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Sarah

@smpitche.bsky.social

Abolitionist feminist, activist professor, sociologist

18 Followers  |  44 Following  |  2 Posts  |  Joined: 13.11.2024  |  1.4973

Latest posts by smpitche.bsky.social on Bluesky

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The screens at the Department of Housing and Urban Development were playing this video this morning

24.02.2025 15:39 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 52492    ๐Ÿ” 11619    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2455    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1333

NY Gov. Kathy Hochulโ€™s response:

โ€œWe are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. Weโ€™ll see you in court.โ€

19.02.2025 21:58 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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WTF?!!

19.02.2025 21:33 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Google image for the Gulf of Mexico from within the US says Gulf of America

Google image for the Gulf of Mexico from within the US says Gulf of America

Google image search for the Gulf of Mexico outside of the US says Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)

Google image search for the Gulf of Mexico outside of the US says Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)

So much Freedom Fries energy.

11.02.2025 02:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1315    ๐Ÿ” 149    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 142    ๐Ÿ“Œ 27
Preview
What Some Colleges Say Theyโ€™ll Do if Immigration Authorities Come to Campus As the Trump administration expands enforcement, prompting concern about raids targeting undocumented students, institutions are grappling with how to respond.

Public colleges now could be subject to immigration-enforcement actions, including arrests, without advance notice. chroni.cl/4hhXIba

28.01.2025 14:45 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 16    ๐Ÿ” 9    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Hey friends! We're seeing a lot of terrible things. We're not able to cover all of them, but we felt this latest one is a really big deal and needs much more awareness.

Our summary is this: It's an administrative coup. Trump has ordered tens of billions (maybe up to $3 trillion) of budget halted indefinitely in a blatantly illegal move. He's claiming power to halt and potentially redirect funding that's already been authorized by Congress โ€” a classic authoritarian move.

Here's what we know. And we're doing our best to catch up with this story, because it's moving fast.

There's a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting head of the Office of Management and Budget. (That's the same government entity who set-up the DEI "snitch" line, that's now been spammed by tens of thousands of our fellow residents.)

In typical Trump-style, the memo gets its facts wrong. It claims in FY2024 the US government spent $10 trillion (actually it was $6.8 trillion). It says money should be used for the administration's priorities โ€” "The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve." (Again, it's very fact deficient.)

The memo says a pause will begin at 5pm on January 28th where, "Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal."

Anyone promised federal grants might have their money at risk, even states. This is Congressional directed spending and Trump is ordering people to not do it. This funding includes universities for education and research programs, nonprofits, local and tribal governments, disaster relief aid, eโ€ฆ

Hey friends! We're seeing a lot of terrible things. We're not able to cover all of them, but we felt this latest one is a really big deal and needs much more awareness. Our summary is this: It's an administrative coup. Trump has ordered tens of billions (maybe up to $3 trillion) of budget halted indefinitely in a blatantly illegal move. He's claiming power to halt and potentially redirect funding that's already been authorized by Congress โ€” a classic authoritarian move. Here's what we know. And we're doing our best to catch up with this story, because it's moving fast. There's a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting head of the Office of Management and Budget. (That's the same government entity who set-up the DEI "snitch" line, that's now been spammed by tens of thousands of our fellow residents.) In typical Trump-style, the memo gets its facts wrong. It claims in FY2024 the US government spent $10 trillion (actually it was $6.8 trillion). It says money should be used for the administration's priorities โ€” "The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve." (Again, it's very fact deficient.) The memo says a pause will begin at 5pm on January 28th where, "Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal." Anyone promised federal grants might have their money at risk, even states. This is Congressional directed spending and Trump is ordering people to not do it. This funding includes universities for education and research programs, nonprofits, local and tribal governments, disaster relief aid, eโ€ฆ

So what can we do?

It's been a lot. And the shock approach of this administration is to overwhelm us with nonsense and a state of paralysis. We continue to believe the best thing is to stay grounded and keep yourself sane amidst insanity.

At this juncture, three actions we suggest that make sense to us:

1) Urge media to cover this story properly

This is not "possibly illegal" โ€” it's "patently illegal." You can read notes on that here.

It's not "temporary" โ€” it's "indefinite." There's no timetable for ending it.

It's not just a memo โ€” it's an administrative coup.

2) Urge your Representatives to act like this is a big deal

If you know us, this isn't a knee-jerk action we suggest. We think this is a strategic because it's Congress that's being violated โ€” their power is being directly undermined.

3) Continue to support ACLU and Democracy Forward

These groups have been preparing litigation for some time. Unless Trump revokes this, this will certainly make its way through the courts. Our read is even the biased courts will have trouble swallowing this โ€” so it may end up being shut down.



Keep breathing. โ€œDo not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again," Nelson Mandela.

Warmly,

- Choose Democracy

So what can we do? It's been a lot. And the shock approach of this administration is to overwhelm us with nonsense and a state of paralysis. We continue to believe the best thing is to stay grounded and keep yourself sane amidst insanity. At this juncture, three actions we suggest that make sense to us: 1) Urge media to cover this story properly This is not "possibly illegal" โ€” it's "patently illegal." You can read notes on that here. It's not "temporary" โ€” it's "indefinite." There's no timetable for ending it. It's not just a memo โ€” it's an administrative coup. 2) Urge your Representatives to act like this is a big deal If you know us, this isn't a knee-jerk action we suggest. We think this is a strategic because it's Congress that's being violated โ€” their power is being directly undermined. 3) Continue to support ACLU and Democracy Forward These groups have been preparing litigation for some time. Unless Trump revokes this, this will certainly make its way through the courts. Our read is even the biased courts will have trouble swallowing this โ€” so it may end up being shut down. Keep breathing. โ€œDo not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again," Nelson Mandela. Warmly, - Choose Democracy

Hi that was a coup last night in case no one mentioned that to you. The executive branch seized the power of the purse the Constitution gave to Congress, which is a pretty authoritarian / illegal consolidation of powers move. Time to go yell at your reps, the media, etc.

28.01.2025 15:52 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4016    ๐Ÿ” 1586    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 63    ๐Ÿ“Œ 84

By my count, there's four members of the incoming Trump administration accused of rape or sexual assault - Trump himself, Peter Hegseth, Matt Gaetz, and RFK Jr (all of whom, with the exception of RFK Jr. have denied the allegations against them).

Who am I missing?

19.11.2024 04:49 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5776    ๐Ÿ” 1066    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 311    ๐Ÿ“Œ 58

@smpitche is following 20 prominent accounts