Revisting The Letter I Wrote My Dad in December 2024
In December 2024 I felt compelled to write my father, a Christian fundamentalist RW Trump Supporter (some redundancy there, I know) a letter, warning him about what was to come under the second Trump Administration.I shared it across social media via the link below for those who wanted to take it and either edit for themselves for someone in their family, or use it as is, to help people.
I wanted to revisit it today, to see, only 8 months in, where I was right and wrong.
This is that letter.
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Given that the Supreme Court gave Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution as president this past summer [23-939 Trump v. United States (07/01/2024)] - saying nearly anything he does as president will be legal, he cannot be held legally responsible at any point. He can make any excuse he wants to carry out any number of the plans he chooses: from deploying military within our country to round up “radical left lunatics” [his words], to detaining anybody who dissents. I know he will try because he tried to do it in his first administration - deploying national guard troops against peaceful protesters in DC, wanting them to be shot in the legs. The only thing that stopped him from that, and a number of the other heinous things he wanted to do, was that he had professionals acting in the best interest of the country, who respect the Constitution, like General Milly, in his cabinet. He will not have those same types of people in his new administration as almost his entire former cabinet came out against him this past election, warning America how dangerous and unqualified he is, and in their place he is putting yes-men, grifters, felons, and sycophants.
Trump will have levers to pull that can get anyone deported, even if it's just because of dissent or disagreement. What do you think he meant when he was talking about ridding the country of the “leftist vermin”. I sent you that article this past year too. He repeated that at many of his rally speeches, as well as all the other things he has said he plans to do that I’m concerned about. Why say those things, as a leader, if you don’t intend to follow through.
I am leftist vermin, apparently.
The people he is choosing for his cabinet are hungry to deport as many people as possible as a display of power and strength. They are not even considering the financial impacts of the mass deportation they are planning - which will cost far more than any imagined cost they think having undocumented immigrants here involves. The American Immigration Council has estimated that the cost of deportation will be 88 billion a year to deport 1 million immigrants. The cost of the manpower, the housing and the basic necessities required to house them, the transportation to get them around and out of the country - and that’s if the counties take them back. They plan to deport people who were born here decades ago (DACA) - countries don’t have any requirement to take them back. If they can’t get countries to receive the flights of humans we just end up with camps being filled with humans that are expensive to maintain. As was mentioned to you, this is the route that leads to gas chambers. I implore you to study WWII history - how Hitler came to power and what happened during his administration.
Alternatively I guess the administration could enslave them and put them back in the fields and processing plants and farms. Someone has to pick the fruits and vegetables, and work in the dairy and meat packing plants. Since unemployment is so low, currently, there are no people to replace the people who may be deported. Even if you could get Americans to work in a field or slaughterhouse. Imported foods with extra tariffs will be expensive so we’ll have to figure out a way to build our food supply chain with no workers so perhaps we can have some more affordable food.
There is a lot to be concerned about with this new administration. I find it concerning that you think the push back from people is just because they don’t like Trump. I can assure you it’s because we’ve all been paying attention for nearly a decade, some longer.
I know you previously claimed that Project 2025 - excerpts of which I have read - have nothing to do with Trump, but Agenda 47, the plan he says is his, is just an abridged version of the over 900 page Project 2025 document. Further, Trump plans to put in place a number of people who authored chapters of Project 2025. The man he intends to put in charge as “Border Czar”, is the author of the immigration section of Project 2025. He is Tom Homan.
Other authors of Project 2025 he plans to put in his administration are
Brendan Carr, Russ Vought, John Ratcliff and many of the rest have ties to the document. Their mission will be to follow through with what they wrote.
Beyond the authors of that very anti-American book of policy ideas, there are several other people of concern from a safety and health perspective. After all, a presidential administration is more than the president - which historically is only supposed to be an administrative position to begin with. These are just among the most worrying.
Stephen Miller - Deputy Chief and Homeland Security Advisor - this position doesn’t need Senate confirmation
He is a racist extremist anti-immigrant zealot. I encourage you to do some reading on him. He was part of the first administration.
RFK Jr - Health and Human Services Secretary
I will first say that I actually support a lot of what he wants to do - curb factory farming, get the garbage - food colorings and chemicals - out of our food. A more European approach to our food system. I doubt he’d be successful since it would require regulating industries that will aggressively resist.
Additionally, one can’t just up and eliminate factory corporate farming, it makes up 80-99% of our food supply. It will take years, decades, to build a replacement system.
His anti-vax stance is beyond the pale, and that’s where he loses me because it’s a very dangerous stance. He is even linked to a measles outbreak in Samoa where he went to spread his anti-vax conspiracies.
He flipflops between whether or not he’ll take them off the market, and simply saying people who want them can have them. Which shows a complete lack of understanding how vaccines in populations work.
He is not a doctor. He’s an environmental lawyer.
And while Germany is stocking up on H5N1 vaccines, if that virus were to get out of control…I really worry about what could happen if we have someone who doesn’t think vaccines work and plans to try to defund infectious disease research.
The person he’s putting in charge of the CDC, Dave Welden, has been known to spread anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.
Tulsi Gabbard - Department of National Intelligence
Our allies have already said they won’t share information because they have already expressed their distrust for her because she promotes Russian propaganda. She also made a trip to Syria to meet with Assad without disclosing it to the government and then came back defending his reprehensible behavior (war crimes including murdering his own civilians).
Without our allies being willing to share intelligence information with us we will not have any warning related to attacks on the country, or our people abroad. DNI was created after 9/11 to be a link between the intelligence departments to share information in order to help prevent another attack on America.
