Friday, February 7, 2025

Bettering the Instruction

“The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.” ~ Shylock, The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare

Are we ready to go hard on some newly-learned villainy, Resisters?

Drew Sheneman


Today, we take a breather. The bad news is coming fast and furious. It's hard to keep up, but you Resisters have been doing it! Today, we focus on the positives!


Democracy = Action

“In a democracy, the highest office is the office of citizen.” ~ Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter (in office 1939-1962)


It's been extremely gratifying that so many people have been taking to the phones, to the streets, and sticking sticks in the spokes of Ketamine Caligula's and Shitler's machine. Let's look at the citizens putting democracy in action.

From Andy Borowitz, many reports of acts of resistance. Here are the ones he posted. Inspiring!


Demonstrations from coast to coast. The 50501 (50 protests in all 50 state capitols on 1 day) demonstrations on Wednesday brought out many. BuzzFeed has pictures. 

There have been demonstrations against ICE raids. Here is the news about the local protest, but there have been protests popping up around the country.

People are getting riled up! In my orbit, so many are discovering how to call their reps, and are doing so for the first time. The People are mobilizing! 

If you still can access WaPo, here's an article about the impact that your calls are making! Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) reports that the Senate was receiving 1600 calls per minute, compared to an average 40 per minute normally.

On Resistbot, once you send a message, it tells you how many messages have been sent in the previous 24 hours. In calmer days, it was 3,000 or 7,000. The numbers are growing. There were 17,000 messages sent last Tuesday, January 28. After the shit hit the fan over the weekend, it was 46,000 on Monday; 71,000 on Tuesday; and today (Friday), it was 121,000!  

Keep the momentum going, Resisters! There is still much work to be done!


Members of Congress have been riled up

They are getting going, thanks to our voices!

Democrat Rep. Mark Pocan from Wisconsin has introduced a bill called the Eliminate Looting of Our Nation by Mitigating Unethical State Kleptocracy (ELON MUSK) Act. It seeks to ban special government employees (SGEs; Muskovite has been given that designation) from obtaining federal contracts. 

Rep. Al Green (D-Tex.) plans to bring articles of impeachment against IQ47 after his comments about "taking over" Gaza. Yes, I know: it won't go anywhere with the lily-livered Repugs lapping up every shit stain Diaper Don flings about. But, it's something. It's been said out loud. 

Democrat Reps. Judy Chu (Calif.) and Gwen Moore (Wisc.) burst into Speaker Mike Johnson's office to confront him about Musty and DOGE running ramshod over our nation. 

Other Dems have written letters to the Secretary of Transportation and the NASA Acting Director over conflict-of-interest concerns.

Several others from Wisconsin and Colorado and beyond have raised concerns. 

Can I just take a moment to be sad and outraged again over Sen. McConnell's blocking 45's conviction in the first two impeachments? If only he had been convicted, we would not be in this mess. 


Courts are putting blocks up
  • U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotellyon put a block up and limited Muskovite's access to the Treasury Department's systems. The Treasury Department capitulated and agreed to limit access to DOGE while the court hears the case.

The Press is Adding Sand to the Gears
An important strategy is to get Trump34  to sour on Musk. Time Magazine is doing a good job of that with its cover. Here is the accompanying story. 



One of Elong's boys, Marko Elez, resigned after The Wall Street Journal found a now-deleted Twitter account that contained racist posts, including calling for “eugenic immigration policy” and to “normalize Indian hate.”

The stilts are cracking
Republican voters' support for Musk has stated to slip according to a new Economist/YouGov poll. As The Hill reports, "in the days after the November 2024 election, 47 percent of surveyed Republicans said they wanted Musk to have 'a lot' of influence in the Trump administration, while 29 percent wanted 'a little' and 12 percent wanted him to have 'none at all.'"

Now, "the share of Republicans who say they want Musk to have 'a lot' of influence has fallen substantially to 26 percent. Meanwhile, 43 percent of Republican respondents say they want Musk to have 'a little' influence, and 17 percent say they want him to have 'none at all."

Not surprisingly, support has slipped for Democrats and independent voters, but not as dramatically as for Repugs. This data may help more GOP MoCs to reconsider their support. 

Repug senators are at least quietly expressing concern over Elon Dude and his merry band of thieves.

Repugs are breaking with the Mango Mussolini over his whack-a-doodle Gaza idea. This was another spur-of-the-moment random thought that flitted through his brain bucket, found the one functioning neuron, and landed in his mouth. Everyone – including his own staff – were thrown for a loop. 

