As to the congressional Republican silence: Since we know the regime is ignoring the courts, they are the only body left that can stop this. And if they rose up in a body against MAGA and the regime continued its behavior, we would have a real fight on our hands.
As it is, I see nothing standing between us and an authoritarian police state. It will then rest on the part of the military still loyal to the constitution to fight it out. The longer this goes unchecked the less hope remains for a solution that does not involve bloodshed.
The military isn't going to do anything to stop this, at least not given the current status. The only way the military will engage in opposition to Trump is if he actually starts to use military action against our own country, and that is highly unlikely. In any case, the military as a group is much more supportive of Trump than of constitutional democracy. There is no white knight on horseback in our military that is going to save our democracy. That is in our own hands.
@Jon Rosen--The composition of the military is not so clear as that. I have it from a few dozen military folk and families I have communicated with that many in the service are disgusted with this and will defend the constitution.
And I am nearly certain that the regime will use deadly force against Americans and on American soil. They may not use the military as such--more likely the an illegal private army of thugs composed of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Latter day Brown Shirts.
Yes, if the military fails in its duty to uphold the constitution it will be "in our hands". How do you think that will play out exactly?
My fear is that those in the military who are loyal to the constitution would wind up fighting those who are loyal to the "Commander in Chief." THAT would be a real bloody mess.
I doubt that loyalty to the commander in chief himself is the big danger. It's loyalty to white supremacy and racism -- which are indeed embodied in the current, titular commander in chief.
I agree - we are now dealing with the 21st century version of the KKK, now known as MAGA - white Protestant domination. The racism, the despotism, are so transparent as to leave virtually no doubt. Suspending the writ of habeas corpus? That's dictatorship in action with no check on power, in this case, fascist power.
I wish the media did more to call out the passivity and complicity of the GOP congress. Trump is never going to change his stripes. And all our talk and shock aimed at him will change little. The GOP, especially those up for election next year, should be questioned and quoted over and over again so we never forget who betrayed our country.
"…that only Congress can suspend habeas corpus—and that unilateral suspensions by the President are per se unconstitutional.” Yes, it is outrageous that Republicans in Congress have abandoned their jobs like this. But isn't the Supreme Court equally liable? Why don't they issue rulings saying that suspension of habeas corpus (and other illegal actions) are violations of the Constitution? Isn't that their job?
Isn't Congress suppose to be regulating tariffs? SCOTUS unleashed all of the demons in Pandora's box when they gave him immunity from committing crimes under the guise of national security. We're at war with illegals, so I can do this and that (suspend habeas corpus, imprison people without their due rights, etc.
Happily for SCROTUS and no one else, the Suprettes don't have to issue rulings on any goings on they may happen to see from their ivory tower.
Someone must bring a case to them upon which they can rule, only after that case has run the gauntlet through the lower courts. Even then, they can arbitrarily refuse to hear the case, just because.
It will be very hard for them to revoke the get-out-of-jail-free card that John Roberts handed Donald.
I didn't have time to read much more after the second sentence of today's LFAA,
"...They refused to disavow White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s statement that the administration is looking at suspending the writ of habeas corpus, that is, essentially declaring martial law..."
That fired me up to make two signs for our Freeport, ME 8 - 10 AM protest with up to 35 people at one point, namely;
Listen up, Stephen Miller
The Constitution is not a Suggestion It's the Law
and
No Unofficial Martial Law
without Congressional Approval
(Note that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached in Dec 2024 and upheld by court on April 4, 2025 over his attempt to declare martial law improperly.)
Inspired by a lady's sign there, I made another for the 12 noon protest outside Senator Collin's Lewiston Office
The text:
ICE wears masks when they violate the Constitution, So Should You
with the closest I could come to a graphic showing Trump wearing a Balaclava
Not just Protestants. There is a stream of others as well. And a long, long time coming. I heard about the Michigan militia from my local police department about one family who had ties abd that was 1990.
It has been a festering sire since perhaps after the Civil War. Even in the northern states. In the 1920’s before the KKK became close with the Roman Catholics a group and sometimes people working fur the city during the day came to a priest relative rectify where he was helping out for summer and came in full attire . The only thing that stopped them was the fact my relative had been a doughboy abd he had his uniform. He went and put it on and stood his ground without a gun. They left. This gives me hope that sometimes amist violence and murder sometimes a good person wins.
Mary, Have you read Fever in the Heartland, which details KKK activity in the 1920s mainly in Indiana where Roman Catholics were most certainly targets. It includes a section about the South Bend KKK and Notre Dame. When I was doing my student teaching in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the gal before me was Catholic. She told the story of the KKK burning a cross in her grandfather's yard in St. Joseph, Michigan. So it sounds like there was some Roman Catholic cooperation, if I am reading your post correctly, but I think this was not the norm. When I was growing up in northern Indiana in a Protestant family, I heard lots of anti-Catholic talk. Catholics followed the Pope and had guns in their basements ready for insurrection among other things. In fact, my family did not like anyone who was not white and Protestant. I am excluding Anglo-Saxons because my paternal family was German. At a family reunion some years ago, they were still as prejudiced aa ever, this time against Hispanics and people from India, who often ran motels. In the county where I grew up and where the county seat, Goshen, prided itself on its Christianity, black people could not stay overnight and so when Marion Anderson came to sing at Goshen College, she had to stay in Elkhart. I did a census study of the county in the early 60s and black people were only found in a narrow strip south of the railroad in Elkhart.
Sounds like a civil war. Already families are divided to the point that some Thanksgiving dinners are no longer the fun things they used to be. My husband and his brother ( who has become a true southern TN person) are on opposite poles. Politics are avoided. Although the topic of the deportation came up. He had no problem with scooping up people of the street and deporting them to foreign prisons without any recourse. Now I look at my brother - law in a new light.
@The BobCaster--That is PRECISELY what I foresee as one of the few paths forward. Yes, a bloody mess. But at least a mess where the constitutionalists have a chance.
A straight up civil war is another matter. I can't see how the resistance wins in that scenario. Outgunned and overmatched.
I am not saying it's impossible. The winds of war blow strange sometimes. Just that it would be a long hard slog with an unthinkable cost. The only thing worse would be to live forever as an oppressed people. A permanent dictatorship.
Many conservative people are getting tired of little hands and the crazy maga kooks already. They are not delivering the American drea. I dont believe the majority of the military boots on the ground would follow an order to attack the people either. Very few of these redneck militia type are capable of attacking anything more vicious than a big mack, i live in a rural red part of Nor Cal so i am familiar. Not that worried about the militia overall.
Well, the reality (I think) is that the military will for the most part (more than 90%) follow orders, as that is what they are trained to do. Unless the orders are so CLEARLY unconstitutional, you will not see any huge uprising among the military. There may be an increase in people who decide to retire or resign from the military, and certainly there will be some who go AWOL (which is actually more common than most of us think), but in a force of over 1 million people, the likelihood that a group large enough to challenge the status quo effectively as probably close to zero. This COULD change if the administration goes TRULY SERIOUSLY off the rails, but despite all my friends here who think that has already happened, it obviously has not. Trump is doing what he said he would do (as tragic as that is, but they still voted for him) and with a few exceptions, everything he is doing is at least within his purported powers. Some of that may be stripped away by the courts, but on the whole, he is just proceeding "on course".
For instance, even I (who hate the man with a passion) thinks that his policies on undocumented immigrants are within the law, although his actual execution may stray (such as sending many of them to a horrific prison in El Salvador) from the law slightly. But the fact is, we DO have millions of undocumented immigrants in this country and if they decide to "enforce the law" that is going to result in a HUGE number of people being deported and those deportations will almost certainly be MOSTLY legal. Yes, there will be exceptions (there always are) but for the most part this is really a battle about what SHOULD be done with undocumented immigrants, not a battle about whether this problem exists or not.
If the military was ordered to help enforce the deportations, the issues that would be raised would be procedural ones about whether or not military should be (or can be) used for this issue, NOT whether those deportations are legal. My argument is that we need to fix the problem, not HOW we fix the problem. If the country agrees that all illegal immigrants should be deported, then prepare yourself, because we will be deporting about 10,000,000 people over the next few years. This will cause great disruption in our society, but it is NOT Trump acting illegally.
I do NOT think the Trump regime will actually use military against real American citizens. At least that is how I feel now.
It's called a civil war. We've seen this throughout Africa, Asia and South America over the last few decades. What makes you think you're immune? And don't say "the Constitution". Who,in your Administration, is listening to THAT at the moment?
It still reigns high in the body politic (all sides) that all remain ever alert but still hunkered each in their own little nest, maintaining complete silence, shocked and awed. Everyday a new incremental, increasingly outrageous insult from the strutting MAGA with audacious swagger--obvious enriched baits to force a response. Political performance by Trump's fascists now is pure bold theatre, the only theatre in town. Having the sociopath fascist Steve Miller anounce martial law, the boldest barter, seems not enough to impel anyone to respond. It remains a completely one-sided event. The country is stirring, but the elected politicos, the ones with power, do nothing. With that and no change, it points to only revolution.
Gerald Lewis, if the orange slime were an only a narcissistic sociopath; but I’m convinced he’s a psychopath in Roy Cohen style along with Miller, who’s a self hating racist psychopathic Jewish man acting as t’s
puppeteer.
It all seems like the worst kind of our species has been burped into power as destroyers while Spring here goes on in stunning green spectrum, azaleas and flowers bloom,
and as people in Gaza starve, I go to buy food, throw toys for my dog to catch,
Could you please send a small amount of your overly generous rain amounts to our desert in far west Texas which has been in serious drought for several years? We would very much appreciate being able to have our normal monsoon season and our 8"-10" of annual precipitation.
Gerald, speaking of performances, if Trump and his Cabinet members had a TV show, it could be called any of the following, reminiscent of some old TV shows.
"Name that Felon" "To NOT Tell the Truth" "In Jeopardy" "Who wants to be a Billionaire?" The Price Could be Right" "What's My Lie?" "Let's Make a Deal. Or Not"" "The Arrogant, Abusive, Apalling Apprentice" "The Mickey Mouse Club" "We've All Got A Secret" or "The Pryamid Scheme."
And we have to remember that Hegseth is firing 20% of the admirals & generals. I'm sure it's the ones that WOULD protect the constitution that will be gone leaving only lackeys in charge. Even Nazi Germany had generals that opposed Hitler & they were "moved out". trump isn't going to take that chance. Out they'll go to be supplanted by MILITARY MAGAs!
Protest NOW while we still can do it relatively safely. When the stars aline for trump/2025 jack-booted thugs will abound & the bounty hunters this administration is proposing against immigrants will expand.
If you wonder how a group of people can become so indoctrinated I highly recommend that you watch the documentary "Ordinary Men". It's on Netflix. It's a little less than an hour long & it shows how people can be subtly coerced into doing the most heinous things. It's very interesting & extremely unsettling when you see how gleefully people will sign on to turning in immigrants. And who will be next? The trans community, the gay community, Democrats, non-christians, unacceptable Christians that don't follow the "true faith, of white man domination from the family on up"!
The list goes on & on! Our names are on it someplace!
A very good point. The trans community is reportedly about 0.5% of the US population. Once they run out of snatching them up, they will need another group to "other".
I wish that protests, even mass actions, would move the needle. But they no longer need the support of the governed. And they don't care to govern--they wish to rule. I fear this will be a bloody mess no matter what we do at this point.
But the military is a HUGE institution and not one that likes chaos. I certainly would not make assumptions about its status.
Agree. Plus , what have we done to deserve “freedom” ? Shitty election after shitty election for decades the best we get is maybe a slightly less, slightly more ,shit sandwich. They’ve all sucked if you want honesty.
Apathy is rampant. No one cares about anyone outside of family ….maybe. No one can afford to give a shit and that’s supposed to be acceptable ?!?! Sigh.
That doesn’t have to be if enough people actually organized in small groups ,then bigger groups and decided we aren’t ok with class warfare, ppl living on the street, expensive medical costs , and being told an NHS is communism and the wealthy are above the law.
The last time USA actually had hope was during and after WW2. Also the last fair deals to be honored. Greed has clawed its way so far up the collective ass that ppl think “ that’s just the way it is”. Until that thinking is changed we’re gonna be under martial law real soon. Trump knows no one really gives a shit. If he knows nothing else he damn sure knows that. Yeah he knows about criming too. After that it’s golf and wife cheating.
No saint , God, white horse or any other help is coming anytime soon. This is on us. This time is a street level grassroots “ All lives matter or no lives matter “moment . Ppl will fight for someone they know cares about them. That’s a commitment. Deserves honor. Likely we’ll hit patches of violence because that level of change is gonna require telling the exceedingly wealthy you don’t need 30 jets. You can have 2 and they’ll cost a little more cause you’ll have less money . The pay off is we get to live in a society that addresses every issue and no one falls through the cracks and is free to do the best they can for their family and neighbors/friends without working 5 jobs to pay the bills. Treatment centers for the truly nonfunctional as well.
Everything is the way it is right now because not enough ppl care enough to change it. Let me know when you’re ready and we can get started.
As for the post? Great post . More outrage. More corruption. Deafening silence. Occasional performative outrage . Sigh.
They think we won’t care enough to do anything. Right know that’s why they’re winning.
Either all lives matter or no lives matter. You want freedom for yourself, Your family , friends ? I’m thinking we’re just gonna have to go take it. Sure as shit no one is gonna give it to us. Right now is the time to hit them . They are the dog still stunned they actually caught the car. Right now is when they need to be hit. Once we hit them the biggest danger will always come from a bribe. That’s where integrity, honesty , and ethics come in. This can’t sustain without it. That’s why we got here in the first place. Hey Go Big or Go home . This may be the only shot we’ve got.
Could you be more specific about your "we"? I'm hearing this "we" a lot from white people, especially white men, who didn't notice the country was in trouble till Trump was elected the first time. Your "Let me know when you're ready and we can get started" is telling. Thank heavens civil rights activists and feminists and gay rights activists, etc., etc., etc., didn't wait for permission to get started.
Divide and conquer! It must be "we" or we will all fail! I am not white. What's happening has nothing to do with race, color, gender. We're battling "the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Eph 6:12 This is the age-old war of the haves against the have-nots. It's a war against the global 1%. It doesn't matter who started fighting first. We must be inclusive and allow any and everyone who is willing to join us in this fight.
Susanna, it’s our black brethren who are going to save US. They know how to survive infamy. I think of Lloyd Austin as the general he is putting together with the help of as many of his fellows black and white the military that will simply remove DT and his cabinet from their various posts and imprison them and the January 6th felons to serve out extended sentences. Trials as in Munich should follow.
From what I see, apathy is not rampant except in the oligarchy owned media. Interestingly, I have received emails from Newsweek, the WAPO, The NY Times and the Chicago Tribune begging me to come back because they offer so much more than political news. I'm guessing many of you are getting similar requests.
I signed up for the Chicago Tribune for $1 for a year and rarely log on. They strive to be a "local" paper as do many of the weekly papers around the country and they don't dare risk their readership by Trump bashing.
Newsweek's headlines lure in the reader's by praising Trump and his nefarious actions. So many people never get past the headlines as Margaret Sullivan and others have pointed out.
The WAPO has chased away dozens of their best journalist with Bezos bizarre capitulation to Trump and they too "headline bait" for clicks.
And then theirs FOX News that is the major hiring pipeline for Trump's WH. Everyone sucks up to Trump on Fox News hoping that Trump will make them a cabinet Secretary.
I've been getting stuff from FOX. I marked it spam and unsubscribe. Any news thing I read from FOX news I read critically. As far as I am concerned they only thing they do correctly is broadcast sport games. It's hard to corrupt that but give it time, filming edited versions of trump applause at the Series game was one example.
Where and when? I'm in. If trump gets wiped out overseas, that's a start. With the head of the snake gone, the rest of the body will eat itself trying to snatch up what they can.
Since he won't meet the same fate as Jamal Khashoggi while with the murderous "Prince", we have to keep gathering by the millions...even more... in protest and get this done following our Constitution. It's why I still register people to vote, caution them about "the proper ID", and focus on how we are getting nothing out of the big promises from a supreme liar. The 2026 election is our way to reign him in, and we must protect it at all costs. We win by following the law and Constitution.
Along with getting rid of the obvious GOP greedy followers of this maniac, we also need to clean house where the Democrats are concerned. There are several who actually care about the Constitution and the Country as a Democracy... there are far too many, ie: Schumer, who are the same as the GOP except for their party. There are primaries to remedy that problem, and everyone must advocate for getting new , brave faces to run for office.
Last, loudly support the lawyers, Judges and the courts upholding our laws and working to protect us while holding the criminals at bay. Like you say, Paul, take to the streets and support them, and our determination to keep this Democracy and strengthen it with moral leaders with integrity who are honest and ethical.
