Marc Elias, the god of free and fair elections, handily defeated Stephen Miller in court yesterday with a 3 judge panel trying to rig the count at the census bureau.
The Elias Group is winning cases left and right so support him at “Democracy Docket.”
Also, by court order, Trump lost trying to get his name back on the Kennedy Center claiming ticket sales will plummet without it. Nice try.
It amazes me how off these people are about what we, the majority of Americans, want our leaders to do! It is certainly not much to do with appearances, not of Federal buildings or performance spaces. The reason the majority of Americans visit the capital is to see the landmarks that have been there all these many years! Maintain them, YES, but they are representative of our hopes and desires, not of any particular president, except of course for President Abraham Lincoln; but the whole world is aware of Lincoln’s effect on us all!
“We” are a very slim majority (and are in fact a minority of the dominant cohort, white Americans). Furthermore, with gerrymandering, the Electoral College, and a severe imbalance (by Constitutional design) of representation in the Senate, we are at a substantial disadvantage, politically. It will take a monumental effort and a lot of luck to move in the direction of recovery from our presently catastrophic situation.
World news! Republican , Lindsey Graham, died and intelligence Michael Nance believes McConnell may have died a while ago, but tRump administration is probably covering it up. We shall see. There are 4 republicans now voting with the democrats. If two additional republicans died, we might be even with Vance breaking the tie vote. God works in mysterious ways! 🙏
“But while the dismissals represent a dangerous attempt by the president to exert control over elections — a power which the U.S. Constitution explicitly reserves for the states and Congress — most experts say that much of the EAC’s work on the 2026 elections has already been conducted.”
Court blocks right-wing effort to rig Census count “The ruling marks a win for historically underrepresented voters, including naturalized citizens, lower-income and young people.r
“Pro-voting intervenor Cameron Driggers, a master’s student at the University of Central Florida, wrote in his motion that for him, the Census’ statistical methods ensure his vote as a student living in a dormitory is accurately counted.”
Cameron Driggers ⬆️is 21-years-old. Who says young people aren’t in the fight !! 💪💙
Love this! I held a local protest in front of our high school yesterday, themed on voting to save democracy. It was a busy street corner at rush hour on Friday, and it was heartening to hear SO many honks and see all the waves and smiles from drivers! After an hour, we saw only two middle fingers and a car full of teenage boys saying, "You're a bunch of old fuddy duddies!" Hooray for fuddy duddies, cat ladies, and antifa, too!
Yet another reason why we HAVE to make sure that Democrats win in a landslide in 2026, because if not, no EAC means that the GOP will definitely be able to try to stay in power in 2028.
Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark has presented a very interesting compilation of clips of Trump defending a variety of sexual abusers including Roger Ailes, Roy Moore (who he campaigned for), and Mike Tyson. Great sympathy for predators, none for their victims.
Elias is amazing. What is also amazing are the independent journalists who support his work and showcase him. We have been building an independent network for the past 10 years and it is really showing its muscle these days. Please support independent journalists. Many of them are corporate media refugees and are working to build their following.
There are so many. Trump is so pimped. He is hip deep in Madams. They find the targets and he Trimps the deal. He is the world’s oldest professional. Good thing Dr. Kennedy keeps him certified.
The Kennedy Center is a perfect example of his pathology: He destroys things by trying to make them about himself, then can't understand why people rejected them.
It's narcissism so profound it's almost incomprehensible. He genuinely doesn't see it.
Anyone who can afford it needs to support Marc Elias and Democracy Docket. He and his team are fighting Trump and his minions at every step of them trying to rig elections to their favor. He is also the man who fought Trump’s election denial cases in 2020. He won 60 court battles. He and his attorneys need our support!!
Someone has to be virtuous as it would appear that any system can be perverted. The leader may be a crook but we in aggregate must limit the damage. It's harder when the "checks and balances" have been crookified.
ICTT and friends: when the people in charge of elections in UTAH (which sits with Idaho as among the rightest of rightwing places) ridicule the orders coming down from their Dear Leader, you know that we are reaching a tipping point. However, I would warn that a wounded buffoon is more dangerous than a complacent one. And I would bet that all of the minions and handlers are relying on Depends to keep their equilibrium--because their only hope for survival is by preventing free and fair elections. And they will do everything in their power to prevent them.
How red is Idaho? We have new figure from our sec. Of state giving Idaho Republicans 62% and Democrats 12%. We have been successfully gerrymandered. Everything coming at the public from political office is heavily republican dominated, including the sec. of state. Prior to Eisenhower we were a democratic majority. By the end of Reagan we have been entirely Republican. Both houses of the legislature, the Governorship, the attorney general and the Secretary of State are republican. 4 votes electoral college republican. Trump owns the Idaho political affiliation. They fall over themselves to service him.
Every. single. representative. is a Rethuglican. The only reason why--similar to Utah--there are any Dems at all is because of Boise, which has the largest population in a poorly populated state. But they cannot compete with the rest of the state. Same goes for SLC in Utah. And KC and St Louis in Missouri. And so on and so forth.
(I have a dear friend who means well but bombards me with forwarded emails from the MANY sources she reads daily. While I appreciate her, I think I hit a saturation point. I'm in my favorite time of year, but this political climate, two of my cats seriously sick, and a health issue of mine that I have to wait FIVE months to see a specialist....this is taking a terrible toll on me. I have greatly cut my political news consumption. I rely on Substacks that give me straight news without the hyperbole, and I leave it at that. I'm terrified enough that I don't need people attempting to terrify me; I'm there already.)
Yes, we’re all scared. If we weren’t, there’d be something wrong with us. But love and caring for our wounded republic still outweighs fear, many times over. Good luck with your health and pet the kitties for me.
I have another friend who says the same. She's waiting for the Big, Beautiful Obituary, and says the spontaneous parties in the street will alert her to the news.
ICTT, Washington must be starting to look like a war zone. Also, I’m wondering: is anything being done to repair the Reflecting Pool? I don’t see any reporting, just fences.
Marek Jan, I see you are from Poland and a two week paid subscriber. I don't know how long you have been reading Heather (and the comments) but as the self-appointed "Walmart Greeter" of this Substack, may I say WELCOME! 👋🏼IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE!
I like to welcome new names, and read their little bios. I am especially heartened to hear voices from other parts of the world, be they expats or foreign citizens. I hope that those abroad realize that WE ARE NOT ALL CRAZY over here!
I hope to see your comments in the future, and you can keep the forum here abreast of what the thoughts on the US are over in your area.
(I see you have interests in religion. If you believe in a Higher Power and are a praying man, please put good thoughts into the universe for us. We're in a hard place over here. I love my country, despite its faults, and this is making me so depressed!)
Thank you for the welcome, Miselle. I come from a country that once learned how much institutions matter by living forty years without real ones — that is why I read Heather from afar. And yes: people abroad know you are not all crazy. We remember who kept the lights on for us when it was dark here.
On the DO Injustice Love Letters ... er ... fascist notices -- preserve the receipts.
Over 20 state AG's have a pending lawsuit no pending in Massachusetts that specifically designed to protect state run Midterms including Early & Vote-by-Mail.
SCOTUS recently issued an opinion that ballots received within 5 days of the Election date are constitutionally valid directly protecting rural voters in Mississippi, Alaskan voters in Pt. Barrow or Nome as well as U.S. military personnel & expatriates abroad.
In the last CA Primary I Voted at the County Vote Center managed by 12 voting officials & privately inserted my ballot for counting instantly & retained my receipts both physically & digitally.
I will vote during the upcoming Midterms on the 1st possible day.
I also have an evidentiary foundation & Will Travel.
I support everything you say except voting on the earliest possible day. To me, although I support early voting nationwide for people who need it for whatever reason, I still believe that, if possible, it is better to wait until the latest possible date, which, for me, is (as always) election day.
Why? Because of situations like the Platner one, which can arise at any time, I prefer to make sure I have heard the latest political information available before voting. If I vote early, that increases the chance that something might happen that could possibly change who I vote for in some election, and I would no longer have the opportunity to do that.
I remember standing in line to vote for over 5 hours..Probably Obama I. I'm now 76 and don't think I could do that again. There are many good reasons for voting early. If everyone waited until election day just imagine the lines and wait times.
Anyone that can vote early should vote early. Leave election day for those that have no other choice. Just a thought.
I have to vote early because I work a 13-hour day managing a polling place. I recognize your reason for waiting till Election Day but I recommend voting early because who knows what might happen and prevent one from voting at all, which would be far worse for me.
I love to vote at the polls too and will still vote on the first possible day to make sure my vote is registered - even though I will be volunteering at the polls on election day!
I feel my own beliefs need to take a back seat to what the experts are telling us to do.
Bryan, a virtual hug across the digital universe to you, good sir! I am so grateful for all the attorneys who honestly give a shit about democracy and our country. (As those who've read my comments know that is not a term I take lightly.)
I vote during the early voting period in my state, but I wait for 2-3 days after early voting starts. There’s usually a big crowd on the first day of early voting.
When the Constitution was written, there were a LOT fewer people than there are now. Early voting and mail in voting accommodate increases in population. These accommodations are set by the states. Donald in diapers has no role to play in determining how elections are run. I wish someone would finally hold this mob boss embarrassment of a president accountable for his crimes.
In enlightened Colorado we vote with ballots mailed to us. We get notice when they are mailed, we drop them at any of hundreds of secured ballot boxes, are notified when they are picked up, when they are tallied, and when the vote is recorded. At any place along the way, if you don't get an update, you can call and get a human to see what happened.
It works great,
Of course there are polling places on Election Day.
"Someone" has a name...Republicans. "Someone" voted for the right-wing Supreme Court. "Someone" refuses to remove Trump&Toadies from office. "Someone" is allowing Trump to murder people and deport people without due process. There are many "someone's" called voters who have approved of this regime and will vote to keep them in power.
You may yet find yourselves once again depending on the integrity of state election officials even if that in some cases will only be because they know they may face personal liability if they comply with Trump's exhortations.
Trump said "Thank you for not paying attention to my only focus: that your vote doesn't matter to me. The only vote that matters to me is my vote for me, and my vote as I've said is all that matters. In my country, I and only I can vote for me and am loyal to me and my co conspirators as long as they are loyal to me.
Thank you for your attention to whatsamatterwithme.
MATTER (def) Minimise Attention To Trump Epstein Relationship.
Fraudulent voting is miniscule (see the RW Heritage Foundation, originators of Project 2025). We have a good system of checks (TN won an award from Heritage Foundation for election integrity multiple years) throughout the voting process. 🙄 Besides, it would be worse if we singled out people who “looked funny.” That would result in a more immediate lawsuit, and one that could be sustained.
But if big armed and masked thugs from ICE are standing in front of the polling stations, they don't have to say a thing. A lot of people could be intimidated and turn away from voting, and most of those will be likely to vote Democratic.
Could be. But I’d call the police and the Election Commission if they tried to approach. Of course, they could stand outside the 100’ boundary but I’d still keep an eye on them.
John, methinks the Dems are more (bad word! I rarely use them and I already broke my rule today) OFF than the MAGA. They are easily manipulated by fear, and I think the Dems are defiant.
I also have great hopes in our young voters, and I found this short clip to be very enlightening. 4 minutes long, worth watching.
And Congress, which we have apparently written off. When you "representative" has to answer to 750,000 people, except in states where there are only 550,000 like Wyoming which gets three for its paltry population.
The spineless Republican Congress also has responsibility for the "crookification" of the Presidency. This Congress has failed to exercise any of the power assigned by the Constitution. Instead, it has gone along with anything Trump proposes or does, whether illegal or unconstitutional. The president is the most corrupt in history and the Republican Congress just shrugs its shoulders.
The US had (and in part still has) "strong institutions". The problem today is precisely that most Republican politicians, including Trump, are utterly non-virtuous.
Fill a major political party with non-virtuous people and day by day, strong institutions will lose their power to safeguard democracy.
Obviously, the institutions crumble when the right wing holds the power in every branch of federal government. They can't be bothered with the importance of preserving the historical architecture of the White House, be it the East Wing, Rose Garden,or the columns at the entrance. I think that the monuments are artistic and that the original design should be maintained while allowing for upgrades but not changing colors etc.
Or the preservation of democracy, especially when the corrupt six right-wing Justices on the Supreme Court disregard ninty years of Supreme Court decisions to secure and safeguard it. I think that the Justices who gave trump immunity and have undermined the security of the vote for all citizens should be impeached and the Court should be reformed to have as many Justices as there are federal district courts, term limits and require a super majority of the Senate to appoint new Justices.
I believe that the fencing around the White House is actually in preparation for anticipated Civil unrest because trump and his minions are going to refuse to recognize the outcome of the midterm elections. The new East Wing bunker the equivalent of Hitlers bunker.
I hope voters realize at long last that a vote for any right-winger at any level of government is a vote for Fascism.
Yup and Yikes! Republicans have spent years manifesting lies about Democrats which the democrats did not refute. Instead they spent all their energy acting like they were true and showing that they could do better, when they were doing better all along and failed to highlight it. This is the inevitable outcome of not nipping lies in the bud!
MSM will not say much of anything that may irritate the thin skin of Dear Leader. The cabal of billionaires is sure that most of the citizens in this country are mere chattel.
When MSM does not give falsehoods the term LIES and big money is poured into Republican coffers, it is difficult to counter the LIES. That is a direct result of Citizen's United and the Robert's Court.
Yes. We need to be constantly countering the lies the Republicans tell about us. For example, it is my understanding that under Obama the fewest illegal immigrants came to the US. Not under Trump. Under Trump the fewest immigrants are coming to the US. In fact, there is negative growth because more and leaving than coming. I think we can all understand why.
Unfortunately Linda, I think your "understanding" is a misunderstanding or else is just wrong. Of course there are no accurate numbers here, but based on a variety of sources, it is estimated that between 2 and 2.5 million undocumented immigrants came into the US during Obama's administration (8 years).
During Trump's first administration, it is estimated that between 1 and 1.5 million undocumented immigrants came into the US, while the total number of undocumented immigrants in the US went down during that period of time by several hundred thousand. There are no good numbers for 2025 yet of course, but given the large numbers of people blocked at the border entry points, it is estimated that the numbers have continued to go down during Trump's second administration.
Of course, this ignores the fact that Trump called for a complete and total elimination of undocumented immigrants in the US during his campaign for the White House, and that number, which was estimated to be almost 20 million people, has clearly not come down anywhere NEAR the numbers needed to eliminate undocumented immigrants.
And this ignores completely the question of how to fill the labor vacancy that would be created by the actual removal of that many people (a large percentage of whom are working, mostly in low-wage menial labor jobs). Most Americans are NOT inclined to take such jobs given the seriously hard labor conditions, lack of social status and the poor incomes that they provide.
We also cannot forget to view the immigration crisis during the Obama years, and leading up to Brexit, without understanding Russia’s influence in the areas of instability. I believe Putin created the mayhem. He knew the instability in Syria, Africa, Central America, etc would push unprecedented flows of brown people into Europe and the US. What better way to exploit the racism at the heart of the EU and USA, and then control the demise of their democratic institutions? And create a moral crisis. We were pushed to have a conversation and create policy reflecting our Statue of Liberty ethos: Give me your tired, your, hungry……”. And we found we could not. A More Perfect inflection point to exploit was never found.
Jon Rosen, although your facts are correct by every reliable report I know, Obama, first Black president, had his hands full without trying to get the number of immigration judges added that were required. As climate change worsens, I hope our relationship with Central and South America, with the reconstruction of USAID, can become one of mutual aid. We will need the rescinding of the Hyde Amendment and a devotion to clean energy that a change of regimes will require. Fortunately, if we can be friends with Canada and Mexico again, we will have a good start.
I don't believe that immigration judges have much to do with the number of undocumented immigrants coming INTO the country. Obama did not (for good reason I think) dramatically increase the border patrols and that left a capacity to resist undocumented immigration. Trump definitely DID increase border patrols (to excess IMHO) and that clearly had an effect.
My perspective, I think, has been well stated here. I believe there is only a binary choice for immigration. Either you resist and deport every undocumented immigrant as much as possible, or you open your borders and let anyone in. The idea of limited immigration (mostly for white immigrants coming from Europe and South Africa) is a crock. First, it is racist, and second, it is never going to work in what is the third-largest country (by population) as well as the richest country in the world.
