Turns out, gutting agencies, firing watchdogs, and stretching executive power past its breaking point makes for a very busy first month. But for every overreach, there’s a lawsuit. And for every lawsuit, there’s another chance to expose the fragility of Trump’s legal arguments. They may have a plan, but so do the courts—and so do the people who refuse to let democracy slide without a fight
With an executive branch gone haywire and an impotent Congress, can we really continue to trust the judiciary to step up, especially after the Supreme Court's opinion on presidential immunity for official acts.
We stopped paying attention to the guardrails when Thomas was installed, and worse yet, when the Extreme Court pushed the grotesque fraud that was Citizens United beyond what was in the suit, to essentially declare corporations are people.
They've been at it since Santa Clara Co v Union Paciifc. And Roberts finally got them there.
Jen and Swbv, your comments bring to mind the day the Citizens United ruling was announced. My husband, who was a retired District Court Judge and also an avid reader of history, said to me: "You know I love this country, but if I were a young man right now, I would leave this country to find another. Because this Citizens United ruling is the end of our democracy as we know it." Two years later he died of pancreatic cancer rather quickly, and in some ways embraced his death as if it were a fait accompli. He died with dignity and grace, but I never quite understood how he almost welcomed it on some level. Now I see it as his way of leaving this country. He would not have been able to abide these present times we're in now.
I feel the same way as your husband. I fought for equal rights and abortion rights and a better life for ALL Americans. Spending all those years and all for naught. The majority wants no laws and somehow the law makers and the law enforcers are part of that majority.
Oh, dear Lady -- What a moving statement. Your husband had a long view, as most of us got a at least a bit of when we were coming up in school. I agree about the horrors-- and genuine brainlessness--- of Citizens United, but my own candidate for the beginning of the end (other than the election of Ronald Reagan) was the repeal of Glass-Steagall.
Yes, people can will their exits. Know however that he is always with you. My husband and I share his sentiment. If things keep trending down the pike and get worse, we're shuttering up the house and going on an extended vacation in Greece....
(But maybe even further back to Heritage Foundation’s significant sway over Reagan. They’ve been at this for decades, and the multi-pronged assault hasn’t been confined to the courts, alone. The Republican led evisceration of public education is surely at least partly responsible for an electorate capable of selecting for president a prevaricating loser such as this one.)
I am sad to say that back during the Thomas fiasco, I was a young mother too busy with babies. However, my husband was furious over his being placed on the court. You are correct it has been downhill since then. My deceased husband always saw things the way they were. I sure wish he were here to discuss what is happening with me. He was a career Navy submarine sailor with a top clearance. I am sure he would have a lot to say about all of this!!!
Your reply here makes me think of my Dad, RIP. He was pretty hard corp USMC, and contrary to what I thought I knew of his character (and unlike your husband) he succumbed to the whole Rush Limbaugh hate radio thing. But I’ve often wondered, and would love to (and sometimes do …) ask him what he’d be thinking of all this right now. I do hope the media, at some point, look for otherwise honorable people like my Dad, and see what they think of this developing nightmare.
No shame on me! I did not vote for Nixon, Reagan, Bushes or Trump. The Supreme court is due to those men and the Majority in Congress is due to the voters who worried about the price of eggs and their taxes, not what caused the egg prices (bird flu) nor the good their taxes produced. They voted for deporting immigrants and building a wall to keep them out.
Our Republican Senate majority and six of nine SCOTUS members are not lying "supine" (which is lying on the back face upward according to my dictionary) but are lying fully PROSTRATE face down with arms outstretched before their autocratic lord and master who makes some of the worst monarchs of the past look like pansies. They are proving their ONLY fealty is to Trump and believe their constituents and the Constitution can be damned.
> "......can we really continue to trust the judiciary to step up..."
Apparently YES. Judges ARE stepping up, even judges appointed by Trump himself.
Of course, everyone wonders what's to be done if court orders are casually ignored by this administration. Well...
"Under 28 U.S.C. § 566, U.S. Marshals are responsible for executing lawful orders issued by federal judges, including arrest and detention orders in contempt cases."
Yes, U.S. Marshals operate within the Judicial Branch’s enforcement arm under the Department of Justice. Is Bondi going to insert herself into the Judicial Branch’s enforcement arm? Hello, Constitutional Crisis.
Folks, even though the courts appear to be “stepping up”, it also appears that the administration is ignoring or at least delaying some of their decisions, and everyone knows how they love to use the law and the courts to delay everything that isn't going their way!
However, all of this takes time and right now I wonder how all these lawsuits are going to stop what happens over this weekend. Elon Musk and his thugs are still running wild and laughing at the silly idea that court orders will stop them before they have wrecked everything.
more really needs to be done to stop Trump and musk! I think it will have to involve the military, and certainly immediate arrests, before this takeover is stopped.
Congress is not impotent. The Republicans who are in the majority have agreed to the Musk/Trump/Vance agenda. The plan was put before the voters long before the Election in November and the Voters Spoke with their ballot.
True, and it is up to all citizens who care to support the courts and lawyers fighting to uphold the rule of law by speaking the truth to those who need to hear it. And we must make it our business to protect our voting rights. The 2026 midterms can change the majority in Congress, our best defense against the treason occurring, and the best protection of the Constitution.
We only have a chance, if there is even an election, of changing the majority in the House. The Senate is lost and not coming back, certainly not in 2026. It's a Tier 2 election in 2026, and of the 33 seats up for re-election, 20 of them are in red states, 19 of which trump won easily. The one outlier? Collins in Maine. Of the remaining 13 Democratic seats up in 2026, 12 are in solid blue states and one, Ossoff in GA, is in a solid red state now. We could actually lose ground in the Senate in 2026. Obviously hard to predict how or even if people will push back and how bad things will have to get before maga voters turn against trump (hahaha, tried to say that with a straight face and couldn't) or simply not turn out to vote. Many of these folks are getting exactly what they wanted and are yet to feel the actual pain on the horizon.
They will though. But maybe they will be like the California fruit farmers who are sticking with Trump despite he let billions of gallons of spring irrigation water run. For them, I previously felt sympathy. “Previously” being the key word.
You might be right, but neither one of us can say for sure. It's unsettling at the very least and as you point out in your example, many people often vote against their own best interests. And I'm not so sure there will even be elections in 2026 or 2028. He's doing everything he can to break the law and suspend parts of the Constitution, so sadly, nothing is guaranteed except more law breaking, more chaos, and a lot more pain that people haven't even begun to feel yet.
I have suspected that Elon Musk is in the treasury disemboweling USAID, medicare, medicaid, social security, the dept of Education right now as a scare tactic to get the Democrats to raise the debt ceiling because all of the fuddling around and cutting that he does, is not going to get them the kind of tax breaks that he wants himself and his fellow non-tax paying billionaires to have.
I've been asking talking heads to interview Mike Turner.
Elon Musk’s Enemy, USAID, Was Investigating Starlink’s Contracts in Ukraine.
"The Lever reported Tuesday that USAID’s inspector general was in the process of investigating its own public-private partnership between Musk’s Starlink and the Ukrainian government at the time that the billionaire’s DOGE crippled the agency. Publicly available information about that probe is still online. An announcement from last May reads: “The USAID Office of Inspector General, Inspections and Evaluations Division, is initiating an inspection of USAID’s oversight of Starlink satellite terminals provided to the Government of Ukraine. Our objectives are to determine how (1) the Government of Ukraine used the USAID-provided Starlink terminals, and (2) USAID monitored the Government of Ukraine’s use of USAID-provided Starlink terminals.”
