Some inspiration at the end of a rough week . . .
April 12, 2025
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I will hold a Substack Livestream on Saturday, April 12 at 9 am PDT / Noon EDT. Open the Substack App at the appointed hour and look for a notification that I have started the livestream. Download the app here: Substack App download instructions.
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It has been a rough week. Let’s start with some inspirational news and then work our way through stories that remind us we must redouble our efforts to stop Trump’s campaign to undermine democracy. When Trump's rein of chaos and vengeance is over, we will need to be able to live with ourselves. We must have a satisfactory answer to the question, “What did I do when my country was in its hour of need?”
Space Force Commander in Greenland calls for unity with allies—and is immediately relieved of command.
Last month, VP Vance visited a US military base in Greenland and delivered a speech that insulted the citizens of Greenland and Denmark—the hosts who permit the US to maintain a base in Greenland. See CBS New (3/28/25, JD Vance blasts Denmark in visit to Greenland with wife Usha as Trump administration eyes territory - CBS News.
On March 31, Col. Susannah Meyers, leader of Pituffik Space Base, sent an email to all personnel at the base, which includes Americans, Canadians, Danes and Greenlanders. Colonel Meyers wrote,
I spent the weekend thinking about Friday’s visit [by VP Vance] — the actions taken, the words spoken, and how it must have affected each of you. I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed by Vice-President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base.
I commit that, for as long as I am lucky enough to lead this base, all of our flags will fly proudly—together.
The Pentagon immediately relieved Colonel Meyers of her command for “undermining” President Trump's agenda.
Colonel Meyers must have known she would be fired for saying that the flags of America, Canada, Greenland, and Denmark would “proudly” fly over a military base staffed by personnel from each of those nations.
Colonel Meyers deserves our respect, admiration, and gratitude for demonstrating how to protest the bellicose words and actions of the Trump administration directed at friends and allies. We need more Americans in the government and military to follow Colonel Meyers’ example. They can’t fire everybody. Together, there is nothing we cannot do.
Susman Godfrey law firm files suit against Trump administration after being targeted by executive order.
The law firm of Susman Godfrey is renowned for its litigation prowess. Plenty of firms claim to be trial lawyers; Susman Godfrey is the real thing.
Trump targeted Susman Godfrey in an executive order because the firm had the courage to represent Dominion Voting Systems in a lawsuit against Fox News—that resulted in a $787 million payment by Fox to settle the defamation claim brought by Dominion.
Unlike other major law firms that have capitulated to Trump, Susman Godfrey filed suit against the Trump administration, seeking a declaration that the executive order is unconstitutional. See Houston Chronicle, Houston-based Susman Godfrey firm files suit against Trump administration following executive order.
The firm issued the following statement:
The executive order targeting Susman Godfrey is unconstitutional and retaliatory. No administration should be allowed to punish lawyers for simply doing their jobs, protecting Americans and their constitutional right to the legal process.
But this goes far beyond law firms and lawyers. Today it is our firm under attack, but tomorrow it could be any of us. As officers of the court, we are duty-bound to take on this fight against the illegal executive order
Susman Godfrey has demonstrated true leadership and integrity. Its partners, associates, and staff should be proud that the firm has placed the rule of law above all other considerations. Without the rule of law, law firms are reduced to vassals of Donald Trump. On a day when five other major law firms capitulated to Trump (see below), everyone in the legal profession should celebrate Susman Godfrey’s steadfast commitment to democracy.
Judge Paula Xinis pressured the Trump administration to comply with the Supreme Court ruling.
Another example of persistence that should inspire is Judge Paula Xinis, who is presiding over the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the US immigrant who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador after effectively being kidnapped by ICE and removed from the US with no due process.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous but feckless order that suggested in a very polite way that the Trump administration should return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. The federal government has admitted that Abrego Garcia was illegally deported because of an “administrative error”—code for “reckless conduct”—by the administration.
In the words of the words of the Supreme Court, the government is required to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia to the U.S. The Supreme Court also ordered the government to “share” information about the status of Abrego Garcia.
On Friday, Juge Paula Xinis held a hearing and asked the government to provide basic information about Abrego Garcia, such as, “Where is he located?” and “What steps is the government taking to comply with the Supreme Court’s order?”
The government attorney, Drew Ensign, repeatedly refused to answer Judge Xinis’s questions, claiming variously, “I don’t know,” “I don’t have that information,” “The administration needs more time to evaluate the Supreme Court’s ruling,” and “We are considering whether the information you request is privileged.”
[For non-lawyers, the attorney client privilege does not protect “facts,” but instead protects legal advice provided by a lawyer to the client. The location of Abrego Garcia is a fact that does not reflect advice by a lawyer to a client.]
Judge Xinis continually pushed the government’s lawyer to disclose information as ordered by the Supreme Court. She ordered a recess to allow Drew Ensign to consult with his client and file a written statement responding to her questions. Instead, the government filed a written response that stated,
“Foreign affairs cannot operate on judicial timelines, in part because it involves sensitive country-specific considerations wholly inappropriate for judicial review.”
For readers who are not lawyers, let me interpret the government’s written response. In lay terms, the response says,
“Dear Judge. Go **** yourself. Sincerely, The Government.”
