People forget that Dachau was opened during the first three years of Hitler’s reign, not to house Jews, Gypsies and Gays, but to imprison political dissidents. It’s happening here it seems!
Education yes, intolerance NO! Universities are now echoing the tRump line and cracking down hard on students and faculty who speak out against tRump-favored policies in order to avoid massive loss of fed funding. Once again, right out of the totalitarian playbook, the educational establishment is "coördinating" its political views with tRumpism, in exactly the way German universities capitulated to Naziism in the Third Reich, where "political coördination" was the price to pay for surrendering academic freedom to the Reich.
"More arrests to come", says Der Führer, and the media dutifully reports the threats, absent any context. If there isn't a reason now for mass mobilization, it'll never come...it's on us, people, not the media, not the political parties, not the courts...we the people, right?
I agree with you Lance. It is time for a mass mobilization; in fact, multiple mass mobilizations throughout our country and abroad to educate citizens and loudly and clearly announce the dangers we face and unite against them. This must happen soon. I’m ready to participate and help organize. Please count me in.
I just listened to Trump lie about our education system. Does he not know that states and localities already fund the majority of K-12 educational expenses? Please go to this link to read an informative article regarding education in the USA " -https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2025-02-13/trump-u-s-is-dead-last-in-education-is-he-right." And BTW the states that are lowest on the totem poll in terms of student achievement are all states that voted for him. In addition, we are not at the bottom in the world in our educational systems as he has also complained. One thing to remember is that we educate everyone until the age of 21, if needed. There are many countries that don't do that and pick and choose who is educated and for how long. Trump is a danger to everyone who cares about the education of our children and the way he and Musk are terminating some of the best federal employees. One of our regional newspapers highlights local student-athletes and one of the question asked was a favorite quote. This week one of them said "Nothng strengthens authority as much as silence" by Robert Green. Pretty smart kid who seems to know exactly what's going on - speak up if you are fed up with Trump and his administration's lies! Apologies for any spelling mistakes!
Please do not conflate a secondary sex characteristic that's celebrated in paintings and sculpture with the worst president our country has ever had. Doing so is like using the c-word for the female genitalia.
"rump" is derogatory slang for the derriere, which originally evolved (along with body hairlessness, the ability to sweat copiously, the nuchal ligament (holds the head steady when H. sapiens run), the achilles tendon, and other adaptations that enable running, so that our hominid ancestors could pursue prey for many miles, as Harvard's Daniel Lieberman has written. Interestingly, the derriere also evolved into a secondary sex characteristic (on both genders), which many people of both genders find attractive on people of the gender to which they are sexually and romantically attracted.
You’re right! Investigating the world of education is key to restoring democracy since it paved the way for Trump.
And actually, first they came for the teachers; fascists took over most of our schools decades ago. My fourth grade teaching job was at a school that did exactly what they’re now doing to the Dept. of Justice - substituting loyalty for expertise. Only loyal teachers are safe. Teachers who put democracy first are pariahs. They humiliate us into silence or into exile.
I just published my memoir, A Graver Danger, to reveal how fascism started in education and has been able to flourish despite trying to expose this since 1995. Whistleblowing teachers at WhiteChalkCrime.com and EndTeacherAbuse.org have been ignored for decades.
We can’t fix education until a leader fesses up to the fact BOTH parties have let education turn into a deep state of corruption for decades. Due to their marginalization of education, corruption found a home. THIS is what desperately needs change! And we can do it now; despite Trump, we can run for school boards and fix this by repopulating our schools with called-to-teach teachers once people learn what broke and how it broke.
Teachers’s unions have capitulated the same way MAGA Republicans have. Fascism creates the fear needed to overpower its prey. Citizens and leaders must become educated about what happened to education - democracy’s foundation - or democracy is over.
Ms. Oyer was interviewed on TV today telling us what they did to her in the Deot. Of Justice. Not one dedicated teacher has gotten the media to hear us. In 2010, Oprah’s researcher phoned me with my 2008 book in his hand then did nothing. I wonder if she regrets not doing one of her hero making shows on teachers as she did for Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil. Yet, I understand why she didn’t. She knew this country wasn’t ready to deal with what it did to its teachers.
Because we’re a society that marginalizes its teachers, we have done the same to democracy. Get us on TV if you want to save democracy! We actually aren’t all in this together; teachers need to be “in this” for that to be true.
Of 18 deported to Git-mo, "a Miami Herald review of 18 cases found that six of the migrants appear to have no previous record, and an additional five were only charged with illegal entry into the U.S. and sentenced to time served. Several were detained during scheduled appointments with border authorities for those seeking asylum or legal entry, relatives of detainees said, or never spent time in the U.S. outside of detention. Only two were convicted of felonies – one for illegal reentry into the U.S. and the other for conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants. Another faced felony charges for driving undocumented passengers and evading arrest but wasn’t convicted...
"This is why education is important...." Yes it is, BUT depending on local school board and/or influential community members WHOSE "brand" of education ?
There should not be a brand other than learning to think critically and learning about democracy. Gifted teachers know how to maximize learning and instill critical thinking. What we must do is repopulate schools with called-to-teach teachers, the ones the fascists who took over education decades ago have trashed.
I respect your investigation and your comments. I do t much exhibit my contrarian and centrist positions much because it frustrates the readers here. But we democrats have added to the loss of political sanity and the way or at least one of the ways we can win in the future is to re-examine positions and expand our tent since we have neglected the white working class and this is a scratch your head moment how did that happen to send these folks running into the arms of people who have no care in the world for their needs. How did that happen? Easy. We follow trends without thinking through the repercussions. I’m frustrated and flabbergasted. But my cats tell me to clampdown at night so I’m alright for another day.
It makes me so furious that we don't teach Civics, Geography, Current Events, and History beyond the 1960s in most Middle Schools. Yesterday, I asked a class of 8th graders to name 5 countries in Europe or Africa or Asia. Not one of them could.
Last week an 8th grader, for no apparent reason, gave a Sieg Heil and murmured something about Musk. I asked him if he knew what that meant and what he knew about fascism, Nazis, and WWII. His complete response was that the Nazis killed a lot of Jews in WWII and they killed them in gas chambers. I spent the next 10 minutes doing a deep dive into the Shoah in detail, including the fact that there were babies, little children, priests and nuns, guys, and "mud people" in the camps, not just adults and not just Jews. His reaction was to say that now that he really understands, he apologized and said he would never do that again.
Our Middle School students spend endless time immersed in violent and dystopian books, video games, movies, and TV (there is actually an entire cable TV station devoted to Hitler and that era). Why do we think they are "too young" to be exposed to the full breadth, depth, and accuracy of History?
And don't forget what SCOTUS said about that then (which is relevant to this now) in West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette (1943):
Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard.
[ T]he First Amendment to our Constitution was designed to avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings. There is no mysticism in the American concept of the State or of the nature or origin of its authority. We set up government by consent of the governed, and the Bill of Rights denies those in power any legal opportunity to coerce that consent. Authority here [in America] is to be controlled by public opinion, not public opinion by authority. . . .
If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.
I will soon take my guitar to Washington to sit at a card table in front of the White House to distribute my book and perform my songs. I will express my 1st amendment rights.
We need songs. We need anthems. We need to stand up and sing out. We need to learn the words and have choruses all over the country. Trump wants a reason to send the troops out. That will be the defining moment of this century.
