I’ve been seeing calls for a national protest on February 5th–to take place at all 50 statehouses. I believe from noon to 2:00. If anyone can confirm, or identify the original sponsors, please post that information. If you need something tangible and Hoosier to protest, today’s post should deliver…
If you wondered whether Indiana’s new Governor, Mike Braun, would follow the agenda of his running mates–Beckwith, Banks and RoQuita, all of whom are “out and proud” White Christian Nationalists–there’s no longer any doubt. Braun is slavishly following Trump’s assault on anyone who isn’t a straight White Christian Male.
Mike Leppert has accurately described Braun’s assault, which consists of “othering” any group that doesn’t fall into that slice of Hoosier citizenship. Braun immediately followed Trump’s lead by purging state government of any DEI efforts. Then his budget proposal took an ax to disfavored “others.”
He began with the Indians.
In 2025, new Governor Mike Braun, in his first budget proposal in office, proposes to end funding for the Native American Indian Affairs Commission. The cut comes as part of his 15% cut to the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. That may sound like a lot of money, but it isn’t. The state is spending less than $3 million a year on the ICRC in the current budget.
It got worse from there.
As Leppert quite accurately noted, budget proposals from a newly elected governor are a marker, defining his priorities– and in this case, defining his character as well.
In addition to withdrawing from his predecessor’s agreement with the Pokagon Indians, Braun’s budget eliminates funding for the Indiana Commission for Women, an organization created to assess the needs of Indiana women and their families and promote their full participation in Indiana society. Also gone is $10 million earmarked for Martin University, and the College Success Program. Martin University is Indiana’s only predominantly Black institution; the Success program assists minority and first-generation college students.
These cuts by Braun won’t change the lives of any white, male, Christian. Except for those comforted by real or perceived harm to the other. It’s a foundational change in governing philosophy that is still taking shape…
Braun isn’t managing money with these cuts, he’s managing messaging. These moves are proclamations of what he supports, or in these cases, what he opposes. And the fallout is not simple addition and subtraction in this one document.
As Leppert says, the message is obvious: Native American, Black and female populations are now officially “the others” in Indiana. Those populations now join the GOP’s ongoing attacks on trans people–and by implication, all LGBTQ Hoosiers.
We certainly won’t see any pushback on “othering” from a legislature that owes its GOP dominance from persistent gerrymandering. Senate Bill 235, for example, co-authored by the odious Mike Young, gleefully prohibits “state agencies, recipients of state contracts or grants, state educational institutions, and health profession licensing boards” from taking account of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Indiana’s legislature has also continued and deepened its all-out assault on education. Senate Bill 202–a sweeping bill attacking academic freedom in Indiana’s public colleges and universities– has been joined by HB 1002, a “high priority” of the Republican leadership. Its 130+ pages includes three especially noteworthy efforts to dumb down public education in the Hoosier state:
- It removes all prerequisites for a person to be appointed to be Indiana Secretary of Education, paving the way for the Governor to appoint a non-educator or non-resident.
- It removes a requirement in current law that requires a governing body to provide a non-charter school that students of the same age or grade can attend.” This should be seen as a companion bill House Bill 1136, which would dissolve IPS and other urban districts and turn all of their schools into charters.
- HB 1002 also removes an existing responsibility of charter authorizers to ensure that the school is in compliance with applicable law. One of the ways charter schools currently differ from the private schools that accept vouchers is that they are subject to more stringent legal oversight; this provision would dramatically undermine that oversight–which is entirely absent from the voucher program.
It is impossible to miss the GOP’s agenda, both nationally and at the state level. That agenda follows the anti-democratic, anti-civic-equality prescriptions of Project 2025: ensure that straight White Christian males recover social dominance; continue and strengthen the anti-majoritarian systems (gerrymandering, electoral college, etc.) that facilitate governance by the Republican minority, make it difficult or impossible for higher education institutions to maintain intellectual integrity, and destroy the public schools that bring different students together, replacing them with religious schools that harden tribal affiliations.
And while all that is going on, eradicate sources of information inconsistent with White Christian nationalist dogma–not just educational institutions, but media outlets unwilling to bend the knee, and government websites that might accidentally contain factual information about the composition of the American polity.
