When you have no honor, & surround yourself with dishonorable people, you cannot begin to imagine how honorable people actually behave. Trump may be in for a shock.
As people have been bemoaning the lack of agency coming from the Democratic party right now, we see that We the People are able to rise up. And, we can be grateful that Donald Trump did not listen to Susie Wiles, who wanted him to have a slow roll out of his EOs. However, he did not want that. He wanted the shock and awe, and frankly is so out of touch with his MAGA constituency that he did not think he might be many of them out too. Enough so that Governor Stitt of Oklahoma, one of the most brown-nosing of the Governors, had to call the White House to ask for the freezes to be rolled out more slowly. Businesses freaked out too, because they suddenly realized that their year was going to be cut backs, layoffs and shutdowns if so much money was suddenly taken out of the economy. And, crashing the medical system, means that the super wealthy may also not get the care they expect as hospitals shut down for lack of funds.
Who got a shock was Trump. The upset and anger might have made him think of South Korea where an illiberal PM got the boot. In Slovakia there is an uprising against illiberal PM Robert Fico, who for now refuses to step down, but the people continue to protest with the dismantling of democratic institutions and Fico's unannounced visit to Putin. Not every country is turning toward illiberal leaders and as long as we can still get information, we can be aware of it. As Americans strive to thwart Trump's illegal and illiberal actions, we too become a beacon to the world.
Thanks, Linda. Great thinking. The push-back has to be stiff and resolute. And it has to continue that way. The petition for Caliporno to secede is welcome; it likely will not come to fruition -- at least, I hope not -- but a resolute initiation of the referendum in four years surely sends as message to Trump. 🥳
The idea of states counter-impounding taxes due to D.C. to secure disaster relief funds and block grants mandated for them but in danger of being impounded and, where applicable, to avoid subsidizing red states is a resolute push-back. It will likely not occur -- at least, I hope not -- but pursuing it with vigor will shock and awe the M.A.G.A.s.🛑
On the immigration front, I would like to see secure borders, mainly to keep the very nasty narco-traficantes out of the U.S. or, preferably, in jail. President Macho Mouth is seeking to turn Guantánamo Bay into a detention (likely holding) camp for 30,000 migrants. Of course, the Trumpanzee is going after the easy targets: families who contribute to local economies and are peaceable. But drug war-lords? Nope. 🤢
Lastly, ¿what to call the three blondes -- Mmes Leavitt, Loeffler, Bondi -- after seeing their performances at hearings or press conferences? The ditzkrieg. 😉
EDITING P.S., "the very nasty narco-traficantes out of the U.S." is either inaccurate because I forgot what Houston2024 stated below as plain fact or I was sloppy in the language. That statement should read: "the [network, or supply chain of fentanyl and other dangerous substances, of] very nasty narco-traficantes out of the U.S." Thank you Houston2024 for catching that. 0y vey: ¡shrinking grey matter! 🤝
EDITING P.P.S., additionally, I agree with President Trump that drug cartels should be deemed terrorist organizations with domestic agents. Constraints should already be, or immediately put into, place to assure that doing so does not lead to abuse of presidential powers at the expense of innocent Americans or immigrants, undocumented or otherwise, with no connection to these brutes. ⚖️
Ned, Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat has pointed out that any state seceding, or even the Red and Blue States dividing, will serve Putin's purposes, and then Trump will have succeeded in one part of Putin's needs from him which is to destroy the US from within. Part 2 is to destroy NATO from within, and thus we see Greenland come into play as an attack against a NATO ally country, forcing everyone to take sides. The EU is sticking with Denmark, so now Putin has already cleaved the US and the NATO countries in the EU. As we fall into smaller fractions we will not have the might to stand up to Putin as he desires to recreate the Soviet Union. The Baltics and Poland have been extremely aware of this, and perhaps Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia too, who are bending the knee to Putin. Trump owes Putin and so nothing matters to him about us. We will not be assassinating him whereas Putin might.
Also, why are we not welcoming to immigrants. Everyone who picks up this narrative is playing into a White Supremacist rhetoric that is being discussed in the US and came up in Prof. Kathleen Belew's book Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America. In Germany there is a book on this anti immigrant movement amongst White Supremacists too called Einzeltäter?: Rechtsterroistische Akteure in der alten Bundesrepublik by Darius Muschiol. Both authors are tracing this anti-immigrant right wing movement back to the at least the 80s.
Both the US and Germany have around 14% immigrant population. My husband is one of these immigrants, my mother another. In UAE they have an 87% immigrant population and have no problem with it. The anger in the US and Germany ties to White Supremacy and replacement theory beliefs.
Whatever is wrong with the women working in the Trump administration it is not because they are blonde. It is because they embrace beliefs that allow them to be complicit in his criminal behavior. They are crooked is their biggest problem not that they are stupid. I am against stereotyping women by physical attributes.
Your question "Why are we not welcoming to immigrants?" is such a good one. Along with the obvious fact that nearly all of us are descended from immigrants ( unless we're Native American), there are these words in Matthew 25 that people who claim to be Christian should remember:
In the city where I live in Germany, there is graffiti in places that says, "Immigrants welcome here" in English. I have never seen anything that says the opposite of that.
I was watching DW news last night. The number of immigrants into Germany -- which sparked an anti-immigrant bill in the Bundestag passed with the votes of the AfD -- during 2023 and 2024 was 350,000 and 250,000.
The U.S. has a proportional number from the stand-point of population (i.e., roughly four times the immigrants for four times the populace in the U.S.).
Yes, immigrants should be welcome; there is, however, the perplexing question of U.S. border security with respect to fentanyl. Rounding up decent, defenseless people is not addressing that pressing problem.
Yes, Linda, you are right to bring me to task on the ditzkrieg remark. My apologies. The lowest form of humor got the better of me.
In fact, unfortunately, (state) Attorney General Bondi is quite intelligent; that does not bode well for the independence of the D.o.J.
Senator Loeffler handled her testimony quite well and her reception was bi-partisan; my memories of her as a Senator had not disposed me well toward her. (EDIT: Senator Markey's questions nailed Trump's party-line of D.E.I., not the Senator herself.)
Ms Leavitt is an unknown quantity in a position, as Trump's Minister of Propaganda, likely to be short-lived by any occupant.
Leavitt is not an unknown quantity now, witness her double talk about the funding freezes. We now know that she is just like the rest, a confirmed liar. As a blonde lawyer, I thank you for retracting your remarks! I think I’m smart too but not all the time and not every day!