Get a permit from the city while you still can. Bring a band to accompany you. Dress like Minute Men. Act like true patriots who practice nonviolent action. Start your song by singing “ oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave/ or’ the land of the free/ and the home of the brave? “.
And banned for what? Songs have a long history in speaking truth to power. From what I gather from reading Substacks, speaking truth to power is the hallmark here.
This may turn out to be another ME TOO! movement!👍👍
Can you possibly think of another more reprehensible excuse for a man masquerading as s human being?? PINO!
...and congress remains mute while he humiliates this High Office & and this beloved country???? Again...one word comes to mind....as perhaps that word is what you feel as well! Congress has betrayed their sworn oaths to the Constitution ! FAILURES....CRAVEN COWARDS..THE LOT OF YOU!
There is a reason why the "Failures....Craven Cowards"...now have demonic orange souls and are slaves to an overweight, bloated, stinking depends wearing slob.....and I still have not figured that one out yet.+
.....WJB...you and I will never ever be capable of understanding what makes that man tick! Our minds aren't derailed by mendacious malignant.narccism...we go about life on a far divergent track .
He appears to be escalating the chaos...like a train without a competent engineer....hurtling ...speeding...toward an inevitable collision...not recognizing ..nor caring for those drastically harmed by his deviously sick mind. Forgive my under statement of the year....but this man is not well...congress does its' constituents no favors by not standing up to this toady of putin! Can't they see vividly Edgar Bergin . manipulating Charlie
No, it’s always a mistake to turn to the military to solve political problems. Take a stroll through human history. It never goes well for the people when the military steps in. And military personnel who uphold their oath would never consent to do so.
“Claude Malhuret's great speech (with English subtitles) in the French Senate denouncing Trump's presidency as the court of Nero, the state capture in America, and America's partnership with Putin's Russia.” ~ Hari Prasad
It is very devastating to hear this coming from someone prominent in another country. A country who had been our bosom ally for over 80 years. It puts a dagger in your heart. It is hurtful. I feel ashamed and angry.
Yes, I listened to his speech also. It is devastating but I am certain our once allies realize that many of us did not vote for him and detest him greatly. We will suffer but not unless we band together and fight back. WE are THE PEOPLE!
Getting the military involved is the worst of all ideas. We may be different from other countries that have tried it, but the dynamics will always turn out the same: bad for the country.
The simple answer is “arrest.” Put an abrupt halt to a crime. Who is designated in this country to perform that function? If the court says “you are a criminal,” but no one arrests him, then what? The military can rightly serve in that way if lower level law enforcement is compromised. Not by setting up generals as rulers, but certainly by halting the rape of the nation. “All enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC.”
Remember Kitty Genovese. Don’t close the window against the screams.
Asking the military to overthrow our elected government seems like going in the wrong direction. Hopefully American soldiers will disobey illegal orders, but I don't see appealing to anti-Trump military forces is a solution.
That’s just it. We DID NOT elect him! He cheated. Votes were purged. Extreme gerrymandering and the electoral problem. Harris is our true President. I wish she had demanded hand recounts.
See ElectIon Truth Alliance (go to the analysis) and SmartElections.US.
When I tell people about my mother’s experience in Auschwitz and Mauthausen concentration camps the first response is usually ‘I didn’t know you were Jewish’. I then tell them she was Catholic and from northern Italy. Mussolini was allied with Hitler and the region she was from had a strong relationship with the Partisans resistance. To punish the people the Nazi rounded up the teenagers, mostly girls, and sent them to work, which actually was forced labor after arriving in Auschwitz. Her number was 82409.
Yes. On my trip to Poland and the Baltics last autumn, and as I toured Auschwitz and learned more about my Lithuanian heritage, that point was abundantly clear
Thanks, Joyce. As a Jew and a Zionist, I suspect there are few things about the Middle East that Mahmoud Khalil and I would agree on (apart from contempt for Netanyahu and his coterie), but you are absolutely right that his detention is the action of would-be Nazis out to destroy everything that the United States has stood for all these years.
Agreed. There can be no political litmus test for citizenship or a green card. If Khalil likes Hamas or if he doesn't accept Israel's right to exist I strongly disagree with him. But to try to deport him, notwithstanding his American wife (who's 8 months pregnant) and his green card, merely because he vocally expresses his political views is totally unacceptable. If there's evidence that he's likely to engage in terrorist acts it would be a different story, but the administration has made no such claims.
I think that We The People are our democracy, and we have to believe that enough to show the force of a people's democracy. No matter what has happened over the centuries, Ukraine still exists and works to be free, a democracy for everyone. We will resist and persist and persevere.
I, too, am a Zionist — I favor a two-state solution — and Jewish, as well as a second generation Holocaust survivor. (My father escaped Austria shortly after the Anschluss). I despise Netanyahu, and I’m anxious for Israel to be the “light to the nations” that it was originally intended to be. But I would NEVER try to mistreat Mahmoud Khalil for his views, some of which I’m sure I’d find odious.
Trump cannot legally deport people for being anti-Semitic or opposed to Israel. And, frankly, even if he could, I don’t want his help. We Jews need to recall the saying that, if someone lies down with dirty dogs, that person is sure to get fleas. Trump may profess to care about Israel for whatever political reason he thinks will benefit him, but he is definitely flea-infested, at least figuratively.
Marlo, unless you’re a constituent in all those states, your message will not be conveyed to the Senator. You have the most power when you communicate with your own members of Congress. So, focusing your energy and time there will have the best impact.
Joyce -- will you please write about the unilateral nullification of the collective bargaining agreement at TSA, the cessation of payroll union dues deduction, the new "determination" that will not recognize AFGE as the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit (even though Transportation Security Officers voted for that representation). With the stroke of a pen, Kristi Noem deprived 26,000 Americans of their union membership. Thanks
Simon, I've been wondering about this since I learned about it (Monday night? Tuesday morning? It all runs together) but I haven't heard anything further. This is as bad as Reagan firing the air traffic controllers for going on strike.
This is terrifying. Who's next? Joyce? Heather Cox Richardson? The Meidas network or the Contrarian? Jay Kuo? There is no question in my mind that Trump and his minions want to criminalize dissent.
Exactly. This -- the Khalil kidnapping -- is storm trooper territory, with the sickening irony of perhaps the ugliest anti-Semite issuing an EO to "prohibit anti-Semitism" that is nothing other than a bad-faith manipulation of Jews to serve his own obviously racist political ends.
Today, a Palestinian with controversial views unpopular with the Oval Office régime. Tomorrow... who? How far down the hate list am I? How far down are you?
This was one of the Professor’s best and most comprehensive essays he has written, in my opinion. It hit home to me because both of my parents were Holocaust victims. Trump doesn’t know what he is, but I can tell you that he is mean and cruel. He has no respect for anyone who is of a different color than he is. Of course, right now, he is orange. I don’t know any one person of that species other than him, therefore, he must be locked up and hidden. This is a strategy, like Joyce indicated. We cannot him to continue this madness without a fight.
Why is this such a difficult concept for some people to get? Why can’t “they” see what is right in front of everyone? Is it fear, ignorance, apathy or laziness? Or other?
It's what Niemoller said: they believe the bad things will only happen to other people, and they're ok with that. Until they aren't. Like people who voted for trump and then felt betrayed when they lost their federal job.
