What else to say? It is wrong to use troops. They know that and move to authoritarianism anyway. It will be soon that the tensions on this strap will break and violence will escalate. I am not hopeful that protest peacefulness can be sustained. The authoritarians are stoking the flames to start the fire. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/troops-in-los-angeles?r=3m1bs
If it walks like a King/Dictator/Fascist/Spoiled Rich Kid, etc., that must be Our Mad King (wannabe) Donald the 1st. He has consolidated his hold on the levers of power and bullied his way forward, and the cowardly Biden DOJ/FBI/AG just stood back and stood by, all the while shaking in their boots or high heels. We can never outrun our own fear. See you tomorrow at the "NO Kings" demonstration here in Marietta, Ohio, 12PM-2PM. Might want to bring an umbrella with your sign. God help us one and all!
The Assault on Oversight Is an Assault on Democracy
What happened to Senator Alex Padilla was not just an assault on a lawmaker. It was an attack on the very principle of democratic oversight. A sitting U.S. senator, charged with holding immigration enforcement accountable, was handcuffed and thrown to the ground for asking a question. This isn't political theater. It is authoritarianism in motion.
Kristi Noem’s defenders claimed ignorance. But the video doesn’t lie. Padilla identified himself. He was calm, unarmed, and unthreatening. His real offense was seeking the truth about extreme immigration actions.
What followed is worse. Noem vowed to “liberate” Los Angeles from its elected officials. That is not rhetoric, it is a declaration of war against democracy. The Trump regime is using troops and propaganda to target dissent, punish oversight, and install power by force.
This is not about border policy anymore. It is about power, fear, and silencing the people’s representatives. If a senator can be silenced, brutalized, and lied about, what hope does a farm worker have?
Senator Padilla stood up for all of us. Now we must stand with him. Because if we don’t draw the line here, the Constitution becomes a hollow document, and "We the People" becomes a historical footnote. The coup is not coming. It is already here.
They are trying to replace our democracy with full on patriarchal, white supremacy. We will not allow this. The USA is imperfect and we must address the racism, misogyny and homophobia that festers, feeding this corrupt regime.
I often wonder what would have happened after the Civil War if 1. Andrew Johnson had not be selected as VP by Lincoln and 2. Southern legislators had not been allowed back into the federal government.
Only a minority of people in the U.S. support Trump's policies. Yet the Republican Party, fractured as it is, continues to follow his devastating lead. So strange. So disturbing.
Who are those Republicans, anyway? Honest representatives of a modern day down-trodden American lower economic class? (Doesn't seem like it.) Echoes from the 1800's American south? (I can see elements of that.)
We'll never know for sure, but we seem to be at a dangerous cross-roads. The Republican Congressional majority needs to go away. It needs to be replaced with legislators that work fervently to dismantle not the government, itself, but instead the entrenched three-tiered economic system in our county: 1. The ultra rich, who believe they deserve it 2. the shrinking middle class that desperately tries to hold on to it's security, and 3. the poor, who have been duped by a grifter.
Earlier I made a comment below you might with to read first. I agree with you.
The republicans conduct themselves as if there is no clear line of demarcation between acceptable behavior among humans and behavior is unacceptable.
The most revealing trait that displays their behavior as totally unacceptable is their reliance on the unrealistic unequivocal authoritarianism allowing the elimination of the rights of others. This must not be allowed to stand!
Tho Trump and cohorts are way out of line, I'm truly angry with the Republican Reps. and Senators that are allowing this to cont. I'm also ticked at the judicial system that continues to give Trump more time to respond to judicial orders/side step legal opinions etc. That Congress and the Judiciary seem to be blind to their duties to the citizens of the US on top of Trump's power grab is appalling.
GOD, HELP "WE THE PEOPLE" BEFORE DJT DOES ANY MORE DAMAGE!! Is there ANYONE in the Congress who still has a shred of sense?? Anyone who can start the ball rolling to impeach and arrest this guy?? I'm getting scared...
Use/share this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to your own reps, as well as those in other states on a specific committee important to a topic you’re sharing.
What the regime is doing is unconstitutional. No more needs to be said. However, sheesh, that nonsensical presser on farm and hotel workers! And that garbled mishmash is leading the US? Now we have Iran retaliation against Israel because Israel provoked and Marco says, "pretty please, don't bomb us?" If RFKjr doesn't kill us all, these two will.
WE THE PEOPLE. That sickening display of utter disrespect, disregard for basic civil rights guaranteed under the constitution, by a high ranking member of the administration mind you, undermines the foundational premise of our country's laws and what we stand for as Americans. This is so frighteningly unamerican where WE THE PEOPLE elect no kings! Keep up the push back and good works YOU THE PEOPLE. Love Ya!
Damn these courts. Why couldn’t they live what Beyer decided. No give him to after 6/14. Would have been so much better on the 6/14 to be hanging over his head. We need to educate these judges. Delay, deflect, Deny an continue to spew lies. Can they not see the majority of Americans do not agree with it.
The republican party has adopted the belief they are beyond reproach. They are not, their actions prove the opposite everyone knows this. This parties philosophies are corrupt and perverse.
No doubt exists this behavior must be met with strong resistance and reversed. It must be reversed nothing else is acceptable.
Those who give up the freedom to have security will have neither.
Thank you Heather, clearly this was an assault on freedom of speech and yes we all saw what happened and yet FOX news and Kristi Noam are lying, and we have Trump saying how bad it is that we are deporting people. The line is crosses Jamie Raskin is correct! Yes I will be protesting again in my rural town. NO KINGS
These daily demonstrations of administrative arrogance and defiance of court orders, fueled by willful lies are so alarming but what can be done to end it? The Republican members of Congress have the authority to rein Trump in, but they are spineless miscreants. I am not optimistic about meaningful retractions.
What else to say? It is wrong to use troops. They know that and move to authoritarianism anyway. It will be soon that the tensions on this strap will break and violence will escalate. I am not hopeful that protest peacefulness can be sustained. The authoritarians are stoking the flames to start the fire. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/troops-in-los-angeles?r=3m1bs
If it walks like a King/Dictator/Fascist/Spoiled Rich Kid, etc., that must be Our Mad King (wannabe) Donald the 1st. He has consolidated his hold on the levers of power and bullied his way forward, and the cowardly Biden DOJ/FBI/AG just stood back and stood by, all the while shaking in their boots or high heels. We can never outrun our own fear. See you tomorrow at the "NO Kings" demonstration here in Marietta, Ohio, 12PM-2PM. Might want to bring an umbrella with your sign. God help us one and all!
Yes! Take to the streets and raise your voice in protest against this illegitimate regime!
The Assault on Oversight Is an Assault on Democracy
What happened to Senator Alex Padilla was not just an assault on a lawmaker. It was an attack on the very principle of democratic oversight. A sitting U.S. senator, charged with holding immigration enforcement accountable, was handcuffed and thrown to the ground for asking a question. This isn't political theater. It is authoritarianism in motion.
Kristi Noem’s defenders claimed ignorance. But the video doesn’t lie. Padilla identified himself. He was calm, unarmed, and unthreatening. His real offense was seeking the truth about extreme immigration actions.
What followed is worse. Noem vowed to “liberate” Los Angeles from its elected officials. That is not rhetoric, it is a declaration of war against democracy. The Trump regime is using troops and propaganda to target dissent, punish oversight, and install power by force.
This is not about border policy anymore. It is about power, fear, and silencing the people’s representatives. If a senator can be silenced, brutalized, and lied about, what hope does a farm worker have?
Senator Padilla stood up for all of us. Now we must stand with him. Because if we don’t draw the line here, the Constitution becomes a hollow document, and "We the People" becomes a historical footnote. The coup is not coming. It is already here.
They are trying to replace our democracy with full on patriarchal, white supremacy. We will not allow this. The USA is imperfect and we must address the racism, misogyny and homophobia that festers, feeding this corrupt regime.
I often wonder what would have happened after the Civil War if 1. Andrew Johnson had not be selected as VP by Lincoln and 2. Southern legislators had not been allowed back into the federal government.
