She Devoted Her Life to Serving the US Then DOGE Targeted Her—Joy Marver, disabled veteran and “laid-off” federal worker

Excerpted from NY Times by Eli Saslow, March 30, 2025

…A half-dozen bins held the remnants of 22 years spent in service to the U.S. government — first as a sergeant first class in Iraq, then as a disabled veteran and finally as a V.A. support specialist in logistics. She had devoted her career to a system that had always made sense to her, but now nobody seemed to know whether she had officially been laid off, or for how long, or why.

Indy vaccination program in jeopardy after Trump’s cuts

The federal government has ended funding for Marion County’s vaccination program, leaving the local health department scrambling for a solution as disease outbreaks continue, a top official said.

“(Funding for) our immunization program was being eliminated immediately,” said Dr. Virginia Caine, chief medical officer of the Marion County Public Health Department, during a March 27 virtual town hall with U.S. Rep. André Carson. “We are now seeing they are cutting all state and local health departments’ budgets by $13.1 billion.”

‘You’re not listening to us’: Hoosiers air frustrations as public officials face access scrutiny

public officials

With increasing limitations on public access and communication, some Indiana public officials are facing backlash from Hoosier constituents. (Cartoon by Daniel Ackley)

Facing down a sea of her own seething constituents in Westfield on Friday, U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz’s town hall descended into a two-hour shouting match just minutes after it began.

Sanitizing Resumption of Genocide as ‘Pressure on Hamas’

The New York Times produced an article on Friday, March 21, bearing the headline “Israel Tries to Pressure Hamas to Free More Hostages.” In the first paragraph, readers were informed that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had undertaken to “turn up the pressure” by warning that Israel was “preparing to seize more territory in Gaza and intensify attacks by air, sea and land if the armed Palestinian group does not cooperate.”

The U. S. Department of Education

On Thursday, Donald Trump issued an executive order to essentially shut down the U.S. Department of Education.

Do he and his sycophants hate children?

Just in case there’s any confusion, let’s clarify what the federal Department of Education does (and the perils in store for our nation’s children and our country’s future if Trump is allowed to dismantle the agency):
  • Administer the federal student loan program. (If you or anyone you care about has — or was hoping to get — a student loan, watch out.)

    Democratic Party Leaders – Mostly Wimps, Wallowers and Wallflowers

    I’ve stopped counting the articles on the Democratic Party’s disarray over how and when they should confront Tyrant Trump’s criminal destruction of our country, its people’s livelihoods, security for their families, and their freedom to speak and advocate for their concerns.

    Decades of Media Myths Made Social Security Vulnerable to Political Attack

    As the hack-and-slash crusade of the “Department of Government Efficiency” picked up steam in early February, the Washington Post editorial board (2/7/25) gave President Donald Trump a tip on how to most effectively harness Elon Musk’s experience in “relentlessly innovating and constantly cutting costs”: Don’t just cut “low-hanging fruit,” but “reform entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare before they become insolvent.”

    Jackie Robinson's Army history removed from Defense Department sites


    The military story of Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball after serving as a 2nd lieutenant in the Army, no longer exists on the Defense Department’s website as part of the Trump administration’s wiping out of diversity, equity and inclusion within the federal government.


    Trump Is Cracking Down on the Colleges That Cave to Him

    The detention of Mahmoud Khalil signals a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s promise to crack down on campus dissent. During the 2024 campaign, Trump promised to punish colleges and universities that allowed what he characterized as “illegal protests” against Israel’s conduct in Gaza, singling out Columbia University for special opprobrium.

    Airport security: Musk’s chainsaw clashes with union steel

    The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Transportation Security Administration, announced March 7 that TSA employees no longer had the right to collective bargaining. That move could allow the government to fire the TSA’s 50,000 workers and to privatize the security screenings now done by them. Their union says it won’t submit.