It’s unfortunate that it is going to take people getting hurt, but if it ends up being the “right” people, the wool comes off the eyes. Just heard about the Georgia peanut farmers who will lose big money selling product that USAID uses. That’s now gone and Georgia leans red….
Also the Kansas and other red state farmers farmers upset that they're losing billions in sales of surplus US wheat to USAID for distribution to starving people abroad. But they voted for Trump.
The DNC as a political arm is a part of the battle. They are not the head though in this fight. The midterms are in the distance. The special elections a must win to help this fight.
This fight is a Constitutional fight which requires our co-equal branches to exert their own plenary powers or there is no longer a Constitutional republic.
Our power must flow through the other two. Raising the battle arms of our representatives and the public use of the Article III branch to enforce our rights in equity must continue until the balance is restored. We do not have king(s) no matter their power madness wishes.
Bill--read Anat Shakur-Osori's recent piece reprised in part on substack today by Anand Giridharadas. Anat is an expert on resistance to dictatorship. He points out that throughout history if 3.5% of a population pours out in protest, the dictaorship falls. This means sustained acts of protest, public and private. We'd best get cracking before the Trump-Muskovites manage to gin up a private army and start shooting. Remember, they are in a real sense terrorists.
It seems, the only routes we have left are organized boycotts, a general strike & taking to the streets en mass. All of the opposition groups must coordinate as one.
I had a horrible thought come to me a few nights ago while watching "Hitler and the Nazis" on Netflix. I thought, omg, the immigrants in America are the new Jews. Watching that series chilled my blood because Hit;er and Trump could be the same person.
Agree. I was referring to the idea the D party needed to lead. We need to all lead as democracy. They are fully part of the total push back against this illegal putsch attempt. We need Congress minority to exert maximal plenary power of the Article 1 branch and truly make the Rs come to the table from their constituent pain.
Mike - I wish I shared this view. To live in a beat red state like TN is an eye opener. I think people like us (well not me) continue to underestimate the fervor of deeply conservative people. The kind of people I am talking about are looking at all this and saying "yes please, and more if you got it!" I am serious. It's "stick it to the libs", and they don't care if they get bloodied in the process. We are in a civil war.
Jay, thanks for the insight. I did not consider the martyr angle. If it is not generational, it will be self limiting. If it is generational, well a better mind than mine will have to assist.
Hopefully, we will elect more Dems in the mid-terms. But what about the here and now? When US farmers lose, we ALL lose. Many acres of farmland are rented, farmers purchase seed and fertilizer, pay workers to help fertilize and plant. People work in plants producing fertilizer and seed. People work in factories that make tractors, plows, combines and corn pickers. Trades people build those plants & grain storage bins. Companies produce the materials with which to build plants and grain storage bins. Refineries produce the fuel that operates the tractors. After harvest, people drive the loaded trucks to the grain bins, where it's offloaded to be stored or loaded onto barges to be transported. Towboats push those barges. People work on towboats & barges. People work on loading docks. If farmers cannot sell their product it rots in the storage bins. People in poor countries will starve, mostly because the majority of their food comes from us! Their own countries are, and have been, in famine for years.
Exactly. I saw five farmers interviewed. All five had voted for trump in 2016 and all but one voted for Biden in 2024. The one who voted for trump said, "Oh he won't do that to me."
The definitive and disappointing thing is that - through their votes to confirm Russell Vought - every Republican senator has signed on to the repurposing of our democratic republic as a corporate christo-fascist state. As has the House Speaker; however fractious his caucus, they are quibbling over the details, not the intent
Republicans might have accomplished a large part of The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 through the quasi-legal means afforded by the Federalist Society Roberts Court immunity and Chevron decisions. But they preferred the blitzkrieg domestic terrorism of the Trump regime. Decision making like this fueled the Third Reich. Vought and Stephen Miller are the TweedleDee and TweedleDum Eichmanns of Charles Koch's enterprise. Leonard Leo is in effect its Reinhold Heydrich, 'the man with the iron heart.'
It makes our united resistance more difficult and our individual acts of personal resistance more significant.
The Republican Party has overthrown the American experiment. We start anew
Give the new DNC a week. David Hog is masterful with social media. Dig deep send a few dollars as u can. Criticizing Democrats is counter productive. They are throwing stuff at the wall hoping something sticks while blitzing everywhere. The anti protests are organic and happening every where in America. 🇺🇸 let’s applaud the effort and help as we can. Flood the DC phone circuits with calls to the Congress both Democrat n Republican.
Exactly! I highlighted Joyce's text: "Almost 90 million of the 245 million Americans who were eligible to vote in 2024 didn’t." - Completely inexcusable!
Dream on William! What you hope for is naive, and you don't know "these folks". Or you are a troll and you are injecting Kayfabe into our discussion. I know MAGA, "up close". Trump is now doing exactly what they want. I have it in writing. Maybe, as Joyce says, the 90,000,000 who did not vote will see the Chaos they have contributed to in our land.
Those who did not vote do see the chaos and they do not like it. However, the alternative was a BLACK WOMAN. They simply hope for a better day - when the Democrats find a "Reagan" they can vote for!!! BAH!
I lived in rural Middle GA for decades, and my family grows timber on a modest amount of land. The peanut farmers and their communities are in church every Wednesday night and Sunday praising white Jesus while complaining about “government hand outs” like SNAP benefits, even though many of them, their children and grandchildren use them, funding for pre-K and Head Start, again where family members are employed or enrolled, they need their guns and assault rifles etc. They wake up every day feeling threatened by anyone who isn’t white and quoting a Bible.
These people are the prime example of I never thought a leopard would eat MY face.
Case In Point. When it looked like there were going to be tariffs on Canadian imports (for the 30 seconds or so until Orange came up with some face-saving compromise and Canada changed absolutely nothing), Chuck Grassley immediately began whining about the cost of potash for Iowa farmers and the corn crop. You see, tariffs are fine when they effect other people. But Heaven forfend that any of old Chuckie's constitutents have to pay a price and then, O Lordy! He demands to be spared the consequences of what HE voted for.
Good points! (btw it's affects = have an effect on; effect = the result of something "a rash is the effect of contact with MAGA ;-) Can't help it -- a lifetime as an editor. xo
I know the farmers that voted for him. Because they somehow think he spend his days on a tractor! His whining is what they hear. They will not listen to any evil he does. Because he rides a tractor!
Yes, we can always hope their better nature will emerge....it will, any time now, as soon as they find out their calendars. Lee surrendered about 170 years ago.
Oh, William -- For almost a year I've been in discussion with an old friend who has drunk the kool-aid. He was once a kind and thoughtful person. Not now-- solid MAGA and impossible to get through to. Check out Lawrence O'Donnell's discussion of "STUPID" on MSNBC -- maybe on YouTube? It's really insightful. After months and months of banging my head I have sorrowfully given up on my erstwhile friend. He's lost. If any of them wake up, I believe it will be a minuscule percentage.
Well, that attitude is not going to help us win in 2026 when both of Georgia’s democratic Senators are up for reelection. Try to do better. Do you want to take back the House and at least hold our ground in the Senate or not? We need you in the fight, not shooting us in the foot.
Yes. Ossoff and he did not vote three times. At least he could vote NO. He did vote for Douglas Collins for Veterans Affairs and Rubio for Secretary of State. Both terrible choices.
I will explain my comment since one response seems confused. I am non-partisan. I’m for all intents, of neither party although I have been a registered democrat until recently and I only changed to the Republican registration so a friend will hire me as a moderator during elections. The easiest job in my town since perhaps 5-10% of the population is republican. Easy pay for the day. I also will soon be a certified Justice of the Peace so I can marry everyone and be paid for it and it’s easier to get the position as a Republican, lol. (I ain’t no dang dummy.) But I have little if nothing in common with current disgusting MAGA movement. They are poisonous to our body politic and the sooner they are purged the better. And here is why I’ll just say and admonish my fellow Democrats in spirit, let go of unpopular issues. Expand the tent. Stop excluding working class WHITE people because this is exactly what has been done. We have driven this ethno/economic group into the hands of their executioners, ie, Republicans. Wake up and smell the coffee.