"Musk has called the agency “evil” and a “criminal organization,” though the fact that USAID was investigating the Starlink activities may suggest ulterior motivations for the billionaire’s vitriol. It’s unclear what the Starlink probe’s status is right now."
Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio was removed from his position atop the powerful House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, telling CBS News that House Speaker Mike Johnson fired him, citing "concerns from Mar-a-Lago."
Also interview other House Repunlicans like Brian Fitzpatrick, and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, like my rep, Elvira Salazar.
Besides upstanding lawyers and law-abiding honorable judges, here's a growing list (in no particular order) of Profiles in Courage men and women who refuse to be cowed or yield to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:Heather Cox Richardson Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Lucian Truscott IV, AOC, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Will Bunch, Jake Tapper et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Pipper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity."
“Overreach” by this administration is hardly the defining term, though it seems to be the buzzword these last several years. The Trump regime has taken that concept and put it on steroids with the attempt to break every norm, every clause in the Constitution, and every concept of American morality.
For those who give financial and emotional support to political causes, please do not forget to support your state’s Attorney General. This is uncharted waters for most of them and they are doing a great job picking up where the federal government has sown chaos.
Even the Attorneys General in the RED states who will not join in any of the lawsuits? 50 Attorneys General and only 22 have the guts to stop Musk/Trump/Vance!
Yes, but they are doing damage by ignoring the court orders. The PEOPLE wanted Republicans to operate the government and they are doing exactly that. The majority is willing to abandon DEMOCRACY.. . President, Congress and the Courts.
For me the most chilling moment in reading your column was the weirdly public letter from Martin to Musk. Here’s this AG “palling around” with and disclosing information to someone who is clearly breaking the law. And instead of protecting we the people he’s patting himself on the back for his fierce protection of the law-breakers. This is a kind of mass gaslighting. One comes away from that letter feeling oddly crazy. And deeply disturbed.
HERES THE MOMENT TO WATCH: Monday. How will they respond to the cease and desist order?? Everything suggests they!ll just ignore it. That would trigger a contempt citation (they’ll admit they have contempt for anyone getting in their way). It would then be up to Pam Bondi to arrest them…THIS IS THE POSSIBLE CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS MOMENT. Will the rule of law be overtly disobeyed by the DOj?
Not sure what you’re saying. Is damage to the constitution being done? Of course. But the final legs of the stool is the courts. If that tumbles were cooked.
Elon Musk is a criminal and I want Congress to do something about it. He’s engaging in industrial espionage via theft of proprietary technology paid for and belonging to the American public. He is violating privacy laws by stealing the private financial and personal information of every American. He is violating national security laws by accessing top secret documents without a security clearance.
Musk has no loyalty to the United States or to the American people. He’s using his position for personal financial gain. He has substantial conflicts of interest because of his business with foreign governments, especially China.
Musk is about to do to the federal government what he did to X—a company that has lost 75% of its value since he took over. Unless Congress gets him out of our government now, our country will meet the same fate and every member of Congress who failed to act will bear the blame for it. Stop Musk’s crime spree now. Thanks.
Contact your congress person
Please also note that the senate Majority Leader can be contacted by any person
Musk’s actions, though, are what the Republicans want. All three of my reps are Republicans. I called several times this week. Chip Roy’s statement included the word “oversight.” These guys are gleefully enjoying Musk dismantling the government.
Let's see how dismissive he is when the trump voter farmers can no longer sell their excess crops or maybe only crops to USAID. I don't think this is their idea of MAGA. Also, getting rid of USAID...not very christian.
I contacted our brand new state Attorney General and said Musk is doing a Data Breach and all state AGs should be sounding the alarm. Unfortunately, this is a MAGA repub, so the plea will go nowhere. Still, one must . . .
I'm still wondering who's going to initiate and pursue a case against Musk for lying on his immigration documents, violating his visa and green card requirements, magically changing his visa category...
Apparently, there have been several instances where he, himself said that he wouldn't be allowed to receive American citizenship if he hadn't done what he did. And his brother has also verified these statements.
Given that AG Bondi made clear that the DOJ will do Trump’s bidding, there’s no one on the federal level to initiate and pursue any criminal case(s) against Musk. Blue-state AGs will need to take the lead where they have standing to do so. Civil cases will need to suffice.
Keep calling your representatives! It’s working! Leave messages. Do not go quietly into the good night of authoritarianism. It takes just a few minutes to contact your representatives using http://www.5calls.org Do it NOW!
I spoke to my state’s AG office yesterday. We actually got disconnected while he was taking my comments and he CALLED BACK to apologize and assure me he did NOT hang up on me! He also told me the AG’s office has been receiving a LOT of calls on musk’s data breaches.
Forget the USPS. I used them to send a certified, return-receipt-requested letter recently, and their records from ten days ago show 'delayed by weather.' Nothing after that. They've offered me a refund, but cannot tell me what happened to the letter. DeJoy runs a tight ship, but it's sinking. Next time, UPS or DHL or FEDEX. Someone who can get the job done.
I just had the same problem!!! Priority mail, certified, supposed to take 3 days - ended up being 10 days and tracking wasn’t initiated so I never knew where it was!!! Complaining to USPS didn’t work. Later I found out Priority mail doesn’t GUARANTEE the time. There’s another level: Priority Express that supposedly DOES guarantee. “Another brick in the wall.”
Last week I had a letter from the Postal Service informing of a rate change. This new and improved Postal Service will promise to deliver First Class and Priority mail in 2-3 days. It used to be one day before DeJoy. Now my mailbox is empty or stuffed full of ads while personal mail is sent back or delayed by 3 weeks. Those nasty postmarks showing the date received must go!
Article I, Section 8 describes the establishment of the Post Office as one of the duties of Congress. As often as the GOP have tried to kill it, the Postal Service is part of the Constitution
So is Congress and the courts but in case you missed it, they are planning to dismantle our entire government. I live in fear that we wake up one day and it is all gone. This really is something akin to Armageddon.
And the Constitution means squat to the Moron party. Shutting it down would hurt corporations as well. It will be privatized before that as intended by no joy.
Have you checked Congress in the last 3 weeks? They are MAGA Repubs with a few regular Republicans thrown in who want to down-size government. That has always been the plan with Republicans. Now they will move swiftly to get rid of all things "constitutional".
That is the plan! It will be come a private company. Bet all the Government assets will be auctioned off like all company take-overs. Once they strip out the employees and buildings and Blue boxes on every corner it will be over. After all, "doesn't everybody get mail by the Musk internet"?
Although, if you sent the letter to Northern Michigan in the past 10 days, then Dejoy's postal elves might still be stuck in a snow bank, ice storm, or blown into Lake Superior!
DeJoy is responsible for major deterioration in the USPS. He consolidated processing offices in Georgia and the mail is stacked up so high that there are months' long delays (and sometimes no delivery, ever). He has a major conflict of interest because he/his wife own millions of dollars of "assets" in competitors to USPS. Recently, at a Senate hearing, he rated his performance on the job as "A" and when the Senator berated him, DeJoy placed his hands over both ears to tune out the Senator. So mature!
DeJoy runs a leaking ship. However, it is in such shallow waters due to the Postal Board, mail is not delivered and those who work for the Postal Service are rude and incompetent.
