LOSE THE TIRED AND FALSE RHETORIC. WE ARE NOT BUYING IT

Phrases we are sick of hearing…”radical left-wing programs.” The GOP Congress just approved $9.4B of DOGE-approved cuts by rescission. Voiding and retracting funds they themselves previously approved. Negating your own decisions for the first time in decades. All in the guise of getting rid of ‘radical left-wing programs.’ Which apparently includes funding to recruit and train teachers and to support arts and music education in low-income areas, as well as funds for children learning English and for the children of migrant farm workers. This led some lawmakers to object that the Trump administration is breaking the law and trying to take over Congress’s job of writing laws. Senator Wicker (R-MS) said of the rescission package: “Let's not make a habit of this. Let’s not consider this a precedent.” Sure. A little late to start protesting don’t you think? Besides, Russell Vought, who now seems to have the power to tell you what you can and cannot spend, says those cuts are just the beginning. HHS Secretary RFK Jr. plans to remove all sixteen members of a task force that advises the federal government on what preventative health care measures—things like cancer screenings—health insurers must cover. In June, he replaced all 17 members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices in the CDC with seven people who share Kennedy’s distrust of vaccines. They announced that they would reexamine the CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule for children and adults. The WaPo has reported that staff associated with DOGE are using AI to eliminate half of the government’s regulations by next January. James Burnham, former chief attorney for DOGE, told reporters: “Creative deployment of artificial intelligence to advance the president’s regulatory agenda is one logical strategy to make significant progress” during Trump’s term. Officials at FEMA, which operates under DHS, announced that it is starting a “detention support grant program” to fund temporary detention facilities. States have until August 8 to apply for grants from a pot of $608 million. FEMA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will distribute the funds. The NYT reported that senior military officers are increasingly at odds with Pete Hegseth. His tenure at the Pentagon has been astoundingly inept. Most of his staff have either resigned or been fired and have not been replaced. He uploaded classified information about military strikes to a private Signal chat on which a reporter had been included. He has the temperament and judgment of an over-caffeinated chihuahua. Senator Tillis (R-NC), whose support for Hegseth earned him Senate confirmation, recently told CNN: “With the passing of time, I think it’s clear he’s out of his depth as a manager of a large, complex organization.” Boy, y’all are masters of understatement. And apparently oblivious to your own culpability in all of the above developments. But you are exactly right about the ‘radical’ part. It’s just not on the left.