PLYMOUTH – More than 500 South Shore residents gathered at Plymouth Rock on a frigid Presidents Day to protest illegal cuts to federal programs and access to government data bases by a group of 19-24-year-old acolytes of presidential appointee Elon Musk, and excesses of the Trump administration generally.
The protest was in concert with similar rallies, large and small, across the country. Dubbed “No Kings on Presidents Day” in some places, the Plymouth protest, which featured local and state government officials, was called, “Not On Our Watch.” The local protest was organized by the several South Shore Democratic town committees.
“We are living in a time when our democracy is being tested, not just in Washington, but in communities like ours,” said state Rep. Kathy LaNatra, D-Kingston, who added that, while it’s easy to get caught up in headlines about the nation’s angst and problems, focusing instead on what people can do to make changes right in their own backyard. “The truth is, Democracy isn’t just about what happens in Washington, it’s about what happens in our town halls, in our community meetings, in our local elections. If we want to protect democracy, we have to start right here, where we live.”
Musk, a South African immigrant, and said to be the world’s richest man has been given unfettered access to computers in government departments, such as the Treasury Department, where it is alleged his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has accessed personal information of millions of Americans.
The office carries the same acronym as an internet meme and joke cryptocurrency.
“Lots of things can be done by a small group of committed people,” said Halifax Democratic Town Committee Co-chair Ellen Snoeyenbos. “We’re going to gain strength from each other, take a measure of how much we have built together. … We have built safety nets – Social Security, education, Medicare, health care and state-of-the-art research facilities, to protect our health and sustain life on this planet, environmental, climate and weather safety – these things are at risk.”
All are programs and/or departments targeted for deep cuts and mass firings of employees by the Trump administration. Cuts at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which have been pointed to as contributing factors to a recent spate of crashes and threatened cuts to NPR under the National Endowment for the Arts, and National Parks were also spoken of.
“We built it! Don’t let them take it away,” she said as motorists honked their horns on the way by. “Not on our watch!”
Whitman Select Board member Justin Evans “nerded out” on the risk to the nation’s administrative and regulatory agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), tasked with enforcing marine regulations, monitoring the atmosphere and oceans for evidence of climate change – and, most importantly, has control of the National Weather Service.
“In Trump’s first term, he nominated the CEO of AccuWeather to take over NOAA,” he said. “His explicit goal … was to privatize or prevent that from becoming public information. That didn’t happen, but in Project 2025, it’s back and the goal there is to dismantle the research arm of that agency, because their research gathers evidence of climate change. Elon and his staff have already shown up, they’ve told staff to expect 50 percent in cuts.”
Evans outlined the risk
“He’s coming in with a sledgehammer for political means, and the downstream risk is we are not going to have as accurate climate modeling or weather tracking, and local officials like myself rely on that,” he said, listing hurricane forecasts, fire watches, tornado watches to know whether to issue evacuation warnings or shelter in place.”
He added that towns need to know if heatwaves or deep freezes are coming in order to plan for opening warming or heating centers.
“Not having this publicly available access to information is a threat to all of us,” he said. “All of this stuff is interconnected, and if you’re cutting the safety net across each of these regulatory agencies, the risks are catastrophic. … I know the experts are freaking the hell out. I want you too, as well.”
So, what to do with it?
Rockland Democratic Town Committee Chair Jessica Laverty had some suggestions.
“We’ve got 625 days – until what?” she said.
“Midterms!” the crowd shouted.
“Guess what’s not going to make it through 625 days?” she asked: “Our environment, our democracy, our Board of Education, our departments, our NOAA – nothing is going to make it through 625 days, so we need to stand up right now.”
Donate your time, reach out to people and look to municipal elections, she advised. Confront “obnoxious betrayals of the truth” in person or online but do so with facts and with kindness.
“We need those folks to make sure that, in four years, we’re not here again, in whatever wasteland is left,” she said.
State Rep. Michelle Badger said that the Office of the President represents unity, leadership and the voice of the people and there is no better time than Presidents Day to reflect on what those qualities mean to the country.
“These issues matter deeply and its natural to feel frightened and uncertain about what lies ahead, but we cannot let ourselves be paralyzed with fear,” Badger said, encouraging people to apply for appointed posts on local boards and commissions, which are always seeking new members, or run for elective office. “We need to take our nervous energy and channel it into action. … When the federal level seems to be too hard and overwhelming, look locally. Find your voice.”