A friend wrote this letter to his Nevada rep and gave me permission to post it for others to adapt:
Dear Representative Amodei,
In your email to constituents dated February 7th,”The Amodei Report: Roundup of Presidential Actions”, you stated that “while some of [President Trump’s executive] actions may be controversial, it is important to note that they have all been executed within the framework of democracy.”
I beg to differ, Sir! Federal judges of the United States disagree with you, vehemently!
In less than 3 weeks on the job, President Trump’s administration has been sued over his executive orders in court 41 separate times. This is a record for any president in our history. A running record of these lawsuits can be found at Just Security’s online litigation tracker, here: https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/
In addition to the large number of lawsuits, several restraining orders have already been issued against Trump’s actions by federal judges, including a judge appointed by Trump himself. These include restraining orders against:
--- Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze, cutting off funding for Head Start, school meal programs, access to SNAP and WIC program benefits, and halting critical medical research.
Do you agree with cutting off federal funds for these vital programs, Mr. Amodei?
— Trump’s DOGE access to the Treasury Payment System. Some experts are calling this DOGE action the largest digital data breach in U.S. history, with millions of Americans’ social security numbers, Medicare health histories, bank account numbers, and financial records having potentially been exposed. There are doubts now about the system’s vulnerability to future hacking attempts.
Do you condone this activity, Mr. Amodei?
— Trump’s order ending Birthright Citizenship, in contravention of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, nominated to the bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, said in blocking Trump’s order that “it has become ever more apparent that, to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals. The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for his political or personal gain. Nevertheless, in this courtroom and under my watch, the rule of law is a bright beacon which I intend to follow.”
Judge Coughenour went on to say: “I said this two weeks ago, and I’ll say it again today: There are moments in the world’s history when people look back and ask, ‘Where were the lawyers, where were the judges?’ In these moments, the rule of law becomes especially vulnerable. I refuse to let that beacon go dark today.”
Gee, Mr. Amodei, it doesn’t sound like this federal judge agrees with your opinion that Trump’s orders are being “executed within the framework of democracy.” Phrases such as “blatantly unconstitutional”, “moments in world history…the rule of law becomes especially vulnerable”, “where were the lawyers?”, “the rule of law is something for [Trump] … to navigate around or ignore”… these phrases do not comport with the idea of Trump “execut[ing] within the framework of democracy.”
Mr. Amodei, I suggest you start thinking for yourself and stop simply parroting GOP talking points. Our democracy and our Constitution are under attack from a lawless president. I recommend you think more deeply about your oath to support and defend the Constitution, and about your future place in history.
I note that you have a law degree and have practiced law for over 20 years prior to becoming a congressman. It seems that Judge Coughenour’s words apply directly to you, Mr. Amodei: “There are moments in the world’s history when people look back and ask ‘Where were the lawyers, where were the judges?”
Where will you be when history looks back on you, Counselor?
Lastly, how about a town hall meeting in your district, Counselor? I went to the “Meet Mark” link on your website, and all I found was your bio and portrait, and list of committees. How about a meeting with your constituents?
Yes, please do thank them. I do not claim the senators from texas as mine, but I live in texas so I plan to adapt and write them these words by US mail. I don’t expect that anything will change. I have sent a boatload of emails to them both, but have never received anything in return. I have also called them. I intend to hound them repeatedly. It is what we all must do.
Keep Trying. If senators from Texas begin to fear for our Constitution, maybe some other Red States will start to turn. Cornyn, at least, seems cut from better cloth than Cruz.
The amount of money being wasted, and that will need to be spent to rebuild the US once the fascists are done with it, or we are done with the fascists, is going to be. phenomenal. I am hoping everyone understands that they will be living in a third world country by many definitions and that may not change.
Yep. But does this fact not indicate that this now blatant DC political corruption has been slowly burning away at our social foundations for decades, replacing those with vision and courage with those who enact cowardice and ignorance in every quarter ? We now live in a historical moment of chaos wherein chance and choice are all that can guide the individual.
These letters are helpful in laying out a case. But Representatives DO NOT CARE. Your message must be short, focused, and repeated again and again. Get everyone you know to CALL (not write) your so-called "representative" and say "I demand that Congress stops the illegal Musk coup. Musk has highjacked the job of Congress - make laws, allocate budgets, and provide oversight. AND he has stolen OUR personal data. Why are they letting Elon take their job, OUR data, and OUR money? I demand you "represent" me, work together, and stop the coup - this week." Call every office and repeat and repeat. They count calls and they track subject matter. Keep it simple but call often.
Joyce, I must respectfully say you are nuts. I think there are better ways to go about enforcing court orders upon the Trump Administration. Please read my post:
Kathleen, I must respectfully say that your calling Joyce "nuts" is disrespectful and turns me off totally to even looking at your substack post. Think about it.
An unarmed posse? That's your "better way" to enforce court orders? Ushering the law-breakers politely out of the building?? And then what? I must respectfully say you are nuts, Kathleen. Try that just once, and henceforth the Muskovites will be surrounded by loyal armed guards so that the next time your posse tries to act, they will be shot on sight. We are headed for civil war, that much is clear. Your unarmed posse is a joke. Respectfully.
In my experience one-on-one trying over many months to explain via numbers, facts, and examples why Trump is dangerous, the MAGA-infected former friend turned every time to right-wing talking points, the only thing he trusts. This is a well-reasoned argument, but these people are armored against logic and truth. It won't do any good. But it's a noble effort.
Thank you. I live in Florida and like many others, I will adapt to this letter and send it out. I’ve called, I’ve written to our reps and Senators, I’ve posted letters to the Editor. I will not ease up. We must continue to let all our reps and Senators know what we think of this egregious affront on our Constitution, our democracy, our way of life for over 245 plus years.
Lynda - I have thanked him! I have mentioned before here that I am waiting until 1 May, the 101 day point, to assess where we are as a nation. I feel that we need a few Rs to switch to D or I in the House and the Senate and take the majorities away from the Christofascists. Letters like this might lead a few to switch.
Thank you for sharing this, but it is now beyond clear that appeals such as this to reason and logic are a waste of everybody's time. Sorry! And that doesn't leave may constructive options for dealing with these people.
John - Don’t give up that quickly! I have mentioned before here that I am waiting until 1 May, the 101 day point, to assess where we are as a nation. I feel that we need a few Rs to switch to D or I in the House and the Senate and take the majorities away from the Christofascists. Letters like this might lead a few to switch.
As time goes by many RShits are going to be bombarded by their constituents as they find they have no place to sell their peanuts, wheat, etc; inflation is going up, not down; cars now cost 1,000s more; etc, etc, etc.
Remember the “I did this” Joe Biden stickers that MAGIDIOTS were putting on gas pumps? I have friends starting to see those stickers with Orange Hitler pointing at egg prices.
Calls are just fine and probably as potent as any long written letter -- but both serve an important purpose as proof positive that "we the people" (who pay the taxes) have our legislators' backs. It's important. They have to have our support and it has to be manifest -- undeniable. Countable calls, letters that can be exhibited.
Nothing will happen immediately. That's not the point. It's a longer game. The Republicans have known that for a long, long time -- it's time Liberals/Progressives/Democrats dug deep for the same kind of commitment and discipline over a long time that the opposition has already demonstrated -- to our sorrow.
Originalism is just an excuse to do what they want, which is for us to live in a patriarchal society controlled by wealthy white men who profess to be Christian but don’t actually behave anything like Christians.
Originalism is a Ouija board game where the spectral hand of 'Founders Intent' always points to Federalist Society cant. Textualism is the lie that dictionaries fix meaning for all time, when in fact they trace the flux of meaning through social space.
