Opinion | U.S. scientists are seeing their research upended
How sad for humanity, possibly including Americans, that another virus poses an increasing threat at a time when the Republicans under Trump are slashing budgets for the types of medical research that produced vaccinations against COVID-19. Georgia Republican U.S. Representatives, including Rep. Loudermilk, are staunch members of this medieval-minded cabal.
An open letter to my U.S. Representative, Barry Loudermilk (R-GA): your constituents need an explanation for your support for this action, which every scientist on God’s earth states will have disastrous consequences for Americans. People will die or suffer serious illness as a result. Your constituents, sir, deserve to know why you decided on this ignorant decision.
What human being with enough intelligence to tie their shoelace can fail to see the film-flam game Trump is playing with Ukraine? He is not engaging in any serious bargaining to achieve a just peace. He is preparing to sell out Ukraine to Putin. Trump‘s sacrifice of Zelensky is an act of supreme cowardice that imperils U.S. national security by whetting Putin’s appetite for more conquests
The U.S. House of Representatives this past week passed Trump's comprehensive tax and spend bill that provides for major cuts in domestic spending programs. The Senate is now considering the bill, and opposition from some Senate Republicans portend a major battle ahead. Advocates are bracing for potential cuts to Georgia’s safety net programs
Excerpts from the Georgia Recorder:
(Excerpts)
IndieDems note: This article was posted several weeks ago. The Americans suffering from the Republicans indiscriminate slashing of government services continue to suffer.. Neither Ms. Padgett nor anyone in Rep. Loudermilk's office have deigned to respond.
An Open Letter to Ashleigh Padgett, Legislative Director for Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA)
(Editorial note: Trump and his Republicans indiscriminate, massive cutbacks in federal services is inflicting grievous harm on ordinary Americans, and the pain is only going to intensify. Citizens increasingly note Trump’s innate cruelty and lack of empathy. I believe we focus too exclusively on Trump and Musk as the chief culprits in the war being waged against America’s basic moral and democratic values. Republican politicians, with few exceptions, are either dedicated Trump loyalists or cowards who differ with him but are too afraid to openly oppose him. And all those Republican officials have a network of staffers, financial contributors, and political activists who labor on behalf of Trump and his criminal, anti-democratic, pro-dictator agenda.
I want to give more recognition to these behind-the-scenes operatives contributing to America’s destruction. I start with Ashleigh Padgett, Legislative Director for hardline Trumpist Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA). I provide a factual statement of what constitutes that destruction or Trump's cruelty and then ask Ms. Padgett for her position on that issue.)
Dear Ms. Padgett,
Long waits, waves of calls, website crashes: Social Security is breaking down. - Under Trump, Social Security resumes what it once called ‘clawback cruelty’
Advocates for Social Security beneficiaries described the action as cruel and harmful. (Ms. Padgett, what is your position on this issue?)
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. (Ms. Padgett, what is your position on this issue?)
Food Banks Left in the Lurch as Some Shipments Are Suspended
The earlier this year Trump administration froze funds for hundreds of shipments of produce, poultry and other items that states had planned to distribute to needy residents. Rural communities are most likely feel the deepest immediate impact. Emergency food assistance programs, including those funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation, are the food lifeline for rural America. (Ms. Padgett, what is your position on this issue?)
Trump’s slash-and-burn government rampage has eviscerated the United States defenses against virulent epidemics and will have lasting effects on global health, according to an overwhelming consensus of health care experts. The Centers for Disease Control, located in Ashleigh’s home state of Georgia, has suffered sharp cuts in funding and manpower. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: ‘We are going to see people die of AIDS because of CDC cuts, expert says. The National Institutes of Health, the country’s primary agency for promoting vital health research, is in turmoil due to the Trump Administration’s attempt to starve its funding operations. Republicans have not offered one iota of scientific data to support their weakening of our health agencies. (Ms. Padgett, what is your position on this issue?)
The Dire Consequences of the Destruction of USAID
(From ChatGPT search on “Trump” and “consequences of USAID demise”)
The cessation of USAID assistance is projected to result in a significant increase in global mortality rates across various health sectors. Recent analyses have provided the following estimates:
(The figures above underscore the critical role that USAID has played in global health initiatives and highlight the potential human cost associated with the withdrawal of such support).
Trump's America—Land of Cruelty and Vengeance | Opinion
Feb 7, 2025 · “…for all his talk of ‘making America great again,’ it's evident that Donald Trump's version of greatness has nothing to do with leadership or moral rectitude. Trump's definition of greatness rests solely on the notion of power. To Trump, a great nation is not one that leads the world, but one that ignores its suffering in pursuit of self-interest.” (Ms. Padgett, what is your position on this issue?)
Political Sadism and Defying the Power of Cruelty –
Mar 17, 2025 · “The Trump regime exemplifies the dark draw of cruelty and its dangerous consequences…Trump tries to assert his control through fear, modeling the dictators he coddles…his unapologetic heartlessness reminds me how humans are capable of unspeakable brutality.” (Ms. Padgett, what is your position on this issue?)
Donald J. Trump has a cruel streak. He willfully causes pain and distress to others. And he repeats this public behavior so frequently that it’s fair to call it a character trait…This is vile behavior. What kind of person attacks a rival by mocking the appearance of his wife? For the whole of his (2016) presidential campaign, Trump has gleefully launched gutter attacks like this…it requires a particular breed of lowlife to advertise the sexual superiority of one’s mistress over the mother of one’s children. (Ms. Padgett, what is your position on this issue?)
We must resist and condemn the overwhelming cruelty of the Trump administration
(Letter from cleric to Lancaster Online
St. Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, set before us faith, hope and love. Our current administration sets before us incompetence, arrogance and cruelty. (Ms. Padgett, what is your position on this issue?)
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.
Question from a Vietnam combat veteran to Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) & staffers Rob & Ashley Adkerson, Nick Petromelis, Ashleigh Padgett: now that you endorse this additional denigration of a veteran, after you
to what lower level of hypocrisy can you descend, after demonstrating you put sucking up to Trump ahead of taking care of veterans?
Kremlin Says U.S. Foreign Policy Shift Aligns with Its Own Vision