Laying off a ton of federal workers leaves those workers—and in turn, the US—vulnerable to foreign agents offering them jobs in return for access to confidential information.
Kudos to Reuters for doing the legwork on this story. They sent people to visit business addresses in Singapore, to verify that these were phantom companies.
#kakistocracy #fuckElon #badDOGE
“Exclusive: Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired federal workers, research shows”
#Maine #HandsOff Mass Mobilization Events
handsoff2025.com - #NationalDayofAction as of 3/24/2025 at 7:00AM
#KitteryME, 9:00-11:00am, Memorial Bridge, Rt 1, Maine/NH
#OxfordHillsME, 10:00-12noon, Fair St. & Main St. #SouthParisME
#WellsME, 10:30-12noon, Wells Public Library, 1434 Post Rd
#PortlandME,11:00am-12noon, Monument Square, 456 Congress St
#FarmingtonME, 11:00am-12noon, 196 Main St
#SouthPortlandME, 11:00am-1:00pm, GE Erskine Park, end of bridge
#AuburnME, 12noon-1:00pm, Longley Bridge, Court St
#CherryfieldME, 12noon-2:00pm, Rt 1 Bridge, River Road & Rt 1
#BangorME, 12noon-1:30pm, Bangor Public Library, 145 Harlow St
#AugustaME, 12noon-2:00pm, Maine State House, Capitol & State Streets
#PortsmouthNH, 12noon-2:00pm, Market Square
#SkowheganME, 2:30-4:00pm, US 201 & Water Street Bridge
Source:
https://bsky.app/profile/pinetreeactivism.bsky.social/post/3ll4myt36bs2w
#April5Events #April5th #Maine #MainePol #HandsOff2025 #HandsOff #Antifascism #Events #MaineResists #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism
What a great time to dismantle #FEMA, eh?
Storms to erupt over areas of #SouthernUS blasted by #SevereWeather just days ago
More storms will brew over the southern United States this weekend and there is the potential for a few #tornadoes by Sunday.
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Mar 20, 2025
https://www.accuweather.com/en/severe-weather/storms-to-erupt-over-areas-of-southern-us-blasted-by-severe-weather-just-days-ago/1757573
#BadDOGE #ExtremeWeather #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis
#Teachers sue #Trump admin for stopping affordable #StudentLoan repayment plans
The American Federation of Teachers represents 1.8 million educators.
By Leah Sarnoff, March 19, 2025
"One of America's largest unions is taking aim at President Donald Trump's administration for shutting down access to affordable student loan repayment plans -- saying the decision is 'effectively breaking' the system.
"The American Federation of Teachers (#AFT), representing 1.8 million educators across the country, filed a lawsuit against the #DepartmentOfEducation in Washington, D.C., hoping to restore the programs that have now been shuttered for three weeks.
"The filing alleges the administration halting the application process for all Income-Driven Repayment (#IDR) plans and ordering student loan servicers to stop all processing violates #FederalLaw.
"AFT sued the United States Department of Education (ED) for effectively breaking the student loan system, denying borrowers' access to affordable loan payments and blocking progress towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness (#PSLF), in violation of federal law,' the union said in a statement Wednesday."
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/teachers-sue-trump-admin-stopping-affordable-student-loan/story?id=119965907
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #BadDOGE #ResistDOGE #Authoritarianism #USPol
#Trump signs order gutting #DepartmentOfEducation
Trump signed the order in a ceremony while flanked by schoolchildren.
