I urge all readers to contact members of the Senate Finance Committee to take back the power of the purse and remove Musk and DOGE NOW! Members are:
Senators on the Committee include Chairman Mike Crapo (R - ID) and ranking member Ron Wyden, Chuck Grassley (R - IA), John Cornyn (R - TX), John Thune (R - SD), Tim Scott (R - SC), Bill Cassidy (R - LA), James Lankford (R - OK), Steve Daines (R - MT), Todd Young (R - IN), John Barrasso (R - WY), Ron Johnson (R - WI), Thom Tillis (R - NC), Marsha Blackburn (R - TN), Roger Marshall (R - KS), Maria Cantwell (D - WA), Michael F. Bennet (D - CO), Mark R. Warner (D - VA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D - RI), Maggie Hassan (D - NH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D - NV), Elizabeth Warren (D - MA), Bernie Sanders (D - VT), Tina Smith (D - MN), Ben Luján (D - NM), Raphael Warnock (D - GA), and Peter Welch (D - VT). You can reach them through the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or look up individual offices for email and regular mail contact information.
I was shopping for some hardware type items Sunday evening. I stood in aisle next to a man who was in disbelief that a price of an electric receptacle has increased by two dollars. He was shocked it happened that fast. He lamented saying Trump's tariffs couldn't have taken effect that quickly....
Politely,I reminded him that stores will ensure they're profits. He walked away as if Walmart was to blame.
No the President did this.
Just as those offensive little stickers on gas pumps declared Joe was to blame.
This comprehensive summary is both a real bummer yet very helpful for anyone motivated to action by outrageousness. There are a number of ways locally to carve out ways to face the music. Indivisible Adk/Saratoga has organized into a local chapter of action. There will be a community meeting on Feb. 9 from 2-4 at Crandall Library if you are out of bed by then (or have been all along!) and want to participate in focussed action.https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=indivisible%20adk%20saratoga or www.indivisibleadksaratoga.com. In addition there is a rally in Albany on Tuesday 10:30-4p at the capitol to support the much needed passage of the NY Heat Act part of climate action.
Stay in bed? Not turn on the news? Many of us are doing just that . That is what the diabolical sociopathic narcissist and his minions want us to do! The more chaos they create , the less likely we are paying attention to the destruction they are creating. Turning a blind eye may initially be a solution to our despair but in the long term it’s not. Standing by and letting the country burn is not the answer.
After an early morning (first light!) perusal of the news and making a plan for the day (including an in-person meeting to lobby Albany legislators and a stop at my optometrist to pick up spare glasses), I'm now heading back to bed to another 40 winks.
Gotta be rested for the day. Gotta have supplies in hand. Gotta strengthen and broaden social networks.
How can I stay in bed while Trump, Musk and their MAGA cronies are destroying America's institutions, traumatizing millions of current and retired (like me) federal employees and giving the middle finger to Congress.
Chrystia Freeland, a Canadian MP, who is in the running for Prime Minister, said it loudly and clearly, that Trump Tariffs on Canada is, plain and simple, American self-mutilation. She pointed out how Canada is America's closest ally and friend and Canadians are not just angry but sad and hurt by the actions of Trump.
She is right. Canadians have served, fought and died alongside Americans in multiple wars and conflicts. Canadians took in thousands of travelers when American air space was closed on Sept 11 2001. Now Trump is spitting in their face, saying that Canada has been "abusive" to America.
As many in the NY North Country, I have friends in Canada and even though I did not vote for Trump I felt that I had to apologize for the madness and hate emanating from Trump and his Administration. They understood, but I could hear their frustration and anger too.
On another note, Stefanik held her farewell tour this weekend to hear the praises of her supporters.
Garry Douglas from the North Country Chamber of Commerce couldn't stop himself from gushing over Elise and her "support" for the North Country. I wonder what tune he will be singing soon as NY North Country businesses suffer from Trump Tariffs and NY North Country residents lose their jobs? Will he be blaming Hochul, Schumer and Gillibrand? Methinks he will.
These are dark and dangerous times, and all in the span of just under two weeks, the actions of one man, and a compliant and silent Congress.
