#u.s. workforce

[sbrown82]

[centerforhci]

39 million working women in the U.S. face menopause as a hidden challenge in the workforce

I kept having fevers. I couldn’t sleep. I was feeling totally unfocused. I thought it was just an extension of my restless shark-like tenancies, but after days of unrelenting symptoms, I decided I should see a doctor. Here’s how our conversation went:

“It’s menopause.”

“What? That’s not possible. I’m too young.”

“Yes, it is. There are many reasons why it can happen at an earlier age than normal.”

“How in the world do women work like this? I’m in a fog and can’t focus.”

“Your symptoms are light.”

“You’re joking, right? It’s going to get worse? Women work every day feeling like this?”

I left the doctor’s office astounded, confused and angry. If many in our workforce are dealing with these symptoms on a daily basis, why aren’t there lobbyists hired? Associations created? Women revolting in the street? Leaders talking about this regularly?

I Was Warned Not to Write This

As I decided to write about this, I was warned by two professional, well-educated colleagues not to do so. They said:

“If you write about this, people will know how old you are and never hire you again.”

And

“If you write about this, you’ll just reinforce the stereotype that women are weepy and unreliable. Just leave it alone.”

Leave it alone? I have daily hot flashes, which means instead of using my EQ to listen to the person in front of me, all I can think about is finding the closest air conditioner. If these symptoms are considered light, how are millions of other women dealing with their (not so light) symptoms at work? And what about the leaders who have to manage people with these symptoms?

Let’s look at the facts about menopause in the workplace.

The Facts About Menopause in the Workplace

Most women officially reach menopause between the ages of 44 and 56, and symptoms can last between two and ten years. It’s possible for symptoms to start as early as 35 years of age, before officially reaching menopause.

An estimated��1.3 million U.S. women reach menopause every year.

Approximately 39 million women in the US workforce are experiencing or will soon experience symptoms of perimenopause or menopause.

Menopause costs approximately $1.8 billion in lost work productivity annually

According to the Labor Bureau of Statistics (LBS), menopause-age women account for almost 30% of the U.S. labor force.

Menopausal Symptoms at Work

So what goes on when a woman is having menopausal symptoms? I mentioned the hot flashes (which I thought were fevers) and insomnia I was experiencing. Women also experience headaches, loss of energy, anxiety attacks, brain fog, aches and pains, and dry skin and eyes. This translates to 45% of the women workforce potentially being at work without enough sleep, sweating to death at their desks with intermittent headaches, no energy and an achy body. I think that fact is worthy of addressing.

Why is No One Talking About Menopause, Affecting a Significant Portion of the Workforce?

Yet menopause remains a taboo topic in many workplaces. Despite approximately 1.3 million women in the U.S. entering menopause each year and 20% of the workforce being in some phase of the menopause transition, conversations around it are still rare. Many women don’t want to admit they are going through menopause, and men often avoid discussing “women’s health issues.” It’s discussed so infrequently that most are unaware of the workplace impacts until they are directly affected or know someone who is. Why is this critical topic, affecting millions, still not widely discussed? Topics like breast cancer, pregnancy, and obesity are openly talked about, yet menopause remains shrouded in silence.

In fact, that’s exactly how women feel about discussing menopause in the workplace: silenced. Hush hush. Don’t say it out loud. Don’t make a big deal. Yet, how can we not talk about this when BOHRF reports that almost 20% of women surveyed believe menopause has had a negative impact on their managers and colleagues’ perceptions of their competence?

Research by the University of Nottingham found many women didn’t want to disclose this issue to their manager, particularly if the manager was younger than them, male or both. Of the women who had taken time off of work due to menopausal symptoms, only half of them disclosed the real reason for their absence. Some women even considered working part time to deal with symptoms but feared this would negatively impact their career. The research also showed that over half of the women studied reported that they were not able to negotiate flexible work hours or practices when dealing with symptoms. All of these realities contribute to the lack of confidence some women feel as even just the lack of sleep affects them cognitively and physically. One women says:

“It certainly affects my confidence from the point of view of speaking at meetings because I am not as fluent…that concerns me. I don’t want to, you know, suddenly not have the word that I need so I am perhaps sort of withdrawing a little bit”

So we have part of a workforce that is less productive and effective, yet we all tiptoe around the topic. Why aren’t there more resources going toward this issue from a productivity standpoint alone?