"Shitty election after shitty election for decades the best we get is maybe a slightly less, slightly more ,shit sandwich. They’ve all sucked if you want honesty." This is the lie that will make people go along.
I immediately thought of the doll quote, although I am not sure how many 11-year-olds are playing with dolls. Aren't some of them getting pregnant at 13?
This war will be won through totally decentralized resistance. Today the resistance is nowhere near as strong as it should be or will become because Americans are still too comfortable. I once visited a country where, even if you had a truckload of money, there was nothing on the shelves to buy. Let a loaf of moldy bread cost $15 and a half a gallon of milk $25, if they're even available. Just wait until pink and brown sludge is the daily color and texture of the water coming out the pipes into our kitchens and bathrooms. Only then will America wake up. Early on in round #2, when asked tRump said we're definitely going to war. He's going to make sure of it. But right now, most of us are still sleepwalking.
I am not sure that the military as a group is " much more supportive of Trump than of the Constitution." I don't think we know the numbers on either side. It's worrisome enough that we know some support Trump first, but we really don't know the numbers.
I suspect many are disgusted by being forced to tolerate DUI Pete Hegseth as SecDef. Whether they would respect his orders, I don't know.
A good measure of how supportive the military rank and file are of Trump would be ratio of Fox TV hours to non-Fox TV hours on TV sets on military bases. My guess is that it would be something like ten to one. Local police departments, especially county sheriffs, are probably even worse. The well-armed contingent of our public officials are, as representatives of democracy, at least as bad as Republican legislators, which is pretty damn bad. And, unfortunately, what most white Americans voted for.
That FOX thing on our military bases has been a source of my anger for years! I do not understand why Biden didn't change that when he was in Office. Why FOX? It should be someone like Reuters, AP, or some other news source that at least seeks truth! Letting FOX propagandize our troops everywhere is just plain stupid! 😡
What disturbs me is that our soldiers want to watch that propaganda. Their leaders could suppress it to some extent, but the soldiers would still be Fox (and worse-than-Fox) acolytes.
How unitary do you suppose the military will be in response to the Federal administration’s forceful assertion of absolute power? How unitary was it in the mid-19th century?
I still doubt that the administration will actually assert the right to absolute power. They are certainly pushing the boundaries, but so far, when there are objections, they have backed off. Trump hates confrontation when he doesn't control it, that seems clear. He will push, when he can, but forceful peaceful resistance usually generates some level of back-down.
That makes perfect sense, Jon. I personally much prefer your view. Bear in mind, the same tactic is used when preparing a major assault on a heavily defended perimeter.
I have concern that Drumpf is not at the center of this. If true, interpretation of the tea leaves may be significantly altered. Can another regular election be counted upon to support the current path? Will they sacrifice their programatic gains to risk?
How likely is that?
People keep saying how stupid they are. I haven’t seen that. REDMAP was a militarization move. This has been going on for a very long time.
I remain optimistic that our basic institutions will eventually prevail. Failing that, we may well reap the whirlwind.
Yes it has, primarily by Republican REDMAP administrations. Though it might be notable that this time there is a fresh brio to the depth and extent of the effort. It may also be noted that this time there is a very specific intent to the effort. If the intention of the current administration is to very quickly overthrow the current order of the nation and dissolve the constitution, what then will the tea leaves in our cups have to say?
Actually, that is probably a good thing in many cases. Many state and local leaders do not support the Trump administrations brutal and cruel efforts to round up US citizens and will oppose any military action within their own states and cities.
Have you seen how they act when asked to help deport people? They don’t know if they are smashing in the car windows of citizens or “illegals”? They don’t know if the moms and little girls they’re tossing to the ground “belong here” or not. All they need to do is convince local police that the people they’re being asked to help arrest are dangerous and they lost their humanity.
Agreed local leaders oppose much of what is going on. But as a retired LEO I'm saddened to say if military law is imposed most law enforcement will go along with it.
Maybe, GJ Loft. But more often than not we have seen a different dynamic play out within the rather loose coupling that often exists between local leaders and the several police organizations that operate in and around these jurisdictions. In a politically disintegrating state, which is the scenario we are discussing, what will their alignment be? This is not about immigration at all. It’s about the federal administration establishing absolute power over all citizens. This is where they are going and doing it at breakneck speed.
Annabel & Jon, tRump has already amped up his own “Brown Shirts” via Tom Homan’s ICE with complicity from Kristi Noem’s Homeland Security agents with their often hooded operatives without clear insignia and their kidnapping and detention of anyone who has spoken out against government stances or who showed up for court appearances or even their annual contact with immigration authorities or whose looks they don’t like not to mention invading homes and taking all the money, computers and cellphones away leaving the new occupants without any means to continue their lives. Homeland Security & ICE are already providing tRump’s new army.
@JohnM--I am well aware. This is happening right now. it is not hypothetical. The are not quite at the end game, but it is close. Then it will be one of two choices: Submit or wage war.
I live in Rochester NY. This blue sanctuary city has been a particular target. Homan came here last week to flex his muscles. They closed down many blocks of PUBLIC streets for him. The Fourth Reich is here.
The regime can be restricted by protest. It won't be ended by protest. Barring an impeachment that is supported by 67 Senators for a conviction, this "regime" will not end until Jan 20 2029. And even an impeachment is not likely to do much given that JD Vance is standing in the wings.
Trump keeps backtracking then going forward with his damaging cuts and policies and stringing his base along (along with the FOX spin) so they are very unlikely to accept the truth about what is really going on. Alternate-interval conditioning is powerful stuff, the cult is subject to the MAGA gambling game.
I think (believe/ hope) that the military, raised and trained as they are on discipline, will be very cautious about violating the fairly strict rules about using the military in domestic conflicts. I am not saying they will flay or refuse to follow orders but I think it will be a very touchy issue if Trump tries to do something like that.
What they are doing at the border is (at least for now) fairly limited. It's easy to say it would be no problem for them to enlarge their scope and start arresting domestic people even citizens, but I think that would be a huge step downwards and even Trump might be worried about a negative reaction.
I certainly could be wrong, but I have already been surprised at how tentative many of his actions have been.
Yes but in his famous churchyard bible-holdi g scene after soldiers had their scuffle with protester, he adked one of his aides why we couldn't just use live ammo. Now he doesn't have aides with some sens to restrain him only suckups.
Jon, he's already using the military on the Southern border. Just a little step and they're in the streets ostensibly arresting (killing) violent criminals but will protesters be denoted "violent crimials" the same way Garcia et al have been defined gang members.
As I said above I think he is not at all confident of how far he can go and will be very cautious because I have to believe he doesn't want a full scale war in the streets of the US. Yes it is a thin line but it is still a line. We shall see..
That's ridiculous. Like it or not, this government was elected by the people. If we try to "crush them" in an illegal coup, I think it plays right into his hand and would result in a bloody armed response that would overwhelm anything we could do.
Talk about RIDICULOUS, your response assumes many things and appears to be quite naive or maybe just plain stupid. Open your eyes and look around, if you cant see it you must be blind and a fool.
Fascism IS a thing and what republiCons were elected for is basically empty promises, none of which have materialized as fact, zero. The people didn’t vote for this horrific kleptocracy.
I never said anything about an ‘illegal’ coup, you did so perhaps you’re familiar.
The people outnumber the seemingly powerless government which is basically a rubber stamp for one thing only and thats the power of one, not many. What I was suggesting was that ‘the people’ outnumber this ship of fools and together we can overpower this bullshit by resisting it everywhere, every time, every place. There most likely will be blood but numbers rule the few NOT the other way around.
Get a grip, THAT is the reality. The People rule not this pisspoor excuse for a government that does nothing but spit out executive orders like they are laws, they are NOT! while lining their pockets for personal gain.
I'm not expecting a military coup, either, but keep in mind that the military ignored JFK's executive orders (2) to plan a withdrawal from Vietnam. So, insubordination has a history. If Trump starts to recklessly endanger our troops and/or US security, we might see something there. If we get into a shooting war it's hard to imagine the generals following Hegseth's lead. That's the real issue, not DEI. They want to replace the career generals because they have integrity.
My friends and I are at a loss as to what might be holding the R’s in Congress to their silence. We hear regularly that, in private, they express dismay. WHAT could be holding their tongues in public, as this agenda moves along? I am at a loss. We need to get to the bottom of THAT!
"The biggest news over the weekend was silence: the silence of Republicans." I suggest that NBC or CBS conduct an interview with every Republican congressman and woman asking "Do you uphold the Constitution?" Giving them a chance to clear their names.
@Hiro--If only the press were not infected. There has been essentially no national 4th estate for a number of years. Look what they did to Hillary Clinton in 2016, to Joe Biden from 2020-2025. Look how they covered the Harris campaign and all that followed. Look how they fawn over the fascists. Look at the sane washing. I don't expect that to change. It isn't that they are "obeying in advance". They are all in with the BAD GUYS.
This is just nonsense. Get hold of yourself. Most of the major press outlets endorsed Harris. The fact is that most of the MAGAs don't read the New York Times or listen to CBS. They watch Fox and read NOTHING. And Harris lost because this country is still a highly bigoted misogynist entity with almost half of population hating powerful women and people of color.
Couple that with the fact that Harris refused to step away from Biden whose support was in the 30% range and she had no chance to win.
Wallowing in a delusion that somehow Ocasio Cortez and Bernie Sanders can turn the country around is just that, a delusion.
Were you actually reading the NYT or WAPO? Did you notice the sane washing? The 4 years of not covering any of Joe Biden's MANY accomplishments while continuing to lionize Trump? The fact that several major outlets, including WAPO REFUSED to endorse Harris? Perhaps we have been living in alternate universes.
This has gone on for YEARS. It is not nonsense--it is the obvious bias of a yellow press. And the TV media outlets are just as bad.
As many noticed, but maybe not you, there is credible evidence of rigging, but we don't even need it to see how the STOLE it. The institutional rigging is enough, to wit: voter suppression, an obscene amount of dark money, unchecked interference from hostile foreign powers, propaganda from pseudo-news outlets, and the failure of a venal corporate press.
Where did you get that stuff about AOC and Bernie turning the country around? Surely not me--I have never said or implied such a thing.
Ask the organizers at any rally you attend to lead their crowds in reciting a People's Oath, similar to the one I took in the Navy as a federal officer. Record it and post the videos everywhere:
“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the civic responsibilities expected of every American. So help me God.”
The spectacle of millions making a commitment that GOP members of Congress and Trump's cabinet have repudiated with their silence will astonish and inspire the country.
I simply refuse to give into the complicity and silence of the Repubs in office. Please continue to be a voice to all these reps though phone calls, emails, old fashion written letters. They cannot hide from this as unlike 1776 it is all out there on the World Wide Web documented for all time. Keep making noise. Participate in rally’s and protests where you can. That is how humanity turns the tide. Make it a loud vocal revolution. We can thank HCR for leading the pack on that. She documents, she speaks, she has millions of followers and people are listening and questioning. Thank you thank you professor for speaking clarity to the lies by those in power.
I have been thinking the same. At present, the military seems to have no opinion but I wonder if at least some of those near the top of the command have … thoughts.
Just to clarify, I supported both Hillary and Ksmala and I worked for Hillary (couldn't work as much in 2024 due to medical issues). But I saw the political reality too. This country despite being one of the most advanced civilizations in the world is simply not yet ready to elect a female leader. That is a sad and tragic commentary on our population but it doesn't make it less true. Sadly, I expect we will need another 10-20 years before we will ever elect a female President. 2028 will be a watershed year and I expect we (Democrats) will have to run a white male again to beat the Trump-MAGA coalition. I hope I am wrong but i fear that if we run another female candidate, even a very popular one like Amy Klobuchar or Gretchen Whitmer, we will lose again in a close election.
And looking at what Trump did to Elise Stefanik, there is 0 chance the GOP will run a female, not even a true right winger like Noem or Green.
Trump makes Iran-Contra and Watergate look penny-ante. I guess he’s winning at corruption. And we’re the losers, as he siphons up our tax dollars into his and his cronies’ pockets, and lets Musk steal our data and spy on us. June 14 — find a No Kings march/rally near you, since it’s all up to us to stop this slide away from democracy.
How about a real special hail storm in the oval office - so you get hail on the chief? And it can pile up around him until he can't move… (sorry, today's post has really gotten to me.)
The Park Police issued permission. There will be fireworks , marching soldiers, country singers and a few items of military machinery. I live just up the road. I don’t pray but I do hope for a mega storm as suggested above or other calamity. The rest of DC and Md be spared. If there’s a god…..
Just a few items of military machinery, to celebrate the armed forces? Oh well. All that for 14 June? I wonder if he remembers there's a 4 July? Or has that gone down the drain with the Constitution?
Yes, Reagan's Iran-Contra and Nixon's Watergate look penny ante. Going back further to when Nixon was President Eisenhowser's V.P. -- there was a national uproar over Tricky's acceptance of a puppy🐶 leading to Nixon's still infamous "Checker's Speech".
I’m moving ever closer to arming myself and my only nemesis is the American government. I will not remain silent. And let us understand these shenanigans will not end. As I recall, there was a major crises every week if not every day during the first term. Voters have short attention spans. And many vote out of revenge instead of carful analysis of issues. I’m reminded in part of the Arab Muslims of Wisconsin who didn’t vote out of revenge for Biden’s insistence giving Israel all the armaments it wanted to slaughter women and children.
JD, this is all Biden’s fault. Waddia talkin about. If we didn’t have Biden to frick things up we wouldn’t have Trump. don't get me started. No, get me started. I’m in Rome now so you can’t get me. I can scream fro the roof of the Vatican “ITS BIDEN’S FRICKEN FAULT.”
So said our MSM. But some of us were overwhelmed by the stench of treachery, whether from pols, cult nuts, religious nuts, greedy bastards, loved ones…
Bill, I've thought the same thing. Several of my neighbor's have more than a dozen weapons each as well as the ammo. They have all been good neighbors to us. But many of them think that Trump is a Republican and they won't quit the Republican cult even though it is corrupt as fuck. We all help each other out, but they all know not to discuss politics with us.
Quite rightly so did they not vote for Genocide-Joe - I'm sure they were quite aware that Trump wouldn't be better, the US is just a war-loving country.
When I first hit Texas in 1962, the cohort of people at NASA were from all over the US and beyond. Never having been away from my NC home, I was exposed to all kinds. And relished it, except for the coworker moron who said, as we stood and heard Walter declare JFK dead, “it’s about time that somebody took him out.” Then I married a man from a rural area and was so impressed with the kindness and what I considered “real Christian values.” The John Birchers were the fringe nuts and not the norm, at least in my observations. Rush Limbaugh changed that. Seen so many iterations of deliberate political upheaval, I’ve lost count. From Nixon, Rupert (Fox), W/Dickie, Tea Party, Obama (the hatred was maybe a genetic manifestation of the worst of humanity), and then chump. My most beloved in-laws were dead by then, as was the Rush lover, but Texas has become a cesspool, by deliberate Republican design. At least from where I have sat. I loved Houston and rural area but it’s a different world. Have found a UU church where love still rules, after watching churches become arms of the Repub agenda. Maybe the genetics were different back then, or maybe my horizon was limited, but my experience anyway. Hypocrites rule with hating, cheating and propaganda. It was not always so.
I moved to Houston 20 years after you did to work in the oil patch, and found that environment to be a mixture of good hospitality, common sense, and a can-do outlook on the world. But that also included large egos, an overly competitive work environment, and a large dose of misogyny. There was a lack of tolerance for other points of view. Those negative threads only grew, and only my family anchored me here.
All that negativity aside, I have amongst my circle of friends and relatives some awesome people from all parts of the political spectrum. Those that are pro Trump are the ones that give me hope that the current MAGA movement isn't sustainable in the long run. Too many people are innately good. We just have to work to keep the framework of democracy intact.
Speaking of NASA, one engineer was hired from there who mentored me at a time when my career was floundering, and that enabled me to excel professionally and retire a bit early.
Thanks for another perspective. My friends who are pro-Trump discourage me. Brilliant, but have Fox on tv for 24/7 literally. This since it came on the air in 1996. They were up all hours of the night. I spent a lot of time there and watched them worship W, and then see chump as a necessary evil. Now it is inter generational insanity, but I don’t see them much anymore. Still boggles my mind.
Tammany did a lot of good for immigrants, the destitute and the ordinary workers. In exchange it got political support from them. Trump’s family conspiracy lays out favors in order to get money for themselves.
Everything Donald does is in his own self interest. He expects Congress and the Senate to shut up about his gift from Qatar, and the GQP members will not say a word. They are the only ones who could remove him, and they never will.
No, Kathy, GOP members are not "the only ones who could remove him."
The fool Chuck Schumer, as Senate Majority Leader a few months ago could have held the vote on Article 14, Section Three, which would have rid us of the insurrectionist in chief.
