Susan A. Markham
@msmarkham.bsky.social
Feminist, believer in democracy, optimist. Former Smash Strategies, USAID, NDI and EMILY’s List.
A new @unwomen.bsky.social report highlights the steep consequences of shrinking humanitarian support #gender #equality www.unwomen.org/en/digital-l...
At a breaking point: The impact of foreign aid cuts on women’s organizations in humanitarian crises worldwide
As humanitarian crises intensify globally, women’s organizations are being pushed to a breaking point. A March 2025 UN Women survey of 411 women’s organizations across 44 crisis settings found nearly ...
www.unwomen.org
May 13, 2025 at 5:09 PM
A new @unwomen.bsky.social report highlights the steep consequences of shrinking humanitarian support #gender #equality www.unwomen.org/en/digital-l...
A profile in courage from @npr.org - Karen Ortiz, an administrative judge at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission #gender #equality #LGBTQ+ www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...
Judge explains why she spoke out against directive to pause LGBTQ+ cases
An administrative judge at the federal agency that enforces U.S. workplace anti-discrimination laws explains why she spoke out against a directive to pause all LGBTQ+ cases.
www.npr.org
April 15, 2025 at 1:13 PM
A profile in courage from @npr.org - Karen Ortiz, an administrative judge at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission #gender #equality #LGBTQ+ www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...
Think change: “Pink tariffs” worse for women: are Trump’s new tariffs gender-biased? from @odi.global odi.org/en/insights/... #gender #equality
“Pink tariffs” worse for women: are Trump’s new tariffs gender-biased?
Trump's new tariffs disproportionately burden women, exacerbating existing "pink tariffs" on female goods. Analysis shows higher levies on women's apparel, risking job losses and financial strain, hig...
odi.org
April 11, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Think change: “Pink tariffs” worse for women: are Trump’s new tariffs gender-biased? from @odi.global odi.org/en/insights/... #gender #equality
"For women in the US who now feel under attack like never before, who sense their rights, even their bodily autonomy, slipping through their fingers, I bid a weary but warm welcome to the club." #gender #equality #reSISTERS
Trump is tearing up the rights of women. The message from your sisters in the Arab world? Don’t give up: resistance works | Hibaaq Osman
The new administration threatens to undo decades of progress in America, but as North Africa and the Middle East have shown, there is power in female solidarity
www.theguardian.com
March 5, 2025 at 5:34 PM
"For women in the US who now feel under attack like never before, who sense their rights, even their bodily autonomy, slipping through their fingers, I bid a weary but warm welcome to the club." #gender #equality #reSISTERS
Also, yesterday, the US government was also the sole vote against a resolution titled “Education for Democracy,” which reaffirms “the right of everyone to education” and recognizes “the importance of equal opportunities for young people, including women.” www.voanews.com/a/at-un-trum... #education
At UN, Trump's domestic policies enter international arena
US voted against a series of resolutions at the UNGA that support development and diversity
www.voanews.com
March 5, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Also, yesterday, the US government was also the sole vote against a resolution titled “Education for Democracy,” which reaffirms “the right of everyone to education” and recognizes “the importance of equal opportunities for young people, including women.” www.voanews.com/a/at-un-trum... #education
The US govt voted against a resolution, “International Day of Peaceful Coexistence”, that reaffirmed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development w/US rep Edward Heartney saying “Simply put, the globalist endeavors like Agenda 2030 and the SDGs lost at the ballot box.” www.voanews.com/a/at-un-trum...
At UN, Trump's domestic policies enter international arena
US voted against a series of resolutions at the UNGA that support development and diversity
www.voanews.com
March 5, 2025 at 5:18 PM
The US govt voted against a resolution, “International Day of Peaceful Coexistence”, that reaffirmed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development w/US rep Edward Heartney saying “Simply put, the globalist endeavors like Agenda 2030 and the SDGs lost at the ballot box.” www.voanews.com/a/at-un-trum...
“Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.” #democracy
Terry Szuplat on LinkedIn: To our friends around the world asking, “What’s going on?” Well… 77… | 1,059 comments
To our friends around the world asking, “What’s going on?” Well… 77 million Americans voted for Trump. 78 million voted for other candidates…
So, no, it was… | 1,059 comments on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com
March 3, 2025 at 1:34 PM
“Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never.” #democracy
Reposted by Susan A. Markham
NED’s mission is to support local actors in fostering democratic norms & institutions. We support local actors in the peaceful pursuit of their democratic goals.
www.ned.org/response-to-...
www.ned.org/response-to-...
Response to Rep. Taylor Greene’s Assertions About NED - NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY
NED categorically and unequivocally rejects the assertions from the February 26 hearing of the House Oversight Committee’s DOGE subcommittee.
www.ned.org
March 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM
NED’s mission is to support local actors in fostering democratic norms & institutions. We support local actors in the peaceful pursuit of their democratic goals.
www.ned.org/response-to-...
www.ned.org/response-to-...