Well there is a fire-hose of important concepts to deal with now such as the right to work, the right to join co-workers in unions & the right to serve out your 5 Year Term at the NLRB among may other real life conflicts.
Attorney, GWYNNE WILCOX took legal action & GWYNNE returned to work today at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to a loud 'Welcome Back Gwynne' gathering.
Kathy, the problem is that it is all of the above. People have been groomed to fear anyone who is not just like themselves. Ignorance for many has become a badge of honor so they can "honestly" say, "I didn't know." Apathy means one can spend all day scrolling on one's phone finding only things that reenforce what the person already believes/feels, so they don't have to think or care; it is not impacting them. Laziness is probably the least of the four, but it is powerful in its own way because it takes effort to think about what is right and wrong and if one's "hero" says something is "right," well, they guess it must be since he says so, right? How do we break through? I am not sure we can, but ignoring those folks for the most part will help maintain our sanity. Working with those who are not too far gone is a better use of our time and effort.
Marlo, some people you can actually talk to and then there’s plenty like the church lady who cover their eyes and their ears thinking that that would never happened to them!
I get it. You did yourself a favor. They will get “theirs” when it’s all too late, unfortunately. Just know that you tried and that. You have friends here.
Maybe you've never been in the position of having to tolerate people who wish you ill and might be able and willing to do you harm? This isn't just about people whose politics or priorities you disagree with.
I think it's partially that we're not accustomed to dealing with bullies -- people behaving so enthusiastically cruelly and blatantly stupidly. Reminds me a bit of the Archie Bunker show except those brilliant writers and actors had a mission within their portrayals -- so, we're maybe expecting a laugh track at some point. But there's no laugh track except for the hysterical glee coming from those crazed with hateful power. They're trying to blind us, deafen us, paralyze us. We The People must resist, persist, persevere.
Thank you for this clear and rational article. This is so very wrong. I have been on the ledge most of today. It is a scary place to be. Time to get off and make some calls, write some emails.
Yes. Calls and emails and getting together with supportive people will get you off of the ledge. Action helps. Community helps. We will get through this.
Stepping back from the ledge, finding and joining a supportive and productive team of positive activists is one way to start driving the bad guys "to the ledge".
The gaping wound inflicted by Israel upon thousands of dead Palestinians will never heal, even when their killers are brought to justice. It's isn't Judaism that motivates the murders, it's the desire to steal their lands by a war criminal and his enablers. The Oct 7th attack by Hamas was nothing more than an excuse to execute and obliterate the Palestinian people who stand in the way of Israel's expansion.
And the U.S. has further enabled Israel's genocide of the Palestinians by paying for their weaponry. Anyone who stands up to Israel's war crimes will be harassed. As an American citizen I intend to speak out for the Palestinians where and when I choose. Anyone who believes I do not have the right to speak out and speak up for Palestinians should bring their lawyers.
I have Jewish heritage with family connections to Israel. But I am really angry at what Netanyahu is doing to the Palestinians. As I understand it, Netanyahu did something to facilitate the Hamas attack, probably as an excuse to obliterate the Palestinians. They do not deserve to be obliterated. They are human and should have the same rights the rest of us have.
You hit the nail on the head! If we forget history, we are likely to repeat it. I hope this democracy has the strong will to survive. The last thing we need is apathy. Thx for all you do Joyce.
It should start with "first the judges came for the students." And most people in the legal and academic communities did nothing. Some did considerably worse than nothing.
In May 2024, an undisciplined gang of federal judges sent a letter to Columbia University (it's available on-line). They pretended that something in our Constitution delegated to them the power to regulate (and even impose extrajudicial punishment because of) political and religious "viewpoints" at "Columbia University." They vaguely targeted "anti-semitism" (which, like it or not, is a political or religious viewpoint). Their express objective was to regulate political and religious "Viewpoint(s)" on "the faculty and across the administration--including the admissions office." (I posted below SCOTUS precedent emphasizing the blatant illegality of viewpoint discrimination).
The judges directly and irrefutably violated our freedom of expression by discriminating based on viewpoint (specifically, religious and political viewpoints). Then, they violated our freedom of association. They declared their extrajudicial punishment of students who dare to even associate with Columbia students or faculty: "we will not hire anyone who joins the Columbia University community--whether as undergraduates or law students--beginning with the entering class of 2024."
The judges blatantly unconstitutional conduct went even further. They declared "Columbia" is "disqualified" (by a gang of federal judges in a mere letter) "from educating the future leaders of our country." Nothing in our Constitution delegated to any federal court (much less any individual judge) any power to impose any extrajudicial punishment on any person (the students or the university). Moreover, the Fifth Amendment emphasized that courts (not any individual judge) may deprive any "person" of any "liberty" or any "property" only after affording them all "due process of law."
Despite the obvious and egregious violations of our Constitution by the judges, above, on May 6, 2024, Professor Josh Blackman rushed to give them his full-throated support. He declared their violations of our Constitution a "fitting tribute" to people of a particular religion precisely because the judges targeted a particular religious or political viewpoint (which they vaguely alluded to as "anti-semitism"). Then, Professor Blackman even called out other judges of a particular religion for not having "joined this letter." "There is still time," he added, "And I don't think this program needs to be limited to federal judges." Professor Blackman actually called this unconstitutional retaliation and discrimination a "program."
NO! This is what we are fighting against with our protests! I fight on behalf of my parents who were victims of the Holocaust and for my grandparents, who were gassed. I will NEVER OBEY and I will NEVER BACK DOWN!
I agree with you. I lost too many in the Holocaust and I’ve interviewed more than 200 Holocaust survivors. My point was based on the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, we the people must fight harder than ever because the Dems do not, did not, and will not fight for we the people. So, those who do not believe where we are and what is happening must join the fight and as you say NEVER BACK DOWN. My apologies if this was misinterpreted. I wrote a longer note above and should have copied it here.
This incident must get more publicity! Why hasn’t CU done more? I heard from a CU lawyer professor that they are organizing to answer. But it has to be now!
She’s the governor ❤️😎. I notice Democratic. governors are speaking up and getting in the news, including Walz. If we finally have a free and fair election in 2 years, there will be a lot less of donthecon and a lot more honesty.
They're deciding, as they go, what the definitions will be for anti-Semitism, anti-American, "foreigner", "unlawful", "protest", "other", and on and on. The more pushback they get, the more limited the definitions get until there's no use in even using the labels because they get an asymmetricly robust pushback to them.
They also are decided what DEI means. As far as I can see, anti-DEI means *anything* that recognizes the accomplishments of a woman or a person of black heritage, so not limited to programs which seek to encourage and grow opportunities for women or for any people who are are not heterosexual, white and male.
So well written Joyce. As a lawyer, I have always understood that as much as we might disagree with someone, they have a right to say what they think. Not to cry fire in a crowded theater, but to speak about ideas that are antithetical to our own. The Skokie Nazis for example. And as far as your example about the wrong kind of Christianity, I think I remember JD Vance saying something about a certain kind of Lutheran being the wrong kind. German Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, so inspirational a writer and speaker on death, was himself killed because he’s protected Jews and spoke truth to power. That’s the kind of person we all need to be
I wish I could share your optimism. Each day's news brings more tales of destruction and death. All because of T**** and his obscenely rich backers. We will soon have no alternative.
Feels that way, but 1939 Germany did not have Substack. When Joyce Vance and Heather Cox Richardson and all the rest of our brave writers are silenced, then...
Just to be clear, Bonhoeffer was involved in an unsuccessful attempt to kill Hitler after opposing him for many years. Let's hope it doesn't get to that point here.
Here's an interesting perspective presenting an argument that Bonhoeffer was not actively involved in the attempt to assassinate Hitler.
Excerpt: "Since Bonhoeffer’s arrest occurred shortly after the discovery of a failed assassination attempt which he knew of, it’s often assumed that he was arrested as a conspirator. Official documents, however, tell a different story: Bonhoeffer was arrested because of his involvement in Operation 7, a nonviolent if technically fraudulent scheme to help fourteen Jewish men and women escape Germany. When he was finally indicted in September, he was charged with misusing his position in the Abwehr to evade conscription – thus “subverting military power” – and with making efforts “to keep others from fulfilling military service entirely” (87). To put it anachronistically, the Nazis arrested Bonhoeffer not as a would-be assassin but as a draft dodger."
I did not make my point very clearly. It was more to do with JD Vance picking out a certain brand of Lutheranism to condemn, among all the other Lutheran religions and Protestant religions there are. So there we go, nobody is safe from JD Vance and the rest of them. Cross them at your peril. But Bonhoeffer shows us the way to be brave, even at the risk of our own life. If only the Republicans had it in them to be that brave. And I hope our Democrats are that brave but I’m wondering.
This is hilarious. We dumped our 2020 Tesla at the beginning of February. It only had 30,000 miles and we got 18k on the trade in. Thank goodness the Nazi car is gone. I feel like we wouldn’t have gotten close to that now. Suddenly they want you to buy these cars while they’re ripping out charging stations across the country and at government buildings.
We leased a beautiful Mini Countryman EV and it is awesome. The mileage is way better than the Tesla but then, I think, one of the investigations Musk is trying to shut down is how it lies about the mileage.
Or this, where he’s going to label you a domestic terrorist for going after Tesla’s. He does know the majority of Tesla owners aren’t MAGA right? He’s not going to protect democrats. https://stocks.apple.com/AAiR0URIRQoW0aDOE7rzEBw
How many Tesla owners wear diapers.....put maxi-pads on their heads.....plaster MAGA stickers all over the bumpers......fly Trump flags on the antenna???
Yaaaay!!! Thanks for sharing about the Canadian govt's tesla investigation - what a lovely, lovely piece of news. Really neat timing especially when his tesla sales are crashing, too. Hope they also investigate Space X, "X", and Starlink. Musk is so incredibly stupid to think that none of his businesses will be impacted by how his co-president is "tarrifying" every country he can, thinking of all the money it'll bring in to the US. They deserve to be cellmates. Musk's ugly words and uninvited involvement in Germany's politics supporting the right-wing, will crash musk's businesses, as well as trump's and musk's co-presidency. This time, we should have as our goal, not allowing more than four hours to elapse once they leave office (or as shortly thereafter as possible) before the start of legal proceedings against trump, musk, et al.
This I hadn't heard previously. Who is ripping out charging stations? All charging stations? All non-Tesla charging stations? I can't imagine Musk going along with removing Tesla charging stations but can imagine anti-Musk actors going after Tesla charging stations.
PS: I'll never forget my surprise when, in fall 2016, I drove out of Tonopah NV and spotted a rank of 8 shiny new Tesla charging stations.
I read an article that they were taking them all out of federal buildings, but I bet they leave the Tesla chargers in. They are also stopping the work in the Biden bill to put more across the country. It’s been a couple weeks so I couldn’t tell you who published it.
People forget that Dachau was opened during the first three years of Hitler’s reign, not to house Jews, Gypsies and Gays, but to imprison political dissidents. It’s happening here it seems!
This is why education is important....
Education yes, intolerance NO! Universities are now echoing the tRump line and cracking down hard on students and faculty who speak out against tRump-favored policies in order to avoid massive loss of fed funding. Once again, right out of the totalitarian playbook, the educational establishment is "coördinating" its political views with tRumpism, in exactly the way German universities capitulated to Naziism in the Third Reich, where "political coördination" was the price to pay for surrendering academic freedom to the Reich.
"More arrests to come", says Der Führer, and the media dutifully reports the threats, absent any context. If there isn't a reason now for mass mobilization, it'll never come...it's on us, people, not the media, not the political parties, not the courts...we the people, right?
I agree with you Lance. It is time for a mass mobilization; in fact, multiple mass mobilizations throughout our country and abroad to educate citizens and loudly and clearly announce the dangers we face and unite against them. This must happen soon. I’m ready to participate and help organize. Please count me in.
I just listened to Trump lie about our education system. Does he not know that states and localities already fund the majority of K-12 educational expenses? Please go to this link to read an informative article regarding education in the USA " -https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2025-02-13/trump-u-s-is-dead-last-in-education-is-he-right." And BTW the states that are lowest on the totem poll in terms of student achievement are all states that voted for him. In addition, we are not at the bottom in the world in our educational systems as he has also complained. One thing to remember is that we educate everyone until the age of 21, if needed. There are many countries that don't do that and pick and choose who is educated and for how long. Trump is a danger to everyone who cares about the education of our children and the way he and Musk are terminating some of the best federal employees. One of our regional newspapers highlights local student-athletes and one of the question asked was a favorite quote. This week one of them said "Nothng strengthens authority as much as silence" by Robert Green. Pretty smart kid who seems to know exactly what's going on - speak up if you are fed up with Trump and his administration's lies! Apologies for any spelling mistakes!
Please do not conflate a secondary sex characteristic that's celebrated in paintings and sculpture with the worst president our country has ever had. Doing so is like using the c-word for the female genitalia.
Aside from that, good comment.
Come again?
see below
...Rump? Is that what you're talking about?
"rump" is derogatory slang for the derriere, which originally evolved (along with body hairlessness, the ability to sweat copiously, the nuchal ligament (holds the head steady when H. sapiens run), the achilles tendon, and other adaptations that enable running, so that our hominid ancestors could pursue prey for many miles, as Harvard's Daniel Lieberman has written. Interestingly, the derriere also evolved into a secondary sex characteristic (on both genders), which many people of both genders find attractive on people of the gender to which they are sexually and romantically attracted.
Both sexes have rumps so that's not a secondary sex characteristic
And why our protests are so vital also!
You’re right! Investigating the world of education is key to restoring democracy since it paved the way for Trump.
And actually, first they came for the teachers; fascists took over most of our schools decades ago. My fourth grade teaching job was at a school that did exactly what they’re now doing to the Dept. of Justice - substituting loyalty for expertise. Only loyal teachers are safe. Teachers who put democracy first are pariahs. They humiliate us into silence or into exile.
I just published my memoir, A Graver Danger, to reveal how fascism started in education and has been able to flourish despite trying to expose this since 1995. Whistleblowing teachers at WhiteChalkCrime.com and EndTeacherAbuse.org have been ignored for decades.
We can’t fix education until a leader fesses up to the fact BOTH parties have let education turn into a deep state of corruption for decades. Due to their marginalization of education, corruption found a home. THIS is what desperately needs change! And we can do it now; despite Trump, we can run for school boards and fix this by repopulating our schools with called-to-teach teachers once people learn what broke and how it broke.