Hakeem Jeffries in the House could do the same now, if he had the gumption to negotiate just three House Republicans to switch to a bi-partisan House so he could do what idiot fool Schumer never did.
Article 14, Section Three clearly spells out how an insurrectionist can be disqualified from any public office. Nothing to do with Supreme Court. Nothing to do with any state. If either house of Congress holds that vote, and signals an insurrectionist is not forgiven his insurrection, he's done, gone, out forever.
Dems, just total fools who cannot honor the Constitution.
Indeed--and also for Black people. Same in KC. The regime of Tom Pendergast (who financed Harry Truman's first foray into politics, by the way) was not kind to the establishment, but benefited a lot of people who were oppressed by them. It was what those political machines did: they disrupted the system by making the working poor and other underprivileged people beholden to them. It was not benevolence, although it could look like that to some.
Then, he makes Boss Tweed look like a piker. After all, he wasn't exactly known for his largesse to the non-rich, but rather for his utter corruption. Which is what Tammany Hall represents to this day. A stand in for venal corruption.
It's the problem for one's legacy that the corruption always is remembered, and removes admiration for the good done.
In my opinion , D, Trump should never have been allowed to run again for President. His many crimes, for which he was found guilty are not attributes of someone who can lead a nation in a safe, caring and respectful manner. He remains self-serving.
As we can see, his gifts of "shiny things" are more important than his allegiance to the standards of his office as President of the USA.
The people...the resources of our great lands, are for his use and for the use of his "gang". When will this nightmare end!!!
We will not be safe. The health and education and general care of our children and our beloved seniors will not be a priority to him and his minions. Our magnificent parks, our water systems will no longer receive the care we need to continue and improved upon! Trump and his minions are blinded by the treasures of the USA and the bribes (with winks) he is receiving from foreign governments! Trump and his minions will destroy our country's resources...using everything for themselves.
They will use their power to decide who lives in this country or who will be deported. They will choose the voices they want us to hear and they will silence our "freedom fighters".
Our elected officials, who have not succumbed to tyranny, must fight for our rightful freedoms.
Linda,
My husband and I attended two protests with our fellow citizenry and we plan to attend the next one! We love our country and the freedoms for which our Patriots have spilled their blood...given their gifts of diplomacy...etc.
WE DO NOT WANT TO BE RULED BY A SELF-CENTERED KING OR DICTATOR!
THE MORE WE ACCEPT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON UNDER TRUMP AND HIS PUPPETERS....THE FURTHER WE DECLINE INTO AUTHORITARIANISM!
THE SOONER WE SERIOUSLY RESPOND THE BETTER! "THE NET IS TIGHTENING!!!"
Linda: It has all been a setup. As I've said in many other posts, I don't believe tRump won either election that put him in the oval office. The Republicans have found a way to rig the polls and the Electoral College. tRump said before the election that he didn't need the crowds or for people to vote for him in order to win the election. I take him at his word on this. ... No. We can't wait. We can't expect free and fair elections. We can't expect Congress, SCOTUS, the military, or the intelligence community to honor their oaths. We are American citizens. America! The home of the free and brave. It's time for the free and brave to defend what belongs to us if we want to keep it.
Not just MUSK. Peter Theil and the other TechBros are behind this and the surveillance systems, to institute their dystopian ‘post-Constitutional dictatorship.’ And JD is their boy.
www.nokings.org. If there's not a protest near you, the website can show you how to create one. The basics are you, a few others, signs, visibility = a protest!
Reading the details of sleaze under the Kushner-Bondi-Trump reign of self-righteous, oleaginous, self-dealings literally makes a sane person want to projectile vomit. Our Founders would be dumbstruck at our indescribable stupidity in giving this cabal of thieves another opportunity to piss all over the Constitution and what it stands for.
When written about by future historians, the cowardice of the Republican Party will merit a special chapter, called the "Silence of the Turds." 💩
Also the ignorance and ineptitude of 50% of the American public who did their duty and lived up to Mencken's observation that one day they would achieve their lifes' dream and elect a Compleat Moron to the presidency.
Actually it was roughly 32% of the American public that gave us the Orange Moron.
Which suggests an election process that delivered a government by a minority of selfish haters and bigots.
77 Million $trump
75 Million Harris
80+ Million sat on their asses - could have voted, could have prevented this collapse of democracy, but didn't.
In Australia, voting is mandatory in Federal elections. The fine is $25. Participation in Federal elections is over 90%.
We have ignored the fact that an "electoral college" was designed hundreds of years ago. If a democracy is majority rule....why continue this farce?
The same clever thinking gave us a Senate that gives states with tiny populations the same power as others. California has the 4th largest economy in the world and about 40 million people. North Dakota gives us some coal and about 800,000 people. So..two senators each? This is not democracy. This is ridiculous.
America is mostly intelligent, open minded and tolerant. We have let the clever minority use an antique system of government to dominate us with their superstitious fanatical religious crazy ass ideas. Of course, they brilliantly aligned with a few oligarchs to fund the project.
Maybe they will sing a different tune - when Medicaid gets slashed - when their mothers are rotting in urine soaked nursing home beds - when their kids don't get school lunches or SNAP benefits - when they die of preventable illnesses or are living in hospital deserts - the clinics closed because Planned Parenthood was the ONLY nearby source of healthcare for women. Maybe they will feel differently as the economy crashes, jobs are lost in greater numbers and air travel becomes more dangerous...
Maybe they will feel differently when FEMA isn't there when the next disaster hits. Hurricane season is starting soon....
No it's not half of America doing this. It's a minority of murderers.
June 14th - will this be the day when Americans said "Enough!"? Will there be a person who will stand in front of a tank in DC?
It's one thing for us to hold signs on the side of the road. I'll be there. But maybe someone needs to be IN the road.
Bill, I am also dismayed at the 80 million who did not vote. It needs to be acknowledged, however, that we do not know the number of people who were unable to vote due to machinations by the RepubliKKKan party's voter suppression efforts, or shenanigans with the voting machines. That may or may not be a statistically significant number, but assuming that it is, and would be enough to have tossed the election the other way, it still matters that around a third of the voting eligible population did not care enough to vote.
AH: totes. The Australian model also automatically registers all citizens at adulthood and makes it very easy to vote. The whole idea is that an open plebiscite is the fairest. The current regime here in Ammurrikka is based on the opposite idea: the deliberate suppression of certain kinds of voters will "guarantee" the result desired. Another issue: since Australia has a parliamentary democracy, the change of regime is based on the head the political party that wins the most parliamentary seats. There is no gerrymandering. There are no shenanigans in terms of carving out districts to direct who gets to vote. Very straightforward. Sometimes with undesirable results but usually with a reasonable head of state. Our system is completely wonky in comparison.
I have a suggestion, offered a decade or so ago my Eric Liu in a Ted talk. He argued that all qualified voters do vote and that those who don’t cast a ballot always vote for the winner, whoever that is.
It is true, as in Arizona, that many Americans who do not affiliate with a party have serious obstacles put in place by those parties, to render independent voters second class citizens. It’s even worse. They punish their own party members who—blasphemy!—choose to cross then line on certain candidates. Efforts to reverse this frequently fail, even after multiple attempts—as in Arizona and several other states in the last election.
So, wondering out loud, what if we changed how we talk about this. Did you vote? Wrong question; the answer is always yes. Did you cast a ballot? Yes or no answers actually mean something. What if we started using the right words to describe what is going on?
That doesn’t solve the problem; the solution is multi-faceted and incredibly difficult—and some barriers have actually been lifted, as in Alaska recently. Beyond the barriers, we have a major cultural shift to make in multiplying the ballots needed from the almost half of registered voters in the Nation who declared themselves independents. Perhaps the current unraveling of the Constitutional order will be a motivation for enough of them. We won’t know that until 2026 and 2028.
One factor that may be of serious value is that a relatively small increase in the ballot count in selected campaigns could begin the leadership transformation we need to return Congress to its intended role. In Arizona, we’re talking about only a couple of districts. This time.
I believe that reframing the conversation might help. There is no single answer. But I believe reframing the conversation might help.
Hello Bill... Very Good Posting... Remember Ben Franklin's Adage... "We Have A Republic If We Can Keep It"... Most People did the Easiest Thing... They Did Nothing... Now We Have The Oozing Orange Monster...
Thanks Its-Come-To-This... The Qataris are buying Protection from Mob-Boss DJT... The 'Kirchner Angle' was Key... The Loan for '666-5th Ave' failed on its Merits, the Qatari Investment Fund declined to invest in a Bad Property bought by Jared Kirchner that was intended to be a Flagship Property for the Kirchner Property Empire ... Jared Kirchner then approached MBS, and MBZ for help in 'Squeezing' the Qataris... The Saudis, and Emirates were annoyed with the Qataris because of Al Jazera which is sort of like the BBC in the Arab World... In the Arab World, the Qataris are Progressives... They know how DJT 'Ticks'... DJT is Further Destroying the USA's International Reputation... OBW: The USA's Biggest Airbase in the Middle East is in Qatar, and DJT did nothing to help the Qataris during this Blockade... The Jordanians Did... In the End, this is about $$$ for DJT... Once Again, DJT 'Wins', and We-The-People Lose...
And it all comes back to oil. Trump thinks that fossil fuels are the only acceptable source of energy. But his "drill baby drill" philosophy isn't working out as oil production in the US is down by over 10% since 2024 and the price per barrel isn't encouraging anyone to drill or build new pipelines. And let's face it, coal is dead or at least on life support.
Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution:
“No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
Plus “It’s going to be hard for the admin to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and obliterate Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah when Qatar funds the Muslim Brotherhood, harbors HAMAS, and the US just accepted a $400 million jet from Qatar,” Loomer wrote. “The biggest lobby in DC is the Qatar lobby. We are watching an Islamic takeover of our country in real time.”
Qatar has been a significant financial supporter of Hamas, channeling aid to Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, for years. Qatar has given amnesty to Hamas political leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal, in Doha. It held itself out an a mediator but that is baloney.
Mark Levin, a MAGA radio host and a member of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security advisory board, joined Loomer in criticizing the move. But other usual Qatar critics on the Hill remained quiet, at least for now.
Doug Heye, a GOP strategist, said Republicans would have criticized any Democratic move to accept such a significant gift from Qatar. “The ethical problems with this are so obvious that even some of the most ardent Trump defenders are saying, ‘wait a sec,’” he said.
Bondi worked as a foreign lobbyist for the nation of Qatar, earning $115,000 a month in the role which she held in 2020 and in the run up to the World Cup in 2022. In this role, she lobbied Congress on behalf of Qatari interests. She also worked in a separate lobbying position for the Washington, D.C.-based firm Ballard Partners, where she also lobbied on behalf of Qatari interests and several conglomerates including Amazon.
Wealth funds in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have invested hundreds of millions of dollars with Jared Kushner's private equity firm.
A VIP Seat at Trump’s Crypto Dinner Cost at Least $2 Million
What Happened: The top 220 holders of Trump’s $TRUMP memecoin secured dinner invitations with Trump by spending and holding millions of his $TRUMP memecoin, some spending over $19 million. The top 25 will get VIP access and a White House tour. Some dumped their coins right after qualifying.
Why It Matters: Another blatant pay-to-play scheme, letting anonymous investors, including foreign entities, buy access to Trump while posing a national security risk. Meanwhile, Trump deregulates crypto as he and his family profit.
Source: WIRED
Eric Trump’s American Bitcoin Goes Public in Latest Crypto Move by President’s Family
What Happened: Eric and Donald Trump Jr.’s bitcoin mining company, American Bitcoin, is going public via a merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. The Trump sons will retain 98% ownership of the new Nasdaq-listed firm, trading under the ticker “ABTC.”
Why It Matters: This deepens the Trump family’s grip on the U.S. crypto sector. As Eric Trump pushes U.S. bitcoin dominance and Trump deregulates the industry, it raises serious red flags about corruption, self-enrichment, and unchecked conflicts of interest.
Source: CNBC
Foreign Investors May Have Won Access to Trump Gala Through Meme Coin Contest
What Happened: The top 220 holders of Trump’s meme coin secured invitations for a dinner with Trump. Some wallets appear tied to foreign entities, including a Chinese billionaire and Trump ally previously sued by the SEC—a case dropped after Trump took office.
Why It Matters: Trump’s coin is a pay-to-play access scheme. Foreign investors may be buying influence, while Trump’s family stands to profit tens of millions. National security, ethics, and regulatory integrity are all at risk.
Source: ABC News
Elon Musk’s Boring Company in Talks With Government Over Amtrak Project
What Happened: The Federal Railroad Administration is consulting Musk’s Boring Company to potentially take over parts of Amtrak’s $8.5 billion Frederick Douglass Tunnel project.
Why It Matters: Musk’s dual role as Trump adviser and federal contractor poses a major conflict of interest. As he helps gut agencies that oversee his businesses, his companies continue to cash in on federal contracts.
Daniel, I've read enough about crypto to have concluded that trying to understand it is a waste of my time and brain cells. But I also remember reading about all the wailing and gnashing of teeth when the U.S. Dollar went off the Gold Standard, courtesy of "not-a-crook" Richard Nixon. Critics said we were just "printing money having no real value." But at least the dollar was secured by the "full faith and credit" of the U.S. Government. (Coincidentally, U.S. national debt skyrocketed and has continued to do so ever since.)
Now, another GOP president who clearly doesn't have the mental horsepower to understand it is pushing crypto. In my opinion, crypto has value based on thin air and nothing else. It's "mined" out of the ether and exists only because ones and zeroes say so. Even "stable coin" tied to the U.S. Dollar is worthless, considering that the U.S. Government has squandered its full faith and credit.
It's just a matter of time until someone's AI figures out to virtually "steal" it. Hopefully, it happens soon and only the idiot oligarchs lose their shirts.
But my feeling is they've started the scenario...yesterday we were discussing how right wing think tanks were obsessed by the inflation of the Weimar Republic and how a wheelbarrow of Deutschmatrks couldn't buy a loaf of bread....and thus Hitler.....
Don’t forget in Trump 1.0 Kushner’s sister was in China trying to sell off visas at 500 k a pop to bail out that loser of an investment. Every single person who pulled a lever for Trump was asking for this to return. The difference is they thought, like all sycophants think that they were in on the joke, part of the team, welcome at the club.
It’s like the scholarship kid the rich kids use to score coke but when they get caught, rich daddies bribe the school and the scholarship kid goes to jail.
It is time for Americans to admit we made a mistake. I’ll admit I was not vocal enough to MAGA friends and neighbors because I wasn’t wanting a debate with someone whose points were based in lies. Hard to argue fantasies. And they must admit they got used and are now getting dumped.
Trumo tryin g to look tough and FAILING on China will STILL crush small businesses, MAGA businesses. Unless they have the 500k honorary bribe to enter the new Uday and Qusay nightclub, they’re out of business. And they won’t get the really cool bankruptcy where you just restructure and screw your vendors. YOU, every day MAGA, get the real kind of bankruptcy…where the take anything worth a nickel, including your kid’s laptop and sneaker and TWO DOLLS and you start all over at 50.
Yes, and if Trump manages to pull off his peace initiatives in Ukraine/Russia, Gaza war and loosen the stranglehold of AIPAC/Israel on the US government, get India and Pakistan to make up, it’s going to be very difficult to beat him, elections or not, he will even get international recognition, and understandably so – the killing has to end, everywhere.
It will probably get him the support of the military.
Although US citizens are less in foreign politics interested and more in domestic, this is a big one. I hope people realise that.
He is a strange man – at times he seems thick as pig-shit, and then you discover that he’s a brilliant strategist under all his b.s. That gives me cold shivers – I’d like him much better dim, because he’s also completely ruthless. I wonder if he’s on drugs.
These are actually epic times that we live in, reminds of the old Greek tragedies.
Thanks Sabine... I tend to Think that DJT is a Superficial, Greedy, Shameless Puppet who is only Good at Attracting Attention... It is the Evil Siths that Direct Him...
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
It makes it easy to find any rep or senator and call them with one click - from a phone or laptop. There's also a tab in which talking points about an issue can be shared. We'd love to collaborate with you. Pls reach me at Info@theDemLabs.org
wow, Deepak Puri, how awesome that you took Megan Rothery’s ‘good trouble’ voice spreadsheet and incorporated your polish for a new spreadsheet tool to create this free app:
Thanks for making our grassroots easier “to find any rep or senator and call them with one click - from a phone or laptop. There's also a tab in which talking points about an issue can be shared. We'd love to collaborate with you. Pls reach me at Info@theDemLabs.org” ✅
What do the silent Republicans think they are gaining by not doing their job? I write to my 3 Republican congresspeople often and nothing. Are they being paid to do nothing? Honestly, what do they hope for themselves in the future—to ride along on the coattails of Trump and partake of the Grift? As far as I can tell they are not going to wake up and be concerned for their constituents. They are complicit in the corruption now.