Blue states might resist Program 2025, but not the racist, misogynistic, homophobic troglodytes in Indiana government.
We knew who Braun was – I didn’t expect anything different from him. Indiana is run by a bunch of Trump ass kissers and MAGA enthusiasts
Saw several memes yesterday on facebook about this vague announcement about protest on 2/5. No organizer nor permits either, apparently. If we can just gather, I’ll be there. I’ll watch this space for more…
Pamela,
Correct. But first: Native Americans aren’t “Indians”. Most have never been to India. So the goober government in Indianapolis confirms their own irony. Indiana isn’t Indian either. The state has never been part of India. LOL.
But here’s the thing with the state of affairs: I learned the other day that a higher percentage of registered voters STAYED HOME AND DIDN’T VOTE than voted for either major candidate – almost 40%. Too busy scrolling and looking for likes, I suppose.
And now we will all have to endure the monster that American lethargy has put in place. The orange monster will NEVER put competent people in positions of authority because a competent person would reflect badly on the utter stupidity, corruptness and evil he/it/yuck represents.
Is it any wonder that the Doomsday Clock watchers say utterly idiotic things too, like we’re in the last minute of mankind’s existence on the planet. How do they know? Is it that obvious? Was it the invention and proliferation of nuclear weapons that set the clock ticking?
And we clutch our pearls over pissant politicians like Mike Braun. Then, what else are there … anywhere?
This is what is going on in DC right now. The leading senate Dems have called a meeting this afternoon to address it. https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-government-young-engineers/
I have seen a lot of posts on Blue Sky about the protests on the 5th. Not sure who is putting it on. I do know that it’s probably not Indivisible. However, it’s not out of the ordinary for Dem or leftist groups to not co-ordinate much with each other very well. (I say this as a boomer Dem)
This is regarding the protests on Wednesday. I can’t find any specific organizing group. Most of the activity seems to be from non-MAGA people on reddit. They might have gotten fed up with the regular dems/anti GOP people not doing anything to what many see as a threat to Democracy. They do have valid info on how to prepare for a protest that might face some pushback tho. I live in San Diego, CA and I’m not going all the way to Sacramento for this. However, I asked on reddit saying that if a protest was planned here, I’m down. Many of the people associated with this seem rather anonymous – but this is on reddit where many people post anonymously.
Like Peg, I have seen those memes. I have also seen warnings not to go until the source of those messages is identified as legitimate.
On 2/2/25 CBS “60 Minutes,” 9 Afghan, Iraq war vets with PTSD whom VA drugs had not helped, some suicidal, traveled to a Puerto Vallarta coastal village for treatment with psilocybin (mushrooms) by Mexican healers.
After six months, 8 of 9 reported improvement. Two, previously daily suicidal, had no post-treatment thoughts of suicide.
VA doc is hopeful that psilocybin trials may be considered at VA, because candidate HHS Director, RFK Jr, feels treatment has “potential!”
An oligarchy is a small group of people who control a country or organization through excessive wealth, such as the 18th-century English aristocratic oligarchy.
Like many, my wife and I enjoyed the TV series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. It was a charming but tension-filled recreation of England in the past, during the American Revolution. It was a fictional inside story of what Americans were revolting against.
There is a lot to be learned from history as various cultural norms gripped different eras and places. They had theirs, and we have ours.
Thank God we have progressed well beyond most of those fashions and adopted ours here and now. However, since January 20th of this year, we have taken many steps toward their means of law and societal order, and the portion we’ve wandered back into is due to the distribution of wealth among ourselves.
MTV (Musk, Trump, Vance} have moved from dysfunctional childhoods into dysfunctional adulthoods, and we imposed the culture that is baked into their souls on all of us. How will our history unfold and be told by those beyond us?
One possibility is that it will now be regarded as the more or less permanent transformation of a constitutional republic into an aristocracy of oligarchs—the era of MTV—rule by entitlement.
That ain’t good, folks.
The February 5th protests are about “impeaching 47,” which is ridiculous at this point. If that is the Democratic Party’s response again, it will show me they have no answers for Trumpolini.
