1/4. On the White Houseβs theory, if they abduct you, get you on a helicopter, get to international waters, shoot you in the head, and drop your corpse into the ocean, that is legal, because it is the conduct of foreign affairs.
15.04.2025 01:13 β π 31329 π 11622 π¬ 699 π 871
Thanks to Richard Eisenberg @eisenb.bsky.social for capturing the essence and impact of our Aging Together project!
17.02.2025 16:10 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 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 β 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 β "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, eβ¦
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" β it's "patently illegal." You can read notes on that here.
It's not "temporary" β it's "indefinite." There's no timetable for ending it.
It's not just a memo β 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 β 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 β so it may end up being shut down.
Keep breathing. βDo 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 β π 4015 π 1586 π¬ 63 π 84
Grateful to share this publication which explored how older adults find support in responding to experiences of ageism and racism: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ZWBTY...
Thanks to the older adults for sharing their stories, and thanks to my co-authors!
08.01.2025 17:09 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