I do not think Ms Leavitt is stupid. Cowardly, yes; stupid, no. She is in an impossible position, as was Mr Spicer, a short-lived predecessor. Did not like him much, but did not think he was stupid. 🤔
EDIT P.S., thank you, Pam, for being gracious; I congratulate you on your legal career. 🤝
P.P.S., funny, for years I laughed at myself for being a curmudgeon before my time. Now, I am simply a curmudgeon on schedule. 😉
How about actually doing something asshole? How did that funding freeze work out? Clearing Gaza went over well with Egypt and Jordan did it? And those are just for starters. I agree, being against stupid is not enough. Although more than willing to make an exception in your case.
Hear, here! James has more fitting virtual venues in which to bloviate. If antagonism is his game, Substack may help us, but only therapy can help him.😉
I differ at times with those in this forum. I try to do it respectfully because, quite often, I am inaccurate or just plain wrong with assertions or argumentation. I am a conservative by temperament and upbringing; moral and religious teachings mean a lot to me. 🤔
When the values differ (e.g., my unwillingness to judge harshly my Trump-voting relatives or acquaintances) with others here, I have found a ready audience, willing to contest my view but doing so with dignity. I believe that exchange benefits me and the interlocuteur. 🤝
When I am attacked, I am conciliatory the first time; strained and restrained on the second attack from the same member; and, shorn of my gloves the third time with said jerk. ✍️
When I act the same way James has here (unprovoked), I get my head handed to me on a platter, sometimes with an apple lodge in my mouth (i.e., politely but decisively). That response brings me to the task of re-thinking my statements and, more importantly, revising my manner. 🪞
True conservative viewpoints and opinions are to be encouraged and in fact, welcomed. On the other hand, MAGA apologists and enablers are not. They serve no one but themselves.
What “landslide”? Trump got less than 50% of the votes cast and.a majority of voters cast ballots for some one other than him. You are absolutely right - those that keep repeating this.are sick. (Delusional is a form of sickness, right?)
Jimmy Kimmel, Dr Heather Cox Richardson, Dr Bandy Lee, and Ms Vance are life-savers. They supply many necessary insights from the perspectives of history, the law, medicine, and, perhaps most important for me right now, humor.
Ah Ned, so right you are. Humor is an oxygenator for democracy, for each of us, for coming together, and for creative thinking on push back. And passion. Don’t you love the passion of those fabulously outspoken federal workers on Reddit and Blue sky? And, Thank you Joyce Vance!
Ned, don’t feel bad about your ditzy blonde remarks, I got in trouble for a crude post myself! It involved Melania and Dick Tracy. And I apologized for that myself.🤣
You and I know that the Electoral College can be far more lop-sided than, even contradictory to, the popular vote. So, I chuckle with your irony. Thank you.
AND contact your congress person and senator that the chaos is illegal and unconstitutional. It takes less than 5” online. Remember folks one foot in front of the other
She’s as bad as Kayleigh was. Look what Kayleigh’s law degree got her, a TV job where she embarrasses herself endlessly. She might have money but certainly no dignity.
I believe she's worse than McEnany, who famously claimed she "would never lie to you," and then proceeded to lie about everything. This current spokesliar, to her credit, did not make a statement about her veracity, but you can be sure, based on recent pronouncements, that she is unlikely to have any.
the human printer, her prior job was to literally print any inane positive comment she could scrub from the internet. that is how depraved and insecure the orange diaper baby is!
Because the performance is the chief thing; leave it to others to carry out the god-emperor's orders, and still others (Democrats, natch) to clean up the mess in four years.
And I believe she mentioned "not having to have a notebook" with her - as if that means ?what? Biden's two press secretaries each brought a notebook with information they could go to when they were questioned. I think - especially after her current debacles - that some actual information in front of her could possibly have been helpful! On the other hand, depends on where the info comes from.
I'm fortunate, I live in California & both my senators & my representative are dems so that is a relief but I call them. In fact I tell the people at my congressman's office that I will be a pest. I've already called them twice this week & once last week. Basically I just air my concern about everything that is going on & then mention a few individual items that I worry about. But today I went into detail about sending immigrants to Guantanamo. Since Guantanamo is not within the contiguaous US & it is on a military base there can be limited oversight on how these immigrants will be cared for. Gitmo has already experienced some bad press concerning the 9/11 prisoners so I can't see why it would be any different for people that this administration considers vermin & poisoning the blood of our country. If anything given the fact that they hope to house 30,000 I would imagine the place would be ripe for abuse. I hope we realize that this is how the Nazis started their plans, with quotas which trump wanted increased & they also had the very worst of their 'camps' pretty far removed from Germany. So much easier to keep the population ignorant of what is giong on!
Look at the history at Guantanamo. There will be no oversight, and the most barbaric of guards will be there. They are waiting delightedly for their chance to have no oversight over their actions towards migrant "criminals."
Generally speaking, though, wouldn't the current "administration" want to get all these immigrants returned to some other country as soon as possible? Sending them to Gitmo could result in another generation of "criminals" being housed in that unconstitutional foreign prison. It could be an embarrassment.
Sure. They would like to deport them but it's going to take way too long & there is already resistance from the destination countries, so the next "best" thing is internment camps, away from the prying eyes of the press, you know the "enemy of the people"!
You're on the right track here. Successive US administrations have happily used Guantanamo as a convenient nearby place totally under US control but beyond US jurisdiction, where captives can be treated in ways that would otherwise be offensive. Dubya's administration obviously had no confidence in normal US institutions like the presumption of innocence, jury trials etc when it came to dealing with these people, and so held them beyond the reach of the protective aspect of the law. But every succeeding administration has run with it.
Same here, rtn. I call also even though my reps in the House and Senate are Dems. Tomorrow, my House rep, Mark DeSaulnier. Is having a town hall meeting. His staff already reported that it is at full capacity but they’ll offer Facebook (which I got rid of) and/or YouTube.
I have already written them all and also asked what I can do on my own personal level to support what needs to be upheld, and resist this awful deluge. I also asked what in general we can do as private citizens. (My answer would be to do what we can right where we are and with the opportunities presented to us! But I would still like as much input as they can give me!)
I joined and donate to Emily's List, upped my contribution to the ACLU, and contribute monthly to The Guardian and PBS. Small amounts, but I'm on a small, fixed income and this is what I can DO.
If you're able, something you can do that makes a big difference without costing money other than time & transportation is to attend local meetings & speak your values: school board, library board, city council, county council, town halls of your local, state, & federal representatives. Make sure all those boards see that you're paying attention and you care about what they do (for good or ill). <3
Yes, contacting your representatives is good but despite it, Republicans will vote one way and Democrats will vote another. The recent despicable actions the administrations has adopted however can be seen to be a gift--we can point them out in our conversations with MAGAs as to how they are going to adversely affect their lives....