I was just relaxing back watching a movie and one of the random lines in this movie struck me as so important and relevant to today. It has to do with all the federal workers that have been given a letter telling them they have to resign and take this wonderful package to help them make the right decision. The line in this movie was “the biggest lies are always hidden in candy“.
Calling, writing, calling, calling, calling. Filling voicemails, jamming switchboards, annoying staff — we are beginning to gain some momentum. I do not say this lightly; it’s exhausting dealing with evil.
Why is anyone wasting time sending stuff to Slotkin? She is ALREADY on our side. We need to be logistically assaulting the enemy not our friends.
WE ARE IN THE MINORITY and our friends already agree with us. Sorry, this is classic Democratic incompetence, wasting a bunch of time and effort cheerleading our own supportive reps.
I am stunned at how incompetent we all are at coming up with a strategy that makes some sense. I will be crude here, with my apologies in advance, but this kind of nonsense is just intellectual and political masturbation.
No wonder we find ourselves in this awful state. If I believed in a God I might suspect that she is doing this in retribution for the incompetent way we conduct ourselves politically.
I do not have a plan except to wait patiently for the 2026 election season and hopefully enough time and devastation of our political systemn has been accomplished that prior will be more aware and ready to beat this awful administration back.
Sometimes there simply is NO PLAN that is workable. As humans we want to think that SOMEHOW the good guys must prevail. Sad to say it but it's not always true. I had relatives who suffered through the rise of Hitler in 1930s Germany. They suffered (and some died) in the 12 years until the end of WW2.
Why do you think I should have a plan? I am just saying that YOUR plan (or the plans of others) don't make any sense to me and may cause more damage than just trying to be patient.
There were plans then too, and many many survived. Had they shared their plans, they would also have perished.
And, by the way, your plan above, Sucks BIG. "Waiting patiently" was what Neville Chamberlain, and incidentally also the German Industrialists supporting Hitler advised. They may have both cost the world millions of innocent deaths.
I don't see how especially after all the open corruption around the last election, people have any faith that there will even be a midterm one. With no guardrails and Musks access to technology, I fear given another two years, there wont be much left of a fair voting system. Now is the time to intervene. Hoping they will just turn on each other and implode as Trump usually causes.
It is very hard to be patient these days. Every day I go through periods of chomping-at-the-bit wanting to know what's next and what I can do. I feel helpless! I'm guessing I'm not alone.
And I agree that some things people do cause more damage than others. I get quite frustrated. And I agree that sometimes no known plan is workable. I think that's probably why I log on to this and other platforms of discourse, every day, and inhale all of the ideas and information and points of view.
I read this. Here is my principal problem with it. When WE (Democrats) were in office, we didn't do this ourselves!
A weekly press conference? Hell yeah, but how many of THOSE did Biden ever give? 3? 4? Certainly not 208 as would be expected in the 208 weeks (52 weeks x 4 years) of his Presidency. Hell, I would have been happy with 1 press conference a MONTH!
They (GOP) didn't win the presidency, we LOST it. We had poor leaders who thought that magic would continue to happen. Sure it did in 2020 because we were in the midst of one of the worst PR events of the last two centuries, a global pandemic killing hundreds of thousands of people. An orangutan could have beaten Trump in 2020.
But the pandemic disappeared (from sight at least if not reality) and Trump came back like stupid gang busters and yet he barely managed to win more votes in 2024 than in 2020. But we LOST almost 7 million votes compared to 2020.
I would love to see effective Democratic leadership but so far I'm not seeing much change. It's business as usual in Washington and if Trump manages to fully destroy our system in 2 years (and he has made a good start in just 3 weeks!) we are doomed.
I know I keep sounding like a doom-monger but I don't know what else to say. So far there seems to be no coherent leadership emerging and all the shadow government in the world isn't going to help if the leaders are worthless.
Relax Jon...Point 1:It is a nice thing to listen to Senator Slotkin. Just because it's a Yuuuuuge change from the GOP SHIT that the Media "Floods the Zone" with. It's heartening to listen to one of ours finally stand up and say it all. I wish she were my Senator, but no such luck.
Point 2: do you really think that anybody in their right mind would lay out their plan here. This Site is totally infiltrated. As Starr says below...let us see your surely highly detailed and competent plan, man. I for one don't need your Asshole comments, I usually agree with what you say though, so as far as I can tell, I'll let this one ride, and we can be good. If not, so be it.
SLOTKIN voted AYE for : John Ratcliffe (CIA who sent Musk all operative's name by email); Scott Bessent (Treasury who let Musk and Goons have computers); Kristi Noem (Homeland Security who helps Trump deport immigrants); and Douglas Collins (Veterans Affairs). She is NOT on our side. She is a Republican just like Gary Peters who votes Republican on terrible Trump choices.
I am also sending postcards especially to Committee chairs & putting the vice chairs name on it also. Anyone can read a postcard. I understand that there is a delay before it reaches the intended party. I also send them to my house rep zinke because he has like a 5 page jump thru the hoops email page. I send them to the state offices as well. I have pre printed labels & 100 postcard stamps
Joyce I think you have gotten lost in the weeds. The coup is complete. Everything else is a distraction. M and T have all of our critical data. They are going to use it in whatever way best advances them taking our democracy away from us starting with our tax returns and moving on to our SS Medicare Medicaid and our ability to vote.
I think you're right, Sabrina. I also think there will be a major conflict or crisis, either domestic or international, to send the mid-term elections into chaos. Republicans will likely lose many seats. Trump will find a way to prevent new Democrats, assuming the election goes forward, from entering the Capital or the Capitol. His SS is ready. Watch!
Midterms will (if they happen at all) be too late to stop this coup. Note that the word 'coup' has only been used in one op-ed writer's column in the Boston Globe - it's nowhere to be found in any headline or article on the goings-on in Washington. AFAIK, ditto the NY Times. The Fourth Estate is failing to do its duty.
I consider this a Cold War & that is why we the people need to persist & resist. So the sooner it all comes down on the people who voted for & didnt vote the better.
I too think the damage is done. When I read that musk tweeted that DoE was gone and that the felon wants to fire the National archivist I started to cry. We have a totally complicit congress who is on board with the vile actions being committed. They have put every single sycophant into their positions as they lied their way through the sham hearings. The real truth is there really isn’t anything we can do about it. There really isn’t. The felon in chief is in love with power and Musk is running the country. He is stealing and destroying every computer system in the federal government. Millions and millions of Americans are going to suffer as well as people around the world. Today is the first time I have felt, to my core, the deepest, darkest sense of hopelessness.
On the afternoon of 2/7/25 & confirmed by 'Democracy Forward's Co-counsel & CEO, SKYE PERRYMAN : "Federal Judge Pauses [TRO was GRANTED on] Parts of USAID shutdown ...."
The Court Ruling to STOPS Musk & Gang in 24 hours. Here is Democracy Forward Statement:
"Again today 2/7 a federal Court [in DC] has had to step-in & HALT the Trump Administration's chaotic actions ...".
Plaintiff's TRO was GRANTED when USAID recipients lives across continents could be at stake as a result of the unconstitutional Trump-Musk, coup attack.
Hurrah for Democracy Forward & Other Counsel (again)!
This result is the fastest TRO I have ever seen. See, democracyforward.org for more details. Trump has lost all court case since noon 2/20/25.
But we have to be realistic. TROs have a VERY low threshold for success. Often they are issued just to keep things "status quo ante" (the same as before) until a hearing is held. But they only last typically for 14 days, 30 at most.
