The sincerity of your compassion for other human beings gives me a lot of hope, Tim. Thank you for bringing more attention to the state of US foreign assistance and speaking to the great loss now being needlessly inflicted upon the world. I'm an organizer with RESULTS, an anti-poverty advocacy organization that Nick Kristof has mentioned a time or two in his work. We're regular everyday people who, like you and many Bulwark readers, want to see more because we believe in a better future where no child dies of starvation or a vaccine-preventable illness. We work to build relationships grounded in trust and respect with our members of Congress, to translate our shared values into transformative action that will eliminate both global and domestic poverty. Your nod to building cognitive dissonance was spot on! Throwing out all the petty judgments, social media rants, and gotcha moments, there are meaningful ways to ask people to confront the policies and actions that don't align with their values. It can be as simple as an open question. This approach is also very compassionate, and it's one of our greatest strengths.
Tim - I am so glad you are on a much deserved vacay now. The USAID cuts leave me so sad. Anyone who hears the truth should be in tears and donating to the agencies Kristof mentioned. Those responsible, including his voters, have blood on their hands.
Good to hear these people speak out for USAID, unfortunately the people who need convinced are not listening. They don't listen to reason, they have no compassion, and they won't be shamed into doing what's good. Maybe if Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan spoke up for USAID, MAGA would listen.
Thank you, Tim. There are so many I want to hear from, but we know, many do not have the prestige of Office, whether current, or past. So their voices have been silenced by fear. A great travesty in a country that once upheld the freedom to admit grievances. So, we little people speak, likeminded speak, while that MAGA Christian Nationalists pronounce these travesty’s as righteous. Deluded by a base that finds comfort in terror. One day, they will reckon with terror. Their Great Terror will come at their expense. This is when we become silent.
Thank you for this, Tim. In a similar vein: If you can, please have John Green on your podcast to talk about USAID's work combating infectious diseases. I've just blitzed through my third reading of his short but impactful book, Everything Is Tuberculosis.
One of the things I'd like us to talk about more is the fact that USAID also helped treat - and therefore stem the spread of - the kinds of infectious diseases that have fallen off of most Americans' radar. Not only are more babies needlessly dying from hunger now, but millions of entire families will now be cut off from treatment and prevention for the world's deadliest infectious disease.
I want to fly it on a sky banner: THIS WILL DIRECTLY IMPACT AMERICANS. Not that we should have to know that in order to care, but it's the truth. We mostly don't have to think about TB right now in America, but with the current multipronged attacks on healthcare, food assistance, and science, I expect we will have a problem on our hands. It will be especially bad for those who can't function without immuno-suppressants for things like Crohn's or Rheumatoid Arthritis; they won't be able to take their life-sustaining medicine after TB exposure.
What they've done to USAID is criminal and horrible. That the evangelicals who claim to care for the poor allowed this to happen without a peep is just another piece of evidence of their hypocrisy. But Bush and Obama do not deserve praise for saying something now. They could have done this in January, but it is way too late now. It probably wouldn't have mattered in January either, but it might have had some impact. Maybe 3 months from now they can condemn the big beautiful abomination that just passed the House!
Dear Tim: I'm a pretty leftie person but I have found you and others at the Bulwark to be important voices. I share your heartbreak, not only for people around the world but for Americans about to lose food and health care. I am a senior; I think about these things quite differently now.
One thing I want to say is that I am only one voice with a small family and community. To the extent that you commentators are one step closer to the people in power and are smart people who are involved in politics, we need you to engage every one of those people in more active resistance. One way you can do this is by ending each pod with salient facts like how many people in Saharan Africa are in need of aid or how many West Virginians are about to lose their health care and food aid. Of course, that is mostly preaching to the choir. But you can also urge every one of the movers and shakers you meet and interview to tell all, to fight harder, to resist the coming fascism. You know it's coming, I know it's coming. We all have to fight hard for what we believe.