Two words: Sexism and Ageism

We have to remember that most organizational systems were built by and for men. They were rarely built with women in mind, let alone women with menopausal symptoms. So there is an inherent sexism and bias built into organizations that disadvantage part of the workforce throughout all phases of their careers.

If the tech world feels that 30 is old, no wonder no one wants to mention menopausal symptoms. In this case, using a hot flash as a reason for forgetting something is tantamount to workplace suicide.

It’s a No-Win Situation

And if you were brave enough to mention the hot flash, you might face the gender stereotypes of women weeping in the halls and being unreliable. So it’s a no-win situation.

And even if you have a leader who is educated about menopause, she or he may end up fighting misinformation and lack of support to find a solution. So what’s a leader supposed to do?

Here are some ideas for creating a menopause friendly workplace, which will benefit both those experiencing menopause (i.e. 20% of the workforce) and the organizations that employ them.

7 Tips For Leaders to Create a Menopause-Friendly Workplace

EDUCATE MANAGEMENT This is a no-brainer that often goes overlooked. While managers are trained in subjects like conflict management and finances, they’re not usually trained in dealing with menopause. They should know the symptoms and challenges women face during menopause so they can approach the situation knowledgeably and with compassion. For example, managers who have been educated about menopause might let an employee take control of the thermostat instead of thinking their employee is nit-picky when mentioning the temperature all the time. They may proactively ventilate the office and make sure cold water is available. Also, they’d then be able to recognize behavior related to menopause symptoms that might otherwise hint at lack of engagement.

APPOINT AN IN-OFFICE ADVOCATE (OR A FEW) Appoint a person (or a few) to act as advocates for women in the workplace going through menopause. This person would know about all of the special absence allowances, related wellness programs, and flex policies. They would also speak to leadership or management on behalf of women if needed/requested. This advocate could come from any department at any level, only dependent on their specific personality fit and interest in the role.

IMPLEMENT MENOPAUSAL SUPPORT AND INFORMATION INTO A WELLNESS HOTLINE Some organizations have wellness support programs for their employees, which include a contact number for a resource of coaches, dieticians, and other advisors. Employees can call this number for support in health-related manners such as losing weight, quitting smoking, or getting more physically fit. By adding menopausal support to your wellness support program, women can then get support and information by phone when experiencing menopausal symptoms to better learn how to manage symptoms from a health perspective, and cope with work while not feeling 100%. Information on all flexible work and sick day policies would also be available with this service.

EXPAND BENEFIT PROGRAMS TO INCLUDE ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES Many women are looking to alternative therapies for managing menopausal symptoms such as acupuncture, Chinese medicine, bio-identical hormone replacement, and various other practices used by integrative health practitioners. Though women often see significant improvements, paying out of pocket for integrative health treatments can be cost prohibitive. Including these options as part of a benefits package would enable women to seek treatments that they are comfortable with and that help them feel better.

INCLUDE MENOPAUSE ACTIVITIES OR SPEAKERS IN WELLNESS WEEKS When an organization hosts a “wellness week”, it brings in yoga instructors, massage therapists, nutritionists, chefs specializing in healthy meals, and more. Why not add a component to the wellness week that deals with menopause? Some possibilities are a yoga instructor who can offer poses and breathing exercises particularly for women in this group, a dietician to recommend the best diet to help with symptoms, or a funny speaker to “break the ice” on the topic while educating the team.

ADD FLEXIBILITY TO SICK DAY POLICIE Add sick day policies that cater to menopause-related sickness or absence. Women should experience no disadvantage if they need time off during this time.

ALLOW FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES WHEN NEEDED - If a woman is experiencing menopausal symptoms and is finding it difficult to sleep, it can be challenging for her to get to work on time. Therefore, it is essential to provide some flexibility in the work schedule to accommodate women who are struggling with such symptoms. In addition, if a woman feels unwell at work and needs to go home for a while and return later, a flexible work schedule can enable her to complete her tasks when she's feeling better. Allowing women to work from home when necessary can also be helpful, as it enables them to manage their symptoms from the comfort of their homes.