My question is: WHERE THE HELL IS CONGRESS??? OK, the dems are in the minority, can't they sue the tRump administration??? Where are our checks and balances? When are the Dems gong to wake up and realize "business as usual isn't working!!!! I'm ready to put my house on the market and leave the country until this mess is over. Anybody got any ideas???
What I think so many people don't realize is that this admionistration is going to willfully break the law and do things that are unconstitutional and anyone who tries to stop them will be investigated or fired from their job. The last line of defense is us.
Thanks Ken for the sobering summary of what the man who received a majority of votes in the last election is up to. Many of us want to stay in bed until this debacle is over but only Rip Van Winkle is capable. I hope tomorrow you can inspire us with some thoughts about what we should do when we wake up tomorrow to cope with this maniac.
Don't sell yourself short. Your readers appreciate your thoughts and advice. There is a part of me that says let the Trump fiasco play out so that all those who voted for him, except his MAGA base that seems unmoveable, can witness just how hurtful his appointments and policies bring, both domestically and internationally. Another part of me want to react strongly; writing, protesting and contributing to organizations that will try to delay or repel the worst of his actions. Right now it's a toss up but I turn to you and your readers for advice and recommendations. Thanks
Unfortunately, Ken, the Front Page and the Times are right on. Read your piece while on the treadmill at PF and was tempted to get off, go home, and go back to bed.
What really bothers me among all the rest is the enabling and aiding and abetting on the part of the MAGA co-conspirators—especially the Senators and Representatives.
Didn’t the latter, along with the President and the already approved cabinet members, take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution?
Isn’t there something in.the Ten Commandments— that they want posted in every public school classroom—about not bearing false witness? Maybe they would feel better if the commandments were labeled the Ten Suggestions. Doesn’t the Good Book also say something about letting your “Yes” mean yes and your “No” mean no?
Instead of going back to bed, I might as well stay up, face the day, and get back on the treadmill, figuratively speaking.
They pay no attention to the Second Commandment so why would they bother with the Fifth? So long as what they say and threaten gets them what they want, which is everything, all's fair even if it's foul. The most militant are armed to the teeth and waiting for orders from Trump to go on the attack. And when the food runs out because the crops rot in the fields, or is too expensive because of the double hit from deportation of the undocumented migrants and the tariffs put on imported foods, all hell just might break loose. If that happened under FDR, people would feed them because FDR never threatened the citizenry. Under Trump? No such luck because the fewer of us, the more $$$ for them.
At its worst if the likes of Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg continue in free flight over all our institutions, blowing them up as they go along. Musk said months ago that there will be a couple of years of pain that the lower classes will feel. Like the worst of the billionaire class, all suffering goes to the poor, while the very very wealthy await their promised $3.5 million tax cut this year and Musk is busy seeing what he can cut that fosters what help is left for the needy. Yeah, this is very dark and it is the invention of Trump and his people.
Tomorrow evening at 6:30 pm at the Crandall Library, the GF Chapter of the NAACP begins its Black History Month film series. (Yes, there is still a Black History Month for some of us).
I recently read a quote by Camus who said "Respect based on fear is most dispicable". So that is where congress is. That this is legitimate is beyond belief, and so we all come to understand what it means to stand by and watch, and hope for a backlash, a chink in the armor, glimmer of hope. So far for naught. The Manchaurin Candidate is mild compared to this, seems that Putin has him on a string. (congress too). Get out of bed? Sure, get up, it snowed, I got stuff to do, life goes on and I keep a squinted view on the news, but until there is something I can do, (besides pontificating online), I keep myself to myself, so lucky to live rural.
Thank you for this column today. Dealing with my own personal grief, as are you, this political situation is a double whammy. I have left the TV off and have even avoided Substack. I have ten days worth of Heather Cox Richardson to catch up on. So much destruction; and much of it is triggered by idiocy.
And so I begin my re-entry with a local journalist. Thank you for being here.
Quotes from Camus and others remind us that Evil has existed since the beginning of recorded time. But never before have the ultimate advances in technology allowed this 14 day “Cyber-Insurrection” within websites of critical governmental agencies…by Elon Musk and other Trump henchmen/women…who have been dismantling democracy, hour by hour, since Jan. 20th.
