A suggested approach for dealing with the news.
February 7, 2025
If you are struggling to make sense of the torrent of seemingly inconsistent news alerts pummeling you every 15 minutes, welcome to the club! One minute, things seem to be improving; the next minute, they are getting worse. I find the situation horribly disorienting and stressful.
Here is the mental construct I am employing to help me digest the news:
Two things are happening at once. Both are true. They are in opposition.
Thing one: Democrats are gaining a foothold in opposing Trump's coup—through the courts, through public opinion, and through legislative stalling tactics. Those are not complete defenses, and they take time. But they are the tools we have.
Thing two: Musk and Trump are accelerating their efforts to infect the federal government with AI computer viruses to assist in making drastic workforce and budget cuts in intelligence, law enforcement, health, science, and foreign aid. The sting of thing two is compounded by the complicity of congressional Republicans and the willingness of Trump supporters to lie with aplomb and feigned indignation
Thing one—the resistance—is trailing behind thing two—the pillaging and burning. To be sure, the resistance is catching up to the vandals. But playing “catch up” feels bad. It feels like we are losing and that there is no accountability. The sense of being “behind” is a temporary illusion created by the First Law of the Universe: It is easier to break things than to fix them.
Moreover, the velocity of the news combined with its jaw-dropping implausibility makes the tension between thing one and thing two difficult to track and comprehend. Well-meaning writers—like me—are creating a flood of content that attempts to keep track of important and urgent developments. The mere act of reading the list of “The Top 36 things that happened today” can be overwhelming.
I get it. I read many other newsletters written by smart and well-meaning people, and I often feel overwhelmed by the end of such articles. Why? I believe that the constant re-telling of the crises triggers our “fight or flight” sensors until they are saturated and shut down. We are left exhausted.
The comforting news is that we have all been here before in our personal lives, albeit in different circumstances. A car accident while unemployed. Battling cancer and experiencing the sudden death of a loved one. A hurricane followed by a once-in-a-thousand-year flood. A sexual assault and doubting police officers. Being bullied and harassed by a co-worker under a boss who doesn’t want to get involved.
Somehow, we managed to survive those crises. We put one foot in front of the other. We dealt with the circumstances we faced with the tools we had. And we have managed to make it to this point successfully.
We need to employ those same coping skills to deal with the political crises confronting us. Put one foot in front of the other. Deal with the circumstances we face with the tools we have. Fight in the present but take confidence from the long-term inevitability that we will prevail if we do not give up. Trump is an aberration whose time will pass.
Recognize that the cognitive dissonance of this moment is caused by two things being true at once: Democrats are gaining a foothold in opposing Trump's coup, and Trump is accelerating the chaos.
Do not be troubled by the inconsistent, see-saw nature of the news. That tension is a sign that we are beginning our long road to victory.
To help ease the cognitive load, I will reduce my commentary in this newsletter and categorize today’s news into comprehensible themes. I hope this helps!
All readers are welcome to join me on Saturday, February 8, at 9:00 a.m. PST / 12:00 noon EST for a Substack livestream session. Download and open the Substack App at the appointed time. I will send a reminder email 30 minutes in advance on Saturday morning.
Thing One—Democrats are gaining a foothold in opposing Trump's coup
Senate Democrats filibuster confirmation of OMB Director Russell T. Vought
See NYTimes, (accessible to all), Senate Democrats Hold the Floor in Overnight Protest of Trump Nominee. Democratic Senators heard their constituents, located their spines, and went down swinging. That outcome is far superior to losing on perfunctory votes that signal surrender. Keep it up!
Federal Judge delays Trump's deadline to federal workers to accept “Fork in the road” deferred terminations.
See Business Insider, Judge delays Trump's federal employee buyout deadline. To date, every time a judge has ruled on a lawsuit against a Trump executive order or illegal terminations, Trump has lost.
Labor Department barred from sharing information on employees with DOGE team
See Latin Times, Elon Musk's DOGE Blocked from Accessing Labor Department Data in Stunning Win for Unions
Employee unions sue to prevent termination of USAID workers
Two labor groups sued to prevent the Trump administration from invoking mass layoffs of USAID workers. See CNN Politics, Labor groups sue to halt Trump admin’s dismantling of USAID as workforce is expected to be slashed to under 300
Thirteen states plan to sue DOGE to prevent access to personal information about citizens
“Democratic attorneys general in several states vowed Thursday to file a lawsuit to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing federal payment systems containing Americans’ sensitive personal information.” See AP News, 13 states to sue over DOGE access to government payment systems containing personal data.
