#freezing of funds

[ratisangy]

[aktualitet-al]

USAID and Media Funding: Is the Era of “Independent Journalism” Sponsored from Abroad Coming to an End?

A new investigation has shed light on the controversial role of USAID in funding media and journalism worldwide. This issue has gained even more attention following Donald Trump’s decision to freeze foreign aid funds, including those intended to support media organizations. USAID: An Investor in “Independent” Journalism? Over the past years, USAID has funded: More than 6,000…

[srldesigns6277]

By 5 P.M. Tonight (01/28/25), in a Leaked Memo, the Trump Administration orders a freeze on all Federal Funding. Things like loans, grants, and national and international aid.

This includes but does not limit to programs relating to Medicaid and Childhood Cancer Research. From Head Start to Local Law Enforcement programs.

The Trump Administration plans to go through each program on a "case-by-case" basis to decide the funding.

Democrats and Various Legal Groups have come out against this calling for legal disputes and to halt Senate Confirmation Hearings until more information has been presented or the funding returns.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Shumer responded by stating "in an instant, Donald Trump has shut off billions, perhaps trillions, of dollars that directly support states, cities, towns, schools, hospitals, small businesses, and most of all, families."

[saywhat-politics]

Joe Biden attempted to cancel 20k per person in student loans and Republicans had a meltdown about executive overreach.

Donald Trump attempts to illegally withhold all federal funding and Republicans are silent.

[in4newz]

Why are they so dumb? Does this mean we'll get into a new deal in 2040?

[gwydionmisha]

CW: Domestic Violence.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jared Yates Sexton at Dispatches From A Collapsing State:

At the end of last week I released an episode of Audio From A Collapsing State talking about the emotional toll of the first few days of the Trump Administration. I think it was pretty obvious that it was designed to be a blitz of executive orders and action intended to assert power. Authoritarianism is weaponized abuse and as it is realized it communicates to the subject an inability to stop the will of the authoritarians and reinforces a sense of powerful isolation. Well. We made it through the first week. It was hard. It was painful. And I’m sure some of us are worse for wear.

I want to emphasize once more the need for self-care. Any attempt to organize and fight back begins with protecting yourself and ensuring you’re all right, energized, and prepared for the next onslaught. Talk to people you can trust. Establish actual reality outside of this nonsense they’re peddling. Remember to continue thinking about a better future. Limit the time authoritarians can affect you by logging off and sealing yourself off. And try and find things that bring you joy and, if possible, produce tangible artifacts that demonstrate how projects that take time and energy lead to things. Considering the toll, I do want to take a moment today to discuss something hopeful. That’s difficult, of course, when the President of the United States is joking about seeking a third term between cutting off federal funding, flagrantly violating the law multiple times, attacking the Constitution, attempting to expel transgender people from the military and culture writ large, and immigration raids are ongoing. I’m sure that paragraph alone was tiring, because of course it is. Never mind that it doesn’t even begin to cover the things that have happened in just the past couple of days. But that feeling, as powerful as it is, also leads us to the subject of hope. Because it is overwhelming, because it is exhausting, because it is chaotic and unarguably wrong, we are beginning to see signs that this will not continue on unabated and unopposed.

The Backlash

It’s necessary sometimes to put yourself in the shoes of the authoritarian. This helps in understanding key components of the ideology, but also in anticipating what directions they might go. I’ve been doing this for years now and I can admit it isn’t fun in any way, shape, or form. Regardless, it does pay dividends. When it comes to the implementation of authoritarianism, there are different strategies. You could roll it out slowly, which we have seen to some extent over the past few years. Then, there are moments in which things speed up. Sometimes this comes after an especially painful and motivating crisis, like the burning down of the Reichstag or a terrorist attack. In these situations, things change very quickly.