I think that a lot of people have felt either shut down or shut out, and when they see that other people are speaking up or writing letters, they may feel empowered to do the same with their own stories. I've seen it happening already. Ditto at the state level, because there are people there who also are doing jobs that will be affected by these so-called "directives". Some congressional folks are starting to come around and though some of them are lost causes, there are those who will respond if they hear from enough of their constituents.
Our best role in trying to reach right wing folks is to be willing to listen to their stories, but let them find the connections themselves (asking leading questions to open them up ok, but "pointing out" things is kind of patronizing. Illustrating with our own experiences, or fear, or losses works better than to make them seem clueless victims. They are entitled to a sense of dignity, and we serve democracy when we treat them that way, too.
Already doing this!! Dave McCormick newly elected Republican PA. Senator hearing from me. Like FELON TRUMP he is CURSED! Now, I MUST contact SEN. McCormick about last night's plane crash in D.C. since Sec. Of Def.(?) Hegseth's ARMY helicopter crashed into landing airplane!!
A spice company (Penzey’s in my home state of Wisconsin) saw this coming and declared on Jan 1 that 2025 would be the year of the government worker. They recently sent 370,000 bags of their new “Resist” spice blend to federal workers in Washington DC. They are aiming for a million nationwide.
We live in the era of corrupt billionaires backing the Felon in Chief, and cowardly companies like Target and Walmart and McDonald’s watering down or stopping their DEI initiatives. So I think it’s important to celebrate the courage of companies like Penzey’s who are trying to support government workers and like Costco who refused to change their DEI programs. I will choose to spend my money with them instead.
Bill Penzey is a hero. he is relentless. I buy all of my spices from Penzey’s and they are the best! Bill has been a loyal & highly praiseworthy resister.
I saw this information on another Substack and immediately signed up with them and bought their on-sale box of Resist spices to hand out! Bless Bill Penzey for his courage!
So glad you mentioned Penzeys. I’ve used their herbs and spices for years. They are a great company and their founder, Bill Penzey, cannot stand this administration. That Resist combo came out in “honor” of trump’s first fiasco. It was a Penzey’s retail outlet in Pennsylvania that Kamala stopped in during her campaign. Support great small businesses.
My spice drawer is badly overdue for a complete clean out. Thanks for this post—when I’m home from vacation in New Zealand (I don’t think they’ll let me stay!) I’m putting in a big Penny’s order. NW
Thanks for this. Will order "Resist" spices. I posted Penzey's letter on Facebook but it did not appear on my feed. Instead A Facebook questionnaire popped up asking me to evaluate their service. So Creepy.
"Tell doctors at CDC, federal prosecutors at DOJ, or scientists at the Department of Agriculture that they can’t do their job, and they will find a way to get it done. Tell the entire bureaucracy you want them to leave? You’ve summoned the sleeping giant."
Thanks for this, JV - it is not only so true, but also GOOD to hear it again after (in midst of) an era of anti-expertise, anti-governance.
I hope the civil servants across this country know how grateful so many of us are for their expertise and their dedication. Trump isn't fit to shine their shoes.
In the words of The Talking Heads, "this ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around." The fire of a thousand suns will annihilate this monsters. And, it will do so in rapid fashion as inertia builds to resist, repel, and to vanquish them. These are the continued growing pains of our fledgling, and fierce Democracy!
Good lesson and your point is well taken--'if Trump offers it, do the opposite, because it is a trap, a cheat, a fraud, a lie, a scheme. Just do the opposite of whatever he wants and you can't go wrong.'
I *love* that movie!! I'll have to pull out our DVD and watch it soon. Two of my most favorite Hollywood people ever: Cary Grant and Edward Everett Horton.
Federal employees must resist. They must persist. Throw every obstacle in the path of this Administration. They are the ones who will be hurt first when the continuing resolution expires in March and there is a government shutdown.
We do have Mr Soros who, I just read, bought 11 radio stations. Hey, people still listen. And there is Mackenzie(Bezos)Scott and Melinda French Gates who are trying to give their huge settlements away to all sorts of great causes. They keep them on the QT though so it’s rare to hear about them but they’re out doing what they can, as much as they can and frankly, they’re just making their exes look smaller than we already know them to be.
When I started practicing law, in 1970, I worked for a tax law firm. We did a lot of litigation with the IRS in administrative appeals. This was before hostility to the federal government became a very strong feeling, but you heard about it. I remember thinking, and saying, that if the average American knew the caliber and quality of the people we saw working for the IRS, they would be amazed. The agents were serious, competent, honest, dedicated and fair. We once did an 8-hour conference with 3 agents to settle an estate with numerous real estate holdings. And from other federal employees I've known over the years, I am sure that my experience was much more typical than exceptional.
I spent more than 20 years in the federal court and that was my exact experience with every.single.employee. I worked with there -- dedicated, extremely skilled, professional, hardworking, with the highest of ethics and total believers in the oath we all took to work there. For the most part it was, for me, 20 years of having to forgo vacations and other time with my family often because I couldn't get time off -- we were always short of employees. I have retired, but have the utmost respect for all the judges -- no matter who they were appointed by -- and staff at my court. I do not know whether they (obviously the judges wouldn’t get this offer as they are Article III appointees and enjoy the benefit of lifetime appointments along with lifetime salary) were recipients of this scam "offer" to resign and get money because, unfortunately, we were mostly "at-will" employees in federal court, not Civil Service, and didn't have any protections at all, and that may be a reason some people may take the scam offer. The First Felon is notorious for not paying his bills.
I grew up in the Washington DC area. All our neighbors worked for the Federal Government: State Dept., lawyers with DOJ, USAID, the World Bank, the Pentagon and other defense jobs. They were all well educated, smart, dedicated people.
Every one of them. And most had lived around the world so they understood cultures.
Every Trump appointee & anyone who was involved with writing Project 2025 should be required to read "The Fifth Risk" by Michael Lewis. Until I read that book, I had no idea how important these government workers's jobs are.
The threats in the OMB letter were poorly veiled. The letter is disgusting and undignified. Employees should fight the plan. They cannot be removed illegally without recourse. I believe a lawsuit would reinstate them with back pay and damages. The ACLU could be the clearinghouse and would love doing it. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/this-shall-not-stand?r=3m1bs
Yes, DJT is a clown, but he's Project 2025's clown. We're fortunate that they seem to think they have a mandate and are showing clearly, from the get-go exactly who they are.
