I Have Informed You Thusly

 Instead of saying "I told you so" whenever Trump breaks one of his promises, I started using the phrase "I have informed you thusly," taken from a Sheldon Cooper quote on a Big Bang Theory episode. It's been rather apt lately, as we keep hearing about things that he and his administration have done that do not benefit the majority of the American public.

When I post things like this, I don't do it to be mean, shameful, or hurtful, even though I have received plenty of hate from diehard Trump and MAGA supporters. I post because I pay attention. I watched what happened during Trump's first term. I researched his history, including his marriages, business failures, and the many contractors that he forced into bankruptcy by refusing to pay for work that they'd done for him. 

I saw the coverage live on TV on January 6th. I've read Project 2025, and not surprisingly, a fair number of the items contained in that document are cornerstones of some of Trump's policy plans. I also did some research on Elon Musk, the world's richest man, who has an incredible amount of influence over our president. I'm surprised more people aren't calling out the fact that his companies receive billions of dollars in U.S. federal funding every year as a huge conflict of interest.

Elon has never invented anything, but he's taken credit for founding companies that he's invested in. He has a history of treating workers poorly, slashing jobs, and trying to cut corners when it comes to safety regulations. It's no surprise to me that his DOGE agency (which still hasn't been authorized by Congress) has gone after some of the federal agencies that had been investigating his companies. 

DOGE is a sham. If you really wanted to audit government spending, you'd bring in a team of experienced, nonpartisan auditors and accountants to do the job, not the world's richest man who receives billions in federal funding and his team of computer hackers/programmers. 

Trump told 30,573 documented lies during his first term. He said that he would end the war in Ukraine and lower gas and grocery prices on day 1. He also said that his budget would include no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security. Of course, the recent Republican budget plan included none of that, but it did have more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and corporations, just like his last term.

Republicans have been after Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other benefits that millions of Americans have depended on for years. I'm very concerned about the potential federal grant and loan cuts because they impact some of the work that I do and the people and organizations that I work with. I'm worried that my parents and others who worked hard all their lives may no longer have Social Security. I'm not even sure it'll be around when I reach retirement age.

There's been a lot of ineptness with this administration, as evidenced by the mass firings of air traffic controllers (and the plane crashes and accidents that have followed), national park workers and nuclear plant employees (some of whom were fired, only to have that decision rescinded but now the government suddenly can't contact some of those workers). It's no surprise that the FAA suddenly wants to end its contract with Verizon in favor of a new deal with Musk's Starlink, yet another conflict of interest. It's also not surprising that Musk's DOGE agency has found very little wasted government spending and falsely claimed that people who were 150 years old or more were receiving Social Security benefits (due to an inability to understand how dates are coded in the Social Security system).

Trump's address to the nation this week was another of his rambling, lie-filled speeches. Texas Representative Al Green was removed from the proceedings because of "decorum," even though Marjorie Taylor Greene was not disciplined for exhibiting the same type of behavior while attending Biden's speeches to the nation. Also, no funding was spent on transgender mice. The line item in question was for transgenic mice, which had received DNA from another source injected into them so that scientists could study diseases in a lab.

I'm baffled by Trump's executive orders that required the National Institute of Health to stop all scientific research on cancer and other diseases, his decreased funding of pediatric cancer research, and his orders to stop the CDC from sharing information about the public about the recent measles and avian flu outbreak, information that is very necessary to help keep the public informed and proactive about stopping the spread of those diseases. I'm also stunned by his insistence that the NOAA not be allowed to share information about potential severe weather because it can put lives at risk.

I felt bad for Zelensky after the disastrous conference at the White House last week. Trump revealed to the world that he's an ally of Putin, which we knew after he sided with Russia in voting against aid for Ukraine. Zelenskyy is no dictator. His country was invaded. He's simply trying to defend his people and his country. Realistically, the only way that conflict will end any time soon is if and when Russia leaves that nation and ends their hostilities.

I have lost friendships over politics, including some recently with people that I've known for over a decade or more. I'll never understand why some people are so loyal to a man that I've known for years is really nothing more than a lousy, narcissistic con man. He only cares about himself and his own self-interests. The only reason he ran for election in 2024 was to avoid having to serve jail time for his 34 felony convictions. I'm disappointed in the estimated 90 million eligible US voters who didn't vote in the last presidential election. They could have helped to turn the tide and make us a better country. I'd like to be optimistic, but the seemingly never-ending barrage of bad news daily doesn't give me hope. 

All I can do is be true to myself and stand up for who and what I believe in. I can speak out against what I know is wrong and try to help and encourage others in need. I'm not going to change who or what I am because of what some elected official or political party says. Not everyone has to like that, but I don't have to care. I know that our political system has been fucked up for a long time, but aside from another world war or a similar event that would result in a significant upheaval, I don't think that things will improve any time soon. Until things get better, I can just focus on what matters and continue to say, "I have informed you thusly," when things predictably go wrong yet again.

That's all I have for now. Until next time, have a great weekend and don't forget to be kind to one another.