Protests lay the groundwork for future progress

February 18, 2025

[I am on the road in San Francisco with no recording equipment, so there is no audio version for today’s newsletter. Thanks for your understanding.]

On President’s Day 2025, hundreds of thousands of Americans marched in protest against Trump’s ongoing coup. From Manhattan to North Hollywood, from Denver to Springfield, Illinois, from Washington, D.C. to Seattle, Washington, Americans made their voices heard. Coverage in the major media was subdued (at best) and non-existent (at worst). See, e.g., NYTimes, Thousands Gather on Presidents’ Day to Call Trump a Tyrant. (Accessible to all.) Although the Times said that “thousands” attended the protests, one reader estimated that there were 50,000 protesters in Manhattan alone.

A dozen readers sent me photos of rallies they attended, but most photos were not suitable for publication because they prominently featured the faces of protesters. The photo below (with blurred faces) shows the protest in Springfield, Illinois:

The size of the rallies is less important than the number of protests across the nation, and the number of protests is less important than the fact that the protests took place at all. All resistance movements must begin somewhere. We will never know which protest—or protester—will serve as the spark to ignite the flame of a massive national movement.

For more than a century before Rosa Park’s courageous act of resistance brought the fight for equal rights to the attention of all Americans, Black men and women were refusing to comply with restrictions on “Whites Only” segregation in public transportation. See Because of Them We Can, Meet The Black Women Who Refused To Give Up Their Seats Before Rosa Parks. As described in the article,

While these women definitely sparked the bus boycott, there had been a century of resistance against segregated public transportation. More than 100 years prior, schoolteacher Elizabeth Jennings was also arrested for traveling in a whites only section of a streetcar in New York City. During her trial, she was defended by lawyer Chester A. Arthur, who would go on to become the future United States President. It was Jennings’ trial that led to the desegregation of New York’s street cars. Frederick Douglass had also protested a few years prior, being kicked out of a whites-only train car in 1841. Similarly, baseball legend Jackie Robinson also once refused to move to the back of the bus and was court-martialed as a result.

The key to achieving victory is not to give up, to persist, to endure, and to abide. We are on the right side of history and represent the majority of Americans. It is only a matter of time before the protests and boycotts reach critical mass and become self-sustaining reactions that will become unstoppable.

To everyone who turned out on Monday, thank you, thank you, thank you! Keep up the great work. You are heroes of democracy!

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DOGE seeks access to Social Security and student loan borrower information

Musk and his team of government-sanctioned hackers have gained access to the Treasury Department’s payments system. Over the President’s Day Weekend, Musk demanded access to Social Security beneficiary information, causing the acting head of Social Security to resign. See HuffPo, Social Security Head Steps Down Over DOGE Access Of Recipient Information: AP Sources.

Musk and his team apparently secured sufficient access to begin posting misleading information about the recipients. Musk incorrectly asserted that tens of millions of recipients were engaged in fraud because they were marked as “deceased.” Musk misleadingly suggested that some beneficiaries of Social Security are listed as 150 years old.

There are two things wrong with Musk’s statement. First, it proves that Musk is mucking around in private information about our social security benefits. Second, it shows that he is monumentally ignorant. See Nancy Altman in The Hill, Opinion: Elon Musk is coming for your Social Security.

Altman writes,

Both Musk’s ignorance and his anti-Social Security playbook were on full display Tuesday, when the shadow president talked to reporters in the Oval Office. In trying to convince us that our extremely efficient Social Security system is rife with fraud, he unknowingly proved how economical its administration is, when he asserted, “just cursory examination of Social Security and we’ve got people in there that are 150 years old.”

No one born 150 years ago is still receiving benefits. But here is where Musk is showing his ignorance: Let’s take the example of a person who is issued a Social Security card as an infant and dies at age 10, never having received a penny of benefits. Social Security doesn’t waste taxpayer dollars finding that information and cancelling their Social Security number — this would be prohibitively expensive and wasteful.

Moreover, most adults who die leave behind spouses and children, including adult disabled children, who may be eligible for benefits for many years based on the decedent’s earnings record. Therefore, that record may remain active for a very long time. For example, the last person to receive a Civil War pension was a veteran’s disabled daughter, who died less than five years ago — in 2020.

The problem with Musk rifling through data he doesn’t understand is this: He can suggest he has discovered fraud in just a few words: “We’ve got people in there that are 150 years old.” That lie takes three paragraphs to refute. But that is our challenge, so we must educate ourselves to be effective messengers of the truth.

Musk is now training his sites on student loan borrowing data. Late Monday, a federal judge in DC refused to grant an emergency restraining order barring Musk from accessing information on borrowers of student loans. See University of California Student Association v. Acting Secretary of Education | Memorandum and Order. The judge ruled that the student association had failed to make a “clear showing of irreparable harm” because the DOGE staffers have an obligation to prevent disclosure of the borrowers’ information.

Of course, we have seen that once information is in the hands of Musk, he operates under no constraints in publishing information to create the false impression that his team has discovered fraud, waste, and abuse.

If Musk or his team discloses private information beyond the permitted uses, it will be too late for injunctive relief to be effective. The judge failed to recognize (or acknowledge) that Musk isn’t playing by the rule book—and has failed to protect innocent borrowers whose information is now a pawn in the hands of bad actors with a history of misusing private information to suggest fraud where none exists.

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DOGE lays off FAA employees

Three weeks after the largest US commercial aviation disaster in decades, the Trump administration is laying off FAA personnel charged with maintaining air traffic safety and systems integrity. See Trump Begins Firing FAA Air Traffic Control Staff Weeks After Fatal DC Plane Crash | HuffPost Latest News.

Per HuffPo,

The firings hit the FAA when it faces a shortfall in controllers. Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the reasons they have cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements.

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Trump administration claims Musk is not a DOGE employee

Several states have filed suit against Elon Musk alleging that he is operating in violation of the Appointments Clause in ordering budget cuts and layoffs. In a responsive court filing, the White House claims that Musk (a) is not an employee of DOGE and (b) has no authority to order any cuts or layoffs. See Reuters White House says Musk is not DOGE employee, has no authority to make decisions. The White House claims, instead, that Musk is merely communicating the president’s directives.

If the state Plaintiffs can obtain the communications between Musk and Trump, those communications will likely show that the White House court filing is filled with lies. Trump isn’t ordering Musk to do anything. Musk is a rogue agent doing what he wants and telling Trump after the fact.

The fact that the White House has resorted to lies to conceal the truth of Musk’s role indicates that the White House knows that Musk is operating in an illegal matter in violation of the Appointments Clause.

The complaint is here: New Mexico et. al. v. Musk et al., and the declaration asserting that Musk is not an employee of DOGE is here: Declaration of Joshua Fisher.

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Concluding Thoughts

Do not create unnecessary pressure by imposing unrealistic expectations on yourself. Do what you can and trust that others will carry their fair share of the burden. Every action is significant, no matter how small it may seem in isolation. We are not fighting this battle alone but as a part of a mass resistance campaign. Contribute what you can, when you can, and be proud of your contribution.

Everyone who showed up at a protest on Monday should pat themselves on their back, as should everyone who wrote a postcard, posted truthful content on social media, wrote a letter to the editor, or encouraged a fellow activist who needed a boost. We are truly in this fight together. We each have our part to do. Let’s do it—without fear or guilt or second-guessing. Every act—successful or not—becomes part of the groundwork for our future progress.

Stay strong! Talk to you tomorrow!

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