I know so many honorable Federal employees! I’m so hopeful they will stand up to the bully. He expects everyone to bow down and worship him. I’m on their team as a former forest service employee.
As per usual, they, (trump & his sycophants), have once again underestimated the people of the United States of America. We are stronger and better equipped to tell these assholes where to go with their high and mighty plans to tear this country apart with their bullshit. Americans won't put up with it, we will fight back, every inch!
They (Project 2025) didn't wait long enough for the dismantling of the "educated proletariat (See Roger A. Freeman, 1970) to be complete. They won't make this mistake again, so it's super important to take action now in a big way. First steps (after resist, resist, resist) need to be focused on education--as in civics and philosophy.
Thank you Joyce. This morning I was reminded of the comradely we had during Covid to thank healthcare workers and the movie Network. By stepping outside or shouting out our windows “I’ve had enough and I am not going to take it anymore.” Day 8. If we all choose 6 pm we can create a tremolo across the land. Bringing our voices together in a wave. Just recently started using Reddit it’s awesome. Best regards stay strong. Joyce just showed us how powerful we are in this essay. Thank you Federal workers for all you do !!
Okay, I’m alarmed. According to Reuters, the Inspector General at USDA was hauled out of her office by security after she refused to leave under the belief that her firing did not follow protocols. How is this happening?
You know, if I cared about Donald Trump and wanted his administration to succeed, then I'd think twice about setting him up as Russell Vought's Project 2025 crash test dummy. I mean, the illegal firings, unconstitutional funding freeze, and the federal workforce f*ck-up.
With friends like Vought ...
But then... Russell Vought, Stephen Miller
Trump's twisted TweedleDee and TweedleDum ... we need a 2025 Pinky and the Brain.
When you have no honor, & surround yourself with dishonorable people, you cannot begin to imagine how honorable people actually behave. Trump may be in for a shock.
As people have been bemoaning the lack of agency coming from the Democratic party right now, we see that We the People are able to rise up. And, we can be grateful that Donald Trump did not listen to Susie Wiles, who wanted him to have a slow roll out of his EOs. However, he did not want that. He wanted the shock and awe, and frankly is so out of touch with his MAGA constituency that he did not think he might be many of them out too. Enough so that Governor Stitt of Oklahoma, one of the most brown-nosing of the Governors, had to call the White House to ask for the freezes to be rolled out more slowly. Businesses freaked out too, because they suddenly realized that their year was going to be cut backs, layoffs and shutdowns if so much money was suddenly taken out of the economy. And, crashing the medical system, means that the super wealthy may also not get the care they expect as hospitals shut down for lack of funds.
Who got a shock was Trump. The upset and anger might have made him think of South Korea where an illiberal PM got the boot. In Slovakia there is an uprising against illiberal PM Robert Fico, who for now refuses to step down, but the people continue to protest with the dismantling of democratic institutions and Fico's unannounced visit to Putin. Not every country is turning toward illiberal leaders and as long as we can still get information, we can be aware of it. As Americans strive to thwart Trump's illegal and illiberal actions, we too become a beacon to the world.
Thanks, Linda. Great thinking. The push-back has to be stiff and resolute. And it has to continue that way. The petition for Caliporno to secede is welcome; it likely will not come to fruition -- at least, I hope not -- but a resolute initiation of the referendum in four years surely sends as message to Trump. 🥳
https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/california-will-put-secession-back-map-2024-12-20/
The idea of states counter-impounding taxes due to D.C. to secure disaster relief funds and block grants mandated for them but in danger of being impounded and, where applicable, to avoid subsidizing red states is a resolute push-back. It will likely not occur -- at least, I hope not -- but pursuing it with vigor will shock and awe the M.A.G.A.s.🛑
On the immigration front, I would like to see secure borders, mainly to keep the very nasty narco-traficantes out of the U.S. or, preferably, in jail. President Macho Mouth is seeking to turn Guantánamo Bay into a detention (likely holding) camp for 30,000 migrants. Of course, the Trumpanzee is going after the easy targets: families who contribute to local economies and are peaceable. But drug war-lords? Nope. 🤢
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-will-instruct-homeland-security-pentagon-prepare-migrant-facility-2025-01-29/
Lastly, ¿what to call the three blondes -- Mmes Leavitt, Loeffler, Bondi -- after seeing their performances at hearings or press conferences? The ditzkrieg. 😉
EDITING P.S., "the very nasty narco-traficantes out of the U.S." is either inaccurate because I forgot what Houston2024 stated below as plain fact or I was sloppy in the language. That statement should read: "the [network, or supply chain of fentanyl and other dangerous substances, of] very nasty narco-traficantes out of the U.S." Thank you Houston2024 for catching that. 0y vey: ¡shrinking grey matter! 🤝
EDITING P.P.S., additionally, I agree with President Trump that drug cartels should be deemed terrorist organizations with domestic agents. Constraints should already be, or immediately put into, place to assure that doing so does not lead to abuse of presidential powers at the expense of innocent Americans or immigrants, undocumented or otherwise, with no connection to these brutes. ⚖️
Ned, Prof. Ruth Ben-Ghiat has pointed out that any state seceding, or even the Red and Blue States dividing, will serve Putin's purposes, and then Trump will have succeeded in one part of Putin's needs from him which is to destroy the US from within. Part 2 is to destroy NATO from within, and thus we see Greenland come into play as an attack against a NATO ally country, forcing everyone to take sides. The EU is sticking with Denmark, so now Putin has already cleaved the US and the NATO countries in the EU. As we fall into smaller fractions we will not have the might to stand up to Putin as he desires to recreate the Soviet Union. The Baltics and Poland have been extremely aware of this, and perhaps Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia too, who are bending the knee to Putin. Trump owes Putin and so nothing matters to him about us. We will not be assassinating him whereas Putin might.
What is a secure border? Here is an analysis of the Border under Biden and Trump. https://www.csis.org/analysis/trump-sends-troops-southern-border-crisis-or-continuation-us-policy
Also, why are we not welcoming to immigrants. Everyone who picks up this narrative is playing into a White Supremacist rhetoric that is being discussed in the US and came up in Prof. Kathleen Belew's book Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America. In Germany there is a book on this anti immigrant movement amongst White Supremacists too called Einzeltäter?: Rechtsterroistische Akteure in der alten Bundesrepublik by Darius Muschiol. Both authors are tracing this anti-immigrant right wing movement back to the at least the 80s.
