A message from a constituent to Rep. Barry Loudermilk and his staffers Rob and Ashley Adkerson, Ashleigh Padgett, Nick Petromelis: Have you no shame about standing with your Trumpist colleagues’ pursuit of the false charges against former FBI Director James Comey, even after the brazen malfeasance and incompetence in the case has been publicly revealed?
What warped mentalities you people have to join in this assault on America’s basic principles.
Nicholas Ktristof writes in the New York Times:
"Trump has expressed such outrage at attacks on Christians in Nigeria that he has threatened military intervention there, and the Pentagon has obligingly prepared plans for attack. Trump’s concern for Nigerians is welcome, but here’s the awkwardness: Trump’s aid cuts are killing far more Nigerian Christians than Islamic terrorists are."
"So if Trump wants to save the lives of Nigerian Christians, the good news is that he doesn’t need to spend billions of dollars on charging (as he put it) “into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing.’” Rather, all Trump has to do is restore the American aid that was estimated to be saving the lives of more than a quarter-million Nigerians each year."
Trump's own administration appears to be killing tens of thousands of Nigerian Christians.
The Center for Global Development in Washington calculated earlier this year that before Trump took office, American humanitarian aid was saving about 270,000 lives a year in Nigeria.
It’s too soon for hard predictions of just how many Nigerian Christian children will die because Trump cut off their access to vaccines, AIDS medications, food assistance and other essentials. "But the number killed by jihadists is very likely to pale beside the number dying from Trump aid cuts. So if Trump cares about Christians or anyone else in Nigeria, all he needs to do is restore aid and let babies live."
Nowhere is the innate Republican inhumanity to man more evident than in Trump’s abrupt termination of U.S. aid programs providing basic health care to millions of foreigners, including programs helping to control AIDS. Hundreds of thousands of human beings, at a minimum, are suffering serious illness or are dying because of those inhuman decisions by Trump. This article reflects those facts.
What person with an ounce of intelligence would listen to moralistic sermonizing from the same people who told us that Covid-19 would not be a problem, then told us that Clorox and hydroxychloroquine would cure it, have been convicted of sexual assault, said it would be legitimate to murder a retired Army general, told a lie that wrecked the lives of two Georgia poll workers, are congenital liars, demeaned the military service of John McCain, committed multiple adulteries, called political opponents vermin, and called women fat, ugly, Miss Piggy, bimbo, and dog?
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So it’s probably illegal to fire federal workers en masse without due cause. Gee, Republicans will say. what has the rule of law got to do with us? Why, look at the pardons Trump has given convicted criminals in both his Administrations, including the criminal thugs who invaded the U.S. Capitol and brutally attacked the Capitol police, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the U.S. Government. How much concern do Trump’s Republicans have for, say for employees of the Social Security or veterans agencies? Trump and Musk have already decimated them. The law means nothing to Republicans, like GOP U.S. Representatives from Georgia.
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As many of us predicted early on: Trump is not just an authoritarian. He is a full-throated totalitarian, i.e., a replica of Adolf Hitler. The Kennedy Center under his thumb, and now the Eisenhower Library? In the name of heaven. And Republican satraps like Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) stand on their feet applauding. Republicans under Trump. Germans under Hitler. Cut from thje same cloth.
NBC News: "Trump signs executive order requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections"
The Republican Party since its inception has shouted its commitment to states rights and limited government. This is the latest executive order that tramples those principles into the mud. Isn’t it time we demanded that Republican politicians cease their flagrant hypocrisy about their basic beliefs?
Open Letter from Tom Barksdale to Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) and staffers Rob & Ashley Adkerson, Nick Petromelis, and Ashleigh Padgett:
I am writing to express my opinion that you have betrayed your country no less than Benedict Arnold. A week or so ago, when I first started mentally drafting this letter, I had rejected that statement as maybe too harsh. Headlines of the last few days disabused me of any such concern. Below are four examples. Click here for a fuller version.
Let me introduce myself. I am a native Georgian, a graduate of the University of Georgia. I joined the U.S Army in 1967 (was not drafted), and I am a Vietnam combat veteran. I spent my career in Washington, D.C. as an employee of an agency involved in national security matters. I moved back to Georgia after my retirement in 2003.
Let me set the tone for this message with a few statements.
