Hello, I assume that you are as confused as I am.

I mean, everyone was expecting this to happen when Trump got elected. But I didn’t feel like it would happen so fast! I’ll cover most of the executive orders that I think are important for people (especially kids) to know.

This issue will also include some guest writers, and .

Was the election stolen? Probably.

by Ilana Guckenheimer

Newsweek brings up that Donald Trump mentioned that Elon Musk, had an really good understanding of "vote-counting computers" in Pennsylvania, which was key to Trump's victory. I don’t feel like many people are talking about this. Some people wondered whether his comments implied the election was rigged or that Musk might have used his technical knowledge to commit voter fraud.

Chaos and Collapse of the U.S. Government

by Debra and Ilana Guckenheimer

You may have heard about executive orders. According to ACLU, “An executive order is a written directive, signed by the president, that orders the government to take specific actions to ensure ‘the laws be faithfully executed.’” This isn’t a law (yet) but more of a “wish”.

Over 50 executive orders have come through since the new administration came into office, largely aiming at taking apart the federal government piece by piece. At the same time, people are being put in charge of government offices who are committed to dismantling those offices. Individuals are being charged with going into other federal offices, like the Treasury Department, and given everyone's personal data.

In just a few weeks, every member of the FBI involved with prosecuting Trump has been asked to be fired. Federal employees all over have had their jobs threatened. Research, including that on cancer and Long Covid, has lost it's funding. Websites with information have been taken down including discussing protections for LGBTQ people. Transgender health care has been ordered stopped. ICE is rounding up thousands of Latinx people. Trump has tried to end the constitutional right of birthright citizenship.

He has made it clear that he is not interested in what is legal or constitutional. The constitution was even taken down off of the White House website. The Republican controlled Congress is letting him get away with it all.

The goal is to end the United States as we know it and replace it with a dictatorship. In this dictatorship, very wealthy billionaires will do whatever they want to maximize their wealth and power. They will cause the average person to suffer in order to maintain control. For example, challenges to the FAA have already led to plane crashes. A tariff war has already led to increasing prices.

Marginalized groups will be dehumanized and targeted the most in order to justify all of these actions. Currently, these groups include Latinx immigrants and transgender children. Wars will be started, for example in Gaza, in order to distract people and garner support.

How can we resist Trump?

by Rue

When I think of the word resistance it connects me to the word revolution. Often when we want to resist and revolutionize our minds go to the Big Moment of revolt, the Big Shift in the paradigm. This imagined Big Moment can be daunting and lead to feelings of helplessness and a sense of being stuck. To keep me grounded in my activism and to make sure that my efforts can be sustained over time, I remind myself that acts of resistance and revolution can be small and we can build them into our everyday lives.

Building community is one of the most important things for us to do as activists and sometimes this looks simple. Sometimes it looks like smiling at a stranger or connecting with your neighbors or hugging a loved one. Every action we take that resists colonial/capitalist narratives is an act of revolution. Every day that you wake up in a body that exists outside of colonial/capitalist norms and choose to keep moving forward is an act of revolution. Your existence is revolutionary. Your life, your story, your community is what saves us.

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard ’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise.

News sources

Donald Trump's 'Voting Computers' Comment Sparks Elon Musk Speculation - Newsweek

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-elon-musk-voting-machine-2017657

Trump administration drafting executive order to initiate Department of Education’s elimination - CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/04/politics/education-department-trump-executive-order/index.html

Trump says U.S. will ‘take over’ Gaza to develop it, and Palestinians should leave - CNBC

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/04/trump-says-us-will-own-and-develop-gaza-strip.html

What you can do: Ten ways to resist Trump II - Robert Reich

https://substack.com/@robertreich/p-155377806

We’re ruled by losers: Zuck, Musk, Bezos and the power of sad little men - J.P Hill

https://substack.com/home/post/p-154648851

What is an Executive Order and How Does it Work? - ACLU

https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/what-is-an-executive-order-and-how-does-it-work

Executive Orders - PFLAG

https://pflag.org/resource/executive-orders/

Trump and Musk’s dismantling of government is shaking the foundations of US democracy - AP News

https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-doge-congress-4e0c025629e8a0c758d13dc916ab4f43