I have just finished writing an article about menopause. However, I'm now worried about facing discrimination as a result of discussing this topic. I hope that won't be the case. What I do hope is that employers will recognize the challenges women face in the workplace when experiencing menopausal symptoms and take steps to address them. Leaders have a real opportunity to make a positive impact on women's health in the U.S. By following these tips, employers can turn this no-win situation into a win-win.

What has been your experience with menopause in the workplace? If you have experienced it, did you feel like you were being perceived as an underperforming employee? If you have managed someone who experienced menopause, what tips can you give us? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Leave a comment below, send us an email, or follow us on LinkedIn.

[ivygorgon]

AN OPEN LETTER to THE U.S. SENATE

Women deserve equal pay! Pass S. 728, the Paycheck Fairness Act now!

393 so far! Help us get to 500 signers!

Women—especially women of color—are the backbone of our nation’s economy. But they are consistently underpaid and their work is undervalued. Action on equal pay is sorely needed to address these inequities, but Republican Senators have blocked vital legislation, S. 728, the Paycheck Fairness Act, that would achieve critical progress. The median annual earnings for women working full time, year-round in 2022 was $52,360, or just 84 cents for each dollar earned by men, with much wider gaps for most women of color compared with white, non-Hispanic men. All women—regardless of the number of hours worked during the year—typically made $41,320, or 78 cents for each dollar earned by all men. Discrimination is one of the factors contributing to this gap, leading to thousands of dollars in lost wages for women over the course of their careers. That’s why we need the Paycheck Fairness Act. The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen existing equal pay protections, prohibit retaliation against workers who discuss their pay or challenge pay discrimination, limit employers’ reliance on salary history, and much more. These robust measures would bring us one step closer to equal pay. Women and families cannot afford to wait for equal pay. We need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act now.

▶ Created on April 3 by Jess Craven · 393 signers in the past 7 days

📱 Text SIGN PWBBDA to 50409

🤯 Liked it? Text FOLLOW JESSCRAVEN101 to 50409

[futurefatum]

🟡☀️💲 2025 Predictions - What's Going to Happen? (Tone: 250)

2025: A year of transformation. From AI automation to healthcare innovation, prepare for sweeping changes in jobs & society. #2025Predictions #FutureTrends

Posted on January 18th by @bigbeautifulsk ABOUT THIS VIDEO: This video, hosted by Christina, offers insights into 2025 through a remote viewing session conducted at the end of 2024. Christina explores political, economic, and technological changes expected in the coming year. She emphasizes significant shifts, such as advancements in healthcare, job restructuring driven by AI and automation,…

[theeodialogs]

Boeing Layoffs: Hundreds Fired in the U.S., Impacting 17,000 Employees

Aerospace giant Boeing has initiated significant layoffs in Washington and California as part of planned workforce reductions in the U.S. These cuts will ultimately reduce the company’s headcount by approximately 17,000 employees. As part of this process, around 400 employees in Washington and over 500 in California have been laid off.

Previously, Boeing announced plans to downsize its workforce by 10% over the coming months as it grapples with financial challenges, regulatory issues, and the aftermath of a two-month machinists’ strike. However, CEO Kelly Ortberg clarified that the layoffs were not a direct result of the strike but were necessary due to overhiring in recent years. Employees were informed in advance about the decision. Read more -- https://theceodialogs.com/

[justsaying4041]

Project 2025: Reforms Impacting U.S. Labor Rights

Project 2025, a comprehensive vision for future governance, proposes significant reforms to the U.S. Labor Department, aiming to overhaul workplace regulations, reduce bureaucratic oversight, and shift focus towards greater flexibility for employers. While proponents argue that these reforms will foster job creation, increase business competitiveness, and reduce government interference, there are…

[reasonsforhope]

On her fingers, Chicago’s Chief Sustainability Officer Angela Tovar counted the city buildings that will soon source all of their power from renewable energy: O’Hare International Airport, Midway International Airport, City Hall.

[Note: This is an even huger deal than it sounds like. Chicago O'Hare International Airport is, as of 2023, the 9th busiest airport in the world.]