Hmm, a "centrist" in the tRump era...is such a label even - you know - useful? Or, helpful? "No Labels"? "Third Way"? Very curious as to what this stance embraces in these parlous times, when facing a runaway anti-constitutionalist rebellion.
Lots of farmers in other parts of the country are in the same boat. And how about those families with small businesses that cater to the Federal employees who are being laid off in their communities? And how about those construction companies and farmers who depend on immigrant labor, and whose workers, legal and illegal, are too fearful to show up for work? And retirees whose Social Security and Medicare benefits are at risk?
trump: bankrupt 6 times, everything he touches dies, has no idea what he's doing about anything. only a really uninformed person would throw out an idea to steal Gaza for his own gain. he has very much endangered the hostages. I want to know why Palestinians and jews weren't each given a state in 1948 ?? Also it is not lost on me that evangel huckabee is amb to israel.....rapture can't happen until all jews are in the holy land........so WTF
People are slowly waking up to the fact that the United States government has been taken over by gangsters. It is no longer a democracy. And it will take a huge struggle to get it back. People will die at the hands of this evil faux government. They lied about everything except their intentions. Now we must summon all our courage and do whatever it takes to restore a free America.
I hosted a zoom call tonight to bring together people from all over the country to talk about how we survive and how we fight going forward.
I plan on doing it again in around a week and again as many times as it takes to help people form the mutual aid societies we will need.
They (the fascist oligarchs) intend to suck away the federal safety net and leave the regular citizenry for dead. I will do all I can to make sure that fails, by building an alternative infrastructure under their noses. Survival IS Resistance.
Annabel: we need to talk about strategic and effective other reg & turnout of progressive educated community college students ONLYin truly competitive congressional districts— there are only 25 nationally; I’ve spent months analyzing all 435 ! Please send me an email at iralechner@yahoo.com
There are TWO on April 1 (if you can believe it) in Florida
Josh Weil – who won his primary in 1 and Gay(e) Valmont in 6 are the Democrats
I’ve gotten two notes about them via social media but I don’t live in either district so IDK if those are “Democrats don’t want to spend money here” districts
But I have already alerted the new DNC chair & vice chairs, especially since one of them is from there
And I do believe taking those two seats would be enough to take control of the U.S. House
Well let's see what's possible --in 2024, Fl 01, we lost to Matt Gaetz by 120,00 votes and in Fl 06, we lost by 140,000 votes...please don't waste your money
Reading this reminds me of my youth, and that at times makes my stomach hurt. Then I shake it off and say ok self, get back up. As a black female growing up in Jim Crow, I feel like I have checked many of those boxes. It gets to be exhausting especially at my age because I have seen and lived it most of my life. Then I remember I am not the only one and I have no time to feel sorry for myself. Thank you, and all those who contribute and add encouragement on Civil Discourse.
I am struggling to understand why Musk is not being arrested for breaking and entering and stealing data, among many other illegal actions he has taken. Why isn't there an outcry? Am I off base to assume he should be arrested? From where I sit, the rule of law is melting away and in its place innocent people (those who prosecuted the J6 rioters) are paying a price for doing exactly what the Constitution requires, while those breaking the laws are acting with impunity. If Musk isn't held to account, then breaking the law becomes the norm and this is truly the beginning of the end.
Good question. It will come. But, we need a court to say "Who the hell are you? Show me the mandate for doing this." There is none. This is not part of the president's mandate. I want him to lose his citizenship. Let South Africa deal with the avaricious one trick pony.
If you don't already have this link, you might be interested to see this lawsuit filed against DOGE, musk, and ramaswamy, among others for their meddling in federal agency records, among other things. It's filed by lead plaintiff Jerald Lentini, on Jan 20th. He's a Manchester, CT, civil rights attorney serving on its city council. Here's a link to the case (#1:25-cv-166, Judge Jia Cobb): https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69559476/lentini-v-department-of-government-efficiency/ Right now, the case is being consolidated with two other similar ones. This case might start out slowly. With the link, you'll be able to see the latest status and read the docs. When you pull up a doc to read, you can get back to the docket sheet by clicking the back button on your browser.
But aren’t there mechanisms in place for judge to order a cease and desist letter and stop him immediately before he goes any further? this is what I don’t get. It’s clearly illegal. He does not have security clearance. He’s not a US citizen. He’s not part of the government. Yet he’s getting away with this in broad daylight.
I am in exactly the same place with you Diane, I don’t understand why he and his minions are not being taken into custody! I sent the following to all of my representatives and senators along with Schumer and Jeffries looking for action!
“The country is still under attack! It is most definitely a coup! Where are the mission oriented collection of active Congressional Members, Governors, active U.S. Attorneys, C.I.A. Clandestine Operatives, FBI Agents, Navy Seals, Army Rangers, Green Berets who are all on the side of Democracy, loyal to The Constitution who will follow a chosen leader, take hold of Musk, his crew, seize any and all documents and devices in their possession and help them reassess their illegal mission in shackles while in custody! At the same time a similar collection of the same kind can gather SCOTUS together with the help from the Democracy and Constitution loyal three to persuade them to overturn their immunity decision and begin putting an end to this insanity. None of the actions of the current Executive is preserving, protecting or defending The Constitution, or is remotely plausibly within the scope of the Constitutional parameters of the Executive.”
Something that has puzzled me in the last 2 weeks is the news reports that when musk et al showed up at usaid and said they needed access to classified areas, and the staff initially refused, the musk folk said we will call the US Marshals. And then the news reports say they were allowed entry. I've never quite understood why staff and USAID security didn't say "do what you have to do. We're going to be right here when they arrive". US Marshals might have had a more traditional view of who gets access to secure info and told the Muskovites to pound sand.
The enforcement mechanisms are structured to accept "legal" authority in terms of prioritization the application of that enforcement. They're also _very_ distracted with what's going on via the full frontal attack on the DOJ and FBI. This is on purpose.
"I am struggling to understand why Musk is not being arrested for breaking and entering and stealing data, among many other illegal actions he has taken."
The short answer is "The first thing Republicans break is 'enforcement'"
They started back in the first Drumpf Administration when Bill Barr was appointed as USAG and those who warned against it were pooh-poohed and told to sit down and be quiet.
This came out eight months ago
Elon Musk: Everything You Didn't Know About His Sh*tty Past
The people who would be investigating, arresting, indicting and trying musk now work under trump. We all see it but he controls everyone who could cut musk off. We're seeing TROs being granted by the courts for what musk has done. But, none of us right now knows how he could be apprehended by the trump-world feds. That's why he hasn't been nabbed.
Right now there is no law & the Constitution has been suspended. Those with the power are in charge. We will have to see where the police & the military put their loyalty.
Who would arrest him? The DOJ is led by Pam Bondi, they are firing lots of agents, disbanding the FBI. Musk is committing federal crimes and is beyond the reach of DC Metro police, and the lead prosecutor a Mr. Martin has knelt to Trump by threatening anyone who interferes with Musk. David Bove, Deputy AG has his hands in Trumps pockets, presumably taking money from him for his defense work in New York, of course noting Trump's predilection to male genitals who knows what Bove is grabbing to make Trump Happy. Don't despair, I believe I have a plan that I am presenting to Congress soon.
Saving lives and influencing destiny one day at a time.
I am 87 years old and rolling up my sleeves!!! I've marched many times before and I aim to march again! I would like to see Herr Musk arrested and deported! The sooner the better!
It’s just curious that Project 2025 detailed the coup two years in advance. Its authors planned meticulously and Trump, ever the puppet, readily agreed to having all power transferred to the Executive Branch—they plan, he grins and takes a bow … the ultra right takes control, Musk takes the money.
