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shadowkatSigh. I barely slept last night - my body kept me awake not my mind. My brain was perfectly happy to go to sleep, but my digestive system and body was not. I could not get comfortable. I went to bed around 9:55-10pm, and lay there until 12:30, then slept a bit, woke up again in pain and discomfort around 2:30 and didn't get back to sleep until around 3 something. I was basically awake for 2 hours and 42 minutes, and slept for about 4 hours. As a result, I'm irritable, tired, and kind of fed up with the state of things.
BYT at least got rid of a change order that was annoying Breaking Bad and myself. We've been helping each other work wise, off and on, which is kind of interesting. BYT is still a bitch on wheels, but at least she's not being a bitch on wheels to me and Breaking Bad. Probably helps that I'm not reporting to her?
FMLA got outsourced to Work Partners. So now I'm afraid to use it for anything. Work Partners needs me to call them and my boss, and when I do to provide my name, age, position, and reason that I'm out or chronic illness.
Also, the frigging DVR is not working. I'm beginning to wonder why I'm bothering with Cable? That may get cancelled soon and I may jump to Verison which is offering all sorts of odd deals and perks. (I'm not sure I necessarily want the perks? It's a 43 inch Samsung, I have a 55 inch TCL. Or a virtual gaming device that appears to be designed to give me a migraine. I am many things, but a gamer is not among them.) Oh well, I'll watch the soap on Hulu again. I like it better on Hulu, no commercials, only draw back is I have to wait until 8pm to watch it. I want to watch it now or while eating dinner.
***
On a brighter note?
"Felon47 lost three huge rulings today. 24,000 federal workers return to work in 18 different agencies; The reinstatement of the USAID; trans people can serve in the military."
1. Per the New Yorker: "The deletions began shortly after Donald Trump took office. C.D.C. web pages on vaccines, H.I.V. prevention, and reproductive health went missing. Findings on bird-flu transmission vanished minutes after they appeared. The Census Bureau’s public repository went offline, then returned without crucial directories of geographic information. The Department of Justice expunged the January 6th insurrection from its website, and WhiteHouse.gov took down an explainer page about the Constitution. More than 130,000 government pages have gone dark in a purge that one scientist likened to a “digital book burning,” and which has proved as frightening in its imprecision as in its malice.
But on this front, at least, the Trump Administration is facing well-organized resistance. It comes from a loose coalition of archivists and librarians who are assembling information arks to ride out the chaos. The Data Rescue Project, founded by a data librarian, now includes more than 400 volunteer backups of government repositories, from the C.F.P.B.’s Consumer Complaint Database to the C.D.C.’s National Immunization Survey. When asked who was contributing to these backups, an administer of the tracker had a simple answer: “Nerds who care.” Julian Lucas reports on the volunteer archivists and data hoarders working to save the country’s files from DOGE: https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/gGON14
2.
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang ordered Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to immediately give USAID employees access to their "email, payment, security notification, and all other electronic systems," and ordered a pause on any efforts to shut down USAID. Judge Chuang wrote that Musk's takeover "usurped the authority of the public's elected representatives in Congress to make decisions on whether, when, and how to eliminate a federal government agency, and of Officers of the United States duly appointed under the Constitution to exercise the authority entrusted to them.
DOGE and Musk were also ordered to submit a written agreement within two weeks that ensures USAID can reoccupy its former headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. The foreign aid agency was among the first government agencies DOGE slashed in its effort to scale back or dismantle much of the federal government. The Trump administration has laid off thousands of employees, revoked funding for more than 80% of its programs, and shed its Washington, D.C. headquarters. The Trump Musk Administration’s efforts to nullify the agency would cripple American influence overseas and carry devastating effects for some of the most vulnerable populations in the world, which relied on U.S. funding for health care, food, and other basic needs.
3.24,000 of the federal employees that were illegally fired by this Republican president, were ordered back to work today, despite Trump‘s appeals, protests, and defiance. The judge ordered them back to work completely reinstated because what Trump did was illegal.
4.
