Excuse my lazyness, but this was a cut and paste.

 Former Connecticut resident here in New Mexico. I was curious about the local Connecticut reporting, especially regarding the horrible, disrespectful behavior of Pres. Trump and Vice Pres. Vance toward another head of state who was tricked into a meeting where he was literally ambushed by Trump and Vance with accusations and threats. 

Did your reporters not see the same unfolding of the event as did I and millions of Americans? And yet the stories on today's NBC CT website are veiled anti-Zelenski and overly apologetic to the bullies, President Trump and Vice President Vance and the entire circus. 

"Many with Ukrainian ties here in Connecticut said it was a hard watch." An understatement if ever there was one!!!
"Elon Musk welcomes baby No. 4 " Makes me ill. This is news WHY?
"Trump objected to Zelenskyy's tone and body language in Oval Office clash, White House says" - really? This is a totally inappropriate twist on who had foul language. There was no "clash" it was a pile up by Trump and Vance. Trump/Vance owe Zelinsky an apology.
"What they said: Trump, Zelenskyy and Vance's heated argument in the Oval Office" - the only ones heated and shouting were Trump and Vance. Zelensky was restrained and was the only adult in the room. I was hoping he would punch Trump and break his jaw, but Zelenski is too much a gentleman to even raise his voice to the disgusting excuse of a president of the US.

A few more points with some repetition:
1) this meeting was a set-up to gang up on Zelensky
2) Trump had no intention of coming to an agreement
3) the intention was to make it look like Zelensky was the one who didn't want to make an agreement
4) it was not a shouting match: Trump and Vance did all the shouting
5) Zelensky was the adult in the room
6) Trump was an utter disgrace and treated Zelensky with disrepect and contempt
7) Vance threw gasoline on the fire and was a complete ass (except that he stated clearly that Russia invaded Ukraine)
8) Trump's TruthSocial note was meant to make Zelensky look like the bad guy: always, always, projection when it comes to Trump being wrong.
9) *****the media will whitewash the story and give Trump the edge******
10) We should all be embarrassed by Trump, Vance and the entire administration and any republican who will not see what transpired and continues to kiss the trumpian felonious ass.
 

I, my husband and friends are all disgusted with what Trump and th republicans are doing to illegally dismantle the government and our democracy.
So is NBC going to be complicit or will you all start reporting the illegalities and dangers that are an everyday occurrence?
I hope journalists and the rest of us survive this fascist coup.

Today Was Bread Day

 

Three Loaves

12 Rolls

Random Thoughts These Past Few Days (From My Comments on JMG)

Is Big Brother Watching

I am worried for hubs. This illegal threatening, intimidating email requesting federal employees to reply with 5 bullet points of what they did last week by Monday at 11:59 p.m. ET. or get fired. My hubby can make a list of 105 things, but should he? I do hope his union provides some guidance on Monday morning. We all know this is bogus and illegal, but legality doesn't seem to matter anymore, they just make threats and do whatever they damn well please.

Anything Musk tweets about - anything - should be considered BS and a lie. If all Federal employees refuse and resist it will send a strong message. There are still LAWS protecting Federal employees from arbitrary dismissal.

Republican members of congress  

 

 

Trusk: Consistently fail to see the bigger picture or the fact that we live in a complex society.

Hubs, is at work right now and stuff is going on there that he has only filled me in on briefly but even his sketchy report is not good. I have called our two Senators and Representative and told them to stop the monster Musk from destroying the government and the country. Thankfully, our congresspersons are Dems and the persons who answered the phone were all very supportive. I have been on the verge of tears all morning.

Not all departments are giving the same advice. Which just adds to the confusion.

Relevant Laws Federal Employees Should Know Regarding Forced Resignations & Performance Reporting: 

(I cannot vouch for the annotations below each cited law; I took this from a Federal Employee's comment elsewhere on the internet)

5 U.S.C. § 7513 - Adverse Actions Against Federal Employees
-Federal employees cannot be removed or disciplined without cause and due process.
-Any action taken based on non-response to an email demand is legally challengeable.