Pete Hegseth - Secretary of Defense
He is planning to purge the military of experienced generals he thinks are “woke” (who are trying to make the military an inclusive place where anyone who is willing and able to fight for this country can). Our military has not met recruitment goals in years (partially due to our unhealthy population, and in part because there is a lack of interest). He has also said that women have no role in combat. Women make up over 17% of our combat forces. Additionally he has had sexual assault charges against him since 2017 and the military has a giant sexual assault problem already where women are not taken seriously. He worked and got fired from two conservative veterans groups because of his uncontrolled alcoholism and unsavory acts, Thankfully he’s so horrible he may go the way of Matt Gaetz.
These are just a few of the concerning candidates.
The bottom line is that most of the people Trump has chosen are wildly unqualified for the positions they are given, they are also criminals of a wide variety, including rapists. This will have a disastrous impact on the financial stability of the country, the health of this country, as well as the safety and security of this country. Not to mention our standing in the world.
In the end hopefully Congress will be a backstop. But that’s if Trump doesn’t attempt to use the Recess Appointments Clause, which he has said he plans to do - even going so far as saying it was a requirement for the majority leader of both the House and Senate.
Trying to use the Recess Appointments Clause is where he plans to have Congress adjourned (outside of the normal schedule) so nobody is available to conduct the confirmation hearings of his cabinet picks and he can force them on America. People he realizes are so unqualified and potentially dangerous that he doesn’t think his own party members will approve of them. Even if we are lucky and none of these people are confirmed, the fact that these were his first picks should have you worried, or at least give you pause about the kind of people he wants in charge of this country and whether or not he has the country’s best interest in mind, or his own.
It should further concern you that it appears the members of the GOP in congress are already falling in line behind him out of fear of retribution and revenge (another item he ran on in this past election). He, and Elon Musk, have threatened to primary anybody who doesn’t fall in line.
This is a clear violation of the separation of powers, btw.
His new FBI pick, Kash Patel - also completely unqualified, and dangerous, is doing media rounds talking about who he plans to go after.
Trump ran on dismantling the government the first time, and his mission has not changed. His loyal supporters, those he plans to give positions to throughout the entire government, also support dismantling the government and concentrating power in his hands. They’ve literally been talking about it openly for years.
Things he specifically ran on this time include dismantling the Department of Education - one of the important things they do is provide learning support for children with mental and physical disabilities. They don’t actually have control over what is taught, that’s not in the scope of their department. States are in charge of setting curriculum. That’s why there is such a discrepancy in educational success across the country. The people he’s putting in charge also plan to get rid of things like the FBI, the FDA, and more. And recently they’ve started floating getting rid of the FDIC, while starting to promote crypto and working to prevent regulation of it, as he, and Elon, own their own crypto currencies (a great way for laundering money and funding inappropriate things). I have to wonder why these things are okay with you. Or anybody.
He has been antagonizing our closest allies, Canada & Mexico, who are among our most important trade partners and allies, trying to foment a trade war.
He’s already using the power of the government, and plans to continue to attack and threaten private business, non profits, news organizations, and journalists across the country. While planning to deregulate the businesses that gave him loads of money. He told a group of oil investors that if they gave him a bunch of money he’d roll back regulations. Millionaires and billionaires and faceless corporations will be more free to pollute our air, water, soil & food in the name of profit.
If I were you I’d watch some documentaries on Viktor Orban, China’s Xi Jinping, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, Tayyip Erdogan, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Narendra Modi, Bolsonaro, Nicolás Maduro and see what kind of leaders Trump has expressed his admiration for - he particularly love Orban who has visited him many times at Mar a Lago (As have neo Nazi influencers).These are the men he aims to emulate. He is creating an American oligarchy unlike any in American history. Never has there been so much money in so few people’s hands who also wield more control and power than any other wealthy people in this country in history.
His family is also enriching themselves with deals in foreign countries, like they did the last time. And while the GOP accused Biden of the same thing they were unable to prove it and the informant that made the claims turned out to be a foreign operative who just pleaded guilty to lying about the whole thing. There’s a saying on the left that every accusation of a Republican is a confession. It’s been a pretty accurate assessment over the years.
It’s my duty as an American to do what I can to fight against the people who want to destroy the foundation, social progress, safety, and global influence of the country I love. To fight against the people who want to destroy the constitution and America as we know it.
I know a large portion of you who voted for him don’t think he’ll do a lot of these things, but what is the purpose of him saying he will in all those rallies? To terrorize those who care about these things?
I could just keep going on and on about the things I am worried about based on years of paying attention to domestic and foreign news. But this is already ridiculously long and I’m just hoping you’re still reading at this point.
Again, I implore you. Please pay attention.
America is not immune to repeating atrocities of history, it’s own or others.
Final Thoughts
There are topics discussed and brought up at our conversation in the woods that Saturday and I didn't have time to address them completely, the topics shifted so fast. But I’ve thought about some of them a lot.
The first thing you have to realize is that they’re all talking out of both sides of their mouth depending on the platform they are addressing - news media, podcasts, interviews. I’ve heard them contradict themselves, he and a number of the people in his circle, making different claims depending on the audience.
I know you say you voted for Trump because you think he can fix the economy but the economy isn’t broken in a way he can control. We don’t have a system where the government controls the prices of things to the level that would be needed to bring down the cost of groceries and gas, and further, tariffs raise prices, and if we also have no people picking the food then prices will increase,
It’s also widely known now that companies purposely inflated prices above what was necessary during the supply chain issues of COVID - they admitted they were doing it in their earnings calls (transcripts and audio of which are publicly available as a legal requirement of a publicly traded company). That’s how they continued to make record profits as people struggled to buy groceries.
