Facts Over Fear: Love in action is justice so let's learn about ways we can activate and save our democracy
Plus, a Reality Check on sexism in Elon's America and more News to Note on Musk's potential reign of terror coming to an end.
FACE OUR FEARS: No one is coming to save us but us.
Today is Valentine’s Day and I had a whole other newsletter planned, but at the last minute (true to Aries form) decided to change my mind. Why? Because I’m tired of being upset. I’m tired of being angry. I want to be in love with life again, if only for a moment in these troubling times. And what does love in action look like? Justice, of course.
We must recognize that our collective action is the only way through and standing in class solidarity will be the way forward. So, inspired by what I was seeing on social media, I want to share some resources to help us restore control over our lives.
We can make Congress respond to the people by calling their donor base. Call corporations that fund the campaigns of our elected officials. We demand that they be held accountable.
RESOURCE: opensecrets.org
At the end of the day, social media companies (just like most) care about their bottom line: Money, honey. Did you know that you can contact advertisers directly and let them know you won’t support companies that support fascist ideology.
RESOURCE: checkmyads.org
Contact your bank and credit card companies. Question what measures are being taken to protect your data considering we are in the middle of a major data breach thanks to Musk and his boyz.
Pressure Congress on Trump’s terrible tariffs. We must demand a rapid vote which will force the Republicans to OWN THE CHAOS they have sown. We want to know who is willing to go on record against him so we know who to vote for (or vote out) come the next election cycle. Their lack of transparency is unacceptable and undemocratic.
The more you know: Trump has used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose an import tax…but did you know that Congress can terminate this “emergency” with a privileged resolution? Demand that they do it. CALL: 202-224-3121 to connect with your representative.
Call your representatives today and every day. I watched this great video yesterday featuring AOC. She spoke about how Republicans are really good at calling their representatives. Democrats? Not so much. She said that the tide is starting to turn in Washington because of the volume of calls being received. Now is the time to keep the pressure on.
What should you call about: We the people demand no funding deals until Trump “unfreezes” the money that was already allocated and approved by Congress to be spent. We cannot rely on the courts and Congress must step up and do their job to enforce this. CALL: 202-224-3121 to connect with your representative.
Know your rights. In the age of misinformation, it can be very confusing as to where you can get reliable, updated information on your rights in America. The ACLU has a great resource guide to start.
It is time to be in community. Being informed and engaged online is great. I am glad you are here reading these tips. I hope if you can just take one action a day, you can use this as a resource guide to pull from. But there are other ways to engage #irl and here are just a few:
Support local businesses and grocers — especially those that are minority-owned or women-owned.
Find a protest and be safe when you attend.
RESOURCE: Indivisible
Consider masking to stand in solidarity with disabled communities and protect yourself against airborne diseases like COVID-19, the flu, H5N1 and more. We have everything we need to be safe, we are just collectively not using the tools we have. Be part of normalizing mask wearing. Make sure you are up to date on vaccinations and isolate when sick. We keep each other safe and healthy.
Join a local non-profit or mutual aid fund in your own backyard.
Change can be felt most immediately when we work with our neighbors. If there is an issue you are passionate about (like immigrant reform, healthcare for all, paid leave, voting rights…the list goes on and on) go online and search for those spaces in your community and plug in. As a proud board member of Planned Parenthood of Western PA, I can tell you it feels good to get in the game.
Make sure you find space for joy, for friends and for yourself. This is the marathon from hell. We cannot sprint our way out of this. We will burn out. Create space for yourself, your family and your friendships. We are no good to anyone if we aren’t good first to ourselves.
Reality Check: Can you IMAGINE if a woman was behaving like Elon Musk?
Special Government Employee Elon Musk denied a “hostile takeover” of the government in a surprise visit to the White House earlier this week, according to the BBC. Musk took questions from reporters inside the Oval Office as he hovered over President Trump, who recently signed an order giving Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) more authority to reduce the federal workforce.
Many people are analyzing Musk’s bizarre interview and wondering what it means for the Trump presidency as well as the government's ability to operate. But, I'd like to look at it from another perspective.
Let’s talk about the child. Musk’s young son was center stage during the televised interview. Can you imagine if an unelected woman who was born outside of the United States and currently overtaking the government's executive branch brought her kid to the Oval Office to give a press conference with the President of the United States sitting off to the side. Can you imagine?
Well, a lot of people could. I posted that sentiment in a comment on journalist Joy Ann Reid’s recent video about the conference and so far, more than 4,800 other folks also took note of the sheer hypocrisy.
Think about it. Imagine the headlines:
“Woman who can’t take care of child brings them to work.”
“Women should prioritize their families and leave the governing up to the men.”
“Incompetent woman has no idea how to balance family while overtaking the government.”