Actually, Prof Ruth Ben-Ghiat had a guest speaker, Jenn Budd, who used to work for US Border Patrol on Friday evening, in Ben-Ghiat's weekly Zoom meeting, who told us this fact about Obama. In fact, she was talking about why she left the Border Patrol and what is going on with it and all the problems with ICE. She has a book out, that you should probably read to get the details on Obama, because I did not take notes. It is called ICE: What Everyone Needs to Know.
As usual both Dems and MAGAs embrace Trump's talking points even though he is a con man and lying liar who rarely knows facts and rarely speaks the truth.
Doreen, everything Donald has done in his second term is strong evidence that he intends to remain in the White House for the rest of his life.
His obsession with the Epstein dance hall has deep psychological significance to him. He and his family were excluded from the ballrooms in NYC, so he's determined to build his own ballroom (at taxpayer expense, of course) as a thumb in the eye of all those New Yorkers who rejected him. His obsession with tarting up Washington, DC, to his taste is one clear indicator of his intention to be a permanent resident.
He has great motivation to remain in the White House. As soon as he leaves, the prosecutions will come at him like a tsunami. He fears going to prison less than he fears the loss imprisonment would symbolize: that he lost. His father instilled in him an absolute terror of losing.
yep, all true about that pos LOSER trump.That's all he'll ever be. Here in Canada my friends and I call him the shitstain carpetbagger.
I hope you all put pressure on the Dems to hold the sscb to accoubt on day 1 when they take back Congress! I don't trust them Dems…you must pressure them
Did you know that along with the name on the building he got the rights to choose the airports vendors?
Under a specialized trademark and licensing agreement for the newly renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport (formerly Palm Beach International Airport), the Trump family does hold exclusive rights over the selection of vendors for branded merchandise.
The specific vendor and merchandise terms include:Vendor Vetting: The county-approved licensing deal requires that any branded merchandise sold at the airport be purchased through retailers or manufacturers explicitly approved by the Trump family’s licensing company, DTTM Operations.Unusual Restrictions: Legal and trademark experts note that while standard licensing agreements specify product quality, it is highly unusual to dictate the exact manufacturer or retailer.Off-site Profit:
While the Trump Organization has stated it will not collect licensing fees or royalties on merchandise sold at the airport, the family retains the right to manufacture and sell airport-branded merchandise off-site for their own profit.Other Controls: The licensing deal also grants the Trump family authority over biographical material that can be displayed at the airport.
You can read more about the trademark agreements and vendor terms in The Guardian's Trump Airport Report or analysis from NPR.
Yes-and of course the chef’s kiss-they had to delay and reroute flights into that airport so that Eric could be the first in a plane that landed after the renaming. It’s completely off the charts insanity-but Desantis earned his brownie points-for now. I am guessing he’s angling for a position in the regime. 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
Jen, where did you get the idea that DeSanctimonious wants a “place” in the regime? Every GOTV VBM postcard I am writing currently should prevent the regime from continuing.
I hope that works, Virginia. With Desantis out as governor in the coming months (leaving a completely different and poorer state than he found it in so very many ways), it’s postulated by many locals here that he wants a Cabinet position or SCOTUS appointment, thus spurring acts of loyalty like creating Alligator Alcatraz, renaming highways, and the airport. Aside from Abbott in Texas, I’m hard pressed to find a more Mussolini-esque governor to felon47’s Hitler than Desantis. Because of financial scandals that are still unresolved, his wife doesn’t stand a chance of being elected governor, although they floated that lead balloon. I guess we will see what’s next. One thing I do know-here in Florida, we certainly send the worst of the worst to the national stage including Rubio, Scott, Mills, Steube, Luna, Bondi, Gaetz, and more. sigh
Jen, the list is so long that I had forgotten most of it (though I do remember Rick Scott robbing Medicare). Having seen David Jolly on TV for years as he left the Republican Party, I have hopes that he may be elected and lead FL out of the swamp.
Actually, I’m hoping Jolly is elected-while I’m not a fan of former republicans running as dems, I’m hopeful he will be centrist enough to grab dems, independents, and disillusioned republicans so that we have a prayer of normalcy. Desantis’ supermajority in the Florida legislature is horrific-—they’ve made northern Nazis comfortable here-our surgeon general makes rfkjr look normal, our ag is a truly disgusting homophobe, Randy fine is a blatant nazi, Cory mills is a dv perp…it’s a true dystopia here. Between moms of Liberty and Michael Flynn, our schools, hospitals, etc are unrecognizable. We have been the project 2025 Petri dish for so long…it will take decades to correct the damage caused by the Nazis running our state.
Donald Trump has apparently decided that governing is an irritating distraction from the more important work of making sure future elections contain fewer inconvenient voters.
The timing could hardly be more elegant. The National Association of Realtors reported that the median existing-home price had reached a record $440,600. Congress responded with a major housing bill that passed 85 to 5 in the Senate and 358 to 32 in the House. Trump responded by refusing to sign it because the Senate had not passed his preferred voting restrictions.
This is government by hostage note: Nice little housing crisis you’ve got there. Shame if democracy happened to it.
The bill became law without his signature, proving once again that Trump can occasionally serve the public interest by doing absolutely nothing.
His Justice Department, meanwhile, sent election officials across the country letters warning of possible criminal prosecution over noncitizen voting and demanding explanations of how they would maintain “clean voter lists.” Noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare, but panic has never required evidence when it can be weaponized against voting rights.
Then Trump fired the Election Assistance Commission’s two Democratic commissioners. Its remaining Republican commissioner resigned, leaving the bipartisan agency without commissioners shortly before the midterms. The commission helps certify voting systems and supports state and local election officials. Apparently, the newest way to secure elections is to empty the office, turn off the lights, and accuse everyone else of cheating.
At the same time, the White House is fortifying its entrance and considering more permanent fencing near Lafayette Square and Pennsylvania Avenue. The People’s House is becoming the Keep Away From the People House, now with reinforced doors and possibly fancier columns. Authoritarianism, but with tasteful Corinthian detailing.
The pattern is difficult to miss. Trump wants to protect elections from voters, election administration from election professionals, and the White House from the public.
At this rate, the only institution in Washington still functioning normally will be the scaffolding.
It seems that he's fortifying the entrance because he's afraid of the people going in to drag his disgusting body out. He's running scared.
"Construction of the White House State Ballroom has faced legal challenges and shifting timelines; as of June 5, 2026, a federal appeals court allowed temporary resumption of above-ground work until a final ruling, with foundation work reported in late May 2026.
One way to fight the lies of the Trump regime and party is to make sure that while we push back on that, we also help to maintain democracy elsewhere.
I for one am currently living abroad and am going to a demonstration today which is organized by a group that is insisting that the German courts follow the German constitution and ban political parties that endanger the democracy. The group is called PRÜF and exists in 13 of the 16 German states.
I am also looking at going to a large European climate demonstration in Amsterdam on September 12.
Plan to go for this climate demo. In Indivisible Abroad and Democrats Abroad, part of our mission is developing an international network of pro-democracy activists, like the far-right has done. So, connecting with activists in other countries will help your energy for our shared goals for this planet.
No Krikit's Songs. I think that is one of the 3 German states where it does not exist. It would be in Erfurt the capital if it existed. I live in a city state so it is the capital. Here is a list of where they are taking place.
That being said, there was a counter demonstration that a lot of people from all over Germany went to in Erfurt last Saturday, to protest the AfD meeting there.
Here is an article on the counter demonstration that took place last Saturday. It was discussed a lot on the Prüf Bremen Signal group. I believe you can click on translate to English when you open the link here.
I am now back from the Prüf Demo today. There was about an hour of singing and speakers and then an hour of marching with a vehicle in front playing music on theme, and I was watching the discussion during the week of them putting it together. I got home in 15 minutes from the demo, and because it is in the lower to mid 80s in the sun, I am cooling down now at home. Feels good. Saw people there I know from other Pro-democracy groups like DatenPunks Bremen, a group that we are working with to develop a campaign divesting from US Big Data gathering Tech with them helping us use alternatives so we can get others to use them as well.
This is the kind of nonsense that is still promoted in Europe and especially Germany, given its long-standing authoritarian history.
Read that sentence again. Unless I am reading it completely incorrectly, you are apparently going to support a demonstration which is "...organized by a group that is insisting that the German courts follow the German constitution and ban political parties that endanger democracy".
As Mr. Bumble said in Oliver Twist, "if that is the law, then the law is an ass!"
That is the most authoritarian nonsense I have ever read, and it shocks me almost as much as the incredible nonsense being promulgated on us here in America by the Trump administration.
So you think it is a GREAT DEMOCRATIC IDEAL to banish parties because of their political goals? What a total crock. The founding fathers of OUR country would be stunned.
In a democracy that respects freedom of speech and thought, no party should EVER be banned because of its beliefs, unless those beliefs are patently illegal. And in general, beliefs (as opposed to actual action) should NEVER be "patently illegal". Freedom of thought and freedom of expression are CRITICAL in ANY democracy. That's exactly why this country has a Bill of Rights.
If essentially banning democracy (which is what your demonstration seems to propose) is the only way to achieve a democracy, then democracy isn't worth a pitcher of spit. I certainly HOPE that isn't the case, because if it is, I am glad I won't be around to witness the demise of democracy across the globe, which I am certain will happen if this kind of attitude becomes the prevailing one.
Making pronouncements without understanding the situation fully seems to be your forte. This a forum for that, but I am not going to argue every ill informed statement you make. You seem to suffer from the idea that the US model is the only model for democracy. It is a model that the US has not achieved and is now losing. No one is asking you to move to Germany or embrace the German Constitution while you are in the US. However, the German people chose this more modern form of democracy seeing how lacking certain protections it could disappear. The modern Constitution is based on protecting democracy. Thus a party trying to overthrow it that has a serious chance of doing that is not allowed. Every country has a certain numbers of Nazis. They are currently in power in the US, but Germany does not want them back in power and this is a means of preventing it. Another means is an informed and active citizenry.
Thank you. And Jon Rosen seems to sanctify America's version of free speech. The First Amendment was meant, as the whole Bill of Rights was, to protect Americans against the government, not to endow individuals or groups per se with unlimited rights. Even Jon seems to acknowledge this.
Unfortunately, the US is lower on the free speech than some other countries. Here is an index that shows the level of freedom of speech of countries around the world.
And by the way, that is exactly how Hitler started, by banning the political parties he didn't want around to oppose him. And its the same thing Trump would like to do here in the US. If Germany actually manages to accomplish this horrific idea, I expect Trump will jump on it and say he will ban all parties that oppose democracy (of course HIS version of democracy) and he will get lots of support for that idea here in the US.
To me, yes (and I am a Jew by birth). Banning political parties of any stripe is a form of censorship that I am unwilling to tolerate in a democracy. If they come for your party, then soon, they will come for you.
I have NO argument with laws that prevent violence against anyone. So if laws are passed that make the actual acts committed by Nazis illegal, I am fine with that.
But I am strenuously opposed to ANY one's speech being stifled regardless of how odious that speech is. If Nazis want to espouse their hatred, then it should be up to those of us who are more enlightened to overcome that with our own valid arguments. I absolutely oppose what Germany has attempted, which is to outlaw a party simply because of their political beliefs.
You do not understand the difference. The constitution says that Germany is a democracy and parties are not allowed to destroy that. If they are they are committing treason. This is the post Nazi German constitution that everyone seems to be fine with until the US has a Nazi in the White House and suddenly the US way of doing things is the model.
I notice you don't mention the US when you talk about your examples of countries where limiting speech is a problem. Well, my daughter did a research project on Freedom of speech, and no country has total freedom of speech, so what are the limitations that make it treasonous? Germany says it is treasonous to overthrow democracy. The US does not. Each country works within its systems. I think you could put more energy into criticizing the US and what has gone wrong, unless you think things are just fine.
I wrote more about this today—the election fraud lie, the effort to gain greater control over American elections, and the people fighting back here in Arizona.
I mean really, if your highest court starts giving a president the power to remove anyone insufficiently loyal to him, you’ve wandered a very long way from constitutional democracy and remarkably close to a corporate cult. The uncomfortable question isn’t simply whether the decision is legally correct. It’s whether reasonable people can still believe these rulings are being made without fear, favour, or political calculation.
I can’t say I know what was in the justices’ minds. But when decisions consistently expand the power of one man (read lunatic) while weakening every institution designed to restrain him, people will inevitably wonder whether the Court is protecting the Constitution—or protecting itself from being held to account when the power changes hands.
Agree Lynell. His success was the result of decades of planning. The Heritage Foundation was founded in 1973! Christian Nationalism/Moral Majority/Tea Party has been growing strong enough to morph into MAGA, overthrow Roe v Wade, compromise the Supreme Court and create the manifesto Project 2025 courtesy of The Heritage Foundation (main author Russel Vought). I read Project 2025 before the 2024 election. It spells out exactly where we are today. I begged people to look it over :((
Despite having one of the best Constitutions in the world, we also have a lot of flaws there. One of those flaws is the failure to distinguish the power of the president (which appears, at least on the face, to be almost king-like, as some of the Founders wanted) from the power of his appointees. That probably requires an amendment with clearer separation of powers.
One specific area I have proposed that needs change is moving the Department of Justice into its own branch of government. The Attorney General should probably be an elected office independent of the President. I think it should be set for election in the off-years of the Presidential elections (i.e., the so-called mid-terms like this year). The AG should also be a 4-year term and having it alternate every two years with the president would provide a constant (every two years) election of a top-level leader of the US. The AG and the DoJ would then be an independent branch of government and the president would have no power to instruct it to do ANYTHING. Congress would give it its own budget. That would provide a much superior check-and-balance to the Executive Department because the DoJ branch would have the independent right to bring actions against the Executive (and presumably Congress as well).
It appears that independent agencies established by Congress are at risk from the current SCOTUS. Why not just elect a president who will nominate decent attorneys general and elect a Congress that will not approve nominations of clearly unqualified people? Also, let civil service once again be respected for the continuity of expertise it provides even with changes of administrations.
Well, we've seen how well that works, right? The problem is that when the President nominates the AG, then he becomes in charge of the legal system and as we have seen in the past 18 months, at that point the legal system can break down fatally.
Your comment is so flippant. "Why not just elect..."
Obvious, of course.
And as Mike Myers used to say... "and monkeys might fly out of my b*tt!"
Everything you state seems obvious until someone comes along who disagrees and simply violates all of those norms.
You saw my comment as "flippant"; I meant it as more tongue in cheek. I'm fine with independent agencies as they existed since FDR until this SCOTUS came along. I was thinking about all the posts calling for check lists of what reforms are needed after this regime is gone. As HCR has pointed out, we would be in a better place already if the laws on the books were being enforced. The DOJ has functioned as a quasi-independent arm of the executive branch for quite a while, with a few exceptions, prior to Trump who thinks the AG is his personal lawyer.
Of course. But that is always up to the electorate, i.e., it is ultimately their responsibility to insure that honorable people are nominated and then elected.
There is really no practical alternative in a democracy. If you permit someone other than the electorate to make these decisions, you are no longer a democracy, which is defined as "...a system of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them either directly or indirectly through a system of representation." (Wikipedia AI).
I think good democracies requires some level of "full disclosure" which can be "enforced" (albeit not legally) by the "fourth estate" (journalism) as well as a solid constitutional framework for elections.
But to be fair, that level of disclosure was certainly in evidence in 2016 and somewhat in 2020 and 2024, and yet in two of those elections, we elected Trump, and in the 2024 election, he was elected by a majority.
So that means you can't always "trust" the democracy to work. I don't know if there is a real solution to that problem given that any solution would involve giving up the very nature of democracy.
Of course, but at least this change would provide a separation of powers between the people holding the executive authority and those holding the power of prosecution (and maybe investigation like the FBI). It is still not perfect (a President and AG could easily collaborate to wield power just as Trump and Bondi and now Blanche have done). But it would at least offer the option to the electorate to every other 2 years "change horses" and provide a balance via one part of the system to the other.
That is simply untrue with respect to the first statement. The very PURPOSE of deciding that the "head of state" would be a President was to eliminate the notion of a king, which has, amongst other features, the notion of inheritance rather than election, but also the notion of supremeness which the president is clearly NOT supposed to be. It is why the Presidency was given a four year term, something unheard of in any royalty system that existed prior to the American revolution.