I think they actually think they are KEEPING their jobs by being silent during this obscene corruption. Ya don't Piss Off a king and his nobles. But the people's pain will be so great real soon, they may sing another tune.
Complicit? So true. But the damage by this insanely reckless government has barely begun. So consider calling regularly - you will be joined by a chorus of desperate callers of all political stripes who will be mightily pissed off as jobs are lost, prices go up, friends and relatives don't get the healthcare they deserve, disasters are not addressed by FEMA.
I could go on. But there will be a karmic payback. It is inevitable. NOTHING that is happening is HELPING anyone.
I am so excited about the tools above that make calling easier. And now I am going to be calling some elected idiot asswipes all across the country.
Great question. All I can hope is while we might not sway some congress members with our unrelenting calls/emails, maybe we sway some of their staff members who are overworked and dealing with all of us causing good trouble 🤞☺️
Obviously a maximally secure aircraft (in every respect) has to be built that way from the ground up. The Qataris know that Trump is a sucker for big, shiny things. They got his attention.
Does anyone remember the debacle of building a new embassy in Soviet-era Moscow in the 1970s, Think it was?? There were so many bugs, hidden cameras, and listening devices built into the structure by the Russian construction company--at the Kremlin's behest of course--that the US government decided to simply destroy the building and start over. It was kind of hilarious.
Breathtaking corruption by a regime of grifters, liars, and crooks. Trump and his regime keep giving us more reasons for NO KINGS! protests around the country - except in D.C.- on June 14. We'll reclaim the flag and ignore Trump's military birthday parade. Find a protest near you, or create one of your own at nokings.org or indivisible.org. Onward!
One of America’s great voices on the gentry rich, Joan Didion, grew her insights on that as she grew up amid old family California elites. Much she wrote reaffirms what Heather has often said of the U.S.’s cowboy mythology.
But it wasn’t just myth for Joan Didion, who lived amid elite aloof conceits. As she wrote in “Where I Was From” (2003): “Not much about California . . . has encouraged its children to see themselves as connected to one another.”
22 years ago she could see the animus against government now rank in techie bros and billionaires behind today’s White House criminality. She knew from her California how an “extreme if ungrounded individualism” ever opposed “life as defined or limited or controlled, or even in any way affected, by the social and economic structures of the larger world.”
“Theory” – abstractions, categories, all the linear causal conceits – ever wars with facts, evidence, reality in all its nuances. This is true for the far-right in Russia, the U.S., Iran, Hungary, or Israel as it is in all schools where testing trumps essay writing and humanities.
Heather has noted the culture theorists of the far right have lately let their scenarios turn the White House criminal class against each other. And we who communicate more in detail here on Heather’s site? Might our higher standards give us momentum much as our 250-year-old democracy may help us over myths, sensationalism, lawlessness, and lies?
There's hope! Let's not forget the Girl Scouts of America organization whose stated mission is to encourage girls to become courageous, confident, responsible members of the community. Besides acquiring useful skills such as first aid and camping, the girls learn the importance of civic responsibility; resource allocation and conservation; and critical thinking focused on the value of living productive lives that can help make the world a better place. Something today's American pseudo-cowboys might not like.
Pseudo indeed. When I was a teen (in the 1960s) I heard a talk by a woman who had grown up in a Colorado community without roads, electricity, or telephones. What stood out in her stories was how neighbors were, of necessity, highly cooperative.
Voluntary youth organizations, or at least the ones I encountered over the years, also emphasize egalitarian cooperation; but a lot of that seems to be dropped when adulthood is entered.
A wonderful treatise. Explains so much about our society today, filled with solitary voidoids carrying on intimate conversations only with their small blue, glowing friends they carry everywhere, constantly gazing at them with rapture and devotion. Not great bowling league material, that's for sure.
Emerson wrote: "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... " and objectively that seems to be (i find it to be) true; and yet how complex and every-which-way interactive that all becomes in the realm of life. The abstractions have a place, but learning seems of minor value without conceptual and experiential continuity and coherence. Nature is the whole deal.
Yes. On Monday, direct backlash was taken by Arizona citizens over building 'ICE' at the Mesa Arizona Airport (AZA) on the wings of AVELO AIRLINES (AA).
Locals have outed AVELO AIRLINES as literally the new cross border🛩 airline of choice of HSI specifically the U.S. Government deportations of humans to other countries unlawfully without due process.
AA's HQ is at 12 Greenway Place in Houston Texas, The Founder & CEO of Avelo is ANDREW LONG the former CFO of United Airlines.
Yes, Avelo Airlines is the named 4/25/25 Class Action defendant filed by AA Flight Attendants prosecuting the company over No pay for their work before & after Flights.
Interesting Depositions of the overt actors are coming soon to your favorite digital Platform.
Hat Tip: TRMS.
PS: I deeply respect Rachel's weeks long focus on the organic political activity in all 50 States and in this case smart response in the city of Mesa south of Phoenix, AZ.
Ironically it seems to me that the liberty to a true individual, by which I mean innovatively unique, not self-centered and insular is a product of societal cooperation to create an environment in which people can pursue diverse paths to personal happiness within a healthy and secure society. Individual and social liberty are two perspectives on the same phenomenon, like trees and a forest, and we miss the point if we can't see one for the other.
I detect that sort of thinking in the Constitution, that attempts to prescribe a path to a working commonwealth, as well as personal rights and responsibilities. The corruption of this is tyranny and overbearing narcissism, which pair with one another as well.
Seems it's also in the news today how former Supreme Court justice David Souter openly expressed worry at the events which in fact befell our republic.
In expressing his anxiety of what he sensed could happen in the U.S., he also recalled the vital role civics played in his own education long earlier. It went missing from American schools since then (the billionaires managed to kill so much).
Here's the initial reporting on this which I saw today:
If any problem with this link, here are the key words that may quickly generate the article: "Supreme Court justice's stunning premonition of Trump era: 'How Roman Republic fell'"
I’m so glad we have you, Heather, and your deep grounding in history to make it clear just how extraordinary and destructive the actions of this administration are.
After ten years of Donald Trump invading every day of our lives, I came to the realization that I don't need to hear or read any more analysis. After ten years of diligently doing my homework in Political Science and Human Behavior, I have called "Time Out!" It's time to take a breath and begin plotting Trump's removal. Last week in my parallel universe, Trump received a lobotomy and he was exiled to Mar-a-Lago. I am looking for the moment when thousands and then millions of us say, the time has come to... "86" Donnie Two-Dolls.
HCR opines that ”the body politic is being corrupted—poisoned—by a sickness that must be cured or it will be fatal.” This observation is vital and, at the same time, threatens to suck all the vitality out of me despite our first really beautiful and warm mid-Spring morning. The miasma of the flagrant corruption makes it hard to see how we can put an end to it …find that cure she eludes to..given the absolute cowardice and/or corruption of the Republicans in the majority. And then you have our ’health’ leader swimming with his young grandchildren in a toxic bath of sewer sludge and chemical laden runoff.
We all need to contribute to raising the bar that excludes the intrusion of outright corruption and significant and unnecessary conflicts of interest in governmental roles and procedures. Someone on these pages once said she was not allowed to permit a client to buy her a cup of coffee in he public service role. Judges are theoretically supposed to avoid even the "appearance" of impropriety. There are good reasons for that. We should have focused on a establishing and enforcing much clearer boundaries long before it got this bad. Like street crime, corruption never goes entirely away; but we made a lot of progress after the "Gilded Age" and then let it slip.
JL I agree. In my former work as a staff attorney in the chambers of a federal judge, I was a very anonymous ghost researcher and writer but had to abide to such strict ethical guidelines of impartiality that I would never have written any comments on issues of the day on forums like Substack. Its is the brazen openness of this tit-for-tat acceptance of lavish bribes that at first astonished me and now guts me. The brazen, in our face norm breaking seems animated by a mens rea not only to enrich and consolidate power but to menace the rest of us.
Like wearing gloves and booties at a crime scene or around an severely immunocompromised patient, it the essential duty of some workers to be a "clean" as possible. Much thanks for your service.
Yes I'd seen something about RFK Jr. swimming in some toxic effluent with his grandchildren on Mother's Day. He said he took a dip in Washington, D.C.’s, Rock Creek with his grandchildren, despite decades of warnings that high bacterial levels make the Potomac River tributary unsafe for swimming, wading, even for dogs. What a whacko, it seems he just might still have the brain worm or maybe trying to help the kids get their own.
They may or may not, which keeps anti-science types in business, just as a drunk driver may or may not run over someone; but the risk is certainly heightened; and not a degree of risk that can be responsibly imposed on children.
I agree with HCR; it isn’t about Trump any more. It about the Republican congressional caucus, all of whom, in both houses, swore the same oath as Trump to “preserve and defend the US Constitution,” apparently with their fight hand on the Bible and their left hand behind their backs with fingers crossed.
The Roberts SCOTUS must also take blame for unleashing the Trump monster on the country, recent rulings not withstanding.
Trump could have been stopped cold any number of times since 2016, but instead he was aided, abetted, encouraged, and empowered to trash the Constitution and grab every nickel and dime he could get his fat pudgy little hands on.
True, that. When you have a kid running riot in the supermarket, it's down to Mom and Dad to strap him back in his pram.
Unfortunately, in trump's case, Mom and Dad are ALSO grabbing handfuls of whatever they can off the shelves. . .and screaming and stomping on anybody who tries to stop them. . .
As a Navy veteran, my still-binding oath as a federal officer to defend the Constitution resembles the one taken by the President.
It has finally occurred to me that any American can affirm it, again and again. In these lawless times, we all should.
To Organizers at rallies: Please lead crowds in reciting a "People's Oath." Get it on video and post it everywhere:
“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the civic responsibilities expected of every American. So help me God.”
Try that in front of a mirror and notice how it makes you feel. The spectacle of thousands making a brave commitment that GOP members of Congress and Trump's cabinet have repudiated with their silence would astonish and inspire the country. And MAGA Republicans will have no answer.
The courts are stopping Trump, so far. Rulings from courts have been good. The "wheels of justice grind slow but grind fine." Sun Tzu Art of War To completely stop Trump's authoritarian grift, Congress is needed.
Yes. And to have genuine elections in 2026 that can flip Congress, we need to do everything we can in the meantime to oppose the regime.
If you can do big things, great. Otherwise, do small ones. Be kind. Go to protests. Make calls, write postcards. If you can, donate to groups doing the work like ACLU and individuals reporting the truth. Whatever, but do it.
At a minimum: do not spread fear; remember that we do not know the future; do not degrade others no matter how ‘other’ they may seem; do not obey in advance; do not give your power to the authoritarians.
We’ll know for sure where the Supreme Court stands when the military starts shooting fellow Americans in the streets, but by then, it will be too late. The Supreme Court, like the Republican-lead Congress, has made itself irrelevant. Rather than rise up, the majority of Americans will “get in line” with the White Christian Nationalist movement, or will remain silent, hoping that the era of evil will somehow pass quickly. The elected and unelected activists who do rise up in opposition will be disappeared. Eventually, the MAGA factions will turn on one another and divide the country into zones of influence. There will be no truly “United” states, and our foreign rivals will take advantage of the chaos here. It Can’t Happen Here was a novel. We’re living it.
Wow Dave, now that you have surrendered, given up, ya may as well stay in bed and hide under the covers. SCOTUS ruled 9-0 people were entitled to a due process hearing prior to deportation in recents weeks, how does that square with your surrender?
What wasn't changed in the alleged "China Kneel" is an item that will be of interest to readers here, who purchase good directly from Chinese companies, or from small business here who import items from China: previous to Donnie Two Dolls' insanity, there was a "De Minimums" rule that imports from China of $800 or less were allowed in duty-free. Last month, Maladministration II announced that from May 2 on, the goods purchased under this scheme would be subject to tariff. The announced "deal" today included in the "detail statement" the fact that the tariff on purchases of $800 or less would remain at 120%. So say good-bye to those items you bought that way, for your own personal use or for re-sale in your small business. The toy store you buy gifts for your kids from will likely be going under, since most of their importing was done under this rule.
Donnie continues to kick average Americans - many of whom voted for him - in the teeth.
May the fatal hamberder result tonight in the Massive Fatal Myocardial Infarction - my prayer every night.
As to the congressional Republican silence: Since we know the regime is ignoring the courts, they are the only body left that can stop this. And if they rose up in a body against MAGA and the regime continued its behavior, we would have a real fight on our hands.
As it is, I see nothing standing between us and an authoritarian police state. It will then rest on the part of the military still loyal to the constitution to fight it out. The longer this goes unchecked the less hope remains for a solution that does not involve bloodshed.
The military isn't going to do anything to stop this, at least not given the current status. The only way the military will engage in opposition to Trump is if he actually starts to use military action against our own country, and that is highly unlikely. In any case, the military as a group is much more supportive of Trump than of constitutional democracy. There is no white knight on horseback in our military that is going to save our democracy. That is in our own hands.
@Jon Rosen--The composition of the military is not so clear as that. I have it from a few dozen military folk and families I have communicated with that many in the service are disgusted with this and will defend the constitution.
And I am nearly certain that the regime will use deadly force against Americans and on American soil. They may not use the military as such--more likely the an illegal private army of thugs composed of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Latter day Brown Shirts.
Yes, if the military fails in its duty to uphold the constitution it will be "in our hands". How do you think that will play out exactly?
It would play out in blood and chaos.
My fear is that those in the military who are loyal to the constitution would wind up fighting those who are loyal to the "Commander in Chief." THAT would be a real bloody mess.
I doubt that loyalty to the commander in chief himself is the big danger. It's loyalty to white supremacy and racism -- which are indeed embodied in the current, titular commander in chief.
I agree - we are now dealing with the 21st century version of the KKK, now known as MAGA - white Protestant domination. The racism, the despotism, are so transparent as to leave virtually no doubt. Suspending the writ of habeas corpus? That's dictatorship in action with no check on power, in this case, fascist power.
I wish the media did more to call out the passivity and complicity of the GOP congress. Trump is never going to change his stripes. And all our talk and shock aimed at him will change little. The GOP, especially those up for election next year, should be questioned and quoted over and over again so we never forget who betrayed our country.
"…that only Congress can suspend habeas corpus—and that unilateral suspensions by the President are per se unconstitutional.” Yes, it is outrageous that Republicans in Congress have abandoned their jobs like this. But isn't the Supreme Court equally liable? Why don't they issue rulings saying that suspension of habeas corpus (and other illegal actions) are violations of the Constitution? Isn't that their job?
Isn't Congress suppose to be regulating tariffs? SCOTUS unleashed all of the demons in Pandora's box when they gave him immunity from committing crimes under the guise of national security. We're at war with illegals, so I can do this and that (suspend habeas corpus, imprison people without their due rights, etc.
Happily for SCROTUS and no one else, the Suprettes don't have to issue rulings on any goings on they may happen to see from their ivory tower.
Someone must bring a case to them upon which they can rule, only after that case has run the gauntlet through the lower courts. Even then, they can arbitrarily refuse to hear the case, just because.
It will be very hard for them to revoke the get-out-of-jail-free card that John Roberts handed Donald.
I didn't have time to read much more after the second sentence of today's LFAA,
"...They refused to disavow White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s statement that the administration is looking at suspending the writ of habeas corpus, that is, essentially declaring martial law..."
That fired me up to make two signs for our Freeport, ME 8 - 10 AM protest with up to 35 people at one point, namely;
Listen up, Stephen Miller
The Constitution is not a Suggestion It's the Law
and
No Unofficial Martial Law
without Congressional Approval
(Note that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached in Dec 2024 and upheld by court on April 4, 2025 over his attempt to declare martial law improperly.)
Inspired by a lady's sign there, I made another for the 12 noon protest outside Senator Collin's Lewiston Office
The text:
ICE wears masks when they violate the Constitution, So Should You
with the closest I could come to a graphic showing Trump wearing a Balaclava
Careful with your verbiage! Trump might think "titular" is an insult.
i think it means man-boobs
Not just Protestants. There is a stream of others as well. And a long, long time coming. I heard about the Michigan militia from my local police department about one family who had ties abd that was 1990.
It has been a festering sire since perhaps after the Civil War. Even in the northern states. In the 1920’s before the KKK became close with the Roman Catholics a group and sometimes people working fur the city during the day came to a priest relative rectify where he was helping out for summer and came in full attire . The only thing that stopped them was the fact my relative had been a doughboy abd he had his uniform. He went and put it on and stood his ground without a gun. They left. This gives me hope that sometimes amist violence and murder sometimes a good person wins.
