Perhaps the most disconcerting aspect of what has aptly been called the “firehose” of unconstitutional, illegal and profoundly stupid actions being taken by Trump and DOGE is the public’s corresponding inability to understand it all–to keep track of the assaults on the multiple responsibilities of government, and to recognize the immensity of the harms being done.
It’s all too easy to focus on the pettiness and bigotries–the erasures of the contributions of Blacks and women from official websites, the withdrawal of Secret Service protections from those on Trump’s extensive “enemies” list, the threats to law firms that represent people on that list…etc. etc. But while we are appalled by the lack of backbone being demonstrated by many of those targets (and all of the Republicans in Congress), we are missing less reported actions that are wreaking incalculable harms.
Last Sunday, the New York Times reported on one of those actions.
In a climate-controlled bunker in an unremarkable building in rural Aberdeen, Idaho, there are shelves upon shelves of meticulously labeled boxes of seed. This vault is home to many of the United States’ more than 62,000 genetically unique lines of wheat, collected over the past 127 years from around the world.
Though dormant, these seeds are alive. But unless they are continually cared for and periodically replanted, the lines will die, along with the millenniums of evolutionary history that they embody.
Since its establishment in 1898, the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Plant Germplasm System and the scientists who support it have systematically gathered and maintained the agricultural plant species that undergird our food system in vast collections such as the one in Aberdeen. The collections represent a towering achievement of foresight that food security depends on the availability of diverse plant genetic resources.
In mid-February, Trump administration officials at what has been labeled the Department of Government Efficiency fired some of the highly trained people who do this work. A court order has reinstated them, but it’s unclear when they will be allowed to resume their work. In the meantime, uncertainty around additional staffing and budget cuts, as well as the future of the collections themselves, reigns.
As the article notes, America’s food system relies on our ability to respond to the next plant disease or other emergent threat, and this little-known agency is essential to our preparedness. Across 22 stations maintained nationwide, 300 scientists maintain more than 600,000 genetic lines of more than 200 crop species.
The collections of some crops, like wheat, are in the form of seeds. But others, like apples (2,664 lines), must be maintained as living plants in the open field. The scientists who care for them must follow strict requirements for sustaining genetic purity so they can provide healthy viable seeds or plants to the tens of thousands of researchers and others who request them each year.
The article compares this activity to a survivalist cache. It represents a safeguard against all future challenges to growing the food we need. (You’d think a man with 13 children might care about the future of those children, if not the rest of the human race, but apparently not.)
Moving fast and breaking things may work in some sectors. But the disruptions underway threaten irreversible losses of crop genetic diversity. Such losses directly undermine the United States’ ability to ensure continued food security and dietary diversity amid challenges to our agricultural systems.
The word “irreversible” is chilling–and therein lies the challenge we face.
It isn’t just the fact that Americans have installed a collection of clowns and buffoons–in both the Oval Office and Congress– who lack any ability to govern, or even understand the purpose of government. It isn’t their ham-handed efforts to erase evidence of diversity–much of which will be countered by Internet sources. It isn’t even the mean-spiritedness of their attacks on disfavored “Others” (as one participant at a Town Hall put it, “what kind of people are only happy when they are hurting someone else?”). It’s the immense and irreversible damage that is being done, and the fact that the assaults are so widespread that we can’t keep track of them.
We can recover from the economic damage being done, although not without considerable pain as prices increase, tourism vanishes, and working Americans have fewer jobs and less disposable income. We will mourn the unnecessary deaths from vaccine misinformation, termination of medical research and drastic cuts to Medicaid, but the nation will survive those losses.
It’s the irreversible damage being done–to our international alliances, to food safety, to America’s promise of liberty and civi equality, and to who knows what else–that will forever mark this horrible juncture in our national story.
After university, I worked in the tech space–software engineer, development manager, project manager, etc.–for many years. The motto “move fast and break things” was never a good strategy. It was never embraced by real companies. It burns customer loyalty, goodwill and trust. It hurts a company. The companies that thrived in the late 90s and 2000s (and so on) were ones who did _not_ follow this strategy.
The tech people who _are_ proponents of this approach are just making an excuse for their own ignorance and stupidity.
I do not know if I am in a strange land or if I am the stranger here. I do know that removal of Donald Trump will not be easily accomplished, if it can be done at all. I do know, and have stated before that “Anti-DEI=South African Apartheid expanded”; the proof is Elon Musk running the government from Trump’s bogus DOGE department staffed by teens and college student who are not yet qualified to run their own lives, let alone the lives of every American in this country.
Musk needs to be on a deportation route; on his own private plane to his homeland of South Africa…if they will have him. His second citizenship of Canada has already let him know he is not welcome there. Maybe if the immigrants who are here legally with Visas and work or student permits, would begin returning to their homelands it would leave fewer for Trump’s ICE roundup cowboys to arrest and jail illegally. They are welcomed here by true Americans and are a benefit to their workplaces and/or education sites but they are not safe from Trump and Musk. Their physical safety should come first and it will not be considered by this administration hell-bent on destruction of life and living in America today. WE Americans who were born and raised here, lived here all our lives, are no longer safe or welcome here.
