Last week, a resolution calling for the impeachment of Judge James Boasberg, who is hearing the challenge to Trump’s authority under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), was filed in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Gill, Crane, Collins, Carter, Moore, and Clyde.
I listened to a little bit of Judge Millett’s hearing today. Government is on thin ice….What is more disturbing today is the news of BIG TIME security lapse of National Security personnel by including Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic in a group chat about classified military ops. No other way to say it…these people are effing stupid. Our adversaries must be wringing their hands. This should be MAJOR concern to all. The OUTRAGE here should be off the charts!
True across the board for this administration. It’s a staggering collection of the unknowing, the potentially unlawful, the incompetent, and the greedy. None of these people should be in power, nor should the law allow them to wreak destruction and trample on peoples rights without consequences.
Having a stunningly incompetent Cabinet was always the plan. Burn the government down from within.
If we had not had such a staggering breach of security today, Joyce’s summation of the AEA hearing would have been one of the scariest things I’ve read. We are on the precipice of a dictatorship
And so was everyone else? Freaking Susie Wiles, his "chief of staff" and campaign won't-go-away manager, was on that call. And the orange cocksplat said he knew nothing about it,
Also said he didn't sign the order, but Rachel Maddow had a copy of the order with his sharpie on it. I tried to find a copy of it on line, as I've looked at it many times. This one was scattered and blurry. His signature would be easy to copy, and perhaps it's forged. But if not his mental decline is apparent in the change in his signature: sloppy and imprecise, not at all like it was years ago.
Last week some Congressional Republicans objected to US NATO policy, Besides Mike Rogers and Roger Wicker, many other Congressional Replublicans have called out Trump on national security. Mike Turner R Ohio and many others in essence call Trump a liar re Putin and Ukraine.
What do Rogers, Wicker and Turner say this week?
We only need a few to have shared government -- without Trump/Vance.
Besides national security, consituents and donors have to be pissed about Musk/DOGE. The entire cattle industry is in panic and so should about 20 Republican senators and dozens of House members in cow country. Every car dealer and the big three should be pissed about Trump's Tesla infrormercial. Everyone whon receives any govenment benefit od any kind should be concerned. Anyone who does business with Canada and Mexico.
Marlo, I agree. He says plans were not part of chat but he has been exposed as a liar. He said this getting off of plane in Hawaii. Probably looking for a big mai tai right now.
Pete H. looked like he had been scolded by Rump, who told him to attack the Atlantic editor nonstop, then he could have his mai tai. So he blurted lies about "hack" and "hoax", took no questions and ran. Putin is roaring with laughter.
Oh, you mean the Secretary of DUI? The man is so stupid, he couldn’t run a Boy Scout troop, much less the Pentagon. When are the grown ups going to take over?
As a result of this administration's bull-in-the-china-shop approach, I am wringing MY hands over "MAJOR" concerns of three top scares facing us, 1. national security, 2. economic collapse, and 3. food scarcity....
What? Wait, I thought RFKjr promised us that we didn't have to worry about infectious diseases. Just let them roll through society and see who makes it out alive!
Sounds like everything is going just like they planned.
I don't believe in God but I'm starting to think I should because that seems like the only way we will be saved.
Hi, I totally agree with your first comment, except describing them as Keystone Cops is sort of an insult to the Cops :-).
As for your second, my apologies but there is no way I am going to be interested in anything that even suggests the existence of a "god" (or gods). I am quite comfortable with my evolved views on atheism and humanism and the existence of any "force" outside of the forces humans bring to the world simply doesn't exist for me. I hope you understand.
"...total buffoon" can't be a leader. They can, however, be a follower. Pass that Project 2025 book, please. I need to check the sticky notes to see what I'm supposed to do next.
If you recognize that you are a "buffoon", Jon, you are not one. Self-awareness lets us off the hook for all sorts of yucky disorders, like psychopathy, for instance.
LOL, no, central California (San Francisco - everyone seems to think SF is "north" but its actually quite central!) But I always loved Doug and Bob and the Great White North. Given my current situation, it would probably be good to live up there, but hey, I'm old enough to figure if they come for me, they come.
First, the Congress has the constitutional power to declare war but there are clear exceptions that have been passed into law to permit the President to wage war for at least a limited period of time (typically 90-180 days) without getting an actual declaration of war from Congress. With modern warfare it is sometimes required to respond immediately and thus the exceptions.
Second the Alien Enemies Act has wording that is vague but suggests that it may be invoked even when Congress is not declared war. Here is the first paragraph in full:
"Whenever there is a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation or government, and the President makes public proclamation of the event, all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government, being of the age of fourteen years and upward, who shall be within the United States and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as alien enemies,"
Note in the first sentence that the clause which starts off "whenever there is a declared war..." but ends with a comma and then continues with "...or any invasion..." followed by several alternative possible scenarios, leaves some pretty large holes for various interpretations.
It is likely that the AEA would be deemed to permit the President to invoke the law at least for a limited period of time even if there is no Congressional declaration of war.
Of course when that could be done is NOT clear and when it would have to end is also not clear. We are in uncharted territory and I expect this will need to be decided by the Supreme Court.
Which of course does not leave me very confident at all..
But fascist are always stupid, violent, ignorant, incapable people. There is nothing special of this bunch, nothing. Keep in mind that such people, say Trump and Musk, as self destructive, as were Mussolini, Hitler, Miilosevic... - think of how they end up, most of them, most of the time.
Of course, we all do . but it is important to keep in mind that the leaders of fascism, at the least the apparent ones, are self destructive. Otherwise, one tries to fight them assuming their rationality and then you are bound to lose. For they simply cannot stop - you can read it on the faces of Musk and Trump, on every gesture of their bodies.
I am not a history scholar. I had to do a quickie internet dive to learn about Mussolini. He was extremely intelligent (unlike trump). He was in power 20 years. It took a world war for his army to turn on him. We need to do better!
I beg to disagree. Intelligence is living your whole life deeply, happily, realising yourself, dying in peace, possibly with kindred souls - surely not being shot and hanged upside down and spat upon. Intelligence is thoughtfulness, understanding, search for harmony - not continuous conflict with yourself and others. Intelligence is acceptance of others, not a proclamation of race superiority. Lack of scruples and ability to manipulate others through endless violence is not intelligence. Intelligence is having right thoughts, right feelings and saying right words - not shouting empty slogans and threats, inciting violence on daily basis. Recall that spreading violence comes back to you as a boomerang - and so it happened to Mussolini, as it did to Hitler, to Milosevic and so many others.
This illusion of intelligent fascists is a problem of the way history is taught. What historians do, the way they teach is tragic - attributing intelligence to violent leaders only because they manage to kill a lot of people, and destroy a lot.
Please think about this too. How do we know that he was in power? I admit that he had a position of power, but what does that mean? How do we know that he did not fear each passing day that he would be eliminated by competitors, people around him that surely must have wanted his position?
Darn good thing it was Goldberg who is a responsible journalist! Frankly, more than that "lapse" - the idea that these goofballs not only used Signal for CLASSIFED information, but included the Sec of Treasury, Susie Wiles, Stephen Miller, and others who have absolutely NO need to be included in this kind of information!
Altho to be honest - None of these idiots know their ass from a hole in the ground! That's a saying my dad used to use a long time ago. Applies now better than ever!
Maggie, what’s worse are all the Republican pundits acting like it is no big deal. I just wish the media would confront them and tell them they would not be using the same talking points if this was a Democrat Administration who committed this act. The hypocrisy is on full display. They don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground because their heads are up their asses.
We have gone from a Government by knowledgeable professionals to a government by amateurs... all of them appointed by a NY mob boss who cannot even blend in his orange makeup...
What’s REALLY stupid is Hegseth posting details of the plans to the clowns on this chat. I can’t see any reason ANY of them have any need to know the blow by blow plans for this operation, much less ALL of them!
And thank you for all your hard work to help us understand the complexity of the legal issues. So grateful for your descriptions written so carefully for us who are not lawyers.
Both Joyce Vance and Jennifer Rubin have a long history of studying the law and practicing their professions with integrity. In the urgency of the moment our nation faces, I am grateful for their counsel, courage, clarity and commitment to speaking the truth.
Jennifer Rubin interviewed my heroine of the Day, 3rd Year Sadden Associate, RACHEL COHEN, who exposed the gutless response of one of the largest "Big Law" firms in the Country that could have simply copied a successful TRO of another "Big Law" firm to protect their "billable hours".
How does a lawyer ethically represent a client when your legal representation is guided by another set of clients, DJ Trump, JD Vance, Pam Bondi, Steve Miller & the rest of the recidivist Orange Gang?
That was a fabulous interview! Rachel is so smart and very principled. Her firm should acknowledge that she has enough integrity to offer her resignation should they obey in advance.
The 'ethically' part, is a very long list of professional duties that a licensed attorney must discharge to any client, the court & other counsel including your Opposing counsel as well as your Partners.
In California there are obligations at law that are spelled out in the "Rules of Professional Conduct". One duty essential to my practice now is the duty to challenge the rectitude of 'official' action while discharging your duty to uphold the legal process itself.
I do recommend doing what Marlene did above which is to watch Jen Rubin's, The Contrarian, interview of the young & capable Rachel Cohen deal with the real legal world.
Joyce, your column is great. With all this going on I am continually visualizing the famous photo of German judges giving the Nazi salute and thereafter, everything Hitler did was legal because the judges approved all the Nuremberg laws and similar during the Nazi era.
We should remember that in 1933, Germany had only a 15 year history of democracy following the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918. Comparisons to Nazi Germany and 2025 USA might not be apples to apples.
I think the analogy is how quickly any government can be toppled by an authoritarian. Why people keep falling for these horror shows is beyond me.
Throughout history, a subsector of the male of the species (and yes it is a male thing) rears their ugly heads to dominate and destroy. It never ends well for these dictators, their countries, or the world. Now with the nuclear code at trump's fingertips and he can do whatever he wants, it could ALL end quicker than ever before.
Yet the Nazis, as early as 1920, had adopted a party platform that included an entirely new and draconian legal system. Like Project 2025, there should have been no surprise when the Nazis came to power 13 years later.
Exactly right! Project 2025 is all about purporting to use "the rule of law" to undermine our freedom and our liberty. So our mere allusions to "the rule of law" aren't of much use in opposing what they are doing.
Joyce is right. We all should know a little something about how the Nazi's abused "the rule of law." What they did back then is a very valuable and very timely lesson for us now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Nazi_Germany
"Rule of law" rolls off the tongue. It sounds nice to our ears and to our hearts, but it does nothing to strengthen our minds for this fight. Under the "rule of law," typically the people in power write, interpret and execute the laws. For most of two decades, the Nazis were the people in power in Germany (and elsewhere). Their abuse of "the rule of law" should show us now why our own vague allusions to "the rule of law" are not helpful.
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton (citing or quoting Montesquieu) repeatedly made the very same point to explain the vital reason that we have a written Constitution which establishes that the "tyranny of the majority" (as John Stuart Mill put it) is not "the rule of law" in America. In multiple ways Trump and his supporters, themselves, are purporting to use "the rule of law" to establish tyranny. See "The Tyranny of Trump" https://open.substack.com/pub/blackcollarcrime/p/the-tyranny-of-trump?r=30ufvh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
The express reason for SCOTUS's Dobbs decision and Trump's decision to demolish the Department of Education was to "return to states" decisions that affect not only our lives but our nation. "Return to the states" implies "the rule of law" in states, but it truly is mere code for "tyranny of the majority" in certain states.
Our Constitution states the real rule of law. But we, ourselves, must see it before we can make the supporters of Trump's tyranny believe it.
Everything you wrote was right on except that "the fundamental features of the rule of law no longer existed." Everything else you described was "the rule of law." Under the "rule of law," the people in power wrote, interpreted and executed the laws. The Nazis were the people in power. Their abuse of "the rule of law" should show us now why our own vague allusions to "the rule of law" are not helpful. "Rule of law" rolls of the tongue. It sounds nice to our ears and to our hearts, but it does nothing to strengthen our minds for this fight.
Obviously the "rule of law" is more than what you legally can and can't do by statute. It incorporates the critically important processes and procedures through which you may be fairly judged as to whether you violated these codified rules and regulations. These processes and procedures were as fundamental to the rule of law in Germany (and enshrined in its constitution) as the laws themselves, until the Nazis suspended them with the Enabling Act of 1933 and other authoritarian measures. The Weimar Constitution technically remained in place, but no longer with practical effect. So yes, while the Nazis rewrote the laws because they could, they also did away with the legal mechanisms through which you were to be judged equitably or made them a sham and thus, as I said, removed protections fundamental to the rule of law Germans had previously come to expect and replaced them with the rule of force. And while we can always do a better job in continuously reminding what terms around which we rally like the "rule of law" and even "democracy" actually mean in practice, I believe the American public is getting a virtual daily crash course in the specifics thanks to a third rate tin-pot wannabe dictator. The "allusions" you suggest have become all too real.
Are we allowing history to repeat itself, in a more powerful way, by way of high technology and mass media gone wild and off the tracks? How on earth ( literally) do we get our country back together? Professor Chemerinsky has written profoundly about the need for a rewrite of the constitution…like one without all the loopholes going back 200 years ago. Your thoughts?
There is only one command in the Constitution stated twice (5A and 14A), that no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law." And while the likes of Clarence Thomas view due process conveniently as simply procedural, the courts have recognized substantive due process for a very long time, or the protection of fundamental rights, even if the government follows proper procedures. Even undocumented immigrants are protected under 6A (right to legal counsel) and 4A (right against unreasonable searches and seizures, which include an individual themself) and it is up to the courts to determine whether the government's determination of a national security threat or risk has followed the law.
When did Venezuela declare war on the US? When did it enlist the gang as mercenaries on their behalf? What proof does this shoddy excuse of an administration have that the gang is operating under orders from the Venezuelan government? Where are the embargoes usually placed on products from Venezuela that are ordinarily enacted in war time? If so-called "originalists" rely on the words as written, then there's a huge factual hole of missing evidence that would allow the AEA to be invoked because a state of war exists between two countries.