Originalism isn't even a coherent theory of legal analysis. Whose original intent? Those who wrote the constitution? Which of them? Suppose they didn't all agree? Or those who ratified the Constitution? (Myriad state legislators in thirteen former colonies.) The man on the street? (Women weren't voters or political participants then.) And how would anybody figure out what they thought a particular phrase of the Constitution meant?
Not to mention the fact that "original intent" is ignored when considered not helpful. For example, in giving Trump immunity from criminal law, the original intent of the framers was entirely ignored by the Supreme Court majority.
The right-wing justices decide how they want things to come out -- favoring Trump's power and authority and immunity for his crimes -- then invent a rationale. This certainly isn't neutral decision-making. They're not really a court.
The "original intent" --- to hear Madison, the "Father of the Constitution" speak through his letters and other documents --- was that the framers' intent not be considered --- emphasizing the importance of the people's interpretation over the framers' secret deliberations.
Just as I was thinking the “conservatives” claim to hold the constitution and Christianity as their guiding principles but show by their actions that they actually despise the moral character that both hold to the highest standards.
Exactly. And it's always the Holy Rollers at the helm - Cotton, JDV, Mike Johnson, et al, Pharisees who have forgotten Matthew 6, let alone the 9th Commandment...
Now do you see the necessity for the separation of church and state? Religion is a sham in every respect, not just in the context of politics. That is the founding principle of democratic sovereignty because kings and priests consider themselves gods. And gods are imaginary.
It actually feels like slavery. We are owned and ruled by rich white men. They want to control everything about us including religion, education, reproduction, income, healthcare, legal recourse, birthright, etc. The list goes on.
After child bearing age women are nothing except to raise the grandchildren. Elon Musk – send the childless people to me and I will give them a child. These guys are a bunch of perverts. And I’m totally shocked that women don’t see through that and rise up loudly like we used to.
And especially bad when the justices apply it only when it suits them. A more corrupt Supreme Court is beyond my imagination - but wait, are any of them thinking of retiring? I may have to revisit that thought.
People need to pay more attention to the inroads Christian Nationalism has made. I’ve been following this for years and this election has put people in place to embed it even deeper into the system. And make no mistake about it, the Unitary Executive is all about patriarchy. Bill Barr was all for it. TCF is just their useful idiot, but JDV (the recent “Catholic:”) is ready and willing.
My friends often wonder why I roll my eyes whenever they send me ‘Sound of Music’ references. They tell me - “it’s such a great movie! You’re famous!”
What they don’t get is that the true story is a far cry from the lighthearted musical, in which my father's family escapes the Nazis by hiding in a convent and then climbing over the mountain into Switzerland.
In reality, they put on their hiking clothes and caught the last train to Italy before the borders closed for a proposed “hiking holiday”. They were very, very lucky to have Italian passports - as my grandfather, Georg, was born in Zadar - then a part Italy, making them Italian citizens.
They spent some time in the Netherlands before sailing on the American Farmer out of Southampton for the U.S., with a sponsor and a singing contract for a U.S. tour. They had very little money.
Real Nazis were not bumbling fools who could be outsmarted by some clever nuns. They we’re dangerous killers. My family was lucky to get out alive.
Have you ever been to Dachau, a town near Munich that was the location of a Nazi concentration camp during the time of the holocaust? I have. It’s easily accessible by train and bus. The camp, now a museum, sits right on the edge of a residential community. Only a fence separates it from a street with homes on it. Before I went there, I thought it must be all by itself, way out in the country.
Inside the compound, the camp is eerily quiet. There are no signs of life. No birdsong. The camp was built to house 6,000 people. By the time it was liberated by U.S. soldiers at the end of WWII, there were 60K people being housed there in squalid conditions. It was a work camp, not a death camp like Auschwitz. But it still had a gas chamber used to kill those who were too weak to work or who had committed some violation, or simply to make room for more prisoners.
When you walk around Dachau and imagine all the atrocities that took place there and the proximity of the neighborhoods outside the walls, it is impossible to believe that the residents of Dachau did not know what was happening there - despite what the records say. From second floor rooms, you could have seen over the wall. When the crematorium was operating, you could smell the burning flesh. How could they NOT know? They were either in denial or lived in fear for their own lives.
Don’t be mistaken to think the Nazis were only after Jews. Inmates included homosexuals, Catholics, Roma gypsies, anyone who did not fit the ideal of the Aryan race, as well as intellectuals who dared question the motivation of the Nazis. Physically and mentally disabled people were rounded up and sent to the death camps, as they could not be of service at places like Dachau.*
While walking through the museum and reading all the stories, I realized that Dachau’s proximity to Salzburg made it the location my family would have been shipped to if they had not left on that train to Italy. Make no mistake, they would have been arrested - my grandfather for refusing a position to oversee a Nazi submarine base in the Adriatic, my father for declining an offer to run a department in one of Vienna’s main hospitals, and the family for refusing an invitation to sing at Hitler’s birthday. As my grandmother Maria wrote in her book, quoting my grandfather, “One does not say no three times to Hitler.”
If they had gone to Dachau, would they have been among the survivors when it was liberated in 1945? Doubtful, as they left in 1938. There would have been no musical career, no Sound of Music, and certainly no me.
If you think this can’t happen again and, in the USA, think again. There are clear indicators that recent actions taken by Trump and Elon Musk mirror those of Adolf Hitler when he took over Germany.
Musk’s comments and actions demonstrate that he supports the far right - as evidenced by his Nazi salute and also his investment and promotion of Germany’s far-right AfD party. He seems to believe that as the richest man in the world, he is above the rule of law and the US constitution.
And then there is yesterday’s news that Marco Rubio and Donald Trump are considering El Salvador’s offer to house not only deportees, but U.S. citizens convicted of crimes in its new detention camp built to hold 40K inmates.
Please don’t turn a blind eye to what’s happening right over that wall by writing this off as “posturing”. If you voted for Trump because you didn’t agree with the policies of the Harris Administration, or you were concerned about rising food prices, or the fentanyl crisis, or abortion laws, or immigration, or DEI initiatives, or gay marriage and transgender rights; or that you believed him when he said he wasn’t affiliated with Project 25, or whatever he did that convinced you to vote for him, it’s not too late for you to help stop what’s going on. Because it's wrong and our democracy IS at stake. The Democrats in Congress are already mobilizing. Please, please contact your Republican Congresspeople and get them to mobilize too.
Post Script: I just changed the status of this post to Public - so feel free to share this with your followers if you so choose! Thanks for reading.
*Just added a correction above: the mentally ill and disabled were not actually sent to Dachau, a work camp. They were sent to death camps.
Thank you, Kay. This is a wonderful writing, in so many ways.
I would add: please read and circulate Timothy Snyder's "Of Course It's a Coup," which lays out the facts for anyone who doesn't recognize it; and
When writing to your Congress-people, write not only to their Washington office, but also to the one or ones within your state. For the reps to feel that they're being "swamped" with mail, they have to add numbers of letters or cards received from their district office(s). Hopefully there will be so many that they won't have time to see that Your Name wrote to all these different spots, but will only count the communications.
Thank you Francois for your post. I agree. People had to know and did turn a blind eye. That is happening here in spades. We have had it easy in the United States, never been invaded and thus
insulated, making us dull to-the obvious threats. Everyone I know is depressed and exhausted, but ready to do whatever is needed. After all, that is how our nation was founded.