Additionally, Trump admitted this week that he can’t guarantee we’re not going to have higher prices and higher inflation, which is exactly what the educated professionals have been saying for months, saying that it’s hard to do.
He thinks we need to drill more oil but for several years, year after year, the United States has broken records for oil production. Additionally, OPEC and OPEC+ are the organizations that have the most control over the gas and oil market. Not the president of the United States.
Trump is really out of touch with the achievements of the country over the past few years. We have low unemployment, high GDP, the markets have continued to break records each year, workers wages have risen a bit, we finally funded infrastructure, consumer spending just continues to increase, and we’re producing more oil than ever in history. I could go on.
But the price of eggs, right? Look up H5N1 (bird flu), it has been on the rise for years and has resulted in mass elimination of egg laying chickens which has caused egg prices to increase (and therefore anything that contains eggs as an ingredient).
As an aside, keep an eye on H5N1 - over the past couple of years it's mutated to spread and infect cows, and humans, and recently it’s been found in a pig in Oregon - which is actually quite significant when it comes to the danger of mutating and furthering transmission to humans. This is the first time this virus has done these things.
Keep an eye out because Trump has said he will AGAIN dismantle the pandemic preparedness office (an office originally formed by Geroge W Bush) something he did in his first administration and which led to, among other things, the disarray and poor COVID pandemic approach.
Trump isn’t good with money. He has had countless failed businesses and before he got the Apprentice position on TV he was nearly broke. This after being given over 400 million dollars from his dad that he invested poorly. He lies on his taxes, he lies on his bank documents (that’s what the 34 indictment fraud case was about). He has been known for decades to not pay his contractors or anyone else he hires for his work. He scams and cheats at every turn. It’s well documented and has been for decades, well before he became a political figure.
And finally, I heard you make a claim that the left liked Elon Musk until he teamed up with Trump and I can confidently say that people hated him long before that - back before he bought Twitter - which he has tanked - and was an internet troll who spewed conspiracies, and sexist and racist remarks all through COVID. People got to know him and decided he was not a decent person. Then when he bought Twitter as a “champion of free speech” he suppressed the comments of people who would criticize him or opposed him, altered the algorithm to promote his own views and hide other. Not really free speech loving if you ask me. When he bought the platform the use of the N word, other racial slurs, and harassment skyrocketed and the place became an angry hole of toxicity. It’s why I left the platform when he bought it. It’s why many left, and continue to leave.
His cars are also among the most dangerous on the road - and he’s currently using his monied influence to try to eliminate crash data reports for cars - he doesn’t make a profit from them (it’s government carbon tax credits for the company he makes money from).
He also has a huge number of credible lawsuits against him for breaking employment and environmental laws. The main reason he's joined the Trump Administration and paid so much to buy the election is so all of those lawsuits go away. He's also a government contractor who gets billions in government handouts in subsidies, tax breaks, discounted loans, and environmental credits - which creates a HUGE conflict of interest.
Before being involved in Trump’s campaign, and now after, he has endangered people’s lives by targeting them via his social media platform (a practice called doxxing). His most recent target is public employees of the government. And while he is an immigrant himself, who illegally overstayed his student visa, he rails against and targets people who are legally here (like the people in Springfield Trump accused of eating pets) and is anti-immigrant. He ALSO is in the crypto game and plans to mess with our financial system. Coming out the week of the election admitting that we’re in for a few tough years.
I know you don’t think any of this matters but it does. He is an influencer and in the sad state of our communication and entertainment environment he holds a lot of sway, like Trump, inspires people with their hate and people commit hate on their behalf. As I hope you can see, there are plenty of reasons to dislike the man. And I could go on.
All of this matters.
I’ve been paying close attention this past nearly 10 years - I know a lot about what these people have said and done as they were saying it and doing it in interviews and in front of cameras and in written text. I encourage you to look into the links I provided that can provide context for everything I have said here.
Above all, I am inviting you to pay attention along with me.
I love this country and doing whatever I can to help defend it is my civic duty.
In the end I’m certain none of this will sway you. It’s not my intention anyway. My intention is to provide you with information that you may not be familiar with; and now you can’t say you didn’t know anything about what is going to happen.
I love you, and I hope you take me seriously now that you can see more of where my concerns come from.