And I am back to…am I in a strange land or am I the stranger here?
A friend who died a few years back was a organic farmer. he kept track of seed savers who applied this ongoing work,and kept his fields clean since 1949 where his dad started this farm. I spent 2 summers working with him. the work was ongoing,each spring the field was plowed twice for seasonal emergence of diffrent weeds before planting. and then hopefully that seed,which was weathered to the area became mature. The seed savers were hit with a lawsuit that monsanto played out and became the asswipe of organic farming. when a field cross polinated with the seed savers seed crop, he now had a monsanto seed.and monsanto suit to make sure that seed saver can not sell his seed, instead,of monsanto ruining a strain. monsanto won and still wins along with GMO growers. My friend sold his farm and retired long before he should have beacuse NoDak and its clown corp lawyers wouldnt make a stand. I remember a inspector from Germany would come out and inspect the farm and equipment and look over the fields. they were sold to him for export. euro does not buy GMO. your getting a picture? now as far as i know, everyone threw in the ax on this because of cross contamination.and the euro market wont touch it. if the package says organic here is it? by what goverment rules etc. i once took a sample of grain from a long locked up grain bin, tagged/sealed in 1952 by the government payment scheme back then to secure loans for planting. it sprouted and grew fine. that was in 2002. i still have in vases around my home Randys organic wheat. and some Montana dry land organic wheat. seed vaults are needed in case the fault of GMO and or so called we can do it better suing every farmer. euro maintains its vaults and is open for more. but corp America wants to act as though it doesnt matter as it locks in farmers into a scheme for pure profit. keltgen seed sells a bag of soybeans here for planting around $150 a bag, it sells the same GMO seed in S America for $65. whos screwin who?
you can not go into farming in America unless you can fully pay upfront for every costs. try it and find out.. thats the leverage of pushing for corp farming. GMO anyone? oh by the way, trump/land/mnuchin/GMO/screw. should be kept in a vault to..
A trumper who is a small buisness owner,we just had a chat face to face. he went on about immigrants/exporting them finally out etc. but then he said i sure need some help this summer. i told him maybe someone standing around the lot at the big box hardware/lumber yard might help,you know cash labor for a day etc… but you scared and now are exporting all of them..im serious this was the conversation.
CNN or at least MSNBC needs to set up a giant board that can be accessed 24/7 depicting each and every one of the hundreds of Executive Orders dumptrump has issued, with brief summaries as to their ensuing collateral damage. And how about a huge similar depiction lighting up Times Square, scrolling slowly for all to see. I don’t think most in this country have a clue as to the breadth and depth of these abominations. They would be presented factually, unassailable as to their veracity, for all to see, hopefully before their impact rains down upon us all. If enough of us realize just what is happening as a result of the administration’s shock and awe actions, maybe, just maybe, the power of the people will stand and be counted. We’re counting on you, Fourth Estate!
The fire hose is the point. They know that the judicial system is slow, cumbersome and, at SCOTUS, mostly corrupt. They want, like most criminal enterprises, to destroy the law and those who enforce it. Impeaching federal judges was always part of the plan.
They don’t care about breaking things as they move quickly to destroy our country and its government. Getting rid of Trump would just be the start of our healing. And it must be done one way or another. Does anyone think that the other intellectual dwarfs like Vance will be any better?
Any suggestions?
I’m glad Jack chimed in about Monsanto because I thought they were allowed to control all seeds in the US. I believe Bayer bought Monsanto, which should have never been allowed. Mexico also doesn’t want GMO plants, but our plants close to the border get cross-pollinated with their non-GMO plants, which causes serious problems. Most farmers I know around here were forced to farm more land or sold out to corporate farms. Most corporate farms rely on migrant workers who are being told not to come here. This Summer should be fascinating as the tomato farms around Eastern Indiana that sell to Red Gold will have serious problems finding labor.
And Trump just cut off the money spigot to the WTO, causing extreme jubilation from the anti-globalist racket like Glenn Beck and Alex Jones. #AmericaFirst baby!!
Our ignorant assholes in Washington don’t have a clue what’s coming as a result of their poor decision-making. The Indiana Comptroller sent a press release yesterday (clearly sent on behalf of Charles Koch), in which she and other states are sending a letter to Trump complaining that American businesses in Europe are forced to comply with European laws about climate change (ES&G). Basically, they must acknowledge the damage caused by dirty coal and their plans for transitioning to alternative fuels. Trump may withdraw the US from climate change agreements, but that doesn’t work for the oligarchs doing business abroad.
So, what’s her big complaint as Indiana’s Comptroller? She’s afraid that if American businesses comply with European standards and admit the damage done by burning dirty coal, American lawyers will use that information to sue Koch Energy in the US on behalf of plaintiffs. She wants Trump to eliminate that requirement by Europe. HUH?
Who does she represent? If she knows that coal kills humans and is deadly for the environment, why doesn’t she advocate for what Europe demands? Why should Trump force Europe to abide by our ignorance? And will Europe put America’s oligarchy ahead of European citizens?