“Woman attempts to garner sympathy by showing how ‘hard’ it is to stage a coup and be a mother…”
I could go on. But in reality, now with DEI out the window, women's chances of staging a coup while breastfeeding continue to shrink. Forbes shared this:
"A 2007 study comparing undergraduates and actual employers found that mothers were often more likely than non-mothers to be regarded as less competent and poorly motivated to succeed, and as a result working mothers often received a lower starting salary than non-mothers regardless of any difference in qualifications. On the other hand, fathers often receive preferential treatment and higher salaries as they are considered the “breadwinners” for their family."
Fast Company had this to say:
"These outcomes have been “feeble” because gender inequality is not primarily a problem driven by individuals’ biases; it is a systemic problem driven by the discriminatory operation of the day-to-day, taken-for-granted, “normal” operation of companies’ personnel management practices. The unequal career outcomesexperienced by women and men are due to gendered norms, values, and expectations underlying these personnel practices, what Sapna Cheryan and Hazel-Rose Markus call “masculine defaults.” As they write, in our workplaces, “characterizations and behaviors typically associated with men are . . . considered standard practice.” As a result, “the doors are often presented as open for both men and women, which makes it seem like there’s equal opportunity; but the workplace rewards and favors standard stereotypically masculine characteristics and behaviors.”"
So, why is DEI important to the advancement of women and society? CBS shared in a recent article that "[DEI] could mean making sure women are able to enter traditionally male-dominated occupations, like construction or technology. "It's about addressing issues around equal pay for equal work, making sure people feel safe in the workplace so they don't feel discrimination when they come to work, because workers who don't feel safe are not the most productive."
Do you feel safe in Elon's America? And who is this new America really for?
I posed this question during one of my most recent videos on Instagram and was reminded yet again as to why we need to repeatedly explain people that the rules are different for women. One guy commented and said this:
“This is why he'll win. While he's dismantling the government, you're reporting on a counter factual that didn't happen to invoke a sexism argument that literally cannot create a relevant impact to the the dire situation at hand. Is this really the best you have to fight this right now? This is why the left is just floundering and feckless right now.”
Floundering and feckless? I assure you I am neither. The fact that a man posted this as a response to that video, when I had countless women (and some men!) flood my DMs saying that they thought the same thing when they watched Musk parade that child around like an accessory reconfirms that there are different sets of standards in this country.
And now with the removal of DEI — which we know benefited white women the most of any group — how much harder will it become for any of us to in positions where decisions are made — especially with a child on our hip?
NEWS TO NOTE: Elon’s reign of terror may be coming to an end
ABC NEWS: The federal judge who oversaw Donald Trump's election interference case will hear arguments Friday over tech billionaire Elon Musk's authority to run the Department of Government Efficiency.
#ICYMI: Fourteen states filed a federal lawsuit Thursday alleging that Musk's "expansive authority" is in violation of the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which calls for anyone deemed a "principal officer" of the U.S. government to be formally nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The motion asks U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to immediately block Musk from altering the funding for any agency, from placing any employees on leave, from canceling any government contracts, from accessing any sensitive data, and from "asserting control over" any agency.
ABC NEWS: A judge will consider continuing to block Musk, DOGE from accessing Treasury payment systems. Nineteen states have sued to keep Musk's team from accessing the systems. The attorneys general of 19 states have argued that allowing Musk's associates to access the payment system would be a "huge cybersecurity risk" and potentially allow the Trump administration to unlawfully "block federal funds from reaching beneficiaries who do not align with the President's political agenda."
Daily Beast (this one is particularly *chef’s kiss*): Anyone Can Hack Elon Musk’s DOGE Website, Coders Say. The website for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has major security flaws that allow anyone to edit its database, according to two sources who discovered the vulnerability.
One coder told 404 Media that they infiltrated the site and added at least two database entries, including prank messages that read: “This is a joke of a .gov site” and “THESE ‘EXPERTS’ LEFT THEIR DATABASE OPEN -roro.”
David Harris was a guest on my KDKA radio show, In Conversation With… Wednesday night. He is the Sally Ann Semenko Endowed Chair and Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh, where he teaches Criminal Law, Constitutional Law and Evidence. It was reassuring as he reconfirmed that most of what Elon Musk is trying to do is blatantly illegal.
Trump’s flurry of executive orders are going to be called on the carpet by our judicial system. The ones that have already are being shot down. He reminded my audience that the use of executive orders in this way is not only meant to confuse and flood the legal system, but they are being used because he does not know how to govern. He does not know how to work with Congress. He can’t get what he wants done legally, so they are trying to circumvent the system. But it won’t work. We have to stand together, demand accountability from those who we put in power and recognize that united, the people will not be defeated.
In solidarity, always. Until next time, take care of yourselves, and each other. -Natalie
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