yardwork
yardwork's JournalCalling all bitches
Obligatory disclaimer: As a lesbian in the Crone phase of my life, I wholeheartedly embrace the term "bitch" as a retaking and female empowering of a term used by the patriarchy to put down women. I am activating my bitch power. Please read on. If you disagree, argue here.
Edit to clarify that men and everyone else are welcome to join, too. Not reserved for women. Bitches unite and let's kick some ass!
Regarding this crisis: I've noticed that people who want power over others focus on that one goal. They aren't distracted by other issues, such as questioning themselves, worrying about how others feel, etc. This is how they build power. Everybody else is trying to live their lives, with a complicated mix of feelings and goals. The bullies take advantage of that. Nice people try to see the good in everyone, assume everyone is acting in good faith, and they don't like to make judgments. They try to figure out what's going on and want to believe everyone is being sincere. This gives bullies all the power.
It takes a lot of courage for nice people to stand up and do or say something that seems "not nice." Like, calling somebody a liar. It's hard for a lot of people.
I'm beginning to see a natural role for bitches like me during this crisis. I'm not a particularly nice person. I don't mind calling people liars.
Hmmmm....
Let's see if it was really about prices.
Trump promised to lower prices "on day one" and lots of people voted for him because of that. Or so they said.
Prices are going to soar, so all Trump's supporters should turn on him, right? Let's see.
Or was it always really about racism and being mean to people?
Call your senators and congressional representative.
If they are Republicans, ask them to justify what RFK, Jr. is doing today at HHS.
If they are Democrats, ask them to hold a press conference and speak out.
https://wapo.st/3EaLQZW
Widespread layoffs, purge of leadership underway at U.S. health agencies
. The move comes after Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s announcement of a sweeping reduction of the Department of Health and Human Services.
I just called my two Republican senators (both of whom voted to confirm RFK, Jr.) and my Democratic congresswoman. As usual, nobody answered the phones at the Republicans' offices. I left polite but firm messages stating that I expected to be called back with an explanation.
My Democratic congresswoman's staff always answer the phones. I spoke politely but firmly to two polite staffers, saying I expect her to hold a press conference and speak out.
We can fight back. Do it. Make it their problem,
Trump (Putin) are after shipping routes
According to Marcy Wheeler, Stephen Miller was also on the chat group that planned and celebrated our military attack on Yemen.
She quotes Goldberg as quoting Miller:
If the US successfully restores freedom of navigation at great cost there needs to be some further economic gain extracted in return.”
That's what Trump (Putin's) foreign policy is focused on: shipping routes.
That's why he wants to take over Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal.
As the oceans become warmer, new shipping lanes will open up in the Arctic.
Shut it down
People calling for the CR don't seem to realize how bad things already are.
The last thing on Earth Democrats should do is vote to continue this madness.
Things are horrible. Musk is being allowed to run rampant. Our only hope is for Democrats to stand up and say "no more!"
NIH funding is on hold, federal employees are bring fired for no reason, no flu vaccine is being developed, the Secretary of Health and Human Services says it would be good for everyone to get measles, Trump is threatening to invade Canada, Greenland, and Panama, we've abandoned Ukraine, the head of our military is a drunken rapist who is hoping for Armageddon, Trump wants to build resorts in Gaza, a Russian plant runs our intelligence agencies, we've abandoned all efforts to control climate change, small businesses are going under all over the country, we've abandoned millions of people all over the world who were getting aid from USAID, the stock market is tanking, prices are up, there's a bird flu epidemic nobody is tracking, federal agencies are deleting decades of data, people are being arrested and held for no cause, immigrants are being sent to Gitmo in chains,
Trump threatens and un-threatens and rethreatens tariffs every couple of hours, all our allies are furious with us, we've abandoned NATO, our astronauts are stuck in space and dependent on Elon Musk to bring them home, historical photos of women, Black, and LGBTQ people are being deleted from federal archives, trans people are being raped and beaten in prison because they've been moved into their opposite sex's populations, trans people can't get passports, people don't know what Musk's 19-year old college dropouts who call themselves "big balls" are doing with our social security and treasury data.... what did I miss?
Sure, courts keep saying "this is unconstitutional, rehire these people" but NOBODY HAS BEEN REHIRED. Nobody has been released from Gitmo or that for-profit prison in Louisiana. Nobody is getting their grants or contracts.
This is happening right now, and Chuck Schumer is going to vote to continue it. Like everything will be fine.
It's not fine. This is not fine. Shut it down.
No more cures for cancer
I know this is long, and I'm asking DUers to read it and share this.
I don't think many people understand what is being lost.
After WWII, the United States made a brilliant decision. The federal government would fund science and medical research, granting money to research universities to do the work. the discoveries would be shared with the world.
Our universities are home to brilliant scientists, who work around the clock to cure diseases and unlock mysteries. It's a very competitive field. Only the smartest, hardest working survive. These faculty are not participating in protests or sitting in meetings all day, in case you're worried about that. They run labs that employ hundreds of thousands of people across the nation, including the graduate students and post-docs who are tomorrow's scientists. They also employ project managers, research assistants, statisticians, grants managers, and other staff.
