A Change Is Gonna Come

It’s Been “A Long time Coming” 

Another way American singer and songwriter Sam Cooke might have sung the lyrics to his classic “classic is to ask, Why’d it take so long?” Perhaps not as artful or optimistic, but the message would have been duly noted. Sam’s lyrics were about racial inequality, inspired reportedly by his experience being turned away from a whites-only hotel in Shreveport, Louisiana. While Cooke’s lyrics and vocals invoke the spiritual, gospel, blues, and Broadway, the orchestral arrangement invokes the symphony in that each verse is presented in a new arrangement, a technique not unlike the development and variation commonly found in classical orchestral music: Diverse yet powerful.

Exposing USAID

After keeping its spending records hidden from Congress and taxpayers, USAID employees are now protesting the review of the agency’s records by President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE.) Washington insiders seem more upset at DOGE for trying to stop wasteful spending than at USAID for misusing tax dollars.

Be Proud of America’s Achievements 

In moments of crisis, America needs to look to its leadership, notes Senator Joni Ernst, the Republican senator from Iowa, founder and chairwoman of the Senate DOGE Caucus.

Our nation’s compassionate giving has saved millions of lives around the world that were at risk from starvation or disease. All Americans should be able to take great pride in our generosity.

… the government agencies coordinating aid efforts should be eager to share details about how they’re using taxpayers’ money to make the world a better place.

Intimidation and Shell Games

Despite the agency entrusted with disbursing tens of billions of aid dollars annually to other nations and as much good USAID has done, Sen. Ernst accuses it of being a rogue bureaucracy. The agency often acts “at odds with our nation’s best interests, using intimidation and shell games to hide where money is going, how it’s being spent, and why.”

According to Sen. Joni Ernst:

USAID repeatedly rebuffed my requests for a list of recipients of U.S. tax dollars sent to Ukraine, claiming that the information was classified. Despite the pushback, I persisted. Eventually, USAID permitted my staff to review documents under surveillance in a highly secure room at USAID headquarters, with note-taking prohibited.

Why the Secrecy 

According to Ernst, aid that was supposed to alleviate economic distress in the war-torn nation was spent on such frivolous activities, such as sending Ukrainian models and designers on junkets to New York City, London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

Ernst also faced stonewalling from USAID when she asked about tax dollars being diverted from project missions for largely unrelated costs. That is better known as the “negotiated indirect cost rate.”

The agency claimed that (dollars spent) weren’t possible to track.

When Ernst debunked that by providing USAID staff with a link to a public database, the agency retaliated, warning that divulging this information would violate federal laws, including the Economic Espionage Act.

Many groups supported by USAID do great work, such as caring for orphans and people living with HIV. Imagine, asks Ernst, how much more good work could be supported with the dollars that instead ended up enriching terrorists, sex traffickers, mad scientists, and drug cartels?

Having kept its spending records hidden from Congress and taxpayers, USAID employees are now protesting the review of the agency’s records by President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.

It’s no surprise that Washington insiders are more upset at DOGE for trying to stop wasteful spending than at USAID for misusing tax dollars.

It’s a Wrap

Sam Cook’s hit song was composed, recorded, and debuted just prior to Cooke dying in a shooting incident at an LA motel under questionable circumstances, according to the University of Pittsburg Library system.