Chicago’s real estate portfolio is massive. It includes 98 fire stations, 81 library locations, 25 police stations and two of the largest water treatment plants on the planet — in all, more than 400 municipal buildings.

It takes approximately 700,000 megawatt hours per year to keep the wheels turning in the third largest city in the country. Beginning Jan. 1, every single one of them will come solely from clean, renewable energy, mostly sourced from Illinois’ newest and largest solar farm. The move is projected to cut the Windy City’s carbon footprint by approximately 290,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of taking 62,000 cars off the road, the city said.

Chicago is one of several cities across the country that are not only shaking up their energy mix but also taking advantage of their bulk-buying power to spur new clean energy development.

The city — and much of Illinois — already has one of the cleanest energy mixes in the country, with over 50% of the state’s electricity coming from nuclear power. But while nuclear energy is considered “clean,” carbon-free energy, it is not considered renewable.

Chicago’s move toward renewable energy has been years in the making. The goal of sourcing the city’s energy purely from renewable sources was first established by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2017. In 2022, Mayor Lori Lightfoot struck a deal with electricity supplier Constellation to purchase renewable energy from developer Swift Current Energy for the city, beginning in 2025.

Swift Current began construction on the 3,800-acre, 593-megawatt solar farm in central Illinois as part of the same five-year, $422 million agreement. Straddling two counties in central Illinois, the Double Black Diamond Solar project is now the largest solar installation east of the Mississippi River. It can produce enough electricity to power more than 100,000 homes, according to Swift Current’s vice president of origination, Caroline Mann.

Chicago alone has agreed to purchase approximately half the installation’s total output, which will cover about 70 percent of its municipal electricity needs. City officials plan to cover the remaining 30 percent through the purchase of renewable energy credits.

“That’s really a feature and not a bug of our plan,” said deputy chief sustainability officer Jared Policicchio. He added that he hopes the built-in market will help encourage additional clean energy development locally, albeit on a much smaller scale: “Our goal over the next several years is that we reach a point where we’re not buying renewable energy credits.”

Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Orlando, Florida, and more than 700 other U.S. cities and towns have signed similar purchasing agreements since 2015, according to a 2022 study from World Resources Institute, but none of their plans mandate nearly as much new renewable energy production as Chicago’s.

“Part of Chicago’s goal was what’s called additionality, bringing new resources into the market and onto the grid here,” said Popkin. “They were the largest municipal deal to do this.”

Chicago also secured a $400,000 annual commitment from Constellation and Swift Current for clean energy workforce training, including training via Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit aiming to increase the number of women in union construction and manufacturing jobs.

The economic benefits extend past the city’s limits: According to Swift Current, approximately $100 million in new tax revenue is projected to flow into Sangamon County and Morgan County, which are home to the Double Black Diamond Solar site, over the project’s operational life.

“Cities and other local governments just don’t appreciate their ability to not just support their residents but also shape markets,” said Popkin. “Chicago is demonstrating directly how cities can lead by example, implement ambitious goals amidst evolving state and federal policy changes, and leverage their purchasing power to support a more equitable renewable energy future.” ...

Chicago will meet its goal of transitioning all its municipal buildings to renewable energy by 2025, the first step in a broader goal to source energy for all buildings in the city from renewables by 2035 — making it the largest city in the country to do so, according to the Sierra Club.

With the incoming Trump administration promising to decrease federal support for decarbonizing the economy, Dane says it will be increasingly important for cities, towns and states to drive their own efforts to reduce emissions, build greener economies and meet local climate goals. He says moves like Chicago’s prove that they are capable.

“That is an imperative thing to know, that state, city, county action is a durable pathway, even under the next administration, and [it] needs to happen,” said Dane. “The juice is definitely still worth the squeeze.”

-via WBEZ, December 24, 2024

[godblessthesickos]

Trump and Elon Musk are targeting federal workers to destroy public services. Contact your Congressional representation NOW.

Find your elected officials HERE. If you don't know what to say, feel free to use this form for emailing or script for calling. This is dire. We need congress to address this issue RIGHT NOW. The Trump administration is out to destroy federal services by targeting its workers. This puts at risk your access to disability, to education, to clean food and air, to tax returns. If nothing is done to stop this, every single American will feel the material, concrete consequences of this in their daily lives very soon.

