contests, and work with educators across the country through our free NPG teacher's packet program. NPG publications are distributed to our nationwide membership, the full U.S. Congress, key contacts in the media, and other interested organizations."

They spent $864,000 on the project.

Here is where it gets interesting. they show all of last year's income being from grants, at under $300,000 but a yearly operating budget of $2.6 million. the difference from sale of assets.

Read 4 tweets

The Questionable Gardner

@T_Q_Gardner

Jul 15, 2025

First run of the new NGO tool from @twinforces and I was not disappointed by how it works. I was however in absolute shock what I found. (a thread)

We have long suspected of kickbacks, but this was eye opening to see kickback grants and money handlers.

This is the cash from just ONE ngo Save The Children, and shows 1) how many people touch the money along the way, and 2) a view of the kickback grants.

Each pink line is a kickback grant. Each dot is a company that handled the money.

Most astounding in the beginning was seeing Save The Children give a grant to a company who then gave a grant right back to them.

I ran out of screen space to expand grant recipients, but found 5 kickback grants just in the area I could expand.

Read 4 tweets

The Questionable Gardner

@T_Q_Gardner

Jul 13, 2025

DOGE Timeline — Beginning January 2025, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is tasked to reduce U.S. government spending, waste, fraud and abuse while also making gorvernment more efficient.

This is a thread of accomplishments:

• January 20, 2025:
• DOGE is officially established via Executive Order 14158, with a mission to modernize federal technology, cut regulations, and reduce spending. The initiative is set to operate temporarily until July 4, 2026.
• A federal hiring freeze is implemented through a Presidential Memorandum, initiating workforce reduction plans.

• January 30, 2025: NOAA contract modified to “partially terminate,” saving $22 million.

Feb 1-Feb 11:

• February 5, 2025:
• DOGE gains access to the Treasury Department’s federal payment system. A federal judge limits access to read-only data for two DOGE employees following a lawsuit by public employee unions and a retiree advocacy group.
• DOGE and the Department of Transportation announce access to FAA technologies for “rapid safety upgrades.”

• February 6, 2025:
• DOGE begins work at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
• DOGE posts on X that it is saving approximately $1 billion per day, primarily through halting hiring, eliminating DEI programs, and stopping improper payments to foreign organizations.

• February 7, 2025:
• Senate Democrats launch an investigation into DOGE’s access to federal student loan data after reports of unauthorized access. A lawsuit filed by California public university students seeks to block DOGE’s access to these records.

• February 8, 2025:
• A New York federal judge issues a temporary restraining order blocking DOGE from accessing taxpayer records, including Social Security numbers and bank account information.

• February 10, 2025:
• DOGE cuts 89 independent research contracts at the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, valued at nearly $900 million.
• DOGE terminates 36 contracts across six agencies, saving $165 million, including DEI-related contracts.

• February 11, 2025:
• Executive Order 14219, “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Regulatory Initiative,” orders agency heads to review regulations for potential deregulation.
• The Department of Homeland Security fires four FEMA officials following DOGE’s claims of improper payments.
• Mass layoffs begin at the Department of Education, with nearly half of its workforce (approximately 1,950 positions) cut by March 11.

Read 9 tweets

The Questionable Gardner

@T_Q_Gardner

Jun 21, 2025

Let’s take @Alladdin1983 work and go a little deeper. Hedge funds, $100 in office expense and universities begging for tax payer money, they giving it away to other universities - just so they can come back and ask for more money.

The Research Foundation has $72 million in hedge funds… against what? Why are they using tax payer money to bet against the stock market?

They have another $117 million invested in global stock funds. And $89 million handled by private firms.

Then consider 2 of their 5 paid contractors are Banks.

As mentioned earlier, half their funding comes from tax payers, funneled into the foundation from a dozen other universities.

This on top of the $17 million in travel, $7.5 million in meetings and conferences, and $100 million in office expenses… how much timer does one company need?

The combined work by individuals in uncovering waste and abuse is amazing. I always like to thank @DataRepublican for sharing the tools she created, making this possible.

Read 4 tweets

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