>>>>Last week, a resolution calling for the impeachment of Judge James Boasberg, who is hearing the challenge to Trump’s authority under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), was filed in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Gill, Crane, Collins, Carter, Moore, and Clyde. They accuse the Judge of “abuse of power.”<<<<
Absolutely rich, the ongoing irony.. 'Abuse of power' indeed. That has been the Republican game for years. Truly Orwellian.
The physician teaching at Brown Medical School in Providence who specialized in kidney transplantation and who was a legal resident, was deported. It could be any of us!
And the soccer coach and everyone else caught up in this nightmare of injustice. Every heartless bastard that got this mess stirred up and moving should be declared a war criminal. It’s obvious everyone in this administration is begging to be added to that list.
The soccer coach case has revealed Customs & Border Protection's (CBP) years long use of a digital App commonly referred to as "CBP One".
Per 'Federal Scoop' (FS), the CBP One App was (past tense) used by Customs authorities to schedule applications at the Border. Trump shut down the CBP One App on 'Day 1' on 1/21/25 & the Soccer Coach's access to use thereof.
Judge Boasberg Spoliation-of-Evidence Alert.
Inquiring minds of attorneys want to examine all that data. Fortunately, ... now say it with me now: "Nothing is ever deleted from the Internet".
This man, four times indicted and then once convicted of felonious conduct, would have us believe that we should check our power of discernment in at the door and simply trust him to do the right thing on our behalf, when he has NEVER demonstrably acted on our behalf. Above and beyond all the other adverbs and adjectives we have stretched to attach to him, I'm simply insulted to be told that he is beyond accountable to the citizens, purely because he won an election. The man isn't bullet proof and eventually someone's going to prove it to him. Lets not forget that two of the lawsuits abandoned by the department of justice were for conduct occurring outside of office. If he spends the last few weeks of his miserable life incarcerated in a nursing home ward in prison, I'll still feel vindicated to some degree.
You make it very clear what is at stake here. We are very close to the abyss. We the people cannot let this happen. How many are ready to take to the streets? How many will just look away? How many understand what habeas corpus means? Giving up is not an option!
I listened to a little bit of Judge Millett’s hearing today. Government is on thin ice….What is more disturbing today is the news of BIG TIME security lapse of National Security personnel by including Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic in a group chat about classified military ops. No other way to say it…these people are effing stupid. Our adversaries must be wringing their hands. This should be MAJOR concern to all. The OUTRAGE here should be off the charts!
Hegseth needs to go. His stupidity and ignorance is a danger to our national security!
HIs stupidity and ignorance were considered top qualifications for the job. Even better, they were enhanced by arrogance and malice.
True across the board for this administration. It’s a staggering collection of the unknowing, the potentially unlawful, the incompetent, and the greedy. None of these people should be in power, nor should the law allow them to wreak destruction and trample on peoples rights without consequences.
Having a stunningly incompetent Cabinet was always the plan. Burn the government down from within.
If we had not had such a staggering breach of security today, Joyce’s summation of the AEA hearing would have been one of the scariest things I’ve read. We are on the precipice of a dictatorship
Incompetent cabinet! YES. As has been said by others, "I've seen better cabinets at IKEA."
C’mon, what are you saying? Don’t you know each one of them was chosen based on merit? Trump said so himself. (sarcasm intended).
Who knows, maybe he was drinking before that meeting!
And so was everyone else? Freaking Susie Wiles, his "chief of staff" and campaign won't-go-away manager, was on that call. And the orange cocksplat said he knew nothing about it,
Also said he didn't sign the order, but Rachel Maddow had a copy of the order with his sharpie on it. I tried to find a copy of it on line, as I've looked at it many times. This one was scattered and blurry. His signature would be easy to copy, and perhaps it's forged. But if not his mental decline is apparent in the change in his signature: sloppy and imprecise, not at all like it was years ago.
Or....perhaps it was an autopen--which, according to Krasnov, would make his EO invalid.
And EVERY REPUBLICAN consented to his position as SEC DEF.
And Marlo, to think 50 R senators plus Vance voted for him. It adds further shame to their abysmal descent away from national security.
There may be some with buyer's remorse
Last week some Congressional Republicans objected to US NATO policy, Besides Mike Rogers and Roger Wicker, many other Congressional Replublicans have called out Trump on national security. Mike Turner R Ohio and many others in essence call Trump a liar re Putin and Ukraine.
What do Rogers, Wicker and Turner say this week?
We only need a few to have shared government -- without Trump/Vance.
Besides national security, consituents and donors have to be pissed about Musk/DOGE. The entire cattle industry is in panic and so should about 20 Republican senators and dozens of House members in cow country. Every car dealer and the big three should be pissed about Trump's Tesla infrormercial. Everyone whon receives any govenment benefit od any kind should be concerned. Anyone who does business with Canada and Mexico.
Feathers of Hope. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
Marlo, I agree. He says plans were not part of chat but he has been exposed as a liar. He said this getting off of plane in Hawaii. Probably looking for a big mai tai right now.