5 U.S.C. § 2302 - Prohibited Personnel Practices
-Federal employees are protected from arbitrary personnel actions.
-Any executive directive must comply with the Merit System Principles.

5 U.S.C. § 7701 - Right to Appeal Adverse Employment Actions
-Employees have the right to appeal terminations and disciplinary actions to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).
-Forced resignations due to non-response to an email do not meet the legal standard for involuntariness.

5 U.S.C. § 552a - Privacy Act of 1974
-Any request for performance records must comply with federal records and privacy laws.
-Requests without proper documentation, Privacy Act notices, or legal justification may be unauthorized.

5 C.F.R. § 351 - Reduction in Force Regulations
-Layoffs and workforce reductions must follow legally established procedures, including seniority and formal review.
-A mass demand for employee self-justification does not constitute a lawful reduction in force.

 But apparently we are no longer a nation where the government respects LAWS.

Eggs are the least of our worries today.

(In response to a story about "GOP House Rep Tells Furious Constituents That “God Has Plan And Purpose” For Them Getting Fired": F your phony god and his non-existent "plan".

(In response to a comment supporting the Musk request/demand) Obviously, a troll. You know nothing of real people and real lives that this is affecting. Go delete yourself.

Hubs has been dealing with this today. So much confusion and conflicting info/advice from management/unions. I am worried for him. Can’t wait till he gets home.

Hubs in meetings about this. I told him DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!

Hubby and I are waiting for some math wiz to calculate the cost to the government incurred by federal employees today who were called into meetings and strategy sessions to determine if and how to respond to Monster Musk's ridiculous demands. I would guess hours per employee were spent on this nonsense.

Hubby and I are cautiously optimistic about his job. I wish I could be more specific, but there may be spies out there...

...I cannot say specifically. He and all coworkers (about 35 in his office) did respond. Personally I think they should have told Musk to shove it, but I don't have a job to lose. I guess it was a disturbing day for all, but they did what they thought best. I cannot fault them for that. It's all new territory.

The request/demand was illegal but the threat was real. So yeah, it presented a moral and ethical dilemma for every federal employee. It was not a matter of typing a few words and hitting “send” (as Musk jested). Nothing about Musk’s activities is authorized or legal and yet he somehow has control over millions of government employees. 

This has to end.

 I put blame where it belongs: the republican party, the heritage foundation, christian nationalists, and a national disease/crisis of despair and anger that has been growing unchecked for decades.

Yes, I want them (the Dems) to DO SOMETHING! But realistically, we are all in unexplored territory. The three branches of government and the DOJ are all under the control/influence of Trump/Musk/Republicans and in complete defiance of the laws and customs of our government.

Ordinarily it would be the DOJ and the courts that would enforce compliance. And the legislature would have impeached the felon again by now. (Or if any iota of reason had prevailed, the felon would NEVER have been nominated, let alone elected). 

So what do the Democrats have in their arsenal right now? Rhetoric? Indignation? Moral Superiority? YouTube?

I want to hear from Obama, Carter, Biden, Harris, and every elected Democrat, every day until this coup is taken down and destroyed forever! And the rest of us will, sooner or later, have to take to the streets. I fear there will be violence before this is over.

 

P.S. to fellow bloggers. I've been a bit preoccupied so haven't been keeping tabs on you guys. 

 

 

A Message From Ukraine

 Something most people are not tuned into:

A Representative From NEW MEXICO - yeah!

 This was from a week or so ago, but worth watching:

Protest Today at the State Capitol Santa Fe

 Who would have thought that we would be out demonstrating against our own government in 2025. 

We were out protesting and marching when MLKing Jr was assassinated, when we were fighting for civil rights and gay rights and for humane treatment for AIDS and other progressive causes. We thought we had made a difference. But the hate is back with a vengeance.

And here we are again. 

Me on the left

Mostly seniors....well, it IS Santa Fe...but, hey, you don't diss your elders because we boomers were protesting long before many of you were born. Sorry, I'm not a great videographer!

RESIST