The later part of the week is going to get intense between Supreme Court decisions and hearings in the classified documents case. I had planned to devote this first part of the week to our study of Project 2025. But honestly, it’s a tough enough week as is, so I thought we’d ease into it today with chicken pictures.
I couldn't agree more and I appreciate the balance that Joyce bring us. Solid facts & news with much needed breaks. It's going to be a continued rocky road ahead so buckle-up but keep reading Joyce (and HCR and Kareem Abdul-Jamar.)
It is hard to feel upbeat. My husband just keeps saying everything will be okay, so no real support for my angst there. Rest of family basically doesn't talk about politics. I'm the one running scared.
I conquered my worry by reading the life of Benjamin Franklin. It has been wonderful. The disagreements between our forefathers makes history come alive. But I know how the book ends and that is amazing. I believe in our country, some of the idiots not so much, but I ignore them like I ignore tfg.
i live in the reddest state and also one of the stupidest. But I have a Biden sticker and Democrat insignia on the sides. Yesterday an example of our states' educations finest was in his "pick'em up truk" following me. When we came to the light he pulled up alongside me and because his window was down (they spend all their money on their "big truk" and can't get the A/C fixed) I could tell he was gesturing me and I calmly ignored him and was looking away as if I didn't have a care in the world. This is the first reaction that I have seen to my bumper sticker and it has been there since the 2020 election. My Biden yard sign is safely in the garage with the Vote Democratic sign.
PS the sign is on my back window rather than the bumper for everyone to see. Kill them by ignoring them.
A few days ago, a guy who had been driving behind me, pulled up and passed me on my right then pulled in front of me. At first I thought he was using his arm to signal a left turn, then I noticed an upright middle finger as he slowed in front of me. I suspect he noticed my shiny new Biden/Harris sticker immediately below the rear window of my Outback. Too bad he couldn't see me laughing at him (or maybe, just as well he couldn't).
I've read Project 2025. It is not hyperbole to say that the republicans intend to destroy our democracy. Read it for yourself. It's agonizing to get through, it reads like a fever dream from the likes of Stephen Miller or Steve Bannon.
Shockingly, In the past two weeks, on separate occasions, 3 people that I dearly love have told me that they will not vote for president at all, or will vote for Kennedy in protest. One person is female and 29, another is male in his mid 30's and the third is a 78 year old male.
All three say they dislike Biden as much as Trump but in our conversations, I could tell their reasoning was from a place of ignorance and I could not get past that with them.
As a last resort, and in hopes of scaring the daylights out of them, I've sent them today's Civil Discourse and asked them to participate in Joyce's "book club". I hope they will.
I love the book club idea. I have no republican friends, if I did I would:
Read Project 2025 with them and ask them if they agree with some of the more egregious proposals it contains.
Ask them what aspects of government they are concerned about, then go to the appropriate chapter and show them what the plan has in store.
For example, here's a section from chapter 17 DOJ page 562 for your female friend
"Announcing a Campaign to Enforce the Criminal Prohibitions in 18 U.S. Code §§ 1461 and 1462 Against Providers and Distributors of Abortion Pills That Use the Mail. Federal law prohibits mailing “[e]very article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion.”75 Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, there is now no federal prohibition on the enforcement of this statute. The Department of Justice in the next conservative Administration should therefore announce its intent to enforce federal law against providers and distributors of such pills."
I’m slowly working my way through Project 2025. It is terrifying!
My only weapon to combat this is my vote. I’m volunteering for postcard initiatives to get others to the polls, too!
Reading some of the posts on here where people protest their choices by either not voting or voting for a throw-away 3rd party candidate is maddening! There really are only two choices: democracy or no democracy.
My very first election, I voted for McGovern, thinking “This Nixon mess is ugly.” I had no idea what ugly was!
Here's a post by Thom Hartman pointing out something I hadn't thought of viz. Trump is only going to be a figurehead to rile up crowds, his VP will be the one in charge. Eek!
Trump is just the village idiot used by the P2025 handlers to turn out the vote. Just as the clueless Hershel Walker was used. (OK, Georgians! Everyone vote for a football hero.) And just as JD Vance, the hapless hillbilly author, was used. (Vote for JD! He’s common folk, just like you.)
This goes WAY BACK. Bush was just an affable puppet while Cheney ran the country. (No incentive to end the war. Halliburton stock is soaring!) And Hollywood Reagan, easily malleable for more attention and fame.
We voters have been so ignorant of the big picture.
Thanks Bob - I would applaud your effort to read P2025 with republicans!
The thing that is so shocking and scary to me is, NONE of the 3 I’ve been (gently and respectfully) talking to are republicans, but are Dems and Libertarians and all are college graduates.
The younger ones are dismissive, probably due to our large age difference, our being kin, and their very active lives - hmm, go party, play with / feed the kids, or try to understand politics and deal with the fear and depression that comes with the later. I can’t say I was any better when I was their age.
This is why I’m hoping Joyce (and people like you) helping us understand P2025 will make them curious enough to investigate. I would be happy if they just read / grasped a little of it, as that should be enough to sway their thinking.
I slogged through a critical reading of it. It took me over a month to produce a set of posts.
I thought I needed to read it so I asked if any of my subscribers was interested in a series covering its contents. One fella said yes, so I did it.
Looking back I could have done a better job, but I have no editor.
Chapter 26 on Trade had an excruciating section written by Peter Navarro which convinced me that he should be locked up. Chapter 29 on the FEC was written by the only person ever denied a position on the committee after being nominated by a president to serve on it.
Read Chapter 17 on the DOJ to see that the FBI will be placed under the AG.
I read a lot of Thoreau to de-program myself after reading the project.
Judy, OK, I admit I can't see the photos, but I can imagine a bit of what they might look like. I have enjoyed the chickens I have encountered in my life, turkeys too (a city kid visiting petting farms and zoos,), and appreciate the fascination they have for folks. They are also pretty entertaining.
Just looked her up and subscribed for free content now. I spend a lot on substacks. But holy moly we need to get this info out. Currently watching a new Netflix documentary on Hitler and Nuremberg Trials. Obviously there’s a lot of “how did this happen?” My hubs who was never a serious student but a fantastic union carpenter, has just been astounded by history and the comparison to now. They didn’t believe it then, and most do not believe it now. Thanks for the recommendation!