The REAL "first" step is getting a preliminary injunction which has a much higher bar to cross for success. And what is clearly at issue here is that unfortunately many of these cases have at least some likelihood of failing at the PI stage because, like it or not, the Executive Branch has substantial power and flexibility. When Biden was in office he used that power and flexibility to cancel many student loans. We on the left loved that, but that same power can be used for things we hate and Trump is clearly doing that now.
The fact remains, this country elected this man, who made it very clear to us what he intended to do. Sure he lied and cheated and deceived all of us, but we knew better and we still elected him.
Some of these cases may still succeed but I would caution that we all be prepared for the worst because it is possible it will happen. It happened in Germany in the 1930s and things are not all that different today. .
Thank you Jon Rosen for the question about the "VERY low threshold for success" of TRO's putting aside (for now) the real world meaning of what is "success" in a court case against the top agents of the USA's Executive Branch.
In this USAID VERY real case bursting with the real world "irreparable harm" as Professor Vance keeps reminding all of us, you correctly complain about "status quo ante" often limited in time as you are aware.
Moving to a metaphor to save time & hopefully enhance communication, Democracy Forward has pinned the very big & powerful Defendant to the mat (again). The referee (the federal Judge) has instructed every named litigant to go their respective corner but, more often into the Judges Chamber for a legal reality check or more productively outside the Courtroom into a hall of Justice
That's when real "settlement talks" start. You are no doubt aware this is not really about a true "settlement", it is about what the U.S.G. & its Agents including the DOJ, 1st Day AG, Pam Bondi, 47, White House Lawyers, Plaintiff's lawyers, the legally powerful growing & institutions standing behind Plaintiffs Team, their Donors & all of us VERY interested persons.
Have a I lost you.? It is still very early Saturday morning & I need to consult with a coffee cup. Just getting started into your second paragraph.
There is an eerie 'through the looking glass' absurdity to what is going on-- RFK Jr in charge of health, Gabbard in charge of national security, Trump is now installing himself as the director of the Kennedy Center for the Arts. The 1st amendment has been weaponized, the pardon power has been frighteningly abused, nepotism has run amok, and now this:
Trump has directed government officials to prioritize the resettlement of South Africans of European descent through the U.S. refugee program. (The very program that he canceled a few days ago is now being revived for this sliver of humanity.) "In an executive order, Mr. Trump accused the South African government of discriminating against Afrikaners," who are the descendants of Dutch colonists: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-orders-u-s-refugee-resettlement-of-afrikaners/
Let's import more White Nationalists to this country, give them citizenship and thus voting rights. Great replacement theory, anyone?
In a way, the things that are happening 'within the law' are the most frightening, for the very reason that the courts have no power to stop them.
Joyce, I have no words to adequately express my gratitude for your tireless and vital work. Well, maybe I just did! 😉 These are terrifying times and we all all to stick together and remain strong. Thank you so much. 💕
"But there are dangerous changes taking shape in our democracy, with a president assuming powers long reserved to Congress...." It actually appears that Republicans in Congress are in effect turning over the House's power of the federal purse to Musk and his boys. Trump doesn't have to do anything, and Republicans bend the knee to kiss his ring, even before he asks. How is this great?
My schadenfreude dream: After these traitor Republicans leave Congress, no one will hire them for anything. And maybe some of them will go to prison for their roles in enabling the January 6 insurrection.
Well Laurie, here is my concern regarding your comment, “after these traitor Republicans leave Congress…,” We really need to think about and act now to put protections in place to stop gerrymandering wins and the kind of bullshit we are still seeing in North Carolina. Many have said, we could at least take back the house in 2026, but we cannot be so naive as to miscalculate the lengths to which Republicans will go to keep their power secure. We must fight back vigorously when it comes to every election from sheriffs to local and state leaders and on to Congressional candidates for Senate and the House.
No shortage of BS from this administration(purposely not capitalized). As difficult as it may be, all of it must be exposed. Education of the masses is the power that will be needed to turn this around.
Department of Education is gone too. Public Education will be only re-education schools like Cambodia instituted. Private Education will possibly receive government money, but do not hold out hope for it. Education will be left to the white parents with money. This is what the Founders did so it should be good enough for today.
Turns out, gutting agencies, firing watchdogs, and stretching executive power past its breaking point makes for a very busy first month. But for every overreach, there’s a lawsuit. And for every lawsuit, there’s another chance to expose the fragility of Trump’s legal arguments. They may have a plan, but so do the courts—and so do the people who refuse to let democracy slide without a fight
With an executive branch gone haywire and an impotent Congress, can we really continue to trust the judiciary to step up, especially after the Supreme Court's opinion on presidential immunity for official acts.
True. a supine Senate and a supine Supreme Court mean that guard rails we've lived with for 200 years are missing in action.
We stopped paying attention to the guardrails when Thomas was installed, and worse yet, when the Extreme Court pushed the grotesque fraud that was Citizens United beyond what was in the suit, to essentially declare corporations are people.
They've been at it since Santa Clara Co v Union Paciifc. And Roberts finally got them there.
Shame on us.
Citizens United (2010) will go down in history as the beginning of the end of our democracy. So immensely foolish a ruling.
Jen and Swbv, your comments bring to mind the day the Citizens United ruling was announced. My husband, who was a retired District Court Judge and also an avid reader of history, said to me: "You know I love this country, but if I were a young man right now, I would leave this country to find another. Because this Citizens United ruling is the end of our democracy as we know it." Two years later he died of pancreatic cancer rather quickly, and in some ways embraced his death as if it were a fait accompli. He died with dignity and grace, but I never quite understood how he almost welcomed it on some level. Now I see it as his way of leaving this country. He would not have been able to abide these present times we're in now.
Thank you for sharing. Your husband saw into the now and knew. He loved his country and you. May he rest in peace.
I feel the same way as your husband. I fought for equal rights and abortion rights and a better life for ALL Americans. Spending all those years and all for naught. The majority wants no laws and somehow the law makers and the law enforcers are part of that majority.
He sounds like a remarkable man. Sending you hugs for your loss.
Oh, dear Lady -- What a moving statement. Your husband had a long view, as most of us got a at least a bit of when we were coming up in school. I agree about the horrors-- and genuine brainlessness--- of Citizens United, but my own candidate for the beginning of the end (other than the election of Ronald Reagan) was the repeal of Glass-Steagall.
So many of us responded to Citizens United ruling the same way, but how sorry I am that you no longer have the company of your remarkable husband.
Yes, people can will their exits. Know however that he is always with you. My husband and I share his sentiment. If things keep trending down the pike and get worse, we're shuttering up the house and going on an extended vacation in Greece....
(But maybe even further back to Heritage Foundation’s significant sway over Reagan. They’ve been at this for decades, and the multi-pronged assault hasn’t been confined to the courts, alone. The Republican led evisceration of public education is surely at least partly responsible for an electorate capable of selecting for president a prevaricating loser such as this one.)
I am sad to say that back during the Thomas fiasco, I was a young mother too busy with babies. However, my husband was furious over his being placed on the court. You are correct it has been downhill since then. My deceased husband always saw things the way they were. I sure wish he were here to discuss what is happening with me. He was a career Navy submarine sailor with a top clearance. I am sure he would have a lot to say about all of this!!!