There are clear analogies between the Parliament and the US Congress but there are significant differences too. Although at the outset of the country, the Senators were selected by state legislatures, in 1913 (17th Amendment), Senators became directly elected by the people. The House of Lords in England are not elected at all, but are chosen by the monarch (although most are recommended through the Prime Minister). Also, the House of Lords in England has very LITTLE actual legislative power, most of which is held by the House of Commons, while in the US, the Senate has HUGE legislative power, including the ability to require supermajorities to pass many kinds of legislation.
The Court is hell-bent on circumventing the Constitution. What else could explain their consistency? Secret ritual by full moon, scratching wrists and mingling blood?
The irony, Kazz, is that by enabling an autocrat, SCOTUS is signing its own eviction notice. Autocrats don't need high courts because they view themselves as The Law.
Uh... "a political movement that can't trust the voters to keep it in power will eventually try to take power away from the voters..."?
Where did you get that from?
It NEVER happens in a modern democracy.
Only fascists and neofascists believe in fake elections. All pro-democracy political movements always accepted defeat and then tried to do better when voters rejected them!
A modern democracy doesn’t remain one automatically. Donald Trump refused to accept defeat, attempted to overturn an election, and has spent years convincing millions of Americans that elections are legitimate only when he wins. That’s exactly the danger I’m writing about.
Kelli, "They spent years manufacturing distrust in our elections" except when he wins. How is that for pure hypocrisy. The truth might be closer to his winning an election by rigging it.
"The Almighty has his own purposes. “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, " From Lincoln's second inaugural. Krenowing the insurrection of Mr. Trump after losing his reelection, voters should have a clear choice for VP Harris. Their rejecting her for Mr. Trump has revealed the culture of racism and misogyny. It is an offence against God, and for this we have this terrible president. One way to accept the current destruction of our country.
“More fencing around the President’s Park would send the wrong message to the nation and the world by continuing to transform our democracy from one that is accessible and of the people to one that is exclusive and fearful of its own citizens,” Mr. Trump may be afraid of voters.
The harm he does to this country and world is infuriating. Everyone, PLEASE keep speaking up.
Resource below to easily contact all of Congress. Be LOUD! 💔🤍💙
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) to contact members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly!
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
Waiting for democratic leadership to follow Hungary’s example. It’s already been done. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just kick the deadwood out of the way and get to it. Time moves on and you are running in place.
I'm waiting for Putin to fall in Russia. Crimea is a hellscape no escape, no power and no gasoline. The last railroad bridge in and out of Crimea is unable to carry the equipment and ammunition needed by the Russians to continue fighting along the front.
And last night more shadow fleet tankers were disabled in the Sea of Azoz bringing the total number hit in the past 96 hours to 49. Every single area of Russia has rations on gas and the railway system is close to shutting down.
But Putin refuses to walk away from Ukraine even though the average life span of a new recruit to the front in Ukraine is under 30 minutes.
He needs to be restricted to it with no Wi-Fi or communication, just Big Macs and diet cokes. And his toilet/throne as well. Perfect if no windows, red ties, or ballroom, just bars on windows.
One hopes that Russian oligarchs see that Putin's autocracy was an exercise in futility. When Putin is gone, maybe they will choose a version of communism that more closely resembles that of China's (which looks a lot more like capitalism than communism).
Considering their outrage about truly liberal candidates in the Democratic Party, the "moderate" members of the party appear to want to retain their wealthy donors and continue to govern in favor of those donors over the wellbeing of all citizens.
Megan, Susan Collins campaign has enlisted several people to write Letters to the editors of newspapers all across ME. We need to counter these efforts with the truth about the Democratic candidates.
Boyhowdy, doesn't that tick me off. Susie is the limpest doormat in the Senate--voting for whatever Dear Leader wants, unless she is given permission to vote in opposition provided it won't make any difference in the outcome. She's done this for DECADES to preserve the fiction that she's "a moderate". I am sick to death of her ineffectiveness, her reluctance to stand up for ALL Mainers, not just the corporate crowd, and her apparent inability to think for herself.
Guess Ima gonna start writin' some LTTE myself. Gah, we Mainers are supposed to be a sensible, pragmatic folk.....why can't people see through her bullshit????
Yes, thank you steadfast Megan & you too JDinTX. On the Houston ICE attack & per The Texas Tribune (TTT):
************************
"Help us report on the ICE shooting in Houston"
"The Texas Tribune is seeking any footage — cell phone video or other Instagram photos or posts — as well as tips related to the shooting of LORENZO SALGADO ARAJUO on July 7, 2025."
"We take your confidentiality seriously and will protect your identity."
"You can contact us anonymously on Signal, an encrypted, secure app, or on Whatsapp, via phone or through email:"
Counsellor, I had heard that ICE changed their training protocols and were now no longer permitted to shoot at "weaponized vehicles" that they stand in front of. I have to say that the first reports I read of the incident sounded as if they could have been from the Minneapolis boiler plate.
I'm Getting a JACOB SOBOROFF update in a few minutes on Jacob's Weekend MSNow show 'CONNECT'.
*********
Per Jacob's interview of the Victim's son, RENALDO SALGADO who is focused on his father's funeral but, the family has demanded their father's possessions such as the critical evidence of his van, wallet & other items
That evidence which can easily protected by court action by a Motion to halt any Spoliation of evidence by the ICE Perps.
You sure know how to place the fear of God onto a politician from outside of their district. For a followup, are you going to threaten to withhold your $25 campaign contribution?
A reminder from Mark Elias, who has thus far won practically every single lawsuit against Trump’s many election illegalities…
He can issue whatever decrees he feels like, pretend to eliminate any Congressionally mandated agency he fancies, issue threats to every Lieutenant Governor and every Secretary of State in the country. He can waddle around, fulminate against nothing, lash out, confuse Iran with Japan, soil his Depends til the cows come home. He can get terrified scalawags to make as many inane threats as he wants…
Not one whit of it matters. Elections will be taking place in November as they always have. Not a single bit of this is legal. None of it will be upheld by any serious court in the land. And everything will be contested in court — count on it.
Remember, his power lies in his ability to frighten you. El Crapo wants to scare the living daylights out of you. But states — not the President — control the manner, place and time of elections. It’s in the Constitution, clear as a bell.
He will try to use the National Guard at voting stations in clearly contested districts and states. Stand your ground. Do not let them intimidate you. Poll watchers will have your back. I hope they will have ours.
"Everything will be contested in court — count on it"
... and if (when) it makes it to the Supreme Court, all bets are off.
Thomas and Alito are totally in his pocket; Gorsuch and Kavanaugh are loose cannons.
I sure as hell hope Roberts and Barrett retain a shred of rationality, decency, and patriotism, and Sotomayor, Kagan, and Brown-Jackson are taking care of themselves and have top quality personal security staffers. I'm not kidding.
No, all bets are not off. That is what they want you to think. They wanted you to think that about birthright citizenship, too. It didn’t work out. And I’m sure those three justices — and likely more — have security staff.
Speaking of Justice. The Texas Rangers arrested the ICE thug in Houston who was wanted in a Minneapolis shooting. And the Republicans just funded these thugs through 2028.
"All bets are off" means the situation is chaotic and unpredictable, not that it's a lost cause. It's not a sure thing they would rule in favor of Trump if he tried to reverse the election; I just said that we totally can't count on this SCOTUS to do the right thing.
Hopefully the NYT would have their reporter's backs, but the ownership and editorial staff of the Times are so cowed by Trump that who knows what they'll do.
Poll watchers, yes to some degree, but we poll workers are the true line of defense. We are sworn to uphold the integrity of the process and the conditions inside the poll. He can send his fucking masked goons where ever, but we will not be intimidated. Every person who approaches will be allowed in, checked for eligibility and able to vote if duly registered. Fuck him and his fucking goons.
Yep! Those of us who are poll workers in very small towns often find the idea that non-citizens vote or that ANYone would be able to commit voter fraud in a small town or village, to be quite ridiculous. Everybody knows everybody else. Coming to the community center to vote, for those who do so in person, is like Old Home Days. People visit in the lobby or after they exit the voting area...people bring in brownies, cookies and donuts and leave them at the table by the exit door. It's kind of a very social community day, in an odd way.
“A friendly reminder…the Reflecting Pool was fine before Trump got involved.
“And the East Wing. And the Kennedy Center. And the Rose Garden. And the White House lawn. And the porticoes. And USAID. And the Voice of America. And FEMA. And the CDC. And the FBI. And the Justice Department. And NATO. And Habeus Corpus. And elections. And the Constitution. As well as our relationships with Canada, Mexico, Greenland, Spain, Italy. Even with Iran.
And the 🐂🐂🐂 that provide McDonalds with Trump’s transfusion of fat 🍔, will soon be starving because the farmers can’t afford the fertilizer to grow their FEED.
Trump doesn’t give a flying F about any ‘details of REAL life’, so, his only dealings with Iran are based on ‘saving face’ now!
Just put laxative in those 🍔🍔🍔, and it may at least slow down the geriatric old fool. His ‘menacing’ face at a recent press conference tells the MEDIA things it doesn’t repeat…and therein lies THE PROBLEM.
It's not just being able to afford fertilizer: there are cattle ranchers in Colorado who can't grow hay to feed their cattle because they don't have enough WATER. They're between a rock and a hard place. That means they have to buy hay, and at today's prices, that makes their ranches unsustainable.
Cheeto and Nazi Republicans Are Traitors To America
In essence a traitor is a person(s) who commits actions which involves attempting to overthrow one's own government(Project 2025. election interference, and SCOTUS with explicit intent to turn our democratic republic of WE the People into a dictatorship), aiding an enemy(Russia), or leaking vital state secrets(Supplemental Act of the NDAA{National Defense Authorization Act} would share state secrets with Israel).
For example, in U.S. law, treason is explicitly defined in Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution as levying war against the United States(inciting a domestic civil war to turn the country into a dictatorship), or adhering to its enemies(Russia). Cheeto and his Nazi Republicans are working to destroy the democratic republic and align with our long established enemy. Calling it out as it is.
So WE ask the question, “Why would one vote for a group of people who are traitors to the country that WE the People have established?” The next two election cycles WE the People can either support traitors or those who will uphold the moral principles and ideals of our country. The choice is in our hands.
The President is literally fencing himself in as he destroys the historic symmetry of the White House and shows disregard for housing the citizenry. Election interference is being done in the name of eliminating it. The hypocrisy is so blatant that it must be being deliberately ignored by the government and the media. The people have only themselves to count on and blame. Be aware, contact your representatives, and vote Blue.
Most Journalists and political pundits are framing trumps stand on the housing bill as evidence that trump doesn't care about the Republicans or the outcome of the midterm elections. I disagree; he was trying to use the bill to extort the Senate Republicans to end the filibuster and enact the Voting Suppression Act because he knows that without rigging the midterm elections, the Republicans will lose their majority in at least the House. The fact that he doesn't understand that he didn't have the cards to veto the bill, so he didn't hold the cards to accomplish his attempted extortion just highlights how stupid he truly is.
Trump firing all of the EAC commissioners for the reasons given amount to an impeachable offense. The law establishing the EAC calls for two members from each party. Trump will not be able to find two Democrats who support his vision of securing elections, making it impossible for the EAC to function. By doing so, he’s is not “faithfully executing the law” which is an impeachable offense. Add one more reason to kick his ass out.
Hello Jill... I suspect that is why DJT's Ballroom will sit atop a Bunker-Complex with Hospital when finished... The Nov'26 Elections will arrive sooner so the WH is being Hardened Now... During the Black-Lives-Matter protests, DJT hid in the old Bunker under the old East-Wing...
How much will all these security installations end up costing taxpayers? The White House has asked for $600m for the ballroom and is now looking for budgets to raid to find that amount following Congress's decision not to approve the additional expenditure.
They've already spent nearly $1bn retrofitting the Qatari jet but now according to Bloomberg it has been found deficient in terms of security, communications and survivability - almost all the necessary attributes of an Air Force 1 plane which makes one wonder whether all the additional spending was on unnecessary luxury features that Trump wanted.
It would surely be cheaper to just entomb Trump in a bunker where he could do more harm.
Russell, someday, someone is going to calculate all the direct financial costs to U.S. taxpayers, including his weekly golfing excursions, vanity projects, etc. Excluding indirect costs, such as higher gas prices, economic downturns, etc., the total direct expenditures will be in the trillions of dollars. Donald is literally the most expensive mistake ever made by the United States.
He needs to be entombed in "his" bunker without communications, or food, or water, or air. The dead in tombs don't need any of that. And we won't have to have a funeral or bury him; he's already buried.
Check out the Drey Dossier on Substack. The 6 story underground military complex ‘with hospital’ is a data collection and control silo similar to Jerusalem’s 9 story underground complex with surveillance systems in place. Even some of the same contractors. Now the provision 215 in the latest NDAA version fuses many aspects of our military with Israel’s—particularly the data piece.
So this new hidden portico business is about moving in some bunker Data Ctr equipment. Even the Refl citing pool renovations and plans for the adjacent park/pond, she notes, uses interesting contractors and may be more a cooling function for the ‘bunker’ or ‘shed.’ The race is on, the DOGEboys are onto other data harvesting operations for this Admin—like the fake .gov phishing sites. It’s irresponsible not to follow The Drey Dossier. She’s ahead of the rest.
He thinks he will live as long as Rupert. Evil does seem to have staying power. But repubs won’t have that when P2025 is a done deal. They have a successor all greased up
I hope the next Democratic administration will pass laws prohibiting any President from "redesigning" (aka ruining) our historic buildings -- the tearing down of the East Wing, the cementing over the Rose garden, the Ego Arch and now making the columns fancier. I was aghast when this started to happen and it seemed that no one said boo. This should not be permitted.
The founders were keen on checks and balances. It's nuts to require approval of whatever an executive takes a mind to do that with a process stacked with his of her cronies, placed there by executive decree. Why even bother? "unitary executive" is just a more wordy way to say "dictator".
Trump’s atrocious taste should not be allowed to insult our iconic Classical buildings. We’re just going to have to tear it all down and fix it all back the minute he leaves office.
If only that were so. Maybe fine him for the billions he is collecting while in office. He will have huge bills coming due if all of the court proceedings underway rule against him.
Oh, David, fining him could happen. Collecting is a different matter. (E. Jean Carroll hasn't gotten a penny yet, with $5mil sitting in the bank in escrow.)
His tactic of endless appeals and simply ignoring court orders has worked quite well thus far. This is most unfortunate as such a blatant brute richly deserves to pay for the damage he has done (largely impossible on many levels--he has fostered a lack of faith in our government and disbelieve in the in integrity of our elections and the courts for more than an entire generation. Disgusting but true. Come to Georgia and see for yourself. I know plenty of otherwise intelligent folks who will believe in this abomination of a human being to their deaths. Ethics, honor, and "doing the right thing" are meaningless to them. HE is the RIGHT THING--the Way, the Truth, and the Light--no matter what. We should have spent more money on education to be sure. We've got nothing but spilt milk, and we can't help but cry over it.
That's if he is impeached and CONVICTED. He was impeached twice last time, to no avail. Arresting a sitting president, such as he is, would be nigh to impossible. Impeachment will only be possible if the spineless jellyfish in the GOP lose the mid-terms and the Democrats come up with a lot more gumption than they currently display.
If these happen, or if he just ups and DIES (unlikely--SOBs tend to live forever--a lot longer than decent folk) then next in line are JD Vance and Mike Johnson. Alas, considering either of these milksops an improvement would be difficult.
It seems more likely that Dems can take the House. If that happens, then we can kiss Mikey goodbye. No one likes Vance, he’s made so many stupid comments and has been booed more times than anyone else.
Their "information" is fed to them through various forms of media that have no editorial controls nor journalistic integrity. It feeds their collective amygdalae that is terrified of anyone other than themselves being of the most favored status.
I have watched my conservative friends turn into raving lunatics over their spoon fed "atrocity of the day".
When NPR and Public Broadcasting are being destroyed, and Fox is the only show in town, many rural areas are guaranteed 100% biased coverage of everything. We sat and watched it happen, and now we're living with the results. Re-education will be quite difficult. The Chinese and North Vietnamese did it at a horrific cost to human life, forcing the "correct" beliefs on their victims. (This is a gross oversimplification, but I hope you get the point.)
I guess I was being facetious that one would learn that in school. Misinformation is so noxious. I wish what you said was untrue. They really feel threatened, apparently.
Holly, there's symbolism involved in the White House architecture, specifically the columns, that Donald is likely unaware of. The Ionic order of columns originated in ancient Greece, the first democracy. The "scroll" capital at the top symbolizes learning.
Although the more ornate Corinthian order (Donald's preference) originated in Greece, it was embraced by the Roman and Byzantine Empires. The acanthus leaf capitals are reminiscent of the acanthus leaf fans used by slaves to cool emperors. They symbolize power and luxury. The Corinthian order is not appropriate for democratic architecture.
You studied Graphics (quite practical and commendable, requiring skills I possess not). I studied Philosophy, Classics, et al.--a luxury I could afford in those distant days. (No regrets, but not something I could do if I were young now).
Therefore, I do understand the distinctions you so correctly point out and agree 100% but decided to forego the details.
Even if The Rump is aware of certain information (which, in this case, I am almost certain he is not), he simply cares not one whit about the Founders' clearly expressed intent for austerity and simplicity--No Versailles! No Kings!
Given the Prime Chump's dictatorial/authoritarian tendencies, he may be drawn instinctively to the Corinthian order. This might also explain his penchant for gaudy, fake gold trappings from Home Depot--what we call in the Deep South "something the dogs drug in and the cats didn't want."
The Dump is naught but a spoiled brat with too much power for his own good (and ours), accustomed to having his way, whatever the cost (e.g., an extremely foolish no-win war with Iran), and having someone else clean up his messes. In this case, that someone will be the American taxpayers, beginning a few minutes after this Colossal Boor leaves the poor, benighted White House, and the currently miserable District of Columbia.
I suspected as much. You confirmed it. My old and wonderful art teacher often said "Simplicity is the key to good design." Not to say that the details of of a thing won't require complexity, but nevertheless, with an overall coherence. The movements of a skilled dancer, Olympic athlete, or a large cat are graceful because of an overall integrity. Even "Beautiful"concepts in science and math show that integration.
"Nature is an endless combination and repetition of a very few laws. She hums the old well-known air through innumerable variations. Nature is full of a sublime family likeness throughout her works... " - Emerson
Like all the beautiful cities bombed in WW2. The women cleared the rubble and cleaned the bricks of mortar, and when the menfolk finally returned, they rebuilt according to the pictures and old plans.
Trump and his Republican enablers know that the mid-term elections will likely flip the balance of power in Congress. They are desperate to make sure that doesn't happen.
The SCOTUS Slaughter decision affirming Trump's power to fire members of independent agencies at will put in place another cog in the Trump regime's authoritarian machinery to control/eliminate the mid-term elections. Thanks to SCOTUS, the likelihood of the mid-term elections being a massive sham has increased significantly (assuming the election is held at all).
Nothing in that ruling gives the President the ability to make a Congressionally-created agency simply vanish. The EAC is not part of the Executive branch. Nothing he has said or done, nothing he may threaten to do, can change that.
If it gets to the Supreme Court, it will be another 6-3 ruling against him. Two things specifically outlined in the Constitution — birthright citizenship and the “time, manner and place” clause granting states — not the President — say-so over their own elections.
Trump and his puppeteers have never hesitated to usurp Congressional powers or ignore the unconstitutionality of his actions; nor will they hesitate now. Nor will he hesitate to ignore any federal court rulings.
True, he doesn't have the power to eliminate a Congressionally-created agency firing all of its members accomplishes the same thing if there's no one to do the agency's work.
If the case makes it to the Supreme Court, it MIGHT rule against him. But remember, SCOTUS is currently on summer recess. They don't resume hearing cases until October 5. The only possible way for them to make a ruling before the November elections would be from their precious shadow docket, which they only seem to do when ruling in favor of Trump.
Even if SCOTUS rules against Trump, that leaves less than a month for a reconstituted EAC to do their pre-election work. The likely result would be that the elections would need to be postponed or even canceled. Either way Trump accomplishes his goal of undermining the elections .
You raise valid points. But several courts, not just that one, will have the chance to weigh in first. Their rulings will make it even harder for a later Supreme Court to ignore both the constitution as well as judicial precedent.
“Legal analyst Harry Litman says this interpretation of the Slaughter decision is a stretch. He noted that “[n]othing in the agency cases held that Trump could simply shut down an agency of Congress’s creation.”
The federal line-item veto is unconstitutional. In the landmark 1998 case Clinton v. City of New York, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Line Item Veto Act, ruling that it violated Article I, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution. Yet the Trump administration effectively killed USAid, which was effectively equivalent to exercising a line-item veto of its expenditures. This administration never met a loophole it’s too ashamed to exploit!
The Executive Branch is supposed to carry out the wishes of the Legislative Branch. The Supreme Court has already decided that the President can fire people at will in any institution other than the Federal Reserve. The corrupt right-wing Justices will allow trump to fire anyone he wants who doesn't do as he pleases anywhere other than the Federal Reserve.
Institutions are tested most when they become inconvenient to those in power. The real measure of a democracy is not how it treats allies, but how faithfully it protects the rules when power is at stake.
The only solution to Trump’s abuse of power is his removal via impeachment or the 25th amendment. The country is at war, worse inflation in the wings. Trump is not attending to those serious problems, instead he is focused on preventing voters from voting and putting up corinthian columns on the white house. Not only is he a crook but anti Constitution which he swore to defend. Surely everyone knows by now except the true believers that he must be deposed.
Trump must corrupt the midterms to keep Republicans in control of the House and Senate to complete his authoritarian takeover and protect himself and his cronies. He has no moral limits and will do anything, legal or illegal, to achieve his goals. Expect the unexpected. Imagine the unimaginable.
There are two vectors Trump can use to corrupt the midterms. The first is voter suppression. This has received a lot of attention. It includes things like gerrymandering, purging voter rolls, banning mail-in ballots, reducing the number of early voting days, reducing polling places to make wait lines intolerably long etc. Many prominent election attorneys and public interest groups are fighting these in court and they receive a lot of press coverage.
But there is a second, more insidious method Trump may employ to corrupt the midterms. That is to manipulate the vote count. We use election software to scan ballots and tabulate votes. It can be written to flip votes in close votes in select races to favor the desired candidate. Few people other than those who write the code and computer security experts either understand or can detect its use. The only way to combat it is to either turn out in such overwhelming numbers to vote Democratic or to challenge improbable Republican wins by demanding recounts.
Election Truth Alliance and Smart Elections have been trying to expose the possibility that corrupt election software has been in play, but have received no attention from mainstream media and little attention elsewhere. Nor have any election authorities cooperated by investigating their election software or security protocols. Here us a compendium of election vulnerabilities Election Truth Alliance has compiled;
The solution is to get rid of any and all voting machines that do not handle paper ballots. Internet connections are anathema to security, which cannot be guaranteed. Voting machines that are electronic only cannot be trusted: even the chips cannot be guaranteed to be accurate. And the distinct possibility of not being able to find any evidence of skulduggery after the fact is also a worry.
Paper ballots, handled by local officials (your neighbors, probably) using mark-sense scanners that are not connected to any network. An audit trail. And complete transparency and testing of those machines with civilian oversight.
No machines from companies owned by known Trump supporters.
The problem with election equipment is not just that machines connected to the Internet can be controlled be outside bad actors. The problem may be in the base software used to scan our ballots and tabulate our votes. Every aspect of the process starting with the programmers who write the computer code in the election software to the now defunct Election Assistance Commission that oversees election equipment and software to certify that they operate properly and the contractors they hire to verify the software is free of malicious code that can flip votes is now under Trump's direct or indirect control. Paper ballots that are scanned by machines are not safe.
Having worked with our local election officials, and observed the testing of those scanners, I beg to differ. Paper ballots that do not need any 'software' to tabulate the results are as safe as it's going to get. And local control of elections is also needed - something Trump would like to take away. I agree with your other points, which is why I said no machines from companies owned by Trump supporters. They cannot be trusted.
A political movement that can’t trust the voters to keep it in power will eventually try to take power away from the voters.
That’s what we’re watching happen.
They spent years manufacturing distrust in our elections. Now they’re using those lies to justify taking greater control over them.
This is not election security. It’s just another attempt to hold onto power.
Marc Elias, the god of free and fair elections, handily defeated Stephen Miller in court yesterday with a 3 judge panel trying to rig the count at the census bureau.
The Elias Group is winning cases left and right so support him at “Democracy Docket.”
Also, by court order, Trump lost trying to get his name back on the Kennedy Center claiming ticket sales will plummet without it. Nice try.
Ticket sales will plummet. hahahahahahahah. Who wants to see Kid Rock? That's hilarious.
They already did, that's why trump closed it for twe years while claiming that remodeling required the move.
exactly!
This is worse than Vichy. The French left their monuments in place. DT, lowest of the plebeians, is destroying ours.
He doesn’t identify with any symbols of unity with Americans except those who pledge themselves to him
He likes algae n blue paint apparently. And fences. Lots of fences.
⬆️🎯👏🏼
It amazes me how off these people are about what we, the majority of Americans, want our leaders to do! It is certainly not much to do with appearances, not of Federal buildings or performance spaces. The reason the majority of Americans visit the capital is to see the landmarks that have been there all these many years! Maintain them, YES, but they are representative of our hopes and desires, not of any particular president, except of course for President Abraham Lincoln; but the whole world is aware of Lincoln’s effect on us all!
“We” are a very slim majority (and are in fact a minority of the dominant cohort, white Americans). Furthermore, with gerrymandering, the Electoral College, and a severe imbalance (by Constitutional design) of representation in the Senate, we are at a substantial disadvantage, politically. It will take a monumental effort and a lot of luck to move in the direction of recovery from our presently catastrophic situation.
Reported 7/12/26
World news! Republican , Lindsey Graham, died and intelligence Michael Nance believes McConnell may have died a while ago, but tRump administration is probably covering it up. We shall see. There are 4 republicans now voting with the democrats. If two additional republicans died, we might be even with Vance breaking the tie vote. God works in mysterious ways! 🙏
Are you saying that Trump’s primary role is as a tourist boss?
I don’t think people visit DC to see trump. The landmarks that attract tourists are what I was thinking of.
Not sure what you mean.....
In Washington DC Trump is most interested in tourist attractions and less interested in running the country,
From Democracy Docket:
“But while the dismissals represent a dangerous attempt by the president to exert control over elections — a power which the U.S. Constitution explicitly reserves for the states and Congress — most experts say that much of the EAC’s work on the 2026 elections has already been conducted.”
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/trump-fired-the-entire-election-administration-commission-now-what/
Also…
Court blocks right-wing effort to rig Census count “The ruling marks a win for historically underrepresented voters, including naturalized citizens, lower-income and young people.r
“Pro-voting intervenor Cameron Driggers, a master’s student at the University of Central Florida, wrote in his motion that for him, the Census’ statistical methods ensure his vote as a student living in a dormitory is accurately counted.”
Cameron Driggers ⬆️is 21-years-old. Who says young people aren’t in the fight !! 💪💙
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/court-blocks-right-wing-effort-to-rig-census-count/
Love this! I held a local protest in front of our high school yesterday, themed on voting to save democracy. It was a busy street corner at rush hour on Friday, and it was heartening to hear SO many honks and see all the waves and smiles from drivers! After an hour, we saw only two middle fingers and a car full of teenage boys saying, "You're a bunch of old fuddy duddies!" Hooray for fuddy duddies, cat ladies, and antifa, too!
Many thanks to all the fuddy duddies, cat ladies, and antifa! You rock!
That's right! I'm a proud anti-fascist American as well!
From December 1941 until June 2017 we were all anti-fascist, and a majority of us still are!
I thank you for standing up for us , all citizens who live our country!
Thanks, but kids these days know what a "fuddy duddy" is? I'll give them credit for that.
thank you but what state are you living in????
Yet another reason why we HAVE to make sure that Democrats win in a landslide in 2026, because if not, no EAC means that the GOP will definitely be able to try to stay in power in 2028.
These terrific young people are the future! Support them when they run for office!
But please leave some experienced “fuddy duddies” to help them.
Thank you for this encouraging news.
Now drop the tarp!
SHOW US THE EPSTEIN FILES!!!
Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark has presented a very interesting compilation of clips of Trump defending a variety of sexual abusers including Roger Ailes, Roy Moore (who he campaigned for), and Mike Tyson. Great sympathy for predators, none for their victims.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPs1UCvD3p0
Well done, Sarah Longwell! And daily congratulations on the work the Bulwark is doing.
Elias is amazing. What is also amazing are the independent journalists who support his work and showcase him. We have been building an independent network for the past 10 years and it is really showing its muscle these days. Please support independent journalists. Many of them are corporate media refugees and are working to build their following.
Three massively huge cheers 🍻 Great news for our Democracy
Tarps across facades is becoming a signature feature of Trumpian architecture. Some tarpaulin maker must have given a lot of money to Trump.
pay no attention to the man behind the curtain....now my mind is seeing ice agents as winged monkeys.....
Perfect time for a remake of the Wizard with wicked witches Pierro and Aileen Cannon and the good witch Stacey Abrams
Of course we know the man behind the curtain when we peel off his mask is Charles Koch. Or?
Charles Koch? Maybe, but I would think it's more likely Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.
Leonard Leo and Stephen Miller, methinks.
Stephen Miller too! Don’t forget the “ugly fuck”!!
If anyone dared to throw water on Trump, they'd be charged with a FELONY, no doubt! Especially if it was water from the reflecting pool.
Technically that might be a poison...
There are so many. Trump is so pimped. He is hip deep in Madams. They find the targets and he Trimps the deal. He is the world’s oldest professional. Good thing Dr. Kennedy keeps him certified.
I love it! Stacey Abrams would make a perfect Good Witch!!
Follow the orange-bricked road, OH MY!
Makes perfect sense to me.
ICE abducted 10,000 people last week. This week they shot and killed an unarmed man. Can we please not joke?
⬆️👏🏼🤣
He should dye them all orange and give credit to the artists Christo and wife.
While The Donold was going bankrupt left and right in NYC , the Christos were hanging huge orange tarps in Central Park.
The Kennedy Center is a perfect example of his pathology: He destroys things by trying to make them about himself, then can't understand why people rejected them.
It's narcissism so profound it's almost incomprehensible. He genuinely doesn't see it.
His time is gonna come. His weight n various medical conditions are clearly taking their toll.
Mike Hammer!
THANK YOU!
GOD BLESS MARK ELIAS and his great team!!!
Anyone who can afford it needs to support Marc Elias and Democracy Docket. He and his team are fighting Trump and his minions at every step of them trying to rig elections to their favor. He is also the man who fought Trump’s election denial cases in 2020. He won 60 court battles. He and his attorneys need our support!!
THX Mike! Where did you learn this? I had not heard a word about it.
NPR
And MSNOW.
and Meidas
Of course not. All we hear about all day long is trump did this and trump did that. If he falls asleep it is newsworthy. If he farts it is newsworthy.
https://www.ms.now/the-weeknight/watch/a-mob-boss-marc-elias-torches-trump-s-mafia-style-voter-suppression-tactics-2506012739724
Thank you Marc Elias for your tireless defense of Democracy!
Mike, LOL, tickets sales will plummet....another verification that he does not live in the real world....or is this his blond sycophant speaking.
🤣🤣🤣
So is Norm Eisen of the Contrarian.
Democracy survives not because leaders are virtuous, but because institutions are stronger than any leader.
Someone has to be virtuous as it would appear that any system can be perverted. The leader may be a crook but we in aggregate must limit the damage. It's harder when the "checks and balances" have been crookified.
Harder for sure, but not impossible. “Too big to rig” is our promise that whatever they plan for the margins won’t work.
Beneath their bluster, threats and fake bravado, I think they know that too.
ICTT and friends: when the people in charge of elections in UTAH (which sits with Idaho as among the rightest of rightwing places) ridicule the orders coming down from their Dear Leader, you know that we are reaching a tipping point. However, I would warn that a wounded buffoon is more dangerous than a complacent one. And I would bet that all of the minions and handlers are relying on Depends to keep their equilibrium--because their only hope for survival is by preventing free and fair elections. And they will do everything in their power to prevent them.
Most Republican leaders in most red states are still completely agreeing with the GOP in DC. That means: they support neofascism.
One Republican in Utah attacking an unpopular president doesn't mean anything.
Neofascists know that "we the people" will never like their ideas. That's why they end elections in the first place (or hold fake ones, as Iran does).
How red is Idaho? We have new figure from our sec. Of state giving Idaho Republicans 62% and Democrats 12%. We have been successfully gerrymandered. Everything coming at the public from political office is heavily republican dominated, including the sec. of state. Prior to Eisenhower we were a democratic majority. By the end of Reagan we have been entirely Republican. Both houses of the legislature, the Governorship, the attorney general and the Secretary of State are republican. 4 votes electoral college republican. Trump owns the Idaho political affiliation. They fall over themselves to service him.
Every. single. representative. is a Rethuglican. The only reason why--similar to Utah--there are any Dems at all is because of Boise, which has the largest population in a poorly populated state. But they cannot compete with the rest of the state. Same goes for SLC in Utah. And KC and St Louis in Missouri. And so on and so forth.
ICTT-thank you for that, I sorely needed it.
(I have a dear friend who means well but bombards me with forwarded emails from the MANY sources she reads daily. While I appreciate her, I think I hit a saturation point. I'm in my favorite time of year, but this political climate, two of my cats seriously sick, and a health issue of mine that I have to wait FIVE months to see a specialist....this is taking a terrible toll on me. I have greatly cut my political news consumption. I rely on Substacks that give me straight news without the hyperbole, and I leave it at that. I'm terrified enough that I don't need people attempting to terrify me; I'm there already.)
Yes, we’re all scared. If we weren’t, there’d be something wrong with us. But love and caring for our wounded republic still outweighs fear, many times over. Good luck with your health and pet the kitties for me.
Thank you.
My sister has stopped reading news because it’s too depressing.
I have another friend who says the same. She's waiting for the Big, Beautiful Obituary, and says the spontaneous parties in the street will alert her to the news.
ICTT, Washington must be starting to look like a war zone. Also, I’m wondering: is anything being done to repair the Reflecting Pool? I don’t see any reporting, just fences.
trying to have faith in a scary time.
ICCT, perhaps they do know; it is why they are frenetically destroying the system.
Agreed — institutions don't replace virtue, they economize it; enough honest people in the right places, not saints everywhere.
Marek Jan, I see you are from Poland and a two week paid subscriber. I don't know how long you have been reading Heather (and the comments) but as the self-appointed "Walmart Greeter" of this Substack, may I say WELCOME! 👋🏼IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE!
I like to welcome new names, and read their little bios. I am especially heartened to hear voices from other parts of the world, be they expats or foreign citizens. I hope that those abroad realize that WE ARE NOT ALL CRAZY over here!
I hope to see your comments in the future, and you can keep the forum here abreast of what the thoughts on the US are over in your area.
(I see you have interests in religion. If you believe in a Higher Power and are a praying man, please put good thoughts into the universe for us. We're in a hard place over here. I love my country, despite its faults, and this is making me so depressed!)
Thank you for the welcome, Miselle. I come from a country that once learned how much institutions matter by living forty years without real ones — that is why I read Heather from afar. And yes: people abroad know you are not all crazy. We remember who kept the lights on for us when it was dark here.
Ah,yes! That huge group of Antifa known as the US GIs of WW2.
My elders are rolling in their graves.
Living the Dream is now turning into Nightmares, by the Vain and Greedy politicians who work in the Dark ⁉️
Follow the money and choke on the lies. So much for the Four Freedoms.
On the DO Injustice Love Letters ... er ... fascist notices -- preserve the receipts.
Over 20 state AG's have a pending lawsuit no pending in Massachusetts that specifically designed to protect state run Midterms including Early & Vote-by-Mail.
SCOTUS recently issued an opinion that ballots received within 5 days of the Election date are constitutionally valid directly protecting rural voters in Mississippi, Alaskan voters in Pt. Barrow or Nome as well as U.S. military personnel & expatriates abroad.
In the last CA Primary I Voted at the County Vote Center managed by 12 voting officials & privately inserted my ballot for counting instantly & retained my receipts both physically & digitally.
I will vote during the upcoming Midterms on the 1st possible day.
I also have an evidentiary foundation & Will Travel.
I support everything you say except voting on the earliest possible day. To me, although I support early voting nationwide for people who need it for whatever reason, I still believe that, if possible, it is better to wait until the latest possible date, which, for me, is (as always) election day.
Why? Because of situations like the Platner one, which can arise at any time, I prefer to make sure I have heard the latest political information available before voting. If I vote early, that increases the chance that something might happen that could possibly change who I vote for in some election, and I would no longer have the opportunity to do that.
I remember standing in line to vote for over 5 hours..Probably Obama I. I'm now 76 and don't think I could do that again. There are many good reasons for voting early. If everyone waited until election day just imagine the lines and wait times.
Anyone that can vote early should vote early. Leave election day for those that have no other choice. Just a thought.
I have to vote early because I work a 13-hour day managing a polling place. I recognize your reason for waiting till Election Day but I recommend voting early because who knows what might happen and prevent one from voting at all, which would be far worse for me.
Same here. Plus, until I moved to another town last fall, I was always a poll worker on Election Day, so that's when I voted.
Understood but, I am trying to help blunt the propaganda against California tallies.
I love to vote at the polls too and will still vote on the first possible day to make sure my vote is registered - even though I will be volunteering at the polls on election day!
I feel my own beliefs need to take a back seat to what the experts are telling us to do.
Bryan, a virtual hug across the digital universe to you, good sir! I am so grateful for all the attorneys who honestly give a shit about democracy and our country. (As those who've read my comments know that is not a term I take lightly.)
Thank you Miselle; I'm just a JDinCA.
I vote during the early voting period in my state, but I wait for 2-3 days after early voting starts. There’s usually a big crowd on the first day of early voting.
When the Constitution was written, there were a LOT fewer people than there are now. Early voting and mail in voting accommodate increases in population. These accommodations are set by the states. Donald in diapers has no role to play in determining how elections are run. I wish someone would finally hold this mob boss embarrassment of a president accountable for his crimes.
In enlightened Colorado we vote with ballots mailed to us. We get notice when they are mailed, we drop them at any of hundreds of secured ballot boxes, are notified when they are picked up, when they are tallied, and when the vote is recorded. At any place along the way, if you don't get an update, you can call and get a human to see what happened.
It works great,
Of course there are polling places on Election Day.
"Someone" has a name...Republicans. "Someone" voted for the right-wing Supreme Court. "Someone" refuses to remove Trump&Toadies from office. "Someone" is allowing Trump to murder people and deport people without due process. There are many "someone's" called voters who have approved of this regime and will vote to keep them in power.
You may yet find yourselves once again depending on the integrity of state election officials even if that in some cases will only be because they know they may face personal liability if they comply with Trump's exhortations.
Trump said "Thank you for not paying attention to my only focus: that your vote doesn't matter to me. The only vote that matters to me is my vote for me, and my vote as I've said is all that matters. In my country, I and only I can vote for me and am loyal to me and my co conspirators as long as they are loyal to me.
Thank you for your attention to whatsamatterwithme.
MATTER (def) Minimise Attention To Trump Epstein Relationship.
⬆️😲.......🎯‼️👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
IMO, whoever's threats are UNENFORCEABLE & likely actionable in a state venue.
It can’t happen; it’s intended to intimidate.
Fraudulent voting is miniscule (see the RW Heritage Foundation, originators of Project 2025). We have a good system of checks (TN won an award from Heritage Foundation for election integrity multiple years) throughout the voting process. 🙄 Besides, it would be worse if we singled out people who “looked funny.” That would result in a more immediate lawsuit, and one that could be sustained.
But if big armed and masked thugs from ICE are standing in front of the polling stations, they don't have to say a thing. A lot of people could be intimidated and turn away from voting, and most of those will be likely to vote Democratic.
Could be. But I’d call the police and the Election Commission if they tried to approach. Of course, they could stand outside the 100’ boundary but I’d still keep an eye on them.
John, methinks the Dems are more (bad word! I rarely use them and I already broke my rule today) OFF than the MAGA. They are easily manipulated by fear, and I think the Dems are defiant.
I also have great hopes in our young voters, and I found this short clip to be very enlightening. 4 minutes long, worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAQfN2Tzjqs
What have been crookified J L, are the brains of so many millions of Americans still supporting the supreme leader....🤢
It is getting harder to decide which institution is the greater threat to our democracy……This”executive” or the right wing Robert’s Court.
The two of them together are determined to make the extremist right wing a dictatorship.
We can vote the executive out, but impeachment of the right wingers on the SCOTUS just has to be done!
Amen to this. The most corrupt majority in a court, EVER. HISTORY WILL NOT FORGET. THEIR NAMES WILL BE CURSED.
And Congress, which we have apparently written off. When you "representative" has to answer to 750,000 people, except in states where there are only 550,000 like Wyoming which gets three for its paltry population.
The spineless Republican Congress also has responsibility for the "crookification" of the Presidency. This Congress has failed to exercise any of the power assigned by the Constitution. Instead, it has gone along with anything Trump proposes or does, whether illegal or unconstitutional. The president is the most corrupt in history and the Republican Congress just shrugs its shoulders.
Packing SCOTUS may be the better and more democratic solution.
Although having virtuous leaders is a plus.
for sure. Character matters more than anything else, and then personality, then intelligence (because one can hire intelligence).
That is a very astute point, John!
Democracy vitally needs both.
The US had (and in part still has) "strong institutions". The problem today is precisely that most Republican politicians, including Trump, are utterly non-virtuous.
Fill a major political party with non-virtuous people and day by day, strong institutions will lose their power to safeguard democracy.
Obviously, the institutions crumble when the right wing holds the power in every branch of federal government. They can't be bothered with the importance of preserving the historical architecture of the White House, be it the East Wing, Rose Garden,or the columns at the entrance. I think that the monuments are artistic and that the original design should be maintained while allowing for upgrades but not changing colors etc.
Or the preservation of democracy, especially when the corrupt six right-wing Justices on the Supreme Court disregard ninty years of Supreme Court decisions to secure and safeguard it. I think that the Justices who gave trump immunity and have undermined the security of the vote for all citizens should be impeached and the Court should be reformed to have as many Justices as there are federal district courts, term limits and require a super majority of the Senate to appoint new Justices.
I believe that the fencing around the White House is actually in preparation for anticipated Civil unrest because trump and his minions are going to refuse to recognize the outcome of the midterm elections. The new East Wing bunker the equivalent of Hitlers bunker.
I hope voters realize at long last that a vote for any right-winger at any level of government is a vote for Fascism.
I think the bunker redo of our White House is to hunker down and stay in power no matter what. Either way it is so depressing to see all of this.
so far they're holding
Love this statement!
Yup and Yikes! Republicans have spent years manifesting lies about Democrats which the democrats did not refute. Instead they spent all their energy acting like they were true and showing that they could do better, when they were doing better all along and failed to highlight it. This is the inevitable outcome of not nipping lies in the bud!
Yes. The Dems and the MSM should have been drilling down, deeply, on those lies from the get-go.
But those who don’t know that they are lies aren’t the ones reading or seeing the refutes
MSM will not say much of anything that may irritate the thin skin of Dear Leader. The cabal of billionaires is sure that most of the citizens in this country are mere chattel.
When MSM does not give falsehoods the term LIES and big money is poured into Republican coffers, it is difficult to counter the LIES. That is a direct result of Citizen's United and the Robert's Court.
Still, it is important that we do it each time we are given an opportunity to speak.
Linda, you're right, as usual - OK, can lies be chopped off at the stem and hung out to dry in full view?
Yes. We need to be constantly countering the lies the Republicans tell about us. For example, it is my understanding that under Obama the fewest illegal immigrants came to the US. Not under Trump. Under Trump the fewest immigrants are coming to the US. In fact, there is negative growth because more and leaving than coming. I think we can all understand why.
Unfortunately Linda, I think your "understanding" is a misunderstanding or else is just wrong. Of course there are no accurate numbers here, but based on a variety of sources, it is estimated that between 2 and 2.5 million undocumented immigrants came into the US during Obama's administration (8 years).
During Trump's first administration, it is estimated that between 1 and 1.5 million undocumented immigrants came into the US, while the total number of undocumented immigrants in the US went down during that period of time by several hundred thousand. There are no good numbers for 2025 yet of course, but given the large numbers of people blocked at the border entry points, it is estimated that the numbers have continued to go down during Trump's second administration.
Of course, this ignores the fact that Trump called for a complete and total elimination of undocumented immigrants in the US during his campaign for the White House, and that number, which was estimated to be almost 20 million people, has clearly not come down anywhere NEAR the numbers needed to eliminate undocumented immigrants.
And this ignores completely the question of how to fill the labor vacancy that would be created by the actual removal of that many people (a large percentage of whom are working, mostly in low-wage menial labor jobs). Most Americans are NOT inclined to take such jobs given the seriously hard labor conditions, lack of social status and the poor incomes that they provide.
We also cannot forget to view the immigration crisis during the Obama years, and leading up to Brexit, without understanding Russia’s influence in the areas of instability. I believe Putin created the mayhem. He knew the instability in Syria, Africa, Central America, etc would push unprecedented flows of brown people into Europe and the US. What better way to exploit the racism at the heart of the EU and USA, and then control the demise of their democratic institutions? And create a moral crisis. We were pushed to have a conversation and create policy reflecting our Statue of Liberty ethos: Give me your tired, your, hungry……”. And we found we could not. A More Perfect inflection point to exploit was never found.
Jon Rosen, although your facts are correct by every reliable report I know, Obama, first Black president, had his hands full without trying to get the number of immigration judges added that were required. As climate change worsens, I hope our relationship with Central and South America, with the reconstruction of USAID, can become one of mutual aid. We will need the rescinding of the Hyde Amendment and a devotion to clean energy that a change of regimes will require. Fortunately, if we can be friends with Canada and Mexico again, we will have a good start.
I don't believe that immigration judges have much to do with the number of undocumented immigrants coming INTO the country. Obama did not (for good reason I think) dramatically increase the border patrols and that left a capacity to resist undocumented immigration. Trump definitely DID increase border patrols (to excess IMHO) and that clearly had an effect.
My perspective, I think, has been well stated here. I believe there is only a binary choice for immigration. Either you resist and deport every undocumented immigrant as much as possible, or you open your borders and let anyone in. The idea of limited immigration (mostly for white immigrants coming from Europe and South Africa) is a crock. First, it is racist, and second, it is never going to work in what is the third-largest country (by population) as well as the richest country in the world.
Actually, Prof Ruth Ben-Ghiat had a guest speaker, Jenn Budd, who used to work for US Border Patrol on Friday evening, in Ben-Ghiat's weekly Zoom meeting, who told us this fact about Obama. In fact, she was talking about why she left the Border Patrol and what is going on with it and all the problems with ICE. She has a book out, that you should probably read to get the details on Obama, because I did not take notes. It is called ICE: What Everyone Needs to Know.
https://heliotropebooks.com/books/ice-what-everyone-needs-to-know/
As usual both Dems and MAGAs embrace Trump's talking points even though he is a con man and lying liar who rarely knows facts and rarely speaks the truth.
Obama had a somewhat different standpoint.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferred_Action_for_Childhood_Arrivals
The Orange Goblin King is starting to wall himself in. He’ll have a moat dug around the White House, filled with alligators.
he's not planning on leaving
Doreen, everything Donald has done in his second term is strong evidence that he intends to remain in the White House for the rest of his life.
His obsession with the Epstein dance hall has deep psychological significance to him. He and his family were excluded from the ballrooms in NYC, so he's determined to build his own ballroom (at taxpayer expense, of course) as a thumb in the eye of all those New Yorkers who rejected him. His obsession with tarting up Washington, DC, to his taste is one clear indicator of his intention to be a permanent resident.
He has great motivation to remain in the White House. As soon as he leaves, the prosecutions will come at him like a tsunami. He fears going to prison less than he fears the loss imprisonment would symbolize: that he lost. His father instilled in him an absolute terror of losing.
yep, all true about that pos LOSER trump.That's all he'll ever be. Here in Canada my friends and I call him the shitstain carpetbagger.
I hope you all put pressure on the Dems to hold the sscb to accoubt on day 1 when they take back Congress! I don't trust them Dems…you must pressure them
Desantis will likely provide those, too, after changing every sign and road name at the renamed airport to kiss the…ring(?)…
Did you know that along with the name on the building he got the rights to choose the airports vendors?
Under a specialized trademark and licensing agreement for the newly renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport (formerly Palm Beach International Airport), the Trump family does hold exclusive rights over the selection of vendors for branded merchandise.
The specific vendor and merchandise terms include:Vendor Vetting: The county-approved licensing deal requires that any branded merchandise sold at the airport be purchased through retailers or manufacturers explicitly approved by the Trump family’s licensing company, DTTM Operations.Unusual Restrictions: Legal and trademark experts note that while standard licensing agreements specify product quality, it is highly unusual to dictate the exact manufacturer or retailer.Off-site Profit:
While the Trump Organization has stated it will not collect licensing fees or royalties on merchandise sold at the airport, the family retains the right to manufacture and sell airport-branded merchandise off-site for their own profit.Other Controls: The licensing deal also grants the Trump family authority over biographical material that can be displayed at the airport.
You can read more about the trademark agreements and vendor terms in The Guardian's Trump Airport Report or analysis from NPR.
always a sprinkling of graft in every bite!
now THAT is his true trademark.
Yes-and of course the chef’s kiss-they had to delay and reroute flights into that airport so that Eric could be the first in a plane that landed after the renaming. It’s completely off the charts insanity-but Desantis earned his brownie points-for now. I am guessing he’s angling for a position in the regime. 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
Nauseating!
Jen, where did you get the idea that DeSanctimonious wants a “place” in the regime? Every GOTV VBM postcard I am writing currently should prevent the regime from continuing.
I hope that works, Virginia. With Desantis out as governor in the coming months (leaving a completely different and poorer state than he found it in so very many ways), it’s postulated by many locals here that he wants a Cabinet position or SCOTUS appointment, thus spurring acts of loyalty like creating Alligator Alcatraz, renaming highways, and the airport. Aside from Abbott in Texas, I’m hard pressed to find a more Mussolini-esque governor to felon47’s Hitler than Desantis. Because of financial scandals that are still unresolved, his wife doesn’t stand a chance of being elected governor, although they floated that lead balloon. I guess we will see what’s next. One thing I do know-here in Florida, we certainly send the worst of the worst to the national stage including Rubio, Scott, Mills, Steube, Luna, Bondi, Gaetz, and more. sigh
Jen, the list is so long that I had forgotten most of it (though I do remember Rick Scott robbing Medicare). Having seen David Jolly on TV for years as he left the Republican Party, I have hopes that he may be elected and lead FL out of the swamp.
Actually, I’m hoping Jolly is elected-while I’m not a fan of former republicans running as dems, I’m hopeful he will be centrist enough to grab dems, independents, and disillusioned republicans so that we have a prayer of normalcy. Desantis’ supermajority in the Florida legislature is horrific-—they’ve made northern Nazis comfortable here-our surgeon general makes rfkjr look normal, our ag is a truly disgusting homophobe, Randy fine is a blatant nazi, Cory mills is a dv perp…it’s a true dystopia here. Between moms of Liberty and Michael Flynn, our schools, hospitals, etc are unrecognizable. We have been the project 2025 Petri dish for so long…it will take decades to correct the damage caused by the Nazis running our state.
Dutch Mike, don’t forget the pots of burning pitch and catapults launching from the turrets.
Plus all the airplanes left from the Revolutionary war
Can we put him in it? He could be the Alligator King.
''The People’s House Gets a Panic Room''
Donald Trump has apparently decided that governing is an irritating distraction from the more important work of making sure future elections contain fewer inconvenient voters.
The timing could hardly be more elegant. The National Association of Realtors reported that the median existing-home price had reached a record $440,600. Congress responded with a major housing bill that passed 85 to 5 in the Senate and 358 to 32 in the House. Trump responded by refusing to sign it because the Senate had not passed his preferred voting restrictions.
This is government by hostage note: Nice little housing crisis you’ve got there. Shame if democracy happened to it.
The bill became law without his signature, proving once again that Trump can occasionally serve the public interest by doing absolutely nothing.
His Justice Department, meanwhile, sent election officials across the country letters warning of possible criminal prosecution over noncitizen voting and demanding explanations of how they would maintain “clean voter lists.” Noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare, but panic has never required evidence when it can be weaponized against voting rights.
Then Trump fired the Election Assistance Commission’s two Democratic commissioners. Its remaining Republican commissioner resigned, leaving the bipartisan agency without commissioners shortly before the midterms. The commission helps certify voting systems and supports state and local election officials. Apparently, the newest way to secure elections is to empty the office, turn off the lights, and accuse everyone else of cheating.
At the same time, the White House is fortifying its entrance and considering more permanent fencing near Lafayette Square and Pennsylvania Avenue. The People’s House is becoming the Keep Away From the People House, now with reinforced doors and possibly fancier columns. Authoritarianism, but with tasteful Corinthian detailing.
The pattern is difficult to miss. Trump wants to protect elections from voters, election administration from election professionals, and the White House from the public.
At this rate, the only institution in Washington still functioning normally will be the scaffolding.
And himself from accountability.
It seems that he's fortifying the entrance because he's afraid of the people going in to drag his disgusting body out. He's running scared.
"Construction of the White House State Ballroom has faced legal challenges and shifting timelines; as of June 5, 2026, a federal appeals court allowed temporary resumption of above-ground work until a final ruling, with foundation work reported in late May 2026.
Wikipedia
savingplaces.org"
And then there's the bunker.
So, is everybody going to watch it happen? No action planned?
One way to fight the lies of the Trump regime and party is to make sure that while we push back on that, we also help to maintain democracy elsewhere.
I for one am currently living abroad and am going to a demonstration today which is organized by a group that is insisting that the German courts follow the German constitution and ban political parties that endanger the democracy. The group is called PRÜF and exists in 13 of the 16 German states.
I am also looking at going to a large European climate demonstration in Amsterdam on September 12.
I’d love to go back to Amsterdam.
Plan to go for this climate demo. In Indivisible Abroad and Democrats Abroad, part of our mission is developing an international network of pro-democracy activists, like the far-right has done. So, connecting with activists in other countries will help your energy for our shared goals for this planet.
Does that group exist in Thűringen?
No Krikit's Songs. I think that is one of the 3 German states where it does not exist. It would be in Erfurt the capital if it existed. I live in a city state so it is the capital. Here is a list of where they are taking place.
https://pruef-demos.de/
That being said, there was a counter demonstration that a lot of people from all over Germany went to in Erfurt last Saturday, to protest the AfD meeting there.
Here is an article on the counter demonstration that took place last Saturday. It was discussed a lot on the Prüf Bremen Signal group. I believe you can click on translate to English when you open the link here.
https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/afd-parteitag-erfurt-demonstrationen-100.html
I am now back from the Prüf Demo today. There was about an hour of singing and speakers and then an hour of marching with a vehicle in front playing music on theme, and I was watching the discussion during the week of them putting it together. I got home in 15 minutes from the demo, and because it is in the lower to mid 80s in the sun, I am cooling down now at home. Feels good. Saw people there I know from other Pro-democracy groups like DatenPunks Bremen, a group that we are working with to develop a campaign divesting from US Big Data gathering Tech with them helping us use alternatives so we can get others to use them as well.
This is the kind of nonsense that is still promoted in Europe and especially Germany, given its long-standing authoritarian history.
Read that sentence again. Unless I am reading it completely incorrectly, you are apparently going to support a demonstration which is "...organized by a group that is insisting that the German courts follow the German constitution and ban political parties that endanger democracy".
As Mr. Bumble said in Oliver Twist, "if that is the law, then the law is an ass!"
That is the most authoritarian nonsense I have ever read, and it shocks me almost as much as the incredible nonsense being promulgated on us here in America by the Trump administration.
So you think it is a GREAT DEMOCRATIC IDEAL to banish parties because of their political goals? What a total crock. The founding fathers of OUR country would be stunned.
In a democracy that respects freedom of speech and thought, no party should EVER be banned because of its beliefs, unless those beliefs are patently illegal. And in general, beliefs (as opposed to actual action) should NEVER be "patently illegal". Freedom of thought and freedom of expression are CRITICAL in ANY democracy. That's exactly why this country has a Bill of Rights.
If essentially banning democracy (which is what your demonstration seems to propose) is the only way to achieve a democracy, then democracy isn't worth a pitcher of spit. I certainly HOPE that isn't the case, because if it is, I am glad I won't be around to witness the demise of democracy across the globe, which I am certain will happen if this kind of attitude becomes the prevailing one.
Making pronouncements without understanding the situation fully seems to be your forte. This a forum for that, but I am not going to argue every ill informed statement you make. You seem to suffer from the idea that the US model is the only model for democracy. It is a model that the US has not achieved and is now losing. No one is asking you to move to Germany or embrace the German Constitution while you are in the US. However, the German people chose this more modern form of democracy seeing how lacking certain protections it could disappear. The modern Constitution is based on protecting democracy. Thus a party trying to overthrow it that has a serious chance of doing that is not allowed. Every country has a certain numbers of Nazis. They are currently in power in the US, but Germany does not want them back in power and this is a means of preventing it. Another means is an informed and active citizenry.
Thank you. And Jon Rosen seems to sanctify America's version of free speech. The First Amendment was meant, as the whole Bill of Rights was, to protect Americans against the government, not to endow individuals or groups per se with unlimited rights. Even Jon seems to acknowledge this.
Unfortunately, the US is lower on the free speech than some other countries. Here is an index that shows the level of freedom of speech of countries around the world.
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/freedom-of-expression-index
And by the way, that is exactly how Hitler started, by banning the political parties he didn't want around to oppose him. And its the same thing Trump would like to do here in the US. If Germany actually manages to accomplish this horrific idea, I expect Trump will jump on it and say he will ban all parties that oppose democracy (of course HIS version of democracy) and he will get lots of support for that idea here in the US.
Ugghh.
Victor Urban did this in Hungary too. Fortunately, the people finally saw the insanity of that and tossed him out on his ass in the last election.
West Germany banned the Nazi Party after the war. Is that a problem?
To me, yes (and I am a Jew by birth). Banning political parties of any stripe is a form of censorship that I am unwilling to tolerate in a democracy. If they come for your party, then soon, they will come for you.
I have NO argument with laws that prevent violence against anyone. So if laws are passed that make the actual acts committed by Nazis illegal, I am fine with that.
But I am strenuously opposed to ANY one's speech being stifled regardless of how odious that speech is. If Nazis want to espouse their hatred, then it should be up to those of us who are more enlightened to overcome that with our own valid arguments. I absolutely oppose what Germany has attempted, which is to outlaw a party simply because of their political beliefs.
You do not understand the difference. The constitution says that Germany is a democracy and parties are not allowed to destroy that. If they are they are committing treason. This is the post Nazi German constitution that everyone seems to be fine with until the US has a Nazi in the White House and suddenly the US way of doing things is the model.
I notice you don't mention the US when you talk about your examples of countries where limiting speech is a problem. Well, my daughter did a research project on Freedom of speech, and no country has total freedom of speech, so what are the limitations that make it treasonous? Germany says it is treasonous to overthrow democracy. The US does not. Each country works within its systems. I think you could put more energy into criticizing the US and what has gone wrong, unless you think things are just fine.
Here is the US on a freedom of speech index.
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/freedom-of-expression-index
But, it does not seem to concern you. You would rather look elsewhere and criticize. How very, very American of you.
I wrote more about this today—the election fraud lie, the effort to gain greater control over American elections, and the people fighting back here in Arizona.
https://wehavefriendseverywhere.substack.com/p/the-fraud-is-a-lie-for-control
Clearly
I mean really, if your highest court starts giving a president the power to remove anyone insufficiently loyal to him, you’ve wandered a very long way from constitutional democracy and remarkably close to a corporate cult. The uncomfortable question isn’t simply whether the decision is legally correct. It’s whether reasonable people can still believe these rulings are being made without fear, favour, or political calculation.
I can’t say I know what was in the justices’ minds. But when decisions consistently expand the power of one man (read lunatic) while weakening every institution designed to restrain him, people will inevitably wonder whether the Court is protecting the Constitution—or protecting itself from being held to account when the power changes hands.
Sidelining the Constitution has been the Court's mission for years now. Leonard Leo, The Federalist Society, the Heritage Foundation, et cetera.
See /Read John Roberts' history since a bit before the Reagan years: "Without Precedent," by Lisa Graves
And just where is Leonard Leo and Charles Koch? I assume Leo is still handpicking every Federal judge that the Fascist Republican Senate is approving.
And Koch is supposedly a libertarian but Trumpian Fascism is a long way from Libertarianism. Why are the libertarians so quiet these days?
Because they're getting what they want is My guess. Same with the "socially liberal/fiscally conservative" crowd.
They’re getting on in age, letting younger folks do the work.
Agree Lynell. His success was the result of decades of planning. The Heritage Foundation was founded in 1973! Christian Nationalism/Moral Majority/Tea Party has been growing strong enough to morph into MAGA, overthrow Roe v Wade, compromise the Supreme Court and create the manifesto Project 2025 courtesy of The Heritage Foundation (main author Russel Vought). I read Project 2025 before the 2024 election. It spells out exactly where we are today. I begged people to look it over :((
Corporate cult with a carnival barker telling us what lies in store. Is anybody listening?
I keep wondering JDinTX!
Plenty are listening, but too many are holding their ears.
Likely struck dumb.
Despite having one of the best Constitutions in the world, we also have a lot of flaws there. One of those flaws is the failure to distinguish the power of the president (which appears, at least on the face, to be almost king-like, as some of the Founders wanted) from the power of his appointees. That probably requires an amendment with clearer separation of powers.
One specific area I have proposed that needs change is moving the Department of Justice into its own branch of government. The Attorney General should probably be an elected office independent of the President. I think it should be set for election in the off-years of the Presidential elections (i.e., the so-called mid-terms like this year). The AG should also be a 4-year term and having it alternate every two years with the president would provide a constant (every two years) election of a top-level leader of the US. The AG and the DoJ would then be an independent branch of government and the president would have no power to instruct it to do ANYTHING. Congress would give it its own budget. That would provide a much superior check-and-balance to the Executive Department because the DoJ branch would have the independent right to bring actions against the Executive (and presumably Congress as well).
It appears that independent agencies established by Congress are at risk from the current SCOTUS. Why not just elect a president who will nominate decent attorneys general and elect a Congress that will not approve nominations of clearly unqualified people? Also, let civil service once again be respected for the continuity of expertise it provides even with changes of administrations.
Well, we've seen how well that works, right? The problem is that when the President nominates the AG, then he becomes in charge of the legal system and as we have seen in the past 18 months, at that point the legal system can break down fatally.
Your comment is so flippant. "Why not just elect..."
Obvious, of course.
And as Mike Myers used to say... "and monkeys might fly out of my b*tt!"
Everything you state seems obvious until someone comes along who disagrees and simply violates all of those norms.
(hmmphtrump...)
You saw my comment as "flippant"; I meant it as more tongue in cheek. I'm fine with independent agencies as they existed since FDR until this SCOTUS came along. I was thinking about all the posts calling for check lists of what reforms are needed after this regime is gone. As HCR has pointed out, we would be in a better place already if the laws on the books were being enforced. The DOJ has functioned as a quasi-independent arm of the executive branch for quite a while, with a few exceptions, prior to Trump who thinks the AG is his personal lawyer.
Wouldn't this still depend on honourable people holding these positions Jon?
And therein lies the pinch. Ensuring that honorable persons hold key positions.
Of course. But that is always up to the electorate, i.e., it is ultimately their responsibility to insure that honorable people are nominated and then elected.
There is really no practical alternative in a democracy. If you permit someone other than the electorate to make these decisions, you are no longer a democracy, which is defined as "...a system of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them either directly or indirectly through a system of representation." (Wikipedia AI).
I think good democracies requires some level of "full disclosure" which can be "enforced" (albeit not legally) by the "fourth estate" (journalism) as well as a solid constitutional framework for elections.
But to be fair, that level of disclosure was certainly in evidence in 2016 and somewhat in 2020 and 2024, and yet in two of those elections, we elected Trump, and in the 2024 election, he was elected by a majority.
So that means you can't always "trust" the democracy to work. I don't know if there is a real solution to that problem given that any solution would involve giving up the very nature of democracy.