Thank you. We need to read the reality of the past that resulted in the murder of millions of innocent human beings & unimaginable trauma to those who survived. We need to understand how it begins & how swiftly & intractably it can transform our freedoms & lives.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I was going to write the same message about knowing that it is happening, the beginning of it, again, in front of our eyes. I wish we could communicate more. I am a theoretical physicist of some renown, please google me if you care about what we are all made of and how it all functions.
Meanwhile, one comment. I am deeply troubled by the expression mentally handicapped. So many so-called mentally ill or insane people are brilliant, great minds, tortured throughout history, especially by autocratic regimes or dictatorships, for being different and more original. In the death camps they tortured them beyond belief, practiced lobotomy on them, that would become a fashion in the US in the 50s. The post-war psychiatry borrowed so much from the death camps techniques, with so many nazi doctors escaping to both Americas. The mentally ill (I hate the expression, so many are not ill at all) - we talk here of arguably the most persecuted social group in the history of our planet.
Best regards, Goran Senjanovic
PS I will now cite you in my comment for the importance of your message and the brilliance in expressing it. It means a lot to me.
I have visited both Dachau & Auschwitz I/II. For the longest time I could never understand how people could allow Hitler & the Nazi Reich to come to power, let alone commit those atrocious acts upon other humans. I now understand the how. What I still don't understand is why, with all the history & information at our fingertips, that we would allow it to happen again.
I visited the Dachau Museum in 1986. It was as you (Francoise von Trapp) have described. Frighteningly quiet, no songbirds and hardly a person spoke above a whisper. The huge boards hanging from the ceilings display life-sized photos that shockingly depict the depravity of Nazis.
At age 25, I was part of a large tour group from the US and this visit was scheduled on our last full day in Europe. All of us were still quiet on the 10-hour flight home. It was terrifying and yet, so very necessary to experience. NEVER AGAIN!
I'm not Jewish, but I have German, French, English, Irish, and Native American blood in me in that order. It was a terrible burden at that time for me to think if my ancestors had not immigrated to the US, I might have been a Nazi. Shakes me to my core still.
This is an appreciated letter written by a woman whose family came close to being perished at the hands of the Nazis. Both of my parents were Holocaust victims from Germany and Poland. My mother lost her parents to being gassed at the camp known as Chelmno in 1942. She left Germany and arrived in America in 1939. Had she and her siblings stayed, they too would have met the same fate. My father’s family, some of them, were shot in the oil fields in Poland. Please thank Francoise for me.
Thank you so much for sharing this. It's so pertinent to this moment, too eerily similar to what is manifesting in these so-called United States of America.
I was wondering if there is a webpage that could be shared of this writing by Francoise von Trapp, or if it would be alright to share it as a note or restack?
I would be more encouraged by Senator Kaine’s words if he had not voted to confirm Noem, Rubio and the Secretary of the Treasury who gave Musk access to all of our data. The Senate Dems could have used the parliamentary tactics available to them to delay confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet and at least slow the Administration’s momentum. They didn’t even bother. And they voted for some of them. Talk is cheap. We need to see action.
Agreed. There was absolutely no reason for any Democrat to vote for any of the nominees. A complete boycott - refusing to vote at all - was called for. We do not capitulate to fascists and Nazi sympathizers. We stop them. We go to war against them.
Yep. Dems can trash Pelosi all they want (for any number of reasons), but she always held her caucus together, and would've NEVER allowed for those affirmative votes!
Part of it was that they were all under pressure from the Black Caucus, for an historic milestone in leadership. Not that I disagree with the sentiment or his qualifications, but I thought we needed a more proactive and forceful presence to handle trump and his republican cowards. That said, I'm not sure who might have been better in the position. 🫤
Hopehappens, I completely agree. Dems in Congress must not be participants in the advancement of the Project 2025 agenda. As I told.the staff of my 2 senators, do not cooperate. Colloquy and collegiality must stop until the ongoing coup is thwarted. Use whatever rules available to that end.
Keep calling your Members of Congress. Call their offices in your state if you can't get through to their DC offices. Call your state elected officials to demand they keep their residents protected from the Trump-Musk's coup.
Two narcissistic wannabe dictators want to dismantle our government and restrict the rights of the many to enrich the few. While betraying our country, they want to steal our money and endanger our safety, security, and privacy.
Fortunately, as Joyce says, we have power to delay, obstruct, and stop this coup. Use your voice.
Outstanding legal analysis and scary as hell. But I’m in it. at 78, I’m not going down without a fight. But I saw another comment in a different place that suggested that the young people, when you think about it haven’t really known much else in the way of how our country works. And they sure don’t learn it in school I guess. So I guess we can’t rely on them to save themselves.
Hey, Pam- You’re right that all those young people born since Reagan was elected have known nothing but the dominance of neoliberal capitalism and its funneling of wealth to the top of the heap. But, I’d like to point out that it is not true that they aren’t doing the work to save our democracy and the freedoms, families, and futures of all of us. They aren’t joining our organizations. They’re building their own. Check out JoltTexas.org, MoveTexas.org, GetFree.org, SunriseMovement.org. They’re in it to win it for all of us. Let’s support and affirm them.
Whoa, from one texan to another, thank you for sharing this list. Jolttexas.org and getfreefree.org did not work but I will research it further when I am on my computer.
I couldn’t agree more, but I want them to be louder and more forceful. They were a great force during the gun control debates after many of them were killed in schools. But I liked that they included David Hogg on the list of shadow government suggestions.
Pam Birkenfeld, President Musk posted "impeach' the federal Judges who ruled against Trump:
Ummm... there are 12 of them & more very soon.
1. Judicial Conference (not going to happen)
2. House of Representatives on ultra thin majority (very unlikely)
3. Trial in the Senate ... oops ... 12 Trials. So let me get this straight, 12 federal Judges give the Nation a tutorial on the Evidence, sorry, on the ADMISSIBLE evidence. (No way)
That's too pessimistic for me -- young people will take up the torch to defend our democracy, just as a surprise young people's movement sprang up and ignored the two-party consensus and protested against genocide in Gaza.
Michael, I find it is good that our young citizens have not experienced this. I do believe however, they are quickly learning the how/why of democracy! Our adult kids are livid and ready to do anything…..
Yeah, protest votes and staying home were real helpful in saving our democracy. 🙄 Sorry, but I'm just not there with y'all on that one. If they'd have seen the writing on the wall during Obama's first term, and started showing up for the cause in 2010, I'd be more inclined to trust their judgement.
“We are on the edge of a dark precipice where the rule of law doesn't exist, at least at the federal level. I mean we're talking about Psychopaths here, we're talking about sociopaths here, we're talking about people with no morals no conscience no nothing. Why are they going to obey a court order? And that to me is the scariest aspect of all this. Where’s the stopping point? It’s hard not to reach the conclusion that there is none”
You watched the same YouTube video as I did. Conway's words chilled me to the core. And I have insufficient imagination to envision how to react if the country spins out of control.
Believe me when I say, I most certainly feel you Ranulf. In the meantime I am remaining connected and engaged with the truth and the community of the like minded. I will not give in to fear while I look for ways to navigate this shit show.
Three weeks into rule by two fascist strongmen, the formula has been simple albeit brutal: bullying ... relentless bullying – illegal, unconstitutional, amoral. Trump and Musk are An American Nightmare.
