Bear with me. For today and several days to follow my posts will, by and large, be the work of others which I've shamelessly ripped off in copy-and-paste fevers — the latter condition induced by the move I'm making from what's endearingly called "the heartland" to the self-advertised "greatness" of the Pacific Northwest, both in these here former United States of America.
Good grief though I knew all the culling and packing would be no picnic, what failed to register was the enormity of the picnic that isn't. Most striking has been the realization that not moving 90% of what's here — where I'm going, there's just no room for it — is 100% more troublesome than hauling everything: the process of sorting out which charitable organizations will take what's worth their taking and then getting it there; the labor involved in dumping all that is left and how this is done; not least, the nonetheless staggering cost of relocating my paltry 10% 2,100 miles.
Until today I managed to post original work while seeing to the above — activities I would have fouled up but good had it not been for the competent presence of my rescuing daughter, who — get this — has a move of her own to complete when she returns home. The finishing touches are now in motion, and they're even more time-consuming. Thus I must steal from others.
Like a Politico piece from last week I found of clarifying interest. The publication "analyzed federal financial data for thousands of spending programs to determine how much will be in Trump’s crosshairs after the court battles resolve." Cute, that last prepositional phrase. After court battles are resolved, the dictatorial muttonhead will do whatever he damn well pleases. Anyway, the following is what Politico laid out mostly in charts.
"In its Jan. 27 memo, OMB told agencies to conduct a 'comprehensive analysis' of all their assistance programs.... The spreadsheet that followed instructed the agencies to answer questions about each program, such as whether they expected to disburse any money before March 15, whether they promoted or supported diversity, abortion or 'gender ideology,' and whether any of the cash would go overseas or assist 'illegal aliens.'
"The OMB list of programs to review included nearly every single federal award program on the books — and some that are already defunct.... [The] administration plans to home in on about 14 percent of federal grant and loan spending, spanning 56 departments and agencies, and providing awards in all 50 states.... Programs at risk account for $579 billion of spending in fiscal 2024."
"[There are] upwards of 2,000 of programs that the freeze could hit, most of which went to Democratic states and Washington, D.C."
"The top program at risk for both red and blue states is highway planning and construction, a major umbrella category that includes billions of dollars in both guaranteed funds to states as well as grants that recipients can apply for. Among Trump-won states, the next-largest type of aid was the national school lunch program."
"Politico asked for a list of all programs that would be exempt from a federal spending freeze, the White House directed questions to OMB. OMB did not respond to multiple requests for comment."