Of course, but at least this change would provide a separation of powers between the people holding the executive authority and those holding the power of prosecution (and maybe investigation like the FBI). It is still not perfect (a President and AG could easily collaborate to wield power just as Trump and Bondi and now Blanche have done). But it would at least offer the option to the electorate to every other 2 years "change horses" and provide a balance via one part of the system to the other.
The founders intended the President to be an elected king. The House of Commons became the Representatives and the House of Lords became the Senate.
That is simply untrue with respect to the first statement. The very PURPOSE of deciding that the "head of state" would be a President was to eliminate the notion of a king, which has, amongst other features, the notion of inheritance rather than election, but also the notion of supremeness which the president is clearly NOT supposed to be. It is why the Presidency was given a four year term, something unheard of in any royalty system that existed prior to the American revolution.
There are clear analogies between the Parliament and the US Congress but there are significant differences too. Although at the outset of the country, the Senators were selected by state legislatures, in 1913 (17th Amendment), Senators became directly elected by the people. The House of Lords in England are not elected at all, but are chosen by the monarch (although most are recommended through the Prime Minister). Also, the House of Lords in England has very LITTLE actual legislative power, most of which is held by the House of Commons, while in the US, the Senate has HUGE legislative power, including the ability to require supermajorities to pass many kinds of legislation.
I don’t agree.
The Court is hell-bent on circumventing the Constitution. What else could explain their consistency? Secret ritual by full moon, scratching wrists and mingling blood?
The irony, Kazz, is that by enabling an autocrat, SCOTUS is signing its own eviction notice. Autocrats don't need high courts because they view themselves as The Law.
Uh... "a political movement that can't trust the voters to keep it in power will eventually try to take power away from the voters..."?
Where did you get that from?
It NEVER happens in a modern democracy.
Only fascists and neofascists believe in fake elections. All pro-democracy political movements always accepted defeat and then tried to do better when voters rejected them!
A modern democracy doesn’t remain one automatically. Donald Trump refused to accept defeat, attempted to overturn an election, and has spent years convincing millions of Americans that elections are legitimate only when he wins. That’s exactly the danger I’m writing about.
So you were talking about a NEOFASCIST movement inside a democracy, not no matter what political movement that knows that it will be voted out.
It's a crucial difference that your OP didn't include.
This is beyond a "political movement." We have a fascist government in America. This is how fascists act.
Kelli, "They spent years manufacturing distrust in our elections" except when he wins. How is that for pure hypocrisy. The truth might be closer to his winning an election by rigging it.
putin and netanyahu STARTED and PERPETUATED a WAR to stay IN POWER and OUT of PRISON...
trump IS doing the SAME THING NOW with his TRUMP-EPSTEIN WAR in Iran.
The 3 MOST HATED MEN in the world today.. putin, netanyahu, and trump...
ARE NOW SCARED of their OWN PEOPLE!!!
WE ARE NOT INTIMIDATED!!
WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER!!
SAVE AMERICA and DEMOCRACY!!
VOTE 'EM ALL OUT!!!
Got
"The Almighty has his own purposes. “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, " From Lincoln's second inaugural. Krenowing the insurrection of Mr. Trump after losing his reelection, voters should have a clear choice for VP Harris. Their rejecting her for Mr. Trump has revealed the culture of racism and misogyny. It is an offence against God, and for this we have this terrible president. One way to accept the current destruction of our country.
“More fencing around the President’s Park would send the wrong message to the nation and the world by continuing to transform our democracy from one that is accessible and of the people to one that is exclusive and fearful of its own citizens,” Mr. Trump may be afraid of voters.
K
The harm he does to this country and world is infuriating. Everyone, PLEASE keep speaking up.
Resource below to easily contact all of Congress. Be LOUD! 💔🤍💙
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) to contact members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly!
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
Comments/reactions help keep this bumped ✊
Waiting for democratic leadership to follow Hungary’s example. It’s already been done. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just kick the deadwood out of the way and get to it. Time moves on and you are running in place.
I'm waiting for Putin to fall in Russia. Crimea is a hellscape no escape, no power and no gasoline. The last railroad bridge in and out of Crimea is unable to carry the equipment and ammunition needed by the Russians to continue fighting along the front.
And last night more shadow fleet tankers were disabled in the Sea of Azoz bringing the total number hit in the past 96 hours to 49. Every single area of Russia has rations on gas and the railway system is close to shutting down.
But Putin refuses to walk away from Ukraine even though the average life span of a new recruit to the front in Ukraine is under 30 minutes.
Good post, GJ. It made me wince.
Anne, me too: barbaric ruthless recruitment.
Here, our very own diaper don is fortifying our house just in case he needs to bunker down post midterms.
Maybe he’ll invite all of his kin in including …although I doubt he cares enough.. some supremes?
He needs to be restricted to it with no Wi-Fi or communication, just Big Macs and diet cokes. And his toilet/throne as well. Perfect if no windows, red ties, or ballroom, just bars on windows.
Thanks for this. We can only hope the deterioration leads to an end to Putin's war.
All this loss of life. For what? Criminal.
Trump would behave exactly the same way as Putin is. In fact, Trump IS behaving the same way—putin’s just farther along.
Cutting it to 15 minutes would be better. Allegedly China warned Putin against the use of atomic bombs.
though whoever succeeds Putin may be a warmonger too. He should be gone, but that does not necessarily bring peace.
One hopes that Russian oligarchs see that Putin's autocracy was an exercise in futility. When Putin is gone, maybe they will choose a version of communism that more closely resembles that of China's (which looks a lot more like capitalism than communism).
The oligarchs are dependent on Putin. If he goes so do they.
I hope for the sake of this generation of young men it comes soon.
Saw where a WW1 vet said that he wanted to see the leaders duke it out and the soldiers watch. Wrestling match with Vlad and chump. I’d watch that…
🤣🤣🤣
Let Bibi tag team.
Which side would he be on?
Boy would that get an audience
Considering their outrage about truly liberal candidates in the Democratic Party, the "moderate" members of the party appear to want to retain their wealthy donors and continue to govern in favor of those donors over the wellbeing of all citizens.
They have wealthy donors. I thought everything depended on my $15. Every whine says so…
Megan, Susan Collins campaign has enlisted several people to write Letters to the editors of newspapers all across ME. We need to counter these efforts with the truth about the Democratic candidates.
Boyhowdy, doesn't that tick me off. Susie is the limpest doormat in the Senate--voting for whatever Dear Leader wants, unless she is given permission to vote in opposition provided it won't make any difference in the outcome. She's done this for DECADES to preserve the fiction that she's "a moderate". I am sick to death of her ineffectiveness, her reluctance to stand up for ALL Mainers, not just the corporate crowd, and her apparent inability to think for herself.
Guess Ima gonna start writin' some LTTE myself. Gah, we Mainers are supposed to be a sensible, pragmatic folk.....why can't people see through her bullshit????
And the truth about Susan Collins!
Thank you, Megan.
Yes, thank you steadfast Megan & you too JDinTX. On the Houston ICE attack & per The Texas Tribune (TTT):
************************
"Help us report on the ICE shooting in Houston"
"The Texas Tribune is seeking any footage — cell phone video or other Instagram photos or posts — as well as tips related to the shooting of LORENZO SALGADO ARAJUO on July 7, 2025."
"We take your confidentiality seriously and will protect your identity."
"You can contact us anonymously on Signal, an encrypted, secure app, or on Whatsapp, via phone or through email:"
"Lomi Kriel (se habla español): 832-729-3421 (Signal, Whatsapp, cell) or lkriel@texastribune.org"
"Colleen DeGuzman: 956-605-9321 (Signal, Whatsapp, cell) or colleen.deguzman@texastribune.org"
"Uriel J. García (se habla español): 602-434-9964 (Signal, Whatsapp, cell) or uriel.garcia@texastribune.org"
STOP ICE murders!
Counsellor, I had heard that ICE changed their training protocols and were now no longer permitted to shoot at "weaponized vehicles" that they stand in front of. I have to say that the first reports I read of the incident sounded as if they could have been from the Minneapolis boiler plate.
Concur Sheriff.
I'm Getting a JACOB SOBOROFF update in a few minutes on Jacob's Weekend MSNow show 'CONNECT'.
*********
Per Jacob's interview of the Victim's son, RENALDO SALGADO who is focused on his father's funeral but, the family has demanded their father's possessions such as the critical evidence of his van, wallet & other items
That evidence which can easily protected by court action by a Motion to halt any Spoliation of evidence by the ICE Perps.
Thank you!
Thank you! Because I live in DC I have no representation in Congress so this list helps me choose my own reps🤓
Thank you Megan!
Thanks, as always, Megan.
I wrote to Senator E. Warren.
You sure know how to place the fear of God onto a politician from outside of their district. For a followup, are you going to threaten to withhold your $25 campaign contribution?
A reminder from Mark Elias, who has thus far won practically every single lawsuit against Trump’s many election illegalities…
He can issue whatever decrees he feels like, pretend to eliminate any Congressionally mandated agency he fancies, issue threats to every Lieutenant Governor and every Secretary of State in the country. He can waddle around, fulminate against nothing, lash out, confuse Iran with Japan, soil his Depends til the cows come home. He can get terrified scalawags to make as many inane threats as he wants…
Not one whit of it matters. Elections will be taking place in November as they always have. Not a single bit of this is legal. None of it will be upheld by any serious court in the land. And everything will be contested in court — count on it.
Remember, his power lies in his ability to frighten you. El Crapo wants to scare the living daylights out of you. But states — not the President — control the manner, place and time of elections. It’s in the Constitution, clear as a bell.
He will try to use the National Guard at voting stations in clearly contested districts and states. Stand your ground. Do not let them intimidate you. Poll watchers will have your back. I hope they will have ours.
I just got selected to be a poll worker! You can bet your bippy I will be protecting voters rights.
👍🩵
Thank you Cynthia.
"Everything will be contested in court — count on it"
... and if (when) it makes it to the Supreme Court, all bets are off.
Thomas and Alito are totally in his pocket; Gorsuch and Kavanaugh are loose cannons.
I sure as hell hope Roberts and Barrett retain a shred of rationality, decency, and patriotism, and Sotomayor, Kagan, and Brown-Jackson are taking care of themselves and have top quality personal security staffers. I'm not kidding.
No, all bets are not off. That is what they want you to think. They wanted you to think that about birthright citizenship, too. It didn’t work out. And I’m sure those three justices — and likely more — have security staff.
That's part of the duties of the U.S. Marshals Service. One part of the Department of Justice that hasn't been gutted.
Speaking of Justice. The Texas Rangers arrested the ICE thug in Houston who was wanted in a Minneapolis shooting. And the Republicans just funded these thugs through 2028.
https://apnews.com/article/minneapolis-immigration-crackdown-arrest-sosacelis-811eca576b7b7088694cc3a646999d51
"All bets are off" means the situation is chaotic and unpredictable, not that it's a lost cause. It's not a sure thing they would rule in favor of Trump if he tried to reverse the election; I just said that we totally can't count on this SCOTUS to do the right thing.
There's precedent on them ruling for a loser: see Bush/Gore. WHY did Gore back down??????
DOJ has subpoenaed writers for the NYT over reporting on the inadequacies of the flying bordello. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/business/media/new-york-times-trump-subpoenas.html?unlocked_article_code=1.w1A.Vsj_.FZmgvrJjYjfJ&smid=url-share
Hopefully the NYT would have their reporter's backs, but the ownership and editorial staff of the Times are so cowed by Trump that who knows what they'll do.
That’s not true. They’re fighting back
According to the article they’re fighting back.
Don't count on John Roberts. He's the head of the anti-democracy court!
Roberts, really.
Poll watchers, yes to some degree, but we poll workers are the true line of defense. We are sworn to uphold the integrity of the process and the conditions inside the poll. He can send his fucking masked goons where ever, but we will not be intimidated. Every person who approaches will be allowed in, checked for eligibility and able to vote if duly registered. Fuck him and his fucking goons.
Yep! Those of us who are poll workers in very small towns often find the idea that non-citizens vote or that ANYone would be able to commit voter fraud in a small town or village, to be quite ridiculous. Everybody knows everybody else. Coming to the community center to vote, for those who do so in person, is like Old Home Days. People visit in the lobby or after they exit the voting area...people bring in brownies, cookies and donuts and leave them at the table by the exit door. It's kind of a very social community day, in an odd way.
Thank you for your incredibly important service, Citizen Poll Worker. Didn’t mean to leave you off the heroes list.
Thank you for this reminder of what’s real about our country.
ICTT, Thx for mentioning this.
Time to support Marc Elias monetarily. His firm has 80 plus cases against him in the country. He is a tireless mensch.
https://newsletters.democracydocket.com/member-navbar
This is all true. But the damage he does before a court stops him is still damage done.
From James Bruno’s Substack:
“A friendly reminder…the Reflecting Pool was fine before Trump got involved.
“And the East Wing. And the Kennedy Center. And the Rose Garden. And the White House lawn. And the porticoes. And USAID. And the Voice of America. And FEMA. And the CDC. And the FBI. And the Justice Department. And NATO. And Habeus Corpus. And elections. And the Constitution. As well as our relationships with Canada, Mexico, Greenland, Spain, Italy. Even with Iran.
And gas was $3 a gallon.”
And with all that, we have not been able to dislodge him from the Oval Office. Shame on us.
Shame on REPUBLICANS who could stop this in a minute but are too cowardly and complicit to raise a finger to do right by their constituents
shame the GOP publicly every chance you get
Indeed!
So much winning, only for the mob
And it's more than just oil and gas being held up at the Strait of Hormuz.
https://www.weforum.org/stories/supply-chains-and-transportation/beyond-oil-lng-commodities-impacted-closure-hormuz-strait/
TOO TRUE!
And the 🐂🐂🐂 that provide McDonalds with Trump’s transfusion of fat 🍔, will soon be starving because the farmers can’t afford the fertilizer to grow their FEED.
Trump doesn’t give a flying F about any ‘details of REAL life’, so, his only dealings with Iran are based on ‘saving face’ now!
Just put laxative in those 🍔🍔🍔, and it may at least slow down the geriatric old fool. His ‘menacing’ face at a recent press conference tells the MEDIA things it doesn’t repeat…and therein lies THE PROBLEM.
It's not just being able to afford fertilizer: there are cattle ranchers in Colorado who can't grow hay to feed their cattle because they don't have enough WATER. They're between a rock and a hard place. That means they have to buy hay, and at today's prices, that makes their ranches unsustainable.
Cheeto and Nazi Republicans Are Traitors To America
In essence a traitor is a person(s) who commits actions which involves attempting to overthrow one's own government(Project 2025. election interference, and SCOTUS with explicit intent to turn our democratic republic of WE the People into a dictatorship), aiding an enemy(Russia), or leaking vital state secrets(Supplemental Act of the NDAA{National Defense Authorization Act} would share state secrets with Israel).
For example, in U.S. law, treason is explicitly defined in Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution as levying war against the United States(inciting a domestic civil war to turn the country into a dictatorship), or adhering to its enemies(Russia). Cheeto and his Nazi Republicans are working to destroy the democratic republic and align with our long established enemy. Calling it out as it is.
So WE ask the question, “Why would one vote for a group of people who are traitors to the country that WE the People have established?” The next two election cycles WE the People can either support traitors or those who will uphold the moral principles and ideals of our country. The choice is in our hands.
the Dem leadership should be calling it treason out loud. Articles of Impeachment for Treason shld be at the ready as soon as the midterms are over
Absolutely. Cheeto and the Nazis are great at labeling and name calling eg socialists, communists so why not call them what they are, traitors.
The President is literally fencing himself in as he destroys the historic symmetry of the White House and shows disregard for housing the citizenry. Election interference is being done in the name of eliminating it. The hypocrisy is so blatant that it must be being deliberately ignored by the government and the media. The people have only themselves to count on and blame. Be aware, contact your representatives, and vote Blue.
Make blue viable again, it’s on life support
His demolition of the White House continues. And?
Most Journalists and political pundits are framing trumps stand on the housing bill as evidence that trump doesn't care about the Republicans or the outcome of the midterm elections. I disagree; he was trying to use the bill to extort the Senate Republicans to end the filibuster and enact the Voting Suppression Act because he knows that without rigging the midterm elections, the Republicans will lose their majority in at least the House. The fact that he doesn't understand that he didn't have the cards to veto the bill, so he didn't hold the cards to accomplish his attempted extortion just highlights how stupid he truly is.
