I am shocked and horrified to find out that USAID has been cut … I thought the courts would somehow stop this from happening … The lack of human empathy in a person’s soul to allow this to happen is beyond words … All to put a few more dollars into a billionaire’s pocket … The International Criminal Court should indict this whole administration for crimes against humanity … Today I am truly embarrassed to be an American!!!
Do you think in the meantime that the DNC and the Democratic Party will get it together and actually form a unified resistance, better messaging, and learn how to operate in this paradigm? Because it feels like they’re caving in rather than rallying to save our country.
Yes! This -- and everything else you write, goes to the heart of the REAL truth. How many pundits and analysts talk about the emotions of what’s happening? None- and so they’re not seeing the whole picture. Our emotional worlds are changing-- falling away-- all we want is our old safe world of democracy - but that democracy is being revealed as imperfect--and I think slowly those of us who REALLY love democracy will come out from our comfort zones and find new strengths....
As always - I agree with the heart of what you share. However, a very large % of USAID was used for ‘gain of function’ research and as the marketing arm for Big Pharma, Agri and Arms. So this radical shake-up was long overdue. What needs to happen ASAP is to get the truly philanthropic programs that build LOCAL capacity funded. Any discussion on USAID needs to dig deep to understand that USAID has never been about philanthropy but it HAS served the world and changed lives for good. Let’s get behind a new, improved version. Let’s spend energy creating that beautiful future.
Thank you Nathalie. Ask many people in “Developing” countries and they know that the network of “non-governmental organizations” funded by USAID has long been a tool of US imperialism and corporate propaganda. Of course true help was also in the mix — but it was often being used for cover. I’ve visited East Africa many times and felt this reality on the ground.
What is taking place now is chaotic and with its own hidden agenda, but let’s please not flip into a false nostalgia for a perfect democracy that never was!
Maryanne, not so many years ago, you likely would have agreed that much of the US backed system of “NGO’s” was a racket. Any free thinker visiting “developing” countries has noticed how much waste, grift, and imperial propaganda goes along with the network of “non-governmental organizations” funded by USAID.
But as a good “progressive” liberal I used to chalk the incredible waste and ineffectiveness up to american ignorance and cultural hubris. It’s only more recently that I’ve finally understood what countries like Ethiopia have long known. Many of these NGO’s were NEVER inept-but-well-meaning attempts at Mercy! On the ground, you can absolutely feel the difference between a grassroots program founded to help, and these outside funded organizations there serving a different purpose. Locals know it too!
Like most of us, I’ve been hesitant to really understand the levels of darkness (and the amounts of money!) behind covert “intelligence operations” the United States conducts around the world. CIA programs going back to cold-war power struggles have long ago been retooled to serve global corporate interests.
Sound like a crazy conspiracy theory? Please look into it on your own. And if you choose not to, please ask yourself what stops you.
Like 9/11 terror attacks or Wuhan gain of function research, it can feel hopeless that we might ever really know a clear TRUTH. But with just a little bit of digging, what becomes abundantly clear is that official narratives intentionally LIE. Intentionally. Why?
Me writing this is in NO WAY an endorsement of the current administration. What is taking place now is chaotic and with its own self-interested agenda. But let’s please not flip into a false nostalgia for a perfect democracy that never was!
The Oligarchs today are acting as OVERTLY, as the Global Corporatists acted SUBVERTLY in the past. Neither is “Good”.
Inspire us Marianne toward the True and the Beautiful. With two young children, I AM hopeful. But please, let us not get nostalgic for the “good old days” when we were ignorant of the shadowed darkness lurking beneath our surface.
The corruption and ill-planned efforts of NGOs all over the world is something that must be addressed, and to varying degrees they have been used to serve the American empire (we are that without exaggeration) for the sake of control and self-interest. We go into these cultures not listening to the folks and the wisdom on the ground, but as "we-know'better" fixers. We are too often tone deaf. My most direct experience of that has been in Haiti, and we have certainly done a number on them since their successful revolution, right up to the present day. The NGOs are part and parcel of that mess. That does not negate the good we are also trying to do, nor the need for good honest efforts through well intentioned and structured organizations. We are the most powerful nation on earth and must begin to use that power for the right purposes. But what is happening now is the wrong side of a necessary adjustment, assessment, evaluation and reworking of how we function in the world. They are barley even pretending this is to FIX anything. This is about destroying the state and reconfiguring it into a hierarchy that knows no bounds. My sincere hope is that what is taking place now will be exposed as the horror it is, and that we will right the ship and sincerely look at all the ways we need to fix who we are in the world, beginning in our back yard. Thank you for your perspective and always to Marianne for her consistent commitment and brilliance.