Reposted by Susan A. Markham
Rieckhoff: He's losing his women and children. His cities are being bombed, and we're talking about his clothes? It was victim shaming, which is what trump has been doing to Zelenskyy and Ukraine since before he got elected. It's unacceptable.
March 1, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Rieckhoff: He's losing his women and children. His cities are being bombed, and we're talking about his clothes? It was victim shaming, which is what trump has been doing to Zelenskyy and Ukraine since before he got elected. It's unacceptable.
Reposted by Susan A. Markham
This morning it sank in that I’ve never been more appalled and embarrassed for my country than watching Putin puppets Trump & Vance mistreat hero Pres. Zelenskyy yesterday. Beyond disgraceful. This shame and stain will never be erased. 🇺🇦
AMANPOUR (with face in hands): “Never have I ever ever ever seen anything like it… the president and VP were taking all the Putin talking points.”
Full: www.instagram.com/reel/DGolFp-...
Full: www.instagram.com/reel/DGolFp-...
March 1, 2025 at 1:28 PM
This morning it sank in that I’ve never been more appalled and embarrassed for my country than watching Putin puppets Trump & Vance mistreat hero Pres. Zelenskyy yesterday. Beyond disgraceful. This shame and stain will never be erased. 🇺🇦
Reposted by Susan A. Markham
A president just disrespected America in the Oval Office. It wasn’t Zelensky.
kyivindependent.com/editorial-a-...
kyivindependent.com/editorial-a-...
Editorial: A president just disrespected America in the Oval Office. It wasn’t Zelensky
It’s time to say it plainly. America’s leadership has switched sides in the war. The American people have not, and they should speak up.
In the past several weeks, the U.S. leadership has demonstrate...
kyivindependent.com
March 1, 2025 at 1:17 PM
A president just disrespected America in the Oval Office. It wasn’t Zelensky.
kyivindependent.com/editorial-a-...
kyivindependent.com/editorial-a-...
"We in the south are a multicultural populace held hostage by voter suppression, gerrymandering, & the failures of legacy media establishments who refuse to acknowledge that humanity can exist in barefoot barbecues, not just on charcuterie plates with fine wines." Seema Jilani via @theguardian.com
I’m a pediatrician in Texas. Things are dire and we need your support – not your condescension | Seema Jilani
Nothing I have done is more impactful than a day’s work in this battleground in the south, the graveyard of politicians’ abandoned promises
www.theguardian.com
February 28, 2025 at 3:21 PM
"We in the south are a multicultural populace held hostage by voter suppression, gerrymandering, & the failures of legacy media establishments who refuse to acknowledge that humanity can exist in barefoot barbecues, not just on charcuterie plates with fine wines." Seema Jilani via @theguardian.com
"45% of female voters backed Trump in 2024, despite his overt misogyny...now... male MAGA leaders are showing increasing interest in bringing Republican women to heel, both culturally and through the force of law." #gender #equality
"A woman is like a child": MAGA turns its sights on stripping Republican women of power
Conservative women believe complicity will save them, but an emboldened far-right is gunning for their rights
www.salon.com
February 26, 2025 at 3:06 PM
How the Pentagon Personnel Firings Threaten Our Apolitical Military "This unprecedented purge of the nation’s top brass suggests that Trump... may attempt to fill these roles with officers he perceives as loyal to him personally." from @marknevitt.bsky.social via @justsecurity.org
How the Pentagon Personnel Firings Threaten Our Apolitical Military
This unprecedented purge of the nation’s top brass suggests that Trump may attempt to fill these roles with officers he perceives as loyal.
www.justsecurity.org
February 25, 2025 at 3:41 PM
How the Pentagon Personnel Firings Threaten Our Apolitical Military "This unprecedented purge of the nation’s top brass suggests that Trump... may attempt to fill these roles with officers he perceives as loyal to him personally." from @marknevitt.bsky.social via @justsecurity.org
"You don’t have to work hard to convince me that we have too many agencies and too many low-impact programs. But does this really need to be done — can it be done effectively at all — by branding lifelong public servants as “criminals” and making them suffer for sport?" #saveforeignaid
Opinion | The blinding contempt of the DOGE bros
Terrorizing USAID isn’t reform. Here’s an inside story of Elon Musk’s takeover.
wapo.st
February 25, 2025 at 1:42 PM
"You don’t have to work hard to convince me that we have too many agencies and too many low-impact programs. But does this really need to be done — can it be done effectively at all — by branding lifelong public servants as “criminals” and making them suffer for sport?" #saveforeignaid
When Pres. Kennedy asked Congress to establish USAID in 1961, he rooted its mission in America’s strategic interests and its “moral obligations as a wise leader and good neighbor,” recognizing that poverty and instability threaten America’s prosperity and security. #saveforeignaid
Opinion | ‘We’re Just Keeping Everybody Alive’: The Damage Done by the U.S.A.I.D. Freeze (Gift Article)
Testimonials from around the world show that Trump’s foreign aid funding freeze has been damaging and chaotic.