They write grant proposals that have to be reviewed by peer scientists, and only the best and most topical are funded by the NIH, NSF, CDC, and other federal agencies. This money is appropriated by Congress and managed by the Dept of Health and Human Services, which is now run by.... RFK, Jr.
Trump has destroyed this. Payments on existing NIH grants are being withheld. These are monies that were already contractually promised. Worse, NIH has suspended review of proposals and is not issuing any requests for new proposals. The feds have said that will severely cut overhead payments to universities, which, all by itself, would shutter all the labs. Overhead pays for the facilities, the lights and heat. It pays for the small army of experts who help ensure that human and animal rights are protected during this research, that funds are used appropriately, that data isn't falsified, etc.
If you or anyone you know has survived cancer, or if you've been treated for heart disease or hypertension or diabetes, or if you have an implant or a stent or an artificial limb; if your child has been treated for cancer or ADHD or any other childhood disease; if you or someone you know is living with HIV after decades; if you survived COVID; anything you can possibly think of - those discoveries happened in American universities, funded by the federal government.
It's gone.
Where can I contribute anti-Trump propaganda?
I'm not talking about reasonable posts here and elsewhere on social media. I'm not talking about the laudable, thoughtful analyses by Tim Snyder, Robert Reich, and so many others.
I'm talking about writing the kind of propaganda that TrumpCo and his handlers have spread all over the globe. Only aimed at them. Designed to destroy their popularity. I want to spread shit that gets people's attention.
I want to join the 2024 version of the French Resistance. Where do I sign up?
Imagine a better United States
Since it looks like our current system might not survive, let's take the opportunity to imagine a nation built on healthier, more sustainable stories.
Imagine a nation where every child is taught America's true history: People have lived on this continent for tens of thousands of years. In 1492 it was claimed for Spain. That encounter was the first instance of enslavement by Europeans on this continent. It was also the beginning of devastating epidemics of diseases new to this continent. Those diseases wiped out many of the people who were already here. That's why, when the Pilgrims landed more than 100 years later, they found a cultivated paradise with no people. God didn't give the land to us. Diseases and enslavement and genocide made it easy to "conquer."
The American West was not given to us by God, either. It was controlled by Spain (again, made possible by epidemics that wiped out many of the people who were already here.) Later, it was controlled by France and then "sold" to the U.S., helping us kick Spain out of the hemisphere, setting the U.S. up as the new global empire.
We all know why this history is not taught in schools, and when it is, it's met by total outrage (Critical Race Theory! Communism! Woke!) by people who profit from keeping Americans duped and voting Republican.
Let's imagine a nation where we acknowledge our problematic history and decide to make things better, by embracing the radical idea that people are truly equal. There's nothing special about being white. Everybody has the same responsibilities to be a good citizen, and it's assumed that everybody's abilities depend on their personal choices and skills, not the color of their skin or heritage.
Let's imagine a nation where people want to work together to make a strong, productive society, where people trust that their fellow citizens can all be capable, skilled, hardworking, and smart. Imagine a nation where most people don't walk around assuming that "those people" aren't inherently lazy or criminal. Radical idea, right?
Imagine a nation where it's important to everybody that people have enough to eat, decent housing, the opportunity to be educated at a reasonable cost, and access to high quality, affordable healthcare. Where the food we raise in this huge, bountiful land is shared. Where priority is given to helping raise the nation's children to be healthy, resilient, hardworking, moral, educated, and kind.
A nation where the CEOs of companies don't make 300 times what their workers make. A nation that doesn't glorify lifestyles of the rich and famous, but values protecting the environment, giving people time off to spend with family and friends, and encouraging hobbies and arts.
Imagine a nation where it's illegal and unheard of for elected officials to profit off the military or government contacts, where going to war is a last resort, where we protect our allies from invasion and bullying instead of doing the invasions and bullying.
We could have this kind of country. The reason we don't is that too many Americans believe a false story about how our country was founded. That lie keeps people angry, resentful, fearful, and unwilling to share.
I think Musk's X is really a swastika.
Now that we're learning how deeply immersed Musk is in white supremacy, his preoccupation with calling all his businesses and children X seems like an obvious troll.
The X is really a swastika. It's the type of childish/evil troll Musk likes.
In his execrable children's book he makes a big deal of it: "Elon likes X."
Trolling.
State Capture
I learned this phrase recently. It's what happens when individuals take over a government in order to personally enrich themselves through their businesses.
It's what's happening right now. The takeover that Trump is allowing will allow Elon Musk and other tech billionaires to convert American democracy into institutions that are dependent on their AI companies. I read a thread on DU this morning that talked about Musk's plans to convert government agency processes to AI. That's why they're forcing out all the career employees.
RFK Jr. wants AI to replace nurses (and probably doctors).
Musk and the others want crypto currency to replace the U.S. dollar and other currencies. People say "I think social security is safe, the outcry would be too huge" but what if we're forced to take SS payments in crypto?
Vought just stopped all federal oversight of banks.
The plan is for Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Ellison, and the others to become trillionaires+ by literally taking over the country and forcing everything the federal government does through their tech businesses.
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Gender: FemaleMember since: Wed Mar 3, 2004, 08:03 PM
Number of posts: 66,308