Without meaning to dismiss or diminish the substance of the emailed text, I want to issue a note of caution:
I suggest that if you share the post, you do so through the Daily Kos link above, rather than by spreading a text file of unknown and apparently deceptive origin via email.
What could go wrong? You could be inadvertently spreading a computer virus. Many of the forwarded emails with the "Liz Cheney" Facebook post began with, " I received this Facebook post from my cousin," but with no Facebook link. That is the first sign of a possibly problematic viral email.
Wow! Finally a call to war from someone who has been in Congress and knows the possibilities. It felt so good to hear someone call out Democrats for daring to ask for money while they do nothing. I'm not talking about Adam Schiff! He is daring and unafraid of personal attacks from the orange idiot or his minions. Where the hell is Hakeem Jeffries? I can tell you where he is: hiding under his desk for fear of being targeted by Trump! (I totally understand Nancy Pelosi's non-involvement in any resistance, but Hakeem Jeffries should not be the Democratic leader of the House if he is cowering under his desk.)
I take your note of caution, Robert. But what a message. Whoever wrote it has good ideas (I hope!) Of course, I don't know many of those organizations the author mentions that Democrats should engage in their efforts to stop this coup. Please share any future information you receive about this alleged article. Thank you!!!
Have we already forgotten that Jeffries successfully delivered the House Democratic caucus’s NO votes on the MAGA Continuing Resolution only to have his considerable efforts dashed by the Senate Democrats? How does that get interpreted as hiding? He did what we were demanding of him.
That post did get me to go look at The Hague's website. Pretty cool. I didn't know that website existed. It made me feel good to See Putin snd Netanayhu on there!
It would be poetry if law firms that have refused to pay tribute to Trump in the form of pro bono hours, agreed to represent, pro bono, one or more of the universities under fire.
So sorry the Apple update event interrupted and interfered so greatly. Multiple arghs!!! Thank you for the clarity, your talent, of each issue you cover here. Love the description of what seems to work best with demonstrations and protests, building strength and momentum over time. And non-violence is more effective! Gearing up for Saturday! Love reading in the comments about solo people showing up to demonstrate on street corners. I saw a woman yesterday across from Stanford Stadium on a corner popular for demonstrations, most recently, pro-Palestinian with lots of flags and posters. This sole woman held a large poster between her hands, but I was too far away to see what it said. I will be watchful to support whoever is out there, anywhere. “We’re in this together,” as Joyce Vance uses to close her post each evening. And we are!
This is a surprisingly powerful call for strategy from … a Liz Cheney *impersonator [*edit: source is Dr. Pru Lee. I feel points are still strong and striking a chord with audiences]. I recommend reading plan, rather than pre judging the messenger. I think it contains several aspects worth adopting. I was impressed by something I mentioned in the last days: get the ICC involved with investigating cases with member states (especially after leaks or "deals" with foreign adversaries):
This is the intro. The substantial strategy points follow [too long to quote, all in link]:
Dear Democratic Party,
I need more from you.
You keep sending emails begging for $15,
while we’re watching fascism consolidate power in real time.
This administration is not simply “a different ideology.”
It is a coordinated, authoritarian machine — with the Supreme Court, the House, the Senate, and the executive pen all under its control.
And you?
You’re still asking for decorum and donations. WTF.
That won’t save us.
I don’t want to hear another polite floor speech.
I want strategy.
I want fire.
I want action so bold it shifts the damn news cycle — not fits inside one.
Every time I see something from the DNC, it’s asking me for funds.
Surprise. Those of us who donate don’t want to keep sending money just to watch you stand frozen as the Constitution goes up in flames — shaking your heads and saying, “Well, there’s not much we can do. He has the majority.”
I call bullshit.
If you don’t know how to think outside the box…
If you don’t know how to strategize…
If you don’t know how to fight fire with fire…
what the hell are we giving you money for?
Some of us have two or three advanced degrees.
Some of us have military training.
Some of us know what coordinated resistance looks like — and this ain’t it.
Yes, the tours around the country? Nice.
The speeches? Nice.
The clever congressional clapbacks? Nice.
That was great for giving hope.
Now we need action.
You have to stop acting like this is a normal presidency that will just time out in four years.
We’re not even at Day 90, and look at the chaos.
Look at the disappearances.
Look at the erosion of the judiciary, the press, and our rights.
If you do not stop this, we will not make it 1,460 days.
Dan, the ICC certainly has no jurisdiction to get involved in the NLRB case. The US is no member state of the ICC and treasonous activities by state actors wouldn't fall under the scope of crimes to be prosecuted under the ICC statute.
Having said that, El Salvador is a member state of the ICC. So the abduction case of Mr. Garcia might fall under their jurisdiction of investigating crimes against humanity. After all you have the government of a member state actively supporting the regime of another state (member of the ICC or not) whisking a legal resident away across international borders, holding him illegally and under inhumane conditions. Article 12(2)(a) of the Rome Statute might apply.
Thank you for the clarification, Stefan. Yes, I was just listening to something last night regarding the El Salvador case being eligible for ICC scrutiny. I also wondered what happens when a case like the NLRB breach occurs, where a foreign actor is quickly identified (in this case, Russian address funneling protected citizen data). I also found it telling that U.S. immediately withdrew support for ICC after inauguration (or attempted such). I know that's not a member status, but still ignominious.
Wow- thanks for alerting me to this . This introduction is exactly how I feel about the Dems right now. Not another penny until I see evidence of cohones! Which LC has big ones! Now to read her plan.
Yes, it's a strange phenomenon. I've chosen to leave it up for now because both here, and more widely, it is really striking a chord with readers. I think people are hungering for strong, urgent and thorough strategy now. I do not endorse this kind of copyright abuse or post-truth culture jamming (it's not clear if somebody else stole Pru Lee's post and mis attributed to Cheney, or if she did herself; assuming likely the former). But it is sadly likely the algorithms would not have gained traction like they did without cloaking as Cheney (who could investigate for copyright abuse).
Thank you for this info. I'm in favor of the article, in spite of copyright issues, because the suggestions are good -as far as I know. I'm not an insider who understands all of the references!
It certainly has struck a chord with me. I read it and realized afterward that it sorted out so much of what has been in my own head since he "won" the election. So much to think about and to do and so little time. But the logic is in starting with the little peeps on the bottom and working upward. Bringing attention to their misdeeds and lies. Pam Bondi; Marco Rubio; Russ Vought, that ugly bitch that does the press conferences and has not said one word of truth since day one - those people are a good start. I will delight in watching those smug assholes lose all of their power, glory, and fame. So far, we have seen over and over the adage of Rick Wilson #ETTD come to fruition. Think My Pillow guy; DeSantis; Giuliani; all those loyalists/lawyers that were charged for planning Jan.6. Even with pardons, they are disgraced and worthless. Without all the loyalists to protect him, the felon will fall immediately. Fortunately for us, they don't have the luxury of unbridled immunity while they break the law over and over again. Their leader is making them break the law routinely. I am thinking even all of the pardons he could do won't help them with multiple charges. In the meantime, we the people can commit to continuing the protests; contacting our members of congress to let them know what WE want from them. This article really pumped me up because I think we CAN be successful in making change along with our leaders.
Thank you for this, Deb. If that post helps to mobilize people who read it, it's served its purpose.
I agree that everything he touches will eventually rot, and keeping up pressure will hopefully hasten the process. And pardons only go so far. They do not cover anything state related, either. Giuliani was a fool to target the Georgia election workers, for example. He was totally exposed and failed miserably.
It doesn't read like Liz Cheney, does it? It is now troubling to hear the amount of doubt there is regarding this. Hopefully, we'll get more clarity as the day(s) go on!
There is already clarity regarding the original source in this thread (Pru Lee). I do agree it does not sound like Cheney. I left it because it seems to really resonate with many, far beyond this forum. Thanks for your sharp observation.
I had to google ICC. DON'T ASSUME OTHERS KNOW THE ACRONYMS YOU KNOW!!!
If I were to use the acronym, ICE, it might mean "internal combustion engine."
If I write AEM, it might refer to the journal, Applied and Environmental Microbiology. I know that instantly, but you probably don't.
It would take you seconds to write "International Criminal Court" instead of ICC, saving multiple readers the time and aggravation of having to google ICC.
Acronyms do to the flow of prose what a dead cow does to the flow of a stream.
I beg your pardon. Are you referring to the common usage of the original poster, the imposter, or me? And why all caps to call out what is common currency both in American English, and internationally? The tribunal that special prosecutor Jack Smith worked for prior to being assigned to the Mar a Lago case? Must I also spell out European Union to substitute for EU, because you make an inflammatory demand?
Sorry, but my background is in university writing and literature. We would not teach students to use anything other than the common usage in plain writing. That is ICC. That is why the original post circulated the term.
Avoid acronyms that are not in common parlance. I'm a well educated graduate of UC Berkeley, and well read (both books and periodicals), and this is the first time I've ever seen ICC. EU is common parlance. ICC is not.