EMAIL

Dear [Representative/Senator], Hello, I’m a constituent from [Your City/State]. I’m reaching out to express serious concerns about recent security breaches involving federal employee data and the increasing targeting of federal employees through harassment, coercion, and threats to job security. I’d like you to be aware of three critical issues that pose both a national security risk and a direct threat to federal employees:

1. Unauthorized access to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data at the behest of Elon Musk that exposed sensitive federal employee information, putting employees at risk of targeting, coercion, and financial exploitation.

2. An increase in harassment against federal employees, including threats to job security, illegal financial solicitations, and other intimidation tactics.

3. Reports that personnel files for the entire federal workforce have been copied from OPM servers and moved to a foreign cloud provider, raising serious concerns about who controls federal workforce data and whether foreign actors now have access to it. When sensitive federal employee data is compromised, it creates a serious risk to national security. Employees in financial distress or facing workplace pressure are at higher risk of coercion or exploitation. If these reports about data being transferred to foreign cloud servers are true, this is an unprecedented security breach. It could allow foreign actors to track, manipulate, or target U.S. government personnel. The ongoing harassment of federal employees is unacceptable and appears to be escalating, including financial scams and threats to job security. This must be addressed at the highest levels. I am asking you to take immediate action by.

1. Demanding full transparency from OPM about what data was accessed, how many employees were affected, and what protections are in place.

2. Pushing for an investigation into the harassment and coercion of federal employees, including illegal financial solicitations and threats to job security.

3. Calling for a congressional inquiry into reports that federal personnel files have been transferred to foreign cloud servers—who authorized it, whether it violated federal law, and what risks it poses. I’d like to know what steps you will take to address these security concerns. Please pass this message along and inform me of actions you have taken in response. I will be following up. I appreciate you looking into these urgent issues and advocating for the security of federal employees and our national workforce. Thank you, [Your name]

CALL

Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [Your City, State]. (If leaving a voicemail, provide your address or it doesn’t get logged)

I’m calling because I’m concerned about the unauthorized access and theft of federal employee personnel files. This sensitive information puts employees at risk of targeting, coercion, and financial exploitation. It should be protected at the highest level, and it’s unacceptable that unelected, non-vetted individuals have had access to it.

Adding to this concern, federal employees have been receiving frequent emails from OPM, such as the “Fork in the Road” email and others, which feel targeted, intimidating, and harassing. These toxic, hostile tactics only add insult to injury, especially in light of the privacy breaches and theft of personal information.

I’m urging [Representative/Senator’s Name] to take immediate action to investigate this breach, hold those responsible accountable, and implement stronger protections to secure federal employees’ personal information.

Thank you for your time—I truly appreciate your attention to this critical matter.

[crippled-peeper]

we need to talk about the fact that Trump baselessly, specifically, blamed people with “hearing loss, vision loss, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability, and dwarfism.” for the 2025 Potomac River Mid-air collision on January 29th

Meanwhile, in reality, where the rest of us live:

It has been longstanding FAA policy — including before, during and after Mr. Trump's first term — to include people with disabilities in recruitment. However, there is no evidence that these initiatives have compromised air safety or had any relation to the crash Wednesday night. The cause of the collision remains under investigation.

Air traffic controllers must undergo extensive training and meet rigorous standards, including physical and mental fitness tests. They cannot have a history of mental disorders or physical conditions that could interfere with their duties, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which is the chief human resources agency for the federal government.

[metamatar]

Employers desire foreign workers who are accustomed to the hazardous work sites of industrial construction; in particular, they specifically solicit migrants who do not have a history of labor organizing within SWANA. In response, labor brokerage firms brand themselves as offering migrant workers who are deferential. Often, labor brokers conflate the category of South Asian with docility; [...] as inherently passive, disciplined, and, most important, unfettered by volatile working conditions. "We say quality, they [U.S. employers] say seasoned. We both know what it means. Workers who are not going to quit, not going to run away in the foreign country and do as they are told.” [...]