I see an arrogant smug jack*** that really doesn't know anything about the world, people, employees, how his adopted country's government works. He and his kiddie-crew have only gotten this far because they bullied the governmental employees in those agencies. How chilling to be there and need backup and you realize no one can help you fend them off - you get canned and maybe they screw up that person's last paycheck (if they even give them one). Musk, at some point, has had some kind of reassurance that whatever he wanted to do was fine and trump would see that he wouldn't be arrested or suffer any penalty from the government. They always enlarge and exploit whatever fine cracks and leaks there are in our systems. This is one of them - allowing one party to have unfettered control over the entire U.S. government. What did we think they'd do with it? Especially when trump announced as he was running, the outrageous, anti-democratic things he was going to do - get rid of the Dept of Education, etc. And yet, here we are.
And for anyone who thinks the Supreme Court's MAGA Six writ large aren't complicit in the brazen criminality of Musk and Trump (and are sure to formally endorse it in the future), ProPublica posted an article Friday titled "The Elite Lawyers Working for Elon Musk's DOGE Include Former Supreme Court Clerks" by Justin Elliott, Ari Asher-Schapiro and Andy Kroll. Here's how the article begins:
As members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have fanned out across the government in recent days, attention has focused on the young Silicon Valley engineers who are wielding immense power in the new administration.
But ProPublica has identified three lawyers with elite establishment credentials who have also joined the DOGE effort.
Two are former Supreme Court clerks — one clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts, another for Justice Neil Gorsuch — and the third has been selected to be a Gorsuch clerk for the 2025-2026 term. Two of the lawyers’ names have not been previously reported as working for DOGE.
All three — Keenan Kmiec, James Burnham and Jacob Altik — have DOGE email addresses at the Executive Office of the President, according to records reviewed by ProPublica.
Altik was recently an attorney at the firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, but his bio page is now offline. Neither the White House nor any of the three lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment about their roles.
Thank you for such great information. That's really scary. So, Roberts potentially wouldn't be a swing vote against in this crisis and we'd have a 5 to 4 in favor of trump. Good to know - and so shocking. Why do they want to shred the government? Wouldn't SCOTUS understand that they won't be needed if agencies and congress go away? That trump is the unitary executive?
Yep, we can count on the solid MAGA Six to let Trump and, by extension, Musk get away with anything they want. Remember how Roberts voted last July in Trump v. United States (or, for that matter, in Citizens United v. FEC)? He's no friend of the rule of law for the obscenely wealthy. He's perfectly comfortable with autocracy. But unlike, say, the scowling duo of Thomas and Alito, he does it with a smile (or, at least, a very big smirk).
THE NAZIS HAD A WORD FOR THIS: GLEICHSCHALTUNG. Literally meaning "coordination" or "synchronization," it meant that every aspect of life in Nazi Germany should be synchronized with Nazi ideology and policy.
That is what the Trump/Musk regime is reaching toward, eliminating all centers of power and authority but Trump personally and Musk as (perhaps) his agent, and intimidating all sources of information or education that don't conform to the new ideology.
So of course, in the MAGA GOP's total fealty to Trusk, they are outraged that the judicial branch should exercise any independent judgment as to the legality of the Trusk attempt to dismantle and destroy our government.
Of course, even if most voters had agreed that Trump should eliminate or cripple most government agencies -- which he did not promise to do -- that would not give him the legal right to do that without Congressional assent and without conforming to the Constitution.
Musk twice gave Trump a fascist salute, with cheers from the MAGA crowd at the inauguration. If, at the next State of the Union, Trump demanded that all Congresspeople and Senators gave the same salute, say, as a "sign of respect" for the presidency, can anyone doubt that every Republican representative and Senator would do so? Sig Heil, Mein Fuhrer. Or il Duce.
I have a couple of problems with our republican senators and congressional reps (1) all standing by and watching - aiding and abetting - by their willing passivity. I especially love that our Florida Senator remarked in a recent NOTUS.com article that it didn't look like Congress was doing its job, when asked by the reporter wasn't it Congress's job to approve funds and oversee governmental agencies. So, if elon musk wants to save some easy money - there's some republican senators and congressional reps, and their staff that apparently have nothing at all to do except to smugly watch and gloat over this assault to our country.
(2) Their calling this coup by various euphemisms, as if they think their constituents are too stupid to see the cocktail napkin they're holding up isn't covering the elephant we can all see. They aren't innocent bystanders. They all ought to be interviewed frequently on camera and it gets broadcast on the nightly news so everyone can see and hear their lying. Another pillar of resistance- incessant calling out in public, individually, and shown on national media and radio.
As you noted, Prof. Vance, despite a TRO, funds across the government remain largely "sequestered", and who among this present government are about to side with the courts? Elno and his minions have virtually grabbed all the data they were ordered to stop harvesting, and with NO FBI or other law enforcement agencies actually on site to prevent the looting of OUR personal data, and with the Congress in GOPer hands, NOTHING is curtailing this nonstop assault on OUR Constitution.
tRump has already proven that indeed he IS above the law, and shows no indication of ceasing his criming, has he?
Clearly, what we are watching is what Bannon aspired to last time around - the total annihilation of the US government. He should have been tried for treason. And, so should all those who are doing what we've expected all along - enabling Trump to diminish the government to one, single, point of power, all in his hands. What even he isn't smart enough to see is that Elon Musk has even higher and bigger sites for his own power position. With him, it will be winner take all. And, JD Vance is enabling it by cutting Congress to shreds, along with the Justice Department, which he said today no one needs to listen to. I wonder if he's including the Supreme Court in that, or does he plan to use them, like Trump, for his/their own purposes when it suits them? Either way, the common man hasn't got a chance against the lot of traitors. I loathe that I'm feeling nihilistic, but the only way out of this is for every lawyer in the country taking a case against all the wrong-doers so they're so flooded with defense activities that they can't move an inch in any direction.
Reminds me of the typical legal stance of local jurisdictions in domestic abuse/threats cases. They can't do anything unless/until someone is harmed or dead. 🫤
If I read you correctly, Joyce, if Trump and the Executive Branch decide to ignore a possible judicial ruling against them, we are looking at a full blown unprecedented constitutional crisis with unknown outcomes. Is that correct?
A friend wrote this letter to his Nevada rep and gave me permission to post it for others to adapt:
Dear Representative Amodei,
In your email to constituents dated February 7th,”The Amodei Report: Roundup of Presidential Actions”, you stated that “while some of [President Trump’s executive] actions may be controversial, it is important to note that they have all been executed within the framework of democracy.”
I beg to differ, Sir! Federal judges of the United States disagree with you, vehemently!
In less than 3 weeks on the job, President Trump’s administration has been sued over his executive orders in court 41 separate times. This is a record for any president in our history. A running record of these lawsuits can be found at Just Security’s online litigation tracker, here: https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/
In addition to the large number of lawsuits, several restraining orders have already been issued against Trump’s actions by federal judges, including a judge appointed by Trump himself. These include restraining orders against:
--- Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze, cutting off funding for Head Start, school meal programs, access to SNAP and WIC program benefits, and halting critical medical research.
Do you agree with cutting off federal funds for these vital programs, Mr. Amodei?
— Trump’s DOGE access to the Treasury Payment System. Some experts are calling this DOGE action the largest digital data breach in U.S. history, with millions of Americans’ social security numbers, Medicare health histories, bank account numbers, and financial records having potentially been exposed. There are doubts now about the system’s vulnerability to future hacking attempts.
Do you condone this activity, Mr. Amodei?
— Trump’s order ending Birthright Citizenship, in contravention of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, nominated to the bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, said in blocking Trump’s order that “it has become ever more apparent that, to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals. The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for his political or personal gain. Nevertheless, in this courtroom and under my watch, the rule of law is a bright beacon which I intend to follow.”