Teachers’s unions have capitulated the same way MAGA Republicans have. Fascism creates the fear needed to overpower its prey. Citizens and leaders must become educated about what happened to education - democracy’s foundation - or democracy is over.
Ms. Oyer was interviewed on TV today telling us what they did to her in the Deot. Of Justice. Not one dedicated teacher has gotten the media to hear us. In 2010, Oprah’s researcher phoned me with my 2008 book in his hand then did nothing. I wonder if she regrets not doing one of her hero making shows on teachers as she did for Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil. Yet, I understand why she didn’t. She knew this country wasn’t ready to deal with what it did to its teachers.
Because we’re a society that marginalizes its teachers, we have done the same to democracy. Get us on TV if you want to save democracy! We actually aren’t all in this together; teachers need to be “in this” for that to be true.
First they came for "the other."
Of 18 deported to Git-mo, "a Miami Herald review of 18 cases found that six of the migrants appear to have no previous record, and an additional five were only charged with illegal entry into the U.S. and sentenced to time served. Several were detained during scheduled appointments with border authorities for those seeking asylum or legal entry, relatives of detainees said, or never spent time in the U.S. outside of detention. Only two were convicted of felonies – one for illegal reentry into the U.S. and the other for conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants. Another faced felony charges for driving undocumented passengers and evading arrest but wasn’t convicted...
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article300729484.html#storylink=cpy
Not the first. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article299489989.htm
"This is why education is important...." Yes it is, BUT depending on local school board and/or influential community members WHOSE "brand" of education ?
There should not be a brand other than learning to think critically and learning about democracy. Gifted teachers know how to maximize learning and instill critical thinking. What we must do is repopulate schools with called-to-teach teachers, the ones the fascists who took over education decades ago have trashed.
I respect your investigation and your comments. I do t much exhibit my contrarian and centrist positions much because it frustrates the readers here. But we democrats have added to the loss of political sanity and the way or at least one of the ways we can win in the future is to re-examine positions and expand our tent since we have neglected the white working class and this is a scratch your head moment how did that happen to send these folks running into the arms of people who have no care in the world for their needs. How did that happen? Easy. We follow trends without thinking through the repercussions. I’m frustrated and flabbergasted. But my cats tell me to clampdown at night so I’m alright for another day.
In my household my border collie has the same job as your cats do in yours.
It makes me so furious that we don't teach Civics, Geography, Current Events, and History beyond the 1960s in most Middle Schools. Yesterday, I asked a class of 8th graders to name 5 countries in Europe or Africa or Asia. Not one of them could.
Last week an 8th grader, for no apparent reason, gave a Sieg Heil and murmured something about Musk. I asked him if he knew what that meant and what he knew about fascism, Nazis, and WWII. His complete response was that the Nazis killed a lot of Jews in WWII and they killed them in gas chambers. I spent the next 10 minutes doing a deep dive into the Shoah in detail, including the fact that there were babies, little children, priests and nuns, guys, and "mud people" in the camps, not just adults and not just Jews. His reaction was to say that now that he really understands, he apologized and said he would never do that again.
Our Middle School students spend endless time immersed in violent and dystopian books, video games, movies, and TV (there is actually an entire cable TV station devoted to Hitler and that era). Why do we think they are "too young" to be exposed to the full breadth, depth, and accuracy of History?
The '60s are back! Only bigger, more important. Occupy the Administration Buildings! Bonfires in the night! Letters, postcards, boycotts, everyone!
And don't forget what SCOTUS said about that then (which is relevant to this now) in West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette (1943):
Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard.
[ T]he First Amendment to our Constitution was designed to avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings. There is no mysticism in the American concept of the State or of the nature or origin of its authority. We set up government by consent of the governed, and the Bill of Rights denies those in power any legal opportunity to coerce that consent. Authority here [in America] is to be controlled by public opinion, not public opinion by authority. . . .
If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.
Yes, it was & it was first concentration camp. The first of many.
I will soon take my guitar to Washington to sit at a card table in front of the White House to distribute my book and perform my songs. I will express my 1st amendment rights.
We need songs. We need anthems. We need to stand up and sing out. We need to learn the words and have choruses all over the country. Trump wants a reason to send the troops out. That will be the defining moment of this century.
Might not be everybody's cup of tea, but this resonates with me ("Fight the Power" from the movie "Do the Right Thing"):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmo3HFa2vjg
It’s an appropriate song, for sure.
Jesse Wells -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s5fMiLdBsY
I think some people here are tired of me presenting, But this is my mode of communicating. First "Blue Daze" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYtTGIzb7OA
Next "The Shithole Song" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BSaG6I77RU
Next: Their Eating Cats and Dogs Says J.D. Vance" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiNusL05JUo
Next: "Broken Roads and Broken Trails" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf7KHm3nLzA
I sense I will be banned here for this. Nothing new.
Get a permit from the city while you still can. Bring a band to accompany you. Dress like Minute Men. Act like true patriots who practice nonviolent action. Start your song by singing “ oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave/ or’ the land of the free/ and the home of the brave? “.
Banned from where?
And banned for what? Songs have a long history in speaking truth to power. From what I gather from reading Substacks, speaking truth to power is the hallmark here.
Bill...Put up a "Go Fund me" and I will be one of the first to help support you.
This may turn out to be another ME TOO! movement!👍👍
Can you possibly think of another more reprehensible excuse for a man masquerading as s human being?? PINO!
...and congress remains mute while he humiliates this High Office & and this beloved country???? Again...one word comes to mind....as perhaps that word is what you feel as well! Congress has betrayed their sworn oaths to the Constitution ! FAILURES....CRAVEN COWARDS..THE LOT OF YOU!
thus endeth the rant!
There is a reason why the "Failures....Craven Cowards"...now have demonic orange souls and are slaves to an overweight, bloated, stinking depends wearing slob.....and I still have not figured that one out yet.+
.....WJB...you and I will never ever be capable of understanding what makes that man tick! Our minds aren't derailed by mendacious malignant.narccism...we go about life on a far divergent track .
He appears to be escalating the chaos...like a train without a competent engineer....hurtling ...speeding...toward an inevitable collision...not recognizing ..nor caring for those drastically harmed by his deviously sick mind. Forgive my under statement of the year....but this man is not well...congress does its' constituents no favors by not standing up to this toady of putin! Can't they see vividly Edgar Bergin . manipulating Charlie
McCarthy's puppet strings????🤔🤔
I’m not impoverished. But I will likely contact legal counsel in town before I go.
I'll bet Khalil's family could use a "Go Fund Me" fund as well.
I won’t need it but he might.
How can we get the military who took an oath to protect our democracy to stop this overthrow of our democracy? Anyone have any connections?
No, it’s always a mistake to turn to the military to solve political problems. Take a stroll through human history. It never goes well for the people when the military steps in. And military personnel who uphold their oath would never consent to do so.
We have “America’s Hitler” overthrowing our democracy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIK9vbQRwBQ
“Claude Malhuret's great speech (with English subtitles) in the French Senate denouncing Trump's presidency as the court of Nero, the state capture in America, and America's partnership with Putin's Russia.” ~ Hari Prasad
It is very devastating to hear this coming from someone prominent in another country. A country who had been our bosom ally for over 80 years. It puts a dagger in your heart. It is hurtful. I feel ashamed and angry.