By Katherine Faulders, Rachel Scott, and Arthur Jones II
March 20, 2025
"By dismantling ED, President Trump is implementing his own philosophy on education which can be summed up in his own words, 'I love the poorly educated,'" - Bobby Scott, D-Va.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-expected-sign-order-gutting-department-education-sources/story?id=119967268
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #BadDOGE #ResistDOGE #Authoritarianism #USPol
#PortlandME teachers, parents join national #protests against #Trump’s cuts to #education
Teachers from Deering High, Rowe Elementary and Presumpscot Elementary held a 'walk-in' Wednesday in a show of support for public education amid cuts to the U.S. #DepartmentOfEducation.
by Riley Board, March 19, 2025
"'Education is a right, that is why we have to fight,' a group of educators, parents and teachers chanted outside Deering High School early Wednesday morning. To a chorus of loud honks from passing cars on Stevens Avenue, they waved signs opposing staff cuts to the federal Department of Education and other actions President Donald Trump has taken that could affect public education.
The group of about 80 were participating in a nationwide walk-in organized by the National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers union. More than 100 similar events took place across 26 states; the event was scheduled for Wednesday because it’s the day that federal elected officials are returning to their home districts as Congress goes to recess.
"'Now is the time to send a message: Their decisions in Washington, D.C., matter here at home,' the NEA said in a statement on its website."
[...]
"Kerrie Dowdy, president of the Portland Education Association, the union that represents teachers in the district, said the vast majority of all American students, including 95% of students with #disabilities, attend #PublicSchools.
"'All students benefit from programs run by the Department of Education, and we’re here today to protect our students and to protect our public schools,' Dowdy said."
Original article:
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/03/19/portland-teachers-parents-join-national-protests-against-trumps-cuts-to-education/
Archived article:
https://archive.md/vf7Ki#selection-2055.0-2059.186
#MaineResists #USPol #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism #ResistFascism #RESIST #CharacteristicsOfFascism
Maine protests on April 5th:
Portland
11am-12pm
Monument Square, 456 Congress St, Portland ME
https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/765634/
Augusta
12-2pm
Burton M. Cross Office Building, 111 Sewall St, Augusta, ME
https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/764545/
Oxford Hills
10am-12pm
Fair St. & Main St. South Paris/Norway, ME
https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/766130/
#Maine #MainePol #PortlandME #AugustaME #ParisME
#HandsOff2025 #HandsOff #Antifascism #Events #MaineResists #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism
Ummmm... Makes me *almost* wish for a #CarringtonEvent. smh
The dystopian "#FreedomCities" dream fueling #ElonMusk's destruction
Tech's plans for #BillionaireRule expose why Musk wants to end government by the people
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published March 17, 2025
"In our cynical times, most people are familiar enough with doublespeak to understand that anything called a 'freedom city' is likely to be the opposite. It's a sign of the delusional self-confidence in their own mendacious powers that the tech oligarchs who are financing this idiotic idea insist on going with that branding anyway. Investigative reporters Vittoria Elliott and Caroline Haskins published an in-depth report on this scheme for Wired earlier this month. What immediately becomes clear is that what the Silicon Valley billionaire class considers 'freedom cities' is simply neo-feudalism, a plan to end the concept of citizenship and make every working person a serf whose entire life is controlled by the whims of their boss."
https://www.salon.com/2025/03/17/the-dystopian-freedom-cities-dream-fueling-elon-musks-destruction/
#PrepareToBeASerf #NeoFeudalism #Dystopia #DOGE #BadDOGE #USPol #TechBros #TechOligarchs #Oligarchy
#BellRiots anyone? Anyone?
EXCLUSIVE: Memo details Trump plan to sabotage the #SocialSecurityAdministration
by Judd Legum, Mar 17, 2025
"An internal Social Security Administration (SSA) memo, sent on March 13 and obtained by Popular Information, details proposed changes to the claims process that would debilitate the agency, cause significant processing delays, and prevent many Americans from applying for or receiving benefits."
https://popular.info/p/exclusive-memo-details-trump-plan
#USPol #BadDOGE #SSA #SocialSecurity #KillThePoor
Not just #Maine -- all of #NewEngland is being targeted! And don't get me started about #ProBirth types! They don't give a SHIT about feeding children after they are born!!!