In an extraordinary display of conflict between the executive and judiciary branches, Chief Justice John Roberts rejected calls for impeaching judges Tuesday, shortly after Donald demanded the removal of one who ruled against his deportation plans, and saying he needs to be impeached. The rebuke from the Supreme Court’s leader demonstrated how the controversy over recent deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members has inflamed tensions over the judiciary’s role, with a legal case challenging Trump’s actions now threatening to spiral into a clash of constitutional powers.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
The rare statement came just hours after a social media post from Trump, who described U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg as an unelected “troublemaker and agitator.” Boasberg had issued an order blocking deportation flights that Trump was carrying out by invoking wartime authorities from an 18th century law.
Although Trump has routinely criticized judges, especially as they limit his efforts to expand presidential power, his latest post escalated his conflict with a judiciary that’s been one of the few restraints on his aggressive agenda. Impeachment is a rare step that is usually taken only in cases of grave ethical or criminal misconduct.
5. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from withdrawing $14 billion in climate grant funding from Citibank accounts.
The rest of the national/world news appears to be ugly and aggravating.
Oh...on the ugly and aggravating side?
Urge Congress to Protect Our Museums
On March 14, Trump issued an Executive Order (EO), Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, directing further cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an agency that is already operating at a minimum level, making up only 0.0046% of the overall federal budget. While the IMLS budget is small, it efficiently provides critical resources to libraries and museums in all 50 states and territories and helps generate tens of millions of dollars in private philanthropy. This Executive Order would essentially gut IMLS within seven days. Museums are among our country’s most valued institutions. They serve as economic engines, community anchors, and critical partners with schools. They are the repositories of our history, our creativity, and our scientific understanding.
Thanks to the American Alliance of Museums, making your voice heard is EASY and URGENT. This is what you can do NOW:
1. Call your members of Congress. Find their phone numbers and a draft script here. Members of Congress are home this week, so be sure to contact their federal AND district offices!
2. Write your members of Congress. Get started with our template letter and PERSONALIZE it with your stories about the importance of museums to your life. These emails have significantly more impact when you customize them and tell YOUR story to YOUR elected officials. You don’t need to know details on the grants — just let these officials know how much you value this country’s museums AND libraries.
Easy Way to Contact Your Representatives - by Letter/Email - Make Sure to Personalize
Here are some vital Facts and Data about museums in the United States that demonstrate how essential these institutions are to the very fabric of this country:
Vital Facts About Museums
[I realized mine are all on the side of the Angels? But maybe it will help if others did this, particularly if yours aren't? ]
BYT at least got rid of a change order that was annoying Breaking Bad and myself. We've been helping each other work wise, off and on, which is kind of interesting. BYT is still a bitch on wheels, but at least she's not being a bitch on wheels to me and Breaking Bad. Probably helps that I'm not reporting to her?
FMLA got outsourced to Work Partners. So now I'm afraid to use it for anything. Work Partners needs me to call them and my boss, and when I do to provide my name, age, position, and reason that I'm out or chronic illness.
Also, the frigging DVR is not working. I'm beginning to wonder why I'm bothering with Cable? That may get cancelled soon and I may jump to Verison which is offering all sorts of odd deals and perks. (I'm not sure I necessarily want the perks? It's a 43 inch Samsung, I have a 55 inch TCL. Or a virtual gaming device that appears to be designed to give me a migraine. I am many things, but a gamer is not among them.) Oh well, I'll watch the soap on Hulu again. I like it better on Hulu, no commercials, only draw back is I have to wait until 8pm to watch it. I want to watch it now or while eating dinner.
***
On a brighter note?
"Felon47 lost three huge rulings today. 24,000 federal workers return to work in 18 different agencies; The reinstatement of the USAID; trans people can serve in the military."
1. Per the New Yorker: "The deletions began shortly after Donald Trump took office. C.D.C. web pages on vaccines, H.I.V. prevention, and reproductive health went missing. Findings on bird-flu transmission vanished minutes after they appeared. The Census Bureau’s public repository went offline, then returned without crucial directories of geographic information. The Department of Justice expunged the January 6th insurrection from its website, and WhiteHouse.gov took down an explainer page about the Constitution. More than 130,000 government pages have gone dark in a purge that one scientist likened to a “digital book burning,” and which has proved as frightening in its imprecision as in its malice.