Mary, Have you read Fever in the Heartland, which details KKK activity in the 1920s mainly in Indiana where Roman Catholics were most certainly targets. It includes a section about the South Bend KKK and Notre Dame. When I was doing my student teaching in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the gal before me was Catholic. She told the story of the KKK burning a cross in her grandfather's yard in St. Joseph, Michigan. So it sounds like there was some Roman Catholic cooperation, if I am reading your post correctly, but I think this was not the norm. When I was growing up in northern Indiana in a Protestant family, I heard lots of anti-Catholic talk. Catholics followed the Pope and had guns in their basements ready for insurrection among other things. In fact, my family did not like anyone who was not white and Protestant. I am excluding Anglo-Saxons because my paternal family was German. At a family reunion some years ago, they were still as prejudiced aa ever, this time against Hispanics and people from India, who often ran motels. In the county where I grew up and where the county seat, Goshen, prided itself on its Christianity, black people could not stay overnight and so when Marion Anderson came to sing at Goshen College, she had to stay in Elkhart. I did a census study of the county in the early 60s and black people were only found in a narrow strip south of the railroad in Elkhart.
Sounds like a civil war. Already families are divided to the point that some Thanksgiving dinners are no longer the fun things they used to be. My husband and his brother ( who has become a true southern TN person) are on opposite poles. Politics are avoided. Although the topic of the deportation came up. He had no problem with scooping up people of the street and deporting them to foreign prisons without any recourse. Now I look at my brother - law in a new light.
@The BobCaster--That is PRECISELY what I foresee as one of the few paths forward. Yes, a bloody mess. But at least a mess where the constitutionalists have a chance.
A straight up civil war is another matter. I can't see how the resistance wins in that scenario. Outgunned and overmatched.
I am not saying it's impossible. The winds of war blow strange sometimes. Just that it would be a long hard slog with an unthinkable cost. The only thing worse would be to live forever as an oppressed people. A permanent dictatorship.
Yes, keep in mind that most militia groups are Maga and they are the ones with guns.
I do know a few armed people on the left. But not many. All this talk of how we will "win back democracy". How?
Many conservative people are getting tired of little hands and the crazy maga kooks already. They are not delivering the American drea. I dont believe the majority of the military boots on the ground would follow an order to attack the people either. Very few of these redneck militia type are capable of attacking anything more vicious than a big mack, i live in a rural red part of Nor Cal so i am familiar. Not that worried about the militia overall.
Well, the reality (I think) is that the military will for the most part (more than 90%) follow orders, as that is what they are trained to do. Unless the orders are so CLEARLY unconstitutional, you will not see any huge uprising among the military. There may be an increase in people who decide to retire or resign from the military, and certainly there will be some who go AWOL (which is actually more common than most of us think), but in a force of over 1 million people, the likelihood that a group large enough to challenge the status quo effectively as probably close to zero. This COULD change if the administration goes TRULY SERIOUSLY off the rails, but despite all my friends here who think that has already happened, it obviously has not. Trump is doing what he said he would do (as tragic as that is, but they still voted for him) and with a few exceptions, everything he is doing is at least within his purported powers. Some of that may be stripped away by the courts, but on the whole, he is just proceeding "on course".
For instance, even I (who hate the man with a passion) thinks that his policies on undocumented immigrants are within the law, although his actual execution may stray (such as sending many of them to a horrific prison in El Salvador) from the law slightly. But the fact is, we DO have millions of undocumented immigrants in this country and if they decide to "enforce the law" that is going to result in a HUGE number of people being deported and those deportations will almost certainly be MOSTLY legal. Yes, there will be exceptions (there always are) but for the most part this is really a battle about what SHOULD be done with undocumented immigrants, not a battle about whether this problem exists or not.
If the military was ordered to help enforce the deportations, the issues that would be raised would be procedural ones about whether or not military should be (or can be) used for this issue, NOT whether those deportations are legal. My argument is that we need to fix the problem, not HOW we fix the problem. If the country agrees that all illegal immigrants should be deported, then prepare yourself, because we will be deporting about 10,000,000 people over the next few years. This will cause great disruption in our society, but it is NOT Trump acting illegally.
I do NOT think the Trump regime will actually use military against real American citizens. At least that is how I feel now.
It's called a civil war. We've seen this throughout Africa, Asia and South America over the last few decades. What makes you think you're immune? And don't say "the Constitution". Who,in your Administration, is listening to THAT at the moment?
It still reigns high in the body politic (all sides) that all remain ever alert but still hunkered each in their own little nest, maintaining complete silence, shocked and awed. Everyday a new incremental, increasingly outrageous insult from the strutting MAGA with audacious swagger--obvious enriched baits to force a response. Political performance by Trump's fascists now is pure bold theatre, the only theatre in town. Having the sociopath fascist Steve Miller anounce martial law, the boldest barter, seems not enough to impel anyone to respond. It remains a completely one-sided event. The country is stirring, but the elected politicos, the ones with power, do nothing. With that and no change, it points to only revolution.
Gerald Lewis, if the orange slime were an only a narcissistic sociopath; but I’m convinced he’s a psychopath in Roy Cohen style along with Miller, who’s a self hating racist psychopathic Jewish man acting as t’s
puppeteer.
It all seems like the worst kind of our species has been burped into power as destroyers while Spring here goes on in stunning green spectrum, azaleas and flowers bloom,
and as people in Gaza starve, I go to buy food, throw toys for my dog to catch,
and worry about when we’ll get rain.
Is there something wrong with this picture?
New World Same as the Old World
We here in ET can send you our biblical-proportion rain and floods. Address?
Could you please send a small amount of your overly generous rain amounts to our desert in far west Texas which has been in serious drought for several years? We would very much appreciate being able to have our normal monsoon season and our 8"-10" of annual precipitation.
Gerald Lewis, I would like a list of those “silent” law maker so I can put on my wall. To them daily!
Gerald, speaking of performances, if Trump and his Cabinet members had a TV show, it could be called any of the following, reminiscent of some old TV shows.
"Name that Felon" "To NOT Tell the Truth" "In Jeopardy" "Who wants to be a Billionaire?" The Price Could be Right" "What's My Lie?" "Let's Make a Deal. Or Not"" "The Arrogant, Abusive, Apalling Apprentice" "The Mickey Mouse Club" "We've All Got A Secret" or "The Pryamid Scheme."
I have a whole musical written about Trump...The theme song is "It's All About Me!" :P
😊How about "Wicked Me"
lol 😺😺
And we have to remember that Hegseth is firing 20% of the admirals & generals. I'm sure it's the ones that WOULD protect the constitution that will be gone leaving only lackeys in charge. Even Nazi Germany had generals that opposed Hitler & they were "moved out". trump isn't going to take that chance. Out they'll go to be supplanted by MILITARY MAGAs!
Protest NOW while we still can do it relatively safely. When the stars aline for trump/2025 jack-booted thugs will abound & the bounty hunters this administration is proposing against immigrants will expand.
If you wonder how a group of people can become so indoctrinated I highly recommend that you watch the documentary "Ordinary Men". It's on Netflix. It's a little less than an hour long & it shows how people can be subtly coerced into doing the most heinous things. It's very interesting & extremely unsettling when you see how gleefully people will sign on to turning in immigrants. And who will be next? The trans community, the gay community, Democrats, non-christians, unacceptable Christians that don't follow the "true faith, of white man domination from the family on up"!
The list goes on & on! Our names are on it someplace!
A very good point. The trans community is reportedly about 0.5% of the US population. Once they run out of snatching them up, they will need another group to "other".
I wish that protests, even mass actions, would move the needle. But they no longer need the support of the governed. And they don't care to govern--they wish to rule. I fear this will be a bloody mess no matter what we do at this point.
But the military is a HUGE institution and not one that likes chaos. I certainly would not make assumptions about its status.
Sarajevo, Beirut, any number of places that I remember well. Same playbook. One group decides to erase another. It ain’t pretty.
Agree. Plus , what have we done to deserve “freedom” ? Shitty election after shitty election for decades the best we get is maybe a slightly less, slightly more ,shit sandwich. They’ve all sucked if you want honesty.
Apathy is rampant. No one cares about anyone outside of family ….maybe. No one can afford to give a shit and that’s supposed to be acceptable ?!?! Sigh.
That doesn’t have to be if enough people actually organized in small groups ,then bigger groups and decided we aren’t ok with class warfare, ppl living on the street, expensive medical costs , and being told an NHS is communism and the wealthy are above the law.
The last time USA actually had hope was during and after WW2. Also the last fair deals to be honored. Greed has clawed its way so far up the collective ass that ppl think “ that’s just the way it is”. Until that thinking is changed we’re gonna be under martial law real soon. Trump knows no one really gives a shit. If he knows nothing else he damn sure knows that. Yeah he knows about criming too. After that it’s golf and wife cheating.
No saint , God, white horse or any other help is coming anytime soon. This is on us. This time is a street level grassroots “ All lives matter or no lives matter “moment . Ppl will fight for someone they know cares about them. That’s a commitment. Deserves honor. Likely we’ll hit patches of violence because that level of change is gonna require telling the exceedingly wealthy you don’t need 30 jets. You can have 2 and they’ll cost a little more cause you’ll have less money . The pay off is we get to live in a society that addresses every issue and no one falls through the cracks and is free to do the best they can for their family and neighbors/friends without working 5 jobs to pay the bills. Treatment centers for the truly nonfunctional as well.
Everything is the way it is right now because not enough ppl care enough to change it. Let me know when you’re ready and we can get started.
As for the post? Great post . More outrage. More corruption. Deafening silence. Occasional performative outrage . Sigh.
They think we won’t care enough to do anything. Right know that’s why they’re winning.
Either all lives matter or no lives matter. You want freedom for yourself, Your family , friends ? I’m thinking we’re just gonna have to go take it. Sure as shit no one is gonna give it to us. Right now is the time to hit them . They are the dog still stunned they actually caught the car. Right now is when they need to be hit. Once we hit them the biggest danger will always come from a bribe. That’s where integrity, honesty , and ethics come in. This can’t sustain without it. That’s why we got here in the first place. Hey Go Big or Go home . This may be the only shot we’ve got.
Could you be more specific about your "we"? I'm hearing this "we" a lot from white people, especially white men, who didn't notice the country was in trouble till Trump was elected the first time. Your "Let me know when you're ready and we can get started" is telling. Thank heavens civil rights activists and feminists and gay rights activists, etc., etc., etc., didn't wait for permission to get started.
Same here, Susanna.
Divide and conquer! It must be "we" or we will all fail! I am not white. What's happening has nothing to do with race, color, gender. We're battling "the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Eph 6:12 This is the age-old war of the haves against the have-nots. It's a war against the global 1%. It doesn't matter who started fighting first. We must be inclusive and allow any and everyone who is willing to join us in this fight.
Thanks, Susanna. My thoughts exactly!!
Susanna, it’s our black brethren who are going to save US. They know how to survive infamy. I think of Lloyd Austin as the general he is putting together with the help of as many of his fellows black and white the military that will simply remove DT and his cabinet from their various posts and imprison them and the January 6th felons to serve out extended sentences. Trials as in Munich should follow.
From what I see, apathy is not rampant except in the oligarchy owned media. Interestingly, I have received emails from Newsweek, the WAPO, The NY Times and the Chicago Tribune begging me to come back because they offer so much more than political news. I'm guessing many of you are getting similar requests.
I signed up for the Chicago Tribune for $1 for a year and rarely log on. They strive to be a "local" paper as do many of the weekly papers around the country and they don't dare risk their readership by Trump bashing.
Newsweek's headlines lure in the reader's by praising Trump and his nefarious actions. So many people never get past the headlines as Margaret Sullivan and others have pointed out.
The WAPO has chased away dozens of their best journalist with Bezos bizarre capitulation to Trump and they too "headline bait" for clicks.
And then theirs FOX News that is the major hiring pipeline for Trump's WH. Everyone sucks up to Trump on Fox News hoping that Trump will make them a cabinet Secretary.
I've been getting stuff from FOX. I marked it spam and unsubscribe. Any news thing I read from FOX news I read critically. As far as I am concerned they only thing they do correctly is broadcast sport games. It's hard to corrupt that but give it time, filming edited versions of trump applause at the Series game was one example.
The Trib would be a bargain right now for Pope coverage.
Where and when? I'm in. If trump gets wiped out overseas, that's a start. With the head of the snake gone, the rest of the body will eat itself trying to snatch up what they can.
Since he won't meet the same fate as Jamal Khashoggi while with the murderous "Prince", we have to keep gathering by the millions...even more... in protest and get this done following our Constitution. It's why I still register people to vote, caution them about "the proper ID", and focus on how we are getting nothing out of the big promises from a supreme liar. The 2026 election is our way to reign him in, and we must protect it at all costs. We win by following the law and Constitution.
Along with getting rid of the obvious GOP greedy followers of this maniac, we also need to clean house where the Democrats are concerned. There are several who actually care about the Constitution and the Country as a Democracy... there are far too many, ie: Schumer, who are the same as the GOP except for their party. There are primaries to remedy that problem, and everyone must advocate for getting new , brave faces to run for office.
Last, loudly support the lawyers, Judges and the courts upholding our laws and working to protect us while holding the criminals at bay. Like you say, Paul, take to the streets and support them, and our determination to keep this Democracy and strengthen it with moral leaders with integrity who are honest and ethical.
We can't wait until 2026. We definitely cannot assume free and fair elections.
"Shitty election after shitty election for decades the best we get is maybe a slightly less, slightly more ,shit sandwich. They’ve all sucked if you want honesty." This is the lie that will make people go along.
I immediately thought of the doll quote, although I am not sure how many 11-year-olds are playing with dolls. Aren't some of them getting pregnant at 13?
Power to the People !!
This war will be won through totally decentralized resistance. Today the resistance is nowhere near as strong as it should be or will become because Americans are still too comfortable. I once visited a country where, even if you had a truckload of money, there was nothing on the shelves to buy. Let a loaf of moldy bread cost $15 and a half a gallon of milk $25, if they're even available. Just wait until pink and brown sludge is the daily color and texture of the water coming out the pipes into our kitchens and bathrooms. Only then will America wake up. Early on in round #2, when asked tRump said we're definitely going to war. He's going to make sure of it. But right now, most of us are still sleepwalking.
I am not sure that the military as a group is " much more supportive of Trump than of the Constitution." I don't think we know the numbers on either side. It's worrisome enough that we know some support Trump first, but we really don't know the numbers.
I suspect many are disgusted by being forced to tolerate DUI Pete Hegseth as SecDef. Whether they would respect his orders, I don't know.
A good measure of how supportive the military rank and file are of Trump would be ratio of Fox TV hours to non-Fox TV hours on TV sets on military bases. My guess is that it would be something like ten to one. Local police departments, especially county sheriffs, are probably even worse. The well-armed contingent of our public officials are, as representatives of democracy, at least as bad as Republican legislators, which is pretty damn bad. And, unfortunately, what most white Americans voted for.
That FOX thing on our military bases has been a source of my anger for years! I do not understand why Biden didn't change that when he was in Office. Why FOX? It should be someone like Reuters, AP, or some other news source that at least seeks truth! Letting FOX propagandize our troops everywhere is just plain stupid! 😡
What disturbs me is that our soldiers want to watch that propaganda. Their leaders could suppress it to some extent, but the soldiers would still be Fox (and worse-than-Fox) acolytes.
How unitary do you suppose the military will be in response to the Federal administration’s forceful assertion of absolute power? How unitary was it in the mid-19th century?
I still doubt that the administration will actually assert the right to absolute power. They are certainly pushing the boundaries, but so far, when there are objections, they have backed off. Trump hates confrontation when he doesn't control it, that seems clear. He will push, when he can, but forceful peaceful resistance usually generates some level of back-down.
That makes perfect sense, Jon. I personally much prefer your view. Bear in mind, the same tactic is used when preparing a major assault on a heavily defended perimeter.
I have concern that Drumpf is not at the center of this. If true, interpretation of the tea leaves may be significantly altered. Can another regular election be counted upon to support the current path? Will they sacrifice their programatic gains to risk?
How likely is that?
People keep saying how stupid they are. I haven’t seen that. REDMAP was a militarization move. This has been going on for a very long time.
I remain optimistic that our basic institutions will eventually prevail. Failing that, we may well reap the whirlwind.
Why should we suppose the administration is now stockpiling military hardware fortifying police departments?
That has been going on for years; local police have been the recipients of armored vehicles and other weapons and gear for a long time now.
Yes it has, primarily by Republican REDMAP administrations. Though it might be notable that this time there is a fresh brio to the depth and extent of the effort. It may also be noted that this time there is a very specific intent to the effort. If the intention of the current administration is to very quickly overthrow the current order of the nation and dissolve the constitution, what then will the tea leaves in our cups have to say?
Necessity is the mother of invention. That's what the tea leaves in our cups will say. We'll find new ways to resist.
👍indeed, Einstein.
Yes that happened after 9/11 and I never could make hair nor tail of how that all happened.
Actually, that is probably a good thing in many cases. Many state and local leaders do not support the Trump administrations brutal and cruel efforts to round up US citizens and will oppose any military action within their own states and cities.