Pete H. looked like he had been scolded by Rump, who told him to attack the Atlantic editor nonstop, then he could have his mai tai. So he blurted lies about "hack" and "hoax", took no questions and ran. Putin is roaring with laughter.
Oh, you mean the Secretary of DUI? The man is so stupid, he couldn’t run a Boy Scout troop, much less the Pentagon. When are the grown ups going to take over?
next election...hopefully
Hegseth is Secretary of DUMB
Not to mention his proclivities for alcohol.
As a result of this administration's bull-in-the-china-shop approach, I am wringing MY hands over "MAJOR" concerns of three top scares facing us, 1. national security, 2. economic collapse, and 3. food scarcity....
You forgot tropical infectious diseases!
What? Wait, I thought RFKjr promised us that we didn't have to worry about infectious diseases. Just let them roll through society and see who makes it out alive!
Sounds like everything is going just like they planned.
I don't believe in God but I'm starting to think I should because that seems like the only way we will be saved.
The whole lot of them can be replaced by the Keystone Cops with no less consequence....
It is possible that my book, The Divine Language of Coincidence, might change your mind about the existence of God....
Hi, I totally agree with your first comment, except describing them as Keystone Cops is sort of an insult to the Cops :-).
As for your second, my apologies but there is no way I am going to be interested in anything that even suggests the existence of a "god" (or gods). I am quite comfortable with my evolved views on atheism and humanism and the existence of any "force" outside of the forces humans bring to the world simply doesn't exist for me. I hope you understand.
Best, Jon
Fleas and lice
The list goes on and on....
Or bird flu, home grown.
All I can say is Trump and his pack of totally incompetent and unqualified cabinet and staff members are in WAAAAAYYYY over their heads.
If Obama or Biden's dept had done this, heads would be rolling. 🍊 man claims he didn't know anything about it. Great! An total buffoon for a leader!
Who's running the country since he never knows anything?
No, it’s Peter Thiel, the invincible robotists,
and the Federalists. Intent on destroying human society
as we know it, and the earth. Ketamine is showing them
the way to a world without terrestrial constraints.
Elon, it seemed until last night.
Isn't that obvious? Co-President Musk, of course.
They were trying to keep it hidden from Crazy Uncle Donny. You don’t never know what he gonna get up to when he get angered!🤯
"...total buffoon" can't be a leader. They can, however, be a follower. Pass that Project 2025 book, please. I need to check the sticky notes to see what I'm supposed to do next.
Sorry Anne but that is HIGHLY insulting to us buffoons!
If you recognize that you are a "buffoon", Jon, you are not one. Self-awareness lets us off the hook for all sorts of yucky disorders, like psychopathy, for instance.
I greatly appreciate the support, Sandra! There are a few here that still think I AM a "buffoon" but I'm fine with that.
Better a buffoon then a despicable right-wing fascist pig, eh? :-).
"eh?" ?? Canadian or so close to the border as makes no difference? :-))
LOL, no, central California (San Francisco - everyone seems to think SF is "north" but its actually quite central!) But I always loved Doug and Bob and the Great White North. Given my current situation, it would probably be good to live up there, but hey, I'm old enough to figure if they come for me, they come.
I thought only Congress had the power to declare war, How can the Act be enforced without such a declaration of war ?
First, the Congress has the constitutional power to declare war but there are clear exceptions that have been passed into law to permit the President to wage war for at least a limited period of time (typically 90-180 days) without getting an actual declaration of war from Congress. With modern warfare it is sometimes required to respond immediately and thus the exceptions.
Second the Alien Enemies Act has wording that is vague but suggests that it may be invoked even when Congress is not declared war. Here is the first paragraph in full:
"Whenever there is a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation or government, and the President makes public proclamation of the event, all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government, being of the age of fourteen years and upward, who shall be within the United States and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as alien enemies,"
Note in the first sentence that the clause which starts off "whenever there is a declared war..." but ends with a comma and then continues with "...or any invasion..." followed by several alternative possible scenarios, leaves some pretty large holes for various interpretations.
It is likely that the AEA would be deemed to permit the President to invoke the law at least for a limited period of time even if there is no Congressional declaration of war.
Of course when that could be done is NOT clear and when it would have to end is also not clear. We are in uncharted territory and I expect this will need to be decided by the Supreme Court.
Which of course does not leave me very confident at all..
But fascist are always stupid, violent, ignorant, incapable people. There is nothing special of this bunch, nothing. Keep in mind that such people, say Trump and Musk, as self destructive, as were Mussolini, Hitler, Miilosevic... - think of how they end up, most of them, most of the time.
I'm not self destructive and I sort of resent being destructed by anyone else.