It is a safe place for Repugs to resist. But every time they do resist, it's a win.

Here's The Daily's Show's Desi Lydic's take on that and other drips of shit:



Easy Acts of Resistance. Do one today.
Democracy is people in the streets, on the phones, writing letters, and staying informed. Keep up the good work, Resisters!
 
The following are easy, low-risk acts of resistance that you can do today and this weekend. Much of it is just reading homework. 
  • Read the United States Constitution. It's an accessible document; it's The People's document. Yes, the language is archaic at times, but it really is easy to read. Find it online here. Get a pocket copy from the government here. Buy a few and give them to your friends!
Side note: I wonder why Congress isn't enacting Article 1, Section 8, Clause 15. One of their powers as outlined in Article 1 is, "To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions."
  • Related: know your rights. Citizen and non-citizens have rights. Read here. Share the information. The Constitution is still in full effect! 
  • Download the 5Calls app or bookmark the webpage. Just download and bookmark today if you are overwhelmed; tomorrow and next week use it to become more informed on the issues and to contact your Members of Congress. All members of Congress need to know that you are paying attention and that you care. And that you vote! 
  • If their lines are always busy or their voicemail is full, use Resistbot to write an email or a fax. 
  • In your letters, remind them that Congress and only Congress has the power of the purse as outlined in Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution. They should not give their power away!
  • If your Members are doing the right thing, send a message thanking them.
  • Write a letter to your bank. Banking controls a lot. If enough of us push them to act, they may have some influence. It's worth a try. Here is my letter; use it or write your own.
  • Freeze your credit. The data breach is massive. Go to the three credit bureaus and put a freeze on. It's easy, and if you need to access your credit for a loan application, for example, it's easy to temporarily lift the freeze. It might not technically be an act of resistance, but protecting yourself is peace of mind, which frees you to do other acts! Learn how to freeze your credit here.
  • Go on Resistbot and write to your state reps (5Calls does not connect you to state-level officials – although I see an option today to call your state AG). Ask your reps, the state attorney general, and your governor to do what they can to bring state charges against Elon Musk for all the shenanigans he's been committing. This can keep the DOJ from interfering, and bonus: state charges are not eligible for presidential pardons.
  • Keep talking about Elon. Keep the focus on him. King Ketchup is soon going to get very jealous of the ratings that his buddy is getting. Any wedge you can put between them, the better. Send an empty envelope to "President Elon Musk" or "King Elon Musk" to the Whitewash House or Mar-a-Lardo. I did both!
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Mar-a-Lago
1100 S. Ocean Blvd.
Palm Beach, FL 33480

 Do you have any other ideas to get a wedge between their egos?

  • I repeat an act of resistance that should be done every day: do self-care activities. Find joy in your life. Breathe deeply when you feel overwhelmed. Tune out when you need to, and then come back. We need you at your best. The Resistance doesn't work if everyone is under their beds. 
  • Read this. Just read it for now. Then repeat the one just above. 
  • Read this and gird yourself for the fight. Protests work!  Sign up for alerts and newsletters from Indivisible; they will tell you about protests upcoming. Go to the dollar store for some sign supplies, and get ready for the next call to action.
  • Read this and always be prepared to be safe when you do go to a protest.
  • Follow AltNPS on Facebook or BlueSky. They are on the front lines. Not only are they the first to get information out, they need our support!

MEMES and TOONS

There hasn't been time or head space to include a lot in the last few posts, so here is your dose of satire, information, and hard-hitting editorial journalism in picture form. 

Laugh, cry, be inspired!

Go, AltNPS, go!


Let's embrace our fierce, fierce representatives!


and 

@edensingsofficial Replying to @PapaPanda81 your wish is my command 🥰 “The Ballad of Jasmine Crockett” parody #parodysong #folkmusic #jasminecrockett #folk ♬ original sound - Eden


Throw-back to Covid days. Expect a repeat when bird flu hits
Dennis Goris









Clay Bennett










Ted Littleford





Jack Ohman

Matt Wuerker

Dennis Goris


Mike Luckovich

Dave Granlund

Nick Anderson





They are taking 'Murcan jobs!




Lalo Alcarez

Clay Bennett

Nick Anderson



Drew Sheneman

Jack Ohman

Chris Britt



Steve Breen



Nick Anderson







Jack Ohman


Chris Britt





Nick Anderson






Jack Ohman

Chris Britt




Lalo Alcarez


This man. This man knew what was up. I miss him!



Jack Ohman





Lalo Alcarez

Clay Bennett


Chris Britt


Oh that we were all Gothamites!



Rubin Bolling




Ann Telnaes











Take this one with you through the weekend! ⬇️


And one non-political chortler...



Thank you, Resisters, for all you do! Now, go do it!






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Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Democracy

“The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself—always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested in adversity.” ~ Jimmy Carter


Here we are, in the roiling turbulence. Keep your seatbelts securely tightened while we get through it.

democracy (n): A government by the people; the rule of the majority.

Note to MAGA, Donnie Diapers, and Musk: We are the majority! It's our government. And we will prevail!

If you are like me, you are terrified by what is happening in D.C. This post is to inform you, reassure you, motivate you, and spur you to action. 

You are not alone. In fact, there are millions and millions of us out there. Each one can do a small thing to get our power back. It is heavy, it may take time, but like the proverbial rubber tree, we are many ants. 

Last night, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did a Live Instagram. She was funny, inspiring, and provided some hope. It's long, but I hope you'll carve out some time to watch it. Watch it in parts; speed up the replay; do what you can to fit it in. 


If you don't watch it, I have a TL;DW (too long; didn't watch) version for you. Cuz I took notes! 😉 

You'll have to put up with a heavy dose of LSR-ness and side-thoughts, though.

Firstly
Take a breath. You are not alone. Overwhelming you is part of their playbook. Do not let the barrage of events paralyze you. The fear must not win. Take another breath. Continue to face the facts, but don't let it stop you, make you hopeless, or make you cynical. 

The Motivations
Much of the reason, AOC surmises, that this is happening now and outside of Congress, is because the tax cuts for billionaires enacted in 2017 is set to expire in 2025. Musk wants these cuts intact, but to pay for them, he has to find $4 trillion in the budget. Thus, the slash and burn.

Side note: I'm not so sure; I think his main driving force is power and hate. And foreign allegiances (I'm looking at you, Putie).

The by-far biggest budget in the federal government, though, is defense spending. Government contracts account for a huge expenditure. Musk has numerous contracts; other billionaires do too. 

Contractors are notorious for waste and overcharges, and there is plenty of room for cuts. A normal system of oversight would look to pare down waste there. But this is not a normal system, and as long as the foxes are watching over the hen house, there is no chance of that. So, Musk turns to other programs.

Medicaid itself has $2 trillion in the budget. USAID has $40 billion. The Department of Education has $79 billion. Other assistance programs that help the poor and working class have other billions. 

Why rely on Congress and the U.S. Governmental Accountability Office – the office we already have to be a waste watchdog – when you can muscle your way in with your pimply-faced twerps and shut down an agency lock, stock, and barrel? And steal data while you're in there?

And the private prison industry? They are itching for the immigration raids to ramp up so they can sell their beds or cots or cardboard mats to "house" the poor souls who get caught in the nets. Those budgets will certainly not be cut. 

The Vulnerabilities of the Other Side
  • The numbers. We are the majority! We outnumber the 1% by millions. We outnumber their voters, and we truly outnumber those trying to steal power. 
  • Their egos. These are big-talking men with wittle fragile egos. She said they are like the Wizard. They rely on their perceived power rather than their actual power. If we can dig at their ego, we can get leverage.

What Can We Do?
  • Resist. Cause friction. Slow down their march. She said, "The slower they go, the less they can break."
  • Know Your Rights. And help others understand theirs. I've pointed you to this before, but everyone in the land has rights, documented or not. It's important for everyone to understand them. Here are rights in terms of immigration. Share this information with flyers or cards. Take them to relevant stores and businesses; hand out cards. 

