Fully Present Post 50

In desperate times like these, average citizens must take action. Anyone who cares must use their voice to oppose the fact that public safety net programs are being crippled, that people are being abducted and sent to foreign prisons without any due process of law, that women’s rights to reproductive healthcare and voting are threatened, that medical and environmental research are being defunded, that books and history are being banned, that government workers are being fired, that the department of education is being dismantled along with FEMA, that the rule of law and the Constitution are being ignored, that trans people are having their rights taken away, that ludicrous tariffs are causing prices to rise and tanking the economy, and that the nation is becoming a pariah in the world.

What is your chosen voice of opposition? Is it protesting in the streets? Is it boycotting? Is it in the arts? Is it showing up at the office of representatives or a Tesla dealership? Is it making social media posts? Is it donating to opposition organizations? Big numbers in peaceful opposition from every corner and in every way is required to meet this moment.

One of my ways to express my opposition is emailing or writing letters to political leaders (like the one I share here.) I also sent a letter yesterday to house minority leader Hakeen Jeffries, encouraging him to speak and act more boldly in opposition to the corrupt and evil Republican agenda that harms our democracy and ruins the lives of many people.

April 12, 2025

Dear Speaker Mike Johnson,

With each passing day, I have less confidence that you and the Republican lawmakers are motivated to help average Americans in their pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness.  I watch you condone the cruelty, lawlessness, corruption, and unconstitutional executive orders coming from Trump and I see you abdicate your congressional duty as a co-equal branch of government, elected by the American people to represent them and to uphold the Constitution.  Your refusal to hold Trump accountable and your endorsement of policies and actions that harm Americans and human beings who have migrated here for a better life is repulsive to me.  I want my tax dollars to provide a safety net for Americans, to protect the environment for future generations, and to build an infrastructure that enables Americans to work hard, innovate, and thrive.  

On another note, I deeply resent Trump’s plan to spend $100 million dollars on a military parade to celebrate his birthday.  It’s vulgar!  We do not have a king and the great majority of us do not want a king. And if we did, he would not be worthy of the position with his sloppiness, corruption, lack of empathy, and blatant incompetence.  He is a bully and a thug and sadly, you continue to empower him. Shame on you!

I once thought you had the welfare of the American people in mind, but no longer.  I see that you are about power, money, and installing a ruthless theocracy that is similar to the Taliban: oppressive, cruel, incompetent, devoid of empathy and incapable of harnessing the talents and gifts of its people.  Like Trump, you deal in oppression, discrimination, lies, and fearmongering to advance your evil agenda while lining the pockets of billionaires at the expense of the average Americans.  You want to erase history, multiculturalism, basic human rights, and to silence Americans who disagree with your unconstitutional vision for this country.    

But even more important, I’m deeply disappointed in your distortion of Christianity.  You give God and His Son a bad name with your cruel and ruthless legislative agenda.  Jesus told us that we will know a tree by the fruit that it bears.  Your agenda proves that you are one of those people Jesus spoke about in Matthew 7: 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

Then in Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus says: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them, one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  The King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.”  Jesus goes on to declare in verse 40, “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to Me.”  And then in verses 45-46 He describes the eternal punishment that awaits those who did not help those in need.  

Your legislative agenda will inflict harm upon the poor, upon women, and upon the immigrant.  It will disempower women, the educated, and talented who drive this nation forward. I see no compassion, no empathy, and no understanding of the struggle many Americans face when it comes to accessing the necessities required to thrive. There seems to be no regard for the basic freedoms of every American. We are headed to be like North Korea or Afghanistan.  We will soon be a nation filled with terrified, ignorant, sick, and hungry people, isolated from the rest of the world.  You and your friends will be drunk with power and money as you rule over ashes. I wonder if you will even notice.  I predict this country will be incapable of producing the talent and productivity the world once admired. Trump is already pushing the most intelligent scholars in the world to other countries with his anti-immigration policies. The brain-drain away from the United States is already happening. The masses in this country will soon be in survival mode and no innovation or real productivity comes from that. This country will soon fall far behind other nations who welcome immigrants, value their people, protect them, educate them, and empower them.

I can’t imagine that this is the future you desire for our country, but it is the future that awaits us if you do not change course by first doing your job as a co-equal branch of government and a member of Congress who took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic.  At this point, you aren’t even doing your duty as a Christian. Both God and history will not look kindly upon you if you fail to change course.

Sincerely,

Dr. Juanita Hall, Voting Citizen

I’ve been glad to see the Town Hall contentious interactions with Republicans lawmakers. I was also elated to see the massive street protests across the country yesterday. I hope the resistance continues to grow to the point they can no longer be ignored by MAGA and the Republicans who fear Trump. Noticeably absent from the Town Halls and the street protests are people of color, specifically black faces, and I understand why. We feel that we did our job sounding the alarm prior to election day and then we voted in mass for Harris. We are protesting on social media and with our wallets through various boycotts. We recognize that this power struggle over the direction of the country belongs to white people even though we will be disproportionately suffering from the cruel and reckless Trump policies if the indecent white folks win. Our greatest responsibility is to protect ourselves.

There are a few people I watch and listen to when it comes to my wellbeing with regards to my finances, health, political participation, and gardening. For example, after the election, I followed Warren Buffet in a move to cash, divesting enough cash from the market in late 2024 and early 2025 to last seven years. I put that money into a high yield savings account and certificates of deposit. I also reduced my monthly stock market investments by 75%, limiting my remaining investment to a single index fund. And I made a commitment to not look at the stock market. And then we looked to reduce future spending.

In anticipation of a Trump induced financial turndown with his threatened tariffs (now reality), we made household upgrades. including an expansion of our food pantry and then purchased food staples, stocked up on everyday household items and then expanded our produce garden. We purchased seeds as opposed to seedlings (a fraction of the price) and learned from YouTube videos how to grow produce from seeds. I stockpiled clothes, crafting items, birthday gifts, and Christmas gifts for 2025 and 2026, purchasing these items during black Friday and the after Christmas sales.