If Project 25 goals are truly attained, and Trump’s presidential powers have been tapped out, I doubt Elon and Putin will still find him to be a useful tool… and a “laced” Big Mac may do him in. Pretty Boy J.D. Vance could then become Prez… and I suppose Elon could be chosen VP. Welcome to the new version of the U.S.S.R.
Canada used to be my Plan B…Ireland my Plan C…but many of our allies may not allow entry to any of us since as Americans we are now guilty-by-association, even if we didn’t vote for Trump.
Why does Elon Musk remind me of the evil genius who is always trying to take over the world only to be thwarted by Superman! Where is Clark Kent when we need him.
Yes, most Newsprint is made and brought from Canada. It will affect newspapers, but also all the printers who still print grocery flyers, and various retail flyers. Last time I was working at a print plant that produced 100% retail flyers, and it had a huge impact .
I just skimmed through an article in the Chronicle called “Rough start: GF in 2025”. It covered a neighborhood disturbance, infrastructure failures and a problem at The Wastewater Treatment Plant. And there appears to be a compromise to the Short-Term Rental Law in the works.
if I lived in Glens Falls the above events would concern me more than the qualifications or lack of qualifications that the current President’s Cabinet nominees have or don’t have.
They also shut down the USAID HQ and sent an email telling all employees to stay home. And they rescinded the job offers of all of the seasonal national park service employees who keep these sites going during the visitor season
I urge all readers to contact members of the Senate Finance Committee to take back the power of the purse and remove Musk and DOGE NOW! Members are:
Senators on the Committee include Chairman Mike Crapo (R - ID) and ranking member Ron Wyden, Chuck Grassley (R - IA), John Cornyn (R - TX), John Thune (R - SD), Tim Scott (R - SC), Bill Cassidy (R - LA), James Lankford (R - OK), Steve Daines (R - MT), Todd Young (R - IN), John Barrasso (R - WY), Ron Johnson (R - WI), Thom Tillis (R - NC), Marsha Blackburn (R - TN), Roger Marshall (R - KS), Maria Cantwell (D - WA), Michael F. Bennet (D - CO), Mark R. Warner (D - VA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D - RI), Maggie Hassan (D - NH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D - NV), Elizabeth Warren (D - MA), Bernie Sanders (D - VT), Tina Smith (D - MN), Ben Luján (D - NM), Raphael Warnock (D - GA), and Peter Welch (D - VT). You can reach them through the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or look up individual offices for email and regular mail contact information.
Thank you for this list!
I make daily action calls - this will be my list today.
THANK YOU...I will...
Thank you. I will as well. We all need to be activists.
I was shopping for some hardware type items Sunday evening. I stood in aisle next to a man who was in disbelief that a price of an electric receptacle has increased by two dollars. He was shocked it happened that fast. He lamented saying Trump's tariffs couldn't have taken effect that quickly....
Politely,I reminded him that stores will ensure they're profits. He walked away as if Walmart was to blame.
No the President did this.
Just as those offensive little stickers on gas pumps declared Joe was to blame.
Be kind and safe.
The willful ignorance of so many is harming us all. We have boiled the frog, which is all of us.
This comprehensive summary is both a real bummer yet very helpful for anyone motivated to action by outrageousness. There are a number of ways locally to carve out ways to face the music. Indivisible Adk/Saratoga has organized into a local chapter of action. There will be a community meeting on Feb. 9 from 2-4 at Crandall Library if you are out of bed by then (or have been all along!) and want to participate in focussed action.https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=indivisible%20adk%20saratoga or www.indivisibleadksaratoga.com. In addition there is a rally in Albany on Tuesday 10:30-4p at the capitol to support the much needed passage of the NY Heat Act part of climate action.
February 9 is only a fait accompli away.
Stay in bed? Not turn on the news? Many of us are doing just that . That is what the diabolical sociopathic narcissist and his minions want us to do! The more chaos they create , the less likely we are paying attention to the destruction they are creating. Turning a blind eye may initially be a solution to our despair but in the long term it’s not. Standing by and letting the country burn is not the answer.