But on this front, at least, the Trump Administration is facing well-organized resistance. It comes from a loose coalition of archivists and librarians who are assembling information arks to ride out the chaos. The Data Rescue Project, founded by a data librarian, now includes more than 400 volunteer backups of government repositories, from the C.F.P.B.’s Consumer Complaint Database to the C.D.C.’s National Immunization Survey. When asked who was contributing to these backups, an administer of the tracker had a simple answer: “Nerds who care.” Julian Lucas reports on the volunteer archivists and data hoarders working to save the country’s files from DOGE: https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/gGON14
2.
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang ordered Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to immediately give USAID employees access to their "email, payment, security notification, and all other electronic systems," and ordered a pause on any efforts to shut down USAID. Judge Chuang wrote that Musk's takeover "usurped the authority of the public's elected representatives in Congress to make decisions on whether, when, and how to eliminate a federal government agency, and of Officers of the United States duly appointed under the Constitution to exercise the authority entrusted to them.
DOGE and Musk were also ordered to submit a written agreement within two weeks that ensures USAID can reoccupy its former headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. The foreign aid agency was among the first government agencies DOGE slashed in its effort to scale back or dismantle much of the federal government. The Trump administration has laid off thousands of employees, revoked funding for more than 80% of its programs, and shed its Washington, D.C. headquarters. The Trump Musk Administration’s efforts to nullify the agency would cripple American influence overseas and carry devastating effects for some of the most vulnerable populations in the world, which relied on U.S. funding for health care, food, and other basic needs.
3.24,000 of the federal employees that were illegally fired by this Republican president, were ordered back to work today, despite Trump‘s appeals, protests, and defiance. The judge ordered them back to work completely reinstated because what Trump did was illegal.
4.
In an extraordinary display of conflict between the executive and judiciary branches, Chief Justice John Roberts rejected calls for impeaching judges Tuesday, shortly after Donald demanded the removal of one who ruled against his deportation plans, and saying he needs to be impeached. The rebuke from the Supreme Court’s leader demonstrated how the controversy over recent deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members has inflamed tensions over the judiciary’s role, with a legal case challenging Trump’s actions now threatening to spiral into a clash of constitutional powers.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
The rare statement came just hours after a social media post from Trump, who described U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg as an unelected “troublemaker and agitator.” Boasberg had issued an order blocking deportation flights that Trump was carrying out by invoking wartime authorities from an 18th century law.
Although Trump has routinely criticized judges, especially as they limit his efforts to expand presidential power, his latest post escalated his conflict with a judiciary that’s been one of the few restraints on his aggressive agenda. Impeachment is a rare step that is usually taken only in cases of grave ethical or criminal misconduct.
5. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from withdrawing $14 billion in climate grant funding from Citibank accounts.
The rest of the national/world news appears to be ugly and aggravating.
Oh...on the ugly and aggravating side?
Urge Congress to Protect Our Museums
On March 14, Trump issued an Executive Order (EO), Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, directing further cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an agency that is already operating at a minimum level, making up only 0.0046% of the overall federal budget. While the IMLS budget is small, it efficiently provides critical resources to libraries and museums in all 50 states and territories and helps generate tens of millions of dollars in private philanthropy. This Executive Order would essentially gut IMLS within seven days. Museums are among our country’s most valued institutions. They serve as economic engines, community anchors, and critical partners with schools. They are the repositories of our history, our creativity, and our scientific understanding.
Thanks to the American Alliance of Museums, making your voice heard is EASY and URGENT. This is what you can do NOW:
1. Call your members of Congress. Find their phone numbers and a draft script here. Members of Congress are home this week, so be sure to contact their federal AND district offices!
2. Write your members of Congress. Get started with our template letter and PERSONALIZE it with your stories about the importance of museums to your life. These emails have significantly more impact when you customize them and tell YOUR story to YOUR elected officials. You don’t need to know details on the grants — just let these officials know how much you value this country’s museums AND libraries.
Easy Way to Contact Your Representatives - by Letter/Email - Make Sure to Personalize
Here are some vital Facts and Data about museums in the United States that demonstrate how essential these institutions are to the very fabric of this country:
Vital Facts About Museums
[I realized mine are all on the side of the Angels? But maybe it will help if others did this, particularly if yours aren't? ]
no subject
Date: 2025-03-21 05:59 pm (UTC)The system only works if the people fight for it. Complacency and not fighting, it fails.