David, Toddler-Trump is not now and never was very bright. He has some street smarts that he mastered and those carried him through the bankruptcies and other corruption and into reality TV and then the White House. He has surrounded himself with people who will bow to him while they are getting their own goodies. Toddler-Musk is really good at it, even better than Toddler-Trump because he actually invested his billions in something then milked those corporations dry, even getting the government to pay for them while he was collecting the billions. This could be stopped by our courts because what they are doing is illegal, but our judges for the most part are not always too bright either, particularly the ones the Federalist Society puts forward. Those folks are yes-men and a few yes-women who will do whatever their owners tell them to do. I am hoping there are enough judges with integrity on the various benches, but I know there are a lot like Judge Cannon who are not and will bow and scrape to Toddler-Trump for whatever crumbs he will permit to come their way. We are in trouble, but we could stop a lot of the insanity if we could get everyone who sees what is going on and is angry about it to stand up against it together as Americans, in all our variety.
Outdoorlover, I actually think Toddler-Trump would have been a gang member, maybe a bully for the MAFIA. He wouldn't have been a hit man because he is a coward and not very smart, but he is pretty good with threatening people, cheating, and lying.
Yes, you're right, although he always has someone else do his dirty work, and never stands alone unless he's within his kingdom. He is definitely a marketing master... otherwise known as, a master manipulator.
Outdoor lover, Toddler-Trump truly acts like a 3-year-old with really bad parents. The problem, this toddler and the whole collection of them now running our government have adult weapons to use for their toddler desires and tantrums. Toddler-Trump thinks he is in charge because that is what those manipulating him want him and his base to believe. As the master manipulator Toddler-Trump is, he can't imagine anyone being better at it than he is. Toddler-Musk also thinks he is some kind of grand strategist while he is an ignorant child who with all his wealth couldn't get a college to give him a degree if he paid for it. Toddler-Musk should be in jail for grand theft of our private information and for stealing the information of all kinds of government employees something he and his toddler-goon-troops have no right too. One can tell just how much the Heritage Foundation toddlers are brainwashed and have brainwashed Republican America is that no, not a single Republican has protested Toddler-Musk's illegal behavior and the illegal executive orders of their Toddler-In-Chief. So, we have a toddler playground filled with brainwashed misfits who are working to destroy our nation and economy that was working amazingly well even after Trump tried to bring it down the first time. This whole toddler production was orchestrated by the racism, misogyny, and xenophobia that have become endemic and have never been fully dealt with in our society. A whole lot of people voted for an ignorant boob because he is "rich," white, and male. They didn't care that he has dementia, makes no sense, is cruel and vengeful while claiming to be christian, even with his own bible. Even a lot of Democrats stayed home supposedly because of Gaza or some other such BS, but in reality, many Dems have problems with the big three: racism, misogyny, and xenophobia too. Then there's the attacks on other vulnerable people, LGBTQ+ persons even though Toddler-Trump's mentor was gay and died of AIDS. What a mess! We have a whole pool of toddlers to deal with, none of whom can reason clearly, care about people other than themselves and how they can use other people, nor understand anyone who is not just like themselves (shallow and weak, but pretending to be something else). We do need to learn quickly how to stand up to the bully pool and get them back onto their floaties so they can't hurt anyone else.
David, thanks. I am a retired public school teacher. I learned quickly that any typo a parent or colleague found was a bad mark on my ability. They never said it that way, but would definitely point it out with some humor attached. It is challenging as a blind person, but I have a pretty good screen reader that lets me know when it thinks I didn't get it right. My whole family is almost obsessive about typos, my mom a secretary and a sister who proofreads. So thanks for noticing!
Patricia, Oops, I reread what I had written and realize it could have been taken as though the comments were meant as mean; they were not. I had a great relationship with my students' parents. They would tell me they were amazed that I made so few typos (I was amazed too). Unfortunately, when I made them, it was in something that when read, the typo made a whole different word. I was truly blessed to work in a school district where my vision-impairment, then blindness was not an issue. I was just one of the crew, and now as a volunteer tutor at one of the schools where I worked, that is still true. It would be really good if every person with a difference were treated so well, or even with no disability. I think my hire helped other people with disabilities be accepted in our district. I am grateful for that and that people weren't too careful when talking with me that they couldn't make a joke about typos.
But. at this point, Musk is the one playing both the Heritage Society and the one they all think they can dupe. He is the one they, and we all, need to keep our eye on and stop. The "shock " is that we were so stupid and believed that Musk couldn't really buy a candidate or an election.....wrong. The good news? He is greedy, he just want all the goodies....NOW. Problem is none of it is real, it's all paper and worth zip until it is cashed in. Bankrupt the system and it's worth nothing. The Heritage Foundation? Fog brained philosophers - great on paper, but left to their own devices? They'd f*ck up a junkyard. They are nerve wracking but they can be handled - just keep saying no- that's what the courts are there for. Thank you Joe Biden. As for the Convict-in-Chief? Time is on our side. That's all I'm going to say.
David, I would like to see Toddler-Musk in jail for stealing our private information when he has no right to it no matter what the new pathetic Treasury Sec. says. I would love to see Toddler-Musk's money disappear so he would have to live like a "normal" person. OK, that would never work because there is always someone out there to coddle a little rich toddler even if he is no longer rich.
But sadly, he owns the jails … and is probably negotiating for a piece in the new jails to be built for immigrants, enemies, Black Lives Matter, Dems, libs, uncooperating women …
Everything was laid out in Project 2025. It scared the hell out of me when I read it about 18 months ago. It was strange to me too that few in the media were addressing it at the time. I guess we humans often use denial as a coping mechanism. I’m sure that the authors of the Project were banking on that.
What we forgot is to tell our children about WWII and the men & women who died, & those who survived. My Dad was in France & I was n3 years old when he came home but some never discussed it with family & friends. Thank goodness my family & relatives talked about the things they saw, but perhaps, not enough did & now we are faced with deniers & today.
There was one more thing. It was taught when we were in school. Civics, remember that? Not anymore. At best, it's an elective (who ever heard of basic subjects being "electives"? ) It has become an "oh that."
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905.
Maybe in some areas. Or some families may have been illiterate. Not all families were without books and schooIs were excellent in my area. Adults need to keep our historic history alive so our young people are knowledgeable.
I wonder how many people's children haven't heard the history and the stories. Mine have: their American grandfather fought, a great uncle was klled, their great grandfather, a resistance organiser, was captured and died in Germany. It's hard to imagine people who haven't a clue or don't believe anything happened.
More than you think. Charles Lindbergh was not allowed to fight in WWII because he couldn't be trusted. He was that much of a Nazi. But that is not something children in US learn. They learn of the daring aviator, not the traitor. Unfortunately, if it doesn't affect the country directly....Yes, there was Pearl Harbor but that was there - nothing on the European Continent - the Republican party was extremely isolationist and fought FDR on his plans for helping the allies, until Dec 7th, that is.
Who do you mean by "we"? White people? Straight white people? You're erasing an awful lot of U.S. history there, including Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of the mid-1960s, Roe v. Wade (1973, RIP), the struggle for women's and lesbian and gay rights, the AIDS activists who fought back against the Reagan administration, etc., etc.
With all the shit that has been coming at us, Mike Popok with Legal AF/ Meidas Touch Network explains the legal aspects in his podcasts and YouTube videos. They are really informative and there is no bullshit about them. They are a true complement to Joyce’s work here. I learned today that the judges can throw high ranking officials and their attorneys in jail if they disobey their orders and that the federal Marshals are there to help with that as not all of of them (or any of them?) are under the executive branch authority. So when can we send them to the treasury department? My Medicare and social security which millions of us depend on to live are at stake among so many other important items. We need the judges to get musk out of our payment systems, but I suspect they have already gone in and overwritten a whole lot of the code. Scary times, but I am in for the fight.
This has all been done before. There is another playbook and if you want to know a little bit more about the "how" of Project 2025 - look into the history of Hitler. That is who they are following. The names have been changed but the actions remain the same. The Atlantic has a new piece that is VERY informative: "The Oligarchs Who Came to Regret Supporting Hitler".
Elon Musk is playing the part of Alfred Hugenberg. Trump is Hitler. It all is very eerily similar....