The emotional experience of authoritarianism riding on the back of a crisis is chaotic-making and, as we’ve seen in the 21st century, it can lead to insane scenarios like the bipartisan backing of the so-called War on Terror. But, presently, we’re in a different place. Donald Trump’s presidency already feels like it’s lasted several months. This is a result of a flurry of action that runs counter to how most administrations tend to ease into place and take a measured, careful approach. Instead, Trump is carrying out the agenda given to him by the think-tanks and institutes run by his billionaire benefactors, engaging in gleeful cruelty, destroying any government projects that don’t benefit the wealthy, and handing everything over to the oligarchs who have bought him.

This is a vulnerable period for authoritarianism as it is a stark departure from what we have seen in the past. The blitz was meant to push us kicking and screaming into a reality of their choosing, but the haphazardly aggressive nature of the push gifts us an incredible opportunity. If we can manage to get out of the dirt, dust ourselves off, and begin to look for openings, we might very well find purchase we thought, and that feels, nearly impossible.

[...]

I want to start here by saying I do not believe that the most diehard MAGA acolytes will suddenly realize they backed the wrong horse when the consequences of Trump’s action take form. That’s not how any of this works. They hold a religious dedication to him and are inundated constantly with enough of mis and disinformation and propaganda to override any cognitive dissonance. Economic troubles and even the eradication of programs that specifically affect them will be blamed on the “Deep State” or insidious conspiracy theories. That’s not what we’re talking about here. But Trump’s orders to pause federal funding, slash programs, and the general dysfunction and chaos leading to consequences (including his weekend spat with Colombia affecting prices) will change the paradigm with some. There are many individuals, from all walks of life, who are going to be negatively impacted. This includes the funding of studies, experimental drugs and treatments, any number of other downstream effects will touch people’s lives. Some people are going to die. And, when you add that to the upcoming trauma of seeing friends and neighbors and community members, including children, being rounded up by aggressive mobs of ICE officers, it will generate backlash.

For some, this will be stuff they read about on the news, but for so many people this is going to be lived experience that affects their daily lives. Federal employees are already feeling it and the people associated with their programs have had enough in the first week. Now, we’re getting into god knows how many ongoing programs that are going to be cut or decimated. This is going to exacerbate pressure in so many workplaces and communities, and the catharsis Trump is offering his dieheards - the pleasure of seeing “elites” and vulnerable communities inflicted with pain - will have no reward whatsoever for them. Instead, it will be real material conditions. Despite what Trump and the oligarchs behind him think, there are ripples from all of this. We’re likely to begin seeing labor strife, community uprisings, and a changing of the tide. The furious nature of it all, not to mention how dysfunctional and unprofessional Trump and his billionaires are, only makes mistakes more inevitable and for consequences to mount. The question now is how this will be answered. And authoritarians are quick to violence and suppression.

Jared Yates Sexton wrote a solid piece on how we fight MAGA authoritarianism.

[transmechanicus]

Plague of every kind upon this administration. Pain and agony and a most incurable and total suffering upon every one of them for a span of nightmare days until final death.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from EcoWatch:

The Trump administration has halted spending from the United States Department of Energy (DOE)’s approximately $50 billion budget while a “comprehensive review” is conducted to ensure its spending and other actions — which include funding for new energy technologies — are in alignment with the priorities of President Donald Trump, according to an agency memo seen by Bloomberg.

The January 20 memo froze funding opportunities such as loans and the awarding of grants, as well as activities like the publication of rules and studies, until they are approved by Acting Secretary of Energy Ingrid Kolb.

Trump has said he will end spending on climate-friendly policies that he regards as wasteful, while supporting the fossil fuel industry.

“Effective immediately and until further notice, prior to any actions or decisions on all herein described activities, a review under varying criteria will be undertaken to ensure all such actions are consistent with current Administration policies and priorities including budgetary priorities,” the memo said, as Bloomberg reported.

The freeze is an effort to dismantle Biden-era climate policies, reported Oil Price. DOE’s Loan Programs Office is in charge of $42.1 billion in conditional energy technology commitments that have now been paused.