Only a minority of people in the U.S. support Trump's policies. Yet the Republican Party, fractured as it is, continues to follow his devastating lead. So strange. So disturbing.
Who are those Republicans, anyway? Honest representatives of a modern day down-trodden American lower economic class? (Doesn't seem like it.) Echoes from the 1800's American south? (I can see elements of that.)
We'll never know for sure, but we seem to be at a dangerous cross-roads. The Republican Congressional majority needs to go away. It needs to be replaced with legislators that work fervently to dismantle not the government, itself, but instead the entrenched three-tiered economic system in our county: 1. The ultra rich, who believe they deserve it 2. the shrinking middle class that desperately tries to hold on to it's security, and 3. the poor, who have been duped by a grifter.
This is going to require some radical wisdom.
Earlier I made a comment below you might with to read first. I agree with you.
The republicans conduct themselves as if there is no clear line of demarcation between acceptable behavior among humans and behavior is unacceptable.
The most revealing trait that displays their behavior as totally unacceptable is their reliance on the unrealistic unequivocal authoritarianism allowing the elimination of the rights of others. This must not be allowed to stand!
Tho Trump and cohorts are way out of line, I'm truly angry with the Republican Reps. and Senators that are allowing this to cont. I'm also ticked at the judicial system that continues to give Trump more time to respond to judicial orders/side step legal opinions etc. That Congress and the Judiciary seem to be blind to their duties to the citizens of the US on top of Trump's power grab is appalling.
GOD, HELP "WE THE PEOPLE" BEFORE DJT DOES ANY MORE DAMAGE!! Is there ANYONE in the Congress who still has a shred of sense?? Anyone who can start the ball rolling to impeach and arrest this guy?? I'm getting scared...
They are all liars. Trump and Miller want be dictators.
Thank you Professor Richardson!
And my normal -
Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Use/share this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to your own reps, as well as those in other states on a specific committee important to a topic you’re sharing.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit?usp=drivesdk
What the regime is doing is unconstitutional. No more needs to be said. However, sheesh, that nonsensical presser on farm and hotel workers! And that garbled mishmash is leading the US? Now we have Iran retaliation against Israel because Israel provoked and Marco says, "pretty please, don't bomb us?" If RFKjr doesn't kill us all, these two will.
WE THE PEOPLE. That sickening display of utter disrespect, disregard for basic civil rights guaranteed under the constitution, by a high ranking member of the administration mind you, undermines the foundational premise of our country's laws and what we stand for as Americans. This is so frighteningly unamerican where WE THE PEOPLE elect no kings! Keep up the push back and good works YOU THE PEOPLE. Love Ya!
Damn these courts. Why couldn’t they live what Beyer decided. No give him to after 6/14. Would have been so much better on the 6/14 to be hanging over his head. We need to educate these judges. Delay, deflect, Deny an continue to spew lies. Can they not see the majority of Americans do not agree with it.
The republican party has adopted the belief they are beyond reproach. They are not, their actions prove the opposite everyone knows this. This parties philosophies are corrupt and perverse.
No doubt exists this behavior must be met with strong resistance and reversed. It must be reversed nothing else is acceptable.
Those who give up the freedom to have security will have neither.
Thank you Heather, clearly this was an assault on freedom of speech and yes we all saw what happened and yet FOX news and Kristi Noam are lying, and we have Trump saying how bad it is that we are deporting people. The line is crosses Jamie Raskin is correct! Yes I will be protesting again in my rural town. NO KINGS
Make a stand!
I have two signs in bold letters
STOP ABUSE OF POWER
OUR DEMOCRACY IS UNDER ASSAULT
I have them mounted as a windscreen to my walker. I will be there for NO KINGS!
This behavior is unacceptable! I am disgusted with this regime’s behavior!
These daily demonstrations of administrative arrogance and defiance of court orders, fueled by willful lies are so alarming but what can be done to end it? The Republican members of Congress have the authority to rein Trump in, but they are spineless miscreants. I am not optimistic about meaningful retractions.