Thank you for this, Steven, your anger is palpable.
Trump's actions in Los Angeles and now in DC are just a precursor to placing troops in cities around the country so that he can declare martial law and call off elections. I mean, does anyone really think that this malevolent thug is going to risk losing power in fair elections?
We are no longer a nation governed by law. Let's give up the pretense that the Supreme Court is committed to upholding the Constitution.
It is time for united action. We need to rid ourselves of this cancer on the soul of the nation. It is time for massive, ongoing protests and general strikes.
But where is the united front of leaders whom we need to spearhead the charge? Statements of moral outrage on the part of well-meaning individuals - be they mayors, governors or members of congress - are just words in the wind.
The "end of the US" has been predicted since the founding of the Republic. It hasn't happened yet, though we've come close. Also keep in mind that "the US" as you may think of it didn't exist for Black people and other people of color till the mid-1960s and since then it's been a work in progress. The most pressing question isn't "where is SCOTUS and Congress?" They've been mostly AWOL for at least a decade and a half. The important question is "Where are YOU?" What are you doing to fight back, and/or to support those who are fighting back?
It sure enough started with Reagan, but (as I keep reminding myself) you have to be at least 60 years old to have reasonably adult memories of the U.S. before Reagan.
Personally I give to candidates who express my wishes for a Constitutional Republic. When they are elected and become MAGA Democrats, I barrage them with personal letters decrying their votes. I also support anyone who will run against them in the next election. 2) I VOTE. 3) I PROTEST IN THE STREETS. 4) I WRITE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 5) I BEFRIEND THE "OTHER" What do you do?
It’s time to shrink DC to just the Capitol Mall and surrounding Federal buildings & monuments, then make the residential areas a state. D.C. has a population larger than two states, Vermont & Wyoming, and comparable to AK & ND.
While we’re at it, let’s give representation to US citizens in Puerto Rico (larger population than 18 states), Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa & Northern Mariana Islands.
U.S. Citizens should have congressional & senate representation, no matter where they live.
Republicans have blocked it because they know it means more Democrats in the House and especially in the Senate. I don't know what the statehood rules are, but DC should be a state, and that should be high on the agenda for when Democrats regain power.
The orange dictator is looking for his Reichstag moment. When will a Guardsman decide that he is receiving an unlawful order, and refuses to carry it out? When will DC Police decide they are being asked to carry out unlawful orders and refuse? Nothing good can happen.
What happens when someone shoots one of the City’s supposed Protectors or, the opposite? My “Bet” Tanks, armed Soldiers, Curfews. Martial Law? The insurrection Act imposed!
And when that Reichstag moment occurs (and it will) the madman will take off his gloves. They have been preparing for this for a few years. He has maniacal fury, and it will be unleashed, as many millions applaud.
We need to bring this madness to a screeching halt. Now would be an excellent time for someone to leak the unredacted Epstein files and/or the photos biographer Michael Wolff recently described in a Midas Touch podcast . . .
Nah. Woodward would have been researching his next book. He would have been to Trump's Motel in Florida to interview "dear leader". As a good Republican, he would have missed the obvious, waiting for absolute proof the Republic was gone.
"You spit, and we hit, and they get hit real hard.” This guy is itching for a bloody melee. We can't give it to him. It's time for good trouble, sit-ins, stands against the fascists, strikes, boycotts. Shut the fucking country down. No buying. No tv. No errands. No school. No courts. Just let every thing come to a complete stop for a day. We need another massive, massive national protest, bigger than Hands Off and No Kings, combined. We need to show what true patriotism looks like, that Trump and his gang of thugs are traitors to the Constitution, to the country, to The People. Don't forget and take heart: there are more of us than there are of them. And of that 77 million who voted for him in 2024, a big chunk didn't so much vote FOR him as against the Democrats. Dems have to get it together and soon. Get rid of their "leaders"--Schumer, Jeffries, DNC's Ken Martin, state party chairs who are doing nothing while things fall apart all around us. They are a disgrace and not up to the tasks of leadership. Then call a meeting of all Dem governors (I'm asking you Newsom or Pritzker) to strategize (1) how to face down the Reeps on the redistricting ploy--you do it, and we will do it back, plus 3 more seats. (2) We will not let you bring troops into our cities. We will galvanize our states' activists and make it clear we don't want or need you here. (3) Get rid of all Dem consultants and operatives who think the battle is about messaging. It isn't. It's about authenticity, courage, grit, hard work and the will to fight like hell for the things we believe in. That's how we win.