Have you seen how they act when asked to help deport people? They don’t know if they are smashing in the car windows of citizens or “illegals”? They don’t know if the moms and little girls they’re tossing to the ground “belong here” or not. All they need to do is convince local police that the people they’re being asked to help arrest are dangerous and they lost their humanity.
Agreed local leaders oppose much of what is going on. But as a retired LEO I'm saddened to say if military law is imposed most law enforcement will go along with it.
Maybe, GJ Loft. But more often than not we have seen a different dynamic play out within the rather loose coupling that often exists between local leaders and the several police organizations that operate in and around these jurisdictions. In a politically disintegrating state, which is the scenario we are discussing, what will their alignment be? This is not about immigration at all. It’s about the federal administration establishing absolute power over all citizens. This is where they are going and doing it at breakneck speed.
Annabel & Jon, tRump has already amped up his own “Brown Shirts” via Tom Homan’s ICE with complicity from Kristi Noem’s Homeland Security agents with their often hooded operatives without clear insignia and their kidnapping and detention of anyone who has spoken out against government stances or who showed up for court appearances or even their annual contact with immigration authorities or whose looks they don’t like not to mention invading homes and taking all the money, computers and cellphones away leaving the new occupants without any means to continue their lives. Homeland Security & ICE are already providing tRump’s new army.
@JohnM--I am well aware. This is happening right now. it is not hypothetical. The are not quite at the end game, but it is close. Then it will be one of two choices: Submit or wage war.
I live in Rochester NY. This blue sanctuary city has been a particular target. Homan came here last week to flex his muscles. They closed down many blocks of PUBLIC streets for him. The Fourth Reich is here.
Yep. Homeland Security + ICE = neo-Gestapo
AGREE. The only way this regime will end is in massive protests. And if that hasn't happened by now, I fear it won't.
The regime can be restricted by protest. It won't be ended by protest. Barring an impeachment that is supported by 67 Senators for a conviction, this "regime" will not end until Jan 20 2029. And even an impeachment is not likely to do much given that JD Vance is standing in the wings.
A dark time for America.
Trump keeps backtracking then going forward with his damaging cuts and policies and stringing his base along (along with the FOX spin) so they are very unlikely to accept the truth about what is really going on. Alternate-interval conditioning is powerful stuff, the cult is subject to the MAGA gambling game.
Since the military is more supportive of Trump, I wonder why you think they would balk at mounting a military action against our own country.
I think (believe/ hope) that the military, raised and trained as they are on discipline, will be very cautious about violating the fairly strict rules about using the military in domestic conflicts. I am not saying they will flay or refuse to follow orders but I think it will be a very touchy issue if Trump tries to do something like that.
What they are doing at the border is (at least for now) fairly limited. It's easy to say it would be no problem for them to enlarge their scope and start arresting domestic people even citizens, but I think that would be a huge step downwards and even Trump might be worried about a negative reaction.
I certainly could be wrong, but I have already been surprised at how tentative many of his actions have been.
Yes but in his famous churchyard bible-holdi g scene after soldiers had their scuffle with protester, he adked one of his aides why we couldn't just use live ammo. Now he doesn't have aides with some sens to restrain him only suckups.
Jon, he's already using the military on the Southern border. Just a little step and they're in the streets ostensibly arresting (killing) violent criminals but will protesters be denoted "violent crimials" the same way Garcia et al have been defined gang members.
As I said above I think he is not at all confident of how far he can go and will be very cautious because I have to believe he doesn't want a full scale war in the streets of the US. Yes it is a thin line but it is still a line. We shall see..
Only the people have the power to annihilate this reoubliCon bullshit. We have the numbers to crush them. Join the party.
That's ridiculous. Like it or not, this government was elected by the people. If we try to "crush them" in an illegal coup, I think it plays right into his hand and would result in a bloody armed response that would overwhelm anything we could do.
Your quote: “There is no white knight on horseback in our military that is going to save our democracy. That is in our own hands.”
Talk about RIDICULOUS, your response assumes many things and appears to be quite naive or maybe just plain stupid. Open your eyes and look around, if you cant see it you must be blind and a fool.
Fascism IS a thing and what republiCons were elected for is basically empty promises, none of which have materialized as fact, zero. The people didn’t vote for this horrific kleptocracy.
I never said anything about an ‘illegal’ coup, you did so perhaps you’re familiar.
The people outnumber the seemingly powerless government which is basically a rubber stamp for one thing only and thats the power of one, not many. What I was suggesting was that ‘the people’ outnumber this ship of fools and together we can overpower this bullshit by resisting it everywhere, every time, every place. There most likely will be blood but numbers rule the few NOT the other way around.
Get a grip, THAT is the reality. The People rule not this pisspoor excuse for a government that does nothing but spit out executive orders like they are laws, they are NOT! while lining their pockets for personal gain.
I'm not expecting a military coup, either, but keep in mind that the military ignored JFK's executive orders (2) to plan a withdrawal from Vietnam. So, insubordination has a history. If Trump starts to recklessly endanger our troops and/or US security, we might see something there. If we get into a shooting war it's hard to imagine the generals following Hegseth's lead. That's the real issue, not DEI. They want to replace the career generals because they have integrity.
What are you talking about? JFKs orders to withdraw from Vietnam? We didn't start any major incursion into Vietnam until after JFK was assassinated.
And they have already replaced most of the senior generals and admirals with more sympathetic people.
Been coming since 2000
Since Regan’s election in 1980. I’ve always thought 1980 was a good line of demarcation.
More like when Nixon was pardoned by Ford. Floodgates to corruption opened for the gop
My friends and I are at a loss as to what might be holding the R’s in Congress to their silence. We hear regularly that, in private, they express dismay. WHAT could be holding their tongues in public, as this agenda moves along? I am at a loss. We need to get to the bottom of THAT!
I agree.
"The biggest news over the weekend was silence: the silence of Republicans." I suggest that NBC or CBS conduct an interview with every Republican congressman and woman asking "Do you uphold the Constitution?" Giving them a chance to clear their names.
@Hiro--If only the press were not infected. There has been essentially no national 4th estate for a number of years. Look what they did to Hillary Clinton in 2016, to Joe Biden from 2020-2025. Look how they covered the Harris campaign and all that followed. Look how they fawn over the fascists. Look at the sane washing. I don't expect that to change. It isn't that they are "obeying in advance". They are all in with the BAD GUYS.
This is just nonsense. Get hold of yourself. Most of the major press outlets endorsed Harris. The fact is that most of the MAGAs don't read the New York Times or listen to CBS. They watch Fox and read NOTHING. And Harris lost because this country is still a highly bigoted misogynist entity with almost half of population hating powerful women and people of color.
Couple that with the fact that Harris refused to step away from Biden whose support was in the 30% range and she had no chance to win.
Wallowing in a delusion that somehow Ocasio Cortez and Bernie Sanders can turn the country around is just that, a delusion.
Were you actually reading the NYT or WAPO? Did you notice the sane washing? The 4 years of not covering any of Joe Biden's MANY accomplishments while continuing to lionize Trump? The fact that several major outlets, including WAPO REFUSED to endorse Harris? Perhaps we have been living in alternate universes.
This has gone on for YEARS. It is not nonsense--it is the obvious bias of a yellow press. And the TV media outlets are just as bad.
As many noticed, but maybe not you, there is credible evidence of rigging, but we don't even need it to see how the STOLE it. The institutional rigging is enough, to wit: voter suppression, an obscene amount of dark money, unchecked interference from hostile foreign powers, propaganda from pseudo-news outlets, and the failure of a venal corporate press.
Where did you get that stuff about AOC and Bernie turning the country around? Surely not me--I have never said or implied such a thing.
Here's something we can do all by ourselves:
Ask the organizers at any rally you attend to lead their crowds in reciting a People's Oath, similar to the one I took in the Navy as a federal officer. Record it and post the videos everywhere:
“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the civic responsibilities expected of every American. So help me God.”
The spectacle of millions making a commitment that GOP members of Congress and Trump's cabinet have repudiated with their silence will astonish and inspire the country.
I have been saying this for months.
@Alexandra--me too. My stacks all the way back for at least a year. But not many want to hear it.
I simply refuse to give into the complicity and silence of the Repubs in office. Please continue to be a voice to all these reps though phone calls, emails, old fashion written letters. They cannot hide from this as unlike 1776 it is all out there on the World Wide Web documented for all time. Keep making noise. Participate in rally’s and protests where you can. That is how humanity turns the tide. Make it a loud vocal revolution. We can thank HCR for leading the pack on that. She documents, she speaks, she has millions of followers and people are listening and questioning. Thank you thank you professor for speaking clarity to the lies by those in power.
I agree with you. This is the part nobody can talk about because ppl are afraid of manifesting it.
I have been thinking the same. At present, the military seems to have no opinion but I wonder if at least some of those near the top of the command have … thoughts.
Fight for democracy or the constitution is too general and not exciting. How about DEMs campaing for the first woman presidency?
Yeah like that worked real well in 2016 and 2024...
Just to clarify, I supported both Hillary and Ksmala and I worked for Hillary (couldn't work as much in 2024 due to medical issues). But I saw the political reality too. This country despite being one of the most advanced civilizations in the world is simply not yet ready to elect a female leader. That is a sad and tragic commentary on our population but it doesn't make it less true. Sadly, I expect we will need another 10-20 years before we will ever elect a female President. 2028 will be a watershed year and I expect we (Democrats) will have to run a white male again to beat the Trump-MAGA coalition. I hope I am wrong but i fear that if we run another female candidate, even a very popular one like Amy Klobuchar or Gretchen Whitmer, we will lose again in a close election.
And looking at what Trump did to Elise Stefanik, there is 0 chance the GOP will run a female, not even a true right winger like Noem or Green.
Trump makes Iran-Contra and Watergate look penny-ante. I guess he’s winning at corruption. And we’re the losers, as he siphons up our tax dollars into his and his cronies’ pockets, and lets Musk steal our data and spy on us. June 14 — find a No Kings march/rally near you, since it’s all up to us to stop this slide away from democracy.
And pray for a big summer rainstorm in DC that day.
With lots of thunder and forked lightning. Maybe hail (to the chief)...
😆
How about a real special hail storm in the oval office - so you get hail on the chief? And it can pile up around him until he can't move… (sorry, today's post has really gotten to me.)
Rain on his parade? One way or another.
The Park Police issued permission. There will be fireworks , marching soldiers, country singers and a few items of military machinery. I live just up the road. I don’t pray but I do hope for a mega storm as suggested above or other calamity. The rest of DC and Md be spared. If there’s a god…..
Stephanie......if there is a god, she is pissed!!
Hail, or maybe locusts.
Just a few items of military machinery, to celebrate the armed forces? Oh well. All that for 14 June? I wonder if he remembers there's a 4 July? Or has that gone down the drain with the Constitution?
Dear Leader Day
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👏🏻👍😁
There are petitions from vet groups and maybe there could be a concert if it doesn’t rain.
Yes, Reagan's Iran-Contra and Nixon's Watergate look penny ante. Going back further to when Nixon was President Eisenhowser's V.P. -- there was a national uproar over Tricky's acceptance of a puppy🐶 leading to Nixon's still infamous "Checker's Speech".
No Kings and No Flying Qatar Palace.
I’m moving ever closer to arming myself and my only nemesis is the American government. I will not remain silent. And let us understand these shenanigans will not end. As I recall, there was a major crises every week if not every day during the first term. Voters have short attention spans. And many vote out of revenge instead of carful analysis of issues. I’m reminded in part of the Arab Muslims of Wisconsin who didn’t vote out of revenge for Biden’s insistence giving Israel all the armaments it wanted to slaughter women and children.
Wonder how those Biden’s haters like the devil incarnate
JD, this is all Biden’s fault. Waddia talkin about. If we didn’t have Biden to frick things up we wouldn’t have Trump. don't get me started. No, get me started. I’m in Rome now so you can’t get me. I can scream fro the roof of the Vatican “ITS BIDEN’S FRICKEN FAULT.”
So said our MSM. But some of us were overwhelmed by the stench of treachery, whether from pols, cult nuts, religious nuts, greedy bastards, loved ones…
Why not? EVERYTHING wrong is Biden’s fault. Just ask tfg.
Bill, I've thought the same thing. Several of my neighbor's have more than a dozen weapons each as well as the ammo. They have all been good neighbors to us. But many of them think that Trump is a Republican and they won't quit the Republican cult even though it is corrupt as fuck. We all help each other out, but they all know not to discuss politics with us.
I had 'get an FID (firearms id card)' on my to-do list for quite a few months. Time to move it to the top of the list.
He who hesitates, is lost
And it’s exactly what the gun industry wants us to do. For everyone to go,out a buy guns.
He who hesitates, is lost...
I don't need one in my deep red state and I already have one. I would need one if I want to carry concealed.
Quite rightly so did they not vote for Genocide-Joe - I'm sure they were quite aware that Trump wouldn't be better, the US is just a war-loving country.
And Trump stopped that, didn’t he? 😡
Decades in the making.
Check out www.nokings.org and www.indivisible.org for a protest near you, and tips how to start one of your own.
Nothing in my area yet, but Texas has the biggest MAGAt infestation in the country.
JD, I've lived in TX for 53 years. It's not an infestation. It's a manifestation of Texas genetic makeup,.
When I first hit Texas in 1962, the cohort of people at NASA were from all over the US and beyond. Never having been away from my NC home, I was exposed to all kinds. And relished it, except for the coworker moron who said, as we stood and heard Walter declare JFK dead, “it’s about time that somebody took him out.” Then I married a man from a rural area and was so impressed with the kindness and what I considered “real Christian values.” The John Birchers were the fringe nuts and not the norm, at least in my observations. Rush Limbaugh changed that. Seen so many iterations of deliberate political upheaval, I’ve lost count. From Nixon, Rupert (Fox), W/Dickie, Tea Party, Obama (the hatred was maybe a genetic manifestation of the worst of humanity), and then chump. My most beloved in-laws were dead by then, as was the Rush lover, but Texas has become a cesspool, by deliberate Republican design. At least from where I have sat. I loved Houston and rural area but it’s a different world. Have found a UU church where love still rules, after watching churches become arms of the Repub agenda. Maybe the genetics were different back then, or maybe my horizon was limited, but my experience anyway. Hypocrites rule with hating, cheating and propaganda. It was not always so.
I moved to Houston 20 years after you did to work in the oil patch, and found that environment to be a mixture of good hospitality, common sense, and a can-do outlook on the world. But that also included large egos, an overly competitive work environment, and a large dose of misogyny. There was a lack of tolerance for other points of view. Those negative threads only grew, and only my family anchored me here.
All that negativity aside, I have amongst my circle of friends and relatives some awesome people from all parts of the political spectrum. Those that are pro Trump are the ones that give me hope that the current MAGA movement isn't sustainable in the long run. Too many people are innately good. We just have to work to keep the framework of democracy intact.
Speaking of NASA, one engineer was hired from there who mentored me at a time when my career was floundering, and that enabled me to excel professionally and retire a bit early.
Thanks for another perspective. My friends who are pro-Trump discourage me. Brilliant, but have Fox on tv for 24/7 literally. This since it came on the air in 1996. They were up all hours of the night. I spent a lot of time there and watched them worship W, and then see chump as a necessary evil. Now it is inter generational insanity, but I don’t see them much anymore. Still boggles my mind.
Nothing within three hours drive of me.
You, a few friends, some signs, and visibility = a protest! You can make a protest! Like-minded people will thank you! More tips at nokings.org.
He makes Tammany Hall look like a bunch of pikers.
Tammany did a lot of good for immigrants, the destitute and the ordinary workers. In exchange it got political support from them. Trump’s family conspiracy lays out favors in order to get money for themselves.
Everything Donald does is in his own self interest. He expects Congress and the Senate to shut up about his gift from Qatar, and the GQP members will not say a word. They are the only ones who could remove him, and they never will.
A touch of reality is always welcome Kathy. Thanks.
No, Kathy, GOP members are not "the only ones who could remove him."
The fool Chuck Schumer, as Senate Majority Leader a few months ago could have held the vote on Article 14, Section Three, which would have rid us of the insurrectionist in chief.
Hakeem Jeffries in the House could do the same now, if he had the gumption to negotiate just three House Republicans to switch to a bi-partisan House so he could do what idiot fool Schumer never did.
Article 14, Section Three clearly spells out how an insurrectionist can be disqualified from any public office. Nothing to do with Supreme Court. Nothing to do with any state. If either house of Congress holds that vote, and signals an insurrectionist is not forgiven his insurrection, he's done, gone, out forever.
Dems, just total fools who cannot honor the Constitution.
Are there three reps with a brain
Indeed--and also for Black people. Same in KC. The regime of Tom Pendergast (who financed Harry Truman's first foray into politics, by the way) was not kind to the establishment, but benefited a lot of people who were oppressed by them. It was what those political machines did: they disrupted the system by making the working poor and other underprivileged people beholden to them. It was not benevolence, although it could look like that to some.