And the 1939 attempt to pull off the Nazi coup here, involving sitting congress and senate members. My father was in flight school then, in prep for WWII to draw us in. The whole thing is documented in Rachel Madow's "Ultra". Her followup, "Ultra II" srartedvlast week. Almost a current event.
Chris, you are so right that those events were not long ago, but alas, people's memories, particularly if they did not actually participate in that era, are very short if they ever learned about that time at all. I have no doubt that Trump and Kump, OK, not Trump, has been selecting much of the 1930s German situation and rise of Hitler as model for their bad behavior. I am simply floored that We the People can do nothing about the threats, essentially insurrectionist talk that is being spewed louder and louder every day by the Steves, Republican members of Congress, and the Trump himself. IT is appalling. I think it has crossed the line for free speech and there need to be some penalties. It is too late if someone is killed because something one of the Kump has said or done to threaten someone Trump or they don't like or want around. We are not very good lately at holding people accountable for their behavior, or rather Republicans accountable. We seem to have the Democrats who have potentially committed crimes with trials set and even held. Only a bit over a third of Trump's indictments have been set for trial and Bannon is still not in jail, I guess waiting for a last minute reprieve. None of the insurrectionist members of Congress have been indicted and none of the others who refused the subpoena have been charged or tried. This has let Trump and Kump believe they have free rein and Trump free reign in America. We are all at risk if we do not vote for Biden-Harris in November and keep being aware of what Trump and Kump are doing and what they are plotting. These are not good people, not a single one of them!
It is multiply-bad that Trump is openly aping Hitler. In the 1920s Hitler sent his scholars to the USA to find out how a nation guaranteeing equal rights to all could do anything it wanted to African Americans up to frequent lynchings with nobody noticing it.
Give Hitler credit at least for seeing, studying, adopting, and getting away with some of it!
That didn't come out as eloquently as I'd intended.
Oh Well, I hope we can keep the Red-hats from becoming Brownshirts.
To quote my own Congresswoman: Don't agonize, ORGANIZE! (She's presently the Emerita.)
Norm, it is so disturbing that so many Americans have decided that a failed German Reich seems more desirable than this American experiment that has been more willing to learn and change over time than most societies. We have a long way to go, but to a form of Nazism is not the direction anyone should take. Trump is a kind of created figure, made by "reality TV" which is not in any way reality. People think that because the word "reality" is in the description, it is real. Trump was perfect for that genre because he could be his obnoxious self and after filming over 200 hours, clever false editors could break it down to the required 42 minutes because at least some of what Trump did or said could be tossed in somewhere. The false nature of the show let emotionally vulnerable people believe that Trump was this great business leader who could instantly tell the value of the people on the show; he couldn't. It was all pretend. Unfortunately, the Republican party and its contributors have taken the fake Trump and fashioned him into something wild, incoherent, and rude and people think that's what they need in charge. They would never want to work for anyone like Trump or live with someone like him, but somehow, he is OK to be president. Simply mind-boggling!
Have you watched Ken Burns “The US and the Holocaust “? That series brought to my mind how close the parallels are to the present. I despair that people pay no attention and walk right into autocracy
Back in the 1930's, people thought the reports of atrocities happening in Germany and eastern Europe could not be true; the reports seemed like gross exaggerations. The truth was way worse!
The parts of Project 2025 I have been able to read, read like a horror novel. Unless we vote the extremists out, we the people will not have a country, and NO ONE will be safe.
They don't believe in democracy and they don't believe in this election. Project 2025 is in forward gear. They are at war with their own country. We are at war. Be vigilant but not hyper vigilant.
Rachel Maddow's PREQUEL is unsurprisingly brilliant, and filled with much truly surprising content about the dangerous rise of fascism and Nazi-ism in the decades leading to WWII. I will have to catch the Netflix documentary. Substack definitely is worth the subscriptions for its outstanding content and contributors. Kareem Abdul Jabbar's Substack covers a wide range of subjects and is always beautifully written. Guess I need to check out the Project 2025 Andrea Watkins Substack. I get most of my news these days via reading--I just can't watch the news much any more.
I do love my substacks, and I miss msnbc terribly. Not an inexpensive way to stream it. You’d think Peacock would just add it as an extra, but no dice. I’ll need to check into her books. Rachel is fabulous.
RDB, a friend of mine listens to MSNBC thru Sirius XM. Streams it in her house. w laptop etc. Not quite the same as visual but works for her. And much cheaper. Sirius has deals for new subscribers all the time.
Project 2025 is more than disturbing -- it's terrifying. These articles, as well as Joyce's upcoming post, can be most helpful in educating voters who are apathetic, uncommitted, or inattentive. As Steve Schmitt said, the upcoming election is a choice between the imperfect and fascism.
U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) announced the formation of a new working group designed to stop Project 2025, a far-right roadmap for Donald Trump to seize “supreme” powers and radically undermine reproductive rights, LGBTQ equality, racial justice, free speech, and other democratic institutions and freedoms. The Stop Project 2025 Task Force will serve as a central hub for pro-democracy Members of Congress, civil society, and affected communities to coordinate on examining, highlighting, preempting, and counteracting this rightwing plot to undermine democracy.
“Project 2025 is more than an idea, it's a dystopian plot that’s already in motion to dismantle our democratic institutions, abolish checks and balances, chip away at church-state separation, and impose a far-right agenda that infringes on basic liberties and violates public will. This is an unprecedented embrace of extremism, fascism, and religious nationalism, orchestrated by the radical right and its dark money backers. We need a coordinated strategy to save America and stop this coup before it’s too late,” said Rep. Huffman. “Through this Task Force, leaders across the ideological spectrum and experts in every policy area that’s under attack are uniting to protect democracy as we know it. Donald Trump and those behind Project 2025 are ready to turn America into a theocratic regime if they get the chance – and we are going to be ready to stop them.”
Members of the Task Force represent the diversity of the Democratic Caucus and are leaders on many of the issues currently under attack by Project 2025. Founding members joining Rep. Huffman are Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu (CA-36), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Judy Chu (CA-28), Equality Caucus and Labor Caucus Chair Mark Pocan (WI-02), Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chair Diana DeGette (CO-01), Co-Chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus and Ranking Member of Oversight Jamie Raskin (MD-08), and Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (WA-07).