Your reply here makes me think of my Dad, RIP. He was pretty hard corp USMC, and contrary to what I thought I knew of his character (and unlike your husband) he succumbed to the whole Rush Limbaugh hate radio thing. But I’ve often wondered, and would love to (and sometimes do …) ask him what he’d be thinking of all this right now. I do hope the media, at some point, look for otherwise honorable people like my Dad, and see what they think of this developing nightmare.
No shame on me! I did not vote for Nixon, Reagan, Bushes or Trump. The Supreme court is due to those men and the Majority in Congress is due to the voters who worried about the price of eggs and their taxes, not what caused the egg prices (bird flu) nor the good their taxes produced. They voted for deporting immigrants and building a wall to keep them out.
And we weren’t watching our backs as more and more media got bought out by corporations
Our Republican Senate majority and six of nine SCOTUS members are not lying "supine" (which is lying on the back face upward according to my dictionary) but are lying fully PROSTRATE face down with arms outstretched before their autocratic lord and master who makes some of the worst monarchs of the past look like pansies. They are proving their ONLY fealty is to Trump and believe their constituents and the Constitution can be damned.
Prostrate is a better word.
Good catch!
> "......can we really continue to trust the judiciary to step up..."
Apparently YES. Judges ARE stepping up, even judges appointed by Trump himself.
Of course, everyone wonders what's to be done if court orders are casually ignored by this administration. Well...
"Under 28 U.S.C. § 566, U.S. Marshals are responsible for executing lawful orders issued by federal judges, including arrest and detention orders in contempt cases."
Yes, U.S. Marshals operate within the Judicial Branch’s enforcement arm under the Department of Justice. Is Bondi going to insert herself into the Judicial Branch’s enforcement arm? Hello, Constitutional Crisis.
Folks, even though the courts appear to be “stepping up”, it also appears that the administration is ignoring or at least delaying some of their decisions, and everyone knows how they love to use the law and the courts to delay everything that isn't going their way!
However, all of this takes time and right now I wonder how all these lawsuits are going to stop what happens over this weekend. Elon Musk and his thugs are still running wild and laughing at the silly idea that court orders will stop them before they have wrecked everything.
more really needs to be done to stop Trump and musk! I think it will have to involve the military, and certainly immediate arrests, before this takeover is stopped.
It is a fragile hope
Congress is not impotent. The Republicans who are in the majority have agreed to the Musk/Trump/Vance agenda. The plan was put before the voters long before the Election in November and the Voters Spoke with their ballot.
The voters who voted spoke with a thin margin. The voters who didn't vote decided the election.
The executive branch is now lawless,
True, and it is up to all citizens who care to support the courts and lawyers fighting to uphold the rule of law by speaking the truth to those who need to hear it. And we must make it our business to protect our voting rights. The 2026 midterms can change the majority in Congress, our best defense against the treason occurring, and the best protection of the Constitution.
we can change some of it now if people would vote Democratic in the Special elections on April 1 and beyond......
exactly, so encourage everyone who feels betrayed to do just that!!
We only have a chance, if there is even an election, of changing the majority in the House. The Senate is lost and not coming back, certainly not in 2026. It's a Tier 2 election in 2026, and of the 33 seats up for re-election, 20 of them are in red states, 19 of which trump won easily. The one outlier? Collins in Maine. Of the remaining 13 Democratic seats up in 2026, 12 are in solid blue states and one, Ossoff in GA, is in a solid red state now. We could actually lose ground in the Senate in 2026. Obviously hard to predict how or even if people will push back and how bad things will have to get before maga voters turn against trump (hahaha, tried to say that with a straight face and couldn't) or simply not turn out to vote. Many of these folks are getting exactly what they wanted and are yet to feel the actual pain on the horizon.
They will though. But maybe they will be like the California fruit farmers who are sticking with Trump despite he let billions of gallons of spring irrigation water run. For them, I previously felt sympathy. “Previously” being the key word.
You might be right, but neither one of us can say for sure. It's unsettling at the very least and as you point out in your example, many people often vote against their own best interests. And I'm not so sure there will even be elections in 2026 or 2028. He's doing everything he can to break the law and suspend parts of the Constitution, so sadly, nothing is guaranteed except more law breaking, more chaos, and a lot more pain that people haven't even begun to feel yet.
As long as we can hold up until then.
I have suspected that Elon Musk is in the treasury disemboweling USAID, medicare, medicaid, social security, the dept of Education right now as a scare tactic to get the Democrats to raise the debt ceiling because all of the fuddling around and cutting that he does, is not going to get them the kind of tax breaks that he wants himself and his fellow non-tax paying billionaires to have.
I've been asking talking heads to interview Mike Turner.
Elon Musk’s Enemy, USAID, Was Investigating Starlink’s Contracts in Ukraine.
"The Lever reported Tuesday that USAID’s inspector general was in the process of investigating its own public-private partnership between Musk’s Starlink and the Ukrainian government at the time that the billionaire’s DOGE crippled the agency. Publicly available information about that probe is still online. An announcement from last May reads: “The USAID Office of Inspector General, Inspections and Evaluations Division, is initiating an inspection of USAID’s oversight of Starlink satellite terminals provided to the Government of Ukraine. Our objectives are to determine how (1) the Government of Ukraine used the USAID-provided Starlink terminals, and (2) USAID monitored the Government of Ukraine’s use of USAID-provided Starlink terminals.”
"Musk has called the agency “evil” and a “criminal organization,” though the fact that USAID was investigating the Starlink activities may suggest ulterior motivations for the billionaire’s vitriol. It’s unclear what the Starlink probe’s status is right now."
Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio was removed from his position atop the powerful House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, telling CBS News that House Speaker Mike Johnson fired him, citing "concerns from Mar-a-Lago."
Also interview other House Repunlicans like Brian Fitzpatrick, and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, like my rep, Elvira Salazar.
Please allow me to go biblical:
Proverbs 11.28: “He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.”
My wish is for Musk's companies to go bust and he goes hungry....
Here's another story about that motive
https://open.substack.com/pub/adamparkhomenko/p/how-trump-saved-elon-the-usaid-starlink?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1985n
How much money do they need?
Exact right Linda Weide
Indeed!
Besides upstanding lawyers and law-abiding honorable judges, here's a growing list (in no particular order) of Profiles in Courage men and women who refuse to be cowed or yield to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:Heather Cox Richardson Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Lucian Truscott IV, AOC, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Will Bunch, Jake Tapper et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Pipper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity."
And Brian Tyler Cohen
Respectfully, add in Ann Telnaes!!
“Overreach” by this administration is hardly the defining term, though it seems to be the buzzword these last several years. The Trump regime has taken that concept and put it on steroids with the attempt to break every norm, every clause in the Constitution, and every concept of American morality.
For those who give financial and emotional support to political causes, please do not forget to support your state’s Attorney General. This is uncharted waters for most of them and they are doing a great job picking up where the federal government has sown chaos.
Even the Attorneys General in the RED states who will not join in any of the lawsuits? 50 Attorneys General and only 22 have the guts to stop Musk/Trump/Vance!
Mary, I live in Texas, and Ken Paxton, our AG is a criminal. So no, I would never support him. He is one of the aggressive MAGAts.
Think I have more faith in the people than the courts at this point.
https://caglecartoons.com/cartoon/292526
Yes, but they are doing damage by ignoring the court orders. The PEOPLE wanted Republicans to operate the government and they are doing exactly that. The majority is willing to abandon DEMOCRACY.. . President, Congress and the Courts.