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Resources (yes, I wrote my dad a letter and provided a resources page)
Topic: Pete Hegseth - Secretary of Defense
Pete Hegseth’s remarks about women in combat are met with disgust and dissent | NBS News, Melissa Chan, November 15, 2024
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/pete-hegseths-remarks-women-combat-are-met-disgust-dissent-rcna180136
What's behind defense secretary pick Hegseth's war on 'woke' | NPR, Shannon Bond, Tom Bowman, Odette Yousef, Quil Lawrence, November 15, 2024,
https://www.npr.org/2024/11/14/nx-s1-5191941/pete-hegseth-defense-department-dei
U.S. military sexual assault rates 2 to 4 times higher than govt estimates, study says | NBS News, Phil Helsel, Courtney Kube, August 14, 2024
https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/us-military-sexual-assault-rates-2-4-higher-govt-estimates-study-says-rcna166490
Topic: Tulsi Gabbard - Department of National Intelligence
Spy world vexed by Trump choice of Gabbard as US intelligence chief | Reuters, Matt Spetalnick, Michael Martina and Humeyra Pamuk, November 15, 2024
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/spy-world-vexed-by-trump-choice-gabbard-us-intelligence-chief-2024-11-14
Why Trump’s nomination of Gabbard for national intelligence director is controversial | PBS, Geoff Bennett, Dan Sagalyn, Lachlan Hyatt, November 14, 2024
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-trumps-nomination-of-gabbard-for-national-intelligence-director-is-controversial
Gabbard selection flummoxes national security experts | The Hill, Rebecca Beitsch, November 15, 2024 https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/4991634-tulsi-gabbard-nominated-dni
Senate must protect our intelligence community from Assad ally Tulsi Gabbard | The Hill, Kareem Rifai, November 15, 2024
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/4990947-gabbard-syria-controversy-dni-nomination/
Topic: Steven Miller - Deputy Chief of Staff
Who is Stephen Miller, architect of Donald Trump's mass deportation plans? | USA Today, Lauren Villagran, November 21, 2024
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/21/stephen-miller-trumps-mass-deportation-architect/76260908007
Stephen Miller will be Trump's homeland security advisor in new White House role | NPR, Franco Ordoñez, November 13, 2024
https://www.npr.org/2024/11/11/g-s1-33741/trump-stephen-miller-deputy-chief-of-staff-immigration-policy-deportations
Topic: RFK Jr - Health and Human Services
First Thing: RFK Jr condemned as ‘clear and present danger’ after Trump nomination | The Guardian, Clea Skopeliti, November 15, 2024
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/15/first-thing-rfk-jr-condemned-as-clear-and-present-danger-after-trump-nomination
How RFK Jr. Falsely Denied His Connection to a Deadly Measles Outbreak in Samoa | Mother Jones, David Corn, July 2, 2024 https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/07/how-rfk-jr-falsely-denied-his-connection-to-a-deadly-measles-outbreak-in-samoa
Dave Weldon, Trump's CDC pick, could bolster an RFK Jr. anti-vaccine agenda | NBC NEws, November 25, 2024, Berkeley Lovelace Jr
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/weldon-trump-cdc-rfk-jr-vaccine-children-rcna181701
General
What Are Recess Appointments, and Will President-Elect Trump Bring Them Back? | Arnold & Porter, Nov 20, 2024
https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/perspectives/advisories/2024/11/what-are-recess-appointments-and-will-president-elect-trump-bring-them-back
Here’s What You Should Know About Donald Trump’s Presidential Agenda and Project 2025 | Harpers Bazaar, Rosa Sanchez, Nov 8, 2024
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a62830793/donald-trump-agenda-47-project-2025-explained
Topic: Democracy
Trump immigration crackdown: Denaturalization just a drop in the bucket | The Hill, Rafael Bernal, November 22, 2024
https://thehill.com/latino/5002972-trump-immigration-crackdown-denaturalization-naturalized-citizens-green-cards-visas
U.S. Senate GOP wants mass deportations to ‘start early’ next year, Graham says | Iowa Capital Dispatch, Ariana Figueroa, December 10, 2024
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/12/10/dc/u-s-senate-gop-wants-mass-deportations-to-start-early-next-year-graham-says/
Why Trump's authoritarian language about 'vermin' matters | NPR, Danielle Kurtzleben, November 17, 2023
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/17/1213746885/trump-vermin-hitler-immigration-authoritarian-republican-primary
Trump’s ‘bloodbath’ and other rhetoric inflame his 2024 campaign trail | Reuters, Gram Slattery, March 22, 2024
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bloodbath-vermin-animals-trumps-rhetoric-trail-2024-03-22
Supreme Court Grants Trump Broad Immunity for Official Acts, Placing Presidents Above the Law | ACLU, Press Release, July 1, 2024
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/supreme-court-grants-trump-broad-immunity-for-official-acts-placing-presidents-above-the-law
Authoritarianism, explained | Protect Democracy, Joe Allen, August 12, 2024
https://protectdemocracy.org/work/authoritarianism-explained
Trump’s latest speech echoes fascist rhetoric | Protect Democracy, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, November 14, 202
https://protectdemocracy.org/work/trump-latest-speech-echoes-fascist-rhetoric
Trump rebuked for call to ‘terminate’ Constitution over 2020 election results | PBS, Hope Yen,, December 4, 2022
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-rebuked-for-call-to-terminate-constitution-over-2020-election-results
Trump's transition team turns to Project 2025 after disavowing it during the campaign | ABS News via Yahoo News, Allan Smith, November 22, 2024
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-transition-team-turns-project-120000787.html
After Trump’s Project 2025 denials, he is tapping its authors and influencers for key roles | AP News, Bill Barrow, November 23, 2024
https://apnews.com/article/trump-project-2025-administration-nominees-843f5ff20131ccba5f056e7ccc5baf23
Trump suggests he’ll use the military on ‘the enemy from within’ the U.S. if he’s reelected | PBS, Stephen Groves, October 13, 2024
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-suggests-hell-use-the-military-on-the-enemy-from-within-the-u-s-if-hes-reelected
John Kelly recently called Trump a fascist. He's not the only former staffer to turn against the president | Business Insider, Grace Eliza Goodwin and Tom Porter, October 25, 2024
https://www.businessinsider.com/list-trump-former-allies-who-oppose-2024-run-2022-12
Agenda 47 | Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_47#:~:text=Agenda%2047%20and%20Project%202025,liberal%20cities%20with%20high%20crime - follow citations if you need clarification
Police use munitions to forcibly push back peaceful protesters for Trump church visit | ABC News, Ben Gittleson, Jordyn Phelps, June 2, 2020
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/national-guard-troops-deployed-white-house-trump-calls/story?id=71004151
Trump dined with Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, adviser says | CBS News, Fin Gómez, Caroline Linton, November 26, 2022
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-dined-with-kanye-west-and-white-nationalist-nick-fuentes-adviser-says