I subscribe to FP Wellman's Substack, On Democracy.
Thank you for that into. Andra Watkins of “How Project 2025 will Ruin Your Life” is trying to get in contact with these representatives to share what she is doing. Yesterday she wrote about how so far she’s finding that a difficult task.
Yeah, sometimes I've noticed that too - I'm at my laptop at the moment, at the hiips://joycevance.substack.com.... link, and just checked and I'm able to edit. But when I'm accessing via my iphone, sometimes I'm not. I think perhaps it is the difference in the platforms, OR a difference in the nation hosting my VPN link in the moment, vs. having it turned off. It was turned off when I checked a moment ago. Seems I need to post this reply before I can check if I still can edit with VPN turned on....
Yeah, I still can edit this comment. If you are failing to edit via a phone, try a laptop...?
The chicken pictures were perfectly timed. "...the more I study Project 2025, the more I appreciate the importance of understanding Trump’s plan for America." I love the idea of looking more deeply into Project 2025, but we have to remember that even though this is "Trump's plan" he didn't write it and probably doesn't understand most of it. We cannot forget the soulless Republicans behind the plan who will implement and enforce the plan once they get the chance. They are driven by arrogance, greed and a willingness to cause harm from behind an excuse of religion. This must be stopped.
The plan was headed by Leonard Leo, a wealthy religious fanatic. He was behind putting Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney-Barrett on the bench. Leo and his cohorts from The Heritage Foundation and The Federalist Society are responsible for this manifesto. You see, Leo has managed to put together 40 shell companies that file under 501 3(c) which is where nonprofits file to be tax exempt. These 40 companies launder money among each other and all in the name of christianity. Guess who has one of those companies? Ginni Thomas! Leo also arranged for Harlan Crowe to meet Clarence Thomas. He’s a rich white guy who wants little government and only white men to be in charge…of everything!
Holy shit, the plot sickens! Sorry about the expletive but the whole scenario takes a few minutes to wrap my head around. It’s deep, it’s ugly, it’s sickening. it’s greed to the max. I could go on but anyone reading this already gets the picture. Thx for the info.
Marlene, technically, he is as you describe. In reality, he is an insurrectionist who has not been elected to anything, yet is manipulating our government for his own gains (not that elected officials should do that). There needs to be a way of possibly charging him with insurrection, but who would do it. He is simply, scum of the earth, and that is an insult to scum.
Those two "institutions" are responsible for a lot of today's problems. Apparently not students of history as forced religious domination doesn't have a great longevity record.
It says it is written by scholars! It reads like Swiss cheese to me. The writing is consistent in its inconsistency. It takes a subject, says what it is and then bashes it to smithereens using vague descriptions including (one-sided) history, and then slams a proposed solution. Through it, there is just enough nodding to democracy that makes us think we will have that when they are done. Do you think people will look up all the footnotes? Tsk Tsk. Yikes! We need to elect Joe Biden so this book can be buried in the dustbin history.
The number of people around the world who are ready to use that empty head is scary, but nothing scares me more than the home-grown MAGA totalitarian trend.
Exactly, Trump is pretty much just a puppet. He doesn't deserve credit for overturning Roe since he had no real choice in the quality of SC justices he nominated. As big a danger as a Trump presidency poses, we have to remember that the people pulling his strings won't just go away when he does.
I only had one rooster in childhood. Harry was his name and named for my Uncle Harry. Wish I could have chickens but I’ve cast my lot with 7 formerly homeless cats.
As long as we’re doing chickens and now cats tonight, does anybody have any advice on where to get a nice small dog without resorting to a puppy mill? I’ve served on the board of the local Humane Society and so I know about how rare and popular the small dogs are in rescue shelters. So I guess the question has more to do with how others have found a forever home for a small dog. 🐕. Feel free to ignore this.
I found my dachshund mix on PetFinder. Lots of small dogs. You can search by geographical area. A local rescue group posted her picture. www.petfinder.com
Pet finder is where I found my beautiful girl as a pup 13 years ago. Maybe it’s changed now but when I saw a dog I wanted, I had to register with that group and they might get many replies to choose from. You can also call your local humane societies and tell them what you are looking for. Good luck. Check it early in the morning to be first. ❤️
Yes please stay away from puppy mills. I knew a person who obtained a long distance puppy and he kept it but it had/has issues. Why anyone would ever buy from such places I haven’t the foggiest. Most of my cats came from my back yard feeding post. The kitty to the left, Babe, was born in my driveway in December and his mama abandoned him.
Anything with chihuahua as part of its DNA should be abundant. Shelters are usually overrun with them and many automatically spay/neuter to keep the population down.
I have found that California and Tennessee often have rescues offering small pups. Always check with your local rescues, although I am sure have. I found my wonderful Shih Tsu mix in Providence. Drove 90 miles to pick her up.
I’ve had two purebred dachshunds from rescue. One was rescued from a puppy mill in TX and the other, also a Texan, was found running the streets of Corpus Christi. There is a website called Texas Dachshund Rescue.
Count me in the for the Project 2025 club. We are going to need each other to get through it. And of course we’ll need the company of chickens and lovely Tofu! Lead on, Joyce!
Reading Project 2025 has about as much appeal to me as reading Revelations.
Or The Prince. Or the Art of War.
But, suspect if it is the bad guys' public play book, it is probably necessary information. (But I wouldn't, for even a moment, expect them to be limited by it, nor assume that it is not somewhat misinformation.)
Well, I’ve read all of those as well as Beowulf (snore, bloodshed glorification is tedious), The Epic of Gilgamesh (ditto) and various other tomes so I’m not the best one to say this is a good use of anyone else’s time…
We need to remain hopeful, but wary. Hopeful is crucial, so we don’t all jump off the cliff. I’m genuinely hopeful because I sense a turn going on as the election approaches and people engage with the stakes. Thanks for the book club. It’s important. And as always the chickens!
