Go team, go!

Thank you for all who attended our Concerned Citizens gathering, and here's a recap of the event.

Mar 30, 2025

Dear Concerned Citizens,

Hey, we had an impressive turn-out for our gathering today, and I especially want to thank a few folks.

First, my dear neighbor, who is 95 going on 96 yrs old, with her inspiring story of her activism in the 1980’s that resulted in the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. All from her concern for folks with disabilities, especially the people in wheel chairs, like her dear son, who were denied access to lots of things, simply because they were differently-abled. Outcome: ADA Act signed by President George Bush. Among MANY, MANY things, we now have RAMPS in all public buildings.

Then, my neighbors who helped set up the chairs, mics, and even held up my home-made “teleprompter cheat sheets” so I could get through the presentation without forgetting what I was talking about.

And, all the people who attended the event. Many of us spoke and told our own stories and the latest news about Social Security and simply supporting each other in this scary time we are in right now.

Thank you all!

From the bottom of my heart.

We are not going to stand for these shenanigans!

If you would like a pdf transcript of my Concerned Citizens Presentation here is the link:

“Concerned Citizens Gathering regarding the changes at the Social Security Administration and what we can do about it”

Today, I am calling my Members of Congress

regarding:

DOGE Plans to Rebuild SSA Code Base in Months, Risking Benefits and System Collapse (read the full article at Wired, March 28,2025)

Takeaways from the article:

Social Security systems contain tens of millions of lines of code written in COBOL, an archaic programming language. Safely rewriting that code would take years—DOGE wants it done in months.

Under any circumstances, a migration of this size and scale would be a massive undertaking, experts tell WIRED, but the expedited deadline runs the risk of obstructing payments (from carolyn: OBSTRUCTING PAYMENTS (!) to the more than 65 million people in the US currently receiving Social Security benefits.

This proposed migration isn’t the first time SSA has tried to move away from COBOL: In 2017, SSA announced a plan to receive hundreds of millions in funding to replace its core systems. The agency predicted that it would take around five years to modernize(from Carolyn: FIVE YEARS TO MODERNIZE) these systems. Because of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the agency pivoted away from this work to focus on more public-facing projects.

Use your “5 Calls” app

or if you don’t have it, here are the phone numbers.

Our Members of Congress:

Rep. Jared Huffman (202) 225-5161

Sen. Alex Padilla (202) 224-3553

Sen. Adam Schiff (202) 224-3841

Here is what I am going to say,

Dear Congress Person,

“Thank you for all you do. I am VERY concerned about the new proposed DOGE plan to update/rebuild the SSA computer system in a matter of 3 or 4 months! We really need the system updated, but not “updated” recklessly and erratically. STICK TO THE SSA ORIGINAL PLAN OF MIGRATING TO THE UPDATED SYSTEM OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE YEARS. To ensure this extremely complicated migration will not disrupt SSA services. 70,000,000 SSA beneficiaries are counting on you, OUR ELECTED CONGRESSIONAL LAWMAKERS, to do what you MUST to STOP this reckless plan of DOGE.

Use your bully pulpit to get the real story out to the public. Lobby your colleagues on the Republican side to STOP this reckless plan. Social Security recipients are Dems, Republicans, and Independents and we are all going to be steaming mad if this proposed reckless DOGE plan gets Congressional approval. Or Congress does not STOP this. You’ll get voted out, because you will all be blamed for the interruptions in our monthly payments, and you didn’t listen to your constituents.”

good news

Raleigh, North Carolina.

You know, that state that voted Trump in for a second term in November 2024. Remember?

Everyday people DO NOT LIKE Project 2025 AT ALL

We’ll have our time next Saturday,

April 5th, in Ft Bragg 12 NOON

HANDS OFF our American way of life!!!!

Carolyn