Thanks, David. I know you have a fine education and that you are well-read. I wouldn't contest that. We may have to agree to disagree here, with a caveat.
ICC is common parlance. If you read even the Wiki entry, the text body continually refers to ICC. If you go back in WaPo, Foreign Policy, NYT etc, it will be referred to as ICC. Jack Smith's prior position in the Hague was commonly referred to as ICC during reportage on the Mar a Lago case.
However, your not knowing the term may be its relatively recent introduction: the ICC was officially constituted circa 1998. Therefore, the term didn't circulate prior to then because the bodies that performed its functions were organized differently. So maybe it is a generational linguistic shift.
Dan, I'm sure it doesn't help me that the ICC was only constituted around 1998. But I think part of my problem is that it's a subject where I pay little attention. Even when it was likely a concern of a friend who is the sister of a close friend of mine, when one of the leaders of part of the former Yugoslavia was being prosecuted, I ***tried*** to pay attention to the proceedings, but ended up really not paying attention, because I just wasn't much interested. Here's something about her role that I googled, having forgotten the details:
Ellen Elias-Bursac was a translator and reviser for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), where she worked on the trials of individuals accused of war crimes. Specifically, she was involved in the Radovan Karadžić trial, focusing on translation and interpretation issues that arose during the proceedings.
She did not write it, see above for link to writer, it was posted on the Liz Cheney/Adam Kinzinger Facebook page and then mis-attributed to her. It's powerful and clear which is why many, like me, thought it was written by LC but a quick search of all her platforms confirms she did not write it. However, it does seem to reflect many points and calls for action that we all would like to see happen!
Thanks for going to the extra effort to put this together, Robert, despite Apple showing MAGA tendencies! :-) I appreciate the help in understanding how the various legal processes are playing out. I did not realize Newsom's lawsuit was a way to get the Tariff of Abomination in front of the Supreme Court and give Roberts and his conservative colleagues another chance to redeem themselves. I do not understand Marco Rubio's willingness to sell his soul for what will ultimately end in some ugly termination of him by Trump, after an extended period of humiliation and complicity in the destruction of his own career for no worthwhile purpose.
I love the brilliance of Rick's insight! It's like F=MA or whatever. But...then I think...Damn! He's touching all of us now! So now I have to convince myself there's an escape hatch for the people who oppose him. :-)
Via HCR: "Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark reposted a clip of then-senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) on the Fox News Channel when a right-wing group falsely alleged the IRS was targeting them. "This is about whether we have functional constitutional government in this country,” Vance told host Laura Ingraham. “If the IRS can go after you because of what you think or what you believe or what you do, we'd no longer live in a free country.“
Let's replay JD Vance's statements across the land. And let's think hard about the harm being done our country by the band of brothers circling the Oval Office.
Dear Attorney Hubble - your optimism is thoroughly researched and greatly heartening...just reading the topic "the center begins to hold" is uplifting. Thank you
This is long but insightful and goes with Robert's imploring that we must resist. It's the only way. Reposting from a friend's FB post:
Peter Birkenhead on Trump’s approval rating: why it does not fluctuate (much) from its stagnant 47%, no matter what; why it doesn’t matter to those of us interested in saving our democracy; and what does matter:
▫️As of today, Donald Trump’s supposedly “tanking” approval rating stands at 47%. Which is pretty much where it’s been for the past eleven years. Yes, there have been minor upticks and downturns of a few points here and there. Yes, a majority of Americans disapprove of the tariffs. Yes, a majority think the economy is heading in the wrong direction. And yes, a majority disapprove of the job Trump is doing.
That’s not new. Trump’s popularity has almost never been above 50%, except for very brief periods of time. He’s never needed it to be. His power derives not from the size but the durability of his popular support, and there’s rarely been an approval rating as stubbornly durable as his.
Especially given the hundreds — thousands — of incidents over the past decade that would have sunk the careers of, say, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, or Hillary Clinton.
Think of it. All the corruption, the scandal, the pain and death and misery. All the insults to human decency and injuries to democratic ideals.
And his numbers are still pretty much where they were when it all started.
I am uninterested in whatever minor variation will follow yesterday’s vile display in the Oval Office, or tomorrow’s outrage, or next week’s. They will mean nothing.
What Trump supporters (as a whole, as a voting bloc, PLEASE don’t tell me about your MAGA cousin who’s having second thoughts) are thinking means nothing. The only thing that matters is what Trump’s opponents are thinking. What we’re thinking.
I remember making posts like this during Trump’s first term, and wondering exactly what I’m wondering right now.
