Saturday, October 18, in response to so many abuses of power that President Trump has committed, many of us participated in the NO KINGS rallies around Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District. From Gettysburg to Johnstown, Altoona to Mifflintown, and Waynesboro to Lewistown, residents aligned their grievances to those listed in the Declaration of Independence.
In my speech to those in attendance at the Gettysburg rally, I went over 4 –
He “has refused his Assent to Laws.” Trump has illegally impounded Congressionally-approved funds, indiscriminately bombed fishing boats in international waters, claiming the boats to be of drug dealers, yet providing no proof, snatched citizens and immigrants off of the streets without due process, and broken the Emoluments Clause repeatedly. He and/or his administration is being sued in over 200 lawsuits which you can read here: https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/
He “obstructs the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither.” Trump’s current travel ban targets 19 countries including 12 countries under a full travel ban which are Afghanistan, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and 7 countries under a partial travel ban which are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela. This ban is wildly unjustified and just plain racist. “ In this hateful document, the President relies on the same unsubstantiated legal justifications he used to issue the Muslim and African Bans during his first administration, this time targeting a sweeping list of countries that all have one thing in common: their citizens are largely Black or Brown.“ https://www.nilc.org/articles/trumps-newest-xenophobic-travel-ban/
This convicted felon “has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.” Trump repeatedly attempts to deploy the National Guard to states where the governors reject them. Right now, only the courts are preventing Trump from turning Democratically-led cities into shooting galleries. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/trump-national-guard-san-francisco-21108852.php
This maniac “has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.” He incited January 6th because he wanted to stop members of Congress from certifying the 2020 election. If the midterms don’t go his way, he may incite more violence.
There are other grievances which probably align with Trump’s other crimes. You can read them here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grievances_of_the_United_States_Declaration_of_Independence
Meanwhile, the government shutdown continues as neither the federal budget, nor a continuing resolution has passed. The Democrats wish to continue ACA subsidies that began during the Covid crisis and end Trump’s cuts to Medicaid. The Republicans wish to discontinue the ACA subsidies and keep the Medicaid cuts because less than 1% of Medicaid expenses fund hospitals in the emergency care of undocumented immigrants. Our own US Representative, multimillionaire licensed physician, John Joyce, is a Republican and sides with them. Until they can negotiate an agreed upon continuing resolution at least, many federal workers will continue to not be paid.
While the US House of Representatives is due to go back in session on October 21st, opening up the possibility for members to work across the aisles, Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has not sworn in newly-elected Adelita Grijalva. His office had said he would swear her in on October 7th, but that was a bald-faced lie. The House could have had a special session in which no vote was taken to swear in the Democratic member-elect, but Speaker Johnson pretended that was impossible even though he had done exactly that to swear in two new Republican members of the House in March of this year.
In the meantime, the Pennsylvania legislature has not passed a state budget, leading to continued strain on entities and services in the Commonwealth. “Some counties like Westmoreland and Northampton are beginning the process of furloughing employees. School districts are taking out loans, freezing hiring and deferring spending. The state already owes school districts more than $3 billion in missed payments for the past three months. The social safety net is also fraying as social service organizations, like rape crisis centers and mental health providers, are also expending reserves, taking out loans and furloughing employees.” https://theconversation.com/pennsylvanias-budget-crisis-drags-on-as-fed-shutdown-adds-to-residents-hardships-a-political-scientist-explains-267382
Beth Farnham is a member of the DFA Education Task Force. She lives in Adams County with her husband, their two children, an exuberant dog, and a loud, fluffy cat.