Dumpster dive: Democracy edition | March 14, 2025

Photo of dumpster with American flag by Victorgrigas licensed under Creative Commons 2.0

Our democracy is getting trashed, so I'll be diving into a different dumpster from time to time. I've come to realize that garbage and politics are very much intertwined, and if "we the people" becomes "we the autocrats and oligarchs," then many of the issues discussed on this site will worsen and our world will be a much trashier place. Information is empowerment, but only if it's shared.

• On March 6, Senator Chris Murphy spoke on the US Senate floor to present how Six weeks in, this White House is on its way to being the most corrupt in US history. Receipts for the chilling play-by-play breakdown were easy to obtain; personal enrichment, quid pro quo, and the stealing of taxpayer dollars are on blatant full display in an attempt to normalize the corruption. [YouTube, 28:34min]

• The Department of Government (in)Efficiency was featured in the February 16 episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, with emphasis on how DOGE recently decimated USAID. Its workforce of 14,000 employees has been reduced to less than 300, leaving 12 people to cover the entire continent of Africa. These devastating cuts will barely affect the budget, since the actual share of what the US spends on foreign aid is less than 1%. Watch the full episode on MAX, or check out clips on YouTube: DOGE cuts to USAID (2:58min) | DOGE employees (2:45min)

• In an interview with Brian Tyler Cohen on March 12, Representative Jamie Raskin explains why DOGE is legally bound to comply with FOIA, the Freedom of Information Act, given a recent court ruling that DOGE is a federal agency, not a federal entity as Musk claimed. Under FOIA, the American people own the government data about us; as such, we have the right to know what data has been collected and whether that data has been shared with other entities. The court ruling is critical, partly because Musk wants to use our data to train his Grok AI chatbot. [YouTube, 18:56min]

• Representative Raskin recommends that each of us submit a FOIA request to DOGE to find out what personal data they have about us. He's made the task easy by posting a DOGE privacy request form online for you to print, fill in, and mail.

• Normally you'd go through the FOIA website to submit a privacy request. It's a bit of a chore, though, since there are over 100 federal agencies, and each handles it's own FOIA requests. Not surprisingly, DOGE isn't listed on the site...yet?

• Outraged, Representative John B. Larson called out his Republican colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee for ignoring their constituents and instead catering to the whims of Musk and Trump and their intention to destroy and privatize social security. [YouTube, 5:02min]

• If you're feeling lost in the political landscape, and want to get involved but don't know where to start, Indivisible, 50501, and NoVoiceUnheard are excellent resources for finding events and actions at both national and local levels.

• Attending town hall meetings are great way to engage with and give feedback to elected members of Congress. Use the Town Hall Resources page on the Indivisible site to locate meetings for your district.

• Strategic microdonations in amounts of $10 or less add up and are a proven way to influence election outcomes in purple districts (rather than deep red or deep blue). Check the list of mid-term elections taking place in 2025 and send a few dollars to candidates that support democracy.

• There's still time to participate in #theidesoftrump : On March 15, send Trump a postcard (or many) to express your opposition to him and his administration, while showing the media and the politicians what standing with him—and against us—means. Mail your cards to: President Donald J. Trump, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

• Lastly, you'll want to add this tune to your weekend playlist: