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Annnd we’re back with another installment on Project 2025 because it’s that important.
So, I got into an ‘argument’ with a family member the other day about ‘climate change’. It wasn’t really about climate change but this is how it goes in the Midwest. It’s exhausting because every time this happens the person arguing with me is just repeating incorrect shit they’ve heard somewhere else.
Within the past month, Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts, was invited to speak at a climate conference in New York City where he proceeded to do exactly what you’d expect.
Among other things he said,
- “I’ll go anywhere to talk about how the climate agenda is ending the American Dream.”
- That the Inflation Reduction Act was “was imposing the will of “elites” on the American people.”
- And he joked that he enjoys his “high carbon lifestyle.” because he loves his F150.
Shocker. But back to me — the argument with my family member passive aggressively went on for a few days with them commenting on everything I did that wasn’t sustainable.
I know I’m a walking target, trying my best to live a sustainable lifestyle while helping small sustainable brands grow. But I also know this argument reflects my relative’s own indecision, media-fatigue, and eco-anxiety even if they don’t realize it.
It also reflects that as a culture, we’re always focusing on what’s not getting done and never looking up to see what has been done.
And I think that’s part of the problem. I don’t think Kevin Roberts is an ‘elite’. Even though his estimated net worth is $1.6 million and mine is negative. I do think that once you get to a certain net worth, there are no politics because none of it matters. These people crave power and control and to do that they latch onto people’s lack of understanding and run as far as they can with it.
That is why Project 2025 is so scary. Because under the guise of ‘draining the swamp’ and taking away control from the ‘elites’ the other elites are adding their own water into the swamp and taking even more control.
( r e ) ˣ will always stand on the side of history that supports all individuals’ rights and doesn’t let a government be funded by large industry organizations and run wild with unchecked power.
Which is why this month’s blog is highlighting just how destructive Projet 2025 is in all the areas not specifically focused on repealing climate protections.
P.S. vote. Vote in every and all elections that you can.
Undermining Global Systems & Relations (Chapter 4-9)
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Project 2025 thinks the solution is to go all in on the military — more spending, more nuclear weapons, less arms control engagement, more offensive cyber operations, and a dominating space presence — none of which involves investing in U.S. industry, technology, & education.
Foreign ambassadors and security personnel have dedicated entire careers to creating international relationships (that last longer than a sitting president’s term). Project 2025 wants them replaced, fired, or forced to swear loyalty to the president’s agenda. (Think about it, you don’t even like it when your regular waiter is fired or mistreated).
According to Project 2025, the US is tired of doing so much work for our NATO allies. It thinks they should take on more responsibilities and want to pull out U.S. forces.
I said we weren’t going to mention it but I lied. The effects of climate change will directly affect US bases & assets around the world costing the military (AKA taxpayers) a boatload of money. Oh, and not to mention that The Office of the Director of National Intelligence says climate change will worsen geopolitical tensions.
Not only do they want to pull out of the Paris Agreement, they also want to pull out of the parent treaty The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) along with withdrawing all support for international climate finance.
Rather than protecting Americans and the people the U.S. said they would protect, it’s giving that “friend” you can never really rely on. This plan will worsen international relations, erode trust in the United States, and overall devalue the climate crises.
Farmers & food security (Chapter 10)
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In an article for Food & Water Watch, Mia DiFelice said it best.
“It [Project 2025] would hamstring efforts to transform our food system to save our climate and environment while ensuring affordable, sustainable food for all… Our food system is already in crisis, driven by agricultural corporations cutting corners, playing dirty, raising prices, and crowding out small farmers. The answer is not deregulation that invites Big Ag to get bigger at the expense of the rest of us. Yet that’s exactly what Project 2025 advocates for.”
A key component they seem to be forgetting about in their desire to cut funding to the EPA and strip away carbon capture and sequestration is that the American agriculture industry plays a key role in renewable energy. Ethanol comes from corn which comes from farmers.