New England schools and food programs take ‘devastating’ hit after #USDAFundingCuts
The more than $1 billion in federal funding helped #schools, #ChildCare programs, and #FoodPantries in 40 states to buy produce and other items from local farmers.
By Amanda Gokee and John Hilliard Globe Staff, Updated March 12, 2025, 3:03 p.m.
"In October, the USDA announced $1.7 billion for states and #tribal governments to purchase #locally and #regionally produced foods for #EmergencyFoodAssistance, including free meals for schools and child-care programs.
"That funding included $1.2 billion to support local food purchases with schools, child-care facilities, food banks, and other institutions, according to the USDA. School meal programs would get $500 million to make food purchases, and states, territories, and #TribalNations would receive another $500 million. Child-care facilities were supposed to get $200 million, the USDA said.
"The money earmarked for food banks, schools, and child-care facilities was meant to help them meet the needs of their recipients and help ensure they had access to healthy foods, according to the USDA at the time."
Original article:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/12/metro/new-england-food-program-usda-federal-funding-cut-ri-nh-ma-vt-me-ct/
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/AvN3n#selection-2481.0-2499.213
#USPol #FundingCuts #BadDOGE #Hunger #HungerGames #KillThePoor
#KansasCity #CommunityGardens the latest #nonprofit to feel impact of federal funding cuts
By Nathan Brennan
Published: Mar. 9, 2025 at 6:00 PM EDT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - "Kansas City Community Gardens has been serving the metro since 1979, officially 501c3 in 1985. The nonprofit helps out thousands of families every year, but like so many other nonprofits across the country, their federal funding is on pause.
KCCG Executive Director Jennifer Meyer said the nonprofit already budgeted for $300,000 of federal grant money to be reimbursed throughout the year. After the most recent federal cuts, that money isn’t showing up.
"'We’re having to be really conservative on how we approach the spring season,' Meyer said. 'Those grants operate on a reimbursement basis, so we do the work, buy the seeds, buy the fruit trees, and then submit billing on those grants. We have not seen a reimbursement come through since December of last year, so right now, that’s all on hold and uncertain.'
"Kansas City Community Gardens has been serving the metro since 1979, officially 501c3 in 1985.
"Meyer said the garden won’t have to shut down, there are enough donors to keep the garden running during the spring season. However, #KCCG is still feeling the impacts by having to trim seasonal staff. If federal grant money doesn’t show up at all, Meyer said the nonprofit will have to make some tough decisions.
"'Last year, #FoodInsecurity rates quietly crept back up to pandemic levels, so our community needs food,' Meyer said. 'We know that #gardening is a great way to get #HealthyFood into neighborhoods and families who are on a tight budget, so this funding lets us do that.'
"Meyer expects the spring season to run as normal, just with fewer staff. KCCG offers an annual membership program with fees based on income and the number of people in a household. Membership ranges from $2 to $45.
According to the KCCG reader’s digest, enrollment includes:
- 10 free packs of seeds and the opportunity to buy more at a low-cost member price
- Free 10-pound bag of fertilizer
- Starter plants, including vegetables and herb transplants, fruit trees, berry bushes and more at a low-cost member price
- Low-cost garden supplies, such as straw, compost and pest control products
- Low-cost tilling services and access to KCCG rental plot gardens."
Learn more about Kansas City Community Gardens’ outreach and resources at this link:
https://kccg.org/
#CommunityGardens #USDAFundingCuts
#USPol #FoodInsecurity #BadDOGE #Hunger #Missouri
With less funding and more hunger, a #DentonTX #CommunityGarden still wants to grow and feed more
By Lucinda Breeding-Gonzales Staff Writer Mar 14, 2025
"Friends of Shiloh Field Community Garden always plans to harvest more crops for its local partner #FoodPantries and #HomelessShelters. This year, the community garden’s board chair said the volunteer-run farm expects more people to need the food they grow.