When it comes to protecting our health, we listened carefully to the information and experiences surrounding Medicare advantage versus Medigap plans and chose Medigap for our medical care needs. Medigap plans may be more expensive, however, they offer greater protections and access to healthcare when it is really needed. On another note, I have very little confidence in this Administration’s public health decisions, so I’m paying special attention to maintaining my health. We’ve received all the recommended vaccines and doctor’s checkups, including dental visits. Part of this added attention to our health includes avoiding big crowds and wearing a mask in public. Since the fires and living in an earthquake zone, we upgraded our emergency kit to include a solar-powered generator and additional items. Under this administration, we anticipate that less aid will be available following a disaster. At this point, I’ve decided I’m not comfortable flying. However, we did renew our passports as a precaution.

Our mental health is important to us. We decided to spend our discretionary funds investing in ourselves, our relationships, helping the needy and helping to fund the political fight to save our country and the freedoms of our children and grandchildren. Our priority is maintaining our mental and physical health and that of our family members. Beyond that, we donate to political candidates and to organizations fighting in the courts on behalf of our rights. We continue to donate to fund medical research, food charities, and scholarships because we are all in this together.

We’ve noticed that the news is always disturbing these days, so we limit ourselves to small bites of news each day and limit our discussions of Trump and his latest act of cruelty. My husband has taken to watching cartoons and crime stories while I listen to music a lot more. I’m walking and stretching and doing breathing exercises to relieve stress. These practices also improve my physical stamina and flexibility. We’re both spending more time in the backyard enjoying the flowers and the birds and doing a lot of gardening. I’m making our favorite foods. We rely on pictures and videos of our grandchildren to make us laugh and smile throughout the day. Their futures are a huge motivator for us.

In this time of national distress, we cannot do nothing. While some people are taking to the streets to protest, I prefer to make my political posts each morning to encourage others to also stay in the fight for our decency, democracy, and our rights. We are participating in the Target boycott. We haven’t shopped in Target since January 31st. We frequently engage in conversations with busy family and friends to keep them informed and I frequently write to lawmakers to share my thoughts as well. And of course, I write this blog.

Horrible things are happening every day to innocent people. The cruelty, lawlessness, lies, and incompetence makes us angry. We find ourselves in a perpetual state of distress that no one asked for (not even a lot of Trump voters). So, it is imperative that we take additional steps to care for ourselves and our loved ones. In addition, it is required of us as patriots to do our part to resist the forces that seek to undermine our freedoms, destroy the rule of law and crash our economy.

I spent most of my professional career working at a university in both administrative and teaching positions. My focused work was divided between domestic students, international students, and my colleagues whose sole purpose was to educate, enable, and empower students to discover their purpose and to use their knowledge, their voice, and their sense of justice to improve the world. Knowledge absent empathy and ethics can do a lot of damage. In my 25 years in higher education, I never once met an administrator or professor who encouraged students to destroy property or to disparage innocent people. People, like me, choose careers in higher education, not because it pays well (it doesn’t), but because we love the process of acquiring new knowledge and passing it on for the greater good. We are eager to build a better world by cultivating knowledgeable and principled leaders. We teach students to think critically about society and current world events within the context of history, moral justice and human progress.

I acknowledge that dealing with highly energetic, enthusiastic, and immature brains can sometimes be challenging. Students at this age can be bold and impulsive. They make a lot of mistakes, and in higher education we choose to use those mistakes as learning opportunities. We recognize that most students are learning about society outside their childhood community bubble for the first time. They are comparing their lived experiences to that of their classmates. They question how and why their childhood was filled with abundance or poverty, of acceptance or discrimination, or of strong religious beliefs or completely secular. The disparities they encounter can be both alarming and deeply disturbing for many students. They often come to the university assuming that everyone had similar childhood experiences and when they discover the systemic unfairness built into society, they want to rectify the situation. This is root meaning of “wokeness”. It is the awakening of awareness that our society isn’t as fair or equitable or just as it should and could be and wanting to do something to improve the systems. Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts were a direct response to the need to revise the current system. Those who participated in this societal revision effort were “woke” and they were fast and furious (and impatient) in their need to see changes immediately. I always knew there was going to be a backlash.

I understood that “wokeness” posed a threat to white male power and to the deeply entrenched system that privileges whiteness over people of color, men over women, heterosexuals over LGBTQ people, and Christianity over other religions. Power does not relinquish its position without a fight. I knew this and tried to warn my eager colleagues and the students on the front lines demanding fast and drastic changes. Even at the university, I dealt with the discomfort among some more conservative administrators and faculty, particularly white men who were feeling pushed aside, attacked, and often ignored.

As woke college graduates began taking their place in society, they began promoting changes that embraced diversity, equity and inclusion throughout society. I sensed an even greater backlash coming with the absence of an effective public relations effort to smooth the changes. I was not at all surprised when the Right orchestrated an attack on critical race theory and then DEI. They had been criminalizing black men and masculinizing black women for years. They pushed false allegations that the first black president was Muslim and not a “true American”. They gravitated to stoking fears of transgender men using women’s bathrooms. Then they accused teachers of “grooming” school children to be gay or transgender. They turned their manufactured outrage to the audacity of a black actress portraying the Little Mermaid (a fictional character). They attacked the actual history of the United States as somehow anti-patriotic and inappropriate for children.

Higher education and the “woke” mindset it produced was their enemy. The Right successfully mobilized non-college educated and religious zealots who rarely leave their segregated bubbles to attack higher education as the culprit for the new visibility and prominence of brown people and LGBTQ folks. Asking people to use new pronouns was somehow an affront to their personal freedom. They successfully stoked a fear of being “replaced” among white people in red states. This was the rich white man’s effort to destroy DEI and wokeness. In response, as college students often do, they soundly rejected speakers and comedians who openly challenged their newfound “wokeness”. Comedian Bill Mahr still has not gotten over it.