The memo also halted the cleanup of nuclear waste from Cold War bomb development, the maintenance of emergency crude oil reserves and the study of supercomputers.

The order is similar to an earlier Trump freeze on funds associated with former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, both of which provided billions in clean energy initiatives.

The U.S. Department of the Interior also issued a pause on federal leases for solar and wind projects.

Critics argue that the “drill, baby drill” halt of innovative technology investments will jeopardize the country’s long-term energy security.

“Donald Trump has been president for less than a week, and he has already repeatedly broken his promises to cut costs, create jobs, and help the American people. The Department of Energy’s funds were specifically targeted towards helping utilities reduce costs to customers, while making their electricity systems more resilient and robust. This funding is not only saving Americans money on their energy bills, it has created hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country,” said Executive Director of Sierra Club Ben Jealous in response to the announcement, in a press release from Sierra Club.

DOE Loan Programs Office-funded projects have created over 47,000 permanent jobs while generating nearly 128 million megawatt-hours of green electricity. They have produced tens of billions in project investments all over the country. Loans from DOE have included funding for battery factories and deployment, electric vehicles and the distribution of solar.

“Trump’s rash actions to halt all Department of Energy funding will directly harm ratepayers in states like Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and jeopardize the hundreds of thousands of good clean energy and manufacturing jobs created over the last four years. Donald Trump might think about his promises to the people,” Jealous added.

[crookedkingdom]

love getting emails from my university that are basically just "keep doing research while we figure out if we're still supposed to pay you"

[onlytiktoks]

[republicansaretheproblem]

😡

[saywhat-politics]

Author: Samantha Fischer, Jeremiah Jacobsen

Published: 2:19 PM CST January 28, 2025

Updated: 6:18 PM CST January 28, 2025

Facebook

ST PAUL, Minn. — Hours after President Donald Trump announced his executive action to freeze all federal funding, Minnesota's top elected officials are decrying the administration's actions.

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, a visibly upset Gov. Tim Walz called the freeze "stupid, buffoonish, childish" and stands to hurt programs for childcare providers, law enforcement and other groups.

[in4newz]

being in america sucks so bad bc like wdym someone can tell me with their whole chest "vaccines are evil and i think schools need to stop teaching history and i think anyone whos not white is a criminal" and youre "SUPPOSED TO" "respect their politics and point of view" !? like i literally feel like im losing my absolute mind . like i feel like im being gaslit constantly by half the country who just believes things that are . wrong. and they say youre supposed to be open to their opinions ???!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!!!?!?!??

[s0fter-sin]

thinking about the way ghost doesn't hesitate to start killing shadows when graves betrays them but soap only takes one hostage

you can almost hear the voice in his head telling him it doesn't have to be this way; they can still talk it out

"i'm calling shepherd"

his first instinct when confronted with betrayal is to play it by the books; to go up the chain and sort it out democratically. that goes against everything we've seen him do; he’s quick to drop his enemies and bucks authority at every chance except for the one time he's confronted with the barrels of his allies' guns

he wants a peaceful resolution; for the first time we've ever seen, he doesn't want violence to be the answer

there has to be another fix, a solution that doesn't end with him killing the same men he's been working with; his friends

nothing's happened yet

it doesn't have to go this way

but ghost has been betrayed before. he knows the way this ends; either with him six feet under or his enemy

he doesn't hesitate

it's only when they knock alejandro out that soap shoots; when they spill the first blood and cross a line they can never come back from

only when ghost orders him to run and he has to cover his retreat

and somewhere along the line, between civilians’ screams and taunting voices, between his shaking breath and ghost steady in his ear, that naivety is stripped away; his trust turned to teeth that he uses to sink into throats of men he'd have given his life for

"be careful who you trust, sergeant; people you know can hurt you the most"

he's learned the price of trust

just like ghost did

but unlike ghost, he has someone to guide him through the aftermath

"good advice, It"