Judge Coughenour went on to say: “I said this two weeks ago, and I’ll say it again today: There are moments in the world’s history when people look back and ask, ‘Where were the lawyers, where were the judges?’ In these moments, the rule of law becomes especially vulnerable. I refuse to let that beacon go dark today.”
Gee, Mr. Amodei, it doesn’t sound like this federal judge agrees with your opinion that Trump’s orders are being “executed within the framework of democracy.” Phrases such as “blatantly unconstitutional”, “moments in world history…the rule of law becomes especially vulnerable”, “where were the lawyers?”, “the rule of law is something for [Trump] … to navigate around or ignore”… these phrases do not comport with the idea of Trump “execut[ing] within the framework of democracy.”
Mr. Amodei, I suggest you start thinking for yourself and stop simply parroting GOP talking points. Our democracy and our Constitution are under attack from a lawless president. I recommend you think more deeply about your oath to support and defend the Constitution, and about your future place in history.
I note that you have a law degree and have practiced law for over 20 years prior to becoming a congressman. It seems that Judge Coughenour’s words apply directly to you, Mr. Amodei: “There are moments in the world’s history when people look back and ask ‘Where were the lawyers, where were the judges?”
Where will you be when history looks back on you, Counselor?
Lastly, how about a town hall meeting in your district, Counselor? I went to the “Meet Mark” link on your website, and all I found was your bio and portrait, and list of committees. How about a meeting with your constituents?
Sincerely,
Your Constituent
Reno, NV
Yes, please do thank them. I do not claim the senators from texas as mine, but I live in texas so I plan to adapt and write them these words by US mail. I don’t expect that anything will change. I have sent a boatload of emails to them both, but have never received anything in return. I have also called them. I intend to hound them repeatedly. It is what we all must do.
Keep Trying. If senators from Texas begin to fear for our Constitution, maybe some other Red States will start to turn. Cornyn, at least, seems cut from better cloth than Cruz.
Please thank your friend for sharing this template!
To quote Jim Morrison of The Doors; “This is the end. The end my friend, the end.”
The only salvation which was not salvation, was for the good generals to have intervened but that time has passed.
The amount of money being wasted, and that will need to be spent to rebuild the US once the fascists are done with it, or we are done with the fascists, is going to be. phenomenal. I am hoping everyone understands that they will be living in a third world country by many definitions and that may not change.
It's ghastly, and the fault of the orange sadist & his disgusting cronies.
Yep. But does this fact not indicate that this now blatant DC political corruption has been slowly burning away at our social foundations for decades, replacing those with vision and courage with those who enact cowardice and ignorance in every quarter ? We now live in a historical moment of chaos wherein chance and choice are all that can guide the individual.
Done! He’s hoping it gets published in the Reno paper.
It certainly should be!
I'm planning on paraphrasing this excellent letter here in Arizona. Thanks.
GREAT! We need Red States to start thinking about the long term, not just pandering to Trump in the short term.
These letters are helpful in laying out a case. But Representatives DO NOT CARE. Your message must be short, focused, and repeated again and again. Get everyone you know to CALL (not write) your so-called "representative" and say "I demand that Congress stops the illegal Musk coup. Musk has highjacked the job of Congress - make laws, allocate budgets, and provide oversight. AND he has stolen OUR personal data. Why are they letting Elon take their job, OUR data, and OUR money? I demand you "represent" me, work together, and stop the coup - this week." Call every office and repeat and repeat. They count calls and they track subject matter. Keep it simple but call often.
Joyce, I must respectfully say you are nuts. I think there are better ways to go about enforcing court orders upon the Trump Administration. Please read my post:
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/joyce-and-george-go-nuts
Kathleen, I must respectfully say that your calling Joyce "nuts" is disrespectful and turns me off totally to even looking at your substack post. Think about it.
My thoughts exactly. The name of the newsletter is Civil Discourse. At least try to be civil and not call Joyce Vance nuts.
Agree
Agreed. You can agree to disagree.
Maybe you missed something important.
Bad way to start your point. Many of us, myself included, have or will refuse to open your substack piece.
See if you can engage us if you actually have something of value to share.
Insulting Joyce Vance isn't going to invite us in.
Kathleen, Your substack response bears consideration. However, your characterization of Joyce as nuts is ..... nuts.
Namecalling is not accepted here. There's no 'respectful' way to say someone is nuts.
An unarmed posse? That's your "better way" to enforce court orders? Ushering the law-breakers politely out of the building?? And then what? I must respectfully say you are nuts, Kathleen. Try that just once, and henceforth the Muskovites will be surrounded by loyal armed guards so that the next time your posse tries to act, they will be shot on sight. We are headed for civil war, that much is clear. Your unarmed posse is a joke. Respectfully.
Well, it seems clear that you are headed for civil war, the sooner the better. I'd like to try the joke first.
In my experience one-on-one trying over many months to explain via numbers, facts, and examples why Trump is dangerous, the MAGA-infected former friend turned every time to right-wing talking points, the only thing he trusts. This is a well-reasoned argument, but these people are armored against logic and truth. It won't do any good. But it's a noble effort.
Awesome letter!
Superb! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you. I live in Florida and like many others, I will adapt to this letter and send it out. I’ve called, I’ve written to our reps and Senators, I’ve posted letters to the Editor. I will not ease up. We must continue to let all our reps and Senators know what we think of this egregious affront on our Constitution, our democracy, our way of life for over 245 plus years.
Thank you to your friend. I have amended and plan to send to my representative and likely my senators as well. Thank you!
Lynda - I have thanked him! I have mentioned before here that I am waiting until 1 May, the 101 day point, to assess where we are as a nation. I feel that we need a few Rs to switch to D or I in the House and the Senate and take the majorities away from the Christofascists. Letters like this might lead a few to switch.
Thanks I just edited it and sent it to my local paperʻs Letters to the Editor email.
Thank you for sharing this, but it is now beyond clear that appeals such as this to reason and logic are a waste of everybody's time. Sorry! And that doesn't leave may constructive options for dealing with these people.
John - Don’t give up that quickly! I have mentioned before here that I am waiting until 1 May, the 101 day point, to assess where we are as a nation. I feel that we need a few Rs to switch to D or I in the House and the Senate and take the majorities away from the Christofascists. Letters like this might lead a few to switch.
As time goes by many RShits are going to be bombarded by their constituents as they find they have no place to sell their peanuts, wheat, etc; inflation is going up, not down; cars now cost 1,000s more; etc, etc, etc.
Remember the “I did this” Joe Biden stickers that MAGIDIOTS were putting on gas pumps? I have friends starting to see those stickers with Orange Hitler pointing at egg prices.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Calls are just fine and probably as potent as any long written letter -- but both serve an important purpose as proof positive that "we the people" (who pay the taxes) have our legislators' backs. It's important. They have to have our support and it has to be manifest -- undeniable. Countable calls, letters that can be exhibited.
Nothing will happen immediately. That's not the point. It's a longer game. The Republicans have known that for a long, long time -- it's time Liberals/Progressives/Democrats dug deep for the same kind of commitment and discipline over a long time that the opposition has already demonstrated -- to our sorrow.
Originalism is just an excuse to do what they want, which is for us to live in a patriarchal society controlled by wealthy white men who profess to be Christian but don’t actually behave anything like Christians.
Yup
Originalism is a Ouija board game where the spectral hand of 'Founders Intent' always points to Federalist Society cant. Textualism is the lie that dictionaries fix meaning for all time, when in fact they trace the flux of meaning through social space.
A new EO today banning Native Anericans from voting!??!?!?!?
I wonder if he's stil PO'd about the 29 Palms Band of Mission Indians in CA messing with him.
Heres an article. Lot's od history revealed.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/trump-29-spotlight-coachella-casino-deal-15882460.php
Originalism isn't even a coherent theory of legal analysis. Whose original intent? Those who wrote the constitution? Which of them? Suppose they didn't all agree? Or those who ratified the Constitution? (Myriad state legislators in thirteen former colonies.) The man on the street? (Women weren't voters or political participants then.) And how would anybody figure out what they thought a particular phrase of the Constitution meant?
Not to mention the fact that "original intent" is ignored when considered not helpful. For example, in giving Trump immunity from criminal law, the original intent of the framers was entirely ignored by the Supreme Court majority.
The right-wing justices decide how they want things to come out -- favoring Trump's power and authority and immunity for his crimes -- then invent a rationale. This certainly isn't neutral decision-making. They're not really a court.
Originalism? The Constitution has been amended 27 times. What’s original?
The "original intent" --- to hear Madison, the "Father of the Constitution" speak through his letters and other documents --- was that the framers' intent not be considered --- emphasizing the importance of the people's interpretation over the framers' secret deliberations.
Just as I was thinking the “conservatives” claim to hold the constitution and Christianity as their guiding principles but show by their actions that they actually despise the moral character that both hold to the highest standards.
Exactly. And it's always the Holy Rollers at the helm - Cotton, JDV, Mike Johnson, et al, Pharisees who have forgotten Matthew 6, let alone the 9th Commandment...
Now do you see the necessity for the separation of church and state? Religion is a sham in every respect, not just in the context of politics. That is the founding principle of democratic sovereignty because kings and priests consider themselves gods. And gods are imaginary.
OR the Sermon on the Mount.
Especially the Beatitudes.
It actually feels like slavery. We are owned and ruled by rich white men. They want to control everything about us including religion, education, reproduction, income, healthcare, legal recourse, birthright, etc. The list goes on.
Margaret Atwood- Handmaiden‘s Tale
After child bearing age women are nothing except to raise the grandchildren. Elon Musk – send the childless people to me and I will give them a child. These guys are a bunch of perverts. And I’m totally shocked that women don’t see through that and rise up loudly like we used to.
The matrix? 😏
And especially bad when the justices apply it only when it suits them. A more corrupt Supreme Court is beyond my imagination - but wait, are any of them thinking of retiring? I may have to revisit that thought.
I don't think you'd like their replacements (ayleen cannon)
But we really should be getting more accustomed to firing crooked judges, even when their replacements are worse -
People need to pay more attention to the inroads Christian Nationalism has made. I’ve been following this for years and this election has put people in place to embed it even deeper into the system. And make no mistake about it, the Unitary Executive is all about patriarchy. Bill Barr was all for it. TCF is just their useful idiot, but JDV (the recent “Catholic:”) is ready and willing.
I wonder how Scalia would have reacted to all of this.
They see themselves as owners and everyone else as property.
Francoise von Trapp
February 6 at 8:16 PM
·
Shared with Public
My friends often wonder why I roll my eyes whenever they send me ‘Sound of Music’ references. They tell me - “it’s such a great movie! You’re famous!”
What they don’t get is that the true story is a far cry from the lighthearted musical, in which my father's family escapes the Nazis by hiding in a convent and then climbing over the mountain into Switzerland.
In reality, they put on their hiking clothes and caught the last train to Italy before the borders closed for a proposed “hiking holiday”. They were very, very lucky to have Italian passports - as my grandfather, Georg, was born in Zadar - then a part Italy, making them Italian citizens.
They spent some time in the Netherlands before sailing on the American Farmer out of Southampton for the U.S., with a sponsor and a singing contract for a U.S. tour. They had very little money.
Real Nazis were not bumbling fools who could be outsmarted by some clever nuns. They we’re dangerous killers. My family was lucky to get out alive.
Have you ever been to Dachau, a town near Munich that was the location of a Nazi concentration camp during the time of the holocaust? I have. It’s easily accessible by train and bus. The camp, now a museum, sits right on the edge of a residential community. Only a fence separates it from a street with homes on it. Before I went there, I thought it must be all by itself, way out in the country.
Inside the compound, the camp is eerily quiet. There are no signs of life. No birdsong. The camp was built to house 6,000 people. By the time it was liberated by U.S. soldiers at the end of WWII, there were 60K people being housed there in squalid conditions. It was a work camp, not a death camp like Auschwitz. But it still had a gas chamber used to kill those who were too weak to work or who had committed some violation, or simply to make room for more prisoners.
When you walk around Dachau and imagine all the atrocities that took place there and the proximity of the neighborhoods outside the walls, it is impossible to believe that the residents of Dachau did not know what was happening there - despite what the records say. From second floor rooms, you could have seen over the wall. When the crematorium was operating, you could smell the burning flesh. How could they NOT know? They were either in denial or lived in fear for their own lives.
Don’t be mistaken to think the Nazis were only after Jews. Inmates included homosexuals, Catholics, Roma gypsies, anyone who did not fit the ideal of the Aryan race, as well as intellectuals who dared question the motivation of the Nazis. Physically and mentally disabled people were rounded up and sent to the death camps, as they could not be of service at places like Dachau.*
While walking through the museum and reading all the stories, I realized that Dachau’s proximity to Salzburg made it the location my family would have been shipped to if they had not left on that train to Italy. Make no mistake, they would have been arrested - my grandfather for refusing a position to oversee a Nazi submarine base in the Adriatic, my father for declining an offer to run a department in one of Vienna’s main hospitals, and the family for refusing an invitation to sing at Hitler’s birthday. As my grandmother Maria wrote in her book, quoting my grandfather, “One does not say no three times to Hitler.”
If they had gone to Dachau, would they have been among the survivors when it was liberated in 1945? Doubtful, as they left in 1938. There would have been no musical career, no Sound of Music, and certainly no me.
If you think this can’t happen again and, in the USA, think again. There are clear indicators that recent actions taken by Trump and Elon Musk mirror those of Adolf Hitler when he took over Germany.
Musk’s comments and actions demonstrate that he supports the far right - as evidenced by his Nazi salute and also his investment and promotion of Germany’s far-right AfD party. He seems to believe that as the richest man in the world, he is above the rule of law and the US constitution.
And then there is yesterday’s news that Marco Rubio and Donald Trump are considering El Salvador’s offer to house not only deportees, but U.S. citizens convicted of crimes in its new detention camp built to hold 40K inmates.
Please don’t turn a blind eye to what’s happening right over that wall by writing this off as “posturing”. If you voted for Trump because you didn’t agree with the policies of the Harris Administration, or you were concerned about rising food prices, or the fentanyl crisis, or abortion laws, or immigration, or DEI initiatives, or gay marriage and transgender rights; or that you believed him when he said he wasn’t affiliated with Project 25, or whatever he did that convinced you to vote for him, it’s not too late for you to help stop what’s going on. Because it's wrong and our democracy IS at stake. The Democrats in Congress are already mobilizing. Please, please contact your Republican Congresspeople and get them to mobilize too.
Post Script: I just changed the status of this post to Public - so feel free to share this with your followers if you so choose! Thanks for reading.
*Just added a correction above: the mentally ill and disabled were not actually sent to Dachau, a work camp. They were sent to death camps.
Thank you, Kay. This is a wonderful writing, in so many ways.