Yes, I listened to his speech also. It is devastating but I am certain our once allies realize that many of us did not vote for him and detest him greatly. We will suffer but not unless we band together and fight back. WE are THE PEOPLE!
Getting the military involved is the worst of all ideas. We may be different from other countries that have tried it, but the dynamics will always turn out the same: bad for the country.
The simple answer is “arrest.” Put an abrupt halt to a crime. Who is designated in this country to perform that function? If the court says “you are a criminal,” but no one arrests him, then what? The military can rightly serve in that way if lower level law enforcement is compromised. Not by setting up generals as rulers, but certainly by halting the rape of the nation. “All enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC.”
Remember Kitty Genovese. Don’t close the window against the screams.
It doesn’t seem like anyone is upholding their “oath” these days.
Asking the military to overthrow our elected government seems like going in the wrong direction. Hopefully American soldiers will disobey illegal orders, but I don't see appealing to anti-Trump military forces is a solution.
That’s just it. We DID NOT elect him! He cheated. Votes were purged. Extreme gerrymandering and the electoral problem. Harris is our true President. I wish she had demanded hand recounts.
See ElectIon Truth Alliance (go to the analysis) and SmartElections.US.
Go to GregPalast.com and watch: Vigilantes,Inc.
Wondering what Mark Milley is up to
When I tell people about my mother’s experience in Auschwitz and Mauthausen concentration camps the first response is usually ‘I didn’t know you were Jewish’. I then tell them she was Catholic and from northern Italy. Mussolini was allied with Hitler and the region she was from had a strong relationship with the Partisans resistance. To punish the people the Nazi rounded up the teenagers, mostly girls, and sent them to work, which actually was forced labor after arriving in Auschwitz. Her number was 82409.
Yes. On my trip to Poland and the Baltics last autumn, and as I toured Auschwitz and learned more about my Lithuanian heritage, that point was abundantly clear
Forgive me, but you mean Dachau.
Dachau
Yes, it is.
Thanks, Joyce. As a Jew and a Zionist, I suspect there are few things about the Middle East that Mahmoud Khalil and I would agree on (apart from contempt for Netanyahu and his coterie), but you are absolutely right that his detention is the action of would-be Nazis out to destroy everything that the United States has stood for all these years.
Agreed. There can be no political litmus test for citizenship or a green card. If Khalil likes Hamas or if he doesn't accept Israel's right to exist I strongly disagree with him. But to try to deport him, notwithstanding his American wife (who's 8 months pregnant) and his green card, merely because he vocally expresses his political views is totally unacceptable. If there's evidence that he's likely to engage in terrorist acts it would be a different story, but the administration has made no such claims.
Think they would have made this claim if they had proof. Trump will be the end of our democracy.
I think that We The People are our democracy, and we have to believe that enough to show the force of a people's democracy. No matter what has happened over the centuries, Ukraine still exists and works to be free, a democracy for everyone. We will resist and persist and persevere.
You are a "terrorist" if they choose to call you that.
I, too, am a Zionist — I favor a two-state solution — and Jewish, as well as a second generation Holocaust survivor. (My father escaped Austria shortly after the Anschluss). I despise Netanyahu, and I’m anxious for Israel to be the “light to the nations” that it was originally intended to be. But I would NEVER try to mistreat Mahmoud Khalil for his views, some of which I’m sure I’d find odious.
Trump cannot legally deport people for being anti-Semitic or opposed to Israel. And, frankly, even if he could, I don’t want his help. We Jews need to recall the saying that, if someone lies down with dirty dogs, that person is sure to get fleas. Trump may profess to care about Israel for whatever political reason he thinks will benefit him, but he is definitely flea-infested, at least figuratively.
We need to voice our opposition with Congress: (202) 225-3121
You can call any time & leave a message.
Tonight I called:
Slotkin
Warren
Murkowski
Thyme
Boucher
I parroted excerpts from Joyce’s excellent Substack.
I also added there should be no impoundments and no sequestration in the CR.
🇺🇸🇺🇸
Marlo, unless you’re a constituent in all those states, your message will not be conveyed to the Senator. You have the most power when you communicate with your own members of Congress. So, focusing your energy and time there will have the best impact.
How do they know where you are from? It’s a recording.
Seriously? I’m in Missouri. Do you think it does any good to reach out to Schmitt and Hawley? Let Marlo contact who she wants to contact.
Thsnk you. We need more thoughtful discourse on this topic.
We need to figure out how to STOP this train wreck!
Jon, I am a Jew but not a Zionist. I agree about everything you have said.
Joyce -- will you please write about the unilateral nullification of the collective bargaining agreement at TSA, the cessation of payroll union dues deduction, the new "determination" that will not recognize AFGE as the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit (even though Transportation Security Officers voted for that representation). With the stroke of a pen, Kristi Noem deprived 26,000 Americans of their union membership. Thanks
And I would like to know what Joyce feels should have been included in the CR. No impoundments. No sequestration?
We should call the senators.
(202) 225-3121
Simon, I've been wondering about this since I learned about it (Monday night? Tuesday morning? It all runs together) but I haven't heard anything further. This is as bad as Reagan firing the air traffic controllers for going on strike.
Holy s—-. This should be should be spread far and wide!!
Call Congress:
(202) 225-3121
This is terrifying. Who's next? Joyce? Heather Cox Richardson? The Meidas network or the Contrarian? Jay Kuo? There is no question in my mind that Trump and his minions want to criminalize dissent.
Exactly. This -- the Khalil kidnapping -- is storm trooper territory, with the sickening irony of perhaps the ugliest anti-Semite issuing an EO to "prohibit anti-Semitism" that is nothing other than a bad-faith manipulation of Jews to serve his own obviously racist political ends.
If you don't think the orange felon is anti-Semitic, read Timothy Snyder's recent post, Antisemitism in the Oval Office (https://substack.com/home/post/p-158562583).
Today, a Palestinian with controversial views unpopular with the Oval Office régime. Tomorrow... who? How far down the hate list am I? How far down are you?
This was one of the Professor’s best and most comprehensive essays he has written, in my opinion. It hit home to me because both of my parents were Holocaust victims. Trump doesn’t know what he is, but I can tell you that he is mean and cruel. He has no respect for anyone who is of a different color than he is. Of course, right now, he is orange. I don’t know any one person of that species other than him, therefore, he must be locked up and hidden. This is a strategy, like Joyce indicated. We cannot him to continue this madness without a fight.
"This is terrifying. Who's next?"
Who's Next? is the motto of state terrorism.
He must be stopped! How? It’s gone too far already.
Yes. As one Trumper replied to my sending a Heather Cox Richardson article replied: “These hawks are going to get what they deserve.”
Or one of us who comments on Justice.
"Who's next?" All of us for voicing our thoughts on this? For dissenting evil?
Why is this such a difficult concept for some people to get? Why can’t “they” see what is right in front of everyone? Is it fear, ignorance, apathy or laziness? Or other?
It's what Niemoller said: they believe the bad things will only happen to other people, and they're ok with that. Until they aren't. Like people who voted for trump and then felt betrayed when they lost their federal job.
Well there is a fire-hose of important concepts to deal with now such as the right to work, the right to join co-workers in unions & the right to serve out your 5 Year Term at the NLRB among may other real life conflicts.
