My city is under attack
Warning: this is not about cheese
Hi readers. I’m doing a bit of a departure today. I’m angry and things are weighing on me. Only took 10 fucking days.
I’m angry that POS is back in our lives every day, making decisions that dramatically affect people’s lives.
I’m angry that he’s basically declared war our government, and on the city that still feels like home to me, Washington DC.
I’m incandescent with rage that a military helicopter hit a small jet that was flying into National Airport last night in the most restricted airspace on the planet — because of Trump’s incompetence and his declared war on our — THE PEOPLE’S — government.
But most of all I’m furious at the lies told, over and over, about Washington, DC and the people who live there. It’s a wound that’s been festering for a long time, but watching a Black Hawk hit a plane over a place you’ve been a million times will rip off the scab.
I’m sick of the wicked specter of the “unelected bureaucrat” that the GOP and their right wing allies in the media use to scare the shit out of people. Fellow Americans who have never been to DC1 and don’t know that they are being manipulated and lied to about how our government works.
It’s been the GOP’s MO for at least 25 years — manipulating people with slogans, the flag, and propaganda to believe that the “government is the problem.” They’ve wanted to destroy the New Deal and the modern US government for decades, and their project of cynicism is finally starting to bear wicked fruit.
Because you know who those “unelected bureaucrats” are? They’re the people of my city. My friends and chosen family. The people I served coffee and wine to. The people whose weddings and Thanksgivings I attended. The sweet old man who used to high five me on King Street.
DC is a real live place, full of good people who are dedicated to government service.
People who take less pay than their expertise deserves because serving the American people means something to them.
People who have to jump through hoops on business trips: flying economy all over the planet — and before things like FaceTime — were restricted to talking to their spouses on the phone for only 10 minutes a day while they were halfway around the world for weeks on end. Why? To save taxpayer money.
Yes, they get federal holidays, and living wages, good health care, and pensions.
Why? BECAUSE THEY ARE UNIONIZED! Something Trump and Musk want to crush at DOGE.
I love Washington. I miss it every day. If it wasn’t so expensive — and busy, not gonna lie — we would move back.
Why? Because we miss the people.
I miss walking down the street in Alexandria and everyone knowing my name.
I miss my interesting friends who have been all over the world serving this nation, and all of the fascinating stories they tell. Washington is a real international city, where you can hear languages from all over the world, see a DaVinci for free, and eat all night Korean barbecue.2
I miss my grumpy French chefs. There are no restaurants here run by Frenchmen and it’s bullshit and I miss it.
Washington is full of wonderful people who changed my life for the better.
It made me realize the possibilities of life — maybe a little too late for me to take advantage myself — but you can be anything in DC.
In case you’re wondering, I would have wanted to work at the National Archives, the National Endowment for the Humanities, or the Library of Congress. Or the Folger Shakespeare Library, even though that’s not a government job.
Instead I served the government my own way, by being part of the place the workers came to relax.
One of my old regulars was the Director of ICE at the time. He had a small Secret Service detail. I called him “John” and he loved it.
Once I was at a Jose Andres restaurant downtown — yep, he’s from DC, too — and the Secret Service was outside when we went in, checking bags, etc.
I’d seen what they did for John, so I knew this was someone much bigger than that.
Turned out it was Michelle Obama.
But that’s the glamorous stuff.
There was my friend who was a lawyer for the OMB. I went to her wedding.
My amazing friend who does media for HHS and helps out at Voice of America in her spare time because she cares that much. She’s also a Trekkie and loves cats as much as I do.
Another friend who works at NIH trying to cure cancer. He just had all of his experiments ruined by this dumbass “pause” by the way — wasting years of money and research.
These are the people who don’t get paid when the government shuts down. The only thing that the GOP makes “trickle down” are the economic effects when they take our government hostage for their radical religious, anti-government, and billionaire agenda.
I’ve served coffee and poured wine for countless journalists and opinion makers.
Even a few Senators and a Sec Def.
The common thread — they love DC and are proud of our government.
I am, too.
And that’s why I’m so furious at these lies and misrepresentations. I understand why they work. DC is as real to most people as LA is to me — a place they’ve seen in movies.3
But the thing about DC is that the things that happen there are real — and affect real lives.
They aren’t make believe or a reality show.
Stop letting the GOP get away with teaching you to hate your government.
In doing so, they are taking away your power to change your world for the better.
Not a judgment — I’d only been to DC once before I moved there, and that was for the ex’s job interview.
I’ll never, ever stop missing the Asian food in Annandale.
Oh and as a personal aside to Hollywood — thanks for pushing all of those conspiracies about the US government in movies. It’s been a big help.
I feel you pain, Holli. My relationship to our government is not as personal as yours, but this is still my government under attack. We can only resist, fight back by letting your senators and representatives know where you stand every time a new outrage is casually tossed out with the stroke of a pen. Do not give in to the lies. Do not give in to the fear. 🫶🏼✌🏻