For me the most chilling moment in reading your column was the weirdly public letter from Martin to Musk. Here’s this AG “palling around” with and disclosing information to someone who is clearly breaking the law. And instead of protecting we the people he’s patting himself on the back for his fierce protection of the law-breakers. This is a kind of mass gaslighting. One comes away from that letter feeling oddly crazy. And deeply disturbed.
Always remember, it's the world that's gone crazy, not you!
That’s not true from my viewpoint.
That looks like a bumper sticker at all should put on our cars...
ODDLY CRAZY AND
DEEPLY DISTURBED!
have ordered my magnetic bumper sticker with the above to go alongside the current one that says "Love my car, not the man"
Both Martn and Bondi need their state bar licenses to keep their jobs. Add Bove.
Oooooo. An angle!!!! But we’re talking Florida here.
HERES THE MOMENT TO WATCH: Monday. How will they respond to the cease and desist order?? Everything suggests they!ll just ignore it. That would trigger a contempt citation (they’ll admit they have contempt for anyone getting in their way). It would then be up to Pam Bondi to arrest them…THIS IS THE POSSIBLE CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS MOMENT. Will the rule of law be overtly disobeyed by the DOj?
The DoJ doesn’t have to enforce it. Therein lies the issue.
Well technically they do unless it’s appealed and reversed on appeal which could go up to SCOTUS. But what if they refuse to follow SCOTUS decision?
The damage is already being done.
Not sure what you’re saying. Is damage to the constitution being done? Of course. But the final legs of the stool is the courts. If that tumbles were cooked.
Elon Musk is a criminal and I want Congress to do something about it. He’s engaging in industrial espionage via theft of proprietary technology paid for and belonging to the American public. He is violating privacy laws by stealing the private financial and personal information of every American. He is violating national security laws by accessing top secret documents without a security clearance.
Musk has no loyalty to the United States or to the American people. He’s using his position for personal financial gain. He has substantial conflicts of interest because of his business with foreign governments, especially China.
Musk is about to do to the federal government what he did to X—a company that has lost 75% of its value since he took over. Unless Congress gets him out of our government now, our country will meet the same fate and every member of Congress who failed to act will bear the blame for it. Stop Musk’s crime spree now. Thanks.
Contact your congress person
Please also note that the senate Majority Leader can be contacted by any person
Musk’s actions, though, are what the Republicans want. All three of my reps are Republicans. I called several times this week. Chip Roy’s statement included the word “oversight.” These guys are gleefully enjoying Musk dismantling the government.
Thank you for calling. Please keep calling.
Mine too - out of Texas In fact Senator Cornyn made light of a group of protesters outside his office Texas is in on this.
Let's see how dismissive he is when the trump voter farmers can no longer sell their excess crops or maybe only crops to USAID. I don't think this is their idea of MAGA. Also, getting rid of USAID...not very christian.
Trump will pay off the farmers, as he dis during his first administration. He’ll pay and get nothing in return. I’m so tired of winning …… 😖
true
Same here in MT
I contacted our brand new state Attorney General and said Musk is doing a Data Breach and all state AGs should be sounding the alarm. Unfortunately, this is a MAGA repub, so the plea will go nowhere. Still, one must . . .
I'm still wondering who's going to initiate and pursue a case against Musk for lying on his immigration documents, violating his visa and green card requirements, magically changing his visa category...
Apparently, there have been several instances where he, himself said that he wouldn't be allowed to receive American citizenship if he hadn't done what he did. And his brother has also verified these statements.
perhaps other electric car makers....
Given that AG Bondi made clear that the DOJ will do Trump’s bidding, there’s no one on the federal level to initiate and pursue any criminal case(s) against Musk. Blue-state AGs will need to take the lead where they have standing to do so. Civil cases will need to suffice.
The Senate Majority Leader is John Thune.
Here's the contact info for his DC office, and I'll be calling today.
Senator John Thune
United States Senate SD-511
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2321
Fax: (202) 228-5429
Toll-Free: 1-866-850-3855
https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-me-in-washington-d-c
Thanks for the info. I call my senators and rep daily but didn’t think to add Thune. He will hear from me now.
John Thune is the Senate Majority Leader and I'll be calling his DC office today. Here's his contact info:
Senator John Thune
United States Senate SD-511
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2321
Fax: (202) 228-5429
Toll-Free: 1-866-850-3855
Teresa China would not even have computers if not for us giving them all of the information!
Keep calling your representatives! It’s working! Leave messages. Do not go quietly into the good night of authoritarianism. It takes just a few minutes to contact your representatives using http://www.5calls.org Do it NOW!
I spoke to my state’s AG office yesterday. We actually got disconnected while he was taking my comments and he CALLED BACK to apologize and assure me he did NOT hang up on me! He also told me the AG’s office has been receiving a LOT of calls on musk’s data breaches.
I tried and it didn't work!
Then email or send a letter through usps before it dies! Every person in congress has more than one office. Try them all. You can leave a message too.
Forget the USPS. I used them to send a certified, return-receipt-requested letter recently, and their records from ten days ago show 'delayed by weather.' Nothing after that. They've offered me a refund, but cannot tell me what happened to the letter. DeJoy runs a tight ship, but it's sinking. Next time, UPS or DHL or FEDEX. Someone who can get the job done.
I just had the same problem!!! Priority mail, certified, supposed to take 3 days - ended up being 10 days and tracking wasn’t initiated so I never knew where it was!!! Complaining to USPS didn’t work. Later I found out Priority mail doesn’t GUARANTEE the time. There’s another level: Priority Express that supposedly DOES guarantee. “Another brick in the wall.”
Last week I had a letter from the Postal Service informing of a rate change. This new and improved Postal Service will promise to deliver First Class and Priority mail in 2-3 days. It used to be one day before DeJoy. Now my mailbox is empty or stuffed full of ads while personal mail is sent back or delayed by 3 weeks. Those nasty postmarks showing the date received must go!
I was wondering yesterday if we'll have to live without the post office. Seems impossible, but I'm sure they'd like to close it down.
Article I, Section 8 describes the establishment of the Post Office as one of the duties of Congress. As often as the GOP have tried to kill it, the Postal Service is part of the Constitution
So is Congress and the courts but in case you missed it, they are planning to dismantle our entire government. I live in fear that we wake up one day and it is all gone. This really is something akin to Armageddon.
And the Constitution means squat to the Moron party. Shutting it down would hurt corporations as well. It will be privatized before that as intended by no joy.
Have you checked Congress in the last 3 weeks? They are MAGA Repubs with a few regular Republicans thrown in who want to down-size government. That has always been the plan with Republicans. Now they will move swiftly to get rid of all things "constitutional".
The Constitution is no longer on the https://www.whitehouse.gov/ website.
That is the plan! It will be come a private company. Bet all the Government assets will be auctioned off like all company take-overs. Once they strip out the employees and buildings and Blue boxes on every corner it will be over. After all, "doesn't everybody get mail by the Musk internet"?
Although, if you sent the letter to Northern Michigan in the past 10 days, then Dejoy's postal elves might still be stuck in a snow bank, ice storm, or blown into Lake Superior!
DeJoy is responsible for major deterioration in the USPS. He consolidated processing offices in Georgia and the mail is stacked up so high that there are months' long delays (and sometimes no delivery, ever). He has a major conflict of interest because he/his wife own millions of dollars of "assets" in competitors to USPS. Recently, at a Senate hearing, he rated his performance on the job as "A" and when the Senator berated him, DeJoy placed his hands over both ears to tune out the Senator. So mature!
