February 23, 2025

Posted on by Laine et Lumière

Okay, it’s been a while and a lot’s happened, so let’s get into it.

The Bad News

  • Last night, the administration fired a number of top military leaders, including Joing Chiefs Chairman Charles Q. Brown, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, and General James Slife. Agent Orange wants to replace Brown with Lieutenant General John “Razin” Cane, who, in addition to being wildly underqualified for the job (he’s retired and also not a four-star general), is rabidly loyal to the Cult of Orange. Tr*mp has said he wants “the kind of generals Hitler had” (read: staunch loyalists), and this appears to be a move in that direction
  • Pete Hegseth has announced that he intends to fire the judge advocates general, who are in charge of administering the military code of justice and deciding what is and isn’t an illegal order. This would make it a lot easier for Agent Orange to punish military members who refuse to comply with his unconstitutional fascist plans. Hegseth has also spent this week talking about what a drag the Geneva convention is and that sometimes, torture is actually a good idea, guys.
  • Alongside this praise of torture, the Drumpf administration is working on turning Guantanamo Bay into a concentration camp that can hold 30,000 immigrants. (For reference, Auschwitz was designed to hold about 20,000 people, although it often held up to 33,600). He routinely uses dehumanizing language to talk about these people, and he’s following the Nazi propaganda playbook for demonizing and exterminating a minority group to the letter.
  • Interim DC US Attorney Ed Martin announced “Operation Whirlwind”, which is supposedly going to investigate and prosecute threats against public officials. Martin said about the project, “Free speech has limits” and “We will stop the storm of threats against officials at all levels.” This is a tool to threaten and silence anyone who opposes Agent Orange and his minions, including Musk. And if you needed additional confirmation of this, the operation is named after a Soviet initiative in 1956 that was used to brutally crush a public uprising in favor of Hungarian independence and democratic reform.
  • A judge has ruled that the Drumpf administration can carry on dismantling USAID. Not only does this move undermine Congressional power, but it flies in the face of the foreign policy that has helped to prevent a third world war for the last 80 years. Programs like USAID give the world opportunities to resolve problems that could escalate into war before they ever reach that point. Even if the Christianity that the right likes to use as a beating stick against LGBTQ folks and women didn’t call for feeding the hungry and healing the sick, USAID is a central tool in international peacekeeping — or, rather, was.

The Good News

  • The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, gets to keep his job for now. The OSC makes sure that whistleblowers in other departments are protected from retaliation. Removing him left the way a lot clearer for the Cult of Orange to beat down anyone who dared to oppose their illegal actions. This ruling is also important because it proves that even a court with several Tr*mp appointees won’t always side with him. This is an enormous win for the resistance.
  • At a meeting of governors, absolute hero Maine Governor Janet Mills took a direct stand against The Great Cheeto Himself. He called her out directly, trying to pressure her into agreeing to comply with his transgender athlete ban. She refused to bow. When he threatened to pull her federal funding, she responded simply, “We’ll see you in court.” This kidn of bravery is amazing and so important right now! We need leaders standing up to Agent Orange. Nothing shows his hand faster than refusing to comply with his demands. He wants absolute power and obeisance. He wants everyone on earth to kneel before him and kiss his feet, and it makes him absolutely nuts when people refuse to do it. And even more importantly, it gives everyone else courage to stand up, too. Without the submission of the people, this idiot is just a pervy old man with a bad spray tan shouting into the wind. This kind of resistance matters, so huge thanks to Governor Mills!
  • On the subject of resistance, citizens are flooding their representatives with complaints about the Cult of Orange. We’re packing town halls and voicemail boxes with messages calling for action, for a stop to this madness. Representatives who bleat out the party line and continue to blindly support the would-be dictator are being shouted into silence and are literally running away from their own town halls. Congress continues to get a wave of calls and voicemails, as well as letters, emails, and more. This is how change happens! They’re feeling the pressure to stand up, and we can’t let up now.
  • Approval ratings are plummeting all over the administration. Agent Orange’s approval ratings are down to 45 percent (from 47 percent when he took office — the lowest starting approval rating of any president since 1953). Only 43 percent of people approve of what he’s done since he took office. 57 percent think he’s gone beyond his power as president. 39 percent of people strongly disapprove of him; only 27 percent strongly approve. 83 percent of people disapprove of him pardoning the January 6 offenders. 57 percent of people disapprove of deporting immigrants who are not accused of crimes. Americans disapprove of Musk’s role in the government by a ratio of almost 2 to 1. 63 percent are worried about Musk and his gang of teenagers having access to their private information. The people are angry, and we’re rising.
  • The AP is suing the administration for barring them from presidential events. This ban is the result of the AP refusing to bow to Agent Orange’s unhinged attempt to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico. Although this is one of dozens of lawsuits hitting the administration, it’s nevertheless an important one. Not only does their lawsuit deal with issues of free speech and freedom of the press, but it turns a very powerful legal machine against the wannabe dictator.
  • Thousands of people turned out for protests at all 50 state capitols on Presidents’ Day, even in freezing temperatures. Brandon and I went to the Kentucky protest in Frankfort, and there were hundreds of people there alongside us. We are not alone in this fight! They want us to feel isolated and powerless, and we are neither of those things! The movement is taking hold, and the people are rising. Your voice matters!