Climate concerns belong in the agriculture industry especially if we want to be able to continue growing as a society and feeding every person. What some might consider a basic human right. Despite Earth having plenty of food, one in 10 people don’t know where their next meal comes from. If we can’t feed everyone now, how are we going to be able to do it when we ignore climate change's impacts on agriculture now and in the future?
Weakening education & science (Chapter 11)
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There’s an audio going around TikTok that couldn’t be more perfect.
“How many einsteins have spent their lives washing dishes? How many Mozart’s bent over stoves instead of pianos? Because they had the misfortune of being born a woman.” I’d like to add — or queer, non-white, not able-bodied or any of the other things.
54% of Americans read below a 6th grade level, 21% are considered illiterate. I consider that not a personal failure but a failure of the school system that should have taught them. My mom works in a school and says the amount of kids who can’t read is astounding.
And yet — Project 2025 wants to abolish the Department of Education. They intend to end federal civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ students, limit protections for gender identity and sexual orientation, and reduce funding for students with disabilities. They plan to underfund public school while having a ‘responsibility’ to provide provide education to all military children (p. 322)
They don’t stop at K-12 but go all the way through higher education into student loans because “borrows should be expected to repay their loans.” Yet Republican officials had over 5 million dollars of PPP loans forgiven during Covid.
Since these conservatives (not all Republicans) hate the progressives, let’s call it what it is. This is regressive politics. These plans will weaken American education, weaken non-partisan (read: non-Christian) science that will have a ripple effect on society, on climate, on equitable access to education, and on our future.
Women’s health and reproductive rights
Mike González/Pexels (I recognize the irony)
I am so sick of talking about abortions. I am so much more than a person who could potentially have one. I am more than a body and what that body does.
How can we be expected to run households but have no voice about our healthcare? Make and raise kids with no voice about our own bodies?
I imagine the LGBTQIA+ people feel the same. You just want to exist. Peacefully, live your best life as who you are without someone attacking you for simply existing. We understand.
Until this conversation stops — you don’t get it. Because it would never exist if you considered us equal. And by you, I don’t mean YOU, you get it, right?
Anyway, Project 2025 doesn’t just take away our right to healthcare, it eliminates the Women’s Bureau which supports women in non traditionally-female occupations, makes it harder for LGBTQIA+ individuals to access healthcare and legal protections.
Policies that undermine a portion of society’s basic human rights to work, access healthcare, and have autonomy is a future where inequality thrives and collective resistance is weakened. We cannot tackle climate change, ending hunger, supporting children, and each other if all of our focus is basic survival. Denying these rights is denying rights to progress, environmental justice, and a better future for all.
Wrap it up
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Friends, there are so many things we didn’t even mention. Half my time spent putting this blog together was trying to figure out which area to focus on. We didn’t even mention their plans for Health & Human Services (Chapter 14); Department of Housing and Development (Chapter 15); Department of Justice (Chapter 17); Department of Veterans Affairs (Chapter 20); Small Business Association (Chapter 25).
Project 2025 at its simplest is fueled by hate.
Hate for the effort to slow down climate change, hate for women, hate for queer people, hate for any single person whose skin is not white and their voice doesn’t sound American. Hate for an educated society that cares about each other and believes there is enough for all. Hate for a future focused on improvement, where we learn from our mistakes and every person is not only protected but given the tools they need to thrive.
If you too are struggling to understand just what you read in Project 2025 or how to digest it into something you can speak intelligently about, I recommend checking out these sources.
- American Progress: Project 2025 Will Undermine America’s National Security
- How Project 2025 Shapes Republicans’ Funding Bills
- How Project 2025 Puts People and Our Planet in Peril
- Project 2025 is awful for Midwest farmers and biofuels. Trump should disown it.
- Project 2025 to rural America: Let them eat cake (without a nutrition label)
- Project 2025 Outlines Devastating Changes to USDA and the Federal Nutrition Programs
- Project 2025 Will End Education As We Know It | Opinion
- Project 2025 and education: A lot of bad ideas, some more actionable than others
- Inside Project 2025
- House Committee on Appropriations: How Project 2025 Shapes House Republicans Funding Bills
- The Big Lie About Project 2025 | Vox