Both the US and Germany have around 14% immigrant population. My husband is one of these immigrants, my mother another. In UAE they have an 87% immigrant population and have no problem with it. The anger in the US and Germany ties to White Supremacy and replacement theory beliefs.
Whatever is wrong with the women working in the Trump administration it is not because they are blonde. It is because they embrace beliefs that allow them to be complicit in his criminal behavior. They are crooked is their biggest problem not that they are stupid. I am against stereotyping women by physical attributes.
Your question "Why are we not welcoming to immigrants?" is such a good one. Along with the obvious fact that nearly all of us are descended from immigrants ( unless we're Native American), there are these words in Matthew 25 that people who claim to be Christian should remember:
"Welcome the stranger."
I like that!
In the city where I live in Germany, there is graffiti in places that says, "Immigrants welcome here" in English. I have never seen anything that says the opposite of that.
I was watching DW news last night. The number of immigrants into Germany -- which sparked an anti-immigrant bill in the Bundestag passed with the votes of the AfD -- during 2023 and 2024 was 350,000 and 250,000.
The U.S. has a proportional number from the stand-point of population (i.e., roughly four times the immigrants for four times the populace in the U.S.).
Yes, immigrants should be welcome; there is, however, the perplexing question of U.S. border security with respect to fentanyl. Rounding up decent, defenseless people is not addressing that pressing problem.
My ancestral homeland! Welcoming in some areas but behaving as poorly as some of the red states here…
Except for muskrat and murdoch. Why do they stay in their country and ruin it.
Yes, Linda, you are right to bring me to task on the ditzkrieg remark. My apologies. The lowest form of humor got the better of me.
In fact, unfortunately, (state) Attorney General Bondi is quite intelligent; that does not bode well for the independence of the D.o.J.
Senator Loeffler handled her testimony quite well and her reception was bi-partisan; my memories of her as a Senator had not disposed me well toward her. (EDIT: Senator Markey's questions nailed Trump's party-line of D.E.I., not the Senator herself.)
Ms Leavitt is an unknown quantity in a position, as Trump's Minister of Propaganda, likely to be short-lived by any occupant.
Leavitt is not an unknown quantity now, witness her double talk about the funding freezes. We now know that she is just like the rest, a confirmed liar. As a blonde lawyer, I thank you for retracting your remarks! I think I’m smart too but not all the time and not every day!
I do not think Ms Leavitt is stupid. Cowardly, yes; stupid, no. She is in an impossible position, as was Mr Spicer, a short-lived predecessor. Did not like him much, but did not think he was stupid. 🤔
EDIT P.S., thank you, Pam, for being gracious; I congratulate you on your legal career. 🤝
P.P.S., funny, for years I laughed at myself for being a curmudgeon before my time. Now, I am simply a curmudgeon on schedule. 😉
I do not like these women either, but their faults are in their politics. Thank you for recognizing that.
But it’s politics and politicians, and they’ve chosen who to stand with! Politicians and politics that is ruining this country.
Thank you for the lessons. I’m smarter than I was now !!!
Thank you, D.D.! Please see my apology, above, for a remark meant to be humorous but of questionable taste.
Great point about South Korea's PM!
RISE up against what?
- SHutting down the border
- Degenerate illegals criminal rounded up and sent to Guantanamo?
- More drilling?
- The end of child trans surgeries
- End of conflict in Israel
- End of crappy trade deals
Being against anything Trump does is Derrangement Syndrome, and its why you lost.
DELETE THE RUSSIAN BOT!
This may be the stupidiest post of ALL-TIME.
Calling me a Russian BOT, while demanding SOVIET STYLE censorship?
You can NEVER lose money underestimating the stupidity of leftists.
Please enlightment us WITH more assinine posts. Pretty please
DELETE THE RUSSIAN BOT!
Don't bother, Linda. James is likely not a bot. Simply seeking attention. Let's not feed the beast.
How about actually doing something asshole? How did that funding freeze work out? Clearing Gaza went over well with Egypt and Jordan did it? And those are just for starters. I agree, being against stupid is not enough. Although more than willing to make an exception in your case.
Reported to Substack Inc.
Thank you, Bryan. Why do people feed the trolls?
Hear, here! James has more fitting virtual venues in which to bloviate. If antagonism is his game, Substack may help us, but only therapy can help him.😉
I differ at times with those in this forum. I try to do it respectfully because, quite often, I am inaccurate or just plain wrong with assertions or argumentation. I am a conservative by temperament and upbringing; moral and religious teachings mean a lot to me. 🤔
When the values differ (e.g., my unwillingness to judge harshly my Trump-voting relatives or acquaintances) with others here, I have found a ready audience, willing to contest my view but doing so with dignity. I believe that exchange benefits me and the interlocuteur. 🤝
When I am attacked, I am conciliatory the first time; strained and restrained on the second attack from the same member; and, shorn of my gloves the third time with said jerk. ✍️
When I act the same way James has here (unprovoked), I get my head handed to me on a platter, sometimes with an apple lodge in my mouth (i.e., politely but decisively). That response brings me to the task of re-thinking my statements and, more importantly, revising my manner. 🪞
True conservative viewpoints and opinions are to be encouraged and in fact, welcomed. On the other hand, MAGA apologists and enablers are not. They serve no one but themselves.
I marvel at members of this venue: sagacious yet succinct. Perhaps, I sould start a venue called B.A.: 'Bloviators Anonymous'. 😉🤔🤭🤫
The ignorance in this one, is strong!
I used to hear a saying that 'some are sicker than others.'
That is harsh.
In James's case, I prefer, 'some are THicker than others.' 😉
From Ms Vance's pen to a Mosaic tablet. ⚖️
Hopefully, the push-back will work and snap voters out of fear, complaisance, and misapprehension. 🙏
I am participating in an 'Action Call' led by Adam Kinzinger tomorrow. ✌🏽
Most Trump voters in the landslide (sic or sick, not sure) voted for eggs not dregs. 🪞
What “landslide”? Trump got less than 50% of the votes cast and.a majority of voters cast ballots for some one other than him. You are absolutely right - those that keep repeating this.are sick. (Delusional is a form of sickness, right?)
hence "(sic or sick. not sure)" 😉
Getting hard to breathe with all of the disinformation flying around, ¿isn't it?
¡Holy scheiße, Batman!
https://youtu.be/1H8C0acqHbg
Jimmy Kimmel, Dr Heather Cox Richardson, Dr Bandy Lee, and Ms Vance are life-savers. They supply many necessary insights from the perspectives of history, the law, medicine, and, perhaps most important for me right now, humor.