The Civil Discourse Project 2025 Book Club sounds really great. I would love to have a relatively organized reading list and also people who are also interested and knowledgeable and open to discussion. ❤️
I’m in. A nice warmup is reading some history of Cromwell and the English ChristoFascists of the Commonwealth. The Founders weren’t acting on theory, or on dislike of the Hanoverian monarchy. England was crawling from the wreckage of 100 years earlier, a tyranny that slaughtered in the name of God, a domestically suicidal Crusades against humanity.
My money says Melanoma will drop him like a hot potato, once he loses in November. If he's not POTUS, all those judgements will come home to roost--$88 million to E. Jean, $454 million to NY Stat, etc. He's not winning those appeals. And then there's whatever fines + potential confinement Judge Merchan imposes for his 34 felony convictions. Now that Barron is more or less launched, Melanoma has no need of him, not even for appearances. She's wrung him dry, so to speak.
She doesn't care about appearances now, does she? She doesn't make any. I wish that at every public appearance, trump would have to answer the question "Where's Melania?" He's not going to say that she can't stand him. What would he say, she's finishing her needlepoint?
I'm thinking when DJT runs out of money, Melania will bolt. Let's plan on him losing in November and also going to prison. I donno -- lots of people don't think he will get prison time. I bet Judge Marchan gives him a few years in a suspended sentence.
She is not divorcing him. I don't know why people don't get all these years later, she's just as awful as he is and I'm 1000% sure there's an iron clad contract. Plus spousal privilege.
When I first learned of the Heritage Foundation and its belief structure in the 1990's my blood ran cold at the very idea of a group with those ideals. I felt an immediate fear that my life and way of life was threatened. Of course, that fear abates over time but I kept tracking Heritage. (Tracking Heritage inevitably leads to your email being shot out into the right-wing echo chamber.)
They have done an astounding amount of rabble rousing. Their partner organizations are an unholy assortment of monstrous groups. It is difficult to get one's head around the extent of organization the Evangelical Oligarch "Movement Conservative" Militia has achieved.
I feel profoundly threatened. A Project 2025 Book Club needs to happen. I applaud Joyce for voicing it here.
I have thought to host a Project 2025 booth at my Farmers Market but wondered what to call it... Project: Project 2025 ? I think The Project 2025 Book Club is a better name.
John Oliver on this week's Last Week Tonight on HBO last night did a masterful job detailing Project 2025. Trigger warning: Be prepared for profanity, although if anything deserves profane talk it's Project 2025!
Joyce, thank you for reading my mind. This is a respite I could use tonight. Your chickens have so much personality. Always a pleasure to see the chickens. Thanks for the link to Project 2025. I’ll have to OT read it before bed as I don’t want nightmares!
Tonight Rachel Maddow is comparing Trumpism to the boring, knuckle-dragging banality of American gangsters. It is all about power. And followers too stupid and damaged to know better.
While it seems unrelated I have cancelled my WaPo subscription. Why? The Founders depended on an activist press to provoke truth and accountability. Their motto is "democracy dies in darkness". The reality is WaPo is owned by a narcissist plutocrat with his own space program. Someone convinced that the founders' hopes should be converted to maximizing clicks to generate more ad money.
The lack of accountability supporting laws and standards makes lawlessness normal. It is the milieu authoritarianism thrives in. Bezos' joke is not promoting democracy. He is all about the darkness creeps like him thrive in.
Always love the chicken photos. They make me smile. Need something to smile about these days.
I couldn't agree more and I appreciate the balance that Joyce bring us. Solid facts & news with much needed breaks. It's going to be a continued rocky road ahead so buckle-up but keep reading Joyce (and HCR and Kareem Abdul-Jamar.)
And Robert Reich. His sassy cartoons are a bonus.
It is hard to feel upbeat. My husband just keeps saying everything will be okay, so no real support for my angst there. Rest of family basically doesn't talk about politics. I'm the one running scared.
Keep a stiff upper lip. Gestalt therapy -- register Democrats to help relieve your angst.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
I am with you. Everything will not be ok, unless you are wealthy, and the it will be a fools bargain
My husband tells me the same thing! Makes me feel calmer for about 30 secs. We all have to know we’re out here for each other.
I conquered my worry by reading the life of Benjamin Franklin. It has been wonderful. The disagreements between our forefathers makes history come alive. But I know how the book ends and that is amazing. I believe in our country, some of the idiots not so much, but I ignore them like I ignore tfg.
i live in the reddest state and also one of the stupidest. But I have a Biden sticker and Democrat insignia on the sides. Yesterday an example of our states' educations finest was in his "pick'em up truk" following me. When we came to the light he pulled up alongside me and because his window was down (they spend all their money on their "big truk" and can't get the A/C fixed) I could tell he was gesturing me and I calmly ignored him and was looking away as if I didn't have a care in the world. This is the first reaction that I have seen to my bumper sticker and it has been there since the 2020 election. My Biden yard sign is safely in the garage with the Vote Democratic sign.
PS the sign is on my back window rather than the bumper for everyone to see. Kill them by ignoring them.
A few days ago, a guy who had been driving behind me, pulled up and passed me on my right then pulled in front of me. At first I thought he was using his arm to signal a left turn, then I noticed an upright middle finger as he slowed in front of me. I suspect he noticed my shiny new Biden/Harris sticker immediately below the rear window of my Outback. Too bad he couldn't see me laughing at him (or maybe, just as well he couldn't).
Turn the scared into sacred 🌈
The chickens are awesome.
I've read Project 2025. It is not hyperbole to say that the republicans intend to destroy our democracy. Read it for yourself. It's agonizing to get through, it reads like a fever dream from the likes of Stephen Miller or Steve Bannon.
Everyone needs to be aware of the plan's intent.
Shockingly, In the past two weeks, on separate occasions, 3 people that I dearly love have told me that they will not vote for president at all, or will vote for Kennedy in protest. One person is female and 29, another is male in his mid 30's and the third is a 78 year old male.
All three say they dislike Biden as much as Trump but in our conversations, I could tell their reasoning was from a place of ignorance and I could not get past that with them.
As a last resort, and in hopes of scaring the daylights out of them, I've sent them today's Civil Discourse and asked them to participate in Joyce's "book club". I hope they will.
I love the book club idea. I have no republican friends, if I did I would:
Read Project 2025 with them and ask them if they agree with some of the more egregious proposals it contains.