Then, he makes Boss Tweed look like a piker. After all, he wasn't exactly known for his largesse to the non-rich, but rather for his utter corruption. Which is what Tammany Hall represents to this day. A stand in for venal corruption.
It's the problem for one's legacy that the corruption always is remembered, and removes admiration for the good done.
Linda H.
In my opinion , D, Trump should never have been allowed to run again for President. His many crimes, for which he was found guilty are not attributes of someone who can lead a nation in a safe, caring and respectful manner. He remains self-serving.
As we can see, his gifts of "shiny things" are more important than his allegiance to the standards of his office as President of the USA.
The people...the resources of our great lands, are for his use and for the use of his "gang". When will this nightmare end!!!
We will not be safe. The health and education and general care of our children and our beloved seniors will not be a priority to him and his minions. Our magnificent parks, our water systems will no longer receive the care we need to continue and improved upon! Trump and his minions are blinded by the treasures of the USA and the bribes (with winks) he is receiving from foreign governments! Trump and his minions will destroy our country's resources...using everything for themselves.
They will use their power to decide who lives in this country or who will be deported. They will choose the voices they want us to hear and they will silence our "freedom fighters".
Our elected officials, who have not succumbed to tyranny, must fight for our rightful freedoms.
Linda,
My husband and I attended two protests with our fellow citizenry and we plan to attend the next one! We love our country and the freedoms for which our Patriots have spilled their blood...given their gifts of diplomacy...etc.
WE DO NOT WANT TO BE RULED BY A SELF-CENTERED KING OR DICTATOR!
THE MORE WE ACCEPT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON UNDER TRUMP AND HIS PUPPETERS....THE FURTHER WE DECLINE INTO AUTHORITARIANISM!
THE SOONER WE SERIOUSLY RESPOND THE BETTER! "THE NET IS TIGHTENING!!!"
Linda: It has all been a setup. As I've said in many other posts, I don't believe tRump won either election that put him in the oval office. The Republicans have found a way to rig the polls and the Electoral College. tRump said before the election that he didn't need the crowds or for people to vote for him in order to win the election. I take him at his word on this. ... No. We can't wait. We can't expect free and fair elections. We can't expect Congress, SCOTUS, the military, or the intelligence community to honor their oaths. We are American citizens. America! The home of the free and brave. It's time for the free and brave to defend what belongs to us if we want to keep it.
Not just MUSK. Peter Theil and the other TechBros are behind this and the surveillance systems, to institute their dystopian ‘post-Constitutional dictatorship.’ And JD is their boy.
www.nokings.org. If there's not a protest near you, the website can show you how to create one. The basics are you, a few others, signs, visibility = a protest!
Yes. Agree. https://www.facebook.com/indivisibleguide/photos/june-14-is-trumps-birthday-and-his-military-parade-in-dc-but-the-biggest-story-o/997956502519844/
In Charlottesville, VA the No Kings! March is June 14th. I will be there. Rain or shine!
Reading the details of sleaze under the Kushner-Bondi-Trump reign of self-righteous, oleaginous, self-dealings literally makes a sane person want to projectile vomit. Our Founders would be dumbstruck at our indescribable stupidity in giving this cabal of thieves another opportunity to piss all over the Constitution and what it stands for.
When written about by future historians, the cowardice of the Republican Party will merit a special chapter, called the "Silence of the Turds." 💩
Also the ignorance and ineptitude of 50% of the American public who did their duty and lived up to Mencken's observation that one day they would achieve their lifes' dream and elect a Compleat Moron to the presidency.
Did they ever, and some I have liked, loved and respected. I am appalled at the cult mentality infecting our land.
Tom,
Actually it was roughly 32% of the American public that gave us the Orange Moron.
Which suggests an election process that delivered a government by a minority of selfish haters and bigots.
77 Million $trump
75 Million Harris
80+ Million sat on their asses - could have voted, could have prevented this collapse of democracy, but didn't.
In Australia, voting is mandatory in Federal elections. The fine is $25. Participation in Federal elections is over 90%.
We have ignored the fact that an "electoral college" was designed hundreds of years ago. If a democracy is majority rule....why continue this farce?
The same clever thinking gave us a Senate that gives states with tiny populations the same power as others. California has the 4th largest economy in the world and about 40 million people. North Dakota gives us some coal and about 800,000 people. So..two senators each? This is not democracy. This is ridiculous.
America is mostly intelligent, open minded and tolerant. We have let the clever minority use an antique system of government to dominate us with their superstitious fanatical religious crazy ass ideas. Of course, they brilliantly aligned with a few oligarchs to fund the project.
Maybe they will sing a different tune - when Medicaid gets slashed - when their mothers are rotting in urine soaked nursing home beds - when their kids don't get school lunches or SNAP benefits - when they die of preventable illnesses or are living in hospital deserts - the clinics closed because Planned Parenthood was the ONLY nearby source of healthcare for women. Maybe they will feel differently as the economy crashes, jobs are lost in greater numbers and air travel becomes more dangerous...
Maybe they will feel differently when FEMA isn't there when the next disaster hits. Hurricane season is starting soon....
No it's not half of America doing this. It's a minority of murderers.
June 14th - will this be the day when Americans said "Enough!"? Will there be a person who will stand in front of a tank in DC?
It's one thing for us to hold signs on the side of the road. I'll be there. But maybe someone needs to be IN the road.
Bill, I am also dismayed at the 80 million who did not vote. It needs to be acknowledged, however, that we do not know the number of people who were unable to vote due to machinations by the RepubliKKKan party's voter suppression efforts, or shenanigans with the voting machines. That may or may not be a statistically significant number, but assuming that it is, and would be enough to have tossed the election the other way, it still matters that around a third of the voting eligible population did not care enough to vote.
Agreed. All good points. It is possible that they might have voted for the monster. It is possible that voting was made too difficult...
What percentage was due to apathy vs difficulty?
https://youtu.be/6G8fu50VRXo?si=CBtgQdCjwwIFaxPh
And now we 'hope and pray' that the elections in 2026 will turn the tide. Between the tech 'geniuses' and AI I am mightily worried.
AH: totes. The Australian model also automatically registers all citizens at adulthood and makes it very easy to vote. The whole idea is that an open plebiscite is the fairest. The current regime here in Ammurrikka is based on the opposite idea: the deliberate suppression of certain kinds of voters will "guarantee" the result desired. Another issue: since Australia has a parliamentary democracy, the change of regime is based on the head the political party that wins the most parliamentary seats. There is no gerrymandering. There are no shenanigans in terms of carving out districts to direct who gets to vote. Very straightforward. Sometimes with undesirable results but usually with a reasonable head of state. Our system is completely wonky in comparison.
I have a suggestion, offered a decade or so ago my Eric Liu in a Ted talk. He argued that all qualified voters do vote and that those who don’t cast a ballot always vote for the winner, whoever that is.
It is true, as in Arizona, that many Americans who do not affiliate with a party have serious obstacles put in place by those parties, to render independent voters second class citizens. It’s even worse. They punish their own party members who—blasphemy!—choose to cross then line on certain candidates. Efforts to reverse this frequently fail, even after multiple attempts—as in Arizona and several other states in the last election.
So, wondering out loud, what if we changed how we talk about this. Did you vote? Wrong question; the answer is always yes. Did you cast a ballot? Yes or no answers actually mean something. What if we started using the right words to describe what is going on?
That doesn’t solve the problem; the solution is multi-faceted and incredibly difficult—and some barriers have actually been lifted, as in Alaska recently. Beyond the barriers, we have a major cultural shift to make in multiplying the ballots needed from the almost half of registered voters in the Nation who declared themselves independents. Perhaps the current unraveling of the Constitutional order will be a motivation for enough of them. We won’t know that until 2026 and 2028.
One factor that may be of serious value is that a relatively small increase in the ballot count in selected campaigns could begin the leadership transformation we need to return Congress to its intended role. In Arizona, we’re talking about only a couple of districts. This time.
I believe that reframing the conversation might help. There is no single answer. But I believe reframing the conversation might help.
What do you think?
Lots of interesting ideas.
I think the Republican Party should be outlawed, and replace it with the "Independent Party."
Per Blue Rose research, many of the non voters would have backed Trump.
Hello Bill... Very Good Posting... Remember Ben Franklin's Adage... "We Have A Republic If We Can Keep It"... Most People did the Easiest Thing... They Did Nothing... Now We Have The Oozing Orange Monster...
Thanks Its-Come-To-This... The Qataris are buying Protection from Mob-Boss DJT... The 'Kirchner Angle' was Key... The Loan for '666-5th Ave' failed on its Merits, the Qatari Investment Fund declined to invest in a Bad Property bought by Jared Kirchner that was intended to be a Flagship Property for the Kirchner Property Empire ... Jared Kirchner then approached MBS, and MBZ for help in 'Squeezing' the Qataris... The Saudis, and Emirates were annoyed with the Qataris because of Al Jazera which is sort of like the BBC in the Arab World... In the Arab World, the Qataris are Progressives... They know how DJT 'Ticks'... DJT is Further Destroying the USA's International Reputation... OBW: The USA's Biggest Airbase in the Middle East is in Qatar, and DJT did nothing to help the Qataris during this Blockade... The Jordanians Did... In the End, this is about $$$ for DJT... Once Again, DJT 'Wins', and We-The-People Lose...
He watches while others do the dirty work.
And it all comes back to oil. Trump thinks that fossil fuels are the only acceptable source of energy. But his "drill baby drill" philosophy isn't working out as oil production in the US is down by over 10% since 2024 and the price per barrel isn't encouraging anyone to drill or build new pipelines. And let's face it, coal is dead or at least on life support.
I never thought I'd ever agree with Laura Loomer, but she called out Trump on the "gift."
Laura Loomer: Qatari jet gift a ‘stain’ on Trump presidency. https://thehill.com/homenews/5295240-laura-loomer-criticizes-trump-qatari-gift/
Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution:
“No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
Plus “It’s going to be hard for the admin to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and obliterate Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah when Qatar funds the Muslim Brotherhood, harbors HAMAS, and the US just accepted a $400 million jet from Qatar,” Loomer wrote. “The biggest lobby in DC is the Qatar lobby. We are watching an Islamic takeover of our country in real time.”
Qatar has been a significant financial supporter of Hamas, channeling aid to Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, for years. Qatar has given amnesty to Hamas political leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal, in Doha. It held itself out an a mediator but that is baloney.
Also implicated is Pam Bondi. Pam Bondi's Qatar Links Under Scrutiny Over Trump's Luxury Plane Gift https://www.newsweek.com/pam-bondi-qatar-links-under-scrutiny-over-trump-luxury-plane-gift-2070774
Mark Levin, a MAGA radio host and a member of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security advisory board, joined Loomer in criticizing the move. But other usual Qatar critics on the Hill remained quiet, at least for now.
Doug Heye, a GOP strategist, said Republicans would have criticized any Democratic move to accept such a significant gift from Qatar. “The ethical problems with this are so obvious that even some of the most ardent Trump defenders are saying, ‘wait a sec,’” he said.
Bondi worked as a foreign lobbyist for the nation of Qatar, earning $115,000 a month in the role which she held in 2020 and in the run up to the World Cup in 2022. In this role, she lobbied Congress on behalf of Qatari interests. She also worked in a separate lobbying position for the Washington, D.C.-based firm Ballard Partners, where she also lobbied on behalf of Qatari interests and several conglomerates including Amazon.
Wealth funds in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have invested hundreds of millions of dollars with Jared Kushner's private equity firm.
From today's Tyranny Tracker:
🔥 In Corruption News
A VIP Seat at Trump’s Crypto Dinner Cost at Least $2 Million
What Happened: The top 220 holders of Trump’s $TRUMP memecoin secured dinner invitations with Trump by spending and holding millions of his $TRUMP memecoin, some spending over $19 million. The top 25 will get VIP access and a White House tour. Some dumped their coins right after qualifying.
Why It Matters: Another blatant pay-to-play scheme, letting anonymous investors, including foreign entities, buy access to Trump while posing a national security risk. Meanwhile, Trump deregulates crypto as he and his family profit.
Source: WIRED
Eric Trump’s American Bitcoin Goes Public in Latest Crypto Move by President’s Family
What Happened: Eric and Donald Trump Jr.’s bitcoin mining company, American Bitcoin, is going public via a merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. The Trump sons will retain 98% ownership of the new Nasdaq-listed firm, trading under the ticker “ABTC.”
Why It Matters: This deepens the Trump family’s grip on the U.S. crypto sector. As Eric Trump pushes U.S. bitcoin dominance and Trump deregulates the industry, it raises serious red flags about corruption, self-enrichment, and unchecked conflicts of interest.
Source: CNBC
Foreign Investors May Have Won Access to Trump Gala Through Meme Coin Contest
What Happened: The top 220 holders of Trump’s meme coin secured invitations for a dinner with Trump. Some wallets appear tied to foreign entities, including a Chinese billionaire and Trump ally previously sued by the SEC—a case dropped after Trump took office.
Why It Matters: Trump’s coin is a pay-to-play access scheme. Foreign investors may be buying influence, while Trump’s family stands to profit tens of millions. National security, ethics, and regulatory integrity are all at risk.
Source: ABC News
Elon Musk’s Boring Company in Talks With Government Over Amtrak Project
What Happened: The Federal Railroad Administration is consulting Musk’s Boring Company to potentially take over parts of Amtrak’s $8.5 billion Frederick Douglass Tunnel project.
Why It Matters: Musk’s dual role as Trump adviser and federal contractor poses a major conflict of interest. As he helps gut agencies that oversee his businesses, his companies continue to cash in on federal contracts.
Source: New York Times
So, it may be my junior high brain, but I read that name as "strump", short for "strumpet"
Daniel, I've read enough about crypto to have concluded that trying to understand it is a waste of my time and brain cells. But I also remember reading about all the wailing and gnashing of teeth when the U.S. Dollar went off the Gold Standard, courtesy of "not-a-crook" Richard Nixon. Critics said we were just "printing money having no real value." But at least the dollar was secured by the "full faith and credit" of the U.S. Government. (Coincidentally, U.S. national debt skyrocketed and has continued to do so ever since.)
Now, another GOP president who clearly doesn't have the mental horsepower to understand it is pushing crypto. In my opinion, crypto has value based on thin air and nothing else. It's "mined" out of the ether and exists only because ones and zeroes say so. Even "stable coin" tied to the U.S. Dollar is worthless, considering that the U.S. Government has squandered its full faith and credit.
It's just a matter of time until someone's AI figures out to virtually "steal" it. Hopefully, it happens soon and only the idiot oligarchs lose their shirts.
I hope you're right.
But my feeling is they've started the scenario...yesterday we were discussing how right wing think tanks were obsessed by the inflation of the Weimar Republic and how a wheelbarrow of Deutschmatrks couldn't buy a loaf of bread....and thus Hitler.....
It's always about the money, and the money that comes to him. Nothing else matters, especially us.
I trust that is not a new revelation to you.
Don’t forget in Trump 1.0 Kushner’s sister was in China trying to sell off visas at 500 k a pop to bail out that loser of an investment. Every single person who pulled a lever for Trump was asking for this to return. The difference is they thought, like all sycophants think that they were in on the joke, part of the team, welcome at the club.
It’s like the scholarship kid the rich kids use to score coke but when they get caught, rich daddies bribe the school and the scholarship kid goes to jail.
It is time for Americans to admit we made a mistake. I’ll admit I was not vocal enough to MAGA friends and neighbors because I wasn’t wanting a debate with someone whose points were based in lies. Hard to argue fantasies. And they must admit they got used and are now getting dumped.
Trumo tryin g to look tough and FAILING on China will STILL crush small businesses, MAGA businesses. Unless they have the 500k honorary bribe to enter the new Uday and Qusay nightclub, they’re out of business. And they won’t get the really cool bankruptcy where you just restructure and screw your vendors. YOU, every day MAGA, get the real kind of bankruptcy…where the take anything worth a nickel, including your kid’s laptop and sneaker and TWO DOLLS and you start all over at 50.
They were also bailed out in their Indonesian projects by a Chinese loan.
Yes, and if Trump manages to pull off his peace initiatives in Ukraine/Russia, Gaza war and loosen the stranglehold of AIPAC/Israel on the US government, get India and Pakistan to make up, it’s going to be very difficult to beat him, elections or not, he will even get international recognition, and understandably so – the killing has to end, everywhere.
It will probably get him the support of the military.
Although US citizens are less in foreign politics interested and more in domestic, this is a big one. I hope people realise that.
He is a strange man – at times he seems thick as pig-shit, and then you discover that he’s a brilliant strategist under all his b.s. That gives me cold shivers – I’d like him much better dim, because he’s also completely ruthless. I wonder if he’s on drugs.