For migrants, the U.S. oil industry presents a rare chance to apply their existing skill set in a country with options for permanent residency and sponsorship of family members. Migrants wish to find an end to their tem­porary worker status; they imagine the United States as a liberal economy in which labor standards are enforced and there are opportunities for citizenship and building a life for their family. [...] What brokers fail to explain is that South Asian migrants are being recruited as guest workers. Migrants will not have access to U.S. citizenship or visas for family members; in fact, their employment status will be quite similar to their SWANA migration.

While nations such as the Philippines have both state-mandated and independent migrant rights agencies, the Indian government has minimal avenues for worker protection. These are limited to hotlines for reporting abusive foreign employers and Indian consulates located in a few select countries of the SWANA region. [... Brokers] emphasize the docility of Indian migrants in comparison to the disruptive tendencies of other Asian migrant workers. [...] “Some of these Filipino men you see make a lot of trouble in the Arab countries. Even their women, who work as maids and such, lash out. The employer says one wrong thing and the workers get the whole country [the Philippines] on the street. [...] But you don’t see our people creating a tamasha [spectacle] overseas.” [...] Just as Filipinx migrants are racialized to be undisciplined labor, Indian brokers construct divisions within the South Asian workforce to promote the primacy of their own firms. In particular, Pakistani workers are racialized as an abrasive population.

[...] While the public image of the South Asian American community remains as model minorities, presumed to be primarily upwardly mobile professionals, the global reality of the population is quite to the contrary. [...] From the historic colonial routes initiated by British occupation of South Asia to the emergence of energy markets within the countries of SWANA, migrants have been recruited to build industries by contributing their labor to construction projects. Within the last decade, these South Asian migrants, with experience in the SWANA oil industry, have been actively solicited as guest workers into the energy sector of the United States. The growth of hydraulic fracturing has opened new territory for oil extraction; capitalizing on the potential market are numerous stakeholders who have invested in industrial construction projects across the southwestern United States. The solicitation of South Asian construction workers is not coincidental. [...] Kartik, a globally competitive firm’s broker, explains the connection of Indian labor to practices of the past. “You know we come from a long history of working in foreign lands. Even the British used to send us to Africa and the Arab regions to work in the mines and oil fields. It’s part of our history.”

Seasoning Labor: Contemporary South Asian Migrations and the Racialization of Immigrant Workers, Saunjuhi Verma in the Journal of Asian American Studies

[vague-humanoid]

@socialistexan

U.S. Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona has introduced a new bill aimed at abolishing OSHA. The bill, titled the "Nullify Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act," or "NOSHA Act," was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce for further review.

The proposed legislation seeks to repeal the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which established OSHA as a federal agency dedicated to ensuring workplace safety and health standards. If passed, the bill would effectively dismantle the agency.

In this new bill from 2025, Biggs is introducing language similar to a bill he proposed in 2021.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Joyce Vance at Civil Discourse:

Is it really a coup if it doesn’t feel like one? If your day-to-day life hasn’t changed? Can it be a coup if I can still write posts like this? What we’ve seen over the last two weeks and accelerating over the weekend looks like a coup, a hostile, undemocratic takeover of government. Merriam-Webster says a coup is “a sudden decisive exercise of force in politics and especially the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group.” No violence so far because this is a coup fueled by tech bros, not the military. But we’re watching the alteration of government happen before our eyes. Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat calls it “a new kind of coup,” writing in Lucid about Elon Musk’s seeming power sharing with Trump: “And here is where the U.S. 2025 situation starts to look different. The point of personalist rule is to reinforce the strongman. There is only room for one authoritarian leader at the top of the power vertical. Here there are two.” It is unusual, but it is still an effort to use extra-legal, undemocratic practices to radically alter American democracy, undoing the balance of power the Founding Fathers established between the three branches of government by consolidating power in the hands of the presidency as a complacent, Republican-led Congress looks on.