Trump firing all of the EAC commissioners for the reasons given amount to an impeachable offense. The law establishing the EAC calls for two members from each party. Trump will not be able to find two Democrats who support his vision of securing elections, making it impossible for the EAC to function. By doing so, he’s is not “faithfully executing the law” which is an impeachable offense. Add one more reason to kick his ass out.
He's got a million of 'em.
Why, it's'a bunker.
He does not intend to go quietly. Or to go.
Hello Jill... I suspect that is why DJT's Ballroom will sit atop a Bunker-Complex with Hospital when finished... The Nov'26 Elections will arrive sooner so the WH is being Hardened Now... During the Black-Lives-Matter protests, DJT hid in the old Bunker under the old East-Wing...
How much will all these security installations end up costing taxpayers? The White House has asked for $600m for the ballroom and is now looking for budgets to raid to find that amount following Congress's decision not to approve the additional expenditure.
They've already spent nearly $1bn retrofitting the Qatari jet but now according to Bloomberg it has been found deficient in terms of security, communications and survivability - almost all the necessary attributes of an Air Force 1 plane which makes one wonder whether all the additional spending was on unnecessary luxury features that Trump wanted.
It would surely be cheaper to just entomb Trump in a bunker where he could do more harm.
He'll be happy if he has his Harp beside him. It looks as though she's had a good prowl around the Qatari plane and didn't like what she saw.
Russell, someday, someone is going to calculate all the direct financial costs to U.S. taxpayers, including his weekly golfing excursions, vanity projects, etc. Excluding indirect costs, such as higher gas prices, economic downturns, etc., the total direct expenditures will be in the trillions of dollars. Donald is literally the most expensive mistake ever made by the United States.
He needs to be entombed in "his" bunker without communications, or food, or water, or air. The dead in tombs don't need any of that. And we won't have to have a funeral or bury him; he's already buried.
The melon felon is running our country into the ground, just like his many business failures.
Brave, brave Sir Donald
Check out the Drey Dossier on Substack. The 6 story underground military complex ‘with hospital’ is a data collection and control silo similar to Jerusalem’s 9 story underground complex with surveillance systems in place. Even some of the same contractors. Now the provision 215 in the latest NDAA version fuses many aspects of our military with Israel’s—particularly the data piece.
So this new hidden portico business is about moving in some bunker Data Ctr equipment. Even the Refl citing pool renovations and plans for the adjacent park/pond, she notes, uses interesting contractors and may be more a cooling function for the ‘bunker’ or ‘shed.’ The race is on, the DOGEboys are onto other data harvesting operations for this Admin—like the fake .gov phishing sites. It’s irresponsible not to follow The Drey Dossier. She’s ahead of the rest.
I suspect some reality has filtered through and now he realizes he may need to be concerned about citizens.
He thinks he will live as long as Rupert. Evil does seem to have staying power. But repubs won’t have that when P2025 is a done deal. They have a successor all greased up
May it become his own prison cell where he takes his last breath.
It's a luxury Bond villain lair.
I hope the next Democratic administration will pass laws prohibiting any President from "redesigning" (aka ruining) our historic buildings -- the tearing down of the East Wing, the cementing over the Rose garden, the Ego Arch and now making the columns fancier. I was aghast when this started to happen and it seemed that no one said boo. This should not be permitted.
The founders were keen on checks and balances. It's nuts to require approval of whatever an executive takes a mind to do that with a process stacked with his of her cronies, placed there by executive decree. Why even bother? "unitary executive" is just a more wordy way to say "dictator".
Nah, Bond and foes had far better taste. This bunch isn't fit to live in a BARN. The livestock are better than them by far. Ditto the pig stye.
Sad but true.
You know, ol' Mort Reaper might have a thing or two to say about when Trump "leaves". He won't wait on Donny's wants or wishes.
Trump’s atrocious taste should not be allowed to insult our iconic Classical buildings. We’re just going to have to tear it all down and fix it all back the minute he leaves office.
The bills left to us in Trump's wake will be enormous.
If he is arrested or impeached, the government can freeze all his funds and then use it to return the White House to its former glory!
If only that were so. Maybe fine him for the billions he is collecting while in office. He will have huge bills coming due if all of the court proceedings underway rule against him.
Oh, David, fining him could happen. Collecting is a different matter. (E. Jean Carroll hasn't gotten a penny yet, with $5mil sitting in the bank in escrow.)
His tactic of endless appeals and simply ignoring court orders has worked quite well thus far. This is most unfortunate as such a blatant brute richly deserves to pay for the damage he has done (largely impossible on many levels--he has fostered a lack of faith in our government and disbelieve in the in integrity of our elections and the courts for more than an entire generation. Disgusting but true. Come to Georgia and see for yourself. I know plenty of otherwise intelligent folks who will believe in this abomination of a human being to their deaths. Ethics, honor, and "doing the right thing" are meaningless to them. HE is the RIGHT THING--the Way, the Truth, and the Light--no matter what. We should have spent more money on education to be sure. We've got nothing but spilt milk, and we can't help but cry over it.
Don't we wish, Dear Christine.
That's if he is impeached and CONVICTED. He was impeached twice last time, to no avail. Arresting a sitting president, such as he is, would be nigh to impossible. Impeachment will only be possible if the spineless jellyfish in the GOP lose the mid-terms and the Democrats come up with a lot more gumption than they currently display.
If these happen, or if he just ups and DIES (unlikely--SOBs tend to live forever--a lot longer than decent folk) then next in line are JD Vance and Mike Johnson. Alas, considering either of these milksops an improvement would be difficult.
It seems more likely that Dems can take the House. If that happens, then we can kiss Mikey goodbye. No one likes Vance, he’s made so many stupid comments and has been booed more times than anyone else.
He’s such a phony!
"Bankruptcy like no one has ever seen before!" brags King Con.
It's frightening. Hopefully, education can happen in our schools, or from wherever all the Trump supporters get their ideas.
Their "information" is fed to them through various forms of media that have no editorial controls nor journalistic integrity. It feeds their collective amygdalae that is terrified of anyone other than themselves being of the most favored status.
I have watched my conservative friends turn into raving lunatics over their spoon fed "atrocity of the day".
When NPR and Public Broadcasting are being destroyed, and Fox is the only show in town, many rural areas are guaranteed 100% biased coverage of everything. We sat and watched it happen, and now we're living with the results. Re-education will be quite difficult. The Chinese and North Vietnamese did it at a horrific cost to human life, forcing the "correct" beliefs on their victims. (This is a gross oversimplification, but I hope you get the point.)
Don't forget the capitulation by CBS and NBC either.
I guess I was being facetious that one would learn that in school. Misinformation is so noxious. I wish what you said was untrue. They really feel threatened, apparently.
Yes, they do. With inadequate education and not much hope of being able to make "a decent living," that's what happens. They ARE really threatened.
Yes, J L, fairness would dictate that the Trump family and his mega donors should pick up the repair bills, but sadly, that's not likely to happen.
Holly, there's symbolism involved in the White House architecture, specifically the columns, that Donald is likely unaware of. The Ionic order of columns originated in ancient Greece, the first democracy. The "scroll" capital at the top symbolizes learning.
Although the more ornate Corinthian order (Donald's preference) originated in Greece, it was embraced by the Roman and Byzantine Empires. The acanthus leaf capitals are reminiscent of the acanthus leaf fans used by slaves to cool emperors. They symbolize power and luxury. The Corinthian order is not appropriate for democratic architecture.
"...that Donald is likely unaware of."
Truer words can't be spoken.
Yes, I feel his dislike of ionic capitals is deeply instinctive.
Too much is never enough.
Dear Dale,
You studied Graphics (quite practical and commendable, requiring skills I possess not). I studied Philosophy, Classics, et al.--a luxury I could afford in those distant days. (No regrets, but not something I could do if I were young now).
Therefore, I do understand the distinctions you so correctly point out and agree 100% but decided to forego the details.
Even if The Rump is aware of certain information (which, in this case, I am almost certain he is not), he simply cares not one whit about the Founders' clearly expressed intent for austerity and simplicity--No Versailles! No Kings!
Given the Prime Chump's dictatorial/authoritarian tendencies, he may be drawn instinctively to the Corinthian order. This might also explain his penchant for gaudy, fake gold trappings from Home Depot--what we call in the Deep South "something the dogs drug in and the cats didn't want."
The Dump is naught but a spoiled brat with too much power for his own good (and ours), accustomed to having his way, whatever the cost (e.g., an extremely foolish no-win war with Iran), and having someone else clean up his messes. In this case, that someone will be the American taxpayers, beginning a few minutes after this Colossal Boor leaves the poor, benighted White House, and the currently miserable District of Columbia.
Here's to still being around to see that happen!
I suspected as much. You confirmed it. My old and wonderful art teacher often said "Simplicity is the key to good design." Not to say that the details of of a thing won't require complexity, but nevertheless, with an overall coherence. The movements of a skilled dancer, Olympic athlete, or a large cat are graceful because of an overall integrity. Even "Beautiful"concepts in science and math show that integration.
"Nature is an endless combination and repetition of a very few laws. She hums the old well-known air through innumerable variations. Nature is full of a sublime family likeness throughout her works... " - Emerson
Like all the beautiful cities bombed in WW2. The women cleared the rubble and cleaned the bricks of mortar, and when the menfolk finally returned, they rebuilt according to the pictures and old plans.
Yes, we just witnessed this in Dresden, Germany last month. Thanks to the women!
Thank Goodness for Women. We REALLY DO hold up a little more than half the sky--but we STILL are not paid equal wages for equal work. Go figure.
When will the excavation begin on the White's House Moat?
With alligators?
Can alligators survive in green water?
All the better to hide in. So long as thy don't choke on the blue plastic crap.
Sure. They can deal with pollution.
For sure. Trump wanted to put them in the Rio Grande.
Trump and his Republican enablers know that the mid-term elections will likely flip the balance of power in Congress. They are desperate to make sure that doesn't happen.
The SCOTUS Slaughter decision affirming Trump's power to fire members of independent agencies at will put in place another cog in the Trump regime's authoritarian machinery to control/eliminate the mid-term elections. Thanks to SCOTUS, the likelihood of the mid-term elections being a massive sham has increased significantly (assuming the election is held at all).
Nothing in that ruling gives the President the ability to make a Congressionally-created agency simply vanish. The EAC is not part of the Executive branch. Nothing he has said or done, nothing he may threaten to do, can change that.
If it gets to the Supreme Court, it will be another 6-3 ruling against him. Two things specifically outlined in the Constitution — birthright citizenship and the “time, manner and place” clause granting states — not the President — say-so over their own elections.
Anyone who cares went dumb, seems to me
Trump and his puppeteers have never hesitated to usurp Congressional powers or ignore the unconstitutionality of his actions; nor will they hesitate now. Nor will he hesitate to ignore any federal court rulings.
True, he doesn't have the power to eliminate a Congressionally-created agency firing all of its members accomplishes the same thing if there's no one to do the agency's work.
If the case makes it to the Supreme Court, it MIGHT rule against him. But remember, SCOTUS is currently on summer recess. They don't resume hearing cases until October 5. The only possible way for them to make a ruling before the November elections would be from their precious shadow docket, which they only seem to do when ruling in favor of Trump.
Even if SCOTUS rules against Trump, that leaves less than a month for a reconstituted EAC to do their pre-election work. The likely result would be that the elections would need to be postponed or even canceled. Either way Trump accomplishes his goal of undermining the elections .
You raise valid points. But several courts, not just that one, will have the chance to weigh in first. Their rulings will make it even harder for a later Supreme Court to ignore both the constitution as well as judicial precedent.
Timing is used as a weapon, waiting for democrats to create a shadow docket. They need to look alive in some way..
“Legal analyst Harry Litman says this interpretation of the Slaughter decision is a stretch. He noted that “[n]othing in the agency cases held that Trump could simply shut down an agency of Congress’s creation.”
The federal line-item veto is unconstitutional. In the landmark 1998 case Clinton v. City of New York, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Line Item Veto Act, ruling that it violated Article I, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution. Yet the Trump administration effectively killed USAid, which was effectively equivalent to exercising a line-item veto of its expenditures. This administration never met a loophole it’s too ashamed to exploit!
The Executive Branch is supposed to carry out the wishes of the Legislative Branch. The Supreme Court has already decided that the President can fire people at will in any institution other than the Federal Reserve. The corrupt right-wing Justices will allow trump to fire anyone he wants who doesn't do as he pleases anywhere other than the Federal Reserve.
The SAVE Act should really be renamed for what it is:
#SaveRepubloFascismAct.
And it's clear now that the only freedom that is important to Trump and Republicans is:
#FreedomFromDemocracy
more like SaveTrumpsAssAct
Freedom from accountability. Trump claims to be accountable only to his fictional conscience.
A good anodyne to our national crisis is watching this short video.
https://snyder.substack.com/p/on-tyranny-special-250th-edition
Timothy Snyder, 'On Tyranny, Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century, Pengiun Random House L.L.C., New York, 2017.
Lesson 20 is be as brave as you can.
Wise words.
Institutions are tested most when they become inconvenient to those in power. The real measure of a democracy is not how it treats allies, but how faithfully it protects the rules when power is at stake.
The only solution to Trump’s abuse of power is his removal via impeachment or the 25th amendment. The country is at war, worse inflation in the wings. Trump is not attending to those serious problems, instead he is focused on preventing voters from voting and putting up corinthian columns on the white house. Not only is he a crook but anti Constitution which he swore to defend. Surely everyone knows by now except the true believers that he must be deposed.
He's not only "not attending to those serious problems," he's actively making them worse.
And creating new ones
His true believers see nothing wrong with what he's doing.
Trump must corrupt the midterms to keep Republicans in control of the House and Senate to complete his authoritarian takeover and protect himself and his cronies. He has no moral limits and will do anything, legal or illegal, to achieve his goals. Expect the unexpected. Imagine the unimaginable.
There are two vectors Trump can use to corrupt the midterms. The first is voter suppression. This has received a lot of attention. It includes things like gerrymandering, purging voter rolls, banning mail-in ballots, reducing the number of early voting days, reducing polling places to make wait lines intolerably long etc. Many prominent election attorneys and public interest groups are fighting these in court and they receive a lot of press coverage.
But there is a second, more insidious method Trump may employ to corrupt the midterms. That is to manipulate the vote count. We use election software to scan ballots and tabulate votes. It can be written to flip votes in close votes in select races to favor the desired candidate. Few people other than those who write the code and computer security experts either understand or can detect its use. The only way to combat it is to either turn out in such overwhelming numbers to vote Democratic or to challenge improbable Republican wins by demanding recounts.
Election Truth Alliance and Smart Elections have been trying to expose the possibility that corrupt election software has been in play, but have received no attention from mainstream media and little attention elsewhere. Nor have any election authorities cooperated by investigating their election software or security protocols. Here us a compendium of election vulnerabilities Election Truth Alliance has compiled;
https://electiontruthalliance.substack.com/p/election-security-threats-and-vulnerabilities?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=18auiy
The solution is to get rid of any and all voting machines that do not handle paper ballots. Internet connections are anathema to security, which cannot be guaranteed. Voting machines that are electronic only cannot be trusted: even the chips cannot be guaranteed to be accurate. And the distinct possibility of not being able to find any evidence of skulduggery after the fact is also a worry.
Paper ballots, handled by local officials (your neighbors, probably) using mark-sense scanners that are not connected to any network. An audit trail. And complete transparency and testing of those machines with civilian oversight.
No machines from companies owned by known Trump supporters.
The problem with election equipment is not just that machines connected to the Internet can be controlled be outside bad actors. The problem may be in the base software used to scan our ballots and tabulate our votes. Every aspect of the process starting with the programmers who write the computer code in the election software to the now defunct Election Assistance Commission that oversees election equipment and software to certify that they operate properly and the contractors they hire to verify the software is free of malicious code that can flip votes is now under Trump's direct or indirect control. Paper ballots that are scanned by machines are not safe.
Having worked with our local election officials, and observed the testing of those scanners, I beg to differ. Paper ballots that do not need any 'software' to tabulate the results are as safe as it's going to get. And local control of elections is also needed - something Trump would like to take away. I agree with your other points, which is why I said no machines from companies owned by Trump supporters. They cannot be trusted.
His cronies are on it. Screwed before a vote is cast