Attorney, GWYNNE WILCOX took legal action & GWYNNE returned to work today at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to a loud 'Welcome Back Gwynne' gathering.
Her answer: "This is where I belong".
Fight Back like Gwynne!
YES! She stood her ground and WON! Bless her!👏👏
My Shero!
Got that right Ally. Let's give the Shero the last words as she returned:
"This case was not about me -- it was about the [NLRB] agency & the people who work at the agency & our mission". H/t Forbes.
Kathy, all of the above.
Kathy, the problem is that it is all of the above. People have been groomed to fear anyone who is not just like themselves. Ignorance for many has become a badge of honor so they can "honestly" say, "I didn't know." Apathy means one can spend all day scrolling on one's phone finding only things that reenforce what the person already believes/feels, so they don't have to think or care; it is not impacting them. Laziness is probably the least of the four, but it is powerful in its own way because it takes effort to think about what is right and wrong and if one's "hero" says something is "right," well, they guess it must be since he says so, right? How do we break through? I am not sure we can, but ignoring those folks for the most part will help maintain our sanity. Working with those who are not too far gone is a better use of our time and effort.
Laziness is the root cause of many injustices.
Blind stupidity. Delusional.
One lady from my church said not to send her any more articles. It was “too upsetting.”
I wonder how she will feel letting him take her Social Security and Medicare away while she puts her head in the sand…
Marlo, some people you can actually talk to and then there’s plenty like the church lady who cover their eyes and their ears thinking that that would never happened to them!
There are a lot of Republicans that go to that church. I actually stopped going I couldn’t get past the hypocrisy.
I get it. You did yourself a favor. They will get “theirs” when it’s all too late, unfortunately. Just know that you tried and that. You have friends here.
Maybe you've never been in the position of having to tolerate people who wish you ill and might be able and willing to do you harm? This isn't just about people whose politics or priorities you disagree with.
I think it's partially that we're not accustomed to dealing with bullies -- people behaving so enthusiastically cruelly and blatantly stupidly. Reminds me a bit of the Archie Bunker show except those brilliant writers and actors had a mission within their portrayals -- so, we're maybe expecting a laugh track at some point. But there's no laugh track except for the hysterical glee coming from those crazed with hateful power. They're trying to blind us, deafen us, paralyze us. We The People must resist, persist, persevere.
If they don’t “look,” you don’t “find.”
Thank you for this clear and rational article. This is so very wrong. I have been on the ledge most of today. It is a scary place to be. Time to get off and make some calls, write some emails.
Yes. Calls and emails and getting together with supportive people will get you off of the ledge. Action helps. Community helps. We will get through this.
I wonder.
The Republicans have purged the voters registrations of millions that would have voted for Harris (Vigilantes,Inc. of GregPalast.com).
They hacked into the tabulators (Election Truth Alliance and SmartElections.US).
The extreme gerrymandering in many districts.
The unfair electoral system.
Stepping back from the ledge, finding and joining a supportive and productive team of positive activists is one way to start driving the bad guys "to the ledge".
This is an excellent essay, Joyce Vance.
The gaping wound inflicted by Israel upon thousands of dead Palestinians will never heal, even when their killers are brought to justice. It's isn't Judaism that motivates the murders, it's the desire to steal their lands by a war criminal and his enablers. The Oct 7th attack by Hamas was nothing more than an excuse to execute and obliterate the Palestinian people who stand in the way of Israel's expansion.
And the U.S. has further enabled Israel's genocide of the Palestinians by paying for their weaponry. Anyone who stands up to Israel's war crimes will be harassed. As an American citizen I intend to speak out for the Palestinians where and when I choose. Anyone who believes I do not have the right to speak out and speak up for Palestinians should bring their lawyers.
I have Jewish heritage with family connections to Israel. But I am really angry at what Netanyahu is doing to the Palestinians. As I understand it, Netanyahu did something to facilitate the Hamas attack, probably as an excuse to obliterate the Palestinians. They do not deserve to be obliterated. They are human and should have the same rights the rest of us have.
There was an article I read that said that Israel knew that an attack was coming.
How could they not know? Do people really forget the Gulf of Tonkin or the USS Liberty.....just to name a few.
I think Putin arranged it.
You hit the nail on the head! If we forget history, we are likely to repeat it. I hope this democracy has the strong will to survive. The last thing we need is apathy. Thx for all you do Joyce.
Somewhere in that "First They Came For" should be the Courts..."but it did not matter to me because I wasn't a judge")
First they came for the socialists, and I spoke out, because I know the rest of the f**king poem...
--Jeff Tiedrich
It should start with "first the judges came for the students." And most people in the legal and academic communities did nothing. Some did considerably worse than nothing.
In May 2024, an undisciplined gang of federal judges sent a letter to Columbia University (it's available on-line). They pretended that something in our Constitution delegated to them the power to regulate (and even impose extrajudicial punishment because of) political and religious "viewpoints" at "Columbia University." They vaguely targeted "anti-semitism" (which, like it or not, is a political or religious viewpoint). Their express objective was to regulate political and religious "Viewpoint(s)" on "the faculty and across the administration--including the admissions office." (I posted below SCOTUS precedent emphasizing the blatant illegality of viewpoint discrimination).
The judges directly and irrefutably violated our freedom of expression by discriminating based on viewpoint (specifically, religious and political viewpoints). Then, they violated our freedom of association. They declared their extrajudicial punishment of students who dare to even associate with Columbia students or faculty: "we will not hire anyone who joins the Columbia University community--whether as undergraduates or law students--beginning with the entering class of 2024."
The judges blatantly unconstitutional conduct went even further. They declared "Columbia" is "disqualified" (by a gang of federal judges in a mere letter) "from educating the future leaders of our country." Nothing in our Constitution delegated to any federal court (much less any individual judge) any power to impose any extrajudicial punishment on any person (the students or the university). Moreover, the Fifth Amendment emphasized that courts (not any individual judge) may deprive any "person" of any "liberty" or any "property" only after affording them all "due process of law."
Despite the obvious and egregious violations of our Constitution by the judges, above, on May 6, 2024, Professor Josh Blackman rushed to give them his full-throated support. He declared their violations of our Constitution a "fitting tribute" to people of a particular religion precisely because the judges targeted a particular religious or political viewpoint (which they vaguely alluded to as "anti-semitism"). Then, Professor Blackman even called out other judges of a particular religion for not having "joined this letter." "There is still time," he added, "And I don't think this program needs to be limited to federal judges." Professor Blackman actually called this unconstitutional retaliation and discrimination a "program."
We failed to make a stand before, so here we are.
"Professor Blackman actually called this unconstitutional retaliation and discrimination a "program."
Take the word 'program', delete the 'r' and change the 'a' to an 'o'. What do you have?
In the meantime, check out Blackman's bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Blackman
I wonder if we are barreling to a 1776 or 1861 moment.
Or Germany in 1934 moment?
How to fight it?
THAT is the question, and an urgent one.
We need to call all the Senators and demand the stipulation for the CR or not pass it. The ball is in our court.
I believe we are currently in Germany, March 1933, when Dachau opened.
NO! This is what we are fighting against with our protests! I fight on behalf of my parents who were victims of the Holocaust and for my grandparents, who were gassed. I will NEVER OBEY and I will NEVER BACK DOWN!