In response, Judge Xinis ordered that the government file daily status reports on the progress of its efforts to return Abrego Garcia to the US and set a hearing for Tuesday. See Politico, Judge demands ‘daily updates’ on whether Trump admin is complying with court order to return illegally deported man.
While some readers expressed frustration that Judge Xinis did not hold the government in contempt, her persistence and push for clarity from the government will eventually pay off. It appears that the Trump administration will not provide Judge Xinis the information called for by the Supreme Court order and will not return Abrego Garcia to the US.
If that is where we end up, Judge Xinis will have positioned the case so that the Supreme Court has no ability to issue another mealy-mouthed, “Mother, may I?” ruling. The Court will be forced to confront the question of whether it will assert authority over the president or consign the Court to an advisory commission that the president can disregard. Sadly, the immunity decision last year has gone some way to diminishing the constitutional authority of the Court.
Learning whether the Supreme Court is willing to abrogate its constitutional role entirely will be a harrowing experience. But it is better for us to know the answer to that question on a clear record than to suffer through more weaselly, ineffective, hyper-technical evasions by the Supreme Court.
Judge Xinis is cornering the administration. If the Trump administration is going to defy the courts, we need a clear answer—and Judge Xinis is doing her best to get one. Kudos to her.
A topic for another day: Why is the Trump administration resisting providing innocuous information about Abrego Garcia’s location and status? There are several plausible answers, some of which are distressing. But until we know more, speculation is counterproductive.
In a qualified victory, the NC Supreme Court ruled 60,000 ballots cannot be disregarded, but allowed a challenge to 5,000 ballots
In a partial victory for Justice Allison Riggs, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that 60,000 ballots challenged by Rigg’s opponent must be counted. But the NC Supreme Court also ruled that 5,000 overseas military ballots must be cured within 30 days—a difficult challenge that may disenfranchise thousands of North Carolina residents stationed overseas in the military. See Democracy Docket, North Carolina Supreme Court Rules to Count Some Ballots, Reject Others.
Justice Allison Riggs said she would seek intervention in federal court to prevent the after-the-fact disenfranchisement of military voters who complied with the rules in effect at the time they voted.
I have run out of time . . . .
There is more to discuss but I have run out of time this evening. I encourage readers to discuss the following additional stories in the Comment section:
Immigration judge rules that Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported - POLITICO
A Flurry Of Law Firms Strike Deals With Trump To Avoid Executive Orders | HuffPost Latest News
New York Times, Who’s In and Who’s Out at the Naval Academy’s Library? (Accessible to all.)
Concluding Thoughts
In yesterday’s newsletter, I said that a national day of protest is being planned for April 19, 2025, and linked to the 50501 website. It is not clear whether 50501 is promoting a day of protest on April 19; the website no longer mentions a national protest. Nor is it clear whether any other organization is taking the lead in organizing a national day of protest on April 19. I would be delighted to be wrong on this topic, so if you have different information, please email me or post in the Comment section.
I understand that the lack of clarity and direction can be frustrating. I strongly believe that national, coordinated action is the ultimate bulwark against Trump's lawless agenda and slow-rolling coup. If no one is going to assume responsibility for national organizing, then local groups should continue their efforts, planting the seeds for larger protests.
We must remain ready, flexible, and accepting of the fact that grassroots organizing is a “bottom-up” exercise—which is part of its strength! With thousands of local groups protesting, it is impossible for bad actors and misguided government officials to prevent the people from expressing their opinions.
As one reader said today in an email, “It’s frustrating not to be given details on what we should do.” Yes, it is. But we cannot wait for instructions or permission. We know what is right and what is wrong. Nothing is preventing us from raising our voices in groups of two or three in spontaneous, organic efforts.
Be a leader. Others will follow. Indeed, they are desperate for leadership. Step outside your comfort zone and respond to this extraordinary moment with extraordinary effort. If enough of us do that, it will be enough for all of us.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
I had lunch today with TCinLA and KarenRN, and showed them my Celestron Origin smart telescope . . . which motivated me to attempt to capture images of deep sky objects this evening despite the nearly full Moon. I was glad I did. The image below is NGC 2403, a galaxy that is roughly 10 million light-years from Earth.
During the 10 million-year journey of the photons captured in the image below, the Mediterranean Sea was cut off from the Atlantic Ocean, dried up completely for a period of 600,000 years, and then refilled in a dramatic flooding event.
Enjoy!
In Indiana,Pa. (birthplace of Jimmy Stewart) the local democratic committee is coordinating the April 19th demonstrations. It made the front page of the local paper (the town is blue the county red) yesterday. There was even an expanded coverage of the 5ths turnout. Raising the numbers from 150 to between 250-300. Someone made good trouble.
"But we cannot wait for instructions or permission. We know what is right and what is wrong. Nothing is preventing us from raising our voices in groups of two or three in spontaneous, organic efforts."
Absolutely! In my region a few people are organizing their own protests for specific reasons, such as to support veterans, or in small towns a few miles away from the bigger protests. Indivisible advises normalizing protests, whether they're pop-up or long-planned like Hands Off! was on April 5.
There are enough horrors by Trump, Musk, and Congressional Republicans that we could be protesting daily, all day. A peaceful protest at minimum is a few people, a few signs, and visibility. That's all it takes to show you oppose the regime.
We MUST keep protesting - to provide hope, information, inspiration, and political pressure.