"'Every year we try to outdo ourselves,' said Christina Proctor, the chair of the board for Friends of Shiloh Garden, the nonprofit that operates the community garden. 'We always anticipate making more than we did the last year. Talking to the #FoodBanks and they tell us every year that we have increased the number of requests for food for us. Ever since 2020, it just keeps going up.'
"Food banks across the country saw both hunger and food insecurity spike when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered businesses and closed offices, shedding workers and leaving families without paychecks. Inflation and rising costs have kept some families strapped and struggling to feed their families. And as North Texas has grown, problems such as hunger, homelessness and food insecurity have grown with it.
"The immediate future for hungry Texans of all ages looks grim. But recent cuts are affecting children greatly. The School Nutrition Association reported Monday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture [#USDA] announced it would cut the $660 million #LocalFoodForSchools program for 2025.
"Politico, citing a spokesperson for the USDA, reported that the department also cut the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. The program would have funded about $500 million this year to support food banks.
"For the second year in a row, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission opted not to participate in the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer [#EBT] program, which would have paid $120 per eligible child for families already receiving food benefits through the summer months.
"The program is meant to fill the gap left when public schools are on summer break, and children who qualify for free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch are vulnerable to greater food insecurity. The commission opted out of the program when the state Legislature didn’t move to allocate the money needed to get the program up and running on Monday.
"Denton residents learned this week that Lovepacs Denton, a nonprofit that gives food to Denton ISD students to get them through school breaks and long weekends, will close after the school year ends in May.
"#Austerity is impacting state and local assistance services all at once. Celia Cole, the CEO of Feeding Texas, said that cuts to programs like this not only put more Texans at risk for hunger, but they also reduce stimulus spending that benefits the state’s farms. Feeding Texas is a network of 20 food banks that feed hungry Texans and advocates for policies that prevent hunger. Cole said the Summer EBT funding could have fed Texas children and teenagers last year.
"'The first opportunity that Texas had to run the program would have been in summer of 2024, and we missed out on it because, I think really more than anything, was that Texas Health and Human Services Commission ... had so much else on their plate with #Medicaid unwinding,' Cole said. 'They were facing really serious backlogs and getting people enrolled in Medicaid.'
"Then, as the deadline for summer of 2025 got nearer, Cole said, it became clear that the commission would need money from the state to administer the program. Monday was the deadline for the Legislature to allocate the funds. Cole said programs like Feeding Texas will have to stretch their resources and be strategic with funding and food.
"For Denton nonprofits, leaders are preparing to do the same. The Friends of Shiloh Garden is keeping close tabs on costs. Proctor said seeds aren’t as costly as donors might think, but over the last two summers, water costs have soared.
"'Our biggest expense in production is water,' she said. 'We’ve been very blessed that Denton Bible Church has been helping us subsidize our water bill by giving us some money to help offset that cost.'
"In 2023, when Denton saw about 55 days of triple-digit heat, Proctor said water costs were almost too much.
"'That was the year we almost had too close because it was just so expensive,' Proctor said. 'Our water bills that year were just ridiculous.'
"The operation installed drip irrigation and weed cloth to cover the drip lines and saw savings. But the nonprofit is still looking to serve more people and give its partners more of what they want."
To support the community garden, www.shilohfield.com for donation and volunteer information.
Big March storm fans #wildfires and flips trucks as forecasters fear weekend #tornado outbreak
By RUSS BYNUM and SEAN MURPHY
Updated 9:02 PM EDT, March 14, 2025
"Tornadoes likely amid storm outbreak
"The Storm Prediction Center said fast-moving storms could spawn twisters and hail as large as baseballs Friday, but the greatest threat would come from straight-line winds near or exceeding hurricane force, with gusts of 100 mph (160 kph) possible.
"A #TornadoWatch was issued until 11 p.m. for central and eastern #Missouri, including St. Louis, as well as parts of #Illinois and #Arkansas.
"The National Weather Service said it observed an evening tornado in the south-central Missouri city of #Grovespring.