  • If you are a federal employee, resist the buyout offer. It's bogus.
  • Contact your members of Congress. Make your views known. Even in very red or very blue places: they need to know we are paying attention and that we care. They work for you. Tell them what you want them to do; thank them when they do it. “If you have a plan, we want to hear it. Tell your community leaders, your local officials, your governor, and your team in Washington. Believe me, your ideas count. An individual can make a difference.” — George H.W. Bush (quote is my addition; not AOC's)
  • Specifically, today, call them and ask that they not advance any cabinet nominee until Musk and his kiddie cabal (nickname mine) stop their infiltration. 
  • Learn who is on the Congressional committees. Find out what committees your MoCs are on. Pay attention. 
  • VOTE. A wide margin of victory in a prior election which shrinks in the next election is frightening to an elected official.
  • Specifically, there are some open house seats with special elections coming up. The current House majority is extremely slim. They have a four-seat margin, which may be able to be paired down. Or at least we may be able to put the fear into other Repugs who are vulnerable in 2026. They watch the election margins closely. It's not just who wins, but by how much. LSR side note: Keep an eye on Postcards to Voters for postcard campaigns for these upcoming special elections. Help get the Dem vote out! 
    • Florida's 1st Congressional District to replace Matt Gaetz: April 1, 2025
    • Florida's 6th Congressional District to replace Michael Waltz: April 1, 2025
    • New York's 21st Congressional District to replace Elise Stefanik: date TBA (NY Dems are trying to keep her seat vacant for as long as possible)
In 2026, the Repug districts that carried Joe Biden or Kamala Harris are vulnerable and can be unseated. 
  • "Divide and conquer." AOC framed this as each taking a small piece of the huge, huge tasks in front of us and "jiggle every door handle" to find something that works. Keep trying. Keep trying! Side note: I take "divide and conquer" as also finding ways to get a wedge between Muskovite and Emperor Hiro-Cheeto. Their egos are so big that both of them can't fit in the Oval Office at the same time. We've got to get Don Poorleone to get sour on Elong. The sooner, the better.

Be Assured
Congress is back in session. They were off last week visiting their districts, which is why Elmo and Don the Con acted when they did. Members are taking action and speaking out, more below.

Unpredictable things can happen. AOC gave herself as an example. She won against an entrenched House member (20-year incumbent; #4 House Democrat) in 2018 and fought against the establishment of the Democrat party in New York. She is a unicorn: she takes no PAC money and has become a powerhouse in the House, despite being an outsider Democrat. 

There are several lawsuits pending against the executive orders. 

Dems are back in D.C. and ready to act. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies (NY) sent a letter to his colleagues outlining a plan of action. 

Other Dems went to the buildings. They were denied entry to the USAID building, but Rep. Jamie Raskin spoke. He said: 
"Elon Musk you didn't create USAID; the United States Congress did for the American people. And just like Elon Musk did not create USAID, he doesn't have the power to destroy it and who's going to stop him? We are! We're going to stop him! Elon Musk you may have illegally seized power over the financial payment systems of the United States Department of Treasury but you don't control the money of the American people – the United States Congress does that under Article One of the Constitution. And just like the President who is elected to something cannot impound the money of the people, we don't have a fourth branch of government called "Elon Musk," and that's going to become real clear. This illegal unconstitutional interference with congressional power is threatening lives all over the world."

Watch him here:

 


Sen. Elizabeth Warren was also speaking out:



Rep. Jeffries and Sen. Schumer introduce "Stop the Steal" bill
The minority leaders of both houses of Congress introduced a bill they are calling "Stop the Steal," meant to "prevent unlawful meddling in the Treasury Department’s payment systems and protect Americans across the country."

Unfortunately, it is mostly symbolic and bound to fail, given the Repug majorities in both houses and the GOP insistence on propping up these bad actors. It will, however, get people talking and thinking. 

AOC's Conclusions
  • We are going to win. It's a choice, she said, to decide to win. If you don't decide to win, you lose. 
  • They want you in fear and paralysis. Don't succumb. Take a breath, regulate your emotions.
  • They are little men with fragile egos. 
  • Small acts matter! Do what you can and know that what you can do, is enough. 
"Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could do only a little." —Edmund Burke (LSR loves quotes, if you haven't noticed)


My Conclusions
We need more like this from our elected officials. When you call or write to your MoCs, ask them to report back what they are doing. Ask for town hall meetings. Attend town hall meetings. Keep paying attention! 

Divide and Conquer: AOC framed "divide and conquer" to mean to divide the labor and conquer the tasks. I propose the other view of divide and conquer: Divide the egos. Take them down, set them against each other. Conquer them. 