Ah Ned, so right you are. Humor is an oxygenator for democracy, for each of us, for coming together, and for creative thinking on push back. And passion. Don’t you love the passion of those fabulously outspoken federal workers on Reddit and Blue sky? And, Thank you Joyce Vance!
Agreed Ned.
Ned, don’t feel bad about your ditzy blonde remarks, I got in trouble for a crude post myself! It involved Melania and Dick Tracy. And I apologized for that myself.🤣
Well, some of us (i.e., me) can not resist the lowest form of humor. Thank you for the empathy, Pam . . . and, almost as important, for the chuckle.
TRUMP 75,000,000
HARRIS 73,5000,000
Trump 312
Harris 230
Yes it was an electoral ass kicking.
You and I know that the Electoral College can be far more lop-sided than, even contradictory to, the popular vote. So, I chuckle with your irony. Thank you.
I sure hope he is!
Love this comment Leslie! Truth!
This guy surrounds himself with people who are as corrupt as he is.
FELON TRUMP is too DEPRAVED and EVIL to be shocked!! FELON TRUMP and POTUS MUSK MUST be REMOVED from office now!!
Word!
I repeat: If God exists, may she hear you and the devil be deaf!
AND contact your congress person and senator that the chaos is illegal and unconstitutional. It takes less than 5” online. Remember folks one foot in front of the other
I just released a post on how smart lawyers are pushing back against 6 trump initiatives. We've won three of them already!
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/our-first-big-win
Trump has halted the M-25-13 two page "impoundment" debacle at 6:13 PM Eastern.
Be Alert: Trump is covering his retreat on several "orders" with a new Agit-Prop misdirection which is to allegedly ship "migrants" to Guatanmo Bay.
NBC News specifically LESTER HOLT just reported tonight that 6 Pentagon Officials had "no knowledge" of any such plan.
OBVIOUS distraction from major policy failure(s) & his faux "orders".
Do you know that Trump's press secretary blamed the press for all misunderstanding of the impoundment order? Or perhaps it was Biden's fault…
Also, Trump regularly announces his plans to the world before he shares them with the government agencies who are supposed to carry them out.
She’s as bad as Kayleigh was. Look what Kayleigh’s law degree got her, a TV job where she embarrasses herself endlessly. She might have money but certainly no dignity.
And few brain cells.
I believe she's worse than McEnany, who famously claimed she "would never lie to you," and then proceeded to lie about everything. This current spokesliar, to her credit, did not make a statement about her veracity, but you can be sure, based on recent pronouncements, that she is unlikely to have any.
That woman is seriously hostile. Bet she doesn't last long.
The latest blonde Trumpian dipstick in lipstick...
blamed President Biden for the current 8 dollar?? price for a dozen
eggs....that keeps going up in price
the human printer, her prior job was to literally print any inane positive comment she could scrub from the internet. that is how depraved and insecure the orange diaper baby is!
I thought he was blaming Obama?
Because the performance is the chief thing; leave it to others to carry out the god-emperor's orders, and still others (Democrats, natch) to clean up the mess in four years.
And I believe she mentioned "not having to have a notebook" with her - as if that means ?what? Biden's two press secretaries each brought a notebook with information they could go to when they were questioned. I think - especially after her current debacles - that some actual information in front of her could possibly have been helpful! On the other hand, depends on where the info comes from.
Lester the ‘Lectroid grew some ‘nads? Say it ain’t so!
Lester reads the teleprompter.
Agit prop is propaganda?
More than mere propaganda but, calculated agitation to induce
confusion, chaos & conflict in order to manipulate targeted populations.
Just like it says. It’s propaganda that’s being thrown out like a washer on SPIN cycle.
Very good one SPW.
Thank you for the FDR quotes.
Patricia - impressive and hopeful and courageous
You’re a great writer and informant, Kathleen. Thanks!
I'm fortunate, I live in California & both my senators & my representative are dems so that is a relief but I call them. In fact I tell the people at my congressman's office that I will be a pest. I've already called them twice this week & once last week. Basically I just air my concern about everything that is going on & then mention a few individual items that I worry about. But today I went into detail about sending immigrants to Guantanamo. Since Guantanamo is not within the contiguaous US & it is on a military base there can be limited oversight on how these immigrants will be cared for. Gitmo has already experienced some bad press concerning the 9/11 prisoners so I can't see why it would be any different for people that this administration considers vermin & poisoning the blood of our country. If anything given the fact that they hope to house 30,000 I would imagine the place would be ripe for abuse. I hope we realize that this is how the Nazis started their plans, with quotas which trump wanted increased & they also had the very worst of their 'camps' pretty far removed from Germany. So much easier to keep the population ignorant of what is giong on!
So, yes call, & call often.
Maybe "Gitmo" would be a suitable retirement home for Trump and his cronies?
I’d get behind that in a NY minute.
Look at the history at Guantanamo. There will be no oversight, and the most barbaric of guards will be there. They are waiting delightedly for their chance to have no oversight over their actions towards migrant "criminals."
Generally speaking, though, wouldn't the current "administration" want to get all these immigrants returned to some other country as soon as possible? Sending them to Gitmo could result in another generation of "criminals" being housed in that unconstitutional foreign prison. It could be an embarrassment.
Sure. They would like to deport them but it's going to take way too long & there is already resistance from the destination countries, so the next "best" thing is internment camps, away from the prying eyes of the press, you know the "enemy of the people"!
You're on the right track here. Successive US administrations have happily used Guantanamo as a convenient nearby place totally under US control but beyond US jurisdiction, where captives can be treated in ways that would otherwise be offensive. Dubya's administration obviously had no confidence in normal US institutions like the presumption of innocence, jury trials etc when it came to dealing with these people, and so held them beyond the reach of the protective aspect of the law. But every succeeding administration has run with it.
Same here, rtn. I call also even though my reps in the House and Senate are Dems. Tomorrow, my House rep, Mark DeSaulnier. Is having a town hall meeting. His staff already reported that it is at full capacity but they’ll offer Facebook (which I got rid of) and/or YouTube.
call Sen. Lindsey Graham to pause the vote of Vought
Please call everyone on the Budget Committee:
.https://www.budget.senate.gov/about/committee-members.
Chair Lindsey Graham
.https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/.
Washington, DC 20510
Office: (202) 224-5972
His DC phone mail box may be full, call other offices
Ranking Member Jeff Merkley
.https://www.merkley.senate.gov/connect/office-locations/.
Phone: (202) 224-3753
Senate Switchboard (202) 224-3121.
I wrote to Graham and my email was rejected because I wasn’t from GA. Grrr…will call all of the rest.