I don’t think that will happen. European leadership is already getting hammered for being weak. They cannot afford to acquiesce to the oligarchs against the people.
Trump/Musk doesn’t understand that we are all connected and that an “America First” agenda in a global marketplace will not work—decisions made in Washington ripple worldwide. Due to Trump’s lack of respect, Canada’s new leader will reach out to China and Russia. I expect Mexico’s leader to do the same if she hasn’t already.
The dumpster fire burns bright…
Stubbornly ignorant and extremely stupid go so well together in Trump’s idiot world, throw in some big bigotry, and mix well!
Every trade and profession is built on knowledge, experience, and a careful, nuanced balance of meticulousness and full days of work. All of that can be called labor, and when combined with supply chains for energy, infrastructure, raw materials, tools, parts, waste disposal, and imagination, temporarily valuable goods and services result before becoming more waste.
If more than a single worker is required, collaboration among different expertises creates additional complexity.
The abstraction of currency is introduced into the picture to allow laborers to trade what they do for things they need and want, and what is called an economy results from the dynamism of numerical accounting.
It is truly a house of playing cards of different numbers and suits waiting for passing winds to tumble into waste.
The present administration has promised a relatively small portion of the population served, that destruction of many houses of cards, analogous to a tornado, hurricane, flood or wildfire through villages will restore some imaginary order from random destruction.
The result, no matter what was intended, are unintended and intentional consequences.
Those who are not mesmerized by the show of wanton disregard of intention to maintain order, are appalled by this backwards motion through time tearing down our carefully constructed house of cards, being billed as something being built.
It’s a good thing that English is a living language because we need to find a new way to describe what we have now. We’ve been calling it a Kakistocracy, but that seems a bit weak now. We have government by the least able and the most greedy, most small minded, most vengeful, most deceitful, and most stupid group that has ever been gathered in one place. And they are in charge.
I don’t care one whit that the Democrats are also beholding to the same oligarchs, they wouldn’t be this bad in a thousand years.
JoAnn, you might be a stranger, but the rest of us in this strange land are glad you’re here with us.
I am not sure who is more frightening today; Sheila or Heather!
Is it going to require violence to stop this s*** storm?
If you can stand the foul mouths of the characters, I encourage you to watch the movie Idiocracy. Clearly the path that trump and musk have set us on. Our current PINO* trump makes President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho look like a Mensa member. How much longer until we’ll be watering our crops with Brawndo?
*President In Name Only
The woefully undereducated masses (including a lot of people with college degrees) idolize professional athletes and entertainers who are brilliant in their chosen fields, but they sneer at professional scholars who are equally brilliant in theirs. People like Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump could never rise to prominence thought the rigors of scholarship, so they expressed their jealousy by attacking those who do. This appeals to the most ignorant and insecure among us. And here we are!
Correctly and perfectly said, Sharon Miller. Free speech does not mean responsible speech.
Thank you Sheila! One of your best posts yet. Its all too easy to be distacted by the cruelty, but the irriversable damage is what we must focus on. I am so grateful for your daily posts.
Between Aberdeen, ID, Svalbard, Norway (Global Crop Diversity Vault, creator Dr. Cary Fowler of Memphis, TN), and maybe other locations, we have a better crack at saving this planet’s food supply and its inhabitants as long as this wacko administration can keep their filthy mitts away. My hope is waning. What do we do now?
You’re right, Sheila, perhaps “We can recover from the economic damage being done, although not without considerable pain as prices increase, tourism vanishes, and working Americans have fewer jobs and less disposable income. We will mourn the unnecessary deaths from vaccine misinformation, termination of medical research and drastic cuts to Medicaid, but the nation will survive those losses.”
Let’s hope that we can come close….
But, as you say, “It’s the irreversible damage being done–to our international alliances, to food safety, to America’s promise of liberty and civic equality, and to who knows what else–that will forever mark this horrible juncture in our national story.”
How we take shape to go forward after these four years will be more of a challenge than any of us can imagine. Sure, we moved on after the nation was split in two before, during and following the Civil War, and, one might say, look at us now? But, I’d say, not too closely (and avoid thinking about four years hence). We are less informed; Sharon Miller is absolutely right, we are resisting the very expertise we need and the institutions that provide it, making our future even more worrisome. If that time can offer anything that passes as “an opportunity,” the surprise may prompt something else we haven’t seen in a long time, genuine leadership, essential collaboration and a belief in a way to, no, not ‘make America great again,’ but to make America a partner in the challenges that face the world and convince that world to take us one term at a time….never fully trusting again.
Is anyone else having trouble sharing Sheila’s columns on Facebook?
There’s a protest on Saturday April 5th from 12-4 pm on Washington Street in Indianapolis. It looks like it’s set up by Indivisible Indiana near the Statehouse.
Tonight Victoria Spartz is having a townhall meeting in Westfield I think it’s from 6-8 o clock. Then she has another one planned in Muncie.
I may go to one or both of these.
I Remember the MONSANTO mess,
this one is a possible nightmare.
Thanks for the info.