Meredith Briere

Trump’s executive order shutting down DEI claims that recruiting diverse applicants “diminishes the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination.”

Donald Trump’s war on DEI isn’t about merit.

We need to start talking about the midterms and we need to start talking about strategy. Where I believe that fringe issues are important, they shouldn’t be our main talking points. Can we please start talking about why middle-class Americans are suffering? Why wages have stagnated for 20 years?

Conservative Values are Being Destroyed, and It's An Inside Job The Republican Party of Donald Trump and Elon Musk no longer seems to care about basic conservative values. What is America losing in the process?

I found this article on conservative Reddit this morning and where it was interesting, what I was most affected by was the comments. I know I’m looking for bridges and hope and I at least found some in the admission of the hypocrisy that is happening within the Republican Party right now.

Consider my eyebrows raised.

Absolutely. I’ve been streaming a show over the weekend and over half the ads were pharmaceutical ads. I was appalled.

I spent the morning reading Conservative Reddit. I was sickened by some things and felt hope by others. At the end of the day, there are some political ideologies people won’t align on, but it is important to keep trying to understand each other. I still believe education is our path forward.

Richard White-Smith Obituary (2025) - Niskayuna, NY - Albany Times Union View Richard White-Smith's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

Richard White-Smith was a wonderful human being. He always had a smile and a soft greeting for my family when we were at RPCVs of NENY events and beyond. He was caring and lovely and I will miss him.

Last night mentors and mentees joined together through RPCVnexus’ direction to plan out the next few months. The highlight of this was protecting RPCVs who lose their federal positions because of Musk and Trump’s insistence that all programming in this country be abolished. We grow strong together.

We all see what’s happening—because we are the target! Who doesn’t know someone affected?

“It’s a level of incompetence that we’ve never seen before in government.

To say that Elon Musk is not running the United States right now is really a fallacy.” — @dougjones.bsky.social

Federal health workers terrified after 'DEI' website publishes list of 'targets' The site calls out workers who have been involved with DEI initiatives. A majority are Black.

Psychological warfare to target black federal employees. We are living in a Twilight Zone episode.

Want to vote in June’s primary? Register now with a political party. The deadline to register with a party or switch parties for the primary is Feb. 14.

Want to vote in June’s primary election? Not only do you need to be registered to vote, you must be registered with a political party. The deadline to register with a party or switch parties for the primary is Feb. 14.
www.timesunion.com/state/articl...

Over the weekend I thought a lot about second chances and why we give them. For me, acknowledging one’s errors and having a sense of humility is the biggest indicator of a worthy second chance. Taking accountability is at the forefront of what makes us responsible human beings.

Can $400 Million Rescue New York’s Run-Down Capital City? Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed to earmark $400 million to revitalize the capital of New York, where poverty rates are high and the downtown is moribund.

I’ve had a lot of conversations about how we could revitalize Albany. The museum investment is a good start. I think we need creative concepts to become realities. One is increased opportunities for renovating existing blight properties. Let’s get grants for residents to increase home ownership.

I’m doing 100 miles on my bike in February to bring awareness and hopefully donations to Planned Parenthood. I completed my first 11.3 miles today and will keep going until I reach that 100 mile goal this month! Please consider donating to the cause!

Bill Hartman-The CDC is not allowed to comment on the tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas. The word must get out, however. Most of the world is vaccinated against TB, but the US is not. We are vulnerable and this is a real threat.

How the World Is Reeling From Trump’s Aid Freeze President Trump’s order to halt most foreign aid has intensified humanitarian crises and raised questions about the United States’ reliability as a global leader.

As a personal promotor and contributor of soft diplomacy, this absolutely sickens me.

The ramifications of this order will be widespread. I worked on the Sovereign Debt legislation for NYS. For anyone that has zero compassion for people, your NYS retirement accounts could also be affected.

If you are a federal employee, it is advised to set your social media accounts to private to prevent outside viewership, as reports suggest that loyalty screenings have begun.

Then ask yourself why the main characters deserved to make less money and notoriety than those white male and female counterparts and why you’re okay with that. (2/2)

To anyone wondering why “DEI” hiring is so important, I recommend watching the movie Hidden Figures from the lens of understanding that we probably wouldn’t have gone to the moon without those women. (1/2)

Colonie junior Tirado sets national scholastic bowling record A high school junior, Jacob Tirado recently rolled games of 290, 300 and 300 for an 890 triple. That set a new national scholastic record.

Non-bowlers might not fully appreciate what a 16-year-old junior from Colonie High School pulled off last week. Those who know the sport couldn’t believe what they saw.
www.timesunion.com/hssports/art...

@greenhousemd.bsky.social #VaccinesWork

Last night I attended the Guilderland Town Board Meeting and my friend Heather Murphy was appointed to the Traffic Safety Committee! I know with her knowledge and experience she is going to be an incredible asset! Congratulations Heather!

I was lucky to attend this wonderful event on Saturday, Candidate and Campaign training for first-time candidates. It included a panel discussion with Pat Fahy, Dorsey Applyrs, and Michelle Ostrelich. Thank you to @libbypost.bsky.social and Progressive Elections, Capital Women, and Eleanor’s Legacy!

How Trump Plans to Seize the Power of the Purse From Congress The second-term president likely will seek to cut off spending that lawmakers have already appropriated, setting off a constitutional struggle within the branches. If successful, he could wield the po...

“I don’t want President Trump having to lose a moment of time having fights in the Oval Office about whether something is legal or doable or moral,” Vought said.

The tech oligarchy embrace…

Trump's second inauguration in the Rotunda had some of the world's richest tech moguls seated closer to him than his cabinet members. No doubt this signals Trump’s hard influence over the information we’ll see on our devices & the policy direction of his administration.

Those present at the inauguration were mostly (if not all) white, rich, and males wearing ties. Trump’s core supporters were left out in the cold.
Think about it.

Photos: Volunteers salute Martin Luther King Jr. at food bank Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York was crammed Monday with people sorting food for the region's pantries.

Whenever I am frustrated with the state of the world, I think about the Mr. Roger’s quote about helpers and I think about all the amazing programs I’ve encountered to help people in their lives and all those volunteers and active community members working to make the programs work efficiently. ❤️💕

I totally agree. I’m having a real crisis over here on how to both continue to spread a positive and meaningful message and reconcile the censorship and clear manipulation that’s happening on multiple platforms. I am taking a few days at least to figure out next steps.