www.nytimes.com
February 21, 2025 at 3:43 PM
When Pres. Kennedy asked Congress to establish USAID in 1961, he rooted its mission in America’s strategic interests and its “moral obligations as a wise leader and good neighbor,” recognizing that poverty and instability threaten America’s prosperity and security. #saveforeignaid
"The Democrats’ task in this fight is to stop a group of radical fanatics from dismantling the government of the United States and selling it for scrap." But we also need to be talking about American values and the positive impact of U.S. programs overseas. #democracy @tommalinowski.bsky.social
Dems Shouldn’t Run Away From the USAID Fight—They Should Win It
A party that lets the opposition dictate the terms of all the debates will inevitably lose them.
www.thebulwark.com
February 20, 2025 at 10:16 PM
"The Democrats’ task in this fight is to stop a group of radical fanatics from dismantling the government of the United States and selling it for scrap." But we also need to be talking about American values and the positive impact of U.S. programs overseas. #democracy @tommalinowski.bsky.social
Reposted by Susan A. Markham
For no particular reason, what the Commonwealth of Virginia thinks about kings.
February 20, 2025 at 12:47 AM
For no particular reason, what the Commonwealth of Virginia thinks about kings.
The FBI "is entirely dependent on the good faith of the attorney general to keep Attorney General Guidelines in place and of the FBI director to adhere to and enforce them." @asharangappa.bsky.social #protectdemocracy
The FBI is a unique agency and, in the wrong hands, it’s dangerous
The position of FBI Director is far more powerful than almost any other agency head, and the least constrained by laws or external checks.
www.sfchronicle.com
February 20, 2025 at 4:16 PM
The FBI "is entirely dependent on the good faith of the attorney general to keep Attorney General Guidelines in place and of the FBI director to adhere to and enforce them." @asharangappa.bsky.social #protectdemocracy
Reposted by Susan A. Markham
We are calling for impeachment—America has no kings.
February 19, 2025 at 12:30 AM
We are calling for impeachment—America has no kings.
America has good reason to champion #democracy #saveforeignaid
Opinion | Why America should keep promoting democracy
People around the world still look to the United States as a model and champion of good government.
wapo.st
February 17, 2025 at 12:15 PM
America has good reason to champion #democracy #saveforeignaid
Reposted by Susan A. Markham
JPM/BofA/Citi/Goldman, WalMart, Ford/GM, ExxonMobil/Chevron, UPS/FedEx, etc. These companies aren't better off, even w/ lower taxes, if the US economy & polity, & the global economy, implode. They thrive precisely because of democracy, globalization, & international cooperation. And they know this.
February 16, 2025 at 3:59 AM
JPM/BofA/Citi/Goldman, WalMart, Ford/GM, ExxonMobil/Chevron, UPS/FedEx, etc. These companies aren't better off, even w/ lower taxes, if the US economy & polity, & the global economy, implode. They thrive precisely because of democracy, globalization, & international cooperation. And they know this.
“I need Democratic lawmakers to understand something: there is a profound disconnect among many of you between the world as it should be and the world as it is, and we are in a moment in which many of you, bless your hearts, don’t seem to get that.” By @charlotteclymer.bsky.social
Of Course It's Unfair
Doesn't matter.
open.substack.com
February 16, 2025 at 4:01 PM
“I need Democratic lawmakers to understand something: there is a profound disconnect among many of you between the world as it should be and the world as it is, and we are in a moment in which many of you, bless your hearts, don’t seem to get that.” By @charlotteclymer.bsky.social
Reposted by Susan A. Markham
This period under Musk/Trump feels like early February in 2020—when a terrible thing was happening with breakneck speed, and the people paying close attention were hair-on-fire about it while the rest of the country carried on as normal.
February 12, 2025 at 9:49 PM
This period under Musk/Trump feels like early February in 2020—when a terrible thing was happening with breakneck speed, and the people paying close attention were hair-on-fire about it while the rest of the country carried on as normal.
“Nations around the world and peoples need to see that freedom and democracy are not just something to aspire to as an ideal, but as a practical matter, it works and it works better than totalitarianism.” Marco Rubio #democracy #saveforeignaid
EXCLUSIVE: Trump Is Starving the National Endowment for Democracy
DOGE has frozen funds to the organization that was instrumental in helping win the Cold War. ‘It’s been a bloodbath.’
www.thefp.com
February 11, 2025 at 11:36 PM
“Nations around the world and peoples need to see that freedom and democracy are not just something to aspire to as an ideal, but as a practical matter, it works and it works better than totalitarianism.” Marco Rubio #democracy #saveforeignaid