DeJoy runs a leaking ship. However, it is in such shallow waters due to the Postal Board, mail is not delivered and those who work for the Postal Service are rude and incompetent.
Or call, write, email T. I have. If I disappear from here, T may have sent his goons to silence me !
Me too!
I was just relaxing back watching a movie and one of the random lines in this movie struck me as so important and relevant to today. It has to do with all the federal workers that have been given a letter telling them they have to resign and take this wonderful package to help them make the right decision. The line in this movie was “the biggest lies are always hidden in candy“.
Interesting - what movie was it?
Calling, writing, calling, calling, calling. Filling voicemails, jamming switchboards, annoying staff — we are beginning to gain some momentum. I do not say this lightly; it’s exhausting dealing with evil.
Slotkin says over 5000 calls plus Emails came into her office from Dems and Repubs. Keep calling and writing folks.
Why is anyone wasting time sending stuff to Slotkin? She is ALREADY on our side. We need to be logistically assaulting the enemy not our friends.
WE ARE IN THE MINORITY and our friends already agree with us. Sorry, this is classic Democratic incompetence, wasting a bunch of time and effort cheerleading our own supportive reps.
I am stunned at how incompetent we all are at coming up with a strategy that makes some sense. I will be crude here, with my apologies in advance, but this kind of nonsense is just intellectual and political masturbation.
No wonder we find ourselves in this awful state. If I believed in a God I might suspect that she is doing this in retribution for the incompetent way we conduct ourselves politically.
JEEZ!
Please tell us what your plan is, instead of telling us how incompetent and wasteful we are. I'd like to learn what you see as the next best step.
Well said Starr
I do not have a plan except to wait patiently for the 2026 election season and hopefully enough time and devastation of our political systemn has been accomplished that prior will be more aware and ready to beat this awful administration back.
Sometimes there simply is NO PLAN that is workable. As humans we want to think that SOMEHOW the good guys must prevail. Sad to say it but it's not always true. I had relatives who suffered through the rise of Hitler in 1930s Germany. They suffered (and some died) in the 12 years until the end of WW2.
Why do you think I should have a plan? I am just saying that YOUR plan (or the plans of others) don't make any sense to me and may cause more damage than just trying to be patient.
Maybe that IS my plan.
There were plans then too, and many many survived. Had they shared their plans, they would also have perished.
And, by the way, your plan above, Sucks BIG. "Waiting patiently" was what Neville Chamberlain, and incidentally also the German Industrialists supporting Hitler advised. They may have both cost the world millions of innocent deaths.
I don't see how especially after all the open corruption around the last election, people have any faith that there will even be a midterm one. With no guardrails and Musks access to technology, I fear given another two years, there wont be much left of a fair voting system. Now is the time to intervene. Hoping they will just turn on each other and implode as Trump usually causes.
It is very hard to be patient these days. Every day I go through periods of chomping-at-the-bit wanting to know what's next and what I can do. I feel helpless! I'm guessing I'm not alone.
And I agree that some things people do cause more damage than others. I get quite frustrated. And I agree that sometimes no known plan is workable. I think that's probably why I log on to this and other platforms of discourse, every day, and inhale all of the ideas and information and points of view.
Jason Egenberg has a plan that makes more sense to me that anything I've read so far. https://substack.com/@jasonegenberg/p-156384212
The DNC needs to work on this NOW!
I read this. Here is my principal problem with it. When WE (Democrats) were in office, we didn't do this ourselves!
A weekly press conference? Hell yeah, but how many of THOSE did Biden ever give? 3? 4? Certainly not 208 as would be expected in the 208 weeks (52 weeks x 4 years) of his Presidency. Hell, I would have been happy with 1 press conference a MONTH!
They (GOP) didn't win the presidency, we LOST it. We had poor leaders who thought that magic would continue to happen. Sure it did in 2020 because we were in the midst of one of the worst PR events of the last two centuries, a global pandemic killing hundreds of thousands of people. An orangutan could have beaten Trump in 2020.
But the pandemic disappeared (from sight at least if not reality) and Trump came back like stupid gang busters and yet he barely managed to win more votes in 2024 than in 2020. But we LOST almost 7 million votes compared to 2020.
I would love to see effective Democratic leadership but so far I'm not seeing much change. It's business as usual in Washington and if Trump manages to fully destroy our system in 2 years (and he has made a good start in just 3 weeks!) we are doomed.
I know I keep sounding like a doom-monger but I don't know what else to say. So far there seems to be no coherent leadership emerging and all the shadow government in the world isn't going to help if the leaders are worthless.
Sigh...
Relax Jon...Point 1:It is a nice thing to listen to Senator Slotkin. Just because it's a Yuuuuuge change from the GOP SHIT that the Media "Floods the Zone" with. It's heartening to listen to one of ours finally stand up and say it all. I wish she were my Senator, but no such luck.
Point 2: do you really think that anybody in their right mind would lay out their plan here. This Site is totally infiltrated. As Starr says below...let us see your surely highly detailed and competent plan, man. I for one don't need your Asshole comments, I usually agree with what you say though, so as far as I can tell, I'll let this one ride, and we can be good. If not, so be it.
We sent them so she could say at the U.S. Senate podium to all the Senators, "Even I, got 5,000 letters."
https://youtu.be/qCRy8wzcmrg?si=BsuguoscBo-MuW7z
See Elissa Slotkin's address to the Senate!
https://youtu.be/qCRy8wzcmrg?si=BsuguoscBo-MuW7z
SLOTKIN voted AYE for : John Ratcliffe (CIA who sent Musk all operative's name by email); Scott Bessent (Treasury who let Musk and Goons have computers); Kristi Noem (Homeland Security who helps Trump deport immigrants); and Douglas Collins (Veterans Affairs). She is NOT on our side. She is a Republican just like Gary Peters who votes Republican on terrible Trump choices.
I am also sending postcards especially to Committee chairs & putting the vice chairs name on it also. Anyone can read a postcard. I understand that there is a delay before it reaches the intended party. I also send them to my house rep zinke because he has like a 5 page jump thru the hoops email page. I send them to the state offices as well. I have pre printed labels & 100 postcard stamps
As always, thank you. Sometime over the weekend please share chickens.
One of Joyce’s chickens was featured in “ The Contrarian “ today.
Those chickens are going to need to hire an agent.
I saw that and wondered if it was indeed hers but as I’m no chicken expert and there wasn’t an attribution I wasn’t sure.
Leeda is definitely one of Joyce's chickens. I believe Joyce has shared pics of her before.
haha!
Can chickens be deported?
If they don't have bird flu?
Joyce I think you have gotten lost in the weeds. The coup is complete. Everything else is a distraction. M and T have all of our critical data. They are going to use it in whatever way best advances them taking our democracy away from us starting with our tax returns and moving on to our SS Medicare Medicaid and our ability to vote.
I think you're right, Sabrina. I also think there will be a major conflict or crisis, either domestic or international, to send the mid-term elections into chaos. Republicans will likely lose many seats. Trump will find a way to prevent new Democrats, assuming the election goes forward, from entering the Capital or the Capitol. His SS is ready. Watch!
Midterms will (if they happen at all) be too late to stop this coup. Note that the word 'coup' has only been used in one op-ed writer's column in the Boston Globe - it's nowhere to be found in any headline or article on the goings-on in Washington. AFAIK, ditto the NY Times. The Fourth Estate is failing to do its duty.