Of course, we all do . but it is important to keep in mind that the leaders of fascism, at the least the apparent ones, are self destructive. Otherwise, one tries to fight them assuming their rationality and then you are bound to lose. For they simply cannot stop - you can read it on the faces of Musk and Trump, on every gesture of their bodies.
I am not a history scholar. I had to do a quickie internet dive to learn about Mussolini. He was extremely intelligent (unlike trump). He was in power 20 years. It took a world war for his army to turn on him. We need to do better!
I beg to disagree. Intelligence is living your whole life deeply, happily, realising yourself, dying in peace, possibly with kindred souls - surely not being shot and hanged upside down and spat upon. Intelligence is thoughtfulness, understanding, search for harmony - not continuous conflict with yourself and others. Intelligence is acceptance of others, not a proclamation of race superiority. Lack of scruples and ability to manipulate others through endless violence is not intelligence. Intelligence is having right thoughts, right feelings and saying right words - not shouting empty slogans and threats, inciting violence on daily basis. Recall that spreading violence comes back to you as a boomerang - and so it happened to Mussolini, as it did to Hitler, to Milosevic and so many others.
This illusion of intelligent fascists is a problem of the way history is taught. What historians do, the way they teach is tragic - attributing intelligence to violent leaders only because they manage to kill a lot of people, and destroy a lot.
Please think about this too. How do we know that he was in power? I admit that he had a position of power, but what does that mean? How do we know that he did not fear each passing day that he would be eliminated by competitors, people around him that surely must have wanted his position?
Our adversaries are in orgasmic shock; our ALLIES, on the other hand, are definitely wringing their hands.
Darn good thing it was Goldberg who is a responsible journalist! Frankly, more than that "lapse" - the idea that these goofballs not only used Signal for CLASSIFED information, but included the Sec of Treasury, Susie Wiles, Stephen Miller, and others who have absolutely NO need to be included in this kind of information!
Altho to be honest - None of these idiots know their ass from a hole in the ground! That's a saying my dad used to use a long time ago. Applies now better than ever!
Maggie, what’s worse are all the Republican pundits acting like it is no big deal. I just wish the media would confront them and tell them they would not be using the same talking points if this was a Democrat Administration who committed this act. The hypocrisy is on full display. They don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground because their heads are up their asses.
None of them is staying in their lane
We have gone from a Government by knowledgeable professionals to a government by amateurs... all of them appointed by a NY mob boss who cannot even blend in his orange makeup...
What’s REALLY stupid is Hegseth posting details of the plans to the clowns on this chat. I can’t see any reason ANY of them have any need to know the blow by blow plans for this operation, much less ALL of them!
Peter Thiel and the Federalists.
@Mike N. Beware of judges Henderson and esoecially Walker.
Black out drunks should not be in government especially when it comes to national security.
Thank you for your knowledge and dedication to FACTS and LAW.
And thank you for all your hard work to help us understand the complexity of the legal issues. So grateful for your descriptions written so carefully for us who are not lawyers.
Both Joyce Vance and Jennifer Rubin have a long history of studying the law and practicing their professions with integrity. In the urgency of the moment our nation faces, I am grateful for their counsel, courage, clarity and commitment to speaking the truth.
Jennifer Rubin interviewed my heroine of the Day, 3rd Year Sadden Associate, RACHEL COHEN, who exposed the gutless response of one of the largest "Big Law" firms in the Country that could have simply copied a successful TRO of another "Big Law" firm to protect their "billable hours".
How does a lawyer ethically represent a client when your legal representation is guided by another set of clients, DJ Trump, JD Vance, Pam Bondi, Steve Miller & the rest of the recidivist Orange Gang?
That was a fabulous interview! Rachel is so smart and very principled. Her firm should acknowledge that she has enough integrity to offer her resignation should they obey in advance.
Talking about RACHEL COHEN as "so smart" may be an understatement.
Rachel's analysis of the current political legal situation demonstrates a-much-too-rare legal acumen of a young lawyer under intense pressures.
RACHEL COHEN is a brave, so-smart, young attorney.
"Ethically", Brian? What is this ethically stuff? Going to check Merriam-Webster.
The 'ethically' part, is a very long list of professional duties that a licensed attorney must discharge to any client, the court & other counsel including your Opposing counsel as well as your Partners.
In California there are obligations at law that are spelled out in the "Rules of Professional Conduct". One duty essential to my practice now is the duty to challenge the rectitude of 'official' action while discharging your duty to uphold the legal process itself.
I do recommend doing what Marlene did above which is to watch Jen Rubin's, The Contrarian, interview of the young & capable Rachel Cohen deal with the real legal world.
No worries ... no quiz this week, :---)
Thanks, Brian. I'll look up Jen Rubin's interview.
Good one -- try to follow her deductive reasoning when Partners' say:
"I'll get back you on that."
Abuse of power? Hello, Judge Cannon!
Hello, President Trump.
Hello, SCOTUS.