I would add: please read and circulate Timothy Snyder's "Of Course It's a Coup," which lays out the facts for anyone who doesn't recognize it; and
When writing to your Congress-people, write not only to their Washington office, but also to the one or ones within your state. For the reps to feel that they're being "swamped" with mail, they have to add numbers of letters or cards received from their district office(s). Hopefully there will be so many that they won't have time to see that Your Name wrote to all these different spots, but will only count the communications.
Thank you Francois for your post. I agree. People had to know and did turn a blind eye. That is happening here in spades. We have had it easy in the United States, never been invaded and thus
insulated, making us dull to-the obvious threats. Everyone I know is depressed and exhausted, but ready to do whatever is needed. After all, that is how our nation was founded.
Thank you. We need to read the reality of the past that resulted in the murder of millions of innocent human beings & unimaginable trauma to those who survived. We need to understand how it begins & how swiftly & intractably it can transform our freedoms & lives.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I was going to write the same message about knowing that it is happening, the beginning of it, again, in front of our eyes. I wish we could communicate more. I am a theoretical physicist of some renown, please google me if you care about what we are all made of and how it all functions.
Meanwhile, one comment. I am deeply troubled by the expression mentally handicapped. So many so-called mentally ill or insane people are brilliant, great minds, tortured throughout history, especially by autocratic regimes or dictatorships, for being different and more original. In the death camps they tortured them beyond belief, practiced lobotomy on them, that would become a fashion in the US in the 50s. The post-war psychiatry borrowed so much from the death camps techniques, with so many nazi doctors escaping to both Americas. The mentally ill (I hate the expression, so many are not ill at all) - we talk here of arguably the most persecuted social group in the history of our planet.
Best regards, Goran Senjanovic
PS I will now cite you in my comment for the importance of your message and the brilliance in expressing it. It means a lot to me.
I have visited both Dachau & Auschwitz I/II. For the longest time I could never understand how people could allow Hitler & the Nazi Reich to come to power, let alone commit those atrocious acts upon other humans. I now understand the how. What I still don't understand is why, with all the history & information at our fingertips, that we would allow it to happen again.
Thank you for sharing this!
I visited the Dachau Museum in 1986. It was as you (Francoise von Trapp) have described. Frighteningly quiet, no songbirds and hardly a person spoke above a whisper. The huge boards hanging from the ceilings display life-sized photos that shockingly depict the depravity of Nazis.
At age 25, I was part of a large tour group from the US and this visit was scheduled on our last full day in Europe. All of us were still quiet on the 10-hour flight home. It was terrifying and yet, so very necessary to experience. NEVER AGAIN!
I'm not Jewish, but I have German, French, English, Irish, and Native American blood in me in that order. It was a terrible burden at that time for me to think if my ancestors had not immigrated to the US, I might have been a Nazi. Shakes me to my core still.
This is an appreciated letter written by a woman whose family came close to being perished at the hands of the Nazis. Both of my parents were Holocaust victims from Germany and Poland. My mother lost her parents to being gassed at the camp known as Chelmno in 1942. She left Germany and arrived in America in 1939. Had she and her siblings stayed, they too would have met the same fate. My father’s family, some of them, were shot in the oil fields in Poland. Please thank Francoise for me.
Thank you so much for sharing this. It's so pertinent to this moment, too eerily similar to what is manifesting in these so-called United States of America.
I was wondering if there is a webpage that could be shared of this writing by Francoise von Trapp, or if it would be alright to share it as a note or restack?
Thank you for sharing this. Really appreciated.
I would be more encouraged by Senator Kaine’s words if he had not voted to confirm Noem, Rubio and the Secretary of the Treasury who gave Musk access to all of our data. The Senate Dems could have used the parliamentary tactics available to them to delay confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet and at least slow the Administration’s momentum. They didn’t even bother. And they voted for some of them. Talk is cheap. We need to see action.
Agreed. There was absolutely no reason for any Democrat to vote for any of the nominees. A complete boycott - refusing to vote at all - was called for. We do not capitulate to fascists and Nazi sympathizers. We stop them. We go to war against them.
Yep. Dems can trash Pelosi all they want (for any number of reasons), but she always held her caucus together, and would've NEVER allowed for those affirmative votes!
Agreed. Why she chose Jeffries to succeed her is beyond me. He has no teeth as a so called leader.
Part of it was that they were all under pressure from the Black Caucus, for an historic milestone in leadership. Not that I disagree with the sentiment or his qualifications, but I thought we needed a more proactive and forceful presence to handle trump and his republican cowards. That said, I'm not sure who might have been better in the position. 🫤
Hopehappens, I completely agree. Dems in Congress must not be participants in the advancement of the Project 2025 agenda. As I told.the staff of my 2 senators, do not cooperate. Colloquy and collegiality must stop until the ongoing coup is thwarted. Use whatever rules available to that end.
Keep calling your Members of Congress. Call their offices in your state if you can't get through to their DC offices. Call your state elected officials to demand they keep their residents protected from the Trump-Musk's coup.
Two narcissistic wannabe dictators want to dismantle our government and restrict the rights of the many to enrich the few. While betraying our country, they want to steal our money and endanger our safety, security, and privacy.
Fortunately, as Joyce says, we have power to delay, obstruct, and stop this coup. Use your voice.
YES!!!
Thank you Joyce Vance. You keep me sane.
I take great hope from your final paragraphs. We are the people, and we will prevail. If not immediately then eventually. Thanks, Joyce!
I just hope I live to see it. It will be a very difficult next 4 years.
Outstanding legal analysis and scary as hell. But I’m in it. at 78, I’m not going down without a fight. But I saw another comment in a different place that suggested that the young people, when you think about it haven’t really known much else in the way of how our country works. And they sure don’t learn it in school I guess. So I guess we can’t rely on them to save themselves.
Hey, Pam- You’re right that all those young people born since Reagan was elected have known nothing but the dominance of neoliberal capitalism and its funneling of wealth to the top of the heap. But, I’d like to point out that it is not true that they aren’t doing the work to save our democracy and the freedoms, families, and futures of all of us. They aren’t joining our organizations. They’re building their own. Check out JoltTexas.org, MoveTexas.org, GetFree.org, SunriseMovement.org. They’re in it to win it for all of us. Let’s support and affirm them.
Whoa, from one texan to another, thank you for sharing this list. Jolttexas.org and getfreefree.org did not work but I will research it further when I am on my computer.
I couldn’t agree more, but I want them to be louder and more forceful. They were a great force during the gun control debates after many of them were killed in schools. But I liked that they included David Hogg on the list of shadow government suggestions.
Pam Birkenfeld, President Musk posted "impeach' the federal Judges who ruled against Trump:
Ummm... there are 12 of them & more very soon.
1. Judicial Conference (not going to happen)
2. House of Representatives on ultra thin majority (very unlikely)
3. Trial in the Senate ... oops ... 12 Trials. So let me get this straight, 12 federal Judges give the Nation a tutorial on the Evidence, sorry, on the ADMISSIBLE evidence. (No way)
4. Call in the Forensic Psychiatrists
That's too pessimistic for me -- young people will take up the torch to defend our democracy, just as a surprise young people's movement sprang up and ignored the two-party consensus and protested against genocide in Gaza.
Michael, I find it is good that our young citizens have not experienced this. I do believe however, they are quickly learning the how/why of democracy! Our adult kids are livid and ready to do anything…..
Yeah, protest votes and staying home were real helpful in saving our democracy. 🙄 Sorry, but I'm just not there with y'all on that one. If they'd have seen the writing on the wall during Obama's first term, and started showing up for the cause in 2010, I'd be more inclined to trust their judgement.
Desperate fucking measures!
