I guess if I’m going to do a blog, I will need to do it more frequently than I have been. I need to get off my unmotivated bottom and write something at least once a week if I can, or every week and half at best. To share perhaps too much personal information, after about 40 years of clinical depression and anxiety and the very negative work environment of my last five years, I lost, first, my ability to work, and now that I have it back somewhat, as I read, the combination of depression and anxiety still result in low to no motivation. This has been a particular problem the last few weeks. So, I will try again.
My tendency is to do blogs that use information and facts that I want to confirm and footnote whenever I can. Beginning with this one I will do that a little less citing using facts that you can look up, that have been in the news recently or that are provided by ChatGPT and match what I’ve read elsewhere. This will make doing the blog a bit less daunting.
So….., here goes.
THE ABSURDITY OF CALLING UP THE NATIONAL GUARD
Where is DOGE when we need it? President Trump’s activating the National Guard for law enforcement in Los Angeles and Washington DC is the epitome of inefficiency and waste! When the National Guard is called in the national service, it becomes part of the federal military and is no longer accountable to the governor of the state. This means that they cannot arrest people. The Posse Comitatus Act was passed in 1878 after federal troops were used to suppress union strikes with clashes resulting in the death of over 100 people. Southerners, of course, were upset that the U.S. Army was used to enforce reconstruction in African-American participation in elections. Washington DC’s National Guard is the only exception when it is activated under title 32
of the US Code and not title 10.
President Trump’s use of the military seems to me like a return to 1775 when we had Redcoats were walking the streets of Boston, New York, and Charleston and marching to Lexington setting off the Revolutionary War. In Los Angeles, because of the Posse Comitatus Act, the National Guard and Marines just stood around federal buildings doing nothing. Oh, they did help one veteran who was lost by giving him directions to the Veterans Administration office. In Washington DC, some troops are apparently patrolling some high crime areas but not the worst. Most are in low crime
downtown areas and tourist zones walking around, accomplishing nothing except posing for selfies.
Trump is not even sending or planning to send troops to the highest violent crime cities! Neither Washington DC, nor Chicago are listed in the top 20! Albuquerque, New Mexico and Memphis, Tennessee are number one and two. Joe Scarborough on “Morning Joe,” says that there is more crime in Alabama, even in the countryside, than in the cities Trump is talking about. Jackson, Mississippi, like Memphis in a red state, apparently has the highest murder rate in the country.
The money being spent on the troop salaries, housing, feeding, and transportation would obviously be much better spent on hiring and training more police officers and supporting them in identifying and stopping criminals and gangs. Not to mention the losses to employers by having their workers called up to serve for indefinite periods of time.
NO MORE FOREIGN AID AT WHAT COST?
We are already seeing deaths caused by the closure of USAID, the destruction of hundreds of millions of dollars of food and medicine, and the denial of all U.S. aid for food and medicine to children and families in foreign countries. And, of course, the cutting of hundreds of millions of dollars for food banks in our own country. ChatGPT lists the results of the Republican’s selfishness. They also make false claims of saving money when foreign aid was just a pittance of the budget. I say Republicans and not just Trump and Musk because Congress has refused to do anything to stop these attacks on poor people!
Real-World Impacts of U.S. Aid Cuts
1. South Sudan – Cholera and Collapse of Health Services
In Jonglei State, South Sudan, nine people—including five children—died after walking for hours to seek cholera treatment. Save the Children linked these deaths directly to facility closures and the suspension of transport services following steep U.S. aid cuts (Al Jazeera).
2. Nigeria – Malnutrition Among Displaced Children
In northeastern Nigeria, U.S. funding once covered about 90% of humanitarian aid. When that funding was withdrawn, feeding programs abruptly stopped. One mother, Yagana Bulama, recounted losing one of her twins two weeks after the feeding program ended (PBS).
3. Afghanistan – Feeding Centers Shut Down
In Afghanistan, Action Against Hunger reported that their U.S.-funded therapeutic feeding units—treating severely malnourished children—were shut down. The head of the organization warned that “if we don’t treat children with acute malnutrition there is a very high risk of (them) dying.”
Broader Crisis: Potential Millions of Child Deaths
- Nigeria (Dikwa region): USAID’s withdrawal halted therapeutic feeding by Mercy Corps, and agencies warn of increasing child deaths from malnutrition across northeastern Nigeria (AP News).
- Global Forecasts:
- A study in The Lancet and referenced by UCLA researchers projects that continued USAID cuts could result in over 14 million additional deaths by 2030, including more than 4.5 million children under age 5—that’s roughly 700,000 more child deaths per year (The GuardianUCLA).
- Another analysis estimates that each year, 163,500 additional children could die due to the termination of U.S.-funded malnutrition treatments alone (The TimesAP News).
- Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) Crisis:
- USAID used to purchase 85–90% of global RUTF—critical for treating acute malnutrition. Its withdrawal has led to halted production, expired
- supplies, and reduced clinic operations. Experts warn of as many as 14 million preventable deaths as a result (WIRED El País).
4. Malawi – Dropping Immunization and Health Care
- In Malawi, the abrupt end of a multiyear U.S.-funded health program disrupted mobile health services—vaccinations, prenatal care, and screenings. Clinics reported a drop in infant immunization rates (from 98% to 85%) and warned that the resulting gap could increase infant and maternal mortality (The Guardian).
5. Global HIV/AIDS Programs – PEPFAR at Risk
- Funding delays for PEPFAR (U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), which has saved millions of lives, resulted in suspensions of HIV treatment programs. Protesters and health experts warned that up to 450,000 deaths may already be linked to these disruptions (The Guardian).
Summary, Country/Region & Impact on Children
South Sudan: Children died seeking cholera treatment after U.S.-funded programs ended
Nigeria: Displaced children starved or died after feeding programs ceased
Afghanistan: Malnourished children face lethal risk after feeding centers closed
Global-Malnutrition: RUTF disruptions and reduced aid projected to cause millions of child deaths
Malawi: Preventive care collapse may increase infant and maternal deaths
HIV Programs Globally: Funding halts threaten continuity of life-saving HIV treatments
President Trump does NOT represents all the American people. Only 29% of adult Americans voted for him!!! And the brainless, spineless puppets in Congress and the Supreme Court are refusing to require President Trump to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed…. (Article 2, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution).