All the above, of course, are Republican Presidents or presidential candidates. I differed with them on policy issues, sometimes sharply. But I never questioned their innate integrity, honesty, and morality. I never doubted their basic intention was to serve the interests of the citizens of the United States. I never thought that their policies were intended to serve only their own selfish or partisan interests, or stemmed from deep character flaws, narcissism, and raging immorality. I never thought that electing them president would pose a clear and present danger to the survival of American democracy under the rule of law. I never assumed that their presidency would operate more like a Mafia family.
I also admire the personal attributes of Ronald Reagan. I can’t put him quite in the same position as those other Republicans, because some of his policies, in my opinion, crossed the boundary of the acceptable. But, as with the others, I did not question his innate integrity, honesty, love of his country and respect for its basic democratic values. In my opinion, Donald Trump is to Ronald Reagan what Judas Iscariot was to Jesus Christ.
I read and heed the writings of columnist George Will, one of the few true conservatives still around. Will, of course, left the Republican Party in 2016, when it became evident that Trump would be its presidential candidate. Will’s act is one key reason I have never had second thoughts about my loathing for Donald Trump. And, of course, it shines a revealing light on those Republicans who are either Trump’s True Believers or simpering cowards too afraid to publicly differ with him.
I wanted to put the above on the record before stating my purpose for writing. Earlier this month, I mailed a letter to Rep. Loudermilk stating some facts about the damage Americans would suffer from the indiscriminate, wholesale cutbacks in federal agencies being carried out by the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, with little or no legal authority. (I sent a copy to Loudermilk’s local office in Woodstock). I specifically discussed the impact on several key agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and one of its sub-agencies, the Centers for Disease Control. I asked Rep. Loudermilk and his staffers for comments. I have received no response.
I say to Barry Loudermilk, Rob & Ashley Adkerson, Nick Petromelis, and Ashleigh Padget: with the Republican assault on the agencies protecting our health and lives, you have crossed the Rubicon and become eager participants in actions that pose a clear and present danger to my health and to my life. As Trump’s puppets, you have lost all credibility as you play sick games with the lives of your constituents—and all Americans.
My original letter provides details, and David Wallace-Wells does better in the New York Times, under the headline “The Entire Future of American Public Health Is at Risk.” Key points:
Trump and Musk have gutted the Centers for Disease Control, our principal agency for limiting the impact of epidemics and doing the research to prevent future outbreaks. Administration officials have informed CDC leaders of plans to cut up to 10% of its workforce. Republicans have offered not one iota of scientific data to support their weakening of our health agencies.
In sum, Trump’s slash-and-burn government rampage has eviscerated the United States defenses against virulent epidemics and will have lasting effects on global health. See The Diseases Are Coming https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/03/diseases-doge-trump/681964/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-atlantic-am&utm_term=The%20Atlantic%20AM
The bottom line, Congressman Loudermilk, Rob, Ashley, Nick, and Ashleigh: I have watched over the past 10 years as you have joined Donald Trump in showing flagrant contempt for:
I have watched as you embraced and endorsed:
And now, by supporting Trump’s evisceration of U.S. public health institutions, you exhibit wanton disregard for human life, mine included. I am done trying to understand you. I do not know where you are coming from. I have traveled extensively, served with honorable young men in the United States Army, had a 30-year career in a large Washington bureaucracy. I have never before dealt with people like you who seem to lack any moral conscience. People who constantly tell lies, hurl insults at other human beings and inflict pain and suffering on them—without one iota of remorse or regret.
I also note, Congressman Loudermilk, Rob, Ashley, Nick, and Ashleigh: Your indifference to the global suffering stemming from the demise of USAID plays mightily in my harsh judgment of you. Here is one example out of many: “An estimated 1,650,000 people could die within a year without American foreign aid for H.I.V. prevention and treatment.” I have not seen a single comment by Rep. Loudermilk on the human tragedy unfolding in the wake of USAID’s demise. I am revolted to the core of my being that someone indifferent to all this is my U.S. Congressman.
You do not claim to be Christians, do you? That would add a massive dose of hypocrisy to your sins.
(Editor's note: The following headlines are a small selection of those currently available. This is by no means an exhaustive list.)
