Rebecca Solnit: As Trump Tweets, America Burns - Has Irreparable Damage to This Country Already Been Done?

The federal government is morphing like a monstrous blob. Long-established separations are melting down; hitherto united organs are fissioning. Yet other parts are withering away—the foreign service, scientists, civil servants unable to carry out their jobs with principle—or being weakened: “The Trump administration has stripped enforcement powers from a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unit responsible for pursuing discrimination cases,” the Washington Post recently reported.
Federal resources are being auctioned off or given away: public land—and sea—are being offered up to extractive industries. National monuments are being shrunk. Limits on pollution are being slashed. Funds for basic services are being cut. USA Today reported almost a year ago, “President Trump’s proposed budget takes a cleaver to domestic programs, with many agencies taking percentage spending cuts in the double digits. But for dozens of smaller agencies and programs, the cut is 100 percent. Community development block grants. The Weatherization Assistance Program. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The National Endowment for the Arts. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting.” The Environmental Protection Agency has been gutted and the Department of Education pursues a war against universal public education. ... [mehr] http://lithub.com/rebecca-solnit-as-trump-tweets-america-burns/