After an early morning (first light!) perusal of the news and making a plan for the day (including an in-person meeting to lobby Albany legislators and a stop at my optometrist to pick up spare glasses), I'm now heading back to bed to another 40 winks.
Gotta be rested for the day. Gotta have supplies in hand. Gotta strengthen and broaden social networks.
How can I stay in bed while Trump, Musk and their MAGA cronies are destroying America's institutions, traumatizing millions of current and retired (like me) federal employees and giving the middle finger to Congress.
Chrystia Freeland, a Canadian MP, who is in the running for Prime Minister, said it loudly and clearly, that Trump Tariffs on Canada is, plain and simple, American self-mutilation. She pointed out how Canada is America's closest ally and friend and Canadians are not just angry but sad and hurt by the actions of Trump.
She is right. Canadians have served, fought and died alongside Americans in multiple wars and conflicts. Canadians took in thousands of travelers when American air space was closed on Sept 11 2001. Now Trump is spitting in their face, saying that Canada has been "abusive" to America.
As many in the NY North Country, I have friends in Canada and even though I did not vote for Trump I felt that I had to apologize for the madness and hate emanating from Trump and his Administration. They understood, but I could hear their frustration and anger too.
On another note, Stefanik held her farewell tour this weekend to hear the praises of her supporters.
Garry Douglas from the North Country Chamber of Commerce couldn't stop himself from gushing over Elise and her "support" for the North Country. I wonder what tune he will be singing soon as NY North Country businesses suffer from Trump Tariffs and NY North Country residents lose their jobs? Will he be blaming Hochul, Schumer and Gillibrand? Methinks he will.
These are dark and dangerous times, and all in the span of just under two weeks, the actions of one man, and a compliant and silent Congress.
First time in ages Elise has visited the district. We won't miss her.
My question is: WHERE THE HELL IS CONGRESS??? OK, the dems are in the minority, can't they sue the tRump administration??? Where are our checks and balances? When are the Dems gong to wake up and realize "business as usual isn't working!!!! I'm ready to put my house on the market and leave the country until this mess is over. Anybody got any ideas???
What I think so many people don't realize is that this admionistration is going to willfully break the law and do things that are unconstitutional and anyone who tries to stop them will be investigated or fired from their job. The last line of defense is us.
STRIKE
Thanks Ken for the sobering summary of what the man who received a majority of votes in the last election is up to. Many of us want to stay in bed until this debacle is over but only Rip Van Winkle is capable. I hope tomorrow you can inspire us with some thoughts about what we should do when we wake up tomorrow to cope with this maniac.
I doubt I am smart enough to do that. The first step to addressing a problem is to admit you have a problem.
Don't sell yourself short. Your readers appreciate your thoughts and advice. There is a part of me that says let the Trump fiasco play out so that all those who voted for him, except his MAGA base that seems unmoveable, can witness just how hurtful his appointments and policies bring, both domestically and internationally. Another part of me want to react strongly; writing, protesting and contributing to organizations that will try to delay or repel the worst of his actions. Right now it's a toss up but I turn to you and your readers for advice and recommendations. Thanks
Some days I have the same feelings. But I now wonder if by the time they figure it out, democracy is gone. It can happen here.
Unfortunately, Ken, the Front Page and the Times are right on. Read your piece while on the treadmill at PF and was tempted to get off, go home, and go back to bed.
What really bothers me among all the rest is the enabling and aiding and abetting on the part of the MAGA co-conspirators—especially the Senators and Representatives.
Didn’t the latter, along with the President and the already approved cabinet members, take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution?
Isn’t there something in.the Ten Commandments— that they want posted in every public school classroom—about not bearing false witness? Maybe they would feel better if the commandments were labeled the Ten Suggestions. Doesn’t the Good Book also say something about letting your “Yes” mean yes and your “No” mean no?
Instead of going back to bed, I might as well stay up, face the day, and get back on the treadmill, figuratively speaking.
Ten Commandments law was implemented here in Louisiana, but I believe is in district court and heading toward the Supreme Court. Oh my!
Yep! And ditto “Oh my!”
