ADJUST YOUR PRIORITIES: We owe it to writers, vloggers, and elected officials who are risking their livelihoods and lives speaking to/about power; e.g., Robert Hubbell, Ken Klippenstein, Heather Cox Richardson, Steve Schmidt, Rick Wilson, Paul Krugman, Governor Tim Walz, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative AOC, and more. If you're devoting more time in the comments section here and elsewhere on the internet, then I urge you to adjust your priorities. (Ideas for what you can do instead at the end of this comment.)
FIRST TIP: Focus on what matters - ignore the noise! So what Trump blamed Dems and DEI for the recent air disaster? Did you really expect he wouldn't? He will do the same when the next disaster or stupid decision happens. So, instead of being angry about Trump playing a despicable blame game, direct your anger and ACTIONS to the root cause of a disaster or problem, in this case: The FAA was/is understaffed, especially air traffic controllers. Speaking for myself, I ignore EVERYTHING that happens outside of what I call the ABCDEs of crises the US faces right now:
---Authoritarian rule by tech billionaires driven by Curtis Yarvin (proponent of TESCREAL) and Christian extremists driven by Christian reconstructionism and dominionism.
---BRICS competition, pushback, and de-dollarization, which will lead to a hot or cold war(s).
---Climate change and contagious disease catastrophes.
---Dismantling of "the people's" assets; e.g. FBI, USPS, Social Security, Medicare, etc.
---Economic crash worse than 2008.
SECOND TIP: Input all your elected officials' numbers and email addresses into your contact list so you can quickly contact them to complain/compliment. Always use a short script, then share your script with others so they can do the same. Do the same with emails. And when you share, include phone numbers, email addresses, and links. All of your elected officials are listed here:
Here's content you can use now to email/call your elected officials: "Please fight Trump’s illegal funding freezes, terminations, and cuts:
---Oppose Trump nominees.
---Deny requests for Unanimous Consent.
---Oppose Cloture Votes.*
---Request a Quorum Call at every opportunity."
* Senate only.
LAST TIP: Become an active reader/viewer, instead of a passive reader/viewer. Speaking only myself, my daily actions (4-8 hours per day) are driven by what I learn here and in other places on the internet; my actions include:
---boycotting, which requires contacting the businesses I'm boycotting and telling them I'm boycotting and why. "But I don't use Amazon!" Does not matter! They don't need to know that. Tell them, "I will never use Amazon because..."
---contacting all of my elected officials. This is easy to do because their phone numbers and email addresses are in my contact list.
---writing letters to the editor. This is easy to do because I save my scripts/emails/comments, and then turn them into letters.
---contacting party and committee leaders in Congress; e.g. Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries.
---contacting the DNC and DFL (Minnesota's Dem Party).
---contacting the head of my Fed (Neel Kashkari); actually, I'm in contact with his assistant. Check out the FRONTLINE documentary "Age of Easy Money", you will be surprised how much the Fed is concerned about the wealth gap, Main Street USA, and ordinary people.
---sharing my phone scripts, email content, and letters on social media so others can use my work.
---participating in Zoom calls; e.g. Indivisible, DNC, DFL, Democratic Socialists of America - Twin Cites, etc.
---other things I can't think of right now because I need to get out of the comments section and get cracking.
If it were not for me checking out the comments Krishere, I would not have seen your totally astonishing thoughtful everybody-needs-to-see comment, and other comments that provide insight and relevant information that we all need RIGHT NOW. Thanks to Robert for ratcheting up the call to action, something sorely missing from Dem 'leadership'. I'm thinking pitchforks.
Another thing is that while you frequently cannot email (and sometimes can't get through a call) to representatives who are not serving your state (Senate) or district (House) even though they may be on critical committees like Intelligence for example, where Ds have an opportunity to expose critical flaws in nominees and proposals before they get to the full house you can always send a Bluesky note to any D representative with an account regardless of their region. If you're brave you can do so to R representatives on Xitter (refer to TCinLA for pronunciation) since it's helpful to support our reps, but preaching to the choir isn't everything.
How? Go to bluesky. Create an account (with bio & photo so people know you aren't a bot). Who? Search for and follow people like JoyceWhiteVance, Marc Elias, follow me and look at who I follow. Deweyswak
This Sunday night, February 2 at 8pm ET/5pm PT, you’re invited to join Indivisible, MoveOn, Working Families Party, and a coalition of other organizations for an action call. During the call, you will hear key movement leaders from across the country as they give us their best strategic guidance on how to take action !
These D Senators voted to confirm Bessant, the Treasury Secretary who just gave Musk and his minions access to the private information of federal employees and the computer system that disburses federal monies:
Hickenlooper (CO); Kaine (VA); Kelly (AZ); Peters (MI); Shaheen (NH); Slotkin (MI); Warner (VA);
Taking your advice, I have called the offices of Klobuchar and Smith and thanked them for not voting to confirm this man, and reminded them that no one who wants to work in a Trump administration can be trusted. None should get any D votes.
ChatGPT or other AI services are excellent tools for scripting messages. Just be as specific and complete as possible with your prompts and it will generate responses tailored to your needs in a friendly, professional, and empathetic tone or any other tone or for any other audience you specify. This provides much needed leverage and speed.
5calls.org has scripts for phone calls on various issues. Good place to start. And remember: call to congressperson's office won't be a conversation. It is to get your opinion on the call sheet.
Anecdote: Longtime immigrant from Taiwan used AI to clean up an important statement. Yes, it was better than her original. Then she ran it by her American-born son. His version was clearer and made the point directly without excess verbiage.
Yes, don’t use what you don't need. And AI isn't a substitution for thinking for yourself. Any tool thoughtlessly used is thoughtless and runs the risk of doing more harm than good.
Best stop using computers altogether and definitely stop driving, just to be sure. Lights use a lot of energy as does heating and cooling. Hot water heaters are huge energy users. Enjoy your cold showers.
I got a heat pump water heater and have found the quality to be questionable. Once it goes completely I’ll probably go back to straight electric. It's a good idea that needs work. Hope you have better luck.
Thank you. Please continue to advise us and suggest short scripts to send our representatives. Your comments and Robert's Substack today were informative but also frightening.
Jessica Craven has daily scripts and to-do lists -- I have used with good results. Chop Wood, Carry Water is her Substack. Sign up today; great companion site to Robert's brilliant posts.
Thank you so much, Krishere. So many helpful suggestions! I am copying this to post on my fridge and share with friends. I so appreciate your taking the time and offering such a thoughtful post.
Jessica Craven's suggestion for <5calls.org> to send messages/phone calls to my legislators and governor created a surprising satisfaction in me; I imagine since I was communicating with decision makers. As Jessica says, comments/calls are counted. One never knows what might get though to create a positive effect for our world.
I live in Maine. we have long had a strong trade relationship with Canada. this will buckle our economy. many in the trades highly impacted are maga type Republicans. and quite vocal about their support of trump. I am dreading the coming months for how this will roll out. the longest 'I told you so...' womp.
I think we should remind them and ask why they like Trump so much when he promised to do things like this? I think they like the rhetoric and have cognitive dissonance.
Expect and be prepared to rebut all of the excuses Trump will have for the inconveniences his tariffs bring. He will be blaming Canadians, immigrants, Biden, Jews, Muslims, Democrats, everyone but him and will be careless about how he does that. He will probably encourage even more chaos.
Great piece Robert, but I do take exception with your comment of kind of giving the Democratic establishment a pass. It’s time for the old geezers of the Democratic Party to get out of the way. what’s the sound button Where are the young firebrands? I remember years ago, Rick Wilson, a formally staunch, Republican, talking about how Democrats take water pistols to gun fights. I am not optimistic about the future and some people are probably gonna get hurt before this is over. Closer to home, a major international conference on national security at a major US college was just canceled this week because of the chaos and participants refusing to attend. I will actively look for what I as a 83-year-old blind guy can do, but the truth is it’s up to the next generation behind me maybe two generations behind me. These are the people that will save our democracy or lose it.
WOW, do I know how you feel!! Where are the young Dems that give a damn? I can't see them. And are there ANY Constitutional Republicans left who are willing to join in the fight to save our democracy? Now is the time to get involved.
There ARE young Dems that give a damn. Follow Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Maxwell Frost and Jasmine Crockett on Bluesky for three Congresspersons who care and fight.
Thank you for the names, Jessica. I adore AOC's spunk and policies, like all three of these folks BUT do not believe any of those three are electable to national office. And I (77) am damn tired of losing elections to thieves and dictator wannabes. If Kamala Harris could not get the masses off their collective asses enough to go out and vote we must bow to American racism and sexism or just keep losing. I don't like saying that or doing that. I happily voted for Kamala. But reality is where we live and it appears that the US is a long, long way from its potential. Presently it is getting further from that with every passing moment thanks to Trump and his cult.
OMG, I remember. Line up in upstate NY by last number on license plate, odd even days. I lost precious time from my first job, waited in line on my assigned day!
I remember reading about it. I had just graduated college and was living in NYC with my parents. My father had a car, but he had it garaged, and we didn't need it in the city, so we were lucky. But yes, I remember others had real pain.
Oh, I remember that gas shortage in '73, the gas lines! Luckily, we were driving a VW bug that got great mileage. You can complain about gas prices, but when there's a shortage, there's just no gas. With the number of cars today, that would really be a mess!
Massive protests will result in Trump declaring a national emergency and seeking to use the military against the protesters. In any case, he will call for the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and other militia to take violent action against the protesters. I expect he will call for Kristallnacht-like events very soon. I'm not saying we shouldn't take to the streets, but I am saying we need to be prepared for violent repression.
That is why a lot of resisters are talking about a general strike. What are they going to do, make people work and shop at gun point? https://generalstrikeus.com
I am not taking to the streets because I don't want to give the regime the excuse for invoking the Insurrection Act. I AM contacting my electeds and confronting those who are out of their comfort zone in dealing with the coup, in phone calls and comments and in letters to the editor. I have unsubscribed from corporate media that have bent the knee and am supporting new sources like this one. I like another commenter's suggestion to go on strike.
You can be pretty sure Trump's people have gamed out what to do if there are protest marches. What they can't control at all is a "sit down in your home and do nothing strike" to partially shut down the American economy.
This kind of tactic worked in China at the end of it's covid lockdown. It was the "laying down" movement and scared the crap out of Xi Jiping. He stopped the lockdown and said the covid was contained. (It wasn't)
Yes, let's start using the word "coup" because that is what is happening. The proof to me is what Elon Musk is doing at OPM.
Words are important. I remember reading Madeleine Albright's "Fascism, a Warning." when it came out in 2018. Back then you almost had to whisper it because most thought the idea was ridiculous. That word "fascism" plus others like "authoritarianism" have become normalized simply because they are the new reality. So start calling what is happening now a "coup" and not be afraid because we need to accept what we are up against.
It's wise to follow the money, and paying attention to what Musk is doing with funding freezes, employee purges, and worming into our Treasury check-writing system is alarming. But this helps us with clarity in the midst of their flooding the zone and capitalizing on recent disasters.
We have many organizations for grassroots activism and filing lawsuits. Find at least one that resonates with you. Find your local squad of people you can meet in person. Diversify your financial holdings. Take care of your health. Like Joyce Vance says, we're in this together.
Subject: Senior U.S. official to exit after rift with Musk allies over payment system
"A top Treasury career staffer, David A. Lebryk, announced his retirement. Surrogates of Musk’s DOGE effort had sought access to sensitive payment systems. Typically only a small number of career officials control Treasury’s payment systems. Run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the sensitive systems control the flow of more than $6 trillion annually to households, businesses and more nationwide. Tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people across the country rely on the systems, which are responsible for distributing Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for federal personnel, payments to government contractors and grant recipients, and tax refunds, among tens of thousands of other functions."
Lebryk didn't let Musk into the systems whatsoever. Therefore I don't think Lebryk will go without a legal fight, even if he doesn't return. And that legal fight will be critical. And I suspect he and many incorrect terminations will prevail in the courts. What follows that, unclear.
What Musk is doing is illegal. The question is, what is a government run by Republicans going to do about it?? The answer is absolutely nothing. Musk has no need or reason to have access to our Treasury systems. Democrats need to support these federal employees at any cost and need to be supporting them by filing lawsuits
Subject: Claudia Koonz - "How the Nazis Made Anti-Semitism Respectable" It applies to all the GOP racist right wing bigotries. And includes Nazis directly referencing American segregationist policies
Unfortunately, many of us live paycheck to paycheck and/or survive on SS payments, SNAP, Housing and heating assistance, Medicaid, Medicare, etc. There may be no cushion for most Americans. So no finances to diversify. This has immediate, destructive force.
We are going to need to be stronger, louder and more courageous than we have ever been. We may not have chosen this moment, but it chose us. May we lock arms and make this our - we the people - finest moment. 🇺🇸
That is not going to happen. And when people say, "No" they are fired, forced to resign and replaced with Musk minions. Congress must act. But they will not. The coup is on. The bad guys have all the energy and action. And the media responds with "there appears to be no reason..." and other such statements.
Actions one can take. In the Baltics people have organized a boycott of targeted grocery stores to protest rising prices. That is going to have an effect.
In Germany when the CDU passed getting an immigration bill approved for vote in the Parliament with the help of the AfD, people took to the streets and wrote letters to the CDU asking members not to break the fire wall between the democratic and illiberal parties, and it was effective, for the vote the next day. I also wrote a letter to a CDU politician from my region.
In the meantime there are massive demonstrations planned all over Germany every day until the election which are protesting the AfD's existence and right wing action.
In South Korea people rose to protest against their illiberal PM, and he was impeached and removed.
In the US people massively complained about freezing of government funds and Trump walked it back.
Organized protest is an effective means of giving illiberal leaders pause. We the people can make our wishes known.
Please keep this up. The AfD coalition is a terrible precedent and I believe a large majority of Germans, and internationals, recognize what it means. CDU should be ashamed, too.
I'm afraid many people in the U.S. who do not have experience of living in other countries or significant international exposure / education actually do not realize the import or true meaning of a coup. Some may not even know what a coup is. The U.S. has been very isolationist, and standards of education have been purposely eroded.
Excellent work Robert. I feel obliged to mention a few things as some may have perhaps lost sight of.
The Jan 6th 2021 coordinated attack on our Capitol was an act of war by a domestic enemy led by a sitting president, who abdicated his oath of office and allegiance to the Constitution. To which nothing was properly done to hold him in account.
These actions that constitute this ongoing coup are illegal and should be stopped by any means necessary.
Elon Musk is a foreign born naturalized private citizen unelected, un-appointed to anything and must be stopped by any means necessary. He represents a clear and present danger and threat to the nation.
All of the people who are responsible for this should be treated as enemy combatants.
If Trump thinks he will deploy the military to the streets of the country against the American people we should force him to do it. I believe that it will not go well for him.
The States of America is clearly in Desperate times which call for desperate measures. An intense organized opposition to this continued Coup must swiftly coalesce if our country and democracy are to remain free.
The notion that we will turn things around in’26 and again ‘28 is a fools errand. Because if that is the path we are to follow, the thing that will be made harder and harder to use freely and fairly, if at all, and its outcome respected will be the ballot box.
If there is anyone who does not see our hand being forced, they are blind.
Elections are not a fools errand. Why do you think so many GOP reps are scared to the point of voting against country to avoid primaries? A midterm matters and it's not going away, and yes, this S.C. will uphold elections. Voting rights, not so much but they are still in play.
And proclaiming it so helps nobody here. This is a crisis, yes. We are being coerced, yes. And it will ultimately go very badly for Trump regime to deploy military.
We are aware of that. The thrust of my argument is that it highly unlikely elections just disappear. But don't listen to me; listen to legal experts. Read Jay Kuo, for example (whom I recommend in my lead comment) -- he has already posted this morning on which admin law expert has standing to sue Musk. As did I, on another comment here.
Elections matter, midterms matter, until they don’t. There is plenty of history that shows this.. Where is the intense opposition? Look around at the world you will see it. There must be action now!
I agree with all that you said. I also feel that We The People need to make loud noise and do it pronto. I am not sure that we will have elections in 2026 if this wave of anarchy continues unabated from our so-called president and his cult of ass-kissers and yes men/women.
PLEASE call them what they are, TAXES. The average person has no clue what a tariff is, they don’t even know all of the continents. We need to SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY language. PERIOD.
I agree. My question is how do we communicate it to those who don’t know what fascism really means? Who think it’s just an insult? And really do not get it? What words, true words, to use to be effective in our communication?
Yes. A tariff is a form of Consumption Tax. Trump hopes to tax the middle and working class and the poor through tariffs so he can give the upper 2% Tax Cuts.
Robert, thank you so much for your daily reports. The only emphasis I would suggest is that in addition to Trump and Musk, the Republican lawmakers are actively creating (not just supporting and cheering) this coup.
I wrote the below several days ago to organize my own thoughts:
Today we are asked to commit acts of “resistance” to Trump’s and the Executive Branch’s horrific attack on our democracy: write your Senator, donate to “this” social justice organization, donate to “this” legal nonprofit-organization fighting in the courts, get involved in our local politics, support our local media, join “this” or “that” resistance group, run for office, talk to your neighbors, join a community group and so on.
Meanwhile, we we seem to be inept and totally ineffective bystanders witnessing the blatant illegal and horrifying actions of Donald Trump, Gina and Clarence Thomas, Aileen Cannon, and hundreds of other actors, who brazenly and shamelessly succeed in openly breaking our laws and putting our lives in danger (e.g., pardoning the January 6th violent felons who attacked our police officers) and openly throwing our country into the pit of a tyrannical autocracy.
Our mainstream media is flailing, disinformation is rampant on social media. There are glaring major inherent problems in our voting system (e.g., unlimited monies in politics, gerrymandering, the electoral college). Our justice system is failing us.
Heather Cox Richardson says we should use our voices—our voices matter. But I’m not feeling that way.
Attorneys are openly getting away with not upholding their oath to the law. These attorneys are doing so in the service of Trump’s effort to avoid accountability for his corruption, crimes, and most dangerously—his becoming a dictator. Bar Associations should be actively disbarring these offenders.
Bottom line: the Justices in our Supreme Court are not upholding our Constitution (as well as some openly breaking multiple laws). Every time we learn that a court has blocked Trump’s illegal action, we know that will be appealed, and we know we cannot depend on this court to follow the laws of our Constitution.
We need a method or a strategy to make our bellowing voices so loud that we cannot be drowned out nor ever ignored again.
Well said, I couldn't agree more. Republican lawmakers are not just supporting or condoning the insurrectionist and the ongoing coup, they are an active part in it. That began right after the first attempt of the plot against America when only days after Jan 6 a majority of the Republican Senate caucus voted against convicting the impeached coup leader and then Kevin McCarthy travelled to Mar-a-Lago to pledge allegiance to the Führer.
In Germany members of the Nazi party wore brown shirts in Parliament and thus were easily distinguishable from the other parties. When watching the congressional hearings and seeing those MAGA reps all but drooling over the likes of Hegseth, Bondi, RFK Jr., Gabbard and Patel in my inner eye I see them wearing brown shirts. Because that's what they are – Brownshirts. Part and parcel of a fascist system.
Seems another strategy would be overwhelming D electoral turnouts in 26 then 28 and beyond. Could expand SCOTUS, and eventually force an alternative party to current Rs. Not saying easy, but I don’t see another way. I actually think Rs are likely planning to enlarge then stack SCOTUS now. Why wouldn’t they?
Anger is born of fear. Its powerful and sudden growth as a rush of survival energy is our built-in automatic fight response to a threat as it moves upwards into our arms. The arms being the body’s weapons.
This huge bloom of energy can move downwards in the body into our legs so they can carry us to safety. This is the flight response to fear.
There are other ways the generation of energy triggered by fear can be automatically used by the body. My point is that these are AUTOMATIC reactions. It's a nice inherited rapid-response system to move the body out of harms way. The issue today is that we need to be directing our movements consciously, deliberately, self awaredly, humanly and not merely reactively, mechanically, defensively.
We need to be thinking and not take action without first reflecting on what principles we are committed to expressing. This includes having and noticing our innate reflexes while then in the next instant recalling what we are committed to.
Without that even briefest moment of remembrance, we are mechanisms reacting like unthinking animals locked in and limited by instinct alone.
Obviously, action needs to be taken. Get very clear about the intended outcome before acting.
Truth, beauty, and goodness call. To which do you open the door?
Thank you Bern. That's really hard to embrace but when I went to bed my anger welled up a second time over the past two weeks. This time I didn't feel that need to physically react. I was able to pause, pray, and then rest some.
It is numbing. It is no not supposed to feel ok, but I am aware. I can embrace the goodness of life as you suggest.
Our breathing, inhalation/pause/exhalation expresses the movement, the flow of energy, of life, through the body. It's through appropriation of the usual unconscious act of breathing that we can deliberately direct our experience of living.
Breathing consciously turns the experience of fear into excitement and even a deep enthusiasm for living.
Inspiration means both the physical act of inhaling and the drawing in of spirit.
“The Latin word, Inspiritus, means “breathe” and contains the word for “spirit”: together, to breathe in and be filled with the spirit, which is what it means to be alive. It is also the root for the word inspiration and in the creative sense, to be filled with the Muses, to be filled with the gods or God.”
Bern -- I've pledged to myself to put my anger away. It has given me a much better perspective. We are all going to need our wits about us in the coming days and weeks as what we've all feared since 2016 is upon us. Now. In this moment. The waiting is over.
"When a senior manager at the Treasury asked why Musk needed access to the highly sensitive system, the manager was immediately placed on leave. He chose to quit, instead. See The New Republic, Top Official to Quit as Musk Tries to Get Hands on Key Payment System"
Before reflexive dismissal of legacy media, please note this The New Republic essay is based on Washington Post investigative reporting. As noted at the beginning of the essay: "The Washington Post reports that David Lebryk, who has worked in the department for decades and is its longest-serving career official, will depart soon, after conflicting with Musk’s deputies over access to the government’s payment system used to distribute trillions of dollars every year. "
There is WaPo as a Bezos enterprise enthralled to Trump.
Then there is the WaPo of investigative reporters - persevering behind the scenes in a hostile work place and persevering publicly in a dangerous political sphere. I don't see virtue in recycling their work second hand. Or eliding their work and their courage in doing it.
Did they call all of this out for being the coup that it actually is? I think they tiptoe around things and it is the folks like Maddow, Hayes, The Bulwark, The Contrarian, Robert Hubble etc that call it what it really is.
I may have to skip watching Rachel live in the evening and try to find it the next day. Last night’s show contributed to my pre-existing inability to sleep.
I'm up at an ungodly hour of 1:50am PST to make sure my pension check is where it's supposed to be. Who made him god of the universe? In a sane world, he would be arrested now.
Thanks. But I'm going back to bed with Nomi (see the pic) - she's smaller than she looks. She didn't expect me not to go back to bed, and followed me out to make sure I'm okay. We're both going back in a minute.
It's been a hell of week, not merely because of the Orange Snake. I thought I had 5 months to find a new place to live, which they said last week. This week, they said I had 2. Not having a good year so far. :-(
ADJUST YOUR PRIORITIES: We owe it to writers, vloggers, and elected officials who are risking their livelihoods and lives speaking to/about power; e.g., Robert Hubbell, Ken Klippenstein, Heather Cox Richardson, Steve Schmidt, Rick Wilson, Paul Krugman, Governor Tim Walz, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative AOC, and more. If you're devoting more time in the comments section here and elsewhere on the internet, then I urge you to adjust your priorities. (Ideas for what you can do instead at the end of this comment.)
FIRST TIP: Focus on what matters - ignore the noise! So what Trump blamed Dems and DEI for the recent air disaster? Did you really expect he wouldn't? He will do the same when the next disaster or stupid decision happens. So, instead of being angry about Trump playing a despicable blame game, direct your anger and ACTIONS to the root cause of a disaster or problem, in this case: The FAA was/is understaffed, especially air traffic controllers. Speaking for myself, I ignore EVERYTHING that happens outside of what I call the ABCDEs of crises the US faces right now:
---Authoritarian rule by tech billionaires driven by Curtis Yarvin (proponent of TESCREAL) and Christian extremists driven by Christian reconstructionism and dominionism.
---BRICS competition, pushback, and de-dollarization, which will lead to a hot or cold war(s).
---Climate change and contagious disease catastrophes.
---Dismantling of "the people's" assets; e.g. FBI, USPS, Social Security, Medicare, etc.
---Economic crash worse than 2008.
SECOND TIP: Input all your elected officials' numbers and email addresses into your contact list so you can quickly contact them to complain/compliment. Always use a short script, then share your script with others so they can do the same. Do the same with emails. And when you share, include phone numbers, email addresses, and links. All of your elected officials are listed here:
https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Here's content you can use now to email/call your elected officials: "Please fight Trump’s illegal funding freezes, terminations, and cuts:
---Oppose Trump nominees.
---Deny requests for Unanimous Consent.
---Oppose Cloture Votes.*
---Request a Quorum Call at every opportunity."
* Senate only.
LAST TIP: Become an active reader/viewer, instead of a passive reader/viewer. Speaking only myself, my daily actions (4-8 hours per day) are driven by what I learn here and in other places on the internet; my actions include:
---boycotting, which requires contacting the businesses I'm boycotting and telling them I'm boycotting and why. "But I don't use Amazon!" Does not matter! They don't need to know that. Tell them, "I will never use Amazon because..."
---contacting all of my elected officials. This is easy to do because their phone numbers and email addresses are in my contact list.
---writing letters to the editor. This is easy to do because I save my scripts/emails/comments, and then turn them into letters.
---contacting party and committee leaders in Congress; e.g. Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries.
---contacting the DNC and DFL (Minnesota's Dem Party).
---contacting the head of my Fed (Neel Kashkari); actually, I'm in contact with his assistant. Check out the FRONTLINE documentary "Age of Easy Money", you will be surprised how much the Fed is concerned about the wealth gap, Main Street USA, and ordinary people.
---sharing my phone scripts, email content, and letters on social media so others can use my work.
---participating in Zoom calls; e.g. Indivisible, DNC, DFL, Democratic Socialists of America - Twin Cites, etc.
---other things I can't think of right now because I need to get out of the comments section and get cracking.
If it were not for me checking out the comments Krishere, I would not have seen your totally astonishing thoughtful everybody-needs-to-see comment, and other comments that provide insight and relevant information that we all need RIGHT NOW. Thanks to Robert for ratcheting up the call to action, something sorely missing from Dem 'leadership'. I'm thinking pitchforks.
Brilliant. I would also suggest get on Bluesky and follow the people actually reporting on the rolling coup.
I have just joined Bluesky. How do I find these people? I am a novice there.
Here’s a few to get you started
Heather Cox Richardson. Ron Filipkowski. Joyce Vance. Charlotte Clymer.
They will lead you to others.
Robert Reich, Thom Hartmann, The Contrarian, Marc Elias, Simon Rosenberg... & ofc don't forget Robert Hubbell
Marc Elias, Greg Sargent,
Once you find several, look to see if any of them offer a “Starter Pack”. Many recommend trustworthy fellow professionals.
Just search them out with the magnifying glass icon using their real name. If you want Bernie Sanders, just put"Bernie Sanders" in to search him out.
Marc Elias has starter packs
And if you want action items, including phone call suggestions with scripts, Jess Craven of Chop Wood Carry Water.
look for starter packs too
Another thing is that while you frequently cannot email (and sometimes can't get through a call) to representatives who are not serving your state (Senate) or district (House) even though they may be on critical committees like Intelligence for example, where Ds have an opportunity to expose critical flaws in nominees and proposals before they get to the full house you can always send a Bluesky note to any D representative with an account regardless of their region. If you're brave you can do so to R representatives on Xitter (refer to TCinLA for pronunciation) since it's helpful to support our reps, but preaching to the choir isn't everything.
I send postcards if I want to communicate with a Senator or Rep from another state. Slower, but not a letter, so no security issues.
Who how?
How? Go to bluesky. Create an account (with bio & photo so people know you aren't a bot). Who? Search for and follow people like JoyceWhiteVance, Marc Elias, follow me and look at who I follow. Deweyswak
Thank you.
Thanks krishere.
Wow..just what I needed to re-invigorate me. Thanks, Krishere
WE CHOOSE TO FIGHT Action Call
This Sunday night, February 2 at 8pm ET/5pm PT, you’re invited to join Indivisible, MoveOn, Working Families Party, and a coalition of other organizations for an action call. During the call, you will hear key movement leaders from across the country as they give us their best strategic guidance on how to take action !
https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/752072/
Thanks so much for this. I just put my senators, House reps, governor's contact info in my phone.
These D Senators voted to confirm Bessant, the Treasury Secretary who just gave Musk and his minions access to the private information of federal employees and the computer system that disburses federal monies:
Blunt Rochester (DE); Booker (NJ); Cantwell (WA); Coons (DE);
Fetterman (PA); Gallego (AZ); Gillibrand (NY); Hassan (NH);
Hickenlooper (CO); Kaine (VA); Kelly (AZ); Peters (MI); Shaheen (NH); Slotkin (MI); Warner (VA);
Taking your advice, I have called the offices of Klobuchar and Smith and thanked them for not voting to confirm this man, and reminded them that no one who wants to work in a Trump administration can be trusted. None should get any D votes.
ChatGPT or other AI services are excellent tools for scripting messages. Just be as specific and complete as possible with your prompts and it will generate responses tailored to your needs in a friendly, professional, and empathetic tone or any other tone or for any other audience you specify. This provides much needed leverage and speed.
5calls.org has scripts for phone calls on various issues. Good place to start. And remember: call to congressperson's office won't be a conversation. It is to get your opinion on the call sheet.
Maybe not use AI due to its impact on the climate....
Many of us do not need AI to express ourselves.
Anecdote: Longtime immigrant from Taiwan used AI to clean up an important statement. Yes, it was better than her original. Then she ran it by her American-born son. His version was clearer and made the point directly without excess verbiage.
And yes, the climate. Our poor ignored planet.
Yes, don’t use what you don't need. And AI isn't a substitution for thinking for yourself. Any tool thoughtlessly used is thoughtless and runs the risk of doing more harm than good.
Best stop using computers altogether and definitely stop driving, just to be sure. Lights use a lot of energy as does heating and cooling. Hot water heaters are huge energy users. Enjoy your cold showers.
You know, Bern, I am getting to like a variety of vegetarian and vegan recipes. Red meat maybe once a month.
We just got some solar panels, and I hope to convince spouse to get a heat pump water heater.
I got a heat pump water heater and have found the quality to be questionable. Once it goes completely I’ll probably go back to straight electric. It's a good idea that needs work. Hope you have better luck.
Thank you. Please continue to advise us and suggest short scripts to send our representatives. Your comments and Robert's Substack today were informative but also frightening.
Jessica Craven has daily scripts and to-do lists -- I have used with good results. Chop Wood, Carry Water is her Substack. Sign up today; great companion site to Robert's brilliant posts.
All of this!!! 💪🇺🇸
Thank you.
Thank you Krishere, for this list of actions.
Excellent, krishere. TY.
I would also suggest to LTE writers…send those to multiple papers. I write several times a week and keep the length to the most restrictive of papers to which I submit. I plan to generate lists for every state. Here is a Texas list: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vfCq-b8_wos5hxJFCDNt-LUa6iHQ_03WsaSdaH6eJQw/edit
Also, I, too, save these as Google docs and share so others can copy if they wish. We need to be flooding LTE pages everywhere.
Y
Thank you so much, Krishere. So many helpful suggestions! I am copying this to post on my fridge and share with friends. I so appreciate your taking the time and offering such a thoughtful post.
What a useful post!
Jessica Craven's suggestion for <5calls.org> to send messages/phone calls to my legislators and governor created a surprising satisfaction in me; I imagine since I was communicating with decision makers. As Jessica says, comments/calls are counted. One never knows what might get though to create a positive effect for our world.
When the tariffs go into effect, Canada should embargo all deliveries of gas and oil (55% of the American market.)
Let the MAGAts in Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z find out what it was like to live in America in the fall of 1973.
I live in Maine. we have long had a strong trade relationship with Canada. this will buckle our economy. many in the trades highly impacted are maga type Republicans. and quite vocal about their support of trump. I am dreading the coming months for how this will roll out. the longest 'I told you so...' womp.
I think we should remind them and ask why they like Trump so much when he promised to do things like this? I think they like the rhetoric and have cognitive dissonance.
Check out my own newsletter from yesterday. I share some resources from Civic Sunday on Truth Bombs!
Everything from the slide show to the recording of the Zoom plus contact information for Journalists and Civic Sundays is included in this document.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZuW1xehtYi738SVkaNmrKGV3RbYF33-2W95fKIQswbY/edit?usp=sharing
Expect and be prepared to rebut all of the excuses Trump will have for the inconveniences his tariffs bring. He will be blaming Canadians, immigrants, Biden, Jews, Muslims, Democrats, everyone but him and will be careless about how he does that. He will probably encourage even more chaos.
Great piece Robert, but I do take exception with your comment of kind of giving the Democratic establishment a pass. It’s time for the old geezers of the Democratic Party to get out of the way. what’s the sound button Where are the young firebrands? I remember years ago, Rick Wilson, a formally staunch, Republican, talking about how Democrats take water pistols to gun fights. I am not optimistic about the future and some people are probably gonna get hurt before this is over. Closer to home, a major international conference on national security at a major US college was just canceled this week because of the chaos and participants refusing to attend. I will actively look for what I as a 83-year-old blind guy can do, but the truth is it’s up to the next generation behind me maybe two generations behind me. These are the people that will save our democracy or lose it.
WOW, do I know how you feel!! Where are the young Dems that give a damn? I can't see them. And are there ANY Constitutional Republicans left who are willing to join in the fight to save our democracy? Now is the time to get involved.
There ARE young Dems that give a damn. Follow Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Maxwell Frost and Jasmine Crockett on Bluesky for three Congresspersons who care and fight.
Thank you for the names, Jessica. I adore AOC's spunk and policies, like all three of these folks BUT do not believe any of those three are electable to national office. And I (77) am damn tired of losing elections to thieves and dictator wannabes. If Kamala Harris could not get the masses off their collective asses enough to go out and vote we must bow to American racism and sexism or just keep losing. I don't like saying that or doing that. I happily voted for Kamala. But reality is where we live and it appears that the US is a long, long way from its potential. Presently it is getting further from that with every passing moment thanks to Trump and his cult.
I so remember those days!!
OMG, I remember. Line up in upstate NY by last number on license plate, odd even days. I lost precious time from my first job, waited in line on my assigned day!
I remember reading about it. I had just graduated college and was living in NYC with my parents. My father had a car, but he had it garaged, and we didn't need it in the city, so we were lucky. But yes, I remember others had real pain.
Oh, I remember that gas shortage in '73, the gas lines! Luckily, we were driving a VW bug that got great mileage. You can complain about gas prices, but when there's a shortage, there's just no gas. With the number of cars today, that would really be a mess!
Massive protests will result in Trump declaring a national emergency and seeking to use the military against the protesters. In any case, he will call for the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and other militia to take violent action against the protesters. I expect he will call for Kristallnacht-like events very soon. I'm not saying we shouldn't take to the streets, but I am saying we need to be prepared for violent repression.
That shouldn’t stop us. I will take to the streets anyways. I am almost 70.
Robert, can you please address the likelihood of and best response to upcoming political violence.
EcstaticRationalist -- Sadly, I believe you will be proven correct in your prediction.
That is why a lot of resisters are talking about a general strike. What are they going to do, make people work and shop at gun point? https://generalstrikeus.com
I am not taking to the streets because I don't want to give the regime the excuse for invoking the Insurrection Act. I AM contacting my electeds and confronting those who are out of their comfort zone in dealing with the coup, in phone calls and comments and in letters to the editor. I have unsubscribed from corporate media that have bent the knee and am supporting new sources like this one. I like another commenter's suggestion to go on strike.
You can be pretty sure Trump's people have gamed out what to do if there are protest marches. What they can't control at all is a "sit down in your home and do nothing strike" to partially shut down the American economy.
This kind of tactic worked in China at the end of it's covid lockdown. It was the "laying down" movement and scared the crap out of Xi Jiping. He stopped the lockdown and said the covid was contained. (It wasn't)
Unfortunately that may be what it takes to mobilize a so far apathetic electorate.
Yes, let's start using the word "coup" because that is what is happening. The proof to me is what Elon Musk is doing at OPM.
Words are important. I remember reading Madeleine Albright's "Fascism, a Warning." when it came out in 2018. Back then you almost had to whisper it because most thought the idea was ridiculous. That word "fascism" plus others like "authoritarianism" have become normalized simply because they are the new reality. So start calling what is happening now a "coup" and not be afraid because we need to accept what we are up against.
It's wise to follow the money, and paying attention to what Musk is doing with funding freezes, employee purges, and worming into our Treasury check-writing system is alarming. But this helps us with clarity in the midst of their flooding the zone and capitalizing on recent disasters.
We have many organizations for grassroots activism and filing lawsuits. Find at least one that resonates with you. Find your local squad of people you can meet in person. Diversify your financial holdings. Take care of your health. Like Joyce Vance says, we're in this together.
Resources:
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/
https://indivisible.org/
https://democracyforward.org/
https://www.citizensforethics.org/
Subject: Senior U.S. official to exit after rift with Musk allies over payment system
"A top Treasury career staffer, David A. Lebryk, announced his retirement. Surrogates of Musk’s DOGE effort had sought access to sensitive payment systems. Typically only a small number of career officials control Treasury’s payment systems. Run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the sensitive systems control the flow of more than $6 trillion annually to households, businesses and more nationwide. Tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people across the country rely on the systems, which are responsible for distributing Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for federal personnel, payments to government contractors and grant recipients, and tax refunds, among tens of thousands of other functions."
Gift link to WaPo reporting
.https://wapo.st/4jH7XYa.
Lebryk didn't let Musk into the systems whatsoever. Therefore I don't think Lebryk will go without a legal fight, even if he doesn't return. And that legal fight will be critical. And I suspect he and many incorrect terminations will prevail in the courts. What follows that, unclear.
What Musk is doing is illegal. The question is, what is a government run by Republicans going to do about it?? The answer is absolutely nothing. Musk has no need or reason to have access to our Treasury systems. Democrats need to support these federal employees at any cost and need to be supporting them by filing lawsuits
Subject: Claudia Koonz - "How the Nazis Made Anti-Semitism Respectable" It applies to all the GOP racist right wing bigotries. And includes Nazis directly referencing American segregationist policies
.https://youtu.be/usL9bmrnQRk?si=cR0p9idXa7ZRi3Qm.
Subject: How to Confront a Dictator: Benjamin Carter Hett
https://youtu.be/h5vciFhBzM0?si=JFuSFrLSNbWMKYr3
Thanks for these links, lin.
Unfortunately, many of us live paycheck to paycheck and/or survive on SS payments, SNAP, Housing and heating assistance, Medicaid, Medicare, etc. There may be no cushion for most Americans. So no finances to diversify. This has immediate, destructive force.
And more chaos, just what Trump wants.
We are going to need to be stronger, louder and more courageous than we have ever been. We may not have chosen this moment, but it chose us. May we lock arms and make this our - we the people - finest moment. 🇺🇸
Exactly!
🙏🤞
Elmo needs to be apprehended and summarily subjected to the traditional penalty for treason.
I can't imagine he wants to break the system so we are all forced to use Dogecoin. What's he's doing is illegal and he deserves to be in jail
Not JUST HIM!!
That is not going to happen. And when people say, "No" they are fired, forced to resign and replaced with Musk minions. Congress must act. But they will not. The coup is on. The bad guys have all the energy and action. And the media responds with "there appears to be no reason..." and other such statements.
Actions one can take. In the Baltics people have organized a boycott of targeted grocery stores to protest rising prices. That is going to have an effect.
https://www.euronews.com/2025/01/31/consumers-across-the-balkans-boycott-supermarkets-to-protest-against-rising-prices?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=today_newsletter&utm_medium=referral&insEmail=1&insNltCmpId=209&insNltSldt=10080&insPnName=euronewsfr&isIns=1&isInsNltCmp=1
In Germany when the CDU passed getting an immigration bill approved for vote in the Parliament with the help of the AfD, people took to the streets and wrote letters to the CDU asking members not to break the fire wall between the democratic and illiberal parties, and it was effective, for the vote the next day. I also wrote a letter to a CDU politician from my region.
In the meantime there are massive demonstrations planned all over Germany every day until the election which are protesting the AfD's existence and right wing action.
In South Korea people rose to protest against their illiberal PM, and he was impeached and removed.
In the US people massively complained about freezing of government funds and Trump walked it back.
Organized protest is an effective means of giving illiberal leaders pause. We the people can make our wishes known.
Please keep this up. The AfD coalition is a terrible precedent and I believe a large majority of Germans, and internationals, recognize what it means. CDU should be ashamed, too.
I'm afraid many people in the U.S. who do not have experience of living in other countries or significant international exposure / education actually do not realize the import or true meaning of a coup. Some may not even know what a coup is. The U.S. has been very isolationist, and standards of education have been purposely eroded.
Excellent work Robert. I feel obliged to mention a few things as some may have perhaps lost sight of.
The Jan 6th 2021 coordinated attack on our Capitol was an act of war by a domestic enemy led by a sitting president, who abdicated his oath of office and allegiance to the Constitution. To which nothing was properly done to hold him in account.
These actions that constitute this ongoing coup are illegal and should be stopped by any means necessary.
Elon Musk is a foreign born naturalized private citizen unelected, un-appointed to anything and must be stopped by any means necessary. He represents a clear and present danger and threat to the nation.
All of the people who are responsible for this should be treated as enemy combatants.
If Trump thinks he will deploy the military to the streets of the country against the American people we should force him to do it. I believe that it will not go well for him.
The States of America is clearly in Desperate times which call for desperate measures. An intense organized opposition to this continued Coup must swiftly coalesce if our country and democracy are to remain free.
The notion that we will turn things around in’26 and again ‘28 is a fools errand. Because if that is the path we are to follow, the thing that will be made harder and harder to use freely and fairly, if at all, and its outcome respected will be the ballot box.
If there is anyone who does not see our hand being forced, they are blind.
Elections are not a fools errand. Why do you think so many GOP reps are scared to the point of voting against country to avoid primaries? A midterm matters and it's not going away, and yes, this S.C. will uphold elections. Voting rights, not so much but they are still in play.
And proclaiming it so helps nobody here. This is a crisis, yes. We are being coerced, yes. And it will ultimately go very badly for Trump regime to deploy military.
The so-called fools errand is because by 26 or 28 elections May no longer exist. Now is the time.
We are aware of that. The thrust of my argument is that it highly unlikely elections just disappear. But don't listen to me; listen to legal experts. Read Jay Kuo, for example (whom I recommend in my lead comment) -- he has already posted this morning on which admin law expert has standing to sue Musk. As did I, on another comment here.
Elections matter, midterms matter, until they don’t. There is plenty of history that shows this.. Where is the intense opposition? Look around at the world you will see it. There must be action now!
I agree with all that you said. I also feel that We The People need to make loud noise and do it pronto. I am not sure that we will have elections in 2026 if this wave of anarchy continues unabated from our so-called president and his cult of ass-kissers and yes men/women.
We must find it in ourselves to organize, coordinate and strategize an opposition, I am not seeing the Dems doing it. We must force them into action!
PLEASE call them what they are, TAXES. The average person has no clue what a tariff is, they don’t even know all of the continents. We need to SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY language. PERIOD.
Yes. And starting to call them what they are: Fascists. During the administration of 45 I was hesitant to apply the f-word. That changed on Jan 6.
I agree. My question is how do we communicate it to those who don’t know what fascism really means? Who think it’s just an insult? And really do not get it? What words, true words, to use to be effective in our communication?
Dictator?
Yes. A tariff is a form of Consumption Tax. Trump hopes to tax the middle and working class and the poor through tariffs so he can give the upper 2% Tax Cuts.
Robert, thank you so much for your daily reports. The only emphasis I would suggest is that in addition to Trump and Musk, the Republican lawmakers are actively creating (not just supporting and cheering) this coup.
I wrote the below several days ago to organize my own thoughts:
Today we are asked to commit acts of “resistance” to Trump’s and the Executive Branch’s horrific attack on our democracy: write your Senator, donate to “this” social justice organization, donate to “this” legal nonprofit-organization fighting in the courts, get involved in our local politics, support our local media, join “this” or “that” resistance group, run for office, talk to your neighbors, join a community group and so on.
Meanwhile, we we seem to be inept and totally ineffective bystanders witnessing the blatant illegal and horrifying actions of Donald Trump, Gina and Clarence Thomas, Aileen Cannon, and hundreds of other actors, who brazenly and shamelessly succeed in openly breaking our laws and putting our lives in danger (e.g., pardoning the January 6th violent felons who attacked our police officers) and openly throwing our country into the pit of a tyrannical autocracy.
Our mainstream media is flailing, disinformation is rampant on social media. There are glaring major inherent problems in our voting system (e.g., unlimited monies in politics, gerrymandering, the electoral college). Our justice system is failing us.
Heather Cox Richardson says we should use our voices—our voices matter. But I’m not feeling that way.
Attorneys are openly getting away with not upholding their oath to the law. These attorneys are doing so in the service of Trump’s effort to avoid accountability for his corruption, crimes, and most dangerously—his becoming a dictator. Bar Associations should be actively disbarring these offenders.
Bottom line: the Justices in our Supreme Court are not upholding our Constitution (as well as some openly breaking multiple laws). Every time we learn that a court has blocked Trump’s illegal action, we know that will be appealed, and we know we cannot depend on this court to follow the laws of our Constitution.
We need a method or a strategy to make our bellowing voices so loud that we cannot be drowned out nor ever ignored again.
Well said, I couldn't agree more. Republican lawmakers are not just supporting or condoning the insurrectionist and the ongoing coup, they are an active part in it. That began right after the first attempt of the plot against America when only days after Jan 6 a majority of the Republican Senate caucus voted against convicting the impeached coup leader and then Kevin McCarthy travelled to Mar-a-Lago to pledge allegiance to the Führer.
In Germany members of the Nazi party wore brown shirts in Parliament and thus were easily distinguishable from the other parties. When watching the congressional hearings and seeing those MAGA reps all but drooling over the likes of Hegseth, Bondi, RFK Jr., Gabbard and Patel in my inner eye I see them wearing brown shirts. Because that's what they are – Brownshirts. Part and parcel of a fascist system.
Yes Gayle Donsky. Exactly right, but how? The thing that seems most fitting to me are mass protests, like in the 1960’s
Seems another strategy would be overwhelming D electoral turnouts in 26 then 28 and beyond. Could expand SCOTUS, and eventually force an alternative party to current Rs. Not saying easy, but I don’t see another way. I actually think Rs are likely planning to enlarge then stack SCOTUS now. Why wouldn’t they?
Massive street protests around the country on the same day…
Anger is always a second emotion.
Anger is born of fear. Its powerful and sudden growth as a rush of survival energy is our built-in automatic fight response to a threat as it moves upwards into our arms. The arms being the body’s weapons.
This huge bloom of energy can move downwards in the body into our legs so they can carry us to safety. This is the flight response to fear.
There are other ways the generation of energy triggered by fear can be automatically used by the body. My point is that these are AUTOMATIC reactions. It's a nice inherited rapid-response system to move the body out of harms way. The issue today is that we need to be directing our movements consciously, deliberately, self awaredly, humanly and not merely reactively, mechanically, defensively.
We need to be thinking and not take action without first reflecting on what principles we are committed to expressing. This includes having and noticing our innate reflexes while then in the next instant recalling what we are committed to.
Without that even briefest moment of remembrance, we are mechanisms reacting like unthinking animals locked in and limited by instinct alone.
Obviously, action needs to be taken. Get very clear about the intended outcome before acting.
Truth, beauty, and goodness call. To which do you open the door?
Thank you Bern. That's really hard to embrace but when I went to bed my anger welled up a second time over the past two weeks. This time I didn't feel that need to physically react. I was able to pause, pray, and then rest some.
It is numbing. It is no not supposed to feel ok, but I am aware. I can embrace the goodness of life as you suggest.
Anger can be recognized as fear without breath.
Our breathing, inhalation/pause/exhalation expresses the movement, the flow of energy, of life, through the body. It's through appropriation of the usual unconscious act of breathing that we can deliberately direct our experience of living.
Breathing consciously turns the experience of fear into excitement and even a deep enthusiasm for living.
Inspiration means both the physical act of inhaling and the drawing in of spirit.
“The Latin word, Inspiritus, means “breathe” and contains the word for “spirit”: together, to breathe in and be filled with the spirit, which is what it means to be alive. It is also the root for the word inspiration and in the creative sense, to be filled with the Muses, to be filled with the gods or God.”
-http://www.inspirituspress.com
Yes it is good.
Bern -- I've pledged to myself to put my anger away. It has given me a much better perspective. We are all going to need our wits about us in the coming days and weeks as what we've all feared since 2016 is upon us. Now. In this moment. The waiting is over.
"Here, the coup is an effort by Trump to overthrow the Constitution and establish himself as the unbounded dictator of the United States."
Every time we refer to Trump we ought say "Trump and the Republican Party" because Trump has not grabbed power, the Republican party has ceded it.
One obvious place to start a boycott: Tesla.
You mean the car you weren’t buying anyway?
Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean I (we) still can't take credit.
Edit: See Krisheres comment about Amazon above.
Yes, and his other entities. Tesla is already bleeding and propped up in the markets.
"When a senior manager at the Treasury asked why Musk needed access to the highly sensitive system, the manager was immediately placed on leave. He chose to quit, instead. See The New Republic, Top Official to Quit as Musk Tries to Get Hands on Key Payment System"
Before reflexive dismissal of legacy media, please note this The New Republic essay is based on Washington Post investigative reporting. As noted at the beginning of the essay: "The Washington Post reports that David Lebryk, who has worked in the department for decades and is its longest-serving career official, will depart soon, after conflicting with Musk’s deputies over access to the government’s payment system used to distribute trillions of dollars every year. "
The Washington Post helped to elect Trump. They get no credit for reporting on his mayhem.
There is WaPo as a Bezos enterprise enthralled to Trump.
Then there is the WaPo of investigative reporters - persevering behind the scenes in a hostile work place and persevering publicly in a dangerous political sphere. I don't see virtue in recycling their work second hand. Or eliding their work and their courage in doing it.
Did they call all of this out for being the coup that it actually is? I think they tiptoe around things and it is the folks like Maddow, Hayes, The Bulwark, The Contrarian, Robert Hubble etc that call it what it really is.
I may have to skip watching Rachel live in the evening and try to find it the next day. Last night’s show contributed to my pre-existing inability to sleep.
I don’t have tv so I can only listen to the podcasts the day after… which is a very good thing.
Thanks for using the coup word. Stay safe, Robert, Jill, Everyone. Be vigilant.
ARREST ELON MUSK AND ALL OF HIS MINIONS NOW!
I'm up at an ungodly hour of 1:50am PST to make sure my pension check is where it's supposed to be. Who made him god of the universe? In a sane world, he would be arrested now.
Welcome to the overnight Hubbleverse, as many of us wake up to hear Rob's wise challenging (and comforting as possible) words. Or at least read them.
Thanks. But I'm going back to bed with Nomi (see the pic) - she's smaller than she looks. She didn't expect me not to go back to bed, and followed me out to make sure I'm okay. We're both going back in a minute.
It's been a hell of week, not merely because of the Orange Snake. I thought I had 5 months to find a new place to live, which they said last week. This week, they said I had 2. Not having a good year so far. :-(
And I am back in bed with one of the kittens that lives with me, Petey.
Sorry about your living situation.
Thank you. I have hope of one, but lately hope isn't having a good day. I really hope I don't have to try and move to MN in the winter!
We need to organize a massive non violent protest march on Washington on July 4.
Best wishes.