Voters who were not die-hard Republican voters wither did not bother vote or voted for Trump because WOMAN -BLACK. Ask those who voted for Trump and those who did not vote. The two reasons are not because they were against the Democrats - it is because they were against a WOMAN. That was easier to admit than that she was BLACK, but further conversation also brought that to the surface. Do not blame the Democrats. Blame the VOTERS who are racist and misogynists.
I get your point, but the Democratic establishment, especially Joe Biden and his family, completely fucked the Democratic brand, including Kamala Harris. The numbers do not lie: Dems barely have a 32% approval rating, irrespective of any candidate. The brand is damaged, badly, needs new, dynamic and tough, smart, fighter-mentality leaders. We're talking about the fate of democracy here. No more knives to a gun fight. https://www.newsweek.com/democrat-net-favorability-plunges-near-three-decade-low-poll-shows-2110513
I watched and listened to some clips of Trump's ramblings as he announced the occupation of DC. He was incoherent in a way that would have had most of us rushing the speaker to the hospital for a physical and mental evaluation. Why is there so little attention given by most of the legacy corporate billionaire media to the clear mental decline that his cabinet and members of his administration are hiding so that they can retain the power they exercise through him?
UNPRECEDENTED. Have you noticed this is the most commonly used term to describe the Trump regime’s dismantling, deregulating and dismissal of our federal and public institutions? And, also Trump’s unprecedented use of threats to US…the people ?
We, in turn, need to take unprecedented actions in our resistance. NOW. As Robyn Boyer notes in her earlier response: it’s time for strikes & sit-ins, plus massive boycotts. Only our sustained collaborative efforts will make a difference. Easy? Of course not; individual courage and commitment is required if we seriously do not want to live and die under tyranny. This warning is not hyperbole.
Two numbers stand out most for me; 77 million who voted for the madman, and 89 million who did not vote. And there we have it. A formula for the fall of a 249 year old experiment in democracy.
I know guys, with a few bucks, who are of the traditional old school GOP mindset. Only care about te pocketbook. They hate Trump. But sat the election out, definitely unable to vote for a Dem, especially a female of color.
Here are 100 protest signs. More are coming, and these are being improved every day, so sign up for more.
This moment demands protest. To each it should be unmistakable—urgent and morally unassailable. I speak for justice, duty, and shared humanity. Act now. We must protect the disadvantaged. Rise. We have many protests to do. Good trouble. Restack these 100 signs to spread the wealth. Others need to be armed.
Thank you Steven: Possibly Trump wants to get the population used to seeing the military roaming through the streets of all major cities to quell dissent and stamp out any protests. After a while folks will just think it is the normal course of events. Using the FBI to control traffic is a terrible waste of resources. The real emergencies are the lack of housing, terrible health care, poverty, the cost of living, floods and fires, the destruction of the climate and environment, the belittlement of the allies,. The President of a once great , respected nation is not sane. It so sad how far down one can take a nation in just seven months. The Heritage Foundation cabal and Trump have got to be defeated. The focus is always on Trump yet the Heritage Foundation is writing the script to destruction. It will just be the oligarchs and the poor grovelling around trying to survive.
Trump is a bully (we all know that) and his base loves his “strength”. Talking about the actual things that would help curb the crime in cities like DC is something we Democrats do - it’s a slow process and doesn’t get the attention. I’ll sit and wait to see the disaster that unfolds in the next 30 days (hopefully no one gets shot by the NG) and then the city will go back to plodding along trying to curb the gangs etc. while he moves onto his next assault on the next city. In the meantime what are they doing for grocery prices or housing? A big zero. It’s all culture wars.
The police chief there in DC seems eager to aggressively enter the enclave of poor and working class African-American communities that have called D.C. home for a hundred years. She's eager to flush out the dangerous entities and gangs. She hates being restricted by civil rights laws. She wants results. Ya cant blame her but....These communities have infrastructure problems that landlords and city officials hardly address and therefor ignore. The residents' school and job prospects are hardly addressed. trump is so into real estate deals, he wants that land, those structures, to turn DC into an elite play area for the rich in proximity to what he thinks is his "House." He's not interested in finding solutions to the plight of regular people who work and live throughout DC in dozens of different capacities. When the police chief opens access to the Washington District to Fedreal security forces, as she said in the news conference, the troops and mercenaries it will NOT be there in the name of law and order, it will by oppression and fear and threat ignoring all law Constitutional and civil. It's a classic example of a "slippery slope". The police chief WILL be scape-goated as the fallguy. She is foolish in her enthusiasm. She is being played and set up. When the killing and the mayhem starts on the part of the trump's armed forces, trump and his minions will point to her. She thinks she is immune to trump's machinations. The mayor, too. It will happen when the American people crowd into the streets there to protest. Perhaps by a million. Everything will be in place to crush the protests with violence. It's a chess game. He knows the people will come out onto the streets in huge numbers. He wants to be ready. 30 days restriction? Does anybody but the mayor and the police chief believe that deadline? First chance he gets trump will claim eminent domain and take over buildings on which he slaps his name. People, do not be naive. The police chief has capitulated. She still thinks everything is normal. Poor thing. She will go down as a footnote in history as the woman who let them in without reservation and will be seen as responsible for ensuing violent clashes, because she bought into the (mythic) solidarity of police and military membership, and could not see the big picture and has no forethought. She thinks the military enforcements are allies when really they are mercenaries and trump cultists. They are trump's storm troopers.
It cannot prevent or slow the feds coming in. She and the mayor can make it worse. For now at least she still reports to the Mayor. But Pam Bondi, was appointed interim commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Department & Terry Cole, who was appointed interim federal administrator. I sincerely doubt there will be millions in the DC streets. That’s a Donnie wet dream.
DC is a glorified territory, semi-autonomous at best, with its budget & laws all subject to the whims of Congress. Congress yanked $1Billion of DC tax money mid-fiscal year that was to go to teaches & police etc. That happened during ‘reconciliation’. The WH controls the DC National Guard.
The police chief was with the National Park Service for 24 yrs & served as chief part of that time. Before becoming chief at MPD she was the chief equity officer & is known for her community engagement efforts. I would avoid speaking on what others are thinking.
Thank you for this, Steven, your anger is palpable.
Trump's actions in Los Angeles and now in DC are just a precursor to placing troops in cities around the country so that he can declare martial law and call off elections. I mean, does anyone really think that this malevolent thug is going to risk losing power in fair elections?
We are no longer a nation governed by law. Let's give up the pretense that the Supreme Court is committed to upholding the Constitution.
It is time for united action. We need to rid ourselves of this cancer on the soul of the nation. It is time for massive, ongoing protests and general strikes.
But where is the united front of leaders whom we need to spearhead the charge? Statements of moral outrage on the part of well-meaning individuals - be they mayors, governors or members of congress - are just words in the wind.
Where is SCOTUS and Congress? This appears to be the end of the US.
They’re cheering from the sidelines. 😑
The "end of the US" has been predicted since the founding of the Republic. It hasn't happened yet, though we've come close. Also keep in mind that "the US" as you may think of it didn't exist for Black people and other people of color till the mid-1960s and since then it's been a work in progress. The most pressing question isn't "where is SCOTUS and Congress?" They've been mostly AWOL for at least a decade and a half. The important question is "Where are YOU?" What are you doing to fight back, and/or to support those who are fighting back?
I've been fighting since daddy Bush or Reagan entered the WH.
It sure enough started with Reagan, but (as I keep reminding myself) you have to be at least 60 years old to have reasonably adult memories of the U.S. before Reagan.
Personally I give to candidates who express my wishes for a Constitutional Republic. When they are elected and become MAGA Democrats, I barrage them with personal letters decrying their votes. I also support anyone who will run against them in the next election. 2) I VOTE. 3) I PROTEST IN THE STREETS. 4) I WRITE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 5) I BEFRIEND THE "OTHER" What do you do?
OMG, have you got MAGA *Democrats* where you live? I live in New England and can barely imagine such a thing.
Summer break! 🤬
Who?
It’s time to shrink DC to just the Capitol Mall and surrounding Federal buildings & monuments, then make the residential areas a state. D.C. has a population larger than two states, Vermont & Wyoming, and comparable to AK & ND.
While we’re at it, let’s give representation to US citizens in Puerto Rico (larger population than 18 states), Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa & Northern Mariana Islands.
U.S. Citizens should have congressional & senate representation, no matter where they live.
Republicans have blocked it because they know it means more Democrats in the House and especially in the Senate. I don't know what the statehood rules are, but DC should be a state, and that should be high on the agenda for when Democrats regain power.
I’m sure there will be a court battle afterward but it is long overdue. https://statehood.dc.gov/page/faq
We shouldn’t have territories and DC all with different statuses. (Although I believe DC is the only one that pays federal taxes which could be an issue for some.) Some are US citizens and some are not. https://ballotpedia.org/Citizenship_status_in_territories_of_the_United_States
The orange dictator is looking for his Reichstag moment. When will a Guardsman decide that he is receiving an unlawful order, and refuses to carry it out? When will DC Police decide they are being asked to carry out unlawful orders and refuse? Nothing good can happen.
“Ohio”
If that happens, it may be civil war. That is why it is imperative that any orders to shoot unarmed citizens be refused!
What happens when someone shoots one of the City’s supposed Protectors or, the opposite? My “Bet” Tanks, armed Soldiers, Curfews. Martial Law? The insurrection Act imposed!
Sigh. It's "martial" law.
OOOOPS! Good catch Marliss, Sigh no more. My elevated state of aggravation has made me careless!
And when that Reichstag moment occurs (and it will) the madman will take off his gloves. They have been preparing for this for a few years. He has maniacal fury, and it will be unleashed, as many millions applaud.
We need to bring this madness to a screeching halt. Now would be an excellent time for someone to leak the unredacted Epstein files and/or the photos biographer Michael Wolff recently described in a Midas Touch podcast . . .
The MSM we USED to have would have done this already.
Yep. A modern Woodward & Bernstein team would have gotten right on it.
Nah. Woodward would have been researching his next book. He would have been to Trump's Motel in Florida to interview "dear leader". As a good Republican, he would have missed the obvious, waiting for absolute proof the Republic was gone.
Thank you for saying all of this so clearly at this truly horrifying time that should surprise no one!
"You spit, and we hit, and they get hit real hard.” This guy is itching for a bloody melee. We can't give it to him. It's time for good trouble, sit-ins, stands against the fascists, strikes, boycotts. Shut the fucking country down. No buying. No tv. No errands. No school. No courts. Just let every thing come to a complete stop for a day. We need another massive, massive national protest, bigger than Hands Off and No Kings, combined. We need to show what true patriotism looks like, that Trump and his gang of thugs are traitors to the Constitution, to the country, to The People. Don't forget and take heart: there are more of us than there are of them. And of that 77 million who voted for him in 2024, a big chunk didn't so much vote FOR him as against the Democrats. Dems have to get it together and soon. Get rid of their "leaders"--Schumer, Jeffries, DNC's Ken Martin, state party chairs who are doing nothing while things fall apart all around us. They are a disgrace and not up to the tasks of leadership. Then call a meeting of all Dem governors (I'm asking you Newsom or Pritzker) to strategize (1) how to face down the Reeps on the redistricting ploy--you do it, and we will do it back, plus 3 more seats. (2) We will not let you bring troops into our cities. We will galvanize our states' activists and make it clear we don't want or need you here. (3) Get rid of all Dem consultants and operatives who think the battle is about messaging. It isn't. It's about authenticity, courage, grit, hard work and the will to fight like hell for the things we believe in. That's how we win.
Voters who were not die-hard Republican voters wither did not bother vote or voted for Trump because WOMAN -BLACK. Ask those who voted for Trump and those who did not vote. The two reasons are not because they were against the Democrats - it is because they were against a WOMAN. That was easier to admit than that she was BLACK, but further conversation also brought that to the surface. Do not blame the Democrats. Blame the VOTERS who are racist and misogynists.
I get your point, but the Democratic establishment, especially Joe Biden and his family, completely fucked the Democratic brand, including Kamala Harris. The numbers do not lie: Dems barely have a 32% approval rating, irrespective of any candidate. The brand is damaged, badly, needs new, dynamic and tough, smart, fighter-mentality leaders. We're talking about the fate of democracy here. No more knives to a gun fight. https://www.newsweek.com/democrat-net-favorability-plunges-near-three-decade-low-poll-shows-2110513
I watched and listened to some clips of Trump's ramblings as he announced the occupation of DC. He was incoherent in a way that would have had most of us rushing the speaker to the hospital for a physical and mental evaluation. Why is there so little attention given by most of the legacy corporate billionaire media to the clear mental decline that his cabinet and members of his administration are hiding so that they can retain the power they exercise through him?
Um, Jake Tapper?
UNPRECEDENTED. Have you noticed this is the most commonly used term to describe the Trump regime’s dismantling, deregulating and dismissal of our federal and public institutions? And, also Trump’s unprecedented use of threats to US…the people ?
We, in turn, need to take unprecedented actions in our resistance. NOW. As Robyn Boyer notes in her earlier response: it’s time for strikes & sit-ins, plus massive boycotts. Only our sustained collaborative efforts will make a difference. Easy? Of course not; individual courage and commitment is required if we seriously do not want to live and die under tyranny. This warning is not hyperbole.
Two numbers stand out most for me; 77 million who voted for the madman, and 89 million who did not vote. And there we have it. A formula for the fall of a 249 year old experiment in democracy.
Just remember that some of the non-voters likely would have voted for Trump or third party.
I know guys, with a few bucks, who are of the traditional old school GOP mindset. Only care about te pocketbook. They hate Trump. But sat the election out, definitely unable to vote for a Dem, especially a female of color.