So, here we are. Trump, Musk, and the Republicans are hellbent on using their power to remove DEI and wokeness from society, so that they can re-establish wealthy white “Christian” and male dominance. Enter the war between Israel and Hamas and they found the perfect inroad to unfairly attack higher education. Students have always been at the forefront of fighting against wars, human trafficking, apartheid, and genocide. What they see happening in Gaza is no different. However, the Right was quick to label students who protest the genocide happening in Gaza as “woke” and “antisemitic”. They are lying. In fact, there are many Jewish students who participated in the protests against the “Israeli government”, not the Jewish people, over the indiscriminate bombing and starvation of the innocent people in Palestine. DEI welcomes the presence and inclusion of Jewish students. Always has. Perhaps a few Jewish students who are themselves Israeli nationalists feel intimidated or challenged by their peers on the matter of Israel and Palestine. However, these students were never physically attacked. Heated disagreements on this issue are wrongly being characterized as “antisemitism” by a few loud and powerful voices on the Right. That mischaracterization has led to the firing or resignations of several university presidents.

The attack on higher education continues with this Administration still intent on ridding universities of DEI. They have taken to withholding research funding if schools do not abandon their DEI efforts, revoke degrees and expel student protesters. They are “disappearing” and detaining international students who participated “non-violently” in the protests. Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, just invalidated the student visas of 300 international students who participated in protests, subjecting them to deportation. The silencing of student protests, the encroachment into curriculum matters, the misrepresentation of research as frivolous, and the withholding of funding threatens the fabric of higher education. A recent poll indicates that the actions of this Administration have led to 75% of university researchers considering a move to another country. Our scientists, innovators, and professors are being recruited by other countries, and some are already packing their bags. We are literally on the verge of the greatest “brain drain” in our nation’s history.

Let’s be real, the loss of educators, innovation, and scientific research will have a great and lasting negative economic impact on this nation. Our universities will no longer be the destination of choice for brilliant scholars and students from around the world. Our own students will fall further behind as the nation becomes dumber. And it’s all because a few rich white men are afraid to compete with women, people of color, and LGBTQ folks for the opportunity to succeed in this country.

Hatred is a powerful emotion. It is the fuel required to commit the most heinous acts of violence or to cheer on those acts. Hate hijacks our normal human empathy and silences the lessons of good and evil, suspending notions of right and wrong. In a nutshell, it makes us stupid. When our heart is overtaken by hate, we become gullible and irrational believers of lies and false accusations without evidence. The overflow of a heart full of hate becomes bold hate speech, spewing all manner of abhorrent things about others. Unchecked hate takes over the body, making us behave as though we lack common decency and humanity as we destroy everything in sight whether property or human. Hate is an energy unto itself. It is a driving force, an impossible emotion to control once we allow ourselves to be consumed by it. However, as a Christian, I recognize that the God of love, who calls us to love, also harbors hatred of certain human attributes.

In the biblical text of Proverbs 6:16, there are seven human character traits that God hates. “These six things the Lord hates, yes seven are an abomination to Him. A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.”

There are very few people that I genuinely hate. The few that I hate all exhibit these particular characteristics, inflicting harm and chaos upon vulnerable people. I don’t believe it is a stretch to say that Donald Trump, Elon Musk, J.D. Vance, and even Speaker Mike Johnson and a host of MAGA supporters continually demonstrate these seven attributes worthy of hate. Just to make my point, I note their promotion of white male power to the discrimination and detriment of everyone else; their constant lies about everything; their withholding of lifesaving medical care and food for the poor; their gleeful plans to make people suffer to further enrich the wealthy; the illegal firing of government workers and defunding of public health research; their disregard for laws, extortion, bullying, threats to invade countries; their embrace of evil dictators who silence, imprison and murder their own citizens without due process; the false accusations against government employees, migrants, teachers, judges, and anyone else who opposes them; and of course the drumming up of culture wars to incite animosity among neighbors and family members.

This past week, a friend asked me how I felt about people destroying Tesla vehicles. I had mixed feelings. My commitment to love and my moral compass tell me that acts of violence are wrong. However, my hatred of Elon Musk made me reluctant to feel any empathy for him because of his abhorrent actions that fuel hatred, bigotry, lawlessness, discord, and misinformation while causing death, pain, and real suffering for millions of Americans and people around the world. I admit to silently cheering his loss of billions of dollars and even the vandalism of his cars. In truth, my empathy lies with the innocent people Elon is harming. Someone mentioned the innocent people working at Tesla and I can only think that if a person lies with a dog, they should expect to get fleas.

In the end, I could only say to my friend that I understood the vandalism and that I believe these acts of vandalism should be taken as warning signs of the ultimate price Elon may pay for the hate that he has ignited in so many people. Personally, I won’t buy a Tesla, and I won’t engage in acts of vandalism nor violence against him because I have enough love in my heart to counter my hatred for him. Love keeps me level-headed. The teachings of Christ to overcome evil with good, moderates my behavior. However, I think that the hatred for these men is well-deserved since God, in His abundance of love, says humans like them our deserving of hate because of their character.

I don’t think this will end well for any of them. Not that I want or am promoting negative actions. However, I sense something bad coming for them because there are a lot of armed men who feel betrayed, threatened, hurt, and angry by these arrogant men. The hate they feel will not be contained if they lack love in their hearts and have no moral compass to moderate their actions.

