If you’ve been paying attention … and I’m aware that a lot of people aren’t … things have been pretty chaotic these past 192 years since trump took office on January 19. So chaotic that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with it all even though I started out on DAY 1 attempting to keep track and making a list. It was futile. BUT I am attempting to let you know what I know … just in case you’re one of those that hasn’t been ‘keeping up’:
- trump has withdrawn the US from the World Health Organization, the international organization that tracks and trouble shoots with other nations the progress of pandemics and possible pandemics, shares critical information about diseases, medical research, and surgical breakthroughs that might take each participating country eons to do alone without input from international research and trials. Of the 194 countries that are members, the US is now one of only a tiny few countries that have elected NOT to belong to WHO.
- Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris Accord – that organization of countries that is constantly working to mitigate damage to the environment from pollutants that are severely influencing dangerous climate change.
- trump has pardoned or commutted the sentences of ALL tried, convicted and incarcerated January 6 insurrectionists with no regard for the severity of their crimes, many including brutal attacks on police officers. He had promised to look at each person’s level of participation and NOT pardon those that attacked members of law enforcement but that didn’t happen. One of those released has promised retribution against those involved in his arrest and conviction, one has already been re-arrested for gun violations and another has publicly said, “Now I can buy some F – – – – – G guns.”
- Reversed the caps on medications for Medicare and Medicaid patients
- Reversed the bi-partisan Infrastructure bill
- Rounded up people assumed to be illegal immigrants without attempting to first locate, arrest and deport those who are dangerous criminals as he promised. Some of those people were American citizens of foreign heritage that simply didn’t have their papers with them at the time of raids on their places of employment and several have been Native Americans. In a video made for show, he’s deported 2 groups of 80 persons each out of this country on military transport planes with a much larger capacity than 80, at a cost to the US government of $250,000 each trip. A smaller, but less impressive transport plane could have been used at a cost of just $85,000 per trip.
- He is attempting to override / reverse the Constitutionally guaranteed birthright citizenship of American citizens of other nationalities born in this country.
- He has stopped the CDC from sharing information with the public regarding the progress of the potentially fatal bird flu and any information about most everything else.
- He has fired anyone so far that he has been able to target as a government official, advocates, and federal employees that had ANYTHING to do with cases brought against him for fraud, conspiracy, sexual misconduct … anyone he sees as not having been loyal to him. He has attempted to make the names of FBI agents public, which could likely endanger their lives since pardoned and released insurrectionists have vowed retribution upon them.
- He has closed vital government programs; some that give lifesaving food, medications and aid to foreign countries in desperate need of assistance.
- He has brought on board Elon Musk, a private, trump contributor, billionaire citizen that NO ONE voted for and his team of near-adolescent, post-pubescent young white men to work covertly within government agencies, fire employees and dismantle those agencies. This includes the Treasury Department where they have gained access to the private information of ALL of us.
- He has alienated most of our allies, suggested making Canada the 51st. state, wants to purchase Greenland, heaped tariffs upon Mexico and Canada and China to a lesser degree. He has renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and has plans to take over Gaza, relocate the people and turn that war-ravaged land into a desert resort. “I will own it,” he said.
- Because of the chaos he has instigated, gas prices have increased and fluctuated, food prices are on a steady rise and the stock market has taken several concerning and significant plunges.
As of Feb. 7, approximately 35 lawsuits have been filed against Trump’s 46 executive orders, a number of which are Constitutionally illegal, according to lists compiled by Just Security and the Federal Register.
Although an agreement was reached between trump and both Mexico and Canada regarding tariffs and any further action postponed for 30 days, as of February 10, trump is threatening once again to add tariffs against Mexico and Canada. This time his threat is tariffs on steel and aluminum. Reminder: fruits, vegetables, auto parts, clothing, shoes and any number of things we depend upon here in the US come from Mexica and Canada … now including steel and aluminum … from building materials to the simplest things like soft drink cans. We can expect prices for those things to increase.
Anyone that has even a vague memory of high school Government class should have locked in their memory somewhere the knowledge that tariffs are actually paid by the consumer. Payment is due at the port of entry by the purchaser and passed along to the consumer – us … you and me. We will all feel this in our kitchens, in our homes and in our pocketbooks. These latest threatened tariffs are for 25% while the tariffs on China still hover at 10%.
There are so many truly critical things that have been damaged and continue to be damaged by this administration. There has been more damage in just 3 short weeks than could have been imagined possible. I’m not sure at this early stage if we will ever recover from the trauma.
I already don’t recognize this country and my heart weeps desperately. What I’ve mentioned here is only a fraction of what has been done … and what is yet to come.
I haven’t been this frightened of anything since becoming an adult.
Today trump has ‘decreed’ that plastic straws will once again be in production, replacing paper ones. if the user wishes. While it’s hard to imagine the damage done to the environment by plastic drinking straws, straws made from plastics account for 8 million tons of polluting plastic entering the ocean annually. This greatly impacts the environment because they are non-biodegradable. This leads to
wildlife endangerment, marine pollution, human health risks and increased cleanup costs. Because the plastic tends to break down into very fine piece eventually, it is easily consumed by humans, leading to health risks. BUT … as a McDonalds and fast-food connoisseur, Mr. trump obviously thinks he knows what is most important here.
Today trump also has announced plans to stop production of the penny. Research shows that it costs 3 cents to manufacture just one penny, which is far from cost effective.
FINALLY, although I take no real pleasure in it, I’ve found ONE thing that I agree with trump on. Doing away with the penny is probably a good idea. I must have no less than 20 or 30 of the things floating around in my pocketbook at any given time, weighing down my purse and causing damage to my shoulder. It will take a while for businesses and restaurants to adjust their charges to exclude costs like $10.97 or $5.96 or $12.89 per purchase, but that’s a small thing once it’s done.
Doing away with the penny seems insignificant in the midst of tariffs, higher food and gas prices, huge hits to the economy, termination of our most experienced government officials and military leaders, leaving us vulnerable to attack by hostile countries and enemies, and loss of our democracy, which is the biggest and saddest insult of all.
Today in the midst of my sorrow I know we can’t give up hope … for us and, yes, for those that voted for trump. We will all be affected by these changes and I can’t take pleasure in that. I feel only sadness.
I guess we have to appreciate our small victories and any tiny sparks of positivity, if it’s only the elimination of a small denomination of money that weighs down my shoulder and takes up all that space at the bottom of my pocketbook. It’s the only thing I’ve found that doesn’t completely weigh down my spirit and my heart.
heimdalco 