Here are 100 protest signs. More are coming, and these are being improved every day, so sign up for more.
This moment demands protest. To each it should be unmistakable—urgent and morally unassailable. I speak for justice, duty, and shared humanity. Act now. We must protect the disadvantaged. Rise. We have many protests to do. Good trouble. Restack these 100 signs to spread the wealth. Others need to be armed.
https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/100-free-protest-signs?r=3m1bs
We need 10 million people on the streets now. Wake up we can’t allow this to go any further.
Righteous anger, Steven!
We witnessed another sad "press" conference illustrating his demented and damaged "brain"! THIS is who will be meeting with Putin in Russia/Alaska 🤮❓️
Thank you Steven: Possibly Trump wants to get the population used to seeing the military roaming through the streets of all major cities to quell dissent and stamp out any protests. After a while folks will just think it is the normal course of events. Using the FBI to control traffic is a terrible waste of resources. The real emergencies are the lack of housing, terrible health care, poverty, the cost of living, floods and fires, the destruction of the climate and environment, the belittlement of the allies,. The President of a once great , respected nation is not sane. It so sad how far down one can take a nation in just seven months. The Heritage Foundation cabal and Trump have got to be defeated. The focus is always on Trump yet the Heritage Foundation is writing the script to destruction. It will just be the oligarchs and the poor grovelling around trying to survive.
Trump is a bully (we all know that) and his base loves his “strength”. Talking about the actual things that would help curb the crime in cities like DC is something we Democrats do - it’s a slow process and doesn’t get the attention. I’ll sit and wait to see the disaster that unfolds in the next 30 days (hopefully no one gets shot by the NG) and then the city will go back to plodding along trying to curb the gangs etc. while he moves onto his next assault on the next city. In the meantime what are they doing for grocery prices or housing? A big zero. It’s all culture wars.
The police chief there in DC seems eager to aggressively enter the enclave of poor and working class African-American communities that have called D.C. home for a hundred years. She's eager to flush out the dangerous entities and gangs. She hates being restricted by civil rights laws. She wants results. Ya cant blame her but....These communities have infrastructure problems that landlords and city officials hardly address and therefor ignore. The residents' school and job prospects are hardly addressed. trump is so into real estate deals, he wants that land, those structures, to turn DC into an elite play area for the rich in proximity to what he thinks is his "House." He's not interested in finding solutions to the plight of regular people who work and live throughout DC in dozens of different capacities. When the police chief opens access to the Washington District to Fedreal security forces, as she said in the news conference, the troops and mercenaries it will NOT be there in the name of law and order, it will by oppression and fear and threat ignoring all law Constitutional and civil. It's a classic example of a "slippery slope". The police chief WILL be scape-goated as the fallguy. She is foolish in her enthusiasm. She is being played and set up. When the killing and the mayhem starts on the part of the trump's armed forces, trump and his minions will point to her. She thinks she is immune to trump's machinations. The mayor, too. It will happen when the American people crowd into the streets there to protest. Perhaps by a million. Everything will be in place to crush the protests with violence. It's a chess game. He knows the people will come out onto the streets in huge numbers. He wants to be ready. 30 days restriction? Does anybody but the mayor and the police chief believe that deadline? First chance he gets trump will claim eminent domain and take over buildings on which he slaps his name. People, do not be naive. The police chief has capitulated. She still thinks everything is normal. Poor thing. She will go down as a footnote in history as the woman who let them in without reservation and will be seen as responsible for ensuing violent clashes, because she bought into the (mythic) solidarity of police and military membership, and could not see the big picture and has no forethought. She thinks the military enforcements are allies when really they are mercenaries and trump cultists. They are trump's storm troopers.
It cannot prevent or slow the feds coming in. She and the mayor can make it worse. For now at least she still reports to the Mayor. But Pam Bondi, was appointed interim commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Department & Terry Cole, who was appointed interim federal administrator. I sincerely doubt there will be millions in the DC streets. That’s a Donnie wet dream.
DC is a glorified territory, semi-autonomous at best, with its budget & laws all subject to the whims of Congress. Congress yanked $1Billion of DC tax money mid-fiscal year that was to go to teaches & police etc. That happened during ‘reconciliation’. The WH controls the DC National Guard.
The police chief was with the National Park Service for 24 yrs & served as chief part of that time. Before becoming chief at MPD she was the chief equity officer & is known for her community engagement efforts. I would avoid speaking on what others are thinking.
https://www.dcfpi.org/all/congress-set-to-force-1-billion-in-spending-cuts-for-dc/