The days of the United States being admired by the world as an exceptional example of democracy are over. Instead, we have become a “Mafia” state run by a mentally unstable ego-driven bully thug who demands that Congress members, industry leaders, law enforcement, news outlets, and even sovereign nations submit to him. His weapons are billionaire funding, our military power, trade tariffs, public humiliation, and now the justice department itself with threats of investigations and imprisonment. We are in this position because we looked the other way as greedy billionaires purchased our news outlets, congress members, and Supreme Court justices to fundamentally destroy our democracy and install a useful idiot with a cult-like following as king. And he is a mad king, surrounded by unqualified and highly incompetent cabinet members and advisors. The free world looks on in utter dismay as they watch us implode while China, North Korea and Russia happily siege the opportunity to advance. The changing world order is already beginning with China or Europe taking leadership and making new trade partnerships as the United States moves toward rapid moral and economic decline. We are no longer seen as reliable.

Trump is attempting to usher in a number of changes to our society that will fundamentally alter the way we treat each other. We can no longer count on the collective values of empathy, accurate news reporting, fairness in access to opportunity, and scientific innovation. We enjoyed a few good years when equality and justice were aspirations worth pursuing and when patriotism included holding our leaders accountable for upholding both morality and the rule of law. That is quickly disappearing. Factual history, expertise, and human decency are no longer widely valued. Republicans are trying to convince us that appreciating our diversity, fair treatment, and inclusion of the previously excluded is bad and that there is nothing wrong with discrimination, a lack of empathy, and limiting the rights and opportunities of some people. The days of being able to shame lawmakers for their moral failings is over. And we are about to take our inadequate efforts to provide citizens with worldclass education, healthcare, and infrastructure to a new low.

The dismantling of our government agencies that were created by our elected congressional representatives to ensure our public safety, process our taxes, build infrastructure, ensure justice and accountability, protect the natural environment, assist with our international relationships, and support scientific innovation is not only creating chaos but threatens our physical and economic well-being.

We are literally on our own. As tariffs and mass deportations drive prices up, demand for goods and services will plummet and with it, there will be massive layoffs. A recession or perhaps even another depression is likely in our future if we do not quickly change course. We know from watching other countries that corruption in government stifles innovation as new talent and new ideas, are buried by those fearful of losing their privileged positions. In a corrupt country, police and judges and journalists are bought and paid for (or silenced) by the wealthy, leaving the poor and unconnected hopeless, uncertain, and vulnerable to exploitation and injustice. Economists are forecasting that our economy is about to contract and many of the trade agreements with the rest of the world are unlikely to return if we remain an unreliable trading partner.

I suppose the plan is for families and churches to care for the sick and disabled, the injured veterans, the poor, and the elderly. Absent FEMA, small towns, cities and states will have to rebuild their community post-hurricane, tornado, wildfire, or earthquake. For most Americans, retirement will be a relic of the past without Social Security. And more prisons will become for-profit slave camps. In the poorest states, most of which are red states, only the wealthy will be able to afford healthcare, a decent education for their children, or have the ability to rebuild after a disaster.

In this new social order, women will be returned to the home to resume the role of wife and mother without voting rights again as discrimination laws are rolled back. More women and babies will die from lack of healthcare. Gays and transgender will lose their rights and be shoved back into the closet. Scientific outcomes will be funded by billionaires to suit their desired outcomes. We’ll be beholden to the wealthy and corporations to build our infrastructure as they depend on exploited prison and cheap American labor. Absent safety regulations, workers will once again lose their limbs and their lives at work without recourse or compensation.

If these are not good enough reasons to join the resistance movement happening in towns, cities, and states across the country, I don’t know what is. We either put a stop to this downward spiral now or learn to live with diminished rights and resources on our own in the coming year or so. We must fight harder in the streets, in the courts, and with our personal purchasing power. By all accounts, the resistance is having a positive effect.

It’s really hard to muster sympathy for folks who relished the thought of hurting others only to find themselves being hurt by Trump’s ruthless policies. I’ve watched their stories online where they either beg for an exemption or regret their vote. Some were hardcore MAGA and some just wanted cheaper groceries. These were people who cheered (or at least condoned) migrant families being separated, purging government of waste, fraud and abuse which was code for firing public servants, ending the war in Ukraine which meant handing Ukraine over to Putin, and imposing tariffs on our biggest trading partners at no cost to them personally.

They soon learned that there are too few “criminal” migrants to meet the big deportation numbers promised in the campaign and so law-abiding, tax-paying, God-fearing friends and family members are being carried away like criminals. They soon discover that they or their close relative who diligently works for the government providing an actual service is being fired without legitimate cause. They realize that Trump and Vance behave like 3rd grade bullies in the White House and that they have positioned our country on the side of Russia and North Korea and against our European allies on the world stage, making us an international pariah. And they realize that Trump isn’t lowering the price of groceries but raising the price of everything with his trade war while harming American made products and tourism. They realize that the medical research they were depending on to help save the lives of people they love is being cut. They now know that the food assistance and medical insurance they rely on are on the Republican chopping block. And all the while their elected Republican representative is applauding their pain or completely silent.

While it is imperative that Americans rise up to resist this Administration by filing lawsuits, protesting in the streets and at town halls, calling, emailing, and writing lawmakers to push them to obey the Constitution and to represent our interests, it may be the incompetence and in fighting within the Administration itself that disrupts this dangerous agenda. Trump and Musk are both reckless in their decision making. They act on their vilest impulses without considering the consequences beyond hurting folks they don’t like. They don’t consider the law, the promises to veterans, nor the Constitution when issuing executive orders, cancelling government funding, dismantling entire governmental agencies, and firing government workers. Several times they fired essential people only to realize they are badly needed and then they’ve begged them to return (if they can find them). When the stock market tanked and retaliatory tariffs took effect and conservative newspapers called his tariffs dumb, Trump once again put a hold on most of them. I’m certain governors also voiced their concerns about Canandian boycotts of tourism and of products made in their states.