An employee of Ball State University took a photo of a maintenance worker painting over the DEI word cloud on a campus building wall. The choice of color was gray!
I hate to say it, but the Democratic Party set itself up with whole social identity politics because they couldn’t take on their donors with economic policies that favored the majority of middle and lower-class Americans. Kamala ran on the status quo, including white supremacy from Israelis over Arabs.
Vern wants to know why people stayed home last November. That’s it.
I just saw that a Chinese college student protester from last Spring just got her student VISA canceled and was being deported back to China. She was arrested because a significant chunk of Democrats are Zionists and dual citizens—no wonder they sign up for genocide and send billions to Israel to subsidize universal health care. Inviting a war criminal into the people’s house and applauding constantly was a slap in the face of people, especially our young people.
X is now the Ministry of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment. Musk just learned about USAID and NED, two CIA front NGOs. He had no clue who they were until recently. He and most MAGATs thought the “Deep State” was comprised of long-term public employees along with the Democratic Party. None of those people ordered the assassination of JFK or MLK. Once Musk obtained access to the Treasury Dept computers, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy immediately publicized that of the $187 billion pledged to Ukraine, he only received $87 billion. He has “no idea where the $100 billion is because he never received it.” It’s odd that he would make that announcement now and not months ago. 😉
For the record, nearly every government coup over the past several decades involved NED or USAID, which funded opposition governments. It’s why the country Georgia ordered that NGOs funded by outside entities must be audited and expelled if receiving foreign monies. Their leaders knew who was behind the uprisings, just like the coup in Ukraine led by Victoria Nuland. Independent journalists have been calling Ukraine a money laundering scheme under Biden. We were called “Russian assets” or “Russian trolls.” LOL
These issues are vital to protect the rights of Americans considered “others” by Trump, MAGAs and the entire Republican party which is made up primarily of old white men. We can and must realize the chance of any change in the current status at local and federal levels are foregone conclusions due to the Supreme Court protection of every destructive and idiotic order that comes out of Trump’s puckered lips. Federal House and Senate support him and the red states support the Executive, Legislature and Judicial branches of the federal government as it stands now.
Beyond knowing the issues at risk we must, as Democratic party members and voters, concentrate on the future of the entire U.S. government which begins at local and state levels. Those of the current ruling class did not begin there; they ended there due to their local support and donations based in racism and bigotry. In 2026 ALL 435 House seats are up for election and 33 Senate seats. In Indiana we are facing a U.S. House vote and State Senate and State House elections. Our question should be WHO do we have to put before the public as our best choice in this state? What are our actual chances of making changes to save all of us do we have during this 2025 Year of the Orange Elephant in the Oval Office?
“Blue states might resist Program 2025, but not the racist, misogynistic, homophobic troglodytes in Indiana government.”
Aside from all of the vital “stuff” going on, I have a question. Why have so many sites requiring responses suddenly have the preprinted option of name and E-mail address as shown on the blog now? It began post Trump and Musk inauguration.
I am not surprised at any of this.The dictator’s playbook (in no particular order: (1) deny access to any independent news reporting organization: Check. (2) Rewrite history: Check (3) Grab the checkbook: Check (4) own the courts: Check…
You get the point. MAGADOGE will end the Constitution quicker than Hitler did and here we are.
For Vernon: I saw this meme some time ago and it fits what you said about people not voting: “My vote doesn’t count so why bother” said 19 million voters…”
But it is not enough to describe the problem. What are you going to do about it? Even if it is a futile effort, call your elected representatives, local, state, and national. Flood their zone with your demands.
Pick one purpose to work on and let others take care of the rest. There is plenty to go around.
Find an organization that supports what you believe in and join them. Add your talent and your treasure to them. Everyone has something to contribute.
And, remember to take care of yourself. You do not do anyone any good if you have depleted all your energy and are suffering burnout.
Peace
Todd, “Zionists?” Give me a break! Whether, or not one agrees with our gov’t’s support of Israel, does not make those who do zionists.
Thank you, Sheila. If there is a protest, I will be there.
In years past, protestors did not have instant connections, took days of mouth to mouth communication to organize. Then there were those times when people just got fed up and took to the streets.
