Desirée Cormier Smith
@desireecsmith.bsky.social
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
Check out the latest from Professor Catherine Powell in @cfr.org: www.cfr.org/expert-brief...
Trump’s Boycott of the UN’s Human Rights Process Puts America Last, Not First
The Trump administration has chosen to retreat from UN human rights standards and processes. These decisions make Americans less safe.
www.cfr.org
September 23, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Check out the latest from Professor Catherine Powell in @cfr.org: www.cfr.org/expert-brief...
The U.S. is making history again - but not in a good way. For the first time, a UN member state is withdrawing from the Universal Periodic Review, one of the core human rights instruments…and it’s the U.S.
@catherinepowellesq.bsky.social,
Beth Van Schaack & I wrote about this dangerous move 👇🏾
@catherinepowellesq.bsky.social,
Beth Van Schaack & I wrote about this dangerous move 👇🏾
Trump’s Boycott of the UN’s Human Rights Process Puts America Last, Not First
The Trump administration has chosen to retreat from UN human rights standards and processes. These decisions make Americans less safe.
www.cfr.org
September 23, 2025 at 9:20 PM
The U.S. is making history again - but not in a good way. For the first time, a UN member state is withdrawing from the Universal Periodic Review, one of the core human rights instruments…and it’s the U.S.
@catherinepowellesq.bsky.social,
Beth Van Schaack & I wrote about this dangerous move 👇🏾
@catherinepowellesq.bsky.social,
Beth Van Schaack & I wrote about this dangerous move 👇🏾
I wrote this with two brilliant colleagues because what is happening at the State Department should concern every American.
“We fear that America’s retreat from human rights and democracy on the global stage is a preview for more repression to come here at home.”
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
“We fear that America’s retreat from human rights and democracy on the global stage is a preview for more repression to come here at home.”
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Contributor: A plan to take human rights off the table at the State Department
Marco Rubio's proposal will wipe out expertise and infrastructure that promote justice abroad and keeps Americans safe at home.
www.latimes.com
July 8, 2025 at 12:47 AM
I wrote this with two brilliant colleagues because what is happening at the State Department should concern every American.
“We fear that America’s retreat from human rights and democracy on the global stage is a preview for more repression to come here at home.”
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
“We fear that America’s retreat from human rights and democracy on the global stage is a preview for more repression to come here at home.”
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
America is beautiful, contradictory, unfinished. I am proud of our country even as we constantly strive to make it better, to protect and deepen our democracy, to fulfill its promise for each and every person who calls it home.
Happy Independence Day. No Kings in America.
Happy Independence Day. No Kings in America.
July 4, 2025 at 4:14 PM
America is beautiful, contradictory, unfinished. I am proud of our country even as we constantly strive to make it better, to protect and deepen our democracy, to fulfill its promise for each and every person who calls it home.
Happy Independence Day. No Kings in America.
Happy Independence Day. No Kings in America.
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
One of many moments in Omar El Akkad’s new book, “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” that will stop you in your tracks.
March 29, 2025 at 8:31 PM
One of many moments in Omar El Akkad’s new book, “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” that will stop you in your tracks.
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
Join us on Friday, March 28, 2025 at 7pm (CET) for a hybrid panel discussion on U.S. perspectives on history and memory, feat. @desireecsmith.bsky.social, @margarethuang.bsky.social, et al.
Free registration for Munich:
t1p.de/k0t8r
Or follow the livestream:
www.youtube.com/live/MyqxcSs...
Free registration for Munich:
t1p.de/k0t8r
Or follow the livestream:
www.youtube.com/live/MyqxcSs...
March 26, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Join us on Friday, March 28, 2025 at 7pm (CET) for a hybrid panel discussion on U.S. perspectives on history and memory, feat. @desireecsmith.bsky.social, @margarethuang.bsky.social, et al.
Free registration for Munich:
t1p.de/k0t8r
Or follow the livestream:
www.youtube.com/live/MyqxcSs...
Free registration for Munich:
t1p.de/k0t8r
Or follow the livestream:
www.youtube.com/live/MyqxcSs...
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
#SaveTheDate On March 28, 2025 Lonnie Bunch, Desiree Cormier Smith, Margaret Huang and Jim R. Grossman will discuss different perspectives on history, memory, and current challenges in the U.S. – a joint event with @amerikahaus.bsky.social
www.nsdoku.de/programm/akt...
www.nsdoku.de/programm/akt...
