And if those unlawful “executive order” dictates and cross-state border overreach find their way to the US Supreme Court which affirms those anti-democratic initiatives, is that game, set, match for complete control? Lest we think a MAGA controlled Congress, or the economic DOGE powerhouse won’t try and control who can vote even in blue states, once you remove traditional American compassion and mutual “we’re in this together” from the equation, MAGA strings are being prepped. Hinting strongly that unless California fails to adopt MAGA-approved voter restrictions, per House Speaker Mike Johnson (a Louisiana representative who loves his state’s restrictive laws), maybe Congress will not provide wildfire relief funding.
That California contributes far more to the federal government than it receives – and would be the world’s fifth largest economy if it were a nation – are irrelevant to MAGA control freaks. I wonder if we ever have elections again (and they are fair), and Dems take charge, perhaps they could condition disaster relief in red states upon a total repeal of all abortion restrictions. After all, we do live in a world where bullying, political extortion, conspiracy theories treated as fact and legislative overreach are now standard. It’s that goose/gander thang. And despite efforts to contain forum shopping for clearly sympathetic rightwing federal judges, well, the approaches have become more sophisticated. And then there’s the purging key words (especially relating to LGBQT+) from all government releases and Websites. If you ain’t white, you ain’t right?!
“This week, the Defense Intelligence Agency ordered a pause of all activities and events related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Juneteenth, LGBTQ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and other ‘special observances’ to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order… The memo listed 11 observances that are now banned. It also said that all affinity groups and ‘employee networking groups’ are immediately on pause.” According to a memo obtained by NBC News and reported on January 31st. And under the guise of “fair access” across all media, describing the move as “rotation,” the Pentagon closed on-site access to several in “mainstream media” – not surprisingly including NBC.
The [DOD] memo on a “‘New Annual Media Rotation Program said it would also remove National Public Radio… and Politico, which must vacate their spaces by Feb. 14. In their place, it would give dedicated office space to the New York Post, One America News Network, Breitbart News Network and HuffPost News.” Reuters, February 1st. With the exception of HuffPost, each of the other shifted spaces were given to pro-Trump entities. Each of these moves is consistent with an immutable law of rising autocracy: control the media, crushing those sources that are not “friends” of the autocrat.
In an effort to undermine such media, and perhaps make a few bucks for a mega-conflicted power broker, on February 1st, the National Transportation Safety Board – the governmental agency responsible for aircraft safety standards and crash investigations – released this message to the press: "For media covering the airplane crashes in Washington and Philadelphia—all NTSB updates about news conferences or other investigative information will be posted to this X account… We will not be distributing information via email." Given that DOGE CEO, Elon Musk, owns a large controlling interest in X, this posture is both steeped in the stink of corruption and brazen to the max.
And as I pointed out in my recent Who’s in Charge, and What Are They Doing? blog, DOGE operatives have even figured out how to control the federal government’s most basic check writing functions. And if that gets shot down, there will absolutely be another workaround to force MAGA on all of us by unelected “officials” helping its mega-billionaire leader maintain his lucrative government contracts as he finds ways to cut taxes for his wealthy cronies by cutting services for the rest of us, particularly the poor. But Co-President Musk is but one force imposing Project 2025 directives across the board; extra territorial overreach is a practice cherished by several power-hungry states.
With total abortion bans still high on MAGA’s priorities, believing that while they will eventually secure that ban through federal legislation or even a constitutional amendment, ultra-MAGA states are not willing to bide their time: “A New York doctor was indicted by a Louisiana grand jury Friday [1/31] on allegations that she prescribed an abortion pill online in the Deep South state, which has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country.
“Grand jurors at the District Court for the Parish of West Baton Rouge issued an indictment against Dr. Margaret Carpenter; her company, Nightingale Medical, PC; and another person. All three were charged with criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, a felony… The case appears to be the first instance of criminal charges against a doctor accused of sending abortion pills to another state, at least since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022 and opened the door for states to have strict antiabortion laws…
“‘Make no mistake, since Roe v Wade was overturned, we’ve witnessed a disturbing pattern of interference with women’s rights,’ the Abortion Coalition of Telemedicine, where Carpenter is one of the founders, said in a statement. ‘It’s no secret the United States has a history of violence and harassment against abortion providers, and this state-sponsored effort to prosecute a doctor providing safe and effective care should alarm everyone.’
“Friday’s indictment could be the first direct test of New York’s shield laws, which are intended to protect prescribers who use telehealth to provide abortion pills to patients in states where abortion is banned… ‘We always knew that overturning Roe v. Wade wasn’t the end of the road for anti-abortion politicians. That’s why I worked with the Legislature to pass nation-leading laws to protect providers and patients,’ New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a prepared release.” Los Angeles Times, February 1st.
Will the Supreme Court back off from its support of extremist anti-abortion views, which fly in the face of the wishes of a majority of Americans… or just double down? And exactly how will this assault on reproductive rights impact where doctors locate their medical practices and where young college, and medical school applicants apply for admission? Like the prestigious Tulane School of Medicine in New Orleans?
I’m Peter Dekom, and God have mercy on those who have been targeted by once politically powerless zealots who are suddenly running most of the federal government.
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