Repairing a broken America - where the Trump oligarchy is vulnerable

I expect it will be transiently reversed, but the Jan 21, 2025 federal informer program was a historic marker. Nobody will be able to say they did not know.

The key to restoring a liberal democracy to America will be to identify and publicize Trump actions that his voters will find disturbing.  In a Bluesky thread I identified several measures that I think may resonate with non-college white men and women. I don't think Musk's impulsive nazi salute or the passing of liberal democracy or similar outrages will have much traction. I think these topics might. I will update this post as I collect ideas from more informed sources than me.

1. Corruption. I believe corruption has been the downfall of many authoritarian governments even in nations that are much further from a functional democracy than America. Do not tire of pointing out the corruption of Trump and his oligarchs. Do not omit the corruption of Congress (including many Dems) and of the Supreme Court.
2. Eugenics: Trump, Musk, Andreesen et al are true believers in eugenics. They believe that breeding must be encouraged among the cognitive elite. (Don't assume that the oligarchs are simple pigment racists, they will be more or less happy to include any cognitive elite.). They key here is that their eugenics enthusiasms exclude the majority of Trump voters. Most of them would not qualify as breeders.
3. Medicine: I will not be entirely unhappy if RFK leads HHS. If immunization rates fall low enough we will see some outbreaks of truly horrible diseases among (mostly) unvaccinated children. The images will resonate with Trump voters. Mothers in particular may be unhappy.
4. SCOTUS: If America has a future the Roberts Court will be counted among the most corrupt in history. I have a hunch there is a special vulnerability there.
5. Religion: There is a reason church and state were separated hundreds of years ago. America has many religions and many sects. They all compete for funds and followers. They all believe they know the true way, and that their rivals are at least somewhat wrong. There is a strong Catholic component to the Trump regime (esp SCOTUS), that cannot please his Protestant fundamentalist followers. Do not fail to remind Trump's religious fundamentalists that he his oligarchs are all agnostic or atheist.
6. Andreesen's Federal Bitcoin reserve: The use of "taxpayer money" to give Andreesen an exit from his bitcoin holdings will resonate with the Trump base. They do not mind oligarchs, but some will resent this.
7. Crushing support for cognitively disabled children: Andreesen and Trump seem to have a particular dislike for the support of cognitively disabled children. Their language and cuts are particularly cruel. (They apply to cognitively disabled adults as well, but that cohort is less photogenic.) In my experience conservatives are often personally supportive of the cognitively disabled and more sympathetic than many Dem elite. This cruelty should be exposed and shared.
8. Informer programs: The people of East Germany did not care for the STASI. Many of the Trump base will be offended by informer programs. Do not fail to publicize these.

It is two years to the midterms. Our goal is to show the Trump base that they have been cheated and betrayed. Some will vote Dem, many will decide not to vote. The 2026 midterms are the next battle for American democracy.

PS. I created a Perplexity page to gather advice from our AIs.

The Jan 21 2025 Federal OPM informer program is a historic milestone

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) informer program launched within government on Jan 21 2025. This is a historic milestone.

 [1] “… If you are aware of a change in any contract description or personnel position description since November 5, 2024 to obscure the connection between the contract and DEIA or similar ideologies, please report all facts and circumstances to DEIAtruth@opm.gov within 10 days.”

https://chcoc.gov/sites/default/files/OPM%20Memo%20Initial%20Guidance%20Regarding%20DEIA%20Executive%20Orders.pdf

I think this may come to be seen as a tactical mistake. It is too early to launch informer programs, too early to turn colleagues into STASI style informers. The shape and form of the memo will rouse some. 

I worked for the Veterans Health Administration for six years and received DEI training during the Biden administration during the brief time the staff program ran before internal pushback ended it. I remember (fallible) one of our instructors as a black woman. Almost certainly a veteran. Patient, gentle, cautious -- the sort of person who will have friends and supporters. They will be unhappy.

I would not be surprised if the memo is rescinded and the author reassigned within the Trump administration. As I said - too early. But whether or not it is reversed, the wake up call is clear. Nobody will be able to say they did not know.

I am retired and, to be honest, I have been a bit at loose ends. In an odd way this is the sort of thing I've been waiting for. I'm reaching out locally to set up some in person discussions and networking for peaceful resistance and support.

On DOGE and government efficiency: bad software, bad regulations, underfunded commitments and more

I spent six years as a mid-level (regional) federal bureaucrat in VHA. I'm also a tech and economics geek with 20 years experience at a very large publicly traded corporation and through our children I have extensive experience as a consumer of federal government services. Lastly I don't have to worry about offending employers or colleagues.

All of which is to say that if you want to think about President Musk's government efficiency push these thoughts may be helpful.

1. The Federal government hires a lot of people to work around both software limitations and a rats nest of Congressional mandates and regulations that may have been well intended but are now obsolete and harmful. The mandates and regulations are only added, never removed.
2. Much of the federal government is outsourced to huge consulting firms that benefit from both less awful internal software and freedom from many federal mandates and regulations (famously including many laws constraining law enforcement). They take a large cut for themselves so their net efficiency effect might be positive or negative. If government became more efficient then much of that outsourcing should be reversed -- but that would drastically reduce campaign donations and post-political employment for public servants.
3. Government software quality was pretty good in the 80s and into the 90s. I've seen some good work in past few years, often by a very quiet semi-volunteer SV cohort that was brought in by Obama, survived Trump I, and continued through Biden.
4. The Federal government lives by unfunded mandates and underfunded commitments. Inefficiency in many forms is a major way to reduce spending on those commitments. A more efficient government would employ far fewer people but would spend more money. The net effect might be negative.
5. If software quality were improved, even without removing dysfunctional internal mandates and regulations, large numbers of working class American would lose what are often low paying but secure high benefit jobs. Even as the overall economy has far less to offer the non-academic class than it did even 20 years ago. Inefficient government employment is a model for what we will need to do for most Americans as our AIs develop.
6. The main reason federal software quality is poor is because federal software procurement follows rules set up in the 1980s to reform defense department purchasing and because of mandates designed to support military veterans and historically disadvantaged populations. These rules are incompatible with creating and maintaining complex software.
7. If government switched to modern software platforms there would be a huge expenditure to upgrade IT infrastructure.

That's about all I have. I know there are others who can offer far more detail, but they will usually be unable to speak freely. If you are a journalist I suggest hunting down other retired mid-level federal bureaucrats.