The point is that the country should brace itself for chaos. It won’t be long before people begin to realize how much we rely on government workers. Government workers keep our planes flying safely, keep our roads and bridges passable, process our tax returns, pursue dangerous criminal rings, keep our food, water and air safe, deliver accurate weather forecasts, provide schooling for our children, protect consumers from abuse, and keep deadly diseases under control. As hurricane season approaches, it will be interesting to see how a FEMA under distress from personnel and budget cuts is able to respond.

One thing I know about the American people, and veterans in particular, is that they won’t sit quietly by and endure pain and abuse and broken promises while others laugh and enjoy themselves at their expense. The Republicans stopped holding town halls because they rightly became afraid of their constituents from all political leanings. No one wants a hollowed-out government workforce that is unable to meet the demand for services. No one wants to privatize some government services so that a few people get richer while the broader public interest is no longer served. Privatized research makes for biased and unreliable research results. Privatized schools leave poor children and children with disabilities behind. A privatized prison system incentivizes injustice towards the poor. Privatized infrastructure and media subject the public to the whims of individuals who want to push their own agenda.

The Constitution outlines the role of government to provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. The House of Representatives was specifically established to represent these desires and needs by allocating our tax dollars to establish agencies and laws that serve us. Let’s just talk about the general welfare this week.

It is not the job of people seeking to make money to provide for our general welfare. In my thinking, public health, infrastructure, education, safety regulations, weather forecasting, disaster relief, forestry, and scientific research are all in the general welfare category. Yes, we use government contractors, like Elon Musk, to carry out some of these needs. In his specific case he provides satellites and space exploration. But that work product should belong to us because our tax dollars paid for them. And because he is a government contractor, who personally benefits from those contracts, he has a conflict of interest in his current position with DOGE and should be removed immediately.

DOGE, Trump and the Republican Party are operating outside the Constitution and the law in order to destroy democracy and establish a new, internationally isolated, government with Taliban-like laws, fewer civil liberties for women and minorities, and government officials working in concert with the wealthy to further enrich and empower themselves. Doing nothing as citizens allows this to happen.

I’m hopeful by the signs that our collective resistance is having an effect. We absolutely must keep up the pressure on Congressional members and the Trump Administration. The courts, the street protests, the art, speeches, songs, boycotts, podcasts, phone calls, emails, independent media, social media posts, civil disobedience, and even the stock market are having the desired constraining effect on the MAGA agenda to restructure our country. If we push hard enough, Republican congress members will either start doing their job to represent us properly or be voted out.

I’m glad the cameras were rolling in the Oval Office on Friday for the entire world to witness the two bullies in action. I’m glad Zelinsky stood up for himself and refused to bow the knee. The interaction was outrageous. It was disheartening. It was ugly. It was all those things and so much more. We knew Trump and JD Vance were liars and that bullying and cruelty is on brand for them. We know extortion and threats are weapons in their toolbox. In this case, Trump tried and failed to extort Ukraine’s rare earth minerals for a ceasefire that Trump would not guarantee. Zelinsky, with the cameras rolling showed the world how they operate. And the free democratic world, along with most Americans, stand with Zelinsky and against Trump and Putin.

The entire nation and the world got to see how the Trump administration works by bullying politicians, the media, corporations, and judges to do their bidding. Trump operates like a mob boss who demands deference and loyalty. His fragile ego needs constant feeding. He craves praise, gratitude, and adoration in both words and symbolic gestors. It’s pathetic to watch such a needy broken human being occupying any place of authority. He is a dangerous person because his ego demands that he believes his way is the only way and that his manufactured reality is reality. He has no use for facts and cannot tolerate being contradicted by the truth. We saw his nasty pathology on full display in that meeting and afterwards. There can be no question that his illegality, his cruelty, and his alliance with Putin stems from his need to be king. The wealthy and the business leaders tolerate him because he is a useful idiot.

Their goal is to profit from the privatization of government functions. They want to use our taxpayer dollars to enrich themselves by further privatization of healthcare, prisons, education, postal service, security, research, and every other function currently run by the government. They want to make almost everything for profit without the inconvenient guardrails of regulations that keep people from being cheated, exploited, and poisoned. Perhaps this is why Margorie Taylor Greene said that government jobs were not real jobs and that government workers were stealing taxpayer money without providing any service. That was an accidental exposure about what some of this is about. Republicans are out to gut the government so that private equity can step in and make every service a for-profit enterprise paid for or at least subsidized by our tax dollars. It’s the Elon Musk model of enrichment. It’s the Walmart model where they pay their employees too little to live on, making them eligible for public assistance. It’s a recipe for the expansion of poverty, pre-mature deaths, and the loss of civil liberties.

And then there are the evangelical Christians like Speaker Mike Johnson who are more like the Taliban than Jesus. They want to shove the LGBTQ community back in the closet and send women back to the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, stuck in unhappy even dangerous marriages, while returning them to second-class citizenship. The white supremacists simply want to be in charge of everything and everyone. They feed their fears and insecurity by lying to themselves that they are the smartest and the most qualified to lead everything, despite their glaring lack of talent, expertise, experience, and qualifications. They believe “white is right” no matter what the actual reality and they are using the levers of government against DEI efforts along with the threat of violence to get back on top.

So, what do we do? We find a way to stop them. One cannot shame people like Trump, Vance, Musk and Speaker Johnson into doing what is right. They are too morally bankrupt for that. Their greed for power, money, and adoration drives them forward. We know that if Trump had lost this past election, he would have never conceded, and we would be fighting about a stolen election instead of watching Trump and Musk destroy our government and international relationships with a wrecking ball while Republicans sit by silently and watch the destruction. I suspect the true motive behind the massive destruction is to turn the government into a for-profit enterprise for private equity, to give the religious right reign over social and cultural norms, and to return white males permanently to the top of the leadership.