I consider this a Cold War & that is why we the people need to persist & resist. So the sooner it all comes down on the people who voted for & didnt vote the better.
Midterms? If this is where we are after 2 weeks, you really think there will be meaningful midterms?
Insurrection Act?
I too think the damage is done. When I read that musk tweeted that DoE was gone and that the felon wants to fire the National archivist I started to cry. We have a totally complicit congress who is on board with the vile actions being committed. They have put every single sycophant into their positions as they lied their way through the sham hearings. The real truth is there really isn’t anything we can do about it. There really isn’t. The felon in chief is in love with power and Musk is running the country. He is stealing and destroying every computer system in the federal government. Millions and millions of Americans are going to suffer as well as people around the world. Today is the first time I have felt, to my core, the deepest, darkest sense of hopelessness.
The archivist has been fired
Because it was the archivist would blew the whistle on the missing classified documents. Retribution anybody???
I think so too….
Stopping the Coup Continued:
BREAKING: Democracy Forward scores again!
On the afternoon of 2/7/25 & confirmed by 'Democracy Forward's Co-counsel & CEO, SKYE PERRYMAN : "Federal Judge Pauses [TRO was GRANTED on] Parts of USAID shutdown ...."
The Court Ruling to STOPS Musk & Gang in 24 hours. Here is Democracy Forward Statement:
"Again today 2/7 a federal Court [in DC] has had to step-in & HALT the Trump Administration's chaotic actions ...".
Plaintiff's TRO was GRANTED when USAID recipients lives across continents could be at stake as a result of the unconstitutional Trump-Musk, coup attack.
Hurrah for Democracy Forward & Other Counsel (again)!
This result is the fastest TRO I have ever seen. See, democracyforward.org for more details. Trump has lost all court case since noon 2/20/25.
But we have to be realistic. TROs have a VERY low threshold for success. Often they are issued just to keep things "status quo ante" (the same as before) until a hearing is held. But they only last typically for 14 days, 30 at most.
The REAL "first" step is getting a preliminary injunction which has a much higher bar to cross for success. And what is clearly at issue here is that unfortunately many of these cases have at least some likelihood of failing at the PI stage because, like it or not, the Executive Branch has substantial power and flexibility. When Biden was in office he used that power and flexibility to cancel many student loans. We on the left loved that, but that same power can be used for things we hate and Trump is clearly doing that now.
The fact remains, this country elected this man, who made it very clear to us what he intended to do. Sure he lied and cheated and deceived all of us, but we knew better and we still elected him.
Some of these cases may still succeed but I would caution that we all be prepared for the worst because it is possible it will happen. It happened in Germany in the 1930s and things are not all that different today. .
Thank you Jon Rosen for the question about the "VERY low threshold for success" of TRO's putting aside (for now) the real world meaning of what is "success" in a court case against the top agents of the USA's Executive Branch.
In this USAID VERY real case bursting with the real world "irreparable harm" as Professor Vance keeps reminding all of us, you correctly complain about "status quo ante" often limited in time as you are aware.
Moving to a metaphor to save time & hopefully enhance communication, Democracy Forward has pinned the very big & powerful Defendant to the mat (again). The referee (the federal Judge) has instructed every named litigant to go their respective corner but, more often into the Judges Chamber for a legal reality check or more productively outside the Courtroom into a hall of Justice
That's when real "settlement talks" start. You are no doubt aware this is not really about a true "settlement", it is about what the U.S.G. & its Agents including the DOJ, 1st Day AG, Pam Bondi, 47, White House Lawyers, Plaintiff's lawyers, the legally powerful growing & institutions standing behind Plaintiffs Team, their Donors & all of us VERY interested persons.
Have a I lost you.? It is still very early Saturday morning & I need to consult with a coffee cup. Just getting started into your second paragraph.
Any questions so far?
There is an eerie 'through the looking glass' absurdity to what is going on-- RFK Jr in charge of health, Gabbard in charge of national security, Trump is now installing himself as the director of the Kennedy Center for the Arts. The 1st amendment has been weaponized, the pardon power has been frighteningly abused, nepotism has run amok, and now this:
Trump has directed government officials to prioritize the resettlement of South Africans of European descent through the U.S. refugee program. (The very program that he canceled a few days ago is now being revived for this sliver of humanity.) "In an executive order, Mr. Trump accused the South African government of discriminating against Afrikaners," who are the descendants of Dutch colonists: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-orders-u-s-refugee-resettlement-of-afrikaners/
Let's import more White Nationalists to this country, give them citizenship and thus voting rights. Great replacement theory, anyone?
In a way, the things that are happening 'within the law' are the most frightening, for the very reason that the courts have no power to stop them.
Joyce, I have no words to adequately express my gratitude for your tireless and vital work. Well, maybe I just did! 😉 These are terrifying times and we all all to stick together and remain strong. Thank you so much. 💕
And who would invite Musk to a party anyway? Lickspittles? Arrogance Anonymous? The Whites Only Club—“No Girls Allowed!”?
This really made me laugh. Thank you. I needed that.
Any time
Thank you Joyce for keeping us informed! Rough road ahead, and your insights provide solid ground in a fast-moving, shaky political world.
"But there are dangerous changes taking shape in our democracy, with a president assuming powers long reserved to Congress...." It actually appears that Republicans in Congress are in effect turning over the House's power of the federal purse to Musk and his boys. Trump doesn't have to do anything, and Republicans bend the knee to kiss his ring, even before he asks. How is this great?
My schadenfreude dream: After these traitor Republicans leave Congress, no one will hire them for anything. And maybe some of them will go to prison for their roles in enabling the January 6 insurrection.
Lucian Truscott IV has a fine story about USAID in his Substack, all about a USAID worker and cows, in Afghanistan. Worth reading. https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/why-should-we-care-about-usaid
Well Laurie, here is my concern regarding your comment, “after these traitor Republicans leave Congress…,” We really need to think about and act now to put protections in place to stop gerrymandering wins and the kind of bullshit we are still seeing in North Carolina. Many have said, we could at least take back the house in 2026, but we cannot be so naive as to miscalculate the lengths to which Republicans will go to keep their power secure. We must fight back vigorously when it comes to every election from sheriffs to local and state leaders and on to Congressional candidates for Senate and the House.
There needs to be real work done on these vigilante voter suppression laws. Too many votes were not counted as a result.
This is how we ungerrymandered Michigan, but now I fear that a state like North Carolia would just jail the petitioners:
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
Good job Michiganders. I am wondering about laws that allow anyone to challenge someone else's legal vote. Did that happen in Michigan?
Thanks for the link to Lucien Truscott IV.
No shortage of BS from this administration(purposely not capitalized). As difficult as it may be, all of it must be exposed. Education of the masses is the power that will be needed to turn this around.
"maladministration"
as I call it when I have to mention it.
When the masses hurt from the increase in prices, illness, food shortages, no repairs to roads bridges. Lack of services.
Except they will blame Obama, Biden...
I have a lot of hope for David Hogg to shine here.
Department of Education is gone too. Public Education will be only re-education schools like Cambodia instituted. Private Education will possibly receive government money, but do not hold out hope for it. Education will be left to the white parents with money. This is what the Founders did so it should be good enough for today.
Re Elon Musk’s memo—apparently he can ignore the Constitution and its laws … but also the laws of grammar: “Could gone some great parties”?
That’s X speak, not grammar. Still . . .
X speak? The man is 53 years old!
acts like he's 12
You’re so generous — I would have said eight.