Jack Posobiec Calls Leftists “Unhuman.” JD Vance Seems to Agree | The Nation, Katha Pollitt, August 15, 2024
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/jack-posobiec-jd-vance
‘Infested,’ ‘Bloodbath, ‘Vermin’: A Guide to Trump’s Fascist Rhetoric | Rolling Stone, Tim Dickinson, September 24, 2024
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-fascist-talk-bloodbath-vermin-dictator-1234992957
It’s not just ‘cat ladies’: JD Vance has a history of disparaging people without kids | CNN, Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck, July 30, 2024
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/30/politics/kfile-jd-vance-history-disparaging-people-without-kids/index.html
Topic: Elon Musk
Report: Tweets with racial slurs soar since Musk takeover | AP News, David Klepper, November 10, 2022
https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-technology-business-government-and-politics-2907d382db132cfd7446152b9309992c
Musk embraces Trump and scorns subsidies. But Tesla still lobbies for US benefits | Reuters, Chris Kirkham, August 12, 2024
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-embraces-trump-scorns-subsidies-tesla-still-lobbies-us-benefits-2024-08-12
Federal Employees Targeted By Elon Musk Face Barrage of Harassment | Rolling Stone, Nikki McCann Ramirez, November 27, 2024
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/elon-musk-targets-federal-employees-harassment-doge-1235183987
Elon Musk worked in US illegally in 1995 after quitting school – report | The Guardian, Edward Helmore, October 26, 2024
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/26/elon-musk-illegal-immigration
As Twitter's Revenue Collapses By 84%, Tesla Bulls Fear Elon Musk Will Liquidate More Tesla Stock, Bringing Its Value Down For Everyone | August 23, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/twitters-revenue-collapses-84-tesla-171535190.html
Trump team wants to scrap car-crash reporting rule that Tesla opposes | Reuters, Jarrett Renshaw, Rachael Levy and Chris Kirkham, December 17, 2024
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/trump-transition-recommends-scrapping-car-crash-reporting-requirement-opposed-by-2024-12-13/
Topic: Family Enrichment
Jared and Ivanka made up to $640 million in the White House | Citizens For Ethics, Jordan Libowitz, Caitlin Moniz, February 8, 2021
https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/jared-and-ivanka-made-up-to-640-million-in-the-white-house
Jared Kushner defends controversial $2bn Saudi investment | BBC News, Bernd Debusmann Jr, February 4, 2024
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68296877
Additionally, one can’t just up and eliminate factory corporate farming, it makes up 80-99% of our food supply. It will take years, decades, to build a replacement system.
His anti-vax stance is beyond the pale, and that’s where he loses me because it’s a very dangerous stance. He is even linked to a measles outbreak in Samoa where he went to spread his anti-vax conspiracies.
He flipflops between whether or not he’ll take them off the market, and simply saying people who want them can have them. Which shows a complete lack of understanding how vaccines in populations work.
He is not a doctor. He’s an environmental lawyer.
And while Germany is stocking up on H5N1 vaccines, if that virus were to get out of control…I really worry about what could happen if we have someone who doesn’t think vaccines work and plans to try to defund infectious disease research.
The person he’s putting in charge of the CDC, Dave Welden, has been known to spread anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.
Tulsi Gabbard - Department of National Intelligence
Our allies have already said they won’t share information because they have already expressed their distrust for her because she promotes Russian propaganda. She also made a trip to Syria to meet with Assad without disclosing it to the government and then came back defending his reprehensible behavior (war crimes including murdering his own civilians).
Without our allies being willing to share intelligence information with us we will not have any warning related to attacks on the country, or our people abroad. DNI was created after 9/11 to be a link between the intelligence departments to share information in order to help prevent another attack on America.
Pete Hegseth - Secretary of Defense
He is planning to purge the military of experienced generals he thinks are “woke” (who are trying to make the military an inclusive place where anyone who is willing and able to fight for this country can). Our military has not met recruitment goals in years (partially due to our unhealthy population, and in part because there is a lack of interest). He has also said that women have no role in combat. Women make up over 17% of our combat forces. Additionally he has had sexual assault charges against him since 2017 and the military has a giant sexual assault problem already where women are not taken seriously. He worked and got fired from two conservative veterans groups because of his uncontrolled alcoholism and unsavory acts, Thankfully he’s so horrible he may go the way of Matt Gaetz.
These are just a few of the concerning candidates.
The bottom line is that most of the people Trump has chosen are wildly unqualified for the positions they are given, they are also criminals of a wide variety, including rapists. This will have a disastrous impact on the financial stability of the country, the health of this country, as well as the safety and security of this country. Not to mention our standing in the world.
In the end hopefully Congress will be a backstop. But that’s if Trump doesn’t attempt to use the Recess Appointments Clause, which he has said he plans to do - even going so far as saying it was a requirement for the majority leader of both the House and Senate.
Trying to use the Recess Appointments Clause is where he plans to have Congress adjourned (outside of the normal schedule) so nobody is available to conduct the confirmation hearings of his cabinet picks and he can force them on America. People he realizes are so unqualified and potentially dangerous that he doesn’t think his own party members will approve of them. Even if we are lucky and none of these people are confirmed, the fact that these were his first picks should have you worried, or at least give you pause about the kind of people he wants in charge of this country and whether or not he has the country’s best interest in mind, or his own.
It should further concern you that it appears the members of the GOP in congress are already falling in line behind him out of fear of retribution and revenge (another item he ran on in this past election). He, and Elon Musk, have threatened to primary anybody who doesn’t fall in line.
This is a clear violation of the separation of powers, btw.
His new FBI pick, Kash Patel - also completely unqualified, and dangerous, is doing media rounds talking about who he plans to go after.
Trump ran on dismantling the government the first time, and his mission has not changed. His loyal supporters, those he plans to give positions to throughout the entire government, also support dismantling the government and concentrating power in his hands. They’ve literally been talking about it openly for years.