House Democrats apparently secure agreement from Speaker Johnson to hold hearing on DOGE hacking of Treasury data
A letter released by two Democrats on the House Ways & Means Committee says that Speaker Mike Johnson agreed to hold a hearing on DOGE’s access to Treasury Department data. See Talking Points Memo, Dems Suggest They Got Johnson To Commit To Hearing On Elon’s Treasury Break-In
Senate Democrats demand VA Secretary deny DOGE access to veterans’ records.
See HuffPo, Democrats Demand VA Secretary Deny Elon Musk Access To Veterans' Private Records.
Disciplinary complaint filed against acting US Attorney in DC, Ed Martin
Acting US Attorney in DC, Ed Martin, represented one of the January 6 defendants. As acting US Attorney Martin just filed a request for dismissal of the case against his client—while he was still counsel of record for that client in a criminal proceeding. A legal advocacy group filed a disciplinary complaint against Martin in Missouri, where he is licensed. Martin tried to file a motion to withdraw as attorney for his client. The motion was rejected because he had allowed his membership in the DC bar to lapse. See Top Trump prosecutor in DC faces bar complaint for dismissing January 6 charges against client.
DOGE employee who posted racist statement resigns
Proving that public shaming can still work, the WSJ reported that one of Musk’s cadre of engineers had made vile racist posts, which he had attempted to remove. But the internet is forever and the posts were archived. When they were published on Wednesday, the employee resigned immediately. See The Independent, DOGE staffer quits after exposure of racist social media posts.
Thing Two-- Musk and Trump are accelerating their efforts
Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Attorney General Pam Bondi went on a legal terror campaign within the DOJ on Thursday. She did the following:
Disbanded a group of prosecutors assigned to prevent foreign interference in US elections. NBC News, Bondi ends FBI effort to combat foreign influence in U.S. politics.
Disbanded a group of prosecutors who targeted criminal activities by Russian oligarchs. Reuters, Trump administration disbands task force targeting Russian oligarchs.
Instructed the DOJ to investigate companies that promote diversity and inclusion through hiring and retention. Slate, Pam Bondi instructs Trump DOJ to investigate companies that do DEI.
Trump executive orders:
Trump signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court for “targeting Israel.” Trump signs executive order to sanction ICC, accusing court of targeting US and its ‘close ally’ Israel – live
NCAA bans transgender athletes after Trump signs executive order. Reuters, NCAA bans transgender women from sports a day after Trump executive order.
Foreign policy
Concluding Thoughts
Calls from constituents are overwhelming the staff of most members of Congress. Good! Keep it up—even if you have a Republican representative or Senator! Democrats appear to have received the message (finally) and are opposing / delaying confirmations of Trump's nominees. See The New Republic, “Disgusted” Democratic Voters Are Blowing Up Congress’s Phones.
Regardless of whether Senate Democrats can stop the confirmations, we need to know that they understand the depth of the crisis and will not cooperate with the party that is facilitating the coup.
And the calls to Republican members of Congress are also worthwhile—even if they do not succeed in changing the views of the GOP member of Congress. About 200 protesters showed up to protest outside Senator John Cornyn’s office. Cornyn sent a snide tweet that said,
Sorry to miss these folks from @IndivisibleTeam + @MoveOn protesting my state offices over my support of @realDonaldTrump’s nominees & all the good work @ElonMusk is doing with @DOGE," the senator said, sharing photos of protests outside his other Texas offices.
"I hate to break it to them, but we are just getting started," Cornyn continued. "These people are really going to lose it when we extend the Trump tax cuts."
Although Cornyn blamed Indivisible and MoveOn for the protest, neither organization was involved. The protesters were Cornyn constituents who are dependent on military contracts for their livelihood and are terrified of the chaos Musk and Trump are causing.
Here’s the point: Cornyn took notice and sent a boastful tweet worthy of every schoolyard bully who feels his dominance is threatened. Cornyn is frightened, and his Freudian slip is showing.
Multiply that single protest by hundreds more, and it is clear that the emerging resistance is penetrating the consciousness of MAGA members of Congress. It is just a start, but it is a good one. Keep it up!!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
It is still raining in Los Angeles, so I am republishing an image of the Gamma Cygni nebula I captured in late November of 2024. The nebula is about 4,900 light-years from Earth.
Thanks again, Robert, for providing some clarity in the jumble of news. I've been thinking a lot of the best way to get the powers that he attention, and I've landed on a national strike by consumers. I have to wonder if the majority of people didn't buy anything for a couple of days might get the attention of Wall Street, the big banks, credit card companies, commerce sites, package goods companies, etc. , perhaps to get this craziness to correct. I'm interested in whether anyone thinks this is a good idea.
I am so glad I subscribed -- I feel like your thoughts/writings frequently save me from despair. Especially tonight!
I am old so I may not live long enough to see the US recover (and hopefully improve to be a more true democracy in that future).
But just reading your rational works gives me hope that whether I see it or not, there IS a chance that younger people will. Thank you for all you do.