Editor:
We’re experiencing a right-wing coup against the federal government, the extent, speed, and ferocity of which few anticipated. The coup is enabled by Donald Trump, most of the Republican Party, and their extremist allies in so-called conservative think tanks.
Remaining rational and combative are certain Democratic representatives and senators, more than a handful of federal and state courts, certain Democratic attorneys general, some Dem governors, thoroughly woke grassroots activists, a handful of principled Republicans, and thank goodness, numerous savvy reporters, commentators, and political cartoonists.
Injured so far have been thousands of ordinary federal civil servants who’ve been fired without cause; many are going to court. Soon to be hurting and with little to no recourse are millions here and abroad who depend on the U.S. government for sustenance and protection.
Adjectives to describe this increasingly desperate situation are unprecedented, unwarranted, undemocratic, illegal, unconstitutional, reprehensible, and dangerous.
Very, very dangerous.
~ Gren Whitman
Rock Hall
0 Responses
Thank you Gren. The alarm was sounded but we didn’t listen. Now the wolves are not at our doors, they are in our homes, neighborhoods and cities. Question will sit here and do nothing, since that is what got us to this point. He told us what he was going to do, he had the playbook, lied and said he knew nothing about it, lied again. This is our country it belongs to all us not just a few 1 percenters, either we fight this or we will just sit down and watch our democracy die?
As a retired Federal worker, I am appalled and ashamed of this situation. These are innocent, hard-working people who have chosen public service. The stress and heartache they are experiencing is unconscionable.
I know this sounds a bit like pseuds corner but I kept thinking of that line at the end of The Great Gatsby. It’s just so apt. Nothing has changed.
“They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”
Thank you for pointing out the danger we are in. In his pocket-size book, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century,” historian Timothy Snyder cautions, “Do not obey in advance. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”
Unfortunately, SCOTUS and the House of Representatives will provide no protection from the megalomaniac and kleptocrat. I fear the cancellation of the 2026 and 2028 elections based on a false declaration of exigent circumstances. If you think it’s unimaginable, remember we’re living the unimaginable right now.
IMO, the ground is already crumbling under Herr Trump, and he’s reportedly fuhrious.
This all struck home last night when my 23yr old son, newly hired federal worker, asked me and my husband if we had heard about the list of 5 things email. He’s getting no support from his supervisors as to what to do. Following what the Pentagon has told him to do. Sad beyond words. My son gets a great job he wanted, now he has this worry.