Ask them what aspects of government they are concerned about, then go to the appropriate chapter and show them what the plan has in store.
For example, here's a section from chapter 17 DOJ page 562 for your female friend
"Announcing a Campaign to Enforce the Criminal Prohibitions in 18 U.S. Code §§ 1461 and 1462 Against Providers and Distributors of Abortion Pills That Use the Mail. Federal law prohibits mailing “[e]very article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion.”75 Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, there is now no federal prohibition on the enforcement of this statute. The Department of Justice in the next conservative Administration should therefore announce its intent to enforce federal law against providers and distributors of such pills."
Best of luck.
runragged and Bob
I’m slowly working my way through Project 2025. It is terrifying!
My only weapon to combat this is my vote. I’m volunteering for postcard initiatives to get others to the polls, too!
Reading some of the posts on here where people protest their choices by either not voting or voting for a throw-away 3rd party candidate is maddening! There really are only two choices: democracy or no democracy.
My very first election, I voted for McGovern, thinking “This Nixon mess is ugly.” I had no idea what ugly was!
Here's a post by Thom Hartman pointing out something I hadn't thought of viz. Trump is only going to be a figurehead to rile up crowds, his VP will be the one in charge. Eek!
https://hartmannreport.com/p/does-project-2025s-secret-plan-include-fc1
https://ki6mnk.substack.com/p/project-2025-glossary-of-acronyms
Thanks for sharing the link.
Trump is just the village idiot used by the P2025 handlers to turn out the vote. Just as the clueless Hershel Walker was used. (OK, Georgians! Everyone vote for a football hero.) And just as JD Vance, the hapless hillbilly author, was used. (Vote for JD! He’s common folk, just like you.)
This goes WAY BACK. Bush was just an affable puppet while Cheney ran the country. (No incentive to end the war. Halliburton stock is soaring!) And Hollywood Reagan, easily malleable for more attention and fame.
We voters have been so ignorant of the big picture.
Thanks Bob - I would applaud your effort to read P2025 with republicans!
The thing that is so shocking and scary to me is, NONE of the 3 I’ve been (gently and respectfully) talking to are republicans, but are Dems and Libertarians and all are college graduates.
The younger ones are dismissive, probably due to our large age difference, our being kin, and their very active lives - hmm, go party, play with / feed the kids, or try to understand politics and deal with the fear and depression that comes with the later. I can’t say I was any better when I was their age.
This is why I’m hoping Joyce (and people like you) helping us understand P2025 will make them curious enough to investigate. I would be happy if they just read / grasped a little of it, as that should be enough to sway their thinking.
May I ask, did you once take one of advertised "speed reading courses" to get through this labyrinth?
I slogged through a critical reading of it. It took me over a month to produce a set of posts.
I thought I needed to read it so I asked if any of my subscribers was interested in a series covering its contents. One fella said yes, so I did it.
Looking back I could have done a better job, but I have no editor.
Chapter 26 on Trade had an excruciating section written by Peter Navarro which convinced me that he should be locked up. Chapter 29 on the FEC was written by the only person ever denied a position on the committee after being nominated by a president to serve on it.
Read Chapter 17 on the DOJ to see that the FBI will be placed under the AG.
I read a lot of Thoreau to de-program myself after reading the project.
Thanks for your post !!
thanks for the heads-up. I've been bracing myself to read it...
Here’s a link to a glossary of acronyms I put together.
https://ki6mnk.substack.com/p/project-2025-glossary-of-acronyms
Judy, OK, I admit I can't see the photos, but I can imagine a bit of what they might look like. I have enjoyed the chickens I have encountered in my life, turkeys too (a city kid visiting petting farms and zoos,), and appreciate the fascination they have for folks. They are also pretty entertaining.
Have you seen the Substack “How Project 2025 will Ruin Your Life” By Andra Watkins? It’s definitely worth taking the time to check it out.
Thank you for all you do including pics of the chickens. ❤️
Just looked her up and subscribed for free content now. I spend a lot on substacks. But holy moly we need to get this info out. Currently watching a new Netflix documentary on Hitler and Nuremberg Trials. Obviously there’s a lot of “how did this happen?” My hubs who was never a serious student but a fantastic union carpenter, has just been astounded by history and the comparison to now. They didn’t believe it then, and most do not believe it now. Thanks for the recommendation!
Saw the documentary. So many parallels with what's going on in this country. Highly recommend watching. Was not that long ago that it happened.
And the 1939 attempt to pull off the Nazi coup here, involving sitting congress and senate members. My father was in flight school then, in prep for WWII to draw us in. The whole thing is documented in Rachel Madow's "Ultra". Her followup, "Ultra II" srartedvlast week. Almost a current event.
“Ultra” is a must read/listen.
It was not that long ago. I was born in 1964, the war had ended only 19 years prior. The similarities are horrifying.
Chris, you are so right that those events were not long ago, but alas, people's memories, particularly if they did not actually participate in that era, are very short if they ever learned about that time at all. I have no doubt that Trump and Kump, OK, not Trump, has been selecting much of the 1930s German situation and rise of Hitler as model for their bad behavior. I am simply floored that We the People can do nothing about the threats, essentially insurrectionist talk that is being spewed louder and louder every day by the Steves, Republican members of Congress, and the Trump himself. IT is appalling. I think it has crossed the line for free speech and there need to be some penalties. It is too late if someone is killed because something one of the Kump has said or done to threaten someone Trump or they don't like or want around. We are not very good lately at holding people accountable for their behavior, or rather Republicans accountable. We seem to have the Democrats who have potentially committed crimes with trials set and even held. Only a bit over a third of Trump's indictments have been set for trial and Bannon is still not in jail, I guess waiting for a last minute reprieve. None of the insurrectionist members of Congress have been indicted and none of the others who refused the subpoena have been charged or tried. This has let Trump and Kump believe they have free rein and Trump free reign in America. We are all at risk if we do not vote for Biden-Harris in November and keep being aware of what Trump and Kump are doing and what they are plotting. These are not good people, not a single one of them!
It is multiply-bad that Trump is openly aping Hitler. In the 1920s Hitler sent his scholars to the USA to find out how a nation guaranteeing equal rights to all could do anything it wanted to African Americans up to frequent lynchings with nobody noticing it.
