On a day like this, how can we believe it can all end? How can we believe our savings can be stolen or depleted, the protections on air quality ended, so the air will no longer smell so sweet or be safely breathed. Bird habitats dangerously threatened. The safety of my home and property ended. And all by the DT government. How do we see the ferocity of the beast when so much of what was, and so much beauty remains?
The Washington Post recently revealed that DT is having plans written up to weaken the independence of the nuclear safety regulators and relax rules that protect us from radiation exposure. Why? To fast track the resurrection of the nuclear power industry.
According to Reuters, on May 11 FEMA announced that, to align themselves with DT’s intentions, they are sharply reducing training for state and local weather and other emergency managers. This would leave all storm-prone communities more vulnerable, less prepared to handle the often-devastating effects of hurricanes and other catastrophic weather events, all of which have been happening more frequently with global warming. And they’re doing this just a few weeks before the June 1 beginning of hurricane season, a hurricane season predicted to be busier than normal this year.
Why? They claim their aim is to reduce waste and save money. But it’s difficult to understand how paying the people who help us prepare for storms and rebuild afterwards is wasteful—unless you’re a billionaire and think your money makes you immune from needing their services.
And this is happening in every aspect of government, affecting every aspect of our lives, from weakening rules that protect our water from highly dangerous, forever chemicals, firing those who fight forest fires, firing inspectors who provide food safety, healthcare, to stealing our retirement savings, habeas corpus, and even our right to speak out and vote.
And if that isn’t enough, this really scared me⎼ The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, was recently arrested by DHS agents and charged with trespass at an ICE detention facility. This was a private detention facility, opened despite a law prohibiting such, and without allowing legally required inspections by the state. The mayor was there in support of a congressional delegation aiming to inspect the site and was not on private land but public property. The mayor said he had been standing there for over an hour when arrested and had not been warned to move.
The following day, a DHS spokesperson said they were considering also arresting the 3 member Democratic Congressional delegation that was at the facility with the mayor. They accused the Democrats of assaulting ICE agents.
One member of the Democratic delegation, Representative Rob Menendez, said: “As Members of Congress, we have a legal right to conduct oversight at any DHS facility without prior notice, as we have already done twice this year. Throughout every step of this visit, ICE attempted to intimidate everyone involved and impede our ability to conduct oversight.” Menendez added, “This is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and I am shocked and disturbed that something like this happened in our community.”
Another member of the delegation, Representative LaMonica McIver added that the lawmakers were met with “contempt, disrespect, and aggression from ICE.” So⎼ who is violating the law here?
And this comes just a few weeks after DT’s Department of Justice arrested Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan, and accused her of aiding an immigrant escape arrest. Previously in the courthouse, she told the ICE agents they could not arrest the person without a warrant, and she allowed the man to leave. ICE then arrested him once he had left the courthouse. One week later, Judge Dugan was arrested. This week, she was indicted.
This is a frightening escalation of DT’s years long attack on judges and the independence of the judiciary. A Reuters investigation revealed that more than 60 judges who have ruled against DT have been subjected to online abuse, doxxing, and even physical threats. Justice Ketanji Brown warned of such efforts undermining the rule of law. Even Chief Justice John Roberts warned that without an independent judiciary, our government can’t function.
And of course, DT’s deportations are of people of color, mostly from Latin America. 90% of those deported to the Mega Prison in El Salvador had no criminal record and were all denied due process. Yet DT claims he’s deporting the criminal and violent amongst us. But one of those deported was a 2-year old U. S. citizen. It’s very difficult to see how a 2-year-old, or most of those deported, fit into the category of criminal and violent, unless it’s criminal to be brown, or black. And at the same time, he’s inviting into the US, and giving refugee status, to 60 white Afrikaners from South Africa.
It can be so difficult to believe, to feel this is really occurring⎼ or maybe it’s only difficult for some of us who are more protected and privileged ⎼ or it’s more difficult to believe on a good day, with the sun shining and birds calling. But at night, when we try to go to sleep, it’s a different reality. I often ask myself, if an invader was attacking this country, or coming to take my land, my savings, my wife or neighbors, what would I do? We now have an invader from within. Am I doing all that I can, now?
I realize it can feel like we can do nothing, or that our efforts are useless. But think of this: When we cook an omelet, each vegetable we cut, each egg we open⎼ in each moment we’re contributing to creating a meal. We need to ask ourselves: what are we contributing to the meal of democracy? To protecting clean air, protecting our right to speak out and be considered innocent unless proven guilty?
Each moment we join with others we can work to create a new reality. Each step can seem insignificant. But each step can also help create an effective and possibly life-preserving change. We must believe that the beast exists, and that we can, we must, and we are working to get him out of office.
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock
