Advice for heading into Week Two

January 27, 2025

As we head into week two of the second Trump administration, readers are feeling the strain of the “flood the zone” strategy of dozens of executive orders—many of which are illegal and unconstitutional. Before turning to the news, I want to share advice from two sources about how to mediate the onslaught of outrageous actions that are designed to overwhelm and dispirit us.

As always, the key insight is perspective. A second key strategy is focus. While Trump can issue dozens of executive orders in a single day, we don’t have to defeat them all in a day. Executive orders take time to implement and are subject to legal challenges that can slow and blunt their effect. It is also true that some orders will be self-executing and immediately harmful because they are within the president’s discretion. As to those, perspective is still the answer: Our remedy lies at the ballot box.

Marc Elias of Democracy Docket sent an email to his subscribers that several readers of this newsletter recommended for comment. I can’t find a URL link to the advice, so I have copied and pasted the text (edited for brevity, with commentary / summaries by me in italics). Marc Elias advises the following:

1. Stay engaged

2. Help Democrats. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good!

3. Don’t do Trump's work. Don’t grant Trump superpowers he does not have; do not obey in advance; resist!

4. Don’t grade on a curve. Marc writes: “Do not hold Republicans to a lower standard and do not hold Democrats to a higher one.”

5. Believe in the courts.

6. Beware of false attacks. Don’t be manipulated by disinformation.

7. Support independent media. Suggestion; Become a supporting member of Democracy Docket.

8. Use your town square. Marc writes: “Every one of us has a town square. . . We all have a role to play, so don’t assume your voice is too faint or your platform too small.

9. Prepare for a long fight.

10. Don’t give up hope.

Solid advice from a warrior for democracy! Keep Marc’s list at hand. More importantly, keep it top of mind during the coming months.

Another reader sent a Facebook post that is attributed to sociologist Jennifer Walter. Again, I have edited for brevity and added commentary and summary in italics.

1. Set boundaries: Pick 2-3 key issues you deeply care about and focus your attention there.

2. Use aggregators & experts: Find trusted analysts who do the heavy lifting of synthesis. Look for those explaining patterns, not just events.

3. [Making you feel] overwhelmed is the point. When you recognize this, you regain some power. Take breaks. Process. This is a marathon.

4. Practice going slow: Wait 48 hours before reacting to new policies. The urgent clouds the important. Initial reporting often misses context.

5. Build community: Share the cognitive load. Different people track different issues. Network intelligence beats individual overload.

6. They want you scattered. Focus is resistance!

Well said! Keep this list at hand and top-of-mind, as well.

I add a final point: Do not collapse the future into the present moment. We have time to resist, time to win, time to lose, and time to regroup. We are engaged in a long-term struggle for the soul of the America. Every generation is called upon to redeem democracy—and no single generation completes that task.

Our duty is to abide and endure so that we can pass the torch to the next generation. We can do that. We are doing that. We should be proud of what we are doing—even if we feel exhausted and overwhelmed as we fight the good fight!

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Trump is causing chaos in foreign relations and immigration

For Trump, chaos is the point. He has no coherent agenda, so he reacts petulantly and impulsively to events—a bad habit in all things political, but especially foreign relations. While he and his MAGA supporters may experience a surge of testosterone when Trump “sticks it to XYZ country,” we live a dangerous world in which global alliances matter. Damaging those alliances based on Trump's anger management and short-attention-span thinking is bad. Very.

Trump sparked an international incident with Colombia when that nation refused to permit US military flights to land in Colombia. Those flights were attempting to return Colombian citizens who were handcuffed while on the plane. The president of Colombia was understandably outraged over the treatment of Colombian citizens as criminals and refused their repatriation in the brutish manner utilized by Trump. See Reuters, Trump imposes tariffs, sanctions on Colombia after it refuses deportation flights.

Trump went ballistic and immediately imposed a 25% tariff on Colombian goods (which will spike the cost of coffee in the US). In his post, Trump included the crude and childish meme “FAFO,” which stands for “F*** Around and Find Out.”

Colombia then announced it would send its presidential plane to repatriate the Colombians in a more dignified manner. The Colombian president also announced retaliatory tariffs on US goods of 25%. See MSN, Colombia announces tit-for-tat tariffs on U.S. goods following Trump threat.

And so, it begins. The logical consequence of tariffs is more tariffs. Everyone loses, which is why Republicans have been in favor of “free markets” for decades—until Trump came along.

[Update: Per Reuters, the US agreed to drop the tariffs after Colombia accepted the return of its citizens; Colombia says that the US agreed to return the Colombian citizens in a “dignified manner.” US pauses Colombia tariffs, sanctions plan after agreement | Reuters.]

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Trump ignites furor by suggesting that Arab nations cooperate in “cleaning out” Palestinians from Gaza.

Some voters did not support Kamala Harris because of the Biden administration’s support for Israel after the attacks on October 7, 2023. Democrats argued in vain that Trump would be worse for Palestinians than Kamala Harris, the plea failed to persuade significant portions of voters who ranked the war in Palestine as the most important issue in the election.

In comments over the weekend, Trump suggested that other Arab nations accept millions of Palestinians from Gaza so that the area could be “cleaned out.” See HuffPo, Trump Wants Jordan And Egypt To Accept More Refugees And Floats Plan To 'Just Clean Out' Gaza.

Trump said to reporters on Air Force One,

“I’d like Egypt to take people. You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over.’”

Something has to happen. But it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there. So, I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.

The clear implication of Trump's statement is that Gazans should vacate Gaza and relocate to Egypt (or Jordan). That is certainly how the organization “Arab Americans for Trump” understood the remarks. See Times of Israel, Arab Americans for Trump chair blasts president's 'wild' call to relocate Gazans.

Trump also told reporters during the same remarks that he had approved the release of 2,000-pound bombs that the Biden administration had withheld in an effort to reduce civilian casualties.

Trump's rationale for releasing the bombs was “Because they [Israel] bought them.”

There you have it: Foreign relations reduced to financial transactions. Trump is making a tragic situation orders of magnitude worse by suggesting that the war should be used as an excuse to end the presence of Palestinians in Gaza.

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Trump and Marco Rubio halt all foreign aid payments in violation of Impoundment Control Act

Trump and Marco Rubio have halted all foreign aid payments for a period of 90 days (at least). Waivers are permitted only with the sign-off of Marco Rubio. See Reuters, Trump administration memo tells USAID to put "America First" in reviewing foreign aid.

To the extent that the funds have been appropriated by Congress, refusing to disburse the funds is likely a violation of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Under the Act, if the president wishes to withhold funds appropriated by Congress, the president must go to Congress for authorization to rescind the previous appropriation.

Clashes under the Impoundment Control Act will become commonplace over the next two years. Trump claims that he has the unilateral authority to refuse to comply with congressional appropriations, despite the plain mandate of the Constitution that he “take care to faithfully execute” the laws passed by Congress. This issue will be decided by the Supreme Court.

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Trump's firing of twelve inspectors general violates the law

I mentioned on Friday that Trump had engaged in a Friday night firing of the independent inspectors general of twelve agencies. Under existing law, Trump is required to provide Congress thirty days prior notice of any such firing. See Jurist, Firing Inspectors General Begins Trump's Assault on the Rule of Law.

As noted in the Jurist article, the primary remedy for Trump's violation of the law is impeachment—which will not happen. And while a lawsuit and review by the Supreme Court are also possible, the Court has effectively removed any penalty for Trump refusing to abide by an order requiring him to comply with the thirty-day notice requirement.

While the outcome is unlikely to change, the willingness of Trump to refuse to comply with the notice requirement is another instance of Trump keeping his promise to “be a dictator” on Day One. And as many have noted, once you become a dictator, there is no going back. Trump is living proof of that truism.

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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issues “anti-DEI” order to the military

The least-qualified Secretary of Defense to ever hold that title issued a crude, handwritten note on his new letterhead that said, “DOD ≠ DEI.” Of course, to the extent that MAGA claims that DEI stands for the appointment of people not qualified to hold their jobs but who are nonetheless appointed because of external factors (which is not what DEI is), Pete Hegseth is an example of white Christian nationalism DEI in action. See MSN, Pete Hegseth Issues Warning to Federal Workers Who Fail To 'Comply'.

Hegseth will likely target transgender troops as his first effort at converting the military into a white supremacist army. See Mother Jones, Transgender Troops Are Bracing for the Decision on Military Ban. Expect Hegseth to reverse the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” rule (but only as to LGBTQ members, not to straight, white male serial cheaters).

And then, the assault on women in the military will begin. They have a plan. Starting with transgender people is the first step—which is why we must raise the alarm at every step of the way.

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Immigration raids in Chicago are live-streamed by Dr. Phil

Mass immigration raids began in Chicago on Sunday morning. Dr. Phil—of Oprah fame—was embedded in the ICE headquarters team and was live streaming the arrests. See The Chicago Sun-Times, Feds start making immigration arrests across Chicago area.

As is often said of the Trump administration, “The cruelty is the point.” Dr. Phil has elevated that rubric to the next level, “The cruelty is entertainment.”

Oprah created Dr. Phil’s celebrity. Her voice is needed to condemn his actions as a PR agent for Trump's deportations. Per the Chicago Sun-Times, “Dr. Phil’s TV channel, MeritTV, was given special access to the operation on Sunday.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reported on a lawsuit filed Sunday that claimed church services for Spanish-speaking congregants in Chicago have been canceled because of the raids.

