There’s (Almost) Nothing Normal About These Times

Listening to news media can be a confusing act nowadays. There’s the political chaos caused deliberately by DT and company to shock us. Then there’s the reporting itself; for example, if a newscaster shows a clip of a speech by DT that’s totally filled with lies and threats to our lives⎼ and then, later the reporter shares that DT had no evidence for what he had said, the damage has already been done. People have already heard the lies spoken as truth. Or the reporter might describe an attempt to destroy the rule of law or invade an ally and then talk about a sporting event.

Or over the last few weeks, many commentators have shown a limited perspective on DT’s “shock and awe” campaign. Even on MSNBC, which often provides a needed perspective on events, provided examples of normalizing him. But there’s nothing normal about these last few weeks (or years). Ari Melber, who I normally like to listen to, called DT ’s cabinet picks “disruptors.” Disruptor, really? Destroyer, maybe? Violator? Disruptors is the same term used in a positive manner by DT insider Jason Miller, or GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson to describe nominees like Musk, RFK, Jr., or Vought.

Scott Dworkin pointed out the White House press office initiated a new strategy to help control news coverage and perspective. They’ve begun to feature the asking of pre-scripted questions to DT’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt by “new” MAGA media stars, like John Ashbrook or others from Breitbart, et al, in the White House briefings. At the same time, they’ve kicked the NY Times, NPR, and NBC News from their workspaces and replaced them with MAGA propaganda outlets like One America, Breitbart, the NY Post, etc. Yet, NBC ridiculously responded they were “disappointed.” And the NY Times called it a “concerning development.”

Jonathan Capeheart, on MSNBC, appropriately described several DT nominees, like Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard as grossly unqualified. Yet, that’s another understatement. What about their character and pledge of allegiance to DT? And add RFK, Jr, to run the Health Department and Pete Hegseth with the defense department⎼ and nearly the whole cabinet?

These nominees are not merely disruptors, unless you mean disrupting the rule of law, the economy, the healthcare for millions, the constitution, the rights of non-billionaire American citizens and certainly immigrants. And if a traitor is someone who deliberately acts to undermine or destroy our constitution and nation or make us more vulnerable to attack by foreign governments, are they traitors?

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has had a frightening influence on the new administration so far. During the campaign, Musk said, if given a chance to work for a President DT, he would crash the economy. Nothing about working for the greater good of all. Those who mistakenly link in their minds a DT economy with being “better off” needs to rethink very soon their opinion, memory, and vote.

Musk said he plans to use his newly granted power to bring drastic shocks, “hardship” for many Americans to bring long-term prosperity. But to whom? Only his fellow billionaires? He says if he doesn’t do this, the nation will go bankrupt. MSNBC’s Joy Reid responded: There’s no evidence of a looming bankruptcy. And if there was, Musk or DT would be the last people to trust to save it. DT’s tax cuts for the rich, for example, “caused the national deficit to soar.” And his proposed new tax cuts will do the same.

Musk’s recent actions to close and take over the resources of USAID are, according to Forbes, based on partisan politics and distortions; it’s seemingly illegal, apparently corrupt and certainly dangerous to our nation. For the US to give up its role in aiding foreign nations leaves a tremendous hole for China and other actors to step in. It leaves the world a more dangerous and less humane place. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, congratulated Musk on X, saying Musk’s actions against USAID were a “Smart Move.” Ending USAID also harms US farmers, for example, who provide wheat and other farm products to the agency for shipping abroad. Plus, the agency was investigating its relationship with Musk’s Starlink communication system. Turning it over to Musk ends that investigation.

The same with DT’s actions that undermine our relations with our neighbors and allies, through senseless tariffs, threats of invasions of Greenland, Canada, and Panama, to take over Gaza, and undermine NATO. At best, these aggressive actions use threats to get privileged trade terms, policies, or begin negotiations for such with allies. At worst, they isolate the US and make us vulnerable to Russia and other autocratic nations. And what about DT dismantling the FBI? Doesn’t this undermine our national security, counterintelligence and cybersecurity efforts, efforts to stop terrorists and criminals?

For we the people of the US, many of DT’s latest actions have been not only illegal but aimed to create chaos⎼ and send us into a state of shock and compliance before the awareness can sink in of just how bad he is for 90% of us. As the New York Times and others have pointed out, he’s openly violating the constitution; in essence, he’s staging a coup. He wants us to feel powerless and not perceive what so many of us are doing to resist him.

Columnist Jay Michaelson wrote a post detailing the increasing number of actions already taken to stop DT’s executive orders and illegal or immoral actions taken by his new cabinet and advisers.  Michaelson reveals that our fears and “anguished claims that nothing is being done to stop” him are misinformed.

For example, the Public Citizen Litigation Group, the State Democracy Defenders Fund, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed suit on Monday against the Treasury Department “for sharing confidential data with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Elon Musk.” Democratic Congresspeople are speaking out forcefully against Musk’s attempt to take over USAID funds and filed a suit to stop it. And on 2/5 they were joined by non-profit workers for demonstrations against Musk’s stop-work order for USAID. Suits have also been filed against Musk’s DOGE for being a “shadow operation for billionaires,” against DT’s illegal firings of Inspector Generals, etc., etc. And just recently, a federal judge in Maryland issued a nationwide injunction against DT’s executive order to end constitutionally protected birthright citizenship. Also, there were demonstrations in all 50 states against DT on 3/5. But more will be needed, by Democratic lawmakers, and by us.

The fear and moral outrage many of us feel about DT’s actions are so real they send my head spinning. But the resistance to these outrages is also considerable and rapidly growing. We need to choose what we look at, or read, so we can respond with clarity and effectiveness and grow the movement to stop the destruction and create something better.

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This Post is republished on Medium.

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