Things he specifically ran on this time include dismantling the Department of Education - one of the important things they do is provide learning support for children with mental and physical disabilities. They don’t actually have control over what is taught, that’s not in the scope of their department. States are in charge of setting curriculum. That’s why there is such a discrepancy in educational success across the country. The people he’s putting in charge also plan to get rid of things like the FBI, the FDA, and more. And recently they’ve started floating getting rid of the FDIC, while starting to promote crypto and working to prevent regulation of it, as he, and Elon, own their own crypto currencies (a great way for laundering money and funding inappropriate things). I have to wonder why these things are okay with you. Or anybody.
He has been antagonizing our closest allies, Canada & Mexico, who are among our most important trade partners and allies, trying to foment a trade war.
He’s already using the power of the government, and plans to continue to attack and threaten private business, non profits, news organizations, and journalists across the country. While planning to deregulate the businesses that gave him loads of money. He told a group of oil investors that if they gave him a bunch of money he’d roll back regulations. Millionaires and billionaires and faceless corporations will be more free to pollute our air, water, soil & food in the name of profit.
If I were you I’d watch some documentaries on Viktor Orban, China’s Xi Jinping, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, Tayyip Erdogan, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Narendra Modi, Bolsonaro, Nicolás Maduro and see what kind of leaders Trump has expressed his admiration for - he particularly love Orban who has visited him many times at Mar a Lago (As have neo Nazi influencers).These are the men he aims to emulate. He is creating an American oligarchy unlike any in American history. Never has there been so much money in so few people’s hands who also wield more control and power than any other wealthy people in this country in history.
His family is also enriching themselves with deals in foreign countries, like they did the last time. And while the GOP accused Biden of the same thing they were unable to prove it and the informant that made the claims turned out to be a foreign operative who just pleaded guilty to lying about the whole thing. There’s a saying on the left that every accusation of a Republican is a confession. It’s been a pretty accurate assessment over the years.
It’s my duty as an American to do what I can to fight against the people who want to destroy the foundation, social progress, safety, and global influence of the country I love. To fight against the people who want to destroy the constitution and America as we know it.
I know a large portion of you who voted for him don’t think he’ll do a lot of these things, but what is the purpose of him saying he will in all those rallies? To terrorize those who care about these things?
I could just keep going on and on about the things I am worried about based on years of paying attention to domestic and foreign news. But this is already ridiculously long and I’m just hoping you’re still reading at this point.
Again, I implore you. Please pay attention.
America is not immune to repeating atrocities of history, it’s own or others.
Final Thoughts
There are topics discussed and brought up at our conversation in the woods that Saturday and I didn't have time to address them completely, the topics shifted so fast. But I’ve thought about some of them a lot.
The first thing you have to realize is that they’re all talking out of both sides of their mouth depending on the platform they are addressing - news media, podcasts, interviews. I’ve heard them contradict themselves, he and a number of the people in his circle, making different claims depending on the audience.
I know you say you voted for Trump because you think he can fix the economy but the economy isn’t broken in a way he can control. We don’t have a system where the government controls the prices of things to the level that would be needed to bring down the cost of groceries and gas, and further, tariffs raise prices, and if we also have no people picking the food then prices will increase,
It’s also widely known now that companies purposely inflated prices above what was necessary during the supply chain issues of COVID - they admitted they were doing it in their earnings calls (transcripts and audio of which are publicly available as a legal requirement of a publicly traded company). That’s how they continued to make record profits as people struggled to buy groceries.
Additionally, Trump admitted this week that he can’t guarantee we’re not going to have higher prices and higher inflation, which is exactly what the educated professionals have been saying for months, saying that it’s hard to do.
He thinks we need to drill more oil but for several years, year after year, the United States has broken records for oil production. Additionally, OPEC and OPEC+ are the organizations that have the most control over the gas and oil market. Not the president of the United States.
Trump is really out of touch with the achievements of the country over the past few years. We have low unemployment, high GDP, the markets have continued to break records each year, workers wages have risen a bit, we finally funded infrastructure, consumer spending just continues to increase, and we’re producing more oil than ever in history. I could go on.
But the price of eggs, right? Look up H5N1 (bird flu), it has been on the rise for years and has resulted in mass elimination of egg laying chickens which has caused egg prices to increase (and therefore anything that contains eggs as an ingredient).
As an aside, keep an eye on H5N1 - over the past couple of years it's mutated to spread and infect cows, and humans, and recently it’s been found in a pig in Oregon - which is actually quite significant when it comes to the danger of mutating and furthering transmission to humans. This is the first time this virus has done these things.
Keep an eye out because Trump has said he will AGAIN dismantle the pandemic preparedness office (an office originally formed by Geroge W Bush) something he did in his first administration and which led to, among other things, the disarray and poor COVID pandemic approach.
Trump isn’t good with money. He has had countless failed businesses and before he got the Apprentice position on TV he was nearly broke. This after being given over 400 million dollars from his dad that he invested poorly. He lies on his taxes, he lies on his bank documents (that’s what the 34 indictment fraud case was about). He has been known for decades to not pay his contractors or anyone else he hires for his work. He scams and cheats at every turn. It’s well documented and has been for decades, well before he became a political figure.
And finally, I heard you make a claim that the left liked Elon Musk until he teamed up with Trump and I can confidently say that people hated him long before that - back before he bought Twitter - which he has tanked - and was an internet troll who spewed conspiracies, and sexist and racist remarks all through COVID. People got to know him and decided he was not a decent person. Then when he bought Twitter as a “champion of free speech” he suppressed the comments of people who would criticize him or opposed him, altered the algorithm to promote his own views and hide other. Not really free speech loving if you ask me. When he bought the platform the use of the N word, other racial slurs, and harassment skyrocketed and the place became an angry hole of toxicity. It’s why I left the platform when he bought it. It’s why many left, and continue to leave.