Normally, the media would step up as a defense against someone like Trump or Musk. However, having been threatened into submission, they keep trying under extreme duress, to normalize, minimize, and rationalize the pardoning of violent January 6 participants, the appointments of unqualified cabinet members, the illegal firing of government workers, the hollowing out of government accountability officers, the defunding of government grants, the suspension of information and regulations designed to protect us, and the open threats to sovereign nations. They are finding it difficult to justify the tariffs and mass deportations that include non-criminals who contribute to the economy. They strain to justify the attacks on transgender people, the renaming of a body of water, the rising prices, the falling stock market, the rise in unemployment and the projected falling GDP. The chaos is real and damage to actual lives is also real, but the corporate media is too afraid to report openly about its impact on the country and people. Many, like me are turning to independent and public media outlets and foreign news outlets for information.

Our next line of defense is the courts. So far, they are holding up. However, we’ve already heard Vance and Musk threaten judges. Before it goes beyond threats to actions that jeopardize our entire judicial system, we, the citizens need to stand against this Administration. We must be louder, bolder, and unrelenting in our resistence. We must financially support the efforts of civil rights organizations who are bringing lawsuits to defend our constitutional rights and the rule of law. I donate to Democracy Forward, the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. But we must do more.

Friday, February 28th was the economic blackout day where Americans boycotted the purchase of goods and services from corporations to show our economic power. I knew about it from social media, but my friend didn’t know anything about it. When I explained to her that I couldn’t go to the movies on Friday because of the blackout, she was disappointed because she had just finished shopping. I felt bad that I didn’t mention it to her earlier since I know she isn’t on social media. I’ll do better next time.

And finally, we must use our voices to push our lawmakers to stand up against this administration by attending town hall meetings, calling their offices, emailing them, or writing to them. We can protest in the streets or outside their offices. The few who are secretly against his agenda will only gain the courage to stand up to Trump if they fear us more. However, we must keep it our protests loud, but peaceful, so that Trump cannot label any protest an insurrection and suspend the constitution. Our goal is to protect and defend our constitution and the rule of law against all enemies, whether foreign or domestic.

In this case, the enemy is domestic and resides in our own White House. I take solace in the fact that he and the people he hires are incompetent. They are making mistakes all over the place. The world is watching and laughing at them. For example, they fired the people who look after our nuclear arsenal and then had to try to find them to rehire them. They fired people working on Ebola management, again only to try to rehire them. They fired people working on the bird flu situation. Same scenario. They are so reckless that a disaster is likely to occur, and I pray too many people don’t have to suffer because of it, but this is the price we will pay for electing this lunatic. In the end, I think we will win this fight because there are more who are against him (and them) than who are for him and the number is growing. His poll numbers are falling as people begin to suffer. Watch what happens when a natural disaster hits and there is no federal relief or when millions lose access to healthcare and food assistance so the wealthiest can get another tax break.

As a practical matter, failure is inevitable as talented men and women in the government resign in protest or commit sabotage from within. This administration will be left with the most inexperienced and least talented people to carry out its warped agenda. My guess is that the whole thing will come tumbling down, leaving Trump, Vance, Musk and Speaker Johnson lying beneath the rubble. And the nation will rejoice and then rebuild, having learned how to better safeguard our freedom and democracy. I just hope I’m still here to see it.

This past week, I participated in a phone-in town hall with my congressional representative. Her muted response to the three-alarm fire facing our nation prompted me to write to the congressional leader of our party, Hakeem Jeffries. Below is the letter I sent him. Please contact your congressional leaders (by phone, email, or letter) and demand that they forcefully respond to the threats to our government, our environment, our livelihood, and our public safety. It is only when our representatives are pushed hard enough by “we the people” will they gain the courage to stand up to this corrupt and lawless bully in the White House.

February 22, 2025

Dear Minority Leader Jeffries,

I am a longtime voting democrat living in Representative Julia Brownley’s district.  I’ve written to her multiple times about the need to fight harder and louder to resist the bullying, chaos, lawlessness, cruelty, and corruption coming from Trump, Musk, and complicit and/or cowardly republican representatives.  I attended her town hall this past week and she offered little more than a reliance on upcoming budget fights with democrat objections and the pending lawsuits against numerous executive orders.  She asked us to share our stories to use as examples of how these Republican policies are hurting the American people.  I left the phone-in town hall disappointed and frustrated by the muted response to a five-alarm fire.

The problem is that Trump and Musk are rapidly destroying our government’s ability to function, ruining individual lives, making millions vulnerable to a crisis in public health and climate disasters, and destroying our international relationships.  The rising prices on everything is but one of many pains they are inflicting upon us.  Tax cuts for the wealthy is an absurdity amidst all these other atrocities they are committing.  Musk has announced pain as our patriotic duty to bear. Everything they are doing is in service to Putin, to greedy billionaires, and to the destruction of our Constitution, the rule of law, and our democratic republic. No one voted for this! This is more than about the cost of living.  This is about whether or not our civil liberties, human rights, and our ability to live healthy lives remains a possibility.  

Democrats are far too docile amid this attack!  You’re too polite and too rational with people hellbent on destroying the country and injuring innocent people.  I’m a senior citizen.  When I go to the senior center, the ladies in my social group are frustrated, fearful, depressed, and fuming with anger over what Congress is allowing to transpire.  We fear for the future of our grandchildren. We all know that we have three co-equal branches of government, but none of us can understand how republicans have allowed themselves to be bullied into compliance and worse how democrats are barely saying or doing anything about the true nature of the problem. 

We need you to ruthlessly expose the bully and the bullying of your colleagues, judges, governors, and the media.  You must ruthlessly expose the liar and all the lies.  You must expose the authoritarian aspirations of Trump and Musk and the blatant corruption, lawlessness, and loyalty to Putin. You need to defend Congress’ power of the purse and demand that government civil employees be treated fairly and that allocated funds be distributed.  These are laws he is violating, and Congress should be exposing this fact every day and, in every venue, available. There are at least 200 of you who can speak out. Calls for impeachment should be shouted from the rooftops at this point.  The sloppy cuts to government jobs and grants are literally endangering our country and negatively affecting the lives of all Americans.  