Give Hitler credit at least for seeing, studying, adopting, and getting away with some of it!
That didn't come out as eloquently as I'd intended.
Oh Well, I hope we can keep the Red-hats from becoming Brownshirts.
To quote my own Congresswoman: Don't agonize, ORGANIZE! (She's presently the Emerita.)
Norm, it is so disturbing that so many Americans have decided that a failed German Reich seems more desirable than this American experiment that has been more willing to learn and change over time than most societies. We have a long way to go, but to a form of Nazism is not the direction anyone should take. Trump is a kind of created figure, made by "reality TV" which is not in any way reality. People think that because the word "reality" is in the description, it is real. Trump was perfect for that genre because he could be his obnoxious self and after filming over 200 hours, clever false editors could break it down to the required 42 minutes because at least some of what Trump did or said could be tossed in somewhere. The false nature of the show let emotionally vulnerable people believe that Trump was this great business leader who could instantly tell the value of the people on the show; he couldn't. It was all pretend. Unfortunately, the Republican party and its contributors have taken the fake Trump and fashioned him into something wild, incoherent, and rude and people think that's what they need in charge. They would never want to work for anyone like Trump or live with someone like him, but somehow, he is OK to be president. Simply mind-boggling!
The red hats already are brownshirts...
Have you watched Ken Burns “The US and the Holocaust “? That series brought to my mind how close the parallels are to the present. I despair that people pay no attention and walk right into autocracy
Back in the 1930's, people thought the reports of atrocities happening in Germany and eastern Europe could not be true; the reports seemed like gross exaggerations. The truth was way worse!
The parts of Project 2025 I have been able to read, read like a horror novel. Unless we vote the extremists out, we the people will not have a country, and NO ONE will be safe.
They don't believe in democracy and they don't believe in this election. Project 2025 is in forward gear. They are at war with their own country. We are at war. Be vigilant but not hyper vigilant.
Rachel Maddow's PREQUEL is unsurprisingly brilliant, and filled with much truly surprising content about the dangerous rise of fascism and Nazi-ism in the decades leading to WWII. I will have to catch the Netflix documentary. Substack definitely is worth the subscriptions for its outstanding content and contributors. Kareem Abdul Jabbar's Substack covers a wide range of subjects and is always beautifully written. Guess I need to check out the Project 2025 Andrea Watkins Substack. I get most of my news these days via reading--I just can't watch the news much any more.
I do love my substacks, and I miss msnbc terribly. Not an inexpensive way to stream it. You’d think Peacock would just add it as an extra, but no dice. I’ll need to check into her books. Rachel is fabulous.
RDB, a friend of mine listens to MSNBC thru Sirius XM. Streams it in her house. w laptop etc. Not quite the same as visual but works for her. And much cheaper. Sirius has deals for new subscribers all the time.
Thank you! 😊
I'll look forward to JV's exegesis of Project 2025. In the meantime, here's some further reading:
The NYT put out an even-briefer-than-Cliff-Notes summary of Project 2025: "If Trump Wins": https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/06/16/us/politics/trump-policy-list-2025.html . It's written by Charlie Savage, Jonathan Swan, and Maggie Haberman. Also note Robert Hubbell's criticisms of the article: https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/biden-to-announce-major-immigration
The Nation's June edition contains several looks into Project 2025, from different angles: https://www.thenation.com/issue/june-2024-issue/ and scroll down to the Features heading.
Project 2025 is more than disturbing -- it's terrifying. These articles, as well as Joyce's upcoming post, can be most helpful in educating voters who are apathetic, uncommitted, or inattentive. As Steve Schmitt said, the upcoming election is a choice between the imperfect and fascism.
U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) announced the formation of a new working group designed to stop Project 2025, a far-right roadmap for Donald Trump to seize “supreme” powers and radically undermine reproductive rights, LGBTQ equality, racial justice, free speech, and other democratic institutions and freedoms. The Stop Project 2025 Task Force will serve as a central hub for pro-democracy Members of Congress, civil society, and affected communities to coordinate on examining, highlighting, preempting, and counteracting this rightwing plot to undermine democracy.
“Project 2025 is more than an idea, it's a dystopian plot that’s already in motion to dismantle our democratic institutions, abolish checks and balances, chip away at church-state separation, and impose a far-right agenda that infringes on basic liberties and violates public will. This is an unprecedented embrace of extremism, fascism, and religious nationalism, orchestrated by the radical right and its dark money backers. We need a coordinated strategy to save America and stop this coup before it’s too late,” said Rep. Huffman. “Through this Task Force, leaders across the ideological spectrum and experts in every policy area that’s under attack are uniting to protect democracy as we know it. Donald Trump and those behind Project 2025 are ready to turn America into a theocratic regime if they get the chance – and we are going to be ready to stop them.”
Members of the Task Force represent the diversity of the Democratic Caucus and are leaders on many of the issues currently under attack by Project 2025. Founding members joining Rep. Huffman are Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu (CA-36), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Judy Chu (CA-28), Equality Caucus and Labor Caucus Chair Mark Pocan (WI-02), Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chair Diana DeGette (CO-01), Co-Chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus and Ranking Member of Oversight Jamie Raskin (MD-08), and Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (WA-07).
I subscribe to FP Wellman's Substack, On Democracy.
Dem Announces MAJOR Task Force to END Trump’s Project 2025 | On Democracy| MeidasTouch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRcf7_eLO4c
Thank you for that into. Andra Watkins of “How Project 2025 will Ruin Your Life” is trying to get in contact with these representatives to share what she is doing. Yesterday she wrote about how so far she’s finding that a difficult task.
Thank you for information!!
Sorry-Andra Watkins
Nedra, I think you can correct the original post by clicking on the ... at the lower right of your comment; more people will see correctly.
Thanks, I tried that right away but I don’t have that option.
Yeah, sometimes I've noticed that too - I'm at my laptop at the moment, at the hiips://joycevance.substack.com.... link, and just checked and I'm able to edit. But when I'm accessing via my iphone, sometimes I'm not. I think perhaps it is the difference in the platforms, OR a difference in the nation hosting my VPN link in the moment, vs. having it turned off. It was turned off when I checked a moment ago. Seems I need to post this reply before I can check if I still can edit with VPN turned on....