'He was among the richest men in the world. He made his first fortune in heavy industry. He made his second as a media mogul. And in January 1933, in exchange for a political favor, Alfred Hugenberg provided the electoral capital that made possible Adolf Hitler’s appointment as chancellor. Before Hugenberg sealed his pact with Hitler, a close associate had warned Hugenberg that this was a deal he would come to regret: “One night you will find yourself running through the ministry gardens in your underwear trying to escape arrest."'
The difference this time may be that Alon von Moosk becomes the Fuehrer.
Thank you, thank you, Carol. A great read. Makes me realize how much history I don't know, and hope that this good writing on this subject reaches more people.
I made my 5Calls today through the App. Everyone needs to get the App 5Calls. It gives you the issues and the phone numbers and scripts to call your Senators and Representatives.
Yes, it is a game of distractions by Trump setting up $ trillions for theft by Musk. It is rather simple. I did say $ trillions and I identity what I can see. In just one instance, if they kill the Education Department, states will clamor for privatization. Education is $853 billion per year. Yes $BILLION. Ohhh. The 10-year contract(s), think $9 trillion. One graft pie. There are many $ 1 trillion pies in play. They don’t think small theft. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/watch-the-treasury?r=3m1bs
He tried this in the first debacle. The states don't like it. If they didn't like it then, why would they like it now? Hope the blow back is as strong this time as it was the last.
Yes, elections matter. That's why the SCOTUS majority decided Citizens United (2010) and Shelby v. Holder (2013) the way they did: to stack the deck in favor of their side. That's why red states are so fond of making it hard and harder for people who don't vote Republican to vote.
This is more than my second time around in fighting injustice in this country, a country I grew up thinking was the best in the world. The best thing about America is the idea of America. We aren't and haven't been for a very long time the best in the world. My first realization of that was the Vietnam War, I was in the Navy. My second realization of that was Kent State, then there was Nixon and Agnew and that stupid MOU at the DOJ that they have kept to this day and in part has gotten us where we are today and so much more. Then my eyes were open to other democracy's that provided their citizens, with tax sponsor education up to and through a Ph.D., national health care and much more. We allow religion to get involved in our politics, which our constitution forbids, we allowed our Congress to give us 'under God' in our pledge and 'In God We Trust' to take over our motto E Pluribus Unum and so much more until here we are allowing a rapist, a convicted felon to once again occupy our WH and his like to occupy our Congress and the rest of our government in a bloodless coup.
I am 81 years old, I have been on too many protests to count, civil rights, LGBT rights, women's rights and the list goes on and now all those efforts that so many of my generation and others fought for are for what?
President Biden's legacy will not be that he gave us an outstanding economy, it will be that in only focusing on that, after a first attempted coup, he, his AG and Congress ignore what they needed to do to protect us from another one; to protect us from the scum, this traitor that occupies our WH. He handed over the keys to our government to a traitor who told us exactly what he intended to do.
I don't know if I will be around to vote him and the rest of the sum out of office, but I sure hope the Universe see fit to give me one more chance to make it better for the country I love with all it warts.
I'm almost your age, and remember it all, too. Ironic that the 'other democracies' you refer to probably include Germany - the source of the example our felon is following. And that the desire on Biden's part for a 'peaceful transition of power' gave him no other option. Even though the Democrats can be accused of not fighting hard enough (even now) it's the Republicans who have gotten us to this point. Here's to hoping were both around to vote this criminal bunch out of office.
Today, I had the opportunity to share with my hair stylist the need to contact our congress people about the problems Elon Musk is causing along with Trump’s destroying of our country. She was already concerned about her federal subsidized housing and was afraid of what she had seen on the news. She said she isn’t political but didn’t know what to do. I was happy to share with her the need to contact our congress and share how to do it with others. She is planning to share with several family members who are also worried. Life in the US has been comfortable for so long that we’ve become complacent and don’t know what we can do so sharing what and how can help empower people.
I have a neighbor who refuses to speak about politics! She is almost 76, Jewish, a woman and doesn't have much money. She has very low self-confidence and I'm trying to work with her on that since I am a life coach. She's a lost cause unless she gets hurt.
I am just curious, why reveal personal details which are irrelevant to your argument.
Also, that as a life coach you would label someone a lost cause.
Perhaps repost as this:
I have a neighbor who refuses to speak about politics! I'm trying to work with her on that. Since I am a life coach, I have hopes that she will not be hurt, will empathize with the suffering around her, and come to understand the role of politics. She, as we all do, has the potential to do good.
Life coach is a professional relationship not a neighbor. Life coach ethics do not disclose personal protected information. Life coach practice does not diagnose nor proclaim personality assessment. You are exhibiting the behavior and attitude of the bully bigot you are politically opposed for being that way. I understand why this person would not talk about politics with you.
It’s unfortunate that it is going to take people getting hurt, but if it ends up being the “right” people, the wool comes off the eyes. Just heard about the Georgia peanut farmers who will lose big money selling product that USAID uses. That’s now gone and Georgia leans red….
Also the Kansas and other red state farmers farmers upset that they're losing billions in sales of surplus US wheat to USAID for distribution to starving people abroad. But they voted for Trump.
Nicole, a blue wave may be around the corner….
There is always hope. But not without a huge amount of work, quickly by a restructured DNC.
The DNC as a political arm is a part of the battle. They are not the head though in this fight. The midterms are in the distance. The special elections a must win to help this fight.
This fight is a Constitutional fight which requires our co-equal branches to exert their own plenary powers or there is no longer a Constitutional republic.
Our power must flow through the other two. Raising the battle arms of our representatives and the public use of the Article III branch to enforce our rights in equity must continue until the balance is restored. We do not have king(s) no matter their power madness wishes.
Bill--read Anat Shakur-Osori's recent piece reprised in part on substack today by Anand Giridharadas. Anat is an expert on resistance to dictatorship. He points out that throughout history if 3.5% of a population pours out in protest, the dictaorship falls. This means sustained acts of protest, public and private. We'd best get cracking before the Trump-Muskovites manage to gin up a private army and start shooting. Remember, they are in a real sense terrorists.
It seems, the only routes we have left are organized boycotts, a general strike & taking to the streets en mass. All of the opposition groups must coordinate as one.
I had a horrible thought come to me a few nights ago while watching "Hitler and the Nazis" on Netflix. I thought, omg, the immigrants in America are the new Jews. Watching that series chilled my blood because Hit;er and Trump could be the same person.
Agree. I was referring to the idea the D party needed to lead. We need to all lead as democracy. They are fully part of the total push back against this illegal putsch attempt. We need Congress minority to exert maximal plenary power of the Article 1 branch and truly make the Rs come to the table from their constituent pain.
I can't find it Leigh, do you have the link?
I hope it's one that can be sustained for more than two terms. The country will need that and much more.
All we gotta do is reach that corner and work/fight intelligently to reach it. Good thing we're following Joyce.
Mike - I wish I shared this view. To live in a beat red state like TN is an eye opener. I think people like us (well not me) continue to underestimate the fervor of deeply conservative people. The kind of people I am talking about are looking at all this and saying "yes please, and more if you got it!" I am serious. It's "stick it to the libs", and they don't care if they get bloodied in the process. We are in a civil war.
Jay, thanks for the insight. I did not consider the martyr angle. If it is not generational, it will be self limiting. If it is generational, well a better mind than mine will have to assist.
Hopefully, we will elect more Dems in the mid-terms. But what about the here and now? When US farmers lose, we ALL lose. Many acres of farmland are rented, farmers purchase seed and fertilizer, pay workers to help fertilize and plant. People work in plants producing fertilizer and seed. People work in factories that make tractors, plows, combines and corn pickers. Trades people build those plants & grain storage bins. Companies produce the materials with which to build plants and grain storage bins. Refineries produce the fuel that operates the tractors. After harvest, people drive the loaded trucks to the grain bins, where it's offloaded to be stored or loaded onto barges to be transported. Towboats push those barges. People work on towboats & barges. People work on loading docks. If farmers cannot sell their product it rots in the storage bins. People in poor countries will starve, mostly because the majority of their food comes from us! Their own countries are, and have been, in famine for years.