They pay no attention to the Second Commandment so why would they bother with the Fifth? So long as what they say and threaten gets them what they want, which is everything, all's fair even if it's foul. The most militant are armed to the teeth and waiting for orders from Trump to go on the attack. And when the food runs out because the crops rot in the fields, or is too expensive because of the double hit from deportation of the undocumented migrants and the tariffs put on imported foods, all hell just might break loose. If that happened under FDR, people would feed them because FDR never threatened the citizenry. Under Trump? No such luck because the fewer of us, the more $$$ for them.
Dark, very dark, but not out of the realm of possibility.
At its worst if the likes of Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg continue in free flight over all our institutions, blowing them up as they go along. Musk said months ago that there will be a couple of years of pain that the lower classes will feel. Like the worst of the billionaire class, all suffering goes to the poor, while the very very wealthy await their promised $3.5 million tax cut this year and Musk is busy seeing what he can cut that fosters what help is left for the needy. Yeah, this is very dark and it is the invention of Trump and his people.
Tomorrow evening at 6:30 pm at the Crandall Library, the GF Chapter of the NAACP begins its Black History Month film series. (Yes, there is still a Black History Month for some of us).
I recently read a quote by Camus who said "Respect based on fear is most dispicable". So that is where congress is. That this is legitimate is beyond belief, and so we all come to understand what it means to stand by and watch, and hope for a backlash, a chink in the armor, glimmer of hope. So far for naught. The Manchaurin Candidate is mild compared to this, seems that Putin has him on a string. (congress too). Get out of bed? Sure, get up, it snowed, I got stuff to do, life goes on and I keep a squinted view on the news, but until there is something I can do, (besides pontificating online), I keep myself to myself, so lucky to live rural.
Thank you for this column today. Dealing with my own personal grief, as are you, this political situation is a double whammy. I have left the TV off and have even avoided Substack. I have ten days worth of Heather Cox Richardson to catch up on. So much destruction; and much of it is triggered by idiocy.
And so I begin my re-entry with a local journalist. Thank you for being here.
I don't advise reading Heather Cox Richard's 10 stories all in a row. It has been bleak lately.
Quotes from Camus and others remind us that Evil has existed since the beginning of recorded time. But never before have the ultimate advances in technology allowed this 14 day “Cyber-Insurrection” within websites of critical governmental agencies…by Elon Musk and other Trump henchmen/women…who have been dismantling democracy, hour by hour, since Jan. 20th.
If Project 25 goals are truly attained, and Trump’s presidential powers have been tapped out, I doubt Elon and Putin will still find him to be a useful tool… and a “laced” Big Mac may do him in. Pretty Boy J.D. Vance could then become Prez… and I suppose Elon could be chosen VP. Welcome to the new version of the U.S.S.R.
Canada used to be my Plan B…Ireland my Plan C…but many of our allies may not allow entry to any of us since as Americans we are now guilty-by-association, even if we didn’t vote for Trump.
Why does Elon Musk remind me of the evil genius who is always trying to take over the world only to be thwarted by Superman! Where is Clark Kent when we need him.
He and Lois Lane drove into Canada before the tariff war…🦸🏼♂️
Yes, most Newsprint is made and brought from Canada. It will affect newspapers, but also all the printers who still print grocery flyers, and various retail flyers. Last time I was working at a print plant that produced 100% retail flyers, and it had a huge impact .
This one will as well.
I’m sure Mark Frost will blame it on the “woke left.”
Though it may be affected by the price of newsprint, Mark Frost’s publication is not a newspaper.
Thank you!
It sure is a newspaper. Their own description states it is.
Hello Joyce why isn’t the Chronicle a newspaper?
I just skimmed through an article in the Chronicle called “Rough start: GF in 2025”. It covered a neighborhood disturbance, infrastructure failures and a problem at The Wastewater Treatment Plant. And there appears to be a compromise to the Short-Term Rental Law in the works.
if I lived in Glens Falls the above events would concern me more than the qualifications or lack of qualifications that the current President’s Cabinet nominees have or don’t have.
They also shut down the USAID HQ and sent an email telling all employees to stay home. And they rescinded the job offers of all of the seasonal national park service employees who keep these sites going during the visitor season