Trump Is Doing Real Damage to America
New York Times - March 2, 2025
“I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
Judge says Trump penalties on law firm send ‘chills down my spine’
‘People will die’: alarm after US orders removal of identity references from anti-trafficking efforts
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2025/mar/21/anti-trafficking-race-lgbt-immigration-demographics
'Never seen anything like it': Ex-Republican lawyer labels Trump order a 'confession'
https://www.rawstory.com/confession-trump-law-perkins-order/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Mar.13.2025_11.58am
Food Banks Left in the Lurch as Some Shipments Are Suspended
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/politics/food-banks-usda.html
Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/15/opinion/foreign-aid-cuts-impact.html
Under G.O.P., Congress Cedes Power to Trump, Eroding Its Influence
On spending, oversight and other issues, Republican lawmakers have willingly ceded power traditionally reserved for Congress to the Trump White House.
Wall Street Journal slams Trump for ‘dumbest trade war in history’
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-tariffs-25-percent-mexico-canada-trade-economy-84476fb2?mod=Searchresults_pos4&page=1
‘Unlawful, dishonest, and lack of decency’: Andrew Weissmann on mass firings from the federal government
Weissmann, a former top prosecutor at the Justice Department, discusses the latest ruling from a federal judge ordering some federal agencies to reinstate thousands of federal employees who were fired by Trump/Musk.
https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/watch/-unlawful-dishonest-and-lack-of-decency-weissmann-on-mass-firings-from-the-federal-government-234351685867?utm_source=pocket_saves
Trump is reorienting America's moral compass
President Trump's actions make one question whether America is still a force for good in the world. March 2, 2025
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/03/02/trump-zelensky-vance-freedom-policy/
Kremlin says U.S. foreign policy shift aligns with its vision
https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/international-relations/kremlin-says-perceived-us-foreign-policy-shift-aligns-with-its-vision/ar-AA1A5tdx
Where’s the economic sense behind Trump’s tariffs?
Not even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent can convincingly defend the president’s trade policy. (March 12, 2025 at 4:41 p.m. EDT)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/03/12/trump-tariffs-allies-trade-war/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=wp_opinions
Tuberculosis Is Resurgent as Trump Funding Cut Disrupts Treatment Globally
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/health/tuberculosis-kenya-us-cuts.html
Mass Firing of Federal Staff may Imperil Food Supply, Cattle, and Pets
NYT 3/2/25
The "Stand Up for Science" rally took place on March 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C., and across the U.S. to protest funding cuts and job losses in scientific research under the Trump administration. Thousands of participants gathered to advocate for the importance of science and to demand increased support for research initiatives.
The Diseases Are Coming
By Craig Spencer
Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn government tear will have lasting effects on global health.
Department of Veterans Affairs Hard Hit by Musk Cutbacks
The New York Times reports that mass layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs have disrupted everything from clinical trials for veterans with cancer to local facilities being able ability to answer incoming phone calls. The agency has fired about 2,400 employees and plans to lay off a total of 80,000.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/us/politics/veterans-affairs-cuts-trump.html?searchResultPosition=1
How Trump Is Crushing U.S. Climate Policy
President Trump has quickly transformed America’s approach to the environment, withholding funds and stretching the limits of presidential power.
The Mahmoud Khalil arrest is also what cronyism looks like
The administration’s explanations are a cover: Trump is using his power to shield allies and punish opponents.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/03/12/trump-columbia-deportation-justice-cronyism/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=wp_opinions
The Social Security Administration is cutting 7,000 jobs and closing half of its regional offices.
Trump draws condemnation for using ‘Palestinian’ as a slur against Schumer
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5192699-trump-schumer-palestinian-advocacy-groups/
By Gregory E. Sterling, dean, Yale Divinity School
(Excerpts)
READ MORE:
Trump is showing how a second term would rewrite the rules of presidential power
D.C. Circuit largely backs up Lower Court and curbs Trump’s threats
With gag order fight, Trump is testing the entire judicial system
Trump’s galling immunity stunt is doomed. But it may delay his trial
The Kafkaesque trial of Donald Trump (Satire)
Excerpt:
Trump has made clear his stark, authoritarian vision for a potential second term. He would embark on a wholesale purge of the federal bureaucracy, weaponize the Justice Department to explicitly go after his political opponents (something he claims is being done to him), stack government agencies across the board with political appointees prescreened as ideological Trump loyalists, and dole out pardons to myriad officials and apparatchiks as incentives to do his bidding or stay loyal.