They may have to sell their farms to Agribusinesses and become sharecroppers on their own land
They were too busy telling themselves Felon47 wouldn’t do anything to affect their farms.
Election consequence not foreseen
“Wait, I’m getting screwed too? But I was on your team!!!”
Exactly. I saw five farmers interviewed. All five had voted for trump in 2016 and all but one voted for Biden in 2024. The one who voted for trump said, "Oh he won't do that to me."
Exactly right.
And how's the state of the tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas City going, with no national health agencies allowed to provide information?
I hope those Confederate scum loose their damn farms.
No, no! I hope these folks change their minds and support democracy — and the Democrats fighting to preserve that ideal.
The definitive and disappointing thing is that - through their votes to confirm Russell Vought - every Republican senator has signed on to the repurposing of our democratic republic as a corporate christo-fascist state. As has the House Speaker; however fractious his caucus, they are quibbling over the details, not the intent
Republicans might have accomplished a large part of The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 through the quasi-legal means afforded by the Federalist Society Roberts Court immunity and Chevron decisions. But they preferred the blitzkrieg domestic terrorism of the Trump regime. Decision making like this fueled the Third Reich. Vought and Stephen Miller are the TweedleDee and TweedleDum Eichmanns of Charles Koch's enterprise. Leonard Leo is in effect its Reinhold Heydrich, 'the man with the iron heart.'
It makes our united resistance more difficult and our individual acts of personal resistance more significant.
The Republican Party has overthrown the American experiment. We start anew
Regrettably, I agree with you.
It is disgusting, and the DNC's inactivity is second only to the Republican Senator's collaboration, in my view.
Give the new DNC a week. David Hog is masterful with social media. Dig deep send a few dollars as u can. Criticizing Democrats is counter productive. They are throwing stuff at the wall hoping something sticks while blitzing everywhere. The anti protests are organic and happening every where in America. 🇺🇸 let’s applaud the effort and help as we can. Flood the DC phone circuits with calls to the Congress both Democrat n Republican.
Agreed! David Hog is also masterful in his understanding and explanation of the perceptions of young people. Let's help him succeed.
much more the cause/problem are the 90 mil who did not vote.
Exactly! I highlighted Joyce's text: "Almost 90 million of the 245 million Americans who were eligible to vote in 2024 didn’t." - Completely inexcusable!
Dream on William! What you hope for is naive, and you don't know "these folks". Or you are a troll and you are injecting Kayfabe into our discussion. I know MAGA, "up close". Trump is now doing exactly what they want. I have it in writing. Maybe, as Joyce says, the 90,000,000 who did not vote will see the Chaos they have contributed to in our land.
Judging by comments I read on X, I think you're right! They're so deep into the lies of Trump and the GOP, it would take a lot to open their eyes!
There's a troll over on HCR's substack who is a great example of one of 'those folks'. Knowingly stupid, knowingly blind.
They're on Bluesky also! Besides being ignorant, they're obnoxious too!
Or a Russian bot
Those who did not vote do see the chaos and they do not like it. However, the alternative was a BLACK WOMAN. They simply hope for a better day - when the Democrats find a "Reagan" they can vote for!!! BAH!
I lived in rural Middle GA for decades, and my family grows timber on a modest amount of land. The peanut farmers and their communities are in church every Wednesday night and Sunday praising white Jesus while complaining about “government hand outs” like SNAP benefits, even though many of them, their children and grandchildren use them, funding for pre-K and Head Start, again where family members are employed or enrolled, they need their guns and assault rifles etc. They wake up every day feeling threatened by anyone who isn’t white and quoting a Bible.
Hypocrisy--Jesus' biggest pet peeve....
I thought we all decided it was bad wine........had to make his own and all that....
Good one!
These people are the prime example of I never thought a leopard would eat MY face.
Case In Point. When it looked like there were going to be tariffs on Canadian imports (for the 30 seconds or so until Orange came up with some face-saving compromise and Canada changed absolutely nothing), Chuck Grassley immediately began whining about the cost of potash for Iowa farmers and the corn crop. You see, tariffs are fine when they effect other people. But Heaven forfend that any of old Chuckie's constitutents have to pay a price and then, O Lordy! He demands to be spared the consequences of what HE voted for.
To hell with him and all those rednecks in Iowa.
Damn Confederates.
Grassley is a despicable old buzzard! I guess they'll carry his corpse out of the Senate eventually!
Good points! (btw it's affects = have an effect on; effect = the result of something "a rash is the effect of contact with MAGA ;-) Can't help it -- a lifetime as an editor. xo
I know the farmers that voted for him. Because they somehow think he spend his days on a tractor! His whining is what they hear. They will not listen to any evil he does. Because he rides a tractor!
Yes. Exactly. We can hope - and work - for this.
Yes, we can always hope their better nature will emerge....it will, any time now, as soon as they find out their calendars. Lee surrendered about 170 years ago.
Oh, William -- For almost a year I've been in discussion with an old friend who has drunk the kool-aid. He was once a kind and thoughtful person. Not now-- solid MAGA and impossible to get through to. Check out Lawrence O'Donnell's discussion of "STUPID" on MSNBC -- maybe on YouTube? It's really insightful. After months and months of banging my head I have sorrowfully given up on my erstwhile friend. He's lost. If any of them wake up, I believe it will be a minuscule percentage.
Well, that attitude is not going to help us win in 2026 when both of Georgia’s democratic Senators are up for reelection. Try to do better. Do you want to take back the House and at least hold our ground in the Senate or not? We need you in the fight, not shooting us in the foot.
I think only one is up for reelection
Yes. Ossoff and he did not vote three times. At least he could vote NO. He did vote for Douglas Collins for Veterans Affairs and Rubio for Secretary of State. Both terrible choices.
Name calling does NO good, TC. Even in your own Substack. It expresses your feelings but does not help the general cause and alienates many.
I tend to discount any comment with misspelled words.
Sad. Typing on phones is problematic. Automated typing is problematic. I have had some interesting words added.
That's a damn shame. I've read a lot of publications with misspelling and typos that made it past editors. Do you really have nothing left to learn?
I think more telling is the use of there for their, your for you're, republican for patriot, etc.
To Joyce: You just wrote a super, what… a damn good speech? Wow.
I agree that as a centrist, I am frequently in some dispute on issues but we are together on the big effort. Praise the Lord and pass the ammo.
I will explain my comment since one response seems confused. I am non-partisan. I’m for all intents, of neither party although I have been a registered democrat until recently and I only changed to the Republican registration so a friend will hire me as a moderator during elections. The easiest job in my town since perhaps 5-10% of the population is republican. Easy pay for the day. I also will soon be a certified Justice of the Peace so I can marry everyone and be paid for it and it’s easier to get the position as a Republican, lol. (I ain’t no dang dummy.) But I have little if nothing in common with current disgusting MAGA movement. They are poisonous to our body politic and the sooner they are purged the better. And here is why I’ll just say and admonish my fellow Democrats in spirit, let go of unpopular issues. Expand the tent. Stop excluding working class WHITE people because this is exactly what has been done. We have driven this ethno/economic group into the hands of their executioners, ie, Republicans. Wake up and smell the coffee.
Katz, are you also a brain surgeon ?
Yes how did you know this? Ahha… you looked up Dr Bill Katz renown brain surgeon. I can put your mind at ease in three easy steps.
Hmm, a "centrist" in the tRump era...is such a label even - you know - useful? Or, helpful? "No Labels"? "Third Way"? Very curious as to what this stance embraces in these parlous times, when facing a runaway anti-constitutionalist rebellion.
With attitudes like yours, there will be no victories.
oops, mispelling...discount
I join you in praise of this excellent newsletter. Alas, it is human nature to not lift a finger to promote change until things slam rock bottom....