More reassurance from writer and journalist Jay Michaelson. I quote his post in its entirety:
Hello!  I'm posting in response to the many sincerely anguished claims that not enough is being done to stop Trump.  This is not reflected in the facts. 
- Represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group and State Democracy Defenders Fund, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed suit on Monday against the Treasury Department “for sharing confidential data with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Elon Musk.”  Go to Public Citizen's website to learn all about this lawsuit, which is very likely to prevail. 
- On USAID, appearing with other Democratic lawmakers outside USAID offices on Monday, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) shouted, “Elon Musk, you didn't create USAID. The United States Congress did for the American people … like Elon Musk did not create USAID, he doesn't have the power to destroy it. And who's going to stop him? We are...  This a constitutional crisis that we are in today.”   Lawsuits have also been filed in this matter, and are also likely to prevail. 
- Hakeem Jeffries has announced lawsuits have been filed regarding the firings of inspectors general. 
- On Jan 21, Democracy Forward, was filed at 12:01 p.m. ET on Monday and accused Elon Musk's DOGE of being a "shadow operation led by unelected billionaires" that flouts federal transparency rules.  That should win. 
- National Security Counselors filed a suit arguing that DOGE meets the requirements to be a federal advisory committee and is therefore legally required to have "fairly balanced" representation, keep regular minutes of meetings and allow public access to meetings.  Clearly accurate. 
- Eighteen state attorneys general and a slew of immigrants' rights groups brought swift legal action against Trump after he signed his executive order seeking to ban birthright citizenship for some children born in the U.S., arguing that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment.  Obviously, clearly unconstitutional. 
- "Schedule F" has been challenged in court by the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents employees in 37 agencies and departments.   
- Several immigrant rights groups in the United States, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s ban on asylum claims. 
- GLAD Law and the National Center For Lesbian Rights (NCLR) have sued to stop Trump's ban on trans people in the military. 
And there are many more - I'll link to a great list of them in the comments. 
Yes, there are Trump judges in the courts, and if Aileen Cannon types get these cases, Trump may prevail.  But most judges are not like her.  These actions are clearly illegal and/or unconstitutional, and they WILL be stopped. 
Just like the tariffs were not meant to prevail -- Trump won that round, "forcing" Canada and Mexico to take "action" on fentanyl -- these actions are not meant to prevail.  They're meant to flood the zone with shit, confuse and immobilize us.   
They said they'd do "Shock and Awe" and that's what they've done.  Nothing here should be surprising. 
Shock and Awe is up to YOU.  I am not shocked, I am not in awe. 
Oh, and the "mainstream media" has reported on all of these.  The info above has come from Newsweek, the NY Times, and other mainstream sources.  Please stop attacking journalists when we are being threatened by the FBI.  Who do you think you're helping by doing that?  
Stop it with the doomsaying and gloomsaying.  Want to make a difference?  Give thousands of dollars to Public Citizen, the ACLU, and similar groups.  Show up at marches.  Put your ass on the line and help protect people from ICE.  If you're safe, do simple symbolic things (like changing your social media pictures) to support people who are not safe.  Just like we should not obey in advance, we should not panic in advance either.  This is not the end of democracy.  That is just what the bad guys want you to think.  Get over it and fight.


Look at this would-be king, attended by baby boys staying out way past their bedtime. Is this the best he's got?
Ann Telnaes




The Resistance 
I told you how I got my first whiff of this shit from AltNPS on social media. The group now has nearly 100,000 federal employees under their umbrella. If you want to support them, they have a little store. Pick up a T-shirt or sticker and wear your alliance proudly.

From their early days, but still relevant!


Your Moment of Beauty

Normalize being nice.

[image or embed]

— Scott Galloway (@profgalloway.com) February 2, 2025 at 9:46 PM

Take a breath, Resisters. Do something good for yourself. Then, gird up. We got this, together. 






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Sunday, February 2, 2025

Terrorocracy

Ok, folks, buckle in. We must face the abject terror

There have been tariffs imposed on Canada, Mexico, and China. The economy will be disrupted. Stock futures are down sharply as I write this on Sunday evening, and economists agree that prices will rise. The three countries are likely to retaliate with tariffs, and there will be ripple effects throughout manufacturing, shipping, and of course prices. 

Donnie Dumbass has said that we are in for "some pain."

But that's just the shiny "Look over there!" thing. 

The real terror is that the government is being infiltrated and dismantled by Elon Musk

Over the weekend, Musk's team has infiltrated the computer systems in the Treasury Department as well as the offices of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) offices. 

They pushed their way in, despite management trying to keep them out, and used drives to access data in the computers. It is not known if they installed programs or only removed data. 

My early source for most of this information? Alt National Park Service, a coalition of federal employees who banded together during TЯUMP 1.0 to resist efforts to dismantle and damage our National Parks systems. This time around, they remain strong and lead the resistance among federal employees. The regular media has been slow and lethargic in reporting what I see as an extremely alarming set of events.

First, they came for the Treasury Department
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rolled out the red carpet for Musk's cronies from the bogus Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) late Friday, after David Lebryk, a career civil servant, had tried to resist them. Lebryk was soon put on leave and then suddenly retired. 

Though there are reports that these DOGE people have been made employees of the Treasury Department and supposedly passed background checks, what they are attempting smells extremely rotten to me. 