Personally, I refuse to fly right now.  I cancelled plans to visit my son and his family this spring because of FAA personnel cuts and the recent accidents.  I predict more will be coming.  I also predict a far less functional government that affects every part of our lives, including taxes.  My friends are fearful of their social security and Medicare benefits being cut. They are already experiencing higher food and drug prices.  My daughter in law is a doctor at a research hospital and they rely on NIH funding that goes towards saving lives. You must expose the cruelty of these cuts and the harm that is being done.  Not just on the House floor, but on every news media available. You have the numbers to do at least that.

My point is that Democrats are too nice, too rational, and far too quiet to break through.    You call them, “Radical Maga Republicans” and they just laugh.  You talk about working with them on behalf of the American people and they laugh more.  But truly, how can you negotiate in good faith with people who have shown themselves to be faithless?  Too many Republicans are more afraid of Trump than the people they represent.  You must change that!  Stop shielding them!!!

I call upon you and the democrat representatives to take the fight directly to the American people with loud and bold honesty.  Speak plainly and truthfully about what is happening and about the danger we are facing.  Call out the lies and expose the liars every time and without hesitation.  Our country is being destroyed, and lives are being ruined while governors and judges and news media are being threatened by this lawless Administration if they resist. We need you to use your powerful voice and gift of persuasion to inform and encourage people to take action. Represent us!!!!

And finally, you must push your republican colleagues to stand up for what is right, and I urge you to publicly expose them when they don’t.  No more shielding their private disagreements with Trump and Musk.  It does our country a disservice to allow Republicans to remain in office when they are not representing us. We pay our taxes and we gave our elected congressional representatives, (not Elon Musk or Donald Trump) the responsibility to appropriate those funds.  Demand that Trump and Musk follow the law and appropriate the funds as passed into law by our elected representatives and call upon your Republican colleagues to do the same or expose their failure to their constituents.  

We had a revolution because of taxation without representation.  What Trump is trying to do with our tax dollars is cause for another revolution.  He wants to single-handedly determine where and how our tax dollars will be spent as though he were king.  Please do not allow it.   

Sincerely,

Juanita A. Hall, voting citizen (for now)

Our nation is at that point in a marriage ceremony when the officiant asks, “If anyone has an objection to this union, speak now or forever hold your piece”. I have many objections to the lawlessness, the corruption, the recklessness, the incompetence, the deregulations, the revengeful attacks, the scapegoating, and the cruel policies that are beginning to destroy lives. But I feel like a voice crying in the wilderness. The silence is crazy! The fact is that corporate media outlets have been bullied into submission so few will report on the pain and suffering many are starting to endure. And just as disturbing is the reality that Republican lawmakers are either complicit or too terrified to oppose anything Trump and Musk decree no matter how horrific. And since Democrats are the minority party in both Houses, they are effectively powerless.

With the exception of a few courageous independent media voices (who are also being threatened), we hear very little about the government employees losing their jobs or the women dying in pregnancy, or the growing number of newborn deaths. We don’t hear much about infectious diseases (like Measles & TB) that are on the rise. We don’t hear the outcries of children being separated from their deported parents or the worries of farmers who can’t harvest their crops without migrant labor. We hear very few complaints about the rising cost of everything as inflation leaps upward as tariffs (and threats of tariffs) take effect. We hear nothing about the deaths of children who relied on food and healthcare from USAID nor the parents who mourn them. We see minimal coverage of the protests in the streets around the country. No corporate news outlet is talking about the Target boycott nor the board of director’s lawsuit against Target for mismanaging its rollback of DEI programs except through independent and social media.

Every day, we are inundated with executive order policy announcements accompanied by lies and exaggerated claims necessitating them, but we rarely hear the aftermath of the chaos, confusion and destruction they cause, nor do we learn the actual truth behind the cruelty at work. We know things are bad, but those whom we once trusted to represent us in Congress (House and Senate) are silent and helpless because we gave the Republicans, (who either serve or fear Trump), the majority. Their complicity or cowardness is allowing the spread of corruption and governmental destruction to feed the ego, pockets, and thirst for unchecked power among a few rich white men. Democrats can only complain and delay. The corporate media that we once trusted to inform us and hold people in power accountable have been bullied into silence.

The only branch of government that is holding on by a thread is the judicial branch. However, even federal judges are under threat by these thugs who have taken over our executive branch. Vance and Musk have advised Trump to simply ignore federal court rulings. They are waiting to see our reaction or lack thereof. And we all know that the Supreme Court has been compromised with stolen seats and ongoing corruption.

Another beacon on light are democratic governors. So far, they are resisting. However, the Trump Administration is threatening to withhold federal funding for disaster relief, public health, education, healthcare, research, and other vital needs if they refuse to fall in line. We will see how the struggle between the Constitutional guarantee of states’ rights and federal authority plays out. Blue states are donor states to the much poorer red states. There is definitely an argument to be made that we are now being taxed without representation because no one elected Elon Musk.

I’m painting a dire picture because the situation is dire. Trump is enjoying a 53% approval rating because ordinary citizens have no idea what is happening to our economic and social foundation because the corporate news media and social media algorithms have sidelined the alarms detailing the bad decisions, the lies, the corruption, the lawlessness and the human suffering. However, lived experiences like lost jobs, soaring food prices, loss of consumer protections, natural disasters without relief, the lack of access to healthcare, and inadequate public services can’t be hidden for long even if the media doesn’t report it. And this past week, no news outlet could hide the resignation of seven federal prosecutors who refused to follow a Department of Justice unethical order to dismiss legitimate corruption charges against mayor Eric Adams in exchange for Adam’s loyalty to Trump.