Sure, call somebody and tell them how upset you are. That should work!
The protest needs a bit more intensity, more thinking outside the box. Peaceful ways to effect change.
Where's Country Joe MacDonald when we need him!
Action begins when we stop expecting other people to step up.
I have already written them all and also asked what I can do on my own personal level to support what needs to be upheld, and resist this awful deluge. I also asked what in general we can do as private citizens. (My answer would be to do what we can right where we are and with the opportunities presented to us! But I would still like as much input as they can give me!)
I joined and donate to Emily's List, upped my contribution to the ACLU, and contribute monthly to The Guardian and PBS. Small amounts, but I'm on a small, fixed income and this is what I can DO.
If you're able, something you can do that makes a big difference without costing money other than time & transportation is to attend local meetings & speak your values: school board, library board, city council, county council, town halls of your local, state, & federal representatives. Make sure all those boards see that you're paying attention and you care about what they do (for good or ill). <3
That’s a lot MJZ !!
Yes, contacting your representatives is good but despite it, Republicans will vote one way and Democrats will vote another. The recent despicable actions the administrations has adopted however can be seen to be a gift--we can point them out in our conversations with MAGAs as to how they are going to adversely affect their lives....
I think that a lot of people have felt either shut down or shut out, and when they see that other people are speaking up or writing letters, they may feel empowered to do the same with their own stories. I've seen it happening already. Ditto at the state level, because there are people there who also are doing jobs that will be affected by these so-called "directives". Some congressional folks are starting to come around and though some of them are lost causes, there are those who will respond if they hear from enough of their constituents.
Our best role in trying to reach right wing folks is to be willing to listen to their stories, but let them find the connections themselves (asking leading questions to open them up ok, but "pointing out" things is kind of patronizing. Illustrating with our own experiences, or fear, or losses works better than to make them seem clueless victims. They are entitled to a sense of dignity, and we serve democracy when we treat them that way, too.
Already doing this!! Dave McCormick newly elected Republican PA. Senator hearing from me. Like FELON TRUMP he is CURSED! Now, I MUST contact SEN. McCormick about last night's plane crash in D.C. since Sec. Of Def.(?) Hegseth's ARMY helicopter crashed into landing airplane!!
A spice company (Penzey’s in my home state of Wisconsin) saw this coming and declared on Jan 1 that 2025 would be the year of the government worker. They recently sent 370,000 bags of their new “Resist” spice blend to federal workers in Washington DC. They are aiming for a million nationwide.
We live in the era of corrupt billionaires backing the Felon in Chief, and cowardly companies like Target and Walmart and McDonald’s watering down or stopping their DEI initiatives. So I think it’s important to celebrate the courage of companies like Penzey’s who are trying to support government workers and like Costco who refused to change their DEI programs. I will choose to spend my money with them instead.
Their “About Republicans” page shows their courage
https://www.penzeys.com/shop/about-republicans/
I love that. I think I’ll order my next batch of spices from them.
And they are great spices!
Bill Penzey is a hero. he is relentless. I buy all of my spices from Penzey’s and they are the best! Bill has been a loyal & highly praiseworthy resister.
With Mary on the quality of spices 😊
I've been ordering from them for years
Our favorite is Justice spice blend. My son puts that on Everything!
My chef son only buys Penzey spices for me.
Amazing letter. Full of kindness and ethics. Thanks for sharing. I think I need to buy some spices!
Cool. Just went last week to pick up stuff.
Thanks for the link! I will be ordering from them today!
I saw this information on another Substack and immediately signed up with them and bought their on-sale box of Resist spices to hand out! Bless Bill Penzey for his courage!
I received one of those "Resist!" boxes and took it to my church last Sunday!
I vote for changing the name of the Big Mac to "Diversity Burger".
Love Penzey's! Pretty much all of my spices are from them. Bill's letter and initiatives are always welcome. Got me a HUG blanket, too!
Same here along with a couple or three of their pins. Big fan here 👍🏻.
So glad you mentioned Penzeys. I’ve used their herbs and spices for years. They are a great company and their founder, Bill Penzey, cannot stand this administration. That Resist combo came out in “honor” of trump’s first fiasco. It was a Penzey’s retail outlet in Pennsylvania that Kamala stopped in during her campaign. Support great small businesses.
My spice drawer is badly overdue for a complete clean out. Thanks for this post—when I’m home from vacation in New Zealand (I don’t think they’ll let me stay!) I’m putting in a big Penny’s order. NW
Thanks for this. Will order "Resist" spices. I posted Penzey's letter on Facebook but it did not appear on my feed. Instead A Facebook questionnaire popped up asking me to evaluate their service. So Creepy.
A Facebook request to evaluate Facebook's service. Creepy.
"Tell doctors at CDC, federal prosecutors at DOJ, or scientists at the Department of Agriculture that they can’t do their job, and they will find a way to get it done. Tell the entire bureaucracy you want them to leave? You’ve summoned the sleeping giant."
Thanks for this, JV - it is not only so true, but also GOOD to hear it again after (in midst of) an era of anti-expertise, anti-governance.
(Also, important to SAY it-)
Retired CDC Medical Epidemiologist - tnx again
I hope the civil servants across this country know how grateful so many of us are for their expertise and their dedication. Trump isn't fit to shine their shoes.
In the words of The Talking Heads, "this ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around." The fire of a thousand suns will annihilate this monsters. And, it will do so in rapid fashion as inertia builds to resist, repel, and to vanquish them. These are the continued growing pains of our fledgling, and fierce Democracy!
K
There is a wonderful, old movie called HOLIDAY, with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn (and Lew Ayres and Edward Evertt Horton, later of voice over fame in Rocky and Bullwinkle). I think it is about 1938. Brilliant, simple film based on a stage play — Grant is a young business whiz who came up hard. He is in love, or thinks he is in love, with the daughter of one of the richest men in America (think JP Morgan). Anyway, he hates business and wants to take a holiday from it, “for as long as it takes.” So in one scene, he is asked about a dilemma he faces and says, “whenever I am in that position, I just say to myself, ‘what would General Motors do,’ and then I do the opposite.” My point is this: if Trump offers it, do the opposite, because it is a trap, a cheat, a fraud, a lie, a scheme. Just do the opposite of whatever he wants and you can’t go wrong. ResisTrump © 2025 Surfing on Mars
Good lesson and your point is well taken--'if Trump offers it, do the opposite, because it is a trap, a cheat, a fraud, a lie, a scheme. Just do the opposite of whatever he wants and you can't go wrong.'