Yeah, I still can edit this comment. If you are failing to edit via a phone, try a laptop...?
I finallly opened this on my computer and sure enough I have the edit ability. Thanks!
Hah! a pattern is emerging - thanks for the feedback, helps us all - this has come up a few times in my short substack life...
I went to that Substack to read and found it very disjointed. It was difficult to read. I will give it another try later.
The chicken pictures were perfectly timed. "...the more I study Project 2025, the more I appreciate the importance of understanding Trump’s plan for America." I love the idea of looking more deeply into Project 2025, but we have to remember that even though this is "Trump's plan" he didn't write it and probably doesn't understand most of it. We cannot forget the soulless Republicans behind the plan who will implement and enforce the plan once they get the chance. They are driven by arrogance, greed and a willingness to cause harm from behind an excuse of religion. This must be stopped.
It is the Heritage Foundation leading an unholy assortment of pious religious monsters.
Whose idea is actually behind this project? I agree that Trump wouldn’t get past page 1 so who are the dark forces that wrote this?
The plan was headed by Leonard Leo, a wealthy religious fanatic. He was behind putting Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney-Barrett on the bench. Leo and his cohorts from The Heritage Foundation and The Federalist Society are responsible for this manifesto. You see, Leo has managed to put together 40 shell companies that file under 501 3(c) which is where nonprofits file to be tax exempt. These 40 companies launder money among each other and all in the name of christianity. Guess who has one of those companies? Ginni Thomas! Leo also arranged for Harlan Crowe to meet Clarence Thomas. He’s a rich white guy who wants little government and only white men to be in charge…of everything!
Holy shit, the plot sickens! Sorry about the expletive but the whole scenario takes a few minutes to wrap my head around. It’s deep, it’s ugly, it’s sickening. it’s greed to the max. I could go on but anyone reading this already gets the picture. Thx for the info.
Marlene, technically, he is as you describe. In reality, he is an insurrectionist who has not been elected to anything, yet is manipulating our government for his own gains (not that elected officials should do that). There needs to be a way of possibly charging him with insurrection, but who would do it. He is simply, scum of the earth, and that is an insult to scum.
Those two "institutions" are responsible for a lot of today's problems. Apparently not students of history as forced religious domination doesn't have a great longevity record.
It says it is written by scholars! It reads like Swiss cheese to me. The writing is consistent in its inconsistency. It takes a subject, says what it is and then bashes it to smithereens using vague descriptions including (one-sided) history, and then slams a proposed solution. Through it, there is just enough nodding to democracy that makes us think we will have that when they are done. Do you think people will look up all the footnotes? Tsk Tsk. Yikes! We need to elect Joe Biden so this book can be buried in the dustbin history.
We gotta think like TR. We can’t just slow them down, gotta bust them up!
Superb post.
Thanks Marlene.
I’ve been wanting a diagram /flow chart to trace Leonard Leo’s path.
If you can, follow @mudpuppy on X. She has laid out incredible maps on Leo and his connections.
This is an excellent perspective. The FG has no plan or idea, any more than a bullet has a "plan' for its target.
Drumph is an empty boat, for others to use to get where they're going.
The number of people around the world who are ready to use that empty head is scary, but nothing scares me more than the home-grown MAGA totalitarian trend.
Project 2025.
White Christian Nationalism. A book to add to our CD book club: “The False White Gospel,” by Jim Wallis, Georgetown University (check out his resume)
Exactly, Trump is pretty much just a puppet. He doesn't deserve credit for overturning Roe since he had no real choice in the quality of SC justices he nominated. As big a danger as a Trump presidency poses, we have to remember that the people pulling his strings won't just go away when he does.
Thank you for chicken reprieve before we start into the scary stuff!
I only had one rooster in childhood. Harry was his name and named for my Uncle Harry. Wish I could have chickens but I’ve cast my lot with 7 formerly homeless cats.
As long as we’re doing chickens and now cats tonight, does anybody have any advice on where to get a nice small dog without resorting to a puppy mill? I’ve served on the board of the local Humane Society and so I know about how rare and popular the small dogs are in rescue shelters. So I guess the question has more to do with how others have found a forever home for a small dog. 🐕. Feel free to ignore this.
I found my dachshund mix on PetFinder. Lots of small dogs. You can search by geographical area. A local rescue group posted her picture. www.petfinder.com
Thank you very much, Kathleen. I’ve registered and it looks like a great site for our needs. 👍
Pet finder is where I found my beautiful girl as a pup 13 years ago. Maybe it’s changed now but when I saw a dog I wanted, I had to register with that group and they might get many replies to choose from. You can also call your local humane societies and tell them what you are looking for. Good luck. Check it early in the morning to be first. ❤️
Chihuahua Transport and Rescue … they will bring you the dog. Fill out the adoption papers even if there isn’t a dog you want right now.
Yes please stay away from puppy mills. I knew a person who obtained a long distance puppy and he kept it but it had/has issues. Why anyone would ever buy from such places I haven’t the foggiest. Most of my cats came from my back yard feeding post. The kitty to the left, Babe, was born in my driveway in December and his mama abandoned him.
Anything with chihuahua as part of its DNA should be abundant. Shelters are usually overrun with them and many automatically spay/neuter to keep the population down.
I have found that California and Tennessee often have rescues offering small pups. Always check with your local rescues, although I am sure have. I found my wonderful Shih Tsu mix in Providence. Drove 90 miles to pick her up.
Have you considered signing up to foster for a shelter?
Also, consider an older dog or a special needs dog.
I’ve had two purebred dachshunds from rescue. One was rescued from a puppy mill in TX and the other, also a Texan, was found running the streets of Corpus Christi. There is a website called Texas Dachshund Rescue.
Too bad there isn't a texas texas rescue.....
Dear Bill....what a lovely gentleman you.must be to welcome seven homeless kitty waits into a loving.home God Bless you💛
Just a thought...WWTD?? ( what would trump.do?)...🙀🙀
To answer your question, and although some are tired of hearing it, the answer to your question is in my book, “Donald’s Vanity Tantrums.”
Chickens and a cat is even better than chickens alone.