When I listen to you I remember that even a republican or a former republican can be a human being, can learn and can teach. That's good for me.
You know a lot. Keep sending it outward and resist that inward feeling of being with those in the know. I bet you and I have quite different feeling about advanced capitalism, but we love our partners, we love our children, we want people to have food and health and assistance when they need it. That has to be enough to keep fighting together.
Thanks, and especially for that interview with Nick Kriistoff.
Cheers, Rebecca (only affording to be here because of the Bulwark’s largesse to poor teachers)
Thank you for talking about this. As a former USAID contractor, yesterday was a hard day. The misinformation and demonization of USAID's work by the administration directly following the inauguration was heartbreaking. Not only did we all lose our jobs, and there are many of us, the administration falsely and loudly mischaracterized the Agency's work as fraudulent and mismanaged. And it didn't feel like there were a lot of voices pushing back, in part because it seemed that many Americans didn't know what USAID did and were willing to believe the negative spin. The reality was we were supporting bipartisan projects and efforts like the Water for the World Act passed by Congress. We worked on projects with Missions around the world to promote democracy and governance, private-sector growth, improve public health, combat environmental crimes, and address food and water scarcities while building resilience to climate change. The people we worked with and supported were not getting rich. They were individuals who, in many cases, dedicated their lives to helping others improve their situations. They were and are the true believers that America, with all its wealth and power, has a responsibility to the world. We recognize that this small American investment paid dividends in benefits to national security, access to emerging markets, and all the good things that come from being in relationships with governments and people around the world. I really do appreciate Obama and Bush speaking out; I would have appreciated it in January too.
Just a couple of thoughts, from someone who has worked in the international development sector for many years.
The total amount of the U.S.’s official development assistance in 2023 was $72 billion. That represents about 30% of the *ENTIRE* amount of official development assistance distributed by Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members, per the OECD.
Approximately 61% of this amount was distributed through USAID. The remaining 39% comes from other US gov't agencies like the Dept of Ag. (It is unclear what's happening with that money).
USAID funding is sent either directly to governments and multi-lateral funders like the World Food Programme and other UN agencies, or through INGOs -- the biggest one being World Vision.
USAID's dissolution now means not only have programs run in-country by local gov'ts and multi-lateral org been gutted, but so have those being run with USAID funding by other INGOs.
No single donor -- the Gates Foundation is the largest one, at about $9bn annual in disbursements -- can make up for the loss of 30% of ODA being sucked out of the system. No small INGOs, even those not reliant on USAID funding, can make up this gap. Now that USAID is gone, there is a huge deficit in infrastructure and coordination for the distribution of funds, materials, for project management, for logistics and transportation. The US, as the largest ODA contributor, was the backbone of this system.
The consequences are, as you are pointing out here Tim, beyond devastating.
When it comes to Christian nationalism and USAID, it’s interesting to me that the educational infant nutrition workshops facilitated by churches were attended almost 100 percent by those of the Christian faith, and huge amounts of money were donated by those people. They had more than a passing interest in a tangible system to relieve starving children. Enough to attend a workshop, participate in packing emergency nutrition packets, and donate money. How has Trump neutered these people? How are his supporters standing for the elimination of this?
I agree that "sooner or later both sides of the aisle will see that this was valuable work" will never happen because this is all on the MAGA / Project 2025 agenda to create a Far Right (white?) Nationalist country / new world order.
As far as I'm concerned there is no longer a Republican party. A party that we used to be able to have disagreements with, dialogue with, and compromise with but those days are long gone. What is in charge right now is definitely Rino.
I have been angry but it's only recently that I'm feeling sadness. I am not "religious".... God help us!
I really appreciate Tim bringing this up. Lawrence O'Donnell covered this last night, but the coverage everywhere else was dominated by the Senate bill.