I really don’t care who leads the protest, organizes, manages. We, the People, are the government. Without us and our consent to the governors, they have nothing.
The wealthy need compliant serfs to provide the labor to produce, maintain, provide services. The implications of protest are clear. The “pain” dump is now talking about will be felt by all. Even the wealthy want material goods and food. If there are no people willing to debase themselves by providing all of those things to people who consider them the “other”, they will suffer as well.
It has always been thus. What if we all just stayed home for a day?
I hear Uruguay is nice.
I wonder if anyone else is getting a little tired of the outrage? It’s only been two weeks and I need a break.
Our last chance went out the window when Judge Marchon decided not to throw him in jail. If only Biden had been as evil as Todd thinks he is, we might have been freed from listening to the mad man as soon as SCOTUS made the immunity ruling. I’m sure there wouldn’t have been any such ruling if the six pack on the court weren’t certain that Biden wouldn’t take up arms against the man.
Sheila, please allow us to repost your comments on BlueSky as many have dropped Twitter.
I shave always appreciated Michael Hicks’ column in the Sunday Star, thinking they often made sense and helped me get a better perspective on local and national economic issues. After his full-throated endorsement of Braun’s policies yesterday, though, I won’t waste my time again.
And like Peggy, I really need a break.
Todd, you paint with such a broad brush. For perspective I have a nephew who’s spent his entire career in healthcare, more specifically, AIDS work in Africa. Over the weekend, the NGO which he works for lost its funding. They’re owed money by the government and now unable to pay their employees or their rent. Congress approved funding for USAID. But, go ahead and do your schtick.
Greg Palast was on Tham Hartmann, his stats point to 4.7 million voters purged, and 9 million surfed us into oblivion. seems the younger gen is more
dangerous than the fat balding white dudes. Palast stats were 80% minority purged. and the states atty gens gleefully in both ranks have coffee and convict..Cspan the other day,their meeting aired, not one blue state atty gen said squat about the red states purges..
It’s me again. Sorry to bug you twice, but I have to get this off my chest. Chuck Schumer should never be allowed to go to the podium or be given the microphone again. When outrage is called for, I want someone who can actually be outraged. Think about letting Chris Murphy have the mic. He’s been speaking out much more eloquently and with the passion that Chuck Schumer doesn’t have or is even able to pretend to have. If his portrayal of an “aroused” electorate is any indicator of how passionate he can get, I’m just sorry for his wife.
Of course we are all tired. That’s the plan. Make your 6 calls a day to your rep, senators and start calling your local officials to sue Musk for cutting off funds. Plus, you seniors, tell them to keep their hands off of your social security, Medicare and Medicaid. Let Musk finance his own trip Mars to create a world in his own image. Leave my tax dollars alone!
Peggy, the billionaire donors, and AIPAC got rid of the passionate progressives in the primary by funding corporate sycophants, and the voters went along.
And yes, anybody who thinks Israel has the right to attack all the Arabs surrounding them in the Middle East are Zionists. The Torah Jews on X said they are tired of only hearing about the fascist Israeli government. Biden and Blinken were both Zionists, and many so-called people representatives are Zionists, and they are also dual citizens.
How many health organizations fund AIDS research? Isn’t Bill Gates a funder? Musk called USAID “a criminal organization” yesterday but hasn’t tracked its expenditures yet. I’m sure there is plenty more detail coming on that one!
This is what 80 million people voted for :
2 weeks in:
Mexico caved
Panama caved
Colombia caved
Venezuela caved
Canada panicking
Mass deportations
Hostages are home
DEl programs ended
Bureaucracy slashed
FBI purges are underway
USAID funding cancelled
Gender ideology eliminated
DOGE already saved billions
51 intel agents lost clearance
Border crossings drop by 93%
Reservoirs filled up in California
Just to name a few developments
file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/ff/15/1DBF11FC-59E1-44E1-999E-C11D5A842808/IMG_4849.jpeg
The recent proposed legislation to move mayoral elections to the same year as presidential elections is, in truth, nothing more than an attempt to bury those elections at the bottom of a national election ballot so that the Greedy Old Party can eliminate the possibility of the evil cities having the nerve to elect Democrats.
Welcome to the Mississippi of the North!