Jailhouse Rock!
Abuse of Power is the current pandemic. Call RFKJR. He'll know how to fix it. Herd immunity is already taking over Republicans.
What can one expect from a “party” - a cult, really - to whom the truth is variable?
By variable I mean as changeable as Trump’s infantile mind.
Got it!!
Not "variable", David, fixed. The unfortunate part is that their "truth" is not THE "truth".
The way Cheeto is talking up Judge Cannon, it seems she could be Justice Cannon before his term ends.
Cringeworthy thought.
🤬🤬🤬
Joyce, your column is great. With all this going on I am continually visualizing the famous photo of German judges giving the Nazi salute and thereafter, everything Hitler did was legal because the judges approved all the Nuremberg laws and similar during the Nazi era.
I've been reading books and articles about this era and legal history and it's just stupefying
Even more stupefying that it’s happening here!
We should remember that in 1933, Germany had only a 15 year history of democracy following the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918. Comparisons to Nazi Germany and 2025 USA might not be apples to apples.
I think the analogy is how quickly any government can be toppled by an authoritarian. Why people keep falling for these horror shows is beyond me.
Throughout history, a subsector of the male of the species (and yes it is a male thing) rears their ugly heads to dominate and destroy. It never ends well for these dictators, their countries, or the world. Now with the nuclear code at trump's fingertips and he can do whatever he wants, it could ALL end quicker than ever before.
Yet the Nazis, as early as 1920, had adopted a party platform that included an entirely new and draconian legal system. Like Project 2025, there should have been no surprise when the Nazis came to power 13 years later.
I wonder if anyone is organizing demonstrations at the Heritage Foundation. That font of pure evil.
There was a photo of a protest at The Heritage Foundation on The Contrarian list of protests.
Good to know!
good question. good point!
Exactly right! Project 2025 is all about purporting to use "the rule of law" to undermine our freedom and our liberty. So our mere allusions to "the rule of law" aren't of much use in opposing what they are doing.
Joyce is right. We all should know a little something about how the Nazi's abused "the rule of law." What they did back then is a very valuable and very timely lesson for us now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Nazi_Germany
"Rule of law" rolls off the tongue. It sounds nice to our ears and to our hearts, but it does nothing to strengthen our minds for this fight. Under the "rule of law," typically the people in power write, interpret and execute the laws. For most of two decades, the Nazis were the people in power in Germany (and elsewhere). Their abuse of "the rule of law" should show us now why our own vague allusions to "the rule of law" are not helpful.
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton (citing or quoting Montesquieu) repeatedly made the very same point to explain the vital reason that we have a written Constitution which establishes that the "tyranny of the majority" (as John Stuart Mill put it) is not "the rule of law" in America. In multiple ways Trump and his supporters, themselves, are purporting to use "the rule of law" to establish tyranny. See "The Tyranny of Trump" https://open.substack.com/pub/blackcollarcrime/p/the-tyranny-of-trump?r=30ufvh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
The express reason for SCOTUS's Dobbs decision and Trump's decision to demolish the Department of Education was to "return to states" decisions that affect not only our lives but our nation. "Return to the states" implies "the rule of law" in states, but it truly is mere code for "tyranny of the majority" in certain states.
Our Constitution states the real rule of law. But we, ourselves, must see it before we can make the supporters of Trump's tyranny believe it.
By failing to uphold the integrity and independence of the profession, lawyers and
judges in Nazi Germany permitted and ultimately collaborated in the subversion of the
basic lawyer–client relationship, the abrogation of the lawyer’s role as advocate, and
the elimination of judicial independence. As a result, while there was an elaborate
facade of laws, the fundamental features of the rule of law no longer existed and in
their place had grown an arbitrary and chaotic system leaving people without protection
from a violent, totalitarian government.
Everything you wrote was right on except that "the fundamental features of the rule of law no longer existed." Everything else you described was "the rule of law." Under the "rule of law," the people in power wrote, interpreted and executed the laws. The Nazis were the people in power. Their abuse of "the rule of law" should show us now why our own vague allusions to "the rule of law" are not helpful. "Rule of law" rolls of the tongue. It sounds nice to our ears and to our hearts, but it does nothing to strengthen our minds for this fight.
Obviously the "rule of law" is more than what you legally can and can't do by statute. It incorporates the critically important processes and procedures through which you may be fairly judged as to whether you violated these codified rules and regulations. These processes and procedures were as fundamental to the rule of law in Germany (and enshrined in its constitution) as the laws themselves, until the Nazis suspended them with the Enabling Act of 1933 and other authoritarian measures. The Weimar Constitution technically remained in place, but no longer with practical effect. So yes, while the Nazis rewrote the laws because they could, they also did away with the legal mechanisms through which you were to be judged equitably or made them a sham and thus, as I said, removed protections fundamental to the rule of law Germans had previously come to expect and replaced them with the rule of force. And while we can always do a better job in continuously reminding what terms around which we rally like the "rule of law" and even "democracy" actually mean in practice, I believe the American public is getting a virtual daily crash course in the specifics thanks to a third rate tin-pot wannabe dictator. The "allusions" you suggest have become all too real.