"Other areas at risk included parts of #Iowa, #Kentucky, #Tennessee and #Mississippi.
"About 47 million people faced an enhanced to moderate severe storm threat from Madison, #Wisconsin, to Birmingham, #Alabama.
"Forecasters grew increasingly worried that intense thunderstorms farther south will likely bring an even greater tornado threat Saturday.
"The Storm Prediction Center said parts of #Mississippi including Jackson and Hattiesburg and areas of #Alabama including Birmingham and Tuscaloosa will be at a high risk. Severe storms and tornadoes are also possible across eastern #Louisiana, western #Georgia, central #Tennessee and the western #Florida Panhandle.
"'We have a lot of confidence that we most likely will have a tornado outbreak tomorrow,' Storm Prediction Center meteorologist Evan Bentley said in an online briefing."
https://apnews.com/article/severe-weather-tornadoes-fire-blizzard-be7fe7207d483252d9ff31df58209d2b?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
#ExtremeWeather #Polycrisis #USWx #Tornadoes #TornadoWarnings #TornadoOutbreak #BadDOGE #NWS
WE NEED #NationalWeatherService
#NoCutsToNWS #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Disasters
Fuck Louis DeJoy.
I can’t believe Biden let him keep his job.
“USPS strikes deal with Elon Musk's DOGE team for reform help”
US district judge William Alsup ordered six agencies to REINSTATE THE JOBS of thousands of employees fired recently. The agencies are: U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Interior and the Treasury Department.
#Trump Officials Are ‘Pretending’ a Judge Didn’t Bar His #AntiDiversity Orders
A judge blocked the administration from forcing organizations to accept anti-diversity contract terms. Trump officials haven’t let them know
By Asawin Suebsaeng, Andrew Perez
March 12, 2025
"Last month, a federal judge issued an injunction blocking President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing multiple executive orders designed to purge the government of anything related to diversity — including an order to prohibit contractors and grant recipients from doing literally anything to promote the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion (#DEI) within their organizations.
"Trump’s Justice Department decided the fairly broad injunction only covered certain agencies. This month, certain parts of the administration, including the U.S. State Department, continued attempting to force this provision on contractors and grant recipients, threatening their funding if they failed to sign it, according to three knowledgeable sources in and outside of government. Rolling Stone has also reviewed documentation supporting these accounts.
"After the judge clarified on Monday that his injunction does, indeed, bar the whole federal government from enforcing Trump’s anti-diversity orders, the administration hasn’t bothered to inform various nonprofits and grant recipients they do not currently have to comply with the president’s orders, according to two of the sources. The new contract terms the Trump administration attempted to foist on these organizations and recipients remain on their desks, with the threats about failure to sign still dangling over them.
"'We haven’t even received a generic email about the judicial ruling,' says one senior executive at an international nonprofit and longstanding implementing partner with the U.S. government. ' They are just pretending it didn’t happen, it seems.'
"The episode is part of a broader pattern in which the second Trump administration has operated under the impression that judges’ orders and rulings don’t much matter. Vice President J.D. Vance has publicly argued that Trump can ignore judges’ orders, asserting: 'Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.' Trump, for his part, has threatened to 'look at' judges who rule against Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Over Presidents Day weekend, Trump admitted he thinks he can break any law he wants to — so long as he can loosely define doing so as part of his mission to ' save' the country.'"
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-officials-diversity-orders-dei-pretending-1235294937/
#ResistDOGE #Resistance #BadDOGE #Fascism #Authoritarianism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol
Ooopsies! #ElonMusk Says X Outage Is Due to "Massive #Cyberattack"
Story by Tionah Lee, March 10, 2025
"After millions of users across X (formally known as Twitter) experienced outages on March 10, the company’s executive chairman weighed in.