I agree with you. I lost too many in the Holocaust and I’ve interviewed more than 200 Holocaust survivors. My point was based on the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, we the people must fight harder than ever because the Dems do not, did not, and will not fight for we the people. So, those who do not believe where we are and what is happening must join the fight and as you say NEVER BACK DOWN. My apologies if this was misinterpreted. I wrote a longer note above and should have copied it here.
Judith, we are on the exact same page. 💕
Call the senators and vote no for the CR unless they include the stipulations and stop Musk/Trump.
This incident must get more publicity! Why hasn’t CU done more? I heard from a CU lawyer professor that they are organizing to answer. But it has to be now!
I don't know what the university is doing, but today I got word that the ACLU is suing for Khalil's release.
Good news! Thank you!
Yep, I got that same text, I was so glad to see that. Another place for donations there, the ACLU, even if not a high dollar amount.
Don't forget that just last week, the administration cut off hundreds of millions of federal dollars in research funds from Columbia.
Yes! Thank you. Now we see its effects…..
for Columbia. Yes and that is grossly illegal. Columbia's losing its federal money doesn't justify this even if it makes it more understandable.
Columbia....just answer like the woman from Maine...."See you in court"
She’s the governor ❤️😎. I notice Democratic. governors are speaking up and getting in the news, including Walz. If we finally have a free and fair election in 2 years, there will be a lot less of donthecon and a lot more honesty.
$400 million. A friend told me Rutgers may be next in line. All universities are now “next they came for…”
They're deciding, as they go, what the definitions will be for anti-Semitism, anti-American, "foreigner", "unlawful", "protest", "other", and on and on. The more pushback they get, the more limited the definitions get until there's no use in even using the labels because they get an asymmetricly robust pushback to them.
They also are decided what DEI means. As far as I can see, anti-DEI means *anything* that recognizes the accomplishments of a woman or a person of black heritage, so not limited to programs which seek to encourage and grow opportunities for women or for any people who are are not heterosexual, white and male.
Funding for bird flue and measles????
Really dangerous--Judge has to correct it forcefully!!
So well written Joyce. As a lawyer, I have always understood that as much as we might disagree with someone, they have a right to say what they think. Not to cry fire in a crowded theater, but to speak about ideas that are antithetical to our own. The Skokie Nazis for example. And as far as your example about the wrong kind of Christianity, I think I remember JD Vance saying something about a certain kind of Lutheran being the wrong kind. German Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, so inspirational a writer and speaker on death, was himself killed because he’s protected Jews and spoke truth to power. That’s the kind of person we all need to be
Yes! Remember Bonhoeffer — a pacifist who gave his life in an attempt to stop Hitler!
And yes, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
I wish I could share your optimism. Each day's news brings more tales of destruction and death. All because of T**** and his obscenely rich backers. We will soon have no alternative.
Feels that way, but 1939 Germany did not have Substack. When Joyce Vance and Heather Cox Richardson and all the rest of our brave writers are silenced, then...
Just to be clear, Bonhoeffer was involved in an unsuccessful attempt to kill Hitler after opposing him for many years. Let's hope it doesn't get to that point here.
Yes, one would hope for success. 😉
Here's an interesting perspective presenting an argument that Bonhoeffer was not actively involved in the attempt to assassinate Hitler.
Excerpt: "Since Bonhoeffer’s arrest occurred shortly after the discovery of a failed assassination attempt which he knew of, it’s often assumed that he was arrested as a conspirator. Official documents, however, tell a different story: Bonhoeffer was arrested because of his involvement in Operation 7, a nonviolent if technically fraudulent scheme to help fourteen Jewish men and women escape Germany. When he was finally indicted in September, he was charged with misusing his position in the Abwehr to evade conscription – thus “subverting military power” – and with making efforts “to keep others from fulfilling military service entirely” (87). To put it anachronistically, the Nazis arrested Bonhoeffer not as a would-be assassin but as a draft dodger."
https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/nonviolence/was-bonhoeffer-willing-to-kill
I did not make my point very clearly. It was more to do with JD Vance picking out a certain brand of Lutheranism to condemn, among all the other Lutheran religions and Protestant religions there are. So there we go, nobody is safe from JD Vance and the rest of them. Cross them at your peril. But Bonhoeffer shows us the way to be brave, even at the risk of our own life. If only the Republicans had it in them to be that brave. And I hope our Democrats are that brave but I’m wondering.
Very important article.
Saw this story also; DJT is coming after the Tesla protestors. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-will-buy-new-tesla-show-support-musk-2025-03-11/
This is hilarious. We dumped our 2020 Tesla at the beginning of February. It only had 30,000 miles and we got 18k on the trade in. Thank goodness the Nazi car is gone. I feel like we wouldn’t have gotten close to that now. Suddenly they want you to buy these cars while they’re ripping out charging stations across the country and at government buildings.
We leased a beautiful Mini Countryman EV and it is awesome. The mileage is way better than the Tesla but then, I think, one of the investigations Musk is trying to shut down is how it lies about the mileage.
And then there's this- Tesla is getting a big Canadian investigation. Across the border Trump won't be able to shut this down.
https://www.jalopnik.com/1807796/tesla-last-minute-canadian-incentives-eligibility-request/
Or this, where he’s going to label you a domestic terrorist for going after Tesla’s. He does know the majority of Tesla owners aren’t MAGA right? He’s not going to protect democrats. https://stocks.apple.com/AAiR0URIRQoW0aDOE7rzEBw
But of course he will only protect the dealers, not the owners.
How many Tesla owners wear diapers.....put maxi-pads on their heads.....plaster MAGA stickers all over the bumpers......fly Trump flags on the antenna???
Yaaaay!!! Thanks for sharing about the Canadian govt's tesla investigation - what a lovely, lovely piece of news. Really neat timing especially when his tesla sales are crashing, too. Hope they also investigate Space X, "X", and Starlink. Musk is so incredibly stupid to think that none of his businesses will be impacted by how his co-president is "tarrifying" every country he can, thinking of all the money it'll bring in to the US. They deserve to be cellmates. Musk's ugly words and uninvited involvement in Germany's politics supporting the right-wing, will crash musk's businesses, as well as trump's and musk's co-presidency. This time, we should have as our goal, not allowing more than four hours to elapse once they leave office (or as shortly thereafter as possible) before the start of legal proceedings against trump, musk, et al.
Thanks for posting this. It certainly does look shady - all to benefit Muskmelon himself.
Muskmelon… hmm. Some muskmelons have orange flesh - i.e. cantaloupes. How appropriate that trump would like him
This I hadn't heard previously. Who is ripping out charging stations? All charging stations? All non-Tesla charging stations? I can't imagine Musk going along with removing Tesla charging stations but can imagine anti-Musk actors going after Tesla charging stations.
PS: I'll never forget my surprise when, in fall 2016, I drove out of Tonopah NV and spotted a rank of 8 shiny new Tesla charging stations.
I read an article that they were taking them all out of federal buildings, but I bet they leave the Tesla chargers in. They are also stopping the work in the Biden bill to put more across the country. It’s been a couple weeks so I couldn’t tell you who published it.
You're probably right about leaving the Tesla stations. Even if the building is sold to private ownership.
tRUmp working to help his largest contributor stop losing money. I do not condone violence but he will go after the peaceful protesters also.