His cars are also among the most dangerous on the road - and he’s currently using his monied influence to try to eliminate crash data reports for cars - he doesn’t make a profit from them (it’s government carbon tax credits for the company he makes money from).
He also has a huge number of credible lawsuits against him for breaking employment and environmental laws. The main reason he's joined the Trump Administration and paid so much to buy the election is so all of those lawsuits go away. He's also a government contractor who gets billions in government handouts in subsidies, tax breaks, discounted loans, and environmental credits - which creates a HUGE conflict of interest.
Before being involved in Trump’s campaign, and now after, he has endangered people’s lives by targeting them via his social media platform (a practice called doxxing). His most recent target is public employees of the government. And while he is an immigrant himself, who illegally overstayed his student visa, he rails against and targets people who are legally here (like the people in Springfield Trump accused of eating pets) and is anti-immigrant. He ALSO is in the crypto game and plans to mess with our financial system. Coming out the week of the election admitting that we’re in for a few tough years.
I know you don’t think any of this matters but it does. He is an influencer and in the sad state of our communication and entertainment environment he holds a lot of sway, like Trump, inspires people with their hate and people commit hate on their behalf. As I hope you can see, there are plenty of reasons to dislike the man. And I could go on.
All of this matters.
I’ve been paying close attention this past nearly 10 years - I know a lot about what these people have said and done as they were saying it and doing it in interviews and in front of cameras and in written text. I encourage you to look into the links I provided that can provide context for everything I have said here.
Above all, I am inviting you to pay attention along with me.
I love this country and doing whatever I can to help defend it is my civic duty.
In the end I’m certain none of this will sway you. It’s not my intention anyway. My intention is to provide you with information that you may not be familiar with; and now you can’t say you didn’t know anything about what is going to happen.
I love you, and I hope you take me seriously now that you can see more of where my concerns come from.
____________________________________________________________
Resources (yes, I wrote my dad a letter and provided a resources page)
Topic: Pete Hegseth - Secretary of Defense
Pete Hegseth’s remarks about women in combat are met with disgust and dissent | NBS News, Melissa Chan, November 15, 2024
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/pete-hegseths-remarks-women-combat-are-met-disgust-dissent-rcna180136
What's behind defense secretary pick Hegseth's war on 'woke' | NPR, Shannon Bond, Tom Bowman, Odette Yousef, Quil Lawrence, November 15, 2024,
https://www.npr.org/2024/11/14/nx-s1-5191941/pete-hegseth-defense-department-dei
U.S. military sexual assault rates 2 to 4 times higher than govt estimates, study says | NBS News, Phil Helsel, Courtney Kube, August 14, 2024
https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/us-military-sexual-assault-rates-2-4-higher-govt-estimates-study-says-rcna166490
Topic: Tulsi Gabbard - Department of National Intelligence
Spy world vexed by Trump choice of Gabbard as US intelligence chief | Reuters, Matt Spetalnick, Michael Martina and Humeyra Pamuk, November 15, 2024
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/spy-world-vexed-by-trump-choice-gabbard-us-intelligence-chief-2024-11-14
Why Trump’s nomination of Gabbard for national intelligence director is controversial | PBS, Geoff Bennett, Dan Sagalyn, Lachlan Hyatt, November 14, 2024
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-trumps-nomination-of-gabbard-for-national-intelligence-director-is-controversial
Gabbard selection flummoxes national security experts | The Hill, Rebecca Beitsch, November 15, 2024 https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/4991634-tulsi-gabbard-nominated-dni
Senate must protect our intelligence community from Assad ally Tulsi Gabbard | The Hill, Kareem Rifai, November 15, 2024
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/4990947-gabbard-syria-controversy-dni-nomination/
Topic: Steven Miller - Deputy Chief of Staff
Who is Stephen Miller, architect of Donald Trump's mass deportation plans? | USA Today, Lauren Villagran, November 21, 2024
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/21/stephen-miller-trumps-mass-deportation-architect/76260908007
Stephen Miller will be Trump's homeland security advisor in new White House role | NPR, Franco Ordoñez, November 13, 2024
https://www.npr.org/2024/11/11/g-s1-33741/trump-stephen-miller-deputy-chief-of-staff-immigration-policy-deportations
Topic: RFK Jr - Health and Human Services
First Thing: RFK Jr condemned as ‘clear and present danger’ after Trump nomination | The Guardian, Clea Skopeliti, November 15, 2024
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/15/first-thing-rfk-jr-condemned-as-clear-and-present-danger-after-trump-nomination
How RFK Jr. Falsely Denied His Connection to a Deadly Measles Outbreak in Samoa | Mother Jones, David Corn, July 2, 2024 https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/07/how-rfk-jr-falsely-denied-his-connection-to-a-deadly-measles-outbreak-in-samoa
Dave Weldon, Trump's CDC pick, could bolster an RFK Jr. anti-vaccine agenda | NBC NEws, November 25, 2024, Berkeley Lovelace Jr
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/weldon-trump-cdc-rfk-jr-vaccine-children-rcna181701
General
What Are Recess Appointments, and Will President-Elect Trump Bring Them Back? | Arnold & Porter, Nov 20, 2024
https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/perspectives/advisories/2024/11/what-are-recess-appointments-and-will-president-elect-trump-bring-them-back
Here’s What You Should Know About Donald Trump’s Presidential Agenda and Project 2025 | Harpers Bazaar, Rosa Sanchez, Nov 8, 2024
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a62830793/donald-trump-agenda-47-project-2025-explained