Lots of farmers in other parts of the country are in the same boat. And how about those families with small businesses that cater to the Federal employees who are being laid off in their communities? And how about those construction companies and farmers who depend on immigrant labor, and whose workers, legal and illegal, are too fearful to show up for work? And retirees whose Social Security and Medicare benefits are at risk?
trump: bankrupt 6 times, everything he touches dies, has no idea what he's doing about anything. only a really uninformed person would throw out an idea to steal Gaza for his own gain. he has very much endangered the hostages. I want to know why Palestinians and jews weren't each given a state in 1948 ?? Also it is not lost on me that evangel huckabee is amb to israel.....rapture can't happen until all jews are in the holy land........so WTF
Will they realize who/what has hurt them or will they still believe that the democrats did it?
I bet this was aimed at Carter family....
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
"When danger is far off we may think of our weakness; when it is near we must not forget our strength."
"Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it."
--- Winston Churchill
Thx Dale.
People are slowly waking up to the fact that the United States government has been taken over by gangsters. It is no longer a democracy. And it will take a huge struggle to get it back. People will die at the hands of this evil faux government. They lied about everything except their intentions. Now we must summon all our courage and do whatever it takes to restore a free America.
I hosted a zoom call tonight to bring together people from all over the country to talk about how we survive and how we fight going forward.
I plan on doing it again in around a week and again as many times as it takes to help people form the mutual aid societies we will need.
They (the fascist oligarchs) intend to suck away the federal safety net and leave the regular citizenry for dead. I will do all I can to make sure that fails, by building an alternative infrastructure under their noses. Survival IS Resistance.
And then we can take back the rest.
Annabel: we need to talk about strategic and effective other reg & turnout of progressive educated community college students ONLYin truly competitive congressional districts— there are only 25 nationally; I’ve spent months analyzing all 435 ! Please send me an email at iralechner@yahoo.com
Thanks; then let’s talk?
There are TWO on April 1 (if you can believe it) in Florida
Josh Weil – who won his primary in 1 and Gay(e) Valmont in 6 are the Democrats
I’ve gotten two notes about them via social media but I don’t live in either district so IDK if those are “Democrats don’t want to spend money here” districts
But I have already alerted the new DNC chair & vice chairs, especially since one of them is from there
And I do believe taking those two seats would be enough to take control of the U.S. House
Well let's see what's possible --in 2024, Fl 01, we lost to Matt Gaetz by 120,00 votes and in Fl 06, we lost by 140,000 votes...please don't waste your money
Reading this reminds me of my youth, and that at times makes my stomach hurt. Then I shake it off and say ok self, get back up. As a black female growing up in Jim Crow, I feel like I have checked many of those boxes. It gets to be exhausting especially at my age because I have seen and lived it most of my life. Then I remember I am not the only one and I have no time to feel sorry for myself. Thank you, and all those who contribute and add encouragement on Civil Discourse.
I am struggling to understand why Musk is not being arrested for breaking and entering and stealing data, among many other illegal actions he has taken. Why isn't there an outcry? Am I off base to assume he should be arrested? From where I sit, the rule of law is melting away and in its place innocent people (those who prosecuted the J6 rioters) are paying a price for doing exactly what the Constitution requires, while those breaking the laws are acting with impunity. If Musk isn't held to account, then breaking the law becomes the norm and this is truly the beginning of the end.
Good question. It will come. But, we need a court to say "Who the hell are you? Show me the mandate for doing this." There is none. This is not part of the president's mandate. I want him to lose his citizenship. Let South Africa deal with the avaricious one trick pony.
Hi Carol-Ann,
If you don't already have this link, you might be interested to see this lawsuit filed against DOGE, musk, and ramaswamy, among others for their meddling in federal agency records, among other things. It's filed by lead plaintiff Jerald Lentini, on Jan 20th. He's a Manchester, CT, civil rights attorney serving on its city council. Here's a link to the case (#1:25-cv-166, Judge Jia Cobb): https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69559476/lentini-v-department-of-government-efficiency/ Right now, the case is being consolidated with two other similar ones. This case might start out slowly. With the link, you'll be able to see the latest status and read the docs. When you pull up a doc to read, you can get back to the docket sheet by clicking the back button on your browser.
But aren’t there mechanisms in place for judge to order a cease and desist letter and stop him immediately before he goes any further? this is what I don’t get. It’s clearly illegal. He does not have security clearance. He’s not a US citizen. He’s not part of the government. Yet he’s getting away with this in broad daylight.
Thank you. Good cases always start cautiously. You only get one bite of the apple. Better make it a good one.
Interesting...thanks for the link. Do you think the consolidation will help or hurt chances of a win?
I am in exactly the same place with you Diane, I don’t understand why he and his minions are not being taken into custody! I sent the following to all of my representatives and senators along with Schumer and Jeffries looking for action!
“The country is still under attack! It is most definitely a coup! Where are the mission oriented collection of active Congressional Members, Governors, active U.S. Attorneys, C.I.A. Clandestine Operatives, FBI Agents, Navy Seals, Army Rangers, Green Berets who are all on the side of Democracy, loyal to The Constitution who will follow a chosen leader, take hold of Musk, his crew, seize any and all documents and devices in their possession and help them reassess their illegal mission in shackles while in custody! At the same time a similar collection of the same kind can gather SCOTUS together with the help from the Democracy and Constitution loyal three to persuade them to overturn their immunity decision and begin putting an end to this insanity. None of the actions of the current Executive is preserving, protecting or defending The Constitution, or is remotely plausibly within the scope of the Constitutional parameters of the Executive.”
Something that has puzzled me in the last 2 weeks is the news reports that when musk et al showed up at usaid and said they needed access to classified areas, and the staff initially refused, the musk folk said we will call the US Marshals. And then the news reports say they were allowed entry. I've never quite understood why staff and USAID security didn't say "do what you have to do. We're going to be right here when they arrive". US Marshals might have had a more traditional view of who gets access to secure info and told the Muskovites to pound sand.
The enforcement mechanisms are structured to accept "legal" authority in terms of prioritization the application of that enforcement. They're also _very_ distracted with what's going on via the full frontal attack on the DOJ and FBI. This is on purpose.
Exactly
https://joycevance.substack.com/p/welcome-to-the-fight/comment/91692524
"I am struggling to understand why Musk is not being arrested for breaking and entering and stealing data, among many other illegal actions he has taken."
The short answer is "The first thing Republicans break is 'enforcement'"
They started back in the first Drumpf Administration when Bill Barr was appointed as USAG and those who warned against it were pooh-poohed and told to sit down and be quiet.
This came out eight months ago
Elon Musk: Everything You Didn't Know About His Sh*tty Past
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y40RU5Nx6U
Diane,
The people who would be investigating, arresting, indicting and trying musk now work under trump. We all see it but he controls everyone who could cut musk off. We're seeing TROs being granted by the courts for what musk has done. But, none of us right now knows how he could be apprehended by the trump-world feds. That's why he hasn't been nabbed.
Right now there is no law & the Constitution has been suspended. Those with the power are in charge. We will have to see where the police & the military put their loyalty.
Who would arrest him? The DOJ is led by Pam Bondi, they are firing lots of agents, disbanding the FBI. Musk is committing federal crimes and is beyond the reach of DC Metro police, and the lead prosecutor a Mr. Martin has knelt to Trump by threatening anyone who interferes with Musk. David Bove, Deputy AG has his hands in Trumps pockets, presumably taking money from him for his defense work in New York, of course noting Trump's predilection to male genitals who knows what Bove is grabbing to make Trump Happy. Don't despair, I believe I have a plan that I am presenting to Congress soon.
Saving lives and influencing destiny one day at a time.
... and who is going to bell the cat? Eh?
exactly, they missed the first time. when you come for the king best not miss......
I am 87 years old and rolling up my sleeves!!! I've marched many times before and I aim to march again! I would like to see Herr Musk arrested and deported! The sooner the better!
Love you Carol!
At 78 I will be joining you!
