Meme photos: Education Secretary Betsy Devos next to character The Church Lady played by Dana Carvey

The news is getting to be tiring. I don’t mean in the way that it makes you tired; I mean in the way that you’re exhausted in your bones, and the thought of checking headlines can make you want to curl up into fetal position with your blanket and sob quietly until blissful sleep comes.

“Don’t let sleep overtake you; the world’s awake within you.” – Vasko Popa

It’s been just over five weeks since 45 and the Numpties took over and began reshaping our government into whatever it is President Bannon wants it to be so that he can set it on fire. All is not lost, and the fact that we’re still paying attention and speaking up IS helping. Do not lose sight.

• New DNC chair Tom Perez
• Karma catches up to Milo Yiannopoulos (even if it wasn’t for the reason you’d expect)
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that the Second Amendment doesn’t protect assault weapons
• Dmytro Firtash, the Ukrainian oligarch being held in Austria, will be extradited to Chicago
• I probably don’t need to remind you, but SNL has been hilarious lately

Even with these positives (and potential positives) we must keep an eye on the ball. More issues are in the works that are absolutely worth our attention. Read the headlines. Follow the links, but as the tingles of anger and frustration bubble up, keep your anger in check. These issues are all important as are many others. We can’t focus on some and exclude others or real live people suffer.

• GOP lawmakers scrap Stream Protection Rule
• Pruitt says they’ll be rolling back more Obama-era environmental regulations in an “aggressive way” starting this week
• Thousands of emails show that the E.P.A. chief worked to battle environmental regulation (not really a surprise, but still the information is coming out into the light)
• Removed federal protections for transgender students
• 45 is seeking a “historic” increase in military spending of more than 9 percent
• We are still deporting and detaining people, even people with valid visas
• Some states trying to remove citizen’s freedom to protest
• In three education voucher studies, researchers found that they’re not good for students, but the Numpties proposed a new $20 billion voucher program anyway

I was especially shocked last week to see the combination of states trying to pass laws to prevent or punish people for protesting and the White House barring The New York Times, CNN, and Politico from a scheduled press briefing on the 24th. Some states want to limit an individual’s right to oppose the current administration’s actions. The White House intends to punish these news outlets for exercising their First Amendment right to investigate Russian efforts to affect the election. The First Amendment, the right to free speech and free press, are there for us. The government’s attempts to limit those rights is unacceptable.

 

Link: “Trump Intensifies His Attacks on Journalists and Condemns F.B.I. ‘Leakers’” – The New York Times

Link: “4chan: The Skeleton Key to the Rise of Trump” – Dale Beran

Link: “Federal agents move woman awaiting emergency surgery at Texas hospital to detention site” – Chicago Tribune