I like the wave you are riding 🏄🏽William.
Well said, Bryan.
Excellent comment, William.
I *love* that movie!! I'll have to pull out our DVD and watch it soon. Two of my most favorite Hollywood people ever: Cary Grant and Edward Everett Horton.
William - cool 👏
Federal employees must resist. They must persist. Throw every obstacle in the path of this Administration. They are the ones who will be hurt first when the continuing resolution expires in March and there is a government shutdown.
This is were we need the democratically oriented billionaires to provide financial support if needed
We do have Mr Soros who, I just read, bought 11 radio stations. Hey, people still listen. And there is Mackenzie(Bezos)Scott and Melinda French Gates who are trying to give their huge settlements away to all sorts of great causes. They keep them on the QT though so it’s rare to hear about them but they’re out doing what they can, as much as they can and frankly, they’re just making their exes look smaller than we already know them to be.
And Bloomberg - but we need these people front and center pushing back. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/01/23/michael-bloomberg-will-help-fund-un-climate-body-after-trump-withdraws-from-paris-climate-agreement/
I've changed my hairstyle so many times now, i don't know what I look like --- well, really, now I'm almost totally bald,
When I started practicing law, in 1970, I worked for a tax law firm. We did a lot of litigation with the IRS in administrative appeals. This was before hostility to the federal government became a very strong feeling, but you heard about it. I remember thinking, and saying, that if the average American knew the caliber and quality of the people we saw working for the IRS, they would be amazed. The agents were serious, competent, honest, dedicated and fair. We once did an 8-hour conference with 3 agents to settle an estate with numerous real estate holdings. And from other federal employees I've known over the years, I am sure that my experience was much more typical than exceptional.
https://youtu.be/R8eK9ZXf-Ow?si=zEHjWihwc-z3jRLM
I spent more than 20 years in the federal court and that was my exact experience with every.single.employee. I worked with there -- dedicated, extremely skilled, professional, hardworking, with the highest of ethics and total believers in the oath we all took to work there. For the most part it was, for me, 20 years of having to forgo vacations and other time with my family often because I couldn't get time off -- we were always short of employees. I have retired, but have the utmost respect for all the judges -- no matter who they were appointed by -- and staff at my court. I do not know whether they (obviously the judges wouldn’t get this offer as they are Article III appointees and enjoy the benefit of lifetime appointments along with lifetime salary) were recipients of this scam "offer" to resign and get money because, unfortunately, we were mostly "at-will" employees in federal court, not Civil Service, and didn't have any protections at all, and that may be a reason some people may take the scam offer. The First Felon is notorious for not paying his bills.
Not sure I agree with you about ALL the judges, but generally you are entirely correct.
I grew up in the Washington DC area. All our neighbors worked for the Federal Government: State Dept., lawyers with DOJ, USAID, the World Bank, the Pentagon and other defense jobs. They were all well educated, smart, dedicated people.
Every one of them. And most had lived around the world so they understood cultures.
Pete Seeger forever.
WAPO had some great profiles of several government workers not too long ago. Then read THE FIFTH RISK by Michael Lewis.
Every Trump appointee & anyone who was involved with writing Project 2025 should be required to read "The Fifth Risk" by Michael Lewis. Until I read that book, I had no idea how important these government workers's jobs are.
Definately read THE FIFTH RISK!
The threats in the OMB letter were poorly veiled. The letter is disgusting and undignified. Employees should fight the plan. They cannot be removed illegally without recourse. I believe a lawsuit would reinstate them with back pay and damages. The ACLU could be the clearinghouse and would love doing it. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/this-shall-not-stand?r=3m1bs
Completely unprofessional. MAGA wanted a businessman to run the country and they got this clown.
Yes, DJT is a clown, but he's Project 2025's clown. We're fortunate that they seem to think they have a mandate and are showing clearly, from the get-go exactly who they are.
Oh, Carl. The ACLU is on it.
These Reddit emails are so inspiring. Thanks for posting them, Joyce. Love our Federal workforce!
So glad that the federal employees are fighting back, if there is anything we can do to support them, please let us know!?
I know so many honorable Federal employees! I’m so hopeful they will stand up to the bully. He expects everyone to bow down and worship him. I’m on their team as a former forest service employee.
As per usual, they, (trump & his sycophants), have once again underestimated the people of the United States of America. We are stronger and better equipped to tell these assholes where to go with their high and mighty plans to tear this country apart with their bullshit. Americans won't put up with it, we will fight back, every inch!
They (Project 2025) didn't wait long enough for the dismantling of the "educated proletariat (See Roger A. Freeman, 1970) to be complete. They won't make this mistake again, so it's super important to take action now in a big way. First steps (after resist, resist, resist) need to be focused on education--as in civics and philosophy.
Well stated, Joyce. Helps us hope (and act).
Thank you Joyce. This morning I was reminded of the comradely we had during Covid to thank healthcare workers and the movie Network. By stepping outside or shouting out our windows “I’ve had enough and I am not going to take it anymore.” Day 8. If we all choose 6 pm we can create a tremolo across the land. Bringing our voices together in a wave. Just recently started using Reddit it’s awesome. Best regards stay strong. Joyce just showed us how powerful we are in this essay. Thank you Federal workers for all you do !!
Okay, I’m alarmed. According to Reuters, the Inspector General at USDA was hauled out of her office by security after she refused to leave under the belief that her firing did not follow protocols. How is this happening?
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/usda-inspector-general-escorted-out-her-office-after-defying-white-house-2025-01-29/
They’re thugs. I hope she has a good pro bono lawyer.
You know, if I cared about Donald Trump and wanted his administration to succeed, then I'd think twice about setting him up as Russell Vought's Project 2025 crash test dummy. I mean, the illegal firings, unconstitutional funding freeze, and the federal workforce f*ck-up.
With friends like Vought ...
But then... Russell Vought, Stephen Miller
Trump's twisted TweedleDee and TweedleDum ... we need a 2025 Pinky and the Brain.
https://youtu.be/VMxX_AlUzOQ?si=ygjN45jaUdklt0T-
Meanwhile, call Sen. Lindsey Graham to pause the vote of Vought
Please call everyone on the Budget Committee:
.https://www.budget.senate.gov/about/committee-members.
Chair Lindsey Graham
.https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/.
Washington, DC 20510
Office: (202) 224-5972
His DC phone mail box may be full, call other offices
Ranking Member Jeff Merkley
.https://www.merkley.senate.gov/connect/office-locations/.
Phone: (202) 224-3753
Senate Switchboard (202) 224-3121.
Thank you for this information, lin.