The sincerity of your compassion for other human beings gives me a lot of hope, Tim. Thank you for bringing more attention to the state of US foreign assistance and speaking to the great loss now being needlessly inflicted upon the world. I'm an organizer with RESULTS, an anti-poverty advocacy organization that Nick Kristof has mentioned a time or two in his work. We're regular everyday people who, like you and many Bulwark readers, want to see more because we believe in a better future where no child dies of starvation or a vaccine-preventable illness. We work to build relationships grounded in trust and respect with our members of Congress, to translate our shared values into transformative action that will eliminate both global and domestic poverty. Your nod to building cognitive dissonance was spot on! Throwing out all the petty judgments, social media rants, and gotcha moments, there are meaningful ways to ask people to confront the policies and actions that don't align with their values. It can be as simple as an open question. This approach is also very compassionate, and it's one of our greatest strengths.
Tim - I am so glad you are on a much deserved vacay now. The USAID cuts leave me so sad. Anyone who hears the truth should be in tears and donating to the agencies Kristof mentioned. Those responsible, including his voters, have blood on their hands.
Good to hear these people speak out for USAID, unfortunately the people who need convinced are not listening. They don't listen to reason, they have no compassion, and they won't be shamed into doing what's good. Maybe if Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan spoke up for USAID, MAGA would listen.
These camps should be branded as Alligator Auschwitz asap. Please spread around!
Thank you, Tim. There are so many I want to hear from, but we know, many do not have the prestige of Office, whether current, or past. So their voices have been silenced by fear. A great travesty in a country that once upheld the freedom to admit grievances. So, we little people speak, likeminded speak, while that MAGA Christian Nationalists pronounce these travesty’s as righteous. Deluded by a base that finds comfort in terror. One day, they will reckon with terror. Their Great Terror will come at their expense. This is when we become silent.
Thank you for this, Tim. In a similar vein: If you can, please have John Green on your podcast to talk about USAID's work combating infectious diseases. I've just blitzed through my third reading of his short but impactful book, Everything Is Tuberculosis.
One of the things I'd like us to talk about more is the fact that USAID also helped treat - and therefore stem the spread of - the kinds of infectious diseases that have fallen off of most Americans' radar. Not only are more babies needlessly dying from hunger now, but millions of entire families will now be cut off from treatment and prevention for the world's deadliest infectious disease.
I want to fly it on a sky banner: THIS WILL DIRECTLY IMPACT AMERICANS. Not that we should have to know that in order to care, but it's the truth. We mostly don't have to think about TB right now in America, but with the current multipronged attacks on healthcare, food assistance, and science, I expect we will have a problem on our hands. It will be especially bad for those who can't function without immuno-suppressants for things like Crohn's or Rheumatoid Arthritis; they won't be able to take their life-sustaining medicine after TB exposure.
What they've done to USAID is criminal and horrible. That the evangelicals who claim to care for the poor allowed this to happen without a peep is just another piece of evidence of their hypocrisy. But Bush and Obama do not deserve praise for saying something now. They could have done this in January, but it is way too late now. It probably wouldn't have mattered in January either, but it might have had some impact. Maybe 3 months from now they can condemn the big beautiful abomination that just passed the House!
Dear Tim: I'm a pretty leftie person but I have found you and others at the Bulwark to be important voices. I share your heartbreak, not only for people around the world but for Americans about to lose food and health care. I am a senior; I think about these things quite differently now.
One thing I want to say is that I am only one voice with a small family and community. To the extent that you commentators are one step closer to the people in power and are smart people who are involved in politics, we need you to engage every one of those people in more active resistance. One way you can do this is by ending each pod with salient facts like how many people in Saharan Africa are in need of aid or how many West Virginians are about to lose their health care and food aid. Of course, that is mostly preaching to the choir. But you can also urge every one of the movers and shakers you meet and interview to tell all, to fight harder, to resist the coming fascism. You know it's coming, I know it's coming. We all have to fight hard for what we believe.
When I listen to you I remember that even a republican or a former republican can be a human being, can learn and can teach. That's good for me.
