For our first Bulwark on Sunday, Sarah and Bill went live on Substack to chat Elon Musk's unhinged attacks on Bill, how the Democrats can message better against Trump and much more.
Its becoming increasingly clear to me that I know very little about how government works as each day brings on at least one new agency or position or something to try and get an understanding of so you can assess what’s actually going on. And I get it, the prospect of having to talk to these fools sucks (I’m not very polished and seeing zero f words in previous posts, I’m trying to be good) making it really easy to dismiss, but how else do we relieve ourselves of corruption in power? Having worked as a public defender and unfortunately participating in a never ending process of pleading people to crimes regardless of culpability or circumstance. At the end of the day, my ethical duty at the very least required me to make sure my clients understood the paperwork, the stuff they were signing up for and the consequences when they weren’t able to comply. I don’t see how we can avoid communicating with people who aren’t convinced for whatever reason by conventional methods anymore, so how do I even understand what they’re saying and what are the intersections that allow us to communicate effectively with them? Who would they be interested in hearing from? I mean I’d try if I knew what to even try and say, but I feel like they don’t like it when women talk or tell them what’s up.
I work for a health organization that receives multiple federal grants and payment from multiple federal and state programs, as well as multiple private sources. When you have a grant, there are specific requirements on reporting how, when and what funds from that grant are spent on. Much of this conspiracy theory nonsense relies on a fundamental misunderstanding of how federal grants work. It also relies on a deliberate decision to not learn how it works.
It's called a Program audit. And agencies retain data that shows the effectiveness of of each program, or the ineffectiveness...and that's how to decide what to cut. And if you don't want to hire an auditor to do this work, then you bring in the Government Accountability Office and they will do the program audit for you. That's what they do. They also do Financial Audits. But this isn't about that. They;re taking a sledgehammer to these agencies because they're unpopular and they think it's just a quick way to grab their funding for Trump's big tax cut for his friends...and obliterating the agencies makes the tax cuts sustainable over time. It's all bullshit.
Word on the street is that Trump is scared of Elon and his power. That’s why he hasn’t been thrown out yet. I’m praying Trump someone sabotages Elon in some way. Elon basically is trying to get rid of all the investigations in to him in various government agencies. Maybe Pam Bondi can find something to tank him??
Please look at Gil Duran's blog which dissects the Silicon Valley tech bros "Network State" plan. They are behind this and they are very open about it. Look at Peter Teal, Curtis Yarven. This needs to be out there. It sounds so conspiracy theory so may have been cast aside as crazy but then who would have ever thought we would be here?
And can someone please tell me exactly which issue of New York magazine includes the profile piece on The Bulwark? Every link I have seen is paywalled. I have access through the library to digital versions of this magazine, but it was not in last week’s issue and not in this week’s (new issue appeared today, Monday 2/10).
I'm worried well meaning people like my husband who didn't vote for President are checking out because right now it feels like it's not affecting them. But on Friday my husband said to me something like oh something must have happened because our retirement fund took a hit. I literally laughed out loud. I then said where have you been. Wake up. There's chaos.
Thanks for ending with the positive suggestions and hopeful assessment.
You say everything I think out loud! Thank you and keep it up.
Its becoming increasingly clear to me that I know very little about how government works as each day brings on at least one new agency or position or something to try and get an understanding of so you can assess what’s actually going on. And I get it, the prospect of having to talk to these fools sucks (I’m not very polished and seeing zero f words in previous posts, I’m trying to be good) making it really easy to dismiss, but how else do we relieve ourselves of corruption in power? Having worked as a public defender and unfortunately participating in a never ending process of pleading people to crimes regardless of culpability or circumstance. At the end of the day, my ethical duty at the very least required me to make sure my clients understood the paperwork, the stuff they were signing up for and the consequences when they weren’t able to comply. I don’t see how we can avoid communicating with people who aren’t convinced for whatever reason by conventional methods anymore, so how do I even understand what they’re saying and what are the intersections that allow us to communicate effectively with them? Who would they be interested in hearing from? I mean I’d try if I knew what to even try and say, but I feel like they don’t like it when women talk or tell them what’s up.
Yes! I like y’all doing Substack live.
I work for a health organization that receives multiple federal grants and payment from multiple federal and state programs, as well as multiple private sources. When you have a grant, there are specific requirements on reporting how, when and what funds from that grant are spent on. Much of this conspiracy theory nonsense relies on a fundamental misunderstanding of how federal grants work. It also relies on a deliberate decision to not learn how it works.
I have a perpetual fever, and the prescription is ALWAYS MORE Bill and Sarah
keep up the great work you two
It's called a Program audit. And agencies retain data that shows the effectiveness of of each program, or the ineffectiveness...and that's how to decide what to cut. And if you don't want to hire an auditor to do this work, then you bring in the Government Accountability Office and they will do the program audit for you. That's what they do. They also do Financial Audits. But this isn't about that. They;re taking a sledgehammer to these agencies because they're unpopular and they think it's just a quick way to grab their funding for Trump's big tax cut for his friends...and obliterating the agencies makes the tax cuts sustainable over time. It's all bullshit.
Word on the street is that Trump is scared of Elon and his power. That’s why he hasn’t been thrown out yet. I’m praying Trump someone sabotages Elon in some way. Elon basically is trying to get rid of all the investigations in to him in various government agencies. Maybe Pam Bondi can find something to tank him??
Trump could trump something up and throw him in the gulag.
JD Vance is part if the Network State ideology. Google it. It's scary! And it's happening.
Network State article, indeed scary: https://newrepublic.com/article/180487/balaji-srinivasan-network-state-plutocrat
We aren't talking about it enough.
Please look at Gil Duran's blog which dissects the Silicon Valley tech bros "Network State" plan. They are behind this and they are very open about it. Look at Peter Teal, Curtis Yarven. This needs to be out there. It sounds so conspiracy theory so may have been cast aside as crazy but then who would have ever thought we would be here?
Shouldn't everyone who believes in democracy stop using Twitter? Serious question -- wish you all would consider and discuss.
I'm off Facebook, Twitter, Amazon Prime, Instagram and WhatsApp.
And can someone please tell me exactly which issue of New York magazine includes the profile piece on The Bulwark? Every link I have seen is paywalled. I have access through the library to digital versions of this magazine, but it was not in last week’s issue and not in this week’s (new issue appeared today, Monday 2/10).
Love the Sunday show!
I'm worried well meaning people like my husband who didn't vote for President are checking out because right now it feels like it's not affecting them. But on Friday my husband said to me something like oh something must have happened because our retirement fund took a hit. I literally laughed out loud. I then said where have you been. Wake up. There's chaos.
I wanted to comment that yes, I do like watching things on Substack, avoids the youtube ads that stop the good conversation