What You Can Do

  • Contact your reps. Phone, email, letter, town hall, personal appointment at their office. This is the single biggest, best thing you as an individual can do right now. Call every single day and demand action. Tell your representatives to introduce articles of impeachment. Tell your senators to refuse to confirm nominees until the madness stops and to support removal of the president. Demand that Elon Musk be removed from government. Tell your governor to refuse to comply with illegal deportations. Tell your school board to support trans kids. The plans Agent Orange has require the cooperation of officials across the country, so let those officials know in no uncertain terms that we, the people, will not stand for it. This is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Remind them of that!
  • Email hr@opm.gov with a list of five things you’ve accomplished this week. One of the things Musk and his gang are trying to do right now is find excuses to fire more federal workers by demanding that every worker email a list of at least 5 things they accomplished this week. If we flood that email with irrelevant messages, they won’t be able to cut through the noise to find their real targets. This may sound silly, but this kind of resistance really does make an impact. And let’s be real, annoying Elon Musk is worth 2 minutes out of my day.
  • Learn about immigrants’ rights, share them with your immigrant friends, and keep an eye out for ICE operatives. Remember, immigrants (even those who aren’t here on a legal visa) have rights under the constitution. I’ll post the ACLU guide to immigrant rights in the comments. Read it (especially the section about warrants). Memorize it. Share it with your friends, your family, and your coworkers. If you see ICE agents conducting an arrest, watch them and make that they’re following all required procedures. If they appear not to be, ask them if they’re complying with those requirements. Record their activities with your phone. IMPORTANT: Do not start fights with them or resist them. All that does is give them an excuse to use violence against you and give the administration an excuse to declare martial law. Right now, that doesn’t help anyone. But let them know that we’re watching them and they aren’t above the law.
  • Support your LGBTQ+ friends. This is so critical in a time when the current administration is trying to make them feel hated and afraid. Just reach out and let them know you love and support them. Ask if there’s anything you can do to help them feel supported. If you have trans friends, use their chosen names and/or pronouns. Correct people who misgender or misname them. Buy merch from Human Rights Campaign and wear it. Donate to The Trevor Project. Fly Pride flags. Bake cookies for them. Any act of love right now goes such a long way, so be unbridled love in the world.
  • Make a safety plan with your family. Unfortunately, things are moving in a really, really scary direction right now, and if the resistance isn’t enough to stop it right away, you don’t want to find yourself scrambling. Decide what’s going to be best and most achievable for you and your family if we do become a full-blown dictatorship. Consider what to do if a war breaks out (I know it sounds extreme, but so is what’s happening). Think about how you’ll keep yourself and your family safe, and lay out specific steps you’ll take if the time comes. Like any evacuation or shelter in place plan, this is the kind of thing I hope you’ll never have to use, but if your house catches on fire, you don’t want to be figuring out how to get out while the room is burning around you.
  • Schedule time for self-care. Things are incredibly hard right now, and all of this can quickly become overwhelming. Living in a constant state of fear and stress isn’t sustainable, and we need to be rested and prepared to fight for the long haul. Take time away from the media (social and otherwise) and do things you love. Spend time with friends. Make something creative. Go outside (even for just a few minutes; it’s cold out there). Play with your pets and your kids. Sit someplace quiet for five minutes, just breathing. Taking this time to nurture yourself can make it so much easier to stand up again and continue into a new week.

Things are bad right now, y’all. But the people are fighting back. The fight isn’t over yet. Love and strength and fury and the power of the people, y’all. We can take this next week.