Which is very much not, “What will it take for his supporters to turn away from him,” but rather, “What will it take for his opponents to realize his supporters won’t turn away from him?”
Because the answer to that question is crucial. It will shape everything that happens over the next few weeks and months.
If, as I suspect, a sizable number of us are sitting at home today thinking that Trump’s open defiance of a Supreme Court ruling, refusal to return an innocent, legal resident of the US from a gulag in El Salvador, and declaration that he wants to send American citizens to the same prison without due process, will somehow harm his approval rating, that does not bode well for our side.
Nothing will harm his approval rating.
Sure it might — might — go down a few points in the next few days. It won’t mean a thing. Give it a few weeks.
To believe otherwise is to not understand the story of the Trump era. The story of the Trump era isn’t “A bad man came along and duped a bunch of well-meaning, gullible people.” Donald Trump didn’t conjure his supporters from the ether with his magic MAGA wand. His supporters conjured him.
They wanted him. Badly. They’d been looking, searching, begging, screaming for someone like him, pushing every Republican candidate further and further to the right with every election cycle, demanding loudly that they “take a tougher” line on this, and “not give an inch” on that, that they “tell it like it is,” and “say what everyone is thinking,” for years. For decades.
They werent duped.
They are never going to see the light. (Of course a few will, here and there. But not in meaningful numbers.) There will be no scales falling from eyes, no epiphanies, no death bed conversions. Not among the bedrock base, which has not budged an inch in ten years.
They waved signs that said, MASS DEPORTATIONS NOW at their third Trump convention.
They weren’t duped.
The only duping that’s gone on is the self-duping many of us have been guilty of for many years. It’s a very human, very understandable, thing to do. To think better of your fellow human beings than perhaps they do themselves. To believe that, with enough patience, empathy, education and reason they are bound to see the error of their ways.
That belief is a dangerous one in this moment. It manifests in political choices that are bound to not only fail, but help the bad guys continue doing bad things.
It doesn’t matter if a few thousand Trump supporters see the error of their ways. It doesn’t matter if this or that Republican politician is momentarily seized by courage or conscience and speaks up about his or her disappointment in the president. The overwhelming majority of Trump supporters will remain Trump supporters NO MATTER WHAT.
Did you ever think you’d see Republican voters support a candidate who was openly subservient to Russia? Did you ever think you’d see them support a flagrant, serial adulterer and drug user? A denigrator of the military? A draft dodger? A New Yorker?
In 2014 Republicans raged at President Obama for supposedly not working hard enough to stop the Ebola epidemic. Six years later they followed Trump’s lead and physically threatened people working to stop an epidemic.
Nothing will shake them.
Well, almost nothing.
There is one thing, one thing Donald Trump could do to lose significant support. And no, it is not making his supporters “feel the pain.” It is not making them poor. These are people who are openly welcoming an imminent recession.
No, the one and only thing Donald Trump could do to tank his approval rating would be to stand in front of a camera and say, “Black and Latino people are as fully human as any white man or woman. They are possessed of the same inalienable rights, and deserving of the full enjoyment of those rights and the opportunities they promise, opportunities they have for too long been denied.”
Now THAT would be a deal breaker.
Because that’s the deal. They give him everything, he gives them fewer Black actors on their TV’s, fewer Black managers at their offices, fewer Latino pilots on their planes, fewer Spanish names on the backs of their team’s uniforms.
He breaks THAT deal, and all bets are off.
So we need to get it straight. We cannot see this struggle as a debate, as a project of persuasion. If some MAGA supporters are persuaded along the way, great! I say welcome them with open arms. And never, ever stop fighting hard to make their lives better. All of their lives.
But progress is going to come when we, not they, see the light. Before the left can meaningfully slow the MAGA rampage it needs to come to terms with the fact that the enemy isn’t Trump, but the people who put him in the White House.
That is a very hard thing for a lot of us on the left to accept about our countrymen. But this struggle is more analogous to a civil war than it is to a heightened disagreement between poltical parties. We won’t win it by persuading the enemy, but by overwhelming him.
Our energies should be channeled towards each other. Galvanizing, motivating, and enabling each other. Creating and sustaining solidarity. We can get a hundred first-time protestors out in the streets, or first-time voters to the polls, for the same investment it takes to turn one MAGA supporter toward the light.
Our hope doesn’t lie in Trump’s poll numbers going down. It lies in our commitment to keeping students from being disappeared and government workers from being fired and cancer research labs from being defunded and democracy from being destroyed.