These are actually epic times that we live in, reminds of the old Greek tragedies.
Thanks Sabine... I tend to Think that DJT is a Superficial, Greedy, Shameless Puppet who is only Good at Attracting Attention... It is the Evil Siths that Direct Him...
oleaginous is my new favorite word.
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit
We used some of the data in your spreadsheet to create this free app:
https://callyourrep.glide.page/dl/d0a5f4
It makes it easy to find any rep or senator and call them with one click - from a phone or laptop. There's also a tab in which talking points about an issue can be shared. We'd love to collaborate with you. Pls reach me at Info@theDemLabs.org
wow, Deepak Puri, how awesome that you took Megan Rothery’s ‘good trouble’ voice spreadsheet and incorporated your polish for a new spreadsheet tool to create this free app:
https://callyourrep.glide.page/dl/d0a5f4
Thanks for making our grassroots easier “to find any rep or senator and call them with one click - from a phone or laptop. There's also a tab in which talking points about an issue can be shared. We'd love to collaborate with you. Pls reach me at Info@theDemLabs.org” ✅
Awesome
Amazing - have shared widely -- thank you so much
This is awesome!! Thanks for putting it in a way that I didn’t know how to do! The more of us working together, the better! I’ll send you an email :)
Brilliant.
What do the silent Republicans think they are gaining by not doing their job? I write to my 3 Republican congresspeople often and nothing. Are they being paid to do nothing? Honestly, what do they hope for themselves in the future—to ride along on the coattails of Trump and partake of the Grift? As far as I can tell they are not going to wake up and be concerned for their constituents. They are complicit in the corruption now.
I think they actually think they are KEEPING their jobs by being silent during this obscene corruption. Ya don't Piss Off a king and his nobles. But the people's pain will be so great real soon, they may sing another tune.
Complicit? So true. But the damage by this insanely reckless government has barely begun. So consider calling regularly - you will be joined by a chorus of desperate callers of all political stripes who will be mightily pissed off as jobs are lost, prices go up, friends and relatives don't get the healthcare they deserve, disasters are not addressed by FEMA.
I could go on. But there will be a karmic payback. It is inevitable. NOTHING that is happening is HELPING anyone.
I am so excited about the tools above that make calling easier. And now I am going to be calling some elected idiot asswipes all across the country.
Yes😕
Great question. All I can hope is while we might not sway some congress members with our unrelenting calls/emails, maybe we sway some of their staff members who are overworked and dealing with all of us causing good trouble 🤞☺️
There is virtually no way to guarantee that the plane would be free of illicit data collection devices.
Obviously a maximally secure aircraft (in every respect) has to be built that way from the ground up. The Qataris know that Trump is a sucker for big, shiny things. They got his attention.
You forgot "grossly ostentatious, gaudy, and cress."
Toddlers love shiny objects.
As do fish.
🤣
and Grotesque.
Are you kidding? There'll be wee little microphones in every nook and cranny.
Does anyone remember the debacle of building a new embassy in Soviet-era Moscow in the 1970s, Think it was?? There were so many bugs, hidden cameras, and listening devices built into the structure by the Russian construction company--at the Kremlin's behest of course--that the US government decided to simply destroy the building and start over. It was kind of hilarious.
There was actually a bug inside the Great Seal that was supposed to hang in the Ambassador's office.
Oddly they wouldn’t need those devices, Trump will hand over every bit of intelligence we have including our spies.
Jeff Tiedrich included a reference to the "gift from Russian schoolchildren" in yesterday's missive.
https://www.frontpagedetectives.com/latest-news/gift-from-schoolchildren-let-the-soviets-spy-on-the-u-s-for-7-years-it-was-more-than-a-mere-decoration
Wow.
The funny thing is that we probably put many such things in the plane prior to its initial delivery.
Breathtaking corruption by a regime of grifters, liars, and crooks. Trump and his regime keep giving us more reasons for NO KINGS! protests around the country - except in D.C.- on June 14. We'll reclaim the flag and ignore Trump's military birthday parade. Find a protest near you, or create one of your own at nokings.org or indivisible.org. Onward!
One of America’s great voices on the gentry rich, Joan Didion, grew her insights on that as she grew up amid old family California elites. Much she wrote reaffirms what Heather has often said of the U.S.’s cowboy mythology.
But it wasn’t just myth for Joan Didion, who lived amid elite aloof conceits. As she wrote in “Where I Was From” (2003): “Not much about California . . . has encouraged its children to see themselves as connected to one another.”
22 years ago she could see the animus against government now rank in techie bros and billionaires behind today’s White House criminality. She knew from her California how an “extreme if ungrounded individualism” ever opposed “life as defined or limited or controlled, or even in any way affected, by the social and economic structures of the larger world.”
“Theory” – abstractions, categories, all the linear causal conceits – ever wars with facts, evidence, reality in all its nuances. This is true for the far-right in Russia, the U.S., Iran, Hungary, or Israel as it is in all schools where testing trumps essay writing and humanities.
Heather has noted the culture theorists of the far right have lately let their scenarios turn the White House criminal class against each other. And we who communicate more in detail here on Heather’s site? Might our higher standards give us momentum much as our 250-year-old democracy may help us over myths, sensationalism, lawlessness, and lies?
There's hope! Let's not forget the Girl Scouts of America organization whose stated mission is to encourage girls to become courageous, confident, responsible members of the community. Besides acquiring useful skills such as first aid and camping, the girls learn the importance of civic responsibility; resource allocation and conservation; and critical thinking focused on the value of living productive lives that can help make the world a better place. Something today's American pseudo-cowboys might not like.
Pseudo indeed. When I was a teen (in the 1960s) I heard a talk by a woman who had grown up in a Colorado community without roads, electricity, or telephones. What stood out in her stories was how neighbors were, of necessity, highly cooperative.
Voluntary youth organizations, or at least the ones I encountered over the years, also emphasize egalitarian cooperation; but a lot of that seems to be dropped when adulthood is entered.
Robert D. Putnam wrote a classic on the decline of American community, J L.
"Bowling Alone" is now a quarter century old -- but absolutely current still.
A wonderful treatise. Explains so much about our society today, filled with solitary voidoids carrying on intimate conversations only with their small blue, glowing friends they carry everywhere, constantly gazing at them with rapture and devotion. Not great bowling league material, that's for sure.
Yes, Constance -- good, decent hope in many places.
If more can avoid the albatross in school that stresses abstractions, categories, labeling, and simpleton linear causality.
Avoiding that, the marvelously variegated human (and natural) indeed beckons open.
Emerson wrote: "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... " and objectively that seems to be (i find it to be) true; and yet how complex and every-which-way interactive that all becomes in the realm of life. The abstractions have a place, but learning seems of minor value without conceptual and experiential continuity and coherence. Nature is the whole deal.
Yes. On Monday, direct backlash was taken by Arizona citizens over building 'ICE' at the Mesa Arizona Airport (AZA) on the wings of AVELO AIRLINES (AA).
Locals have outed AVELO AIRLINES as literally the new cross border🛩 airline of choice of HSI specifically the U.S. Government deportations of humans to other countries unlawfully without due process.
AA's HQ is at 12 Greenway Place in Houston Texas, The Founder & CEO of Avelo is ANDREW LONG the former CFO of United Airlines.
Yes, Avelo Airlines is the named 4/25/25 Class Action defendant filed by AA Flight Attendants prosecuting the company over No pay for their work before & after Flights.
Interesting Depositions of the overt actors are coming soon to your favorite digital Platform.
Hat Tip: TRMS.
PS: I deeply respect Rachel's weeks long focus on the organic political activity in all 50 States and in this case smart response in the city of Mesa south of Phoenix, AZ.
Ironically it seems to me that the liberty to a true individual, by which I mean innovatively unique, not self-centered and insular is a product of societal cooperation to create an environment in which people can pursue diverse paths to personal happiness within a healthy and secure society. Individual and social liberty are two perspectives on the same phenomenon, like trees and a forest, and we miss the point if we can't see one for the other.
I detect that sort of thinking in the Constitution, that attempts to prescribe a path to a working commonwealth, as well as personal rights and responsibilities. The corruption of this is tyranny and overbearing narcissism, which pair with one another as well.
Yes, J L.
Seems it's also in the news today how former Supreme Court justice David Souter openly expressed worry at the events which in fact befell our republic.
In expressing his anxiety of what he sensed could happen in the U.S., he also recalled the vital role civics played in his own education long earlier. It went missing from American schools since then (the billionaires managed to kill so much).
Here's the initial reporting on this which I saw today:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/supreme-court-justice-s-stunning-premonition-of-trump-era-how-roman-republic-fell/ar-AA1EC6PM?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=EDGEESS&cvid=b34e3b2a1dfa4a92a74c148c82fe00a8&ei=24
If any problem with this link, here are the key words that may quickly generate the article: "Supreme Court justice's stunning premonition of Trump era: 'How Roman Republic fell'"
I’m so glad we have you, Heather, and your deep grounding in history to make it clear just how extraordinary and destructive the actions of this administration are.
After ten years of Donald Trump invading every day of our lives, I came to the realization that I don't need to hear or read any more analysis. After ten years of diligently doing my homework in Political Science and Human Behavior, I have called "Time Out!" It's time to take a breath and begin plotting Trump's removal. Last week in my parallel universe, Trump received a lobotomy and he was exiled to Mar-a-Lago. I am looking for the moment when thousands and then millions of us say, the time has come to... "86" Donnie Two-Dolls.
How does a convicted felon get a passport?
He threatens, blackmails or orders. He is president and laws don’t apply. SC said so…
He prints it.
rim shot
🥁
By being a Very Special Boy.
HCR opines that ”the body politic is being corrupted—poisoned—by a sickness that must be cured or it will be fatal.” This observation is vital and, at the same time, threatens to suck all the vitality out of me despite our first really beautiful and warm mid-Spring morning. The miasma of the flagrant corruption makes it hard to see how we can put an end to it …find that cure she eludes to..given the absolute cowardice and/or corruption of the Republicans in the majority. And then you have our ’health’ leader swimming with his young grandchildren in a toxic bath of sewer sludge and chemical laden runoff.
We all need to contribute to raising the bar that excludes the intrusion of outright corruption and significant and unnecessary conflicts of interest in governmental roles and procedures. Someone on these pages once said she was not allowed to permit a client to buy her a cup of coffee in he public service role. Judges are theoretically supposed to avoid even the "appearance" of impropriety. There are good reasons for that. We should have focused on a establishing and enforcing much clearer boundaries long before it got this bad. Like street crime, corruption never goes entirely away; but we made a lot of progress after the "Gilded Age" and then let it slip.
JL I agree. In my former work as a staff attorney in the chambers of a federal judge, I was a very anonymous ghost researcher and writer but had to abide to such strict ethical guidelines of impartiality that I would never have written any comments on issues of the day on forums like Substack. Its is the brazen openness of this tit-for-tat acceptance of lavish bribes that at first astonished me and now guts me. The brazen, in our face norm breaking seems animated by a mens rea not only to enrich and consolidate power but to menace the rest of us.
Like wearing gloves and booties at a crime scene or around an severely immunocompromised patient, it the essential duty of some workers to be a "clean" as possible. Much thanks for your service.
Yes I'd seen something about RFK Jr. swimming in some toxic effluent with his grandchildren on Mother's Day. He said he took a dip in Washington, D.C.’s, Rock Creek with his grandchildren, despite decades of warnings that high bacterial levels make the Potomac River tributary unsafe for swimming, wading, even for dogs. What a whacko, it seems he just might still have the brain worm or maybe trying to help the kids get their own.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/health/health-secretary-rfk-jr-swims-in-polluted-rock-creek-park-mothers-day/65-d35e70ed-fdae-48f8-841d-0cb6036bdd87
Maybe RFK, Jr. will wake up when his grandkids get sick???
They may or may not, which keeps anti-science types in business, just as a drunk driver may or may not run over someone; but the risk is certainly heightened; and not a degree of risk that can be responsibly imposed on children.
I agree with HCR; it isn’t about Trump any more. It about the Republican congressional caucus, all of whom, in both houses, swore the same oath as Trump to “preserve and defend the US Constitution,” apparently with their fight hand on the Bible and their left hand behind their backs with fingers crossed.
The Roberts SCOTUS must also take blame for unleashing the Trump monster on the country, recent rulings not withstanding.
Trump could have been stopped cold any number of times since 2016, but instead he was aided, abetted, encouraged, and empowered to trash the Constitution and grab every nickel and dime he could get his fat pudgy little hands on.
So don’t blame Trump.
True, that. When you have a kid running riot in the supermarket, it's down to Mom and Dad to strap him back in his pram.
Unfortunately, in trump's case, Mom and Dad are ALSO grabbing handfuls of whatever they can off the shelves. . .and screaming and stomping on anybody who tries to stop them. . .
As a Navy veteran, my still-binding oath as a federal officer to defend the Constitution resembles the one taken by the President.
It has finally occurred to me that any American can affirm it, again and again. In these lawless times, we all should.
To Organizers at rallies: Please lead crowds in reciting a "People's Oath." Get it on video and post it everywhere:
“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the civic responsibilities expected of every American. So help me God.”
Try that in front of a mirror and notice how it makes you feel. The spectacle of thousands making a brave commitment that GOP members of Congress and Trump's cabinet have repudiated with their silence would astonish and inspire the country. And MAGA Republicans will have no answer.
Fantastic idea!
Name Trump’s Top 21 Grifts (Hint: One is a luxury Jumbo Jet from Qatar)
https://thedemlabs.org/2025/05/12/trump-top-21-grifts-luxury-include-jumbo-jet-qatar/
Follow the money between the Saudis, Musk, Trump and Jared Kushner with this relationship map.
https://embed.kumu.io/9f2e493610af218845b1ec919a013f4e#elon-musk
The courts are stopping Trump, so far. Rulings from courts have been good. The "wheels of justice grind slow but grind fine." Sun Tzu Art of War To completely stop Trump's authoritarian grift, Congress is needed.
Yes. And to have genuine elections in 2026 that can flip Congress, we need to do everything we can in the meantime to oppose the regime.
If you can do big things, great. Otherwise, do small ones. Be kind. Go to protests. Make calls, write postcards. If you can, donate to groups doing the work like ACLU and individuals reporting the truth. Whatever, but do it.
At a minimum: do not spread fear; remember that we do not know the future; do not degrade others no matter how ‘other’ they may seem; do not obey in advance; do not give your power to the authoritarians.
Well said!
We’ll know for sure where the Supreme Court stands when the military starts shooting fellow Americans in the streets, but by then, it will be too late. The Supreme Court, like the Republican-lead Congress, has made itself irrelevant. Rather than rise up, the majority of Americans will “get in line” with the White Christian Nationalist movement, or will remain silent, hoping that the era of evil will somehow pass quickly. The elected and unelected activists who do rise up in opposition will be disappeared. Eventually, the MAGA factions will turn on one another and divide the country into zones of influence. There will be no truly “United” states, and our foreign rivals will take advantage of the chaos here. It Can’t Happen Here was a novel. We’re living it.
Wow Dave, now that you have surrendered, given up, ya may as well stay in bed and hide under the covers. SCOTUS ruled 9-0 people were entitled to a due process hearing prior to deportation in recents weeks, how does that square with your surrender?
As someone who lacks the anonymity to "remain silent" I refuse to. We are indeed living in "It Can't Happen Here." It can. It is.
Unfortunately, the SCOTUS majority will find a way to justify Trump’s public corruption and constitutional breaches.
Clarence is so jealous. He only has a billionaire as his $$$ support
How long will we have one without a rubber stamp.
What wasn't changed in the alleged "China Kneel" is an item that will be of interest to readers here, who purchase good directly from Chinese companies, or from small business here who import items from China: previous to Donnie Two Dolls' insanity, there was a "De Minimums" rule that imports from China of $800 or less were allowed in duty-free. Last month, Maladministration II announced that from May 2 on, the goods purchased under this scheme would be subject to tariff. The announced "deal" today included in the "detail statement" the fact that the tariff on purchases of $800 or less would remain at 120%. So say good-bye to those items you bought that way, for your own personal use or for re-sale in your small business. The toy store you buy gifts for your kids from will likely be going under, since most of their importing was done under this rule.
Donnie continues to kick average Americans - many of whom voted for him - in the teeth.
May the fatal hamberder result tonight in the Massive Fatal Myocardial Infarction - my prayer every night.
Was there ever a time when he (or repubs) acted for the people. HST knew that way back. Anything for the people is called Socialism. BOO
And, after that kick, around that mouthful of teeth, they say "Thank you sir, may I have another?"
What jackdonkys.
His entire position: “Gimme, gimme, gimme.” What a selfish brat. smdh…
"Mine, mine, mine, I want it, it's mine!!!"
That's what makes him Holy.