Monday night, Heather Cox Richardson started her nightly column by explaining that if Republicans wanted to do away with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the federal agency the Trump administration suddenly shuttered over the weekend, they could do that legally. Republicans now control the White House and Congress. There is a 6-3 majority of justices appointed by Republican presidents on the Supreme Court. But instead of doing it lawfully, with Congress passing a bill for Donald Trump to sign, Richardson writes, “They are permitting unelected billionaire Elon Musk, whose investment of $290 million in Trump and other Republican candidates in the 2024 election apparently has bought him freedom to run the government, to override Congress and enact whatever his own policies are by rooting around in government agencies and cancelling those programs that he, personally, dislikes.”

Richardson concluded: “The replacement of our constitutional system of government with the whims of an unelected private citizen is a coup. The U.S. president has no authority to cut programs created and funded by Congress, and a private citizen tapped by a president has even less standing to try anything so radical.” So, “coup” is the correct way to label the transformation of government we are living through. But with so much continuing normally, it’s easy to doubt what you’re seeing. Even experiencing it from the perspective of historians who understand this moment through the lens of history, it doesn’t seem quite real.

[...] Why damage the American experiment as we near the celebration of its 250th anniversary? Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy had some thoughts about that as he joined his colleagues outside of USAID’s closed offices on Monday. Suggesting this was not the time to pull punches, he called it a move to benefit the oligarchs who lined the front rows at Trump’s inauguration. “Elon Musk makes billions of dollars based off of his business with China. And China is cheering at [the destruction of USAID]. There is no question that the billionaire class trying to take over our government right now is doing it based on self-interest: their belief that if they can make us weaker in the world, if they can elevate their business partners all around the world, they will gain the benefit.” Senator Murphy also suggested that by closing agencies and cutting back the federal workforce, conservatives could “create the illusion they’re saving money” while they pass giant tax cuts that would benefit “billionaires and corporations.” Sunday night, I called it a coup as well, writing in exasperation that “Musk and his crew of men barely out of their teens haven’t taken an oath to serve, and they are not accountable to the public. They are not a ‘Department’ of anything. They’re a private army that has taken over. Presidents can set up private advisory groups, but they have to function according to the rules, which include transparency. That’s not what’s happening here.” Worse still, there is little reason to believe that what starts in USAID, Treasury, and the FBI won’t continue to spread to other agencies that are in disfavor with Trump and Musk.

This Joyce Vance column lays it all out: Elon Musk’s coup feels like a coup in a lot of senses.

See Also:

The Present Age (Parker Molloy): The Media Is Missing the Story: Elon Musk Is Staging a Coup

Slate: Elon Musk’s Power Grab Is Lawless, Dangerous, and—Yes—a Coup

Tristan Snell: Trump already broke the law 23 times?!

[mapsontheweb]

Trump presidency goals

As of January 20, 2025, Donald Trump’s second-term plans focus on strict immigration policies, including large-scale deportations and ending birthright citizenship. He aims to impose universal tariffs to protect U.S. industries, expand fossil fuel production, and overhaul the federal workforce to ensure alignment with his policies. Socially, he plans to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports, limit gender-affirming treatments, and combat "woke" ideology in education. Executive actions will include classifying drug cartels as terrorist organizations and repealing Biden-era policies, signaling a decisive and transformative governance approach. Partner:

by maven.mapping/instagram

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

ANTISEMITISM ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES EXPOSED

Committee on Education & the Workforce. U.S. House of Representatives

KEY FINDINGS

Key Finding: Students who established unlawful antisemitic encampments—which violated university polices and created unsafe and hostile learning environments—were given shocking concessions. Universities’ dereliction of leadership and failure to enforce their rules put students and personnel at risk. o Finding: Northwestern put radical anti-Israel faculty in charge of negotiations with the encampment. o Finding: Northwestern’s provost shockingly approved of a proposal to boycott Sabra hummus. o Finding: Northwestern entertained demands to hire an “anti-Zionist” rabbi and Northwestern President Michael Schill may have misled Congress in testimony regarding the matter. o Finding: Columbia’s leaders offered greater concessions to encampment organizers than they publicly acknowledged. o Finding: UCLA officials stood by and failed to act as the illegal encampment violated Jewish students’ civil rights and placed campus at risk.