It’s just curious that Project 2025 detailed the coup two years in advance. Its authors planned meticulously and Trump, ever the puppet, readily agreed to having all power transferred to the Executive Branch—they plan, he grins and takes a bow … the ultra right takes control, Musk takes the money.
David, Toddler-Trump is not now and never was very bright. He has some street smarts that he mastered and those carried him through the bankruptcies and other corruption and into reality TV and then the White House. He has surrounded himself with people who will bow to him while they are getting their own goodies. Toddler-Musk is really good at it, even better than Toddler-Trump because he actually invested his billions in something then milked those corporations dry, even getting the government to pay for them while he was collecting the billions. This could be stopped by our courts because what they are doing is illegal, but our judges for the most part are not always too bright either, particularly the ones the Federalist Society puts forward. Those folks are yes-men and a few yes-women who will do whatever their owners tell them to do. I am hoping there are enough judges with integrity on the various benches, but I know there are a lot like Judge Cannon who are not and will bow and scrape to Toddler-Trump for whatever crumbs he will permit to come their way. We are in trouble, but we could stop a lot of the insanity if we could get everyone who sees what is going on and is angry about it to stand up against it together as Americans, in all our variety.
trump would be nothing without his inheritance. In fact, he'd probably be homeless.
Outdoorlover, I actually think Toddler-Trump would have been a gang member, maybe a bully for the MAFIA. He wouldn't have been a hit man because he is a coward and not very smart, but he is pretty good with threatening people, cheating, and lying.
Yes, you're right, although he always has someone else do his dirty work, and never stands alone unless he's within his kingdom. He is definitely a marketing master... otherwise known as, a master manipulator.
Outdoor lover, Toddler-Trump truly acts like a 3-year-old with really bad parents. The problem, this toddler and the whole collection of them now running our government have adult weapons to use for their toddler desires and tantrums. Toddler-Trump thinks he is in charge because that is what those manipulating him want him and his base to believe. As the master manipulator Toddler-Trump is, he can't imagine anyone being better at it than he is. Toddler-Musk also thinks he is some kind of grand strategist while he is an ignorant child who with all his wealth couldn't get a college to give him a degree if he paid for it. Toddler-Musk should be in jail for grand theft of our private information and for stealing the information of all kinds of government employees something he and his toddler-goon-troops have no right too. One can tell just how much the Heritage Foundation toddlers are brainwashed and have brainwashed Republican America is that no, not a single Republican has protested Toddler-Musk's illegal behavior and the illegal executive orders of their Toddler-In-Chief. So, we have a toddler playground filled with brainwashed misfits who are working to destroy our nation and economy that was working amazingly well even after Trump tried to bring it down the first time. This whole toddler production was orchestrated by the racism, misogyny, and xenophobia that have become endemic and have never been fully dealt with in our society. A whole lot of people voted for an ignorant boob because he is "rich," white, and male. They didn't care that he has dementia, makes no sense, is cruel and vengeful while claiming to be christian, even with his own bible. Even a lot of Democrats stayed home supposedly because of Gaza or some other such BS, but in reality, many Dems have problems with the big three: racism, misogyny, and xenophobia too. Then there's the attacks on other vulnerable people, LGBTQ+ persons even though Toddler-Trump's mentor was gay and died of AIDS. What a mess! We have a whole pool of toddlers to deal with, none of whom can reason clearly, care about people other than themselves and how they can use other people, nor understand anyone who is not just like themselves (shallow and weak, but pretending to be something else). We do need to learn quickly how to stand up to the bully pool and get them back onto their floaties so they can't hurt anyone else.
Thanks, Ruth, perfectly said...
"Judges" condemned the Scholl siblings to death by immediate decapitation in public.
Fine reasoning! And - here I stand in awe - not a single typo. I’m green …
David, thanks. I am a retired public school teacher. I learned quickly that any typo a parent or colleague found was a bad mark on my ability. They never said it that way, but would definitely point it out with some humor attached. It is challenging as a blind person, but I have a pretty good screen reader that lets me know when it thinks I didn't get it right. My whole family is almost obsessive about typos, my mom a secretary and a sister who proofreads. So thanks for noticing!
so parents called out a blind person...no wonder their kids are jerks (some)
Patricia, Oops, I reread what I had written and realize it could have been taken as though the comments were meant as mean; they were not. I had a great relationship with my students' parents. They would tell me they were amazed that I made so few typos (I was amazed too). Unfortunately, when I made them, it was in something that when read, the typo made a whole different word. I was truly blessed to work in a school district where my vision-impairment, then blindness was not an issue. I was just one of the crew, and now as a volunteer tutor at one of the schools where I worked, that is still true. It would be really good if every person with a difference were treated so well, or even with no disability. I think my hire helped other people with disabilities be accepted in our district. I am grateful for that and that people weren't too careful when talking with me that they couldn't make a joke about typos.
OK! Sounds like you have accomplished a lot and continue to do so.
But. at this point, Musk is the one playing both the Heritage Society and the one they all think they can dupe. He is the one they, and we all, need to keep our eye on and stop. The "shock " is that we were so stupid and believed that Musk couldn't really buy a candidate or an election.....wrong. The good news? He is greedy, he just want all the goodies....NOW. Problem is none of it is real, it's all paper and worth zip until it is cashed in. Bankrupt the system and it's worth nothing. The Heritage Foundation? Fog brained philosophers - great on paper, but left to their own devices? They'd f*ck up a junkyard. They are nerve wracking but they can be handled - just keep saying no- that's what the courts are there for. Thank you Joe Biden. As for the Convict-in-Chief? Time is on our side. That's all I'm going to say.
Well, if things start to go sideways for Musk, he can always flee to China and his battery factory.
David, I would like to see Toddler-Musk in jail for stealing our private information when he has no right to it no matter what the new pathetic Treasury Sec. says. I would love to see Toddler-Musk's money disappear so he would have to live like a "normal" person. OK, that would never work because there is always someone out there to coddle a little rich toddler even if he is no longer rich.
But sadly, he owns the jails … and is probably negotiating for a piece in the new jails to be built for immigrants, enemies, Black Lives Matter, Dems, libs, uncooperating women …
He has so much wealth he can go wherever he pleases, never running out of funds in his lifetime.
Well, I wish he'd hasten himself to Mars... preferably, on one of his exploding rockets.
Everything was laid out in Project 2025. It scared the hell out of me when I read it about 18 months ago. It was strange to me too that few in the media were addressing it at the time. I guess we humans often use denial as a coping mechanism. I’m sure that the authors of the Project were banking on that.
“The big joke on democracy is that it gives its mortal enemies the means to its own destruction.” - Joseph Goebbels, March 23, 1933
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/01/hitler-germany-constitution-authoritarianism/681233/
https://bsky.app/profile/justinsg.bsky.social
Yes, considering it’s everybody else’s money — donations, you see.
And I am a retired copywriter who has failed only one course in life: Typing.
At the end of world war two we were told, Never forget. Did we forget about the atrocities the pain?
The fear, the chaos?
What we forgot is to tell our children about WWII and the men & women who died, & those who survived. My Dad was in France & I was n3 years old when he came home but some never discussed it with family & friends. Thank goodness my family & relatives talked about the things they saw, but perhaps, not enough did & now we are faced with deniers & today.
There was one more thing. It was taught when we were in school. Civics, remember that? Not anymore. At best, it's an elective (who ever heard of basic subjects being "electives"? ) It has become an "oh that."
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905.
90,000,000! did not do their civic duty!
Maybe in some areas. Or some families may have been illiterate. Not all families were without books and schooIs were excellent in my area. Adults need to keep our historic history alive so our young people are knowledgeable.
I wonder how many people's children haven't heard the history and the stories. Mine have: their American grandfather fought, a great uncle was klled, their great grandfather, a resistance organiser, was captured and died in Germany. It's hard to imagine people who haven't a clue or don't believe anything happened.