Trump was reportedly unhappy with the pace of the raids and has started imposing “quotas” on local ICE offices for daily arrests. See The Guardian, Immigration raids in Chicago begin days after ‘border czar’ claimed officials were ‘reconsidering’. Per The Guardian,

The outlet said Trump was disappointed with the deportation campaign so far, citing four people with knowledge of the briefings, and Ice field offices should make 75 arrests per day and managers would be held accountable for missing quota targets.

Imposing quotas for daily arrests is a very bad idea, indeed. American citizens and legal residents will have their due process rights violated when ICE agents are motivated by the number of “arrests” made without regard to the merits of those arrests. Those tragic mistakes will soon fill the airwaves and stoke outrage among many legal immigrant citizens who voted for Trump. It is only a matter of time.

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The coming backlash against Trump's “billionaire boys’ club.”

Billionaires are inherently unsympathetic, even more so when they are arrogant, out of touch, and condescending. Trump has surrounded himself with billionaires fitting that description—much to the dislike of the American public. A poll shows that only 12% of Americans believe it is a good idea “for the president to rely on billionaires for advice about government policy.” See AP News, What Americans think about Trump and Musk's plans for the government.

As Americans express their disapproval of Elon Musk running the “Department of Government Efficiency,” Musk has expressed another opinion contradicting Trump—this time over the job performance of the UK Prime Minister. See Business Insider, Trump and Musk Are at Odds Again. This Time Over the UK Prime Minister.

Robert Reich has predicted that Musk will quit the DOGE project by the end of this week. While Reich’s timetable may be a bit aggressive, he seems to be on the right track.

Late last week, Musk made a virtual appearance before the neo-Nazi-supporting AfD party in Germany. During his remarks, he urged Germans to “get over their guilt” about the Holocaust.

Per The Hill, Musk said, in part,

Something I think that is just very important is that people take pride in Germany and being German. This is very important. It’s, you know, it’s OK to be proud to be German. This is a very important principle.

I think there’s, like, frankly, too much of a focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents or even let alone their parents, their great grandparents, maybe even.

Context matters (looking at you, Washington Post). Musk was speaking to a far-right German party that maintains friendly ties with explicit neo-Nazi groups within Germany. He must have known that his words would be interpreted as a call to “move on beyond” the Holocaust. That is certainly how groups representing Holocaust survivors and their families interpreted Musk’s remarks. See The Hill, Holocaust memorial chair: Musk's call for Germany to 'move beyond' Nazi guilt is dangerous.

Still, some in the Jewish community are defending Musk’s Nazi-like salute and his comments about “getting over” past guilt, including Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. But patience with Musk is running out, and he has no filter, no governor, and no sense of decency or empathy. It is only a matter of time until Trump sees Musk as a bother and a liability. And then things will get interesting.

As a coda, I note that Mark Zuckerberg’s brief period of popularity has expired and his posts on Instagram and Facebook are being roasted by users. See Business Insider, Mark Zuckerberg's Honeymoon Period Is Over.

According to the Business Insider article, a Meta AI-generated summary of the responses to Mark Zuckerberg read as follows:

Commenters express outrage and disappointment, accusing the individual of selling out and prioritizing power and wealth over values and integrity. Many mention a loss of respect and trust, with some referencing past actions and perceived hypocrisy. Unfollowing and seeking alternatives to the platform are mentioned.

The tide is turning. Your comments on social media and following news articles in legacy media are impacting the conversation. Keep it up!!

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Opportunities for Reader Engagement

Join me next Wednesday, January 29, from 7-8 pm ET for the Save the EV Tax Credits Action Party with Climate Action Now. I'll moderate an expert panel discussing the current situation, and the Climate Action Now team will guide you in taking action to protect these credits.

Register now for the Wednesday, January 29th Climate Action Party: https://bit.ly/SaveTheEVTaxCredits.

Also, download the Climate Action Now app here: Apple and Android.

The first five minutes of the event on Wednesday will include a “hands-on” tutorial for the Climate Action app. So, if you join me on Wednesday, please consider downloading the app and making it available during the call. It will help you to become an effective advocate in the fight against climate change!

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Concluding Thoughts

We are experiencing one of the toughest parts of the fight. Stay the course, hold onto community, and maintain perspective. We will outlast Trump and his depraved ideas. We came within a few million votes of banishing him forever in 2024. We can make up that difference in 2026 and 2028—if we refuse to give up. We can do that!

Talk to you tomorrow!

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Daily Dose of Perspective

A drenching rain brought welcome relief to the Los Angeles area over the weekend. The cloudy skies prevented any effort to capture new astrophotography images. So, I have reached into my archives for one of the most beautiful objects within the reach of my telescope and camera: The Western Veil Nebula.

The nebula is a remnant of a supernova explosion that occurred sometime in the last 10,000 years. The Western Veil Nebula is estimated to be 2,600 light years from Earth.

Enjoy!