“We are on the edge of a dark precipice where the rule of law doesn't exist, at least at the federal level. I mean we're talking about Psychopaths here, we're talking about sociopaths here, we're talking about people with no morals no conscience no nothing. Why are they going to obey a court order? And that to me is the scariest aspect of all this. Where’s the stopping point? It’s hard not to reach the conclusion that there is none”
~ George Conway, Attorney
You watched the same YouTube video as I did. Conway's words chilled me to the core. And I have insufficient imagination to envision how to react if the country spins out of control.
Believe me when I say, I most certainly feel you Ranulf. In the meantime I am remaining connected and engaged with the truth and the community of the like minded. I will not give in to fear while I look for ways to navigate this shit show.
When do you sleep, Joyce? I am grateful for every intelligent, calming, and sincere word you speak to all of us.
Three weeks into rule by two fascist strongmen, the formula has been simple albeit brutal: bullying ... relentless bullying – illegal, unconstitutional, amoral. Trump and Musk are An American Nightmare.
I see an arrogant smug jack*** that really doesn't know anything about the world, people, employees, how his adopted country's government works. He and his kiddie-crew have only gotten this far because they bullied the governmental employees in those agencies. How chilling to be there and need backup and you realize no one can help you fend them off - you get canned and maybe they screw up that person's last paycheck (if they even give them one). Musk, at some point, has had some kind of reassurance that whatever he wanted to do was fine and trump would see that he wouldn't be arrested or suffer any penalty from the government. They always enlarge and exploit whatever fine cracks and leaks there are in our systems. This is one of them - allowing one party to have unfettered control over the entire U.S. government. What did we think they'd do with it? Especially when trump announced as he was running, the outrageous, anti-democratic things he was going to do - get rid of the Dept of Education, etc. And yet, here we are.
And for anyone who thinks the Supreme Court's MAGA Six writ large aren't complicit in the brazen criminality of Musk and Trump (and are sure to formally endorse it in the future), ProPublica posted an article Friday titled "The Elite Lawyers Working for Elon Musk's DOGE Include Former Supreme Court Clerks" by Justin Elliott, Ari Asher-Schapiro and Andy Kroll. Here's how the article begins:
As members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have fanned out across the government in recent days, attention has focused on the young Silicon Valley engineers who are wielding immense power in the new administration.
But ProPublica has identified three lawyers with elite establishment credentials who have also joined the DOGE effort.
Two are former Supreme Court clerks — one clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts, another for Justice Neil Gorsuch — and the third has been selected to be a Gorsuch clerk for the 2025-2026 term. Two of the lawyers’ names have not been previously reported as working for DOGE.
All three — Keenan Kmiec, James Burnham and Jacob Altik — have DOGE email addresses at the Executive Office of the President, according to records reviewed by ProPublica.
Altik was recently an attorney at the firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, but his bio page is now offline. Neither the White House nor any of the three lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment about their roles.
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https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-doge-lawyers-supreme-court
Thank you for such great information. That's really scary. So, Roberts potentially wouldn't be a swing vote against in this crisis and we'd have a 5 to 4 in favor of trump. Good to know - and so shocking. Why do they want to shred the government? Wouldn't SCOTUS understand that they won't be needed if agencies and congress go away? That trump is the unitary executive?
Yep, we can count on the solid MAGA Six to let Trump and, by extension, Musk get away with anything they want. Remember how Roberts voted last July in Trump v. United States (or, for that matter, in Citizens United v. FEC)? He's no friend of the rule of law for the obscenely wealthy. He's perfectly comfortable with autocracy. But unlike, say, the scowling duo of Thomas and Alito, he does it with a smile (or, at least, a very big smirk).
Broken
She was beautiful, fragile
made hundreds of years ago
by a master artist at the top of his craft.
One day a big man with a red tie
lusting after her, wanting to own her,
reached quickly to grab her body
sending her crashing to the floor.
It takes no brains, training or talent,
it’s so easy to destroy the irreplaceable.
THE NAZIS HAD A WORD FOR THIS: GLEICHSCHALTUNG. Literally meaning "coordination" or "synchronization," it meant that every aspect of life in Nazi Germany should be synchronized with Nazi ideology and policy.
That is what the Trump/Musk regime is reaching toward, eliminating all centers of power and authority but Trump personally and Musk as (perhaps) his agent, and intimidating all sources of information or education that don't conform to the new ideology.
So of course, in the MAGA GOP's total fealty to Trusk, they are outraged that the judicial branch should exercise any independent judgment as to the legality of the Trusk attempt to dismantle and destroy our government.
Of course, even if most voters had agreed that Trump should eliminate or cripple most government agencies -- which he did not promise to do -- that would not give him the legal right to do that without Congressional assent and without conforming to the Constitution.
Musk twice gave Trump a fascist salute, with cheers from the MAGA crowd at the inauguration. If, at the next State of the Union, Trump demanded that all Congresspeople and Senators gave the same salute, say, as a "sign of respect" for the presidency, can anyone doubt that every Republican representative and Senator would do so? Sig Heil, Mein Fuhrer. Or il Duce.
To which we must respond: F__ you, fascists.
I have a couple of problems with our republican senators and congressional reps (1) all standing by and watching - aiding and abetting - by their willing passivity. I especially love that our Florida Senator remarked in a recent NOTUS.com article that it didn't look like Congress was doing its job, when asked by the reporter wasn't it Congress's job to approve funds and oversee governmental agencies. So, if elon musk wants to save some easy money - there's some republican senators and congressional reps, and their staff that apparently have nothing at all to do except to smugly watch and gloat over this assault to our country.
(2) Their calling this coup by various euphemisms, as if they think their constituents are too stupid to see the cocktail napkin they're holding up isn't covering the elephant we can all see. They aren't innocent bystanders. They all ought to be interviewed frequently on camera and it gets broadcast on the nightly news so everyone can see and hear their lying. Another pillar of resistance- incessant calling out in public, individually, and shown on national media and radio.
As you noted, Prof. Vance, despite a TRO, funds across the government remain largely "sequestered", and who among this present government are about to side with the courts? Elno and his minions have virtually grabbed all the data they were ordered to stop harvesting, and with NO FBI or other law enforcement agencies actually on site to prevent the looting of OUR personal data, and with the Congress in GOPer hands, NOTHING is curtailing this nonstop assault on OUR Constitution.
tRump has already proven that indeed he IS above the law, and shows no indication of ceasing his criming, has he?
Clearly, what we are watching is what Bannon aspired to last time around - the total annihilation of the US government. He should have been tried for treason. And, so should all those who are doing what we've expected all along - enabling Trump to diminish the government to one, single, point of power, all in his hands. What even he isn't smart enough to see is that Elon Musk has even higher and bigger sites for his own power position. With him, it will be winner take all. And, JD Vance is enabling it by cutting Congress to shreds, along with the Justice Department, which he said today no one needs to listen to. I wonder if he's including the Supreme Court in that, or does he plan to use them, like Trump, for his/their own purposes when it suits them? Either way, the common man hasn't got a chance against the lot of traitors. I loathe that I'm feeling nihilistic, but the only way out of this is for every lawyer in the country taking a case against all the wrong-doers so they're so flooded with defense activities that they can't move an inch in any direction.
Reminds me of the typical legal stance of local jurisdictions in domestic abuse/threats cases. They can't do anything unless/until someone is harmed or dead. 🫤
If I read you correctly, Joyce, if Trump and the Executive Branch decide to ignore a possible judicial ruling against them, we are looking at a full blown unprecedented constitutional crisis with unknown outcomes. Is that correct?