"'There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against X,' the 53-year-old wrote March 10 as a reply to a user who questioned the outage. 'We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved. Tracing …'"
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/elon-musk-says-x-outage-is-due-to-massive-cyberattack/ar-AA1ADzVX?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhoverent&cvid=101843352293480deb5c50f84214adc7&ei=5
#BadDOGE #resistance
Um, what did I post about #GolfCourses the other day? Water wasting, pesticide-laden... WHO NEEDS IT?!!! #Rewilding, #SolarFarms, ANYTHING BUT! Let the poor starve, but keep whacking those balls, eh?!
#Pentagon Keeps Pouring Cash Into Golf Courses — Even As Trump Slashes Government Spending
The Pentagon owns 145 golf courses. As #Trump cuts key government services, we found it aims to spend on sand traps and clubhouses.
https://theintercept.com/2025/03/10/pentagon-spending-golf-courses-trump-budget-cuts-elon-musk-doge/
#USPol #DOGE #DOGECity #DOGETargets #BadDOGE #MadKingTrump
#Trump’s federal cuts threaten #Indigenous communities
They told U.S. House lawmakers that the administration’s “chainsaw approach” to government cuts will disproportionately harm #IndianCountry
by Shondiin Silversmith, Mar 6, 2025
"From securing funding for #IndianHealth Services and ongoing #WaterSettlements to increasing investments in infrastructure, education and law enforcement, many Indigenous leaders and organizations are raising the alarm about the devastation that federal funding cuts could bring for #NativeAmericans.
"More than 60 tribal leaders and organizations from across Indian Country testified over three days to a U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee on the federal funding needs of Indigenous people and their communities nationwide.
"'I know there’s never enough funding to go around,' Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said, and he appreciates how the subcommittee has consistently set aside several days to hear Indian Country’s funding priorities.
"'It is the process that starts the funding decisions for tribal programs, staffing and priorities for this administration,' he added. Tribal leaders and organizations gave five-minute testimonies to the subcommittee from Feb. 25 to Feb. 27.
"Lewis used his five minutes to discuss the Trump administration’s actions and their impact on his community.
"There is 'real fear' within tribal communities about what is happening in Washington, D.C., he said, referencing the freezing of federal funding and the mass firing of federal employees across the government.
[...]
"He added that the cuts are being made without considering how they will impact services. Rather than making the government more efficient and effective, it is 'creating a federal workforce that is paralyzed by fear.'
"Lewis called the administration’s actions #destabilizing and said they will have a disproportionate impact on Indian Country.
"'The government-to-government relationship is only as strong as our federal partner,' he said. 'And right now, there is a real concern that the federal side of this partnership has the real potential of being dismantled.'"
Read more:
https://ictnews.org/news/tribal-leaders-sound-alarm-as-trumps-federal-cuts-threaten-indigenous-communities-
#USPol #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #AirIsLife #RespectTheTreaties #USGovtCleanUpYourMess #UraniumMining #UraniumMilling #IndigenousHealth #IndigenousNews #BadDOGE #DOGE #HealthCare
#DemocracyNow: U.S. Judge Orders Reinstatement of Illegally Fired #NLRB Member, Tells #Trump He Is Not a #King
Mar 07, 2025
"A federal judge on Thursday ruled that Trump illegally fired a member of the National Labor Relations Board in January, and ordered Gwynne Wilcox be reinstated. Judge Beryl Howell wrote, 'A president who touts an image of himself as a 'king' or a 'dictator,' perhaps as his vision of effective leadership, fundamentally misapprehends the role under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.'
"In related news, the nonprofit union-focused watchdog LaborLab is warning against Trump’s pick to head the Office of Labor-Management Standards. Elisabeth Messenger was previously the CEO of Americans for Fair Treatment, an anti-union advocacy group."
Watch / listen / read transcript:
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/3/7/headlines/us_judge_orders_reinstatement_of_illegally_fired_nlrb_member_tells_trump_he_is_not_a_king
#Fascism #USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ResistFascism #KingTrump #DOGE #BadDOGE