Topic: Democracy
Trump immigration crackdown: Denaturalization just a drop in the bucket | The Hill, Rafael Bernal, November 22, 2024
https://thehill.com/latino/5002972-trump-immigration-crackdown-denaturalization-naturalized-citizens-green-cards-visas
U.S. Senate GOP wants mass deportations to ‘start early’ next year, Graham says | Iowa Capital Dispatch, Ariana Figueroa, December 10, 2024
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/12/10/dc/u-s-senate-gop-wants-mass-deportations-to-start-early-next-year-graham-says/
Why Trump's authoritarian language about 'vermin' matters | NPR, Danielle Kurtzleben, November 17, 2023
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/17/1213746885/trump-vermin-hitler-immigration-authoritarian-republican-primary
Trump’s ‘bloodbath’ and other rhetoric inflame his 2024 campaign trail | Reuters, Gram Slattery, March 22, 2024
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bloodbath-vermin-animals-trumps-rhetoric-trail-2024-03-22
Supreme Court Grants Trump Broad Immunity for Official Acts, Placing Presidents Above the Law | ACLU, Press Release, July 1, 2024
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/supreme-court-grants-trump-broad-immunity-for-official-acts-placing-presidents-above-the-law
Authoritarianism, explained | Protect Democracy, Joe Allen, August 12, 2024
https://protectdemocracy.org/work/authoritarianism-explained
Trump’s latest speech echoes fascist rhetoric | Protect Democracy, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, November 14, 202
https://protectdemocracy.org/work/trump-latest-speech-echoes-fascist-rhetoric
Trump rebuked for call to ‘terminate’ Constitution over 2020 election results | PBS, Hope Yen,, December 4, 2022
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-rebuked-for-call-to-terminate-constitution-over-2020-election-results
Trump's transition team turns to Project 2025 after disavowing it during the campaign | ABS News via Yahoo News, Allan Smith, November 22, 2024
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-transition-team-turns-project-120000787.html
After Trump’s Project 2025 denials, he is tapping its authors and influencers for key roles | AP News, Bill Barrow, November 23, 2024
https://apnews.com/article/trump-project-2025-administration-nominees-843f5ff20131ccba5f056e7ccc5baf23
Trump suggests he’ll use the military on ‘the enemy from within’ the U.S. if he’s reelected | PBS, Stephen Groves, October 13, 2024
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-suggests-hell-use-the-military-on-the-enemy-from-within-the-u-s-if-hes-reelected
John Kelly recently called Trump a fascist. He's not the only former staffer to turn against the president | Business Insider, Grace Eliza Goodwin and Tom Porter, October 25, 2024
https://www.businessinsider.com/list-trump-former-allies-who-oppose-2024-run-2022-12
Agenda 47 | Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_47#:~:text=Agenda%2047%20and%20Project%202025,liberal%20cities%20with%20high%20crime - follow citations if you need clarification
Police use munitions to forcibly push back peaceful protesters for Trump church visit | ABC News, Ben Gittleson, Jordyn Phelps, June 2, 2020
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/national-guard-troops-deployed-white-house-trump-calls/story?id=71004151
Trump dined with Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, adviser says | CBS News, Fin Gómez, Caroline Linton, November 26, 2022
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-dined-with-kanye-west-and-white-nationalist-nick-fuentes-adviser-says
Jack Posobiec Calls Leftists “Unhuman.” JD Vance Seems to Agree | The Nation, Katha Pollitt, August 15, 2024
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/jack-posobiec-jd-vance
‘Infested,’ ‘Bloodbath, ‘Vermin’: A Guide to Trump’s Fascist Rhetoric | Rolling Stone, Tim Dickinson, September 24, 2024
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-fascist-talk-bloodbath-vermin-dictator-1234992957
It’s not just ‘cat ladies’: JD Vance has a history of disparaging people without kids | CNN, Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck, July 30, 2024
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/30/politics/kfile-jd-vance-history-disparaging-people-without-kids/index.html
Topic: Elon Musk
Report: Tweets with racial slurs soar since Musk takeover | AP News, David Klepper, November 10, 2022
https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-technology-business-government-and-politics-2907d382db132cfd7446152b9309992c
Musk embraces Trump and scorns subsidies. But Tesla still lobbies for US benefits | Reuters, Chris Kirkham, August 12, 2024
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-embraces-trump-scorns-subsidies-tesla-still-lobbies-us-benefits-2024-08-12
Federal Employees Targeted By Elon Musk Face Barrage of Harassment | Rolling Stone, Nikki McCann Ramirez, November 27, 2024
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/elon-musk-targets-federal-employees-harassment-doge-1235183987
Elon Musk worked in US illegally in 1995 after quitting school – report | The Guardian, Edward Helmore, October 26, 2024
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/26/elon-musk-illegal-immigration
As Twitter's Revenue Collapses By 84%, Tesla Bulls Fear Elon Musk Will Liquidate More Tesla Stock, Bringing Its Value Down For Everyone | August 23, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/twitters-revenue-collapses-84-tesla-171535190.html
Trump team wants to scrap car-crash reporting rule that Tesla opposes | Reuters, Jarrett Renshaw, Rachael Levy and Chris Kirkham, December 17, 2024
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/trump-transition-recommends-scrapping-car-crash-reporting-requirement-opposed-by-2024-12-13/
Topic: Family Enrichment
Jared and Ivanka made up to $640 million in the White House | Citizens For Ethics, Jordan Libowitz, Caitlin Moniz, February 8, 2021
https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/jared-and-ivanka-made-up-to-640-million-in-the-white-house
Jared Kushner defends controversial $2bn Saudi investment | BBC News, Bernd Debusmann Jr, February 4, 2024
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68296877
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