More than you think. Charles Lindbergh was not allowed to fight in WWII because he couldn't be trusted. He was that much of a Nazi. But that is not something children in US learn. They learn of the daring aviator, not the traitor. Unfortunately, if it doesn't affect the country directly....Yes, there was Pearl Harbor but that was there - nothing on the European Continent - the Republican party was extremely isolationist and fought FDR on his plans for helping the allies, until Dec 7th, that is.
Who do you mean by "we"? White people? Straight white people? You're erasing an awful lot of U.S. history there, including Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of the mid-1960s, Roe v. Wade (1973, RIP), the struggle for women's and lesbian and gay rights, the AIDS activists who fought back against the Reagan administration, etc., etc.
With all the shit that has been coming at us, Mike Popok with Legal AF/ Meidas Touch Network explains the legal aspects in his podcasts and YouTube videos. They are really informative and there is no bullshit about them. They are a true complement to Joyce’s work here. I learned today that the judges can throw high ranking officials and their attorneys in jail if they disobey their orders and that the federal Marshals are there to help with that as not all of of them (or any of them?) are under the executive branch authority. So when can we send them to the treasury department? My Medicare and social security which millions of us depend on to live are at stake among so many other important items. We need the judges to get musk out of our payment systems, but I suspect they have already gone in and overwritten a whole lot of the code. Scary times, but I am in for the fight.
This has all been done before. There is another playbook and if you want to know a little bit more about the "how" of Project 2025 - look into the history of Hitler. That is who they are following. The names have been changed but the actions remain the same. The Atlantic has a new piece that is VERY informative: "The Oligarchs Who Came to Regret Supporting Hitler".
Elon Musk is playing the part of Alfred Hugenberg. Trump is Hitler. It all is very eerily similar....
I hope the gift link works.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/hitler-oligarchs-hugenberg-nazi/681584/?gift=Qt0IdXHJl2haSHszPVJhfh2aAQA0oAmjh1MN9Qv6qao&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
The first paragraph:
'He was among the richest men in the world. He made his first fortune in heavy industry. He made his second as a media mogul. And in January 1933, in exchange for a political favor, Alfred Hugenberg provided the electoral capital that made possible Adolf Hitler’s appointment as chancellor. Before Hugenberg sealed his pact with Hitler, a close associate had warned Hugenberg that this was a deal he would come to regret: “One night you will find yourself running through the ministry gardens in your underwear trying to escape arrest."'
The difference this time may be that Alon von Moosk becomes the Fuehrer.
The link works and thank you!
This also by Timothy Ryback, in the Atlantic:
The authors of Project 2025 understand this 👇
“The big joke on democracy is that it gives its mortal enemies the means to its own destruction.” - Joseph Goebbels, March 23, 1933
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/01/hitler-germany-constitution-authoritarianism/681233/
https://bsky.app/profile/justinsg.bsky.social
Thank you!
Thank you, thank you, Carol. A great read. Makes me realize how much history I don't know, and hope that this good writing on this subject reaches more people.
Thx, Carole, very enlightening.
I made my 5Calls today through the App. Everyone needs to get the App 5Calls. It gives you the issues and the phone numbers and scripts to call your Senators and Representatives.
Thanks, great App
Yes, it is a game of distractions by Trump setting up $ trillions for theft by Musk. It is rather simple. I did say $ trillions and I identity what I can see. In just one instance, if they kill the Education Department, states will clamor for privatization. Education is $853 billion per year. Yes $BILLION. Ohhh. The 10-year contract(s), think $9 trillion. One graft pie. There are many $ 1 trillion pies in play. They don’t think small theft. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/watch-the-treasury?r=3m1bs
He tried this in the first debacle. The states don't like it. If they didn't like it then, why would they like it now? Hope the blow back is as strong this time as it was the last.
If they do, it will be too late.the Red states are on the chopping block of Musk.
Elections matter.
Yes, elections matter. That's why the SCOTUS majority decided Citizens United (2010) and Shelby v. Holder (2013) the way they did: to stack the deck in favor of their side. That's why red states are so fond of making it hard and harder for people who don't vote Republican to vote.
What’s Trump’s cut I wonder.
Hello, no jail, lots of $ from russia et al., attention, stealing Gaza, trying to get his ass planted in the garden of heros,etc.
Just another balmy day …
I've been wondering that myself.
"Kayfabe". https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/14/donald-trump-us-politics-world-wrestling-entertainment
This is more than my second time around in fighting injustice in this country, a country I grew up thinking was the best in the world. The best thing about America is the idea of America. We aren't and haven't been for a very long time the best in the world. My first realization of that was the Vietnam War, I was in the Navy. My second realization of that was Kent State, then there was Nixon and Agnew and that stupid MOU at the DOJ that they have kept to this day and in part has gotten us where we are today and so much more. Then my eyes were open to other democracy's that provided their citizens, with tax sponsor education up to and through a Ph.D., national health care and much more. We allow religion to get involved in our politics, which our constitution forbids, we allowed our Congress to give us 'under God' in our pledge and 'In God We Trust' to take over our motto E Pluribus Unum and so much more until here we are allowing a rapist, a convicted felon to once again occupy our WH and his like to occupy our Congress and the rest of our government in a bloodless coup.
I am 81 years old, I have been on too many protests to count, civil rights, LGBT rights, women's rights and the list goes on and now all those efforts that so many of my generation and others fought for are for what?
President Biden's legacy will not be that he gave us an outstanding economy, it will be that in only focusing on that, after a first attempted coup, he, his AG and Congress ignore what they needed to do to protect us from another one; to protect us from the scum, this traitor that occupies our WH. He handed over the keys to our government to a traitor who told us exactly what he intended to do.
I don't know if I will be around to vote him and the rest of the sum out of office, but I sure hope the Universe see fit to give me one more chance to make it better for the country I love with all it warts.
I'm almost your age, and remember it all, too. Ironic that the 'other democracies' you refer to probably include Germany - the source of the example our felon is following. And that the desire on Biden's part for a 'peaceful transition of power' gave him no other option. Even though the Democrats can be accused of not fighting hard enough (even now) it's the Republicans who have gotten us to this point. Here's to hoping were both around to vote this criminal bunch out of office.
I don't disagree at all. Here's to voting them all out together with other like-minded patriots.
Close to your age and remember it all.
Today, I had the opportunity to share with my hair stylist the need to contact our congress people about the problems Elon Musk is causing along with Trump’s destroying of our country. She was already concerned about her federal subsidized housing and was afraid of what she had seen on the news. She said she isn’t political but didn’t know what to do. I was happy to share with her the need to contact our congress and share how to do it with others. She is planning to share with several family members who are also worried. Life in the US has been comfortable for so long that we’ve become complacent and don’t know what we can do so sharing what and how can help empower people.
Yes Cheryl, it is time for everyone to stop being repelled by “political”. It is the rent they pay, the SS they receive, the Medicare/medicaid
they depend on, the air they breathe and the water they drink. Most importantly, it is the personal freedoms they enjoy.
Perfect paragraph! I am always appalled by people who don’t vote because “they are not political”.
We need to ask those who voted for Trump a simple question: “Is this what you voted for?”
Those who say yes are a lost cause. Those who say no may be ready to join us in our fight for democracy.
I have a neighbor who refuses to speak about politics! She is almost 76, Jewish, a woman and doesn't have much money. She has very low self-confidence and I'm trying to work with her on that since I am a life coach. She's a lost cause unless she gets hurt.
I am just curious, why reveal personal details which are irrelevant to your argument.
Also, that as a life coach you would label someone a lost cause.
Perhaps repost as this:
I have a neighbor who refuses to speak about politics! I'm trying to work with her on that. Since I am a life coach, I have hopes that she will not be hurt, will empathize with the suffering around her, and come to understand the role of politics. She, as we all do, has the potential to do good.
Life coach is a professional relationship not a neighbor. Life coach ethics do not disclose personal protected information. Life coach practice does not diagnose nor proclaim personality assessment. You are exhibiting the behavior and attitude of the bully bigot you are politically opposed for being that way. I understand why this person would not talk about politics with you.
I think lisa is more of a dating coach.........scroll over her picture...
“Shock and awful” … good one!