For those that claim to value America’s greatness, that 83% cut to #USAID will halve much of the world‘s perception of our greatness. Instead of being a force for compassion that exceeds all others, we will be no more than more evidence of oligarchic selfishness on the rise.
Please use these hashtags and phraseology Marianne because they augment well the messages that you hit home with.
The #TrumpMuskProject2025Cabal is #SquanderingAmericasGreatness as they divert as much as they can to fulfill the GOP/billionaire secret mantra:
“Move all the money to us!”
It’s time that the red hat set realize that they LOST THE ELECTION TOO. Only the billionaires won and the other 99% will get squat.
I read a lot of news and news commentary, but rarely do I get to read someone whose point of view and deep analysis of what's actually going on is as valuable as yours. To be honest, I hadn't expected this, and am pleasantly surprised. It speaks very well for your years of spiritual seeking and practice that you have become so clear seeing and courageous. Thanks for pointing the way. Today's newsletter was so very, very on point.
Thank you Marianne for this piece. We have entered the time of testing. The case Of Marco Rubio I think is the first clear and public example of how easily people can be compromised to accept the number of the beast. Rubio an intelligent man put aside principle and integrity for power and prestige. Over 90% of people when either threatened or bribed will do the same. The remaining 10% will have truth and God to see them through to the golden age.
I think the problem is much deeper than what appears to be at the surface. All the optics are the smokescreen, and the reality, it seems is that America can ill afford to keep on doing what it has been for long as the unchecked spending over the decades and mindless acts of printing currency unabashedly by both parties has left little to doubt about its sustenance as an influential super power. What we are seeing, though, is the hard realization of this fact by a section of the society that formed the government, who are all worried about their cut before everything evaporates. This bunch has taken it to heart that charity starts at home, and that means diverting as much as possible to their benefit. Why though? Looks like it became awfully clear to this bunch that the age-old tried and tested mechanism of war economics to propel the economy hasn't worked during the tenure of the previous government (and their smokescreen was activism for the sake of activism without substance or conviction in the issues, just to keep the populace engaged and that ploy backfired spectacularly at the time of election, resulting in this mess).
If this indeed is the case, then American leaders have already given up on the idea of being in control at the wheel and having the ability to tighten the belts to fix the economic woes of the USA (it would then be an acknowledgment of the economy being in free fall). They don't seem to have any viable answers, unless to start a fresh EXPANSIONISM, i.e., start accruing all the resources that you can TO CONTINUE TO STRIVE, as the country has already crossed the threshold of being a fiscally responsible economic powerhouse to be able to survive and sustain on its own. And ladies and gentlemen, that is my take on why the current government is the way it is, and they saw the picture or writing on the wall already that we haven't yet.
Yes, this is an important part of proper eyes-wide-open sense making of current events. Oligarchs are fighting over fiefdoms of a failing empire. Its shocking for those who continue to believe the empire’s corporate propaganda that it would never fall.
Yes, the Oligarchs must be resisted. But by sovereign individuals refusing to be ruled as serfs, and not by brainwashed “professionals” who believed that neoliberalism was “thisssss close” to saving the world…
I continue to follow the words and actions of Jesus, Buddha, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others that believed in compassion, love, gratitude, and forgiveness as a way of life. We must not just say it, we must live it. Action leads to fruition. While you may not be President, you certainly are a world leader. Blessings.
Do you currently have an editor for your posts? If not, I would be interested in possibly volunteering to assist with that. Please understand - I’m not saying that your posts are error laden or that I’m the best person for the job. I am certainly not perfect, just putting it out there. I can’t imagine how busy you are. I appreciate all the time, effort, and energy you put into these posts. Namaste
I am shocked and horrified to find out that USAID has been cut … I thought the courts would somehow stop this from happening … The lack of human empathy in a person’s soul to allow this to happen is beyond words … All to put a few more dollars into a billionaire’s pocket … The International Criminal Court should indict this whole administration for crimes against humanity … Today I am truly embarrassed to be an American!!!
Musk said that empathy is our weakness 😢
Do you think in the meantime that the DNC and the Democratic Party will get it together and actually form a unified resistance, better messaging, and learn how to operate in this paradigm? Because it feels like they’re caving in rather than rallying to save our country.
Agree!
No
Yes! This -- and everything else you write, goes to the heart of the REAL truth. How many pundits and analysts talk about the emotions of what’s happening? None- and so they’re not seeing the whole picture. Our emotional worlds are changing-- falling away-- all we want is our old safe world of democracy - but that democracy is being revealed as imperfect--and I think slowly those of us who REALLY love democracy will come out from our comfort zones and find new strengths....
Heartfelt
Thank You
Ellen
As always - I agree with the heart of what you share. However, a very large % of USAID was used for ‘gain of function’ research and as the marketing arm for Big Pharma, Agri and Arms. So this radical shake-up was long overdue. What needs to happen ASAP is to get the truly philanthropic programs that build LOCAL capacity funded. Any discussion on USAID needs to dig deep to understand that USAID has never been about philanthropy but it HAS served the world and changed lives for good. Let’s get behind a new, improved version. Let’s spend energy creating that beautiful future.
Thank you Nathalie. Ask many people in “Developing” countries and they know that the network of “non-governmental organizations” funded by USAID has long been a tool of US imperialism and corporate propaganda. Of course true help was also in the mix — but it was often being used for cover. I’ve visited East Africa many times and felt this reality on the ground.
What is taking place now is chaotic and with its own hidden agenda, but let’s please not flip into a false nostalgia for a perfect democracy that never was!
And who do you imagine is going to dig deep in this administration?
Thank you for your concise, accurate and heartfelt commentary. You are making a difference.
“We are more than economic creatures.” Marianne-your words resonate deeply at this particular moment in time.
Maryanne, not so many years ago, you likely would have agreed that much of the US backed system of “NGO’s” was a racket. Any free thinker visiting “developing” countries has noticed how much waste, grift, and imperial propaganda goes along with the network of “non-governmental organizations” funded by USAID.
But as a good “progressive” liberal I used to chalk the incredible waste and ineffectiveness up to american ignorance and cultural hubris. It’s only more recently that I’ve finally understood what countries like Ethiopia have long known. Many of these NGO’s were NEVER inept-but-well-meaning attempts at Mercy! On the ground, you can absolutely feel the difference between a grassroots program founded to help, and these outside funded organizations there serving a different purpose. Locals know it too!
Like most of us, I’ve been hesitant to really understand the levels of darkness (and the amounts of money!) behind covert “intelligence operations” the United States conducts around the world. CIA programs going back to cold-war power struggles have long ago been retooled to serve global corporate interests.
Sound like a crazy conspiracy theory? Please look into it on your own. And if you choose not to, please ask yourself what stops you.
Like 9/11 terror attacks or Wuhan gain of function research, it can feel hopeless that we might ever really know a clear TRUTH. But with just a little bit of digging, what becomes abundantly clear is that official narratives intentionally LIE. Intentionally. Why?
Me writing this is in NO WAY an endorsement of the current administration. What is taking place now is chaotic and with its own self-interested agenda. But let’s please not flip into a false nostalgia for a perfect democracy that never was!
The Oligarchs today are acting as OVERTLY, as the Global Corporatists acted SUBVERTLY in the past. Neither is “Good”.
Inspire us Marianne toward the True and the Beautiful. With two young children, I AM hopeful. But please, let us not get nostalgic for the “good old days” when we were ignorant of the shadowed darkness lurking beneath our surface.
Please read the whole article. I mention CIA fronts. But why should we think those are the programs that were removed?
The corruption and ill-planned efforts of NGOs all over the world is something that must be addressed, and to varying degrees they have been used to serve the American empire (we are that without exaggeration) for the sake of control and self-interest. We go into these cultures not listening to the folks and the wisdom on the ground, but as "we-know'better" fixers. We are too often tone deaf. My most direct experience of that has been in Haiti, and we have certainly done a number on them since their successful revolution, right up to the present day. The NGOs are part and parcel of that mess. That does not negate the good we are also trying to do, nor the need for good honest efforts through well intentioned and structured organizations. We are the most powerful nation on earth and must begin to use that power for the right purposes. But what is happening now is the wrong side of a necessary adjustment, assessment, evaluation and reworking of how we function in the world. They are barley even pretending this is to FIX anything. This is about destroying the state and reconfiguring it into a hierarchy that knows no bounds. My sincere hope is that what is taking place now will be exposed as the horror it is, and that we will right the ship and sincerely look at all the ways we need to fix who we are in the world, beginning in our back yard. Thank you for your perspective and always to Marianne for her consistent commitment and brilliance.
For those that claim to value America’s greatness, that 83% cut to #USAID will halve much of the world‘s perception of our greatness. Instead of being a force for compassion that exceeds all others, we will be no more than more evidence of oligarchic selfishness on the rise.
Please use these hashtags and phraseology Marianne because they augment well the messages that you hit home with.
The #TrumpMuskProject2025Cabal is #SquanderingAmericasGreatness as they divert as much as they can to fulfill the GOP/billionaire secret mantra:
“Move all the money to us!”
It’s time that the red hat set realize that they LOST THE ELECTION TOO. Only the billionaires won and the other 99% will get squat.
https://cbn.com/news/politics/white-house-releases-list-usaid-waste-and-abuse-everything-al-qaeda-trans-operas
DOD should be the first to feel Musk's chainsaw, Congress having refused to oversee or audit DOD. Const., Art I, Section 9.
I read a lot of news and news commentary, but rarely do I get to read someone whose point of view and deep analysis of what's actually going on is as valuable as yours. To be honest, I hadn't expected this, and am pleasantly surprised. It speaks very well for your years of spiritual seeking and practice that you have become so clear seeing and courageous. Thanks for pointing the way. Today's newsletter was so very, very on point.
Yes! I’m very disappointed in Rubio. I thought we could count on him as a ‘normal’ person to counter Trump and minions. Apparently not.
Thank you Marianne for this piece. We have entered the time of testing. The case Of Marco Rubio I think is the first clear and public example of how easily people can be compromised to accept the number of the beast. Rubio an intelligent man put aside principle and integrity for power and prestige. Over 90% of people when either threatened or bribed will do the same. The remaining 10% will have truth and God to see them through to the golden age.
.
You took the thoughts right out of my head and wrote them all down. ❤️
I think the problem is much deeper than what appears to be at the surface. All the optics are the smokescreen, and the reality, it seems is that America can ill afford to keep on doing what it has been for long as the unchecked spending over the decades and mindless acts of printing currency unabashedly by both parties has left little to doubt about its sustenance as an influential super power. What we are seeing, though, is the hard realization of this fact by a section of the society that formed the government, who are all worried about their cut before everything evaporates. This bunch has taken it to heart that charity starts at home, and that means diverting as much as possible to their benefit. Why though? Looks like it became awfully clear to this bunch that the age-old tried and tested mechanism of war economics to propel the economy hasn't worked during the tenure of the previous government (and their smokescreen was activism for the sake of activism without substance or conviction in the issues, just to keep the populace engaged and that ploy backfired spectacularly at the time of election, resulting in this mess).
If this indeed is the case, then American leaders have already given up on the idea of being in control at the wheel and having the ability to tighten the belts to fix the economic woes of the USA (it would then be an acknowledgment of the economy being in free fall). They don't seem to have any viable answers, unless to start a fresh EXPANSIONISM, i.e., start accruing all the resources that you can TO CONTINUE TO STRIVE, as the country has already crossed the threshold of being a fiscally responsible economic powerhouse to be able to survive and sustain on its own. And ladies and gentlemen, that is my take on why the current government is the way it is, and they saw the picture or writing on the wall already that we haven't yet.
Yes, this is an important part of proper eyes-wide-open sense making of current events. Oligarchs are fighting over fiefdoms of a failing empire. Its shocking for those who continue to believe the empire’s corporate propaganda that it would never fall.
Yes, the Oligarchs must be resisted. But by sovereign individuals refusing to be ruled as serfs, and not by brainwashed “professionals” who believed that neoliberalism was “thisssss close” to saving the world…
I continue to follow the words and actions of Jesus, Buddha, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others that believed in compassion, love, gratitude, and forgiveness as a way of life. We must not just say it, we must live it. Action leads to fruition. While you may not be President, you certainly are a world leader. Blessings.
Do you currently have an editor for your posts? If not, I would be interested in possibly volunteering to assist with that. Please understand - I’m not saying that your posts are error laden or that I’m the best person for the job. I am certainly not perfect, just putting it out there. I can’t imagine how busy you are. I appreciate all the time, effort, and energy you put into these posts. Namaste