Our hope doesn’t lie with them, it lies with us.▫️
Thanks for this trenchant comment that finally speaks to the real cause of the mess we’re in. HCR wrote a book “How the South Won the Civil War.”. That war is still alive and disruptive. And now again threatens the foundation of our democracy, with a secret war cry “Aryans uber alles!”. Never forget!
I agree with NC Heikin‘s post. Trying to change Trumpsters‘ minds is wasted effort.
However, the post omits one important population group – those who have not voted. It is a sizeable group. If Democrats or Republicans could reach a significant fraction of the current non-voters, it could swing elections. Democrats should understand the non-voters and bring them into the fold.
I agree with you. I cannot believe the entrenched devotion of the cult to a man so unworthy of devotion. As I've said before in these comments, I am a psychotherapist for over 25 years. The cult is emotionally enmeshed with the idea of Donald; their identities and sense of self is merged with the idea of Donald. It is a cult and yes, racism is part of the cult group think and also the drive for violence and even premeditated murder is for the glory of the emotionally enmeshed cult. The cult is enhancing and aggrandizing to the sense of self. There is a substantial cult following here in the town I live in. It is bizarre. One woman is a council women. She says she is a proud MAGA counsel woman and she knows what a real man is from the nature of his well, genitalia (not the words she used) and her husband is a real man as she knows the nature of his well...genitalia....so it is her duty to protect all the children in town from those who are trans and the libtards (??) are just whatever insult she feels like spewing that day. Her state of mind is weird and she is mentally ill as she has merged with the cult. This is just one of her weirdo pronouncements. So, no, the cult is not persuadable. Anyway, I hope America can recover from this but I am not hopeful, I think this MAGA is here to haunt us, like the Confederacy. But then, I remember that... what was it..30% of Germans supported Hitler and there are still German Nazis, so there is that to remember. So we press on to save our democracy.
Ellen here---WOW! yes I've come to that understanding also and truly it is an ugly truth about our fellow Americans that we wish wasn't the case. But it is and it's time we all face the fact that we won't change MAGa minds but need to carry on with all we have to save this precious Democracy in spite of them. Thank you for that well written and thoughtful analysis,,,Best to everyone for Saturday. It is all up to us. Be safe
So by this poll, tRump is 10 points “underwater”, which makes me feel somewhat better than polling at just 4 or 5 points underwater at 47% favorable.
We’ve got a long ways to go before the GOP congressional rats will flee the sinking tRump ship, but The Bulwark crew have been watching the orange menace for a long time and they expressed optimism at the trend.
Excellent and encouraging summary of the positive resistance building to trump’s lawlessness. More influential democrats need to speak up. It’s mind boggling to witness the acquiescence of the repubs in Congress and his administration.
Dear Robert Hubbell, thank you for your time and energy to rewrite today's newsletter!
It is filled with the building essentials of HOPE.
Every day we are back to the phenomenon of torture by awakening with a groan to look at social media and worry "what fresh hell did he post about overnight?" (Please, someone take his phone away and given him a tranquilizer to sleep!) It's a danger to the national (and world) mental health status.
Cheers to everyone standing up in opposition and shining LIGHT on the TRUTH
- that most of what the wannabe king/dictator is doing is illegal, anti-Constitutional, and harming virtually everyone and the planet itself.
In the end, djt is only a showman, not a businessman. He doesn't want the JOB of a president, he only wants the power and fame, to accomplish his greed. I so hope the American public will cancel this sequel to the TV series, it's all performative.
Re: "Separately, the IRS announced Wednesday evening that it will seek to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status following Trump’s public suggestion that the IRS do so to punish Harvard, an action expressly prohibited by statute. We should add the use of the IRS for political purposes to the list of impeachment articles to be issued in the 120th Congress, when Democrats regain control of the House."
Unfortunately we don't have time to wait until the mid-term elections of November next year - considering what kind of havoc that man has already wreaked in 3 months.
I continue to be astonished that the Media also gives Trump a pass on his colossal mismanagement and dereliction of duty in the Covid situation. The biggest drop in the stock market before the Trump Tariff
You can configure macOS to allow you control of updates. Go to System Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates (click the information i in a circle) and uncheck Install macOS updates and Install application updates from the App Store. You can then update on your own schedule and avoid the interruption. You can leave the other settings (Download new updates & Install Security Responses) if you want to. Note: I believe these settings are reset to the Apple default when a new update is installed, so you may have to reset them afterwards.
Thank you so much, Kathy. I am really looking to get my songs "out there." If you know of any musicians who might be interested, please send them my way. Onward with the fight!
Just wanted to thank you for your every day analysis that helps break down the chaos that our country is experiencing during this horrific attempