Dr. Flowers @AlliFlowers@talkedabout.social

The new administration has vowed to reduce wasteful government spending, so I made this guide to help people understand how that works.

#Hamas released the bodies of 4 hostages Thurs, including…the remains of a mother & her 2 young children, members of the #Bibas family, whose story came to symbolize the brutality of the #Oct7, 2023 attacks.

…The deaths of Shiri Bibas & her sons—Ariel, who was 4yrs old, & Kfir, who was 8½ months old at the time of the abduction—were suspected for months, but only confirmed when Hamas announced their bodies would be among those released.

#Israel #Gaza #war #geopolitics
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/20/hostages-hamas-gaza-israel-bibas-family/

DOGE= Delusional Oligarchs Gutting Everything
Without 1 vote this unelected MAGA MORON along with his dog PINO, fellow unelected morons & complicit #GOPCowards throw monkey wrenches into the Federal Government
They have not save US ONE penny
All they have done is cause misery & chaos
#Resistance

Governor Pritzker gave quite the State of the State address yesterday. He compares how under his tenure Illinois is growing stronger economically and in protecting civil rights, while Trump is making the nation weaker. If I didn't already live here, after hearing this speech I'd move to Illinois. #Illinois #Chicago #Pritzker

https://www.kwqc.com/2025/02/19/read-pritzkers-state-state/

“The people have spoken …and now the people must be punished.” — Ed Koch, Mayor of New York

Beyond the reality of the above for Trump voters, the fact Musk is firing people “for cause” — purposefully lying about their performance — not only harms people like those recovering from Helene in NC, it damages the careers of those people working to help them.

He’s slandering them. And he knows the courts will shrug. This is intentional, generational damage to millions.

https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2025/02/18/us-forest-service-staff-were-working-on-helene-recovery-before-firings/78638333007/

He’ll just keep crapping on everything good.

Fact: nearly 70 percent of US money for Ukraine actually went TO US defense industry to replenish the stocks of OLD stuff that went to Ukraine to use.

Much of which we would have paid to destroy as their lifespan expired.

As CSIS has reported before, “aid to Ukraine” is a misnomer because 70% of military aid IS SPENT in the US.

Remember, much of which the US would have paid anyway to dispose of equipment expired, having nothing to do with Ukraine.

Aid to Ukraine by the numbers:

#Ukraine #eu #europe #nato #UK #Baltics

Zelensky Urges ‘More Truth’ After #Trump Suggests #Ukraine Started the War https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/world/europe/ukraine-zelensky-trump-russia-war.html

Only 24 #hostages remain alive after 500 days in #Hamas captivity.
#hostage
#genevaconventions
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/senior-hamas-official-terror-group-prepared-to-free-all-hostages-in-single-swap-in-phase-2-of-deal/
@israel
@palestine
@iran
@lebanon
@yemen
@syria
@ireland
@histodons
@russia
@uk
@australia

Here’s a partial list of what Democrats did today and over the long weekend (February 18):

Canada recognizes Aboriginal title over Haida Gwaii in historic agreement #GoodNews #Canada #Indigenous #Aboriginal #Haïda #NeverVoteConservative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnzwBmYHbBM

Former 🇺🇸 ambassador to Russia 👇🏽

#US weighs destroying $500M in stockpiled #covid tests

The #Trump admin has been evaluating the costs of destroying or disposing of tens of millions of #coronavirus tests that would otherwise be provided #free to Americans, acc/to 2 ofcls at a federal #PublicHealth preparedness agency & internal documents….

Internal documents show that ofcls within #HHS have been considering 2 options: either disposing of or continuing to ship >160M tests, valued at >$500M.

#health
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/02/18/trump-administration-covid-tests-stockpile/

Trump Administration Wants to Let Banks Jack Up Your Overdraft Fees

Trump 2.0 wants the people to know that they still have *none* out of three branches of the government working for them, and, yes, it's this bad.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-admininstration-banks-raise-overdraft-fees-1235271368/

A team from Elon Musk’s SpaceX
is reworking the systems at the Air Traffic Control Command Center in Virginia Monday
in the wake of last month’s deadly air disaster in Washington, DC.

The news comes after CNN reportedthat the Federal Aviation Administration fired hundreds of probationary employees who maintain critical air traffic control infrastructure.
The exact number of workers losing their jobs is unknown,
but the union representing them said it was in the “hundreds.”

The Trump administration is trying to eliminate thousands of federal employees as it works with Congressional Republicans on a massive tax cutting bill that is said to favor mostly corporations and the wealthy

Musk’s status as a major government contractor
— mostly through his company SpaceX
— represents a massive conflict of interest that both he and Donald Trump have repeatedly attempted to downplay.
https://www.theverge.com/news/614078/faa-air-traffic-control-spacex-elon-musk-layoff-staff-shortage

Federal judge reinstates employee appeals board member fired by Trump
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5151616-federal-judge-orders-reinstatement-of-merit-systems-protection-board-member/

#StopTrumpNow #TrumpDidThis #RepublicansDidThis #RepublicansOwnThis #GOPKakistocracy #GOPWeirdos #NoRepublicansEverAgain #USPol

#DeportElonMusk
DOGE reportedly fired the FDA employees who were reviewing clinical trials for Elon Musk’s Neuralink
https://fortune.com/2025/02/18/doge-fired-fda-employees-overseeing-elon-musk-neuralink/

Today, my rights amongst all disabled people’s rights in the United States are at risk. In fact, it’s alarming. Let me share with you what’s going on.

Currently, there is a lawsuit threatening essential protections under Section 504. The Texas v. Becerra lawsuit includes 17 Republican-led states suing the U.S. government to remove Section 504 which is a legal bedrock for disability civil rights.

https://lionsandperiwinkles.substack.com/p/do-you-have-a-disability-youre-probably