Are we allowing history to repeat itself, in a more powerful way, by way of high technology and mass media gone wild and off the tracks? How on earth ( literally) do we get our country back together? Professor Chemerinsky has written profoundly about the need for a rewrite of the constitution…like one without all the loopholes going back 200 years ago. Your thoughts?
Iack Worth rewatching Judgement At Nuremberg (about thr 1935 Nuremberg laws)
There is only one command in the Constitution stated twice (5A and 14A), that no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law." And while the likes of Clarence Thomas view due process conveniently as simply procedural, the courts have recognized substantive due process for a very long time, or the protection of fundamental rights, even if the government follows proper procedures. Even undocumented immigrants are protected under 6A (right to legal counsel) and 4A (right against unreasonable searches and seizures, which include an individual themself) and it is up to the courts to determine whether the government's determination of a national security threat or risk has followed the law.
When did Venezuela declare war on the US? When did it enlist the gang as mercenaries on their behalf? What proof does this shoddy excuse of an administration have that the gang is operating under orders from the Venezuelan government? Where are the embargoes usually placed on products from Venezuela that are ordinarily enacted in war time? If so-called "originalists" rely on the words as written, then there's a huge factual hole of missing evidence that would allow the AEA to be invoked because a state of war exists between two countries.
Again, who is it exactly who’s enlisting gangs as mercenaries? Hello, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Tarrio!
If we import any oil from Venezuela there would be no embargoes.
And did you see this morning's statement from Trump about tariffs on any country that buys oil from Venezuela? Economic warfare, declared by Trump.
Would the AEA apply to a South African leading an insurrection against the USA? HMMMM?
>>>>Last week, a resolution calling for the impeachment of Judge James Boasberg, who is hearing the challenge to Trump’s authority under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), was filed in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Gill, Crane, Collins, Carter, Moore, and Clyde. They accuse the Judge of “abuse of power.”<<<<
Absolutely rich, the ongoing irony.. 'Abuse of power' indeed. That has been the Republican game for years. Truly Orwellian.
Excellent and concise explanation. Thank you.
The physician teaching at Brown Medical School in Providence who specialized in kidney transplantation and who was a legal resident, was deported. It could be any of us!
I am crying for the young, gay man who is a barber, because prison is absolutely no place for him. This is sickening.
And the soccer coach and everyone else caught up in this nightmare of injustice. Every heartless bastard that got this mess stirred up and moving should be declared a war criminal. It’s obvious everyone in this administration is begging to be added to that list.
Important Tuesday, 3/25/25; Morn' Update:
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The soccer coach case has revealed Customs & Border Protection's (CBP) years long use of a digital App commonly referred to as "CBP One".
Per 'Federal Scoop' (FS), the CBP One App was (past tense) used by Customs authorities to schedule applications at the Border. Trump shut down the CBP One App on 'Day 1' on 1/21/25 & the Soccer Coach's access to use thereof.
Judge Boasberg Spoliation-of-Evidence Alert.
Inquiring minds of attorneys want to examine all that data. Fortunately, ... now say it with me now: "Nothing is ever deleted from the Internet".
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The name of soccer ⚽️ player & coach who was deported to the prison CECOT in El Salvador is JERCE REYES BARRIOS.
The Trump operative pushing both mis & dis information about JERCE is DHS operative, Tricia Mclaughlin.
Jerce needs due process in the form of habeas, judicial inquiry or other fact based investigation otherwise he may be functionally 'disappeared'.
It sure is. My heart breaks for him. I only can imagine the agony he's enduring. 💔💔💔
This man, four times indicted and then once convicted of felonious conduct, would have us believe that we should check our power of discernment in at the door and simply trust him to do the right thing on our behalf, when he has NEVER demonstrably acted on our behalf. Above and beyond all the other adverbs and adjectives we have stretched to attach to him, I'm simply insulted to be told that he is beyond accountable to the citizens, purely because he won an election. The man isn't bullet proof and eventually someone's going to prove it to him. Lets not forget that two of the lawsuits abandoned by the department of justice were for conduct occurring outside of office. If he spends the last few weeks of his miserable life incarcerated in a nursing home ward in prison, I'll still feel vindicated to some degree.
Thank you Joyce. You are a touchstone for me. My friends and neighbors and family. I live in Maine. Need I say more?
You make it very clear what is at stake here. We are very close to the abyss. We the people cannot let this happen. How many are ready to take to the streets? How many will just look away? How many understand what habeas corpus means? Giving up is not an option!
"He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard that of others."
---- George Bernard Shaw
We all know he does not care.