I’ve been reading project 2025 as much as I can tolerate, so I’m looking forward to whatever you do with it. I find wine helps when reading it…
Vodka straight up for me.
I just finished my Scotch 🥃. Sometimes it’s just necessary.
I'm adhering to the George Burns prescription.
Count me in the for the Project 2025 club. We are going to need each other to get through it. And of course we’ll need the company of chickens and lovely Tofu! Lead on, Joyce!
We are indeed in this together!
I’m hoping that gummies can be enough to get me through the coming torture fest. Not sure.🤔
I’m right there with you. Edibles are a life saver right now. And therapy. 😉
Reading Project 2025 has about as much appeal to me as reading Revelations.
Or The Prince. Or the Art of War.
But, suspect if it is the bad guys' public play book, it is probably necessary information. (But I wouldn't, for even a moment, expect them to be limited by it, nor assume that it is not somewhat misinformation.)
Well, I’ve read all of those as well as Beowulf (snore, bloodshed glorification is tedious), The Epic of Gilgamesh (ditto) and various other tomes so I’m not the best one to say this is a good use of anyone else’s time…
We need to remain hopeful, but wary. Hopeful is crucial, so we don’t all jump off the cliff. I’m genuinely hopeful because I sense a turn going on as the election approaches and people engage with the stakes. Thanks for the book club. It’s important. And as always the chickens!
The Civil Discourse Project 2025 Book Club sounds really great. I would love to have a relatively organized reading list and also people who are also interested and knowledgeable and open to discussion. ❤️
I’m in. A nice warmup is reading some history of Cromwell and the English ChristoFascists of the Commonwealth. The Founders weren’t acting on theory, or on dislike of the Hanoverian monarchy. England was crawling from the wreckage of 100 years earlier, a tyranny that slaughtered in the name of God, a domestically suicidal Crusades against humanity.
Cromwell has relevance to our present situation due to the fanaticism of the Puritans. 21st. Century christofascists are of the same bent.
This sequence catches my attention.
1611 - King James published the Bible in English so that the common Englishmen can read the Good News.
1649 - His son is beheaded by Christian Fascists.
History rhymes, my friend!
I say that Melania drops divorce papers on big Don before he’s sentenced. After all, Barron has graduated. “Basta” as the Italians say!
My money says Melanoma will drop him like a hot potato, once he loses in November. If he's not POTUS, all those judgements will come home to roost--$88 million to E. Jean, $454 million to NY Stat, etc. He's not winning those appeals. And then there's whatever fines + potential confinement Judge Merchan imposes for his 34 felony convictions. Now that Barron is more or less launched, Melanoma has no need of him, not even for appearances. She's wrung him dry, so to speak.
She doesn't care about appearances now, does she? She doesn't make any. I wish that at every public appearance, trump would have to answer the question "Where's Melania?" He's not going to say that she can't stand him. What would he say, she's finishing her needlepoint?
You think she’ll wait that long?!?
I do. appearance is the only thing they have other than other people's money.
Any odds on which SS agent will be the new husband! Isn’t that way these things usually go? lol!
It would have to be somebody with a lot of dough before she would marry.
Still think she's his local handler...
✅
I'm thinking when DJT runs out of money, Melania will bolt. Let's plan on him losing in November and also going to prison. I donno -- lots of people don't think he will get prison time. I bet Judge Marchan gives him a few years in a suspended sentence.
She is not divorcing him. I don't know why people don't get all these years later, she's just as awful as he is and I'm 1000% sure there's an iron clad contract. Plus spousal privilege.
If he goes to jail she'd have the houses to herself........if he gets house arrest,she just lives in the other ones.
When I first learned of the Heritage Foundation and its belief structure in the 1990's my blood ran cold at the very idea of a group with those ideals. I felt an immediate fear that my life and way of life was threatened. Of course, that fear abates over time but I kept tracking Heritage. (Tracking Heritage inevitably leads to your email being shot out into the right-wing echo chamber.)
They have done an astounding amount of rabble rousing. Their partner organizations are an unholy assortment of monstrous groups. It is difficult to get one's head around the extent of organization the Evangelical Oligarch "Movement Conservative" Militia has achieved.
I feel profoundly threatened. A Project 2025 Book Club needs to happen. I applaud Joyce for voicing it here.
I have thought to host a Project 2025 booth at my Farmers Market but wondered what to call it... Project: Project 2025 ? I think The Project 2025 Book Club is a better name.
“I feel profoundly threatened”
Bruce, you captured how I’ve felt since a good while before Trump appeared on the scene.
That foreboding sense of
Something evil this way walks!
What a brilliant idea to host a booth discussion at your local Farmers Market!
We need to gather in small or large pockets to discuss and do what we can in small and large pockets.
John Oliver on this week's Last Week Tonight on HBO last night did a masterful job detailing Project 2025. Trigger warning: Be prepared for profanity, although if anything deserves profane talk it's Project 2025!
Good to know that your cat and your chickens have developed a peaceful entente. Thanks for keeping us sane. . . well, sort of.
Joyce, thank you for reading my mind. This is a respite I could use tonight. Your chickens have so much personality. Always a pleasure to see the chickens. Thanks for the link to Project 2025. I’ll have to OT read it before bed as I don’t want nightmares!
Tonight Rachel Maddow is comparing Trumpism to the boring, knuckle-dragging banality of American gangsters. It is all about power. And followers too stupid and damaged to know better.
While it seems unrelated I have cancelled my WaPo subscription. Why? The Founders depended on an activist press to provoke truth and accountability. Their motto is "democracy dies in darkness". The reality is WaPo is owned by a narcissist plutocrat with his own space program. Someone convinced that the founders' hopes should be converted to maximizing clicks to generate more ad money.
The lack of accountability supporting laws and standards makes lawlessness normal. It is the milieu authoritarianism thrives in. Bezos' joke is not promoting democracy. He is all about the darkness creeps like him thrive in.
I am also boycotting NYT for their weak whataboutism and both sidesing issues. These are not normal times or circumstances.
What’s bad is they just did my renewal for $40 and then they pull this with a lying plant.
I’m in on The Project 2025 Book Club. Love the chicken photos!
Ready for the Book Club, let's find out what this coup is all about.
Let's make a list.... here's one of my favorites ...
"These Truths," by Jill Lepore