To remind you, the Treasury Department is the origin of trillions upon trillions of dollars earmarked for federal payments. Their systems hold extremely sensitive information. From The New York Times: "Access to the system has historically been closely held because it includes sensitive personal information about the millions of Americans who receive Social Security checks, tax refunds and other payments from the federal government."

Now as a result of this takeover, some DOGE lackeys have all that information. One of those toadies is Tom Krause, CEO of Silicon Valley company, Cloud Software Group. 

Others are these twerps. They have millions of social security numbers. Yes, probably even yours.



So far, no disbursements have been stopped. But it has been only two days since this happened. How convenient that this all went down on the weekend, when Congress was out of session, and just as the bright shiny tariffs took effect.

To be clear: the Treasury Department does not make any decisions about the money; that is the responsibility of Congress and the agencies from which the money originates. The department simply disburses the funds, including Medicare and Social Security funds, and as Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) noted, to contractors, some of which are Elon Musk's competitors. 


Next, they infiltrated USAID
USAID was founded by President Kennedy in 1961, and is, according to Wikipedia (because the USAID website is down), "An independent agency of the United States government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $50 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance – the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms."

A large part of USAID's mission is humanitarian aid, and they disburse billions of dollars around the world. From AP: "The U.S. is by far the world’s largest donor of humanitarian aid, with USAID administering billions of dollars in humanitarian, development and security assistance in more than 100 countries."

Not only does USAID give a ton of foreign aid, their computers contain a ton of classified information.

Yesterday (Saturday), more of Musk's kiddie cabal stormed in and demanded access to computers. There were some in the agency who tried to resist, and they were placed on leave. 

These twerps gained access to the computers and made off with materials – taking boxes out of the building. This agency handles classified information, including intelligence reports. These people did not have the proper security clearance to see this material, let alone take it away! 

The sign came off of the buildings. The website was taken offline.  The USAID un-Twitter account disappeared.

What the fuck is happening??

From Alt National Parks Service: "Hundreds of USAID employees have been fired or furloughed, and foreign aid operations were suspended after Trump issued a freeze on aid. The agency’s public affairs team has also been placed on leave and locked out of their systems."

From AP: "Musk on Sunday responded to an X post about the news by saying, 'USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.' He followed with multiple additional posts on X about the aid agency."

Says who? 

Understand this, Resisters: A coup is underway.

I encourage you to follow Alt National Parks Service on Bluesky. They were the first to share all of these alarming developments, before the media and Congress had wiped the sleep out of their eyes. AltNPS is resisting hard and sharing information with each other and with the public. Being boots on the ground, they are the first ones to see what is going on. Support them, please.




Meanwhile, the terror continues for migrants and other people with brown skin


Raids are happening from coast to coast. Fox News reports 7,400 people arrested so far. 

Citizens are being caught in the net, including a U.S. Veteran and folks from the Navajo Nation, and in Milwaukee, a family from Puerto Rico who was overheard speaking Spanish.

Protests are popping up in places like Los Angeles, San Diego, and north Texas.

What you can do: 
  • Look up your local Indivisible group and find out the local resources in your area. 
  • Get the phone number for response groups. If you see ICE, call them. The local group's number here is (805) 870-8855.
  • Distribute information resources like those from the ACLU and National Immigration Law Center. 
  • Print and distribute cards with information: Here's one.
  • Contact your local school board and ask that they ensure every child's safety and well-being.
  • Donate to local or national organizations that are helping. The ACLU and NILC above are two; there are likely local groups -- reach out to Indivisible; they can point you in the right direction.

Nick Anderson



Your Moment of Action
First, go to the three credit reporting agencies and freeze your report. Put secondary security measures on your financial accounts. And then: 

IT IS YOUR JOB: Flood your Members of Congress with calls insisting on the stop to Elon Musk's activities! Call today and again tomorrow. Use the scripts on Five Calls and insist that Congress halt Musk's overreach! Five Calls will find your Members of Congress for you. You can also call your MoCs directly by finding their numbers here: Find Your Members. Or use Resistbot. Please, please, call or write! 

This should alarm all of us! We must act! Please call, red states or blue states, we must make noise!


Your Moment of Beauty 
@dogsjustwannahavefun3 #fypage #foryou #fyp #dogvideos #cutedogs #labrador #goldenretriever #goldador #pets #dog #funnydog #cute ♬ Soul Bossa Nova (From "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery") - Movie Tribute Stars

Looking for memes and toons? 
I promise, they are coming! Watch this space!


#RESIST! RESIST HARD!