You know a lot. Keep sending it outward and resist that inward feeling of being with those in the know. I bet you and I have quite different feeling about advanced capitalism, but we love our partners, we love our children, we want people to have food and health and assistance when they need it. That has to be enough to keep fighting together.
Thanks, and especially for that interview with Nick Kriistoff.
Cheers, Rebecca (only affording to be here because of the Bulwark’s largesse to poor teachers)
Thank you for talking about this. As a former USAID contractor, yesterday was a hard day. The misinformation and demonization of USAID's work by the administration directly following the inauguration was heartbreaking. Not only did we all lose our jobs, and there are many of us, the administration falsely and loudly mischaracterized the Agency's work as fraudulent and mismanaged. And it didn't feel like there were a lot of voices pushing back, in part because it seemed that many Americans didn't know what USAID did and were willing to believe the negative spin. The reality was we were supporting bipartisan projects and efforts like the Water for the World Act passed by Congress. We worked on projects with Missions around the world to promote democracy and governance, private-sector growth, improve public health, combat environmental crimes, and address food and water scarcities while building resilience to climate change. The people we worked with and supported were not getting rich. They were individuals who, in many cases, dedicated their lives to helping others improve their situations. They were and are the true believers that America, with all its wealth and power, has a responsibility to the world. We recognize that this small American investment paid dividends in benefits to national security, access to emerging markets, and all the good things that come from being in relationships with governments and people around the world. I really do appreciate Obama and Bush speaking out; I would have appreciated it in January too.
Thank you.
Where can one access the video of Bush and Obama?
I think all past presidents and generals should have fireside chats and tell us the truth of what and why this is happening and how to fight back!
Thank you for talking about this!
Just a couple of thoughts, from someone who has worked in the international development sector for many years.
The total amount of the U.S.’s official development assistance in 2023 was $72 billion. That represents about 30% of the *ENTIRE* amount of official development assistance distributed by Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members, per the OECD.
Approximately 61% of this amount was distributed through USAID. The remaining 39% comes from other US gov't agencies like the Dept of Ag. (It is unclear what's happening with that money).
USAID funding is sent either directly to governments and multi-lateral funders like the World Food Programme and other UN agencies, or through INGOs -- the biggest one being World Vision.
USAID's dissolution now means not only have programs run in-country by local gov'ts and multi-lateral org been gutted, but so have those being run with USAID funding by other INGOs.
No single donor -- the Gates Foundation is the largest one, at about $9bn annual in disbursements -- can make up for the loss of 30% of ODA being sucked out of the system. No small INGOs, even those not reliant on USAID funding, can make up this gap. Now that USAID is gone, there is a huge deficit in infrastructure and coordination for the distribution of funds, materials, for project management, for logistics and transportation. The US, as the largest ODA contributor, was the backbone of this system.
The consequences are, as you are pointing out here Tim, beyond devastating.
When it comes to Christian nationalism and USAID, it’s interesting to me that the educational infant nutrition workshops facilitated by churches were attended almost 100 percent by those of the Christian faith, and huge amounts of money were donated by those people. They had more than a passing interest in a tangible system to relieve starving children. Enough to attend a workshop, participate in packing emergency nutrition packets, and donate money. How has Trump neutered these people? How are his supporters standing for the elimination of this?
I agree that "sooner or later both sides of the aisle will see that this was valuable work" will never happen because this is all on the MAGA / Project 2025 agenda to create a Far Right (white?) Nationalist country / new world order.
As far as I'm concerned there is no longer a Republican party. A party that we used to be able to have disagreements with, dialogue with, and compromise with but those days are long gone. What is in charge right now is definitely Rino.
I have been angry but it's only recently that I'm feeling sadness. I am not "religious".... God help us!
I really appreciate Tim bringing this up. Lawrence O'Donnell covered this last night, but the coverage everywhere else was dominated by the Senate bill.