We are heading toward a crisis I never imagined possible in my lifetime. People are starting to suffer real pain in the name of “Making America Great Again” and their cries are largely going unreported and unheard. But it is not sustainable. History tells us that when the pain becomes too great, and the cries of the masses are met by callous disregard, the people with revolt. And, sadly, but predictably, the bloodshed of those responsible for their hardship will be welcomed.

We have a small window at this moment in time to object. I just hope enough of us are brave enough to do it.

I’m doing my part to sound the alarm. Trump and Musk, with the blessing or silence, of Republican lawmakers (who are in the majority), are quickly dismantling our Constitution, the rule of law, and our economic stability. Their goal is total domination and greed. They are willing to rule over ashes to feed their egos and fill their wallets just like rulers in other nations. They don’t care that this will leave survivors poor, powerless, and in pain until they revolt.

These men are spoiled toddlers craving adoration and out for revenge against anyone who defies them or tries to hold them accountable. They despise laws, decency, competent women, and people of color. They use bigotry against transgender people, immigrants, and people of color to distract their followers from their true motive to siege power and money. The uneducated bigots among us put these men in power because they thought they would inflict pain only on the people they hate and fear. They’re keeping that promise and doing much more. They are burning the entire country down and threatening our allies. As food prices quickly rise, these billionaires tell their followers that enduring the pain is their patriotic duty. Don’t be a fool!

There is still time to stop them. We must fight for everyone’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness before they illegally and systematically destroy every governmental mechanism that provides law and order, public health, economic stability, and education under the false premise of eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. Unfortunately, they have successfully bullied corporate media into submission, so that they can no longer be trusted to report the news accurately. And sadly, the Congressional Oversight Committee under Republican James Comer (chair) literally shut down any request for oversight this week in a despicable display of majority power. We the people cannot depend on our elected Republican representatives to represent us. They are either true believers in the Trump/Musk agenda or they are too cowardly to stand up for what is right, or they are in denial and hopeful that it’s not as bad as it seems. We are on our own.

Americans are only beginning to realize the danger and have started fighting back with lawsuits, boycotts, street protests, speeches, social media posts, political cartoons, independent journalism, whistle blowers, phone calls, emails, and letters like the one I wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson this week. I also wrote to my representative (a democrat), insisting that she fight louder and harder on our behalf. Personally, I concentrate on doing five things: 1) I donate to upcoming candidates for the mid-terms; 2) I donate to civil rights organizations for litigation efforts; 3) I email & write letters to representatives; 4) I use my social media presence to promote awareness and action even though the algorithm limits my views; and 5) I consume independent and publicly funded news media.

I share this particular letter to Speaker Johnson hoping it will inspire readers to join the fight in ways that make sense for them. At this point, doing nothing is the worst thing any one of us can do.

February 6, 2025

Dear Speaker Johnson,

It is abundantly clear from your public statements that you are not only complicit in the destruction of our country, but actively pursuing it. God, goodness, and the Constitution is nowhere to be seen in your plans.  All I see is cruelty and joy in the suffering of others.  Your Party’s apparent plans for the country will lead to deaths from disease, poisonings, and maternal complications and economic ruin for most Americans whom you were put into office to represent for the betterment of their lives. Instead, you are inflicting mass pain upon the innocent and vulnerable with your cruelty masquerading as care and righteousness.  No one is fooled except MAGA.  God and history will judge you harshly.  

Instead of giving more tax breaks to the wealthy, I suggest you start planning to use the few tax dollars you receive from “we the people” to build more cemeteries, orphanages, homeless shelters, and prisons. These are what will be needed because of your ruthless and thoughtless plans.

By design, your Party is putting destruction agents into place to destroy our healthcare, our environment, consumer protections, our education system, our infrastructure, law enforcement, scientific research, and basic human decency.  Clean air and water and a livable climate will quickly become a luxury of the past.  Women forced to have babies do not magically become good mothers.  Women in abusive marriages either die, run away or become murderers.  Nothing good will come from your plans. You can’t legislate gender or sexual orientation. Trump will bankrupt this country like he bankrupted his many businesses.  Your abdication of your oath is destroying this country and you lack the resources, trust of the people, and the ability to rebuild everything that is being destroyed. 

How many planes will crash?  How many bridges will collapse?  Who will be able to afford healthcare or home insurance? How many more maternal deaths?  How many sick newborns will die?  How many will die in the next pandemic?  How many communities will be destroyed by increasing climate disasters and lack the resources to rebuild?  How many citizens will be shot at school, on the streets, or in their homes?  How will our next generation receive a competitive education?  How will the elderly survive?  Who will join the military when veterans are mistreated?  Who is going to provide farm labor that feeds us? What government services will we be able to rely on?    

The insanity and lawlessness I’m seeing is not only frustrating but sad.  I feel like I’m watching Republicans gleefully destroy our credibility as a nation while also destroying actual people’s lives.  Trust Musk?  Trust Trump? You’ve got to be kidding!

History tells us that people who use their power to destroy others eventually are destroyed by the masses. I predict there will be violence against those who are responsible for the pain and suffering of the innocent and vulnerable.  I’m not a violent person, but many are when they get angry enough.  Something else to consider are those accustomed to using violence for righteous causes.  I suspect those FBI agents, CIA agents, law enforcement and veterans whom your policies are harming may not sit quietly as you destroy their careers and their lives.  And I can’t even begin to think of our former allies who now view this administration as a clear and present danger to their sovereignty and security.  

Do better.  The Congress is a co-equal branch of government created to represent the people of this nation, not bow down to a lawless and cruel toddler who thinks he’s a king. Stop abdicating your oversight duties and hold this administration accountable to our Constitution and our laws. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Juanita Hall