One of the harder things about life right now is the constant onslaught of news that feels insane, impossible, heartbreaking, outrageous, mind-boggling, or fill-in-the-blank with your chosen word. We really aren’t built for this and it’s so incredibly sad, because it doesn’t have to be this way, and it shouldn’t be this way. It could be so beautiful.
I hope you are taking care of yourself, consciously stepping away from the madness sometimes, putting your phone down, getting outside if you can, breathing deeply, connecting with people you love, reading good books, listening to music, and doing anything and everything you can to remind yourself that human beings can be incredible. We’ve been through tough times before, and the most important thing is not to lose hope. Sometimes that’s also the hardest thing, I know.
This week, of course, we watched as the president took a wrecking ball to the East Wing of the White House with no congressional oversight or approval, and no public review. There are at least a dozen other things happening that need our attention – he is directing our military to strike alleged “drug boats” out of international waters based on his assertion that they are carrying drugs — with no evidence, and without congressional input.
So we’re just shooting boats out of the water, now, and taking his word for it bad people are on those boats. The administration just approved more oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic national wildlife refuge which breaks my heart. This president wants to accept a $130 million donation from a friend, Timothy Mellon, to pay the military this month and there are going to be millions of people who think that’s a good thing. It is not a good thing at all, even for active duty service members. Obviously I want them to be paid, along with all federal workers being impacted by the shutdown.
I do not think senators choosing not to come to work should be paid, however, nor do I think they should receive top-of-the-line healthcare when they can’t be bothered to to their jobs. I don’t want my tax dollars to pay for their vacation.
It’s not good for any American if the president starts accepting anonymous donations or any donations to pay for our military, because we need Congress. We need a functioning Congress to ensure we have a functioning democracy. We, the people, need our representatives to work together to make sure we are being represented. That’s why they are called “representatives.” That’s why we get to vote for them (unless the president calls governors of states and tells them to redraw their maps so we don’t get to vote for them), that’s why our tax dollars pay their salaries.
They are supposed to go to our state capitols and to Washington to work for us. If there is a shutdown because our senators cannot come to an agreement, and the party in the majority starts taking huge donations to pay for things, there is no need to negotiate anymore. This president is working to undermine the power of one of the three branches of government in broad daylight and I do not understand why this isn’t the top story everywhere. More on that later this week.
For now, in case you (also) encounter people who try to compare Obama’s basketball court to the ballroom, allow me to help. He turned the existing White House tennis court into a court that could also be used to play basketball – so some lines were painted and hoops were added. Even that he did with congressional approval and oversight. It is freaking hilarious to compare these two projects. Like an ant versus an asteroid.
When people start telling you the “South Lawn Expansion Project” began during Obama and, “Trump is just finishing what Obama started” that is misinformation. In addition to the tennis court/basketball court mashup, Michelle Obama planted The White House Kitchen Garden, which continues to provide 2000 pounds of produce to the White House annually. She understands the concept of leaving a place better than you found it.
You may also hear about a $376 million dollar renovation that happened while Obama was president. It did! It’s so funny, because the people talking about it are so smug. They’re like, “Look you apoplectic liberals having seizures over the ballroom, look what Obama did!” As if he spent $376 million in taxpayer dollars doing upgrades to the White House for himself.
What they don’t say is that the $376 million dollar renovation was approved by Congress in 2008 when BUSH was president, before Obama took office, because the Bush administration came to Congress with a Bush administration report, saying inspectors the Bush administration had hired found infrastructure systems that were continually failing and needed to be replaced. Not just HVAC systems but security systems. So yeah, those renovations happened while Obama was in office, but they were approved and put in motion before he was president.
CNN later confirmed in a September 10, 2010, segment that Congress had approved the project’s funding in 2008, before Obama took office, following a Bush administration report that warned of periodic system failures in the White House. Bloomberg News further noted that several of the building’s systems were nearing the end of their “reliable productivity.”
It is very tiring and disheartening to have just paid my federal taxes when the president of the country where I live hates people like me who did not vote for him. That is not how it’s supposed to work. He is in no hurry to open the government, he said so himself just a couple of days ago. He is happy about the shutdown, because it is “killing the Democrats.” It is giving his administration the opportunity to get rid of “Democrat programs” – meaning SNAP, ACA subsidies so Americans can have affordable healthcare, Medicaid benefits, funding for pediatric cancer research, and Special Education, to name a few. Last I checked, these were not “Democrat programs.”
Anyway, I continue to hope more people will realize what is happening here. Congress is the branch of government most accessible to the people – that is by design. We are able to call and email our reps for a reason. We know when votes go to the House floor, and the way our representatives vote are in the public record so we can see if they are representing our interests, voice our feelings if not, and vote them out if we continue to feel that way.
Without a functioning Congress, we skid ever closer to an Executive-run country. A CEO at the helm, calling the shots — which, if you’re paying attention, is exactly what they want. This is Project 2025, and we are seeing it play out. It’s time to smell the hostile takeover.
Someone commented on another platform that I have so much anger and should do some yoga. I am angry sometimes — watching arrogant, bigoted, racist, misogynistic, violent people ruin everything tends to piss me off. Sometimes I am full of despair. Other times I am full of hope, gratitude and joy — more of the time, thankfully. I don’t practice yoga to avoid my feelings or to avoid reality, I practice so I can face it, try to show up with love, and see how I can help.