“The Past is Never Dead”: U.S. Perspectives on History, Memory, and Current Challenges - Gespräch am 28.03.2025 19:00h
As the American novelist William Faulkner famously wrote in 1951: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Just like Germany, the United States has tried to come to terms with a difficult past – ...
www.nsdoku.de
March 21, 2025 at 11:32 AM
#SaveTheDate On March 28, 2025 Lonnie Bunch, Desiree Cormier Smith, Margaret Huang and Jim R. Grossman will discuss different perspectives on history, memory, and current challenges in the U.S. – a joint event with @amerikahaus.bsky.social
www.nsdoku.de/programm/akt...
www.nsdoku.de/programm/akt...
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
everyone should listen to this in its entirety but journalists should listen to it multiple times. this is how you ask questions. you just keep asking simple, easily answerable stuff and the evasiveness becomes that much more glaring
In which the Department of Homeland Security struggles to answer a very simple question: "Is any criticism of the United States government a deportable offense?"
(From NPR here: www.npr.org/2025/03/13/n...)
(From NPR here: www.npr.org/2025/03/13/n...)
March 13, 2025 at 11:52 PM
everyone should listen to this in its entirety but journalists should listen to it multiple times. this is how you ask questions. you just keep asking simple, easily answerable stuff and the evasiveness becomes that much more glaring
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
The attack on DEI shows why liberals should stop arguing about "strategic" use of language forever. DEI stands for three uncontroversial virtues that most every American accepts, and the right still turned it into a vile slur. It doesn't matter what you say - they will poison it because YOU said it.
February 28, 2025 at 1:19 AM
The attack on DEI shows why liberals should stop arguing about "strategic" use of language forever. DEI stands for three uncontroversial virtues that most every American accepts, and the right still turned it into a vile slur. It doesn't matter what you say - they will poison it because YOU said it.
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾
A perfect example of the justice system working for the American people!
apnews.com/article/dei-...
A perfect example of the justice system working for the American people!
apnews.com/article/dei-...
Judge blocks Trump’s executive order ending federal support for DEI programs
A federal judge has blocked a sweeping executive order from President Donald Trump that sought to end government support for programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
apnews.com
February 22, 2025 at 12:51 AM
👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾
A perfect example of the justice system working for the American people!
apnews.com/article/dei-...
A perfect example of the justice system working for the American people!
apnews.com/article/dei-...
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
NEW --There's this guy in the executive branch who in less than a month has already spent NEARLY 11 MILLION DOLLARS of taxpayer money playing golf.
Yet the whole thing has flown under the radar of the crack waste/fraud/abuse squad over at DOGE somehow.
www.huffpost.com/entry/donald...
Yet the whole thing has flown under the radar of the crack waste/fraud/abuse squad over at DOGE somehow.
www.huffpost.com/entry/donald...
Donald Trump Has Already Spent $10.7 Million Of Taxpayer Money Playing Golf
Somehow, the expense has flown under the radar of the waste, fraud and abuse experts at DOGE.
www.huffpost.com
February 19, 2025 at 12:38 AM
NEW --There's this guy in the executive branch who in less than a month has already spent NEARLY 11 MILLION DOLLARS of taxpayer money playing golf.
Yet the whole thing has flown under the radar of the crack waste/fraud/abuse squad over at DOGE somehow.
www.huffpost.com/entry/donald...
Yet the whole thing has flown under the radar of the crack waste/fraud/abuse squad over at DOGE somehow.
www.huffpost.com/entry/donald...
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
If the administration was actually serious about rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, it would want fully empowered Inspectors General rather than the amateurs of DOGE.
NEW: The USAID Inspector General was fired on Tuesday, a day after his office released a report critical of the impact of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID, a source familiar told CNN.
February 11, 2025 at 11:50 PM
If the administration was actually serious about rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, it would want fully empowered Inspectors General rather than the amateurs of DOGE.
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
Elon Musk retweeted a conspiracy theory about white people being ethnically cleansed from South Africa, a lie spread by white nationalists.
Not only that, the person he RTed said this is the “human rights cause of our lifetimes.”
You shouldn’t need a salute to know that this man is a Nazi.
Not only that, the person he RTed said this is the “human rights cause of our lifetimes.”
You shouldn’t need a salute to know that this man is a Nazi.
February 17, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Elon Musk retweeted a conspiracy theory about white people being ethnically cleansed from South Africa, a lie spread by white nationalists.
Not only that, the person he RTed said this is the “human rights cause of our lifetimes.”
You shouldn’t need a salute to know that this man is a Nazi.
Not only that, the person he RTed said this is the “human rights cause of our lifetimes.”
You shouldn’t need a salute to know that this man is a Nazi.
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
“The thing that I can’t get over is that the actual richest man in the world directed my fucking firing. I make $50k a year and work to keep drinking water safe. The richest man in the world decided that was an expense too great for the American taxpayer.”