Key Finding: So-called university leaders intentionally declined to express support for campus Jewish communities. Instead of explicitly condemning antisemitic harassment, universities equivocated out of concern of offending antisemitic students and faculty who rallied in support of foreign terrorist organizations. o Finding: Harvard leaders’ failure to condemn Hamas’ attack in their widely criticized October 9 statement was an intentional decision. o Finding: Harvard President Claudine Gay and then-Provost Alan Garber asked Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker not to label the slogan “from the river to the sea” antisemitic, with Gay fearing doing so would create expectations Harvard would have to impose discipline. o Finding: The Columbia administration failed to correct false narratives of a “chemical attack” that were used to vilify Jewish students, but imposed disproportionate discipline on the Jewish students involved.

Key Finding: Universities utterly failed to impose meaningful discipline for antisemitic behavior that violated school rules and the law. In some cases, radical faculty successfully thwarted meaningful discipline. o Finding: Universities failed to enforce their rules and hold students accountable for antisemitic conduct violations. o Finding: Columbia’s University Senate obstructed plans to discipline students involved in the takeover of Hamilton Hall. o Finding: Harvard’s faculty intervened to prevent meaningful discipline toward antisemitic conduct violations on numerous occasions. o Finding: Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker acknowledged that the university’s disciplinary boards’ enforcement of the rules is “uneven” and called this “unacceptable.”

Key Finding: So-called university leaders expressed hostility to congressional oversight and criticism of their record. The antisemitism engulfing campuses was treated as a public-relations issue and not a serious problem demanding action. o Finding: Harvard president Claudine Gay disparaged Rep. Elise Stefanik’s character to the university’s Board of Overseers. o Finding: Columbia’s leaders expressed contempt for congressional oversight of campus antisemitism. o Finding: Penn’s leaders suggested politicians calling for President Magill’s resignation were “easily purchased” and sought to orchestrate negative media coverage of Members of Congress who scrutinized the University

[justsaying4041]

The Future of U.S. Embassy Operations Under Project 2025: A Critical Perspective

Project 2025 outlines a transformative vision for U.S. embassy operations, aiming to streamline diplomatic missions, increase efficiency, and align embassy roles more directly with U.S. foreign policy goals. While the plan seeks to modernize embassy functions and reduce operational costs, critics argue that the proposed changes could compromise the diplomatic effectiveness, flexibility, and local…

[honeysickledream]

i love the idea of soap having a big family but…he’s not all that close with them nowadays. in fact, it’s been ages since he’s seen the gaggle of cousins he used to play pretend with in the back garden or even in the woods. family reunions aren’t commonplace anymore because everyone is so damn busy or spread too far apart. his favorite cousin is living in the U.S doing something, Soap’s never tuned in to the technical speak, and the rest are all busy getting their degrees, focused on being part of the workforce, and/or making their own families.

Soap’s closest to his Ma and Pa. they video call at least twice a week when Soap’s not deployed, and he spams his parents with stupid memes and goofy videos at odd hours of the night. He’s close with his older sister, too, talking to her about once a week for a short amount of time. She updates him on his nieces and nephews, the cat he rescued but can’t keep on base, and any shocking gossip from their hometown. He’ll send her pictures of the animals he sees, occasionally will send her a funny post, and maybe once a quarter they meet up to have dinner and see a show.

He can’t remember the last time he hung out with his older brother, though. Maybe a year or two ago? Soap will text the fucker only to get a reply a few weeks or a month later, then it’s radio silence. His brother is like that with everyone, so Soap doesn’t take it personally (most of the time).

At first, Soap hated the change, hated the distancing his family went through. He thought he was losing everything and everyone, but he came to realize it’s not like that for the most part. The people he has in his life are there solidly and that’s what’s important. And when he brings you home for the first time, you’re not overwhelmed by his 16 first cousins, 12 second cousins, 3 aunts and 6 uncles, his Ma and Pa and sister and brother and all their kids. It’s a mellow evening, the closest adults in the family able to relax and get to know you while you do the same.

He wants that tight knit family with you one day. He wants your kids to know all the cousins, yes, but he also wants them to have the security of solid relationships with those closest to them. He wants them to know that even as family members pull away or seemingly vanish off the face if the earth, that there are still people who exist and love them, who share a million memories with them and will happily make a million more. He doesn’t want them to struggle with the feeling of losing security and love like he did.