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Saturday, February 1, 2025

The Idiocracy

"The common curse of mankind, folly and ignorance, be thine in great revenue!" – Thersites, Troilus and Cressida, William Shakespeare

There is so much bullshit flowing from the Whitewash House these days, it becomes overwhelming. Today I am going to focus just on stooooopid stuff from IQ47. He really is an ignorant fool!

We know he's an idiot since Drumpf 1.0 and before, like "windmills cause cancer;" staring straight into the sun during an eclipse; lauding the up-and-coming Frederick Douglass; celebrating the airplanes that fought during the Revolutionary War; purporting that exercise "depletes the body's reserves of energy;" his transparent attempts to use the alias "John Barron" on business phone calls; urging more raking on the forest floor; encouraging injecting or ingesting bleach to cure Covid; his woeful ignorance on how a grocery store works; it goes on and on.

Just in the last two weeks of his second term:

He nominated other idiots to cabinet positions, most on a whim.
Lets' see... who can flatter me or get good ratings on TV?
  • A weekend TV host for Secretary of Defense, who has credible allegations of alcohol abuse on the job and allegations of sexual assault? Are you fucking kidding me? 
  • An avowed anti-vaxxer overseeing our entire health apparatus? Excuse me? 
  • A puppy killer to head Homeland Security? Is this real life? 
  • A WWF wrestler and child-sexual-abuse enabler for Education Secretary? What is happening?
  • Excuse me, what??! A Russian propagandist for Director of National Intelligence????

Since I don't have all day, just look at this one idiot, Robert "Viruses are our friends" Kennedy, Jr. That link has videos with some of his more outrageous and bizarre statements about health and welfare. This is a dangerous man.


He said DEI was responsible for the fires in Los Angeles
What part of drought combined with 100mph winds combined with a tiny spark don't you understand?

The Magats were up in arms about three *gasp* lesbians in charge of the firefighting efforts. 


He went on and on about "giant faucets" in the north that can be turned to allow water to flow to parched Southern California
He actually sent out this tweet. It is a lie. It is a bizarre lie. It is a very stupid lie.



He mixed up his own failings with regard to air safety with previous administrations
There was a tragic air collision over the Potomac River last week. A passenger jet was imminently landing, at an altitude of 350 feet, when it collided with a Blackhawk helicopter. All passengers and crew of both aircraft, 67 souls in all, perished. 

In the week before the crash:



Then he blamed the prior administrations, both Biden and Obama, as well as DEI for the crash. From AP:
Q: “Are you saying this crash was somehow caused as the result of diversity hiring? And what evidence have you seen to support these claims?”

TRUMP: “It just could have been. We have a high standard. We’ve had a much higher standard than anybody else. And there are things where you have to go by brainpower. You have to go by psychological quality, and psychological quality is a very important element of it. These are various, very powerful tests that we put to use. And they were terminated by Biden. And Biden went by a standard that seeks the exact opposite. So we don’t know. But we do know that you had two planes at the same level. You had a helicopter and a plane. That shouldn’t have happened. And, we’ll see. We’re going to look into that, and we’re going to see. But certainly for an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest. We want somebody that’s psychologically superior. And that’s what we’re going to have.”

Q: “You have today blamed the diversity elements but then told us that you weren’t sure that the controllers made any mistake. You then said perhaps the helicopter pilots were the ones who made the mistake.”

TRUMP: “It’s all under investigation.”

Q: “I understand that. That’s why I’m trying to figure out how you can come to the conclusion right now that diversity had something to do with this crash.”

TRUMP: “Because I have common sense. OK? And unfortunately, a lot of people don’t. We want brilliant people doing this. This is a major chess game at the highest level. When you have 60 planes coming in during a short period of time, and they’re all coming in different directions, and you’re dealing with very high-level computer, computer work and very complex computers.”

No. You don't have common sense. You don't have any sense.

And:
Trump was challenged on his claim that the FAA under Democratic presidents had promoted the hiring of people with disabilities. The page Trump referenced has existed on the FAA’s website for a decade, including his first term.

Q: “The implication that this policy is new or that it stems from efforts that began under President Biden or the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, is demonstrably false. It’s been on the FAA’s website —”

TRUMP: “Who said that, you?”

Q: “No, it’s on the website, the FAA’s website. It was there from 2013 ... it was there for the entirety, it was there for the entirety of your administration, too. So my question is, why didn’t you change the policy during your first administration?”

TRUMP: “I did change it. I changed the Obama policy, and we had a very good policy. And then Biden came in and he changed it. And then when I came in two days, three days ago, I signed a new order, bringing it to the highest level of intelligence.”

Former Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, absolutely spanked him in a tweet:



When asked if he would visit the crash site, as is customary for a president to do after disasters, IQ47 said, "I have a plan to visit, not the site. Because you tell me, what’s the site? The water? You want me to go swimming?"

This man is a complete, undeniable, certifiable idiot!


He is imposing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico and 10% on goods from China

Tariffs start today. Watch for higher prices tomorrow. Idiot!


He tried – and thankfully failed – to freeze most federal spending. 
His order to freeze $3 trillion worth of grants and loans caused all kinds of confusion and chaos throughout the country. 
  • Research facilities had to pause their trials. How about that, cancer patients? You won't get your dose of experimental medications. 
  • The Medicaid website was shut down. Would anyone be able to receive their benefits? 
  • Schools, non-profits, and police stations, among others, were thrown into confusion. 
  • Congress didn't know what was happening. No one knew what was happening. 
Less than 12 hours later, a judge blocked the order, and a few hours after that, IQ47 rescinded the order.

What an absolute idiot. That money is not at the mercy of his whim to decide it shouldn't be spent. He doesn't understand how this works. Congress holds the purse strings. Those funds were lawfully allocated, Babyhands illegally paused them, and he can fuck right off.


He has decreed that thousands of migrants will be shipped to Guantánamo Bay
"Many people don't even know" that the military facility can hold 30,000 people. That's because it can't. The facility can humanely house in the hundreds. At most, the facility has held 780 prisoners. Unless they plan to built huge tent cities – and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the plan – then, no, 30,000 people are not going to be able to be held at Guantánamo.


Don't even get me started on the idiots who surround him! 
There's too much to get into, but a couple recent ones:
  • Border Czar Tom Homan allowing Dr. Phil to tag along on immigration raids. WTAF.
  • Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem using "One Hot Mama" as her walk-up song at her first DHS presser.
Lyrics include:
"And you're 
One hot mama
You turn me on
Let's turn it up
And turn this room
Into a sauna
One hot mama
Oh what you say babe
You wanna?"





What's wrong with being led by an idiot?
A lot. Is it good for the country to be led by someone who doesn't know how things work and doesn't care to learn? Who "loves the poorly educated" and they love him? Who makes shit up when he doesn't know the answer?

He doesn't care that he isn't informed or intelligent; he'll just pretend to know from here until kingdom come. The Dunning-Kruger Effect is strong in this one.

He's really, really good at lying and boasting, and he'll call you a liar if you challenge him. He's confident in his buffoonery. It's called being a con man for a reason.

One of the problems with such idiocy is that he is easily manipulated. He's not doing much but spouting the first thing that comes to his head and railing against anyone and anything that does not work in his own interest. If you flatter him, he'll give you power, including power over him. 

The miscreants that surround him are the real dangers. Puppet master Steven Miller, first and foremost. I am convinced this racist weasel has been the one thrusting most of this ill upon us, directing his puppet for years without so much as tangling a string. Of course, the new(ish) players, too, are exerting their nefarious influence. The Tech Bro Oligarch Gang is moving their chess pieces over the country's checkerboard to install their king. 

In the meantime, we get this:

Andrew Harnik / AP



That's all the idiocy I can handle today. We will get to terrifying, illegal, hateful, and evil aspects in a future post. 


Your Moment of Beauty

A Litany for Survival
    By Audre Lorde
For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children’s mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours;
 
For those of us
who were imprinted with fear
like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
learning to be afraid with our mother’s milk
for by this weapon
this illusion of some safety to be found
the heavy-footed hoped to silence us
For all of us
this instant and this triumph
We were never meant to survive.
 
And when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid
 
So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive.

"A Litany for Survival." Copyright © 1978 by Audre Lorde, from The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde by Audre Lorde. Copyright © 1997 by the Audre Lorde Estate. From The Poetry Foundation.


Your Moment of Inspiration 
Please read this inspirational piece by Joyce Vance. The Resistance is out there. Let's keep the faith.

If you know a federal employee, encourage them to seek counsel before committing. The shysters behind this stinky proposition do not intend to pay anything to anybody.


Your Moment of Action
Go to Postcards to Voters and write postcards in support of Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford. Good judges are a balm for idiocy.


If you want to read more about the current state of stupidity, The New York Times coincidentally published a piece titled "The Six Principles of Stupidity" last week.

And remember, we have the smarts. "The dullness of the fool is the whetstone of the wits." – Celia, As You Like It, William Shakespeare

Let's sharpen up our wits, Resisters, and get to fighting back!



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