Yesterday many thousands of federal employees were terminated. This is a Reddit thread for federal employees that got laid off.
From the fednews community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the fednews community
www.reddit.com
February 15, 2025 at 11:24 PM
“The thing that I can’t get over is that the actual richest man in the world directed my fucking firing. I make $50k a year and work to keep drinking water safe. The richest man in the world decided that was an expense too great for the American taxpayer.”
FYI there’s a feed called Blacksky and it’s amazing and far less annoying than most other feeds
It has moderation too @blacksky.app
If your Black and want to be added just use the hashtag #AddToBlacksky
If your white you can pin the feed and just enjoy viewing and engaging ✌🏽
It has moderation too @blacksky.app
If your Black and want to be added just use the hashtag #AddToBlacksky
If your white you can pin the feed and just enjoy viewing and engaging ✌🏽
February 15, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
Every day is chaos. Every fucking day.
February 13, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Every day is chaos. Every fucking day.
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
If you understand that apartheid was an economic system first, and a brutally violent system of social segregation second, you'll understand how Elon Musk is trying to update the principles from his homeland, and bring about a neo-apartheid system in the US.
My latest in @thenation.com
My latest in @thenation.com
Elon Musk’s Vision Is Coming Into Focus—And It Looks a Lot Like Neo-Apartheid
Apartheid was, first and foremost, a business plan—one that the South African-born Musk seems to be reworking for the modern age.
www.thenation.com
February 13, 2025 at 4:11 PM
If you understand that apartheid was an economic system first, and a brutally violent system of social segregation second, you'll understand how Elon Musk is trying to update the principles from his homeland, and bring about a neo-apartheid system in the US.
My latest in @thenation.com
My latest in @thenation.com
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
How much Elon Musk makes from the government a day: $8 million.
How much a senior on Social Security gets a day: $65
Guess which budget Musk and Trump want to cut?
How much a senior on Social Security gets a day: $65
Guess which budget Musk and Trump want to cut?
February 12, 2025 at 6:07 PM
How much Elon Musk makes from the government a day: $8 million.
How much a senior on Social Security gets a day: $65
Guess which budget Musk and Trump want to cut?
How much a senior on Social Security gets a day: $65
Guess which budget Musk and Trump want to cut?
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
NEW: USAID's Inspector General somehow just released a report on the impact of the Musk-Trump-Vance admin's aid freeze & cuts to the agency.
Says $489 million of food aid was put at risk.
BHA – which provides aid (food, water, shelter, healthcare) – had 90% of staff furloughed or put on leave.
Says $489 million of food aid was put at risk.
BHA – which provides aid (food, water, shelter, healthcare) – had 90% of staff furloughed or put on leave.
February 10, 2025 at 10:51 PM
NEW: USAID's Inspector General somehow just released a report on the impact of the Musk-Trump-Vance admin's aid freeze & cuts to the agency.
Says $489 million of food aid was put at risk.
BHA – which provides aid (food, water, shelter, healthcare) – had 90% of staff furloughed or put on leave.
Says $489 million of food aid was put at risk.
BHA – which provides aid (food, water, shelter, healthcare) – had 90% of staff furloughed or put on leave.
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
So after promising to focus on safety, they’ve gotten right down to work… on gender terminology?
February 11, 2025 at 12:14 AM
So after promising to focus on safety, they’ve gotten right down to work… on gender terminology?
“And yes, I know many are afraid. We have seen the vindictiveness of Trump. But we will either act now or wait until autocracy has become so unyielding that we will no longer be able to exercise our basic rights.“
Yes. “People are doing things. You will meet them when YOU start doing things.”
Lots of information and resources in this one.
open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...
Lots of information and resources in this one.
open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...
Democracy is Crumbling. Is Anybody Doing Anything?
Yes. And You Can Too.
open.substack.com
February 10, 2025 at 5:01 PM
“And yes, I know many are afraid. We have seen the vindictiveness of Trump. But we will either act now or wait until autocracy has become so unyielding that we will no longer be able to exercise our basic rights.“
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
Rubio's state dept appointee is a white supremacist and a misogynist. I remember not too long ago when a Republican who said this would be disqualified from high profile federal jobs forever.
February 3, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Rubio's state dept appointee is a white supremacist and a misogynist. I remember not too long ago when a Republican who said this would be disqualified from high profile federal jobs forever.
Reposted by Desirée Cormier Smith
Murphy: "This is a constitutional crisis that we are in today. Let's call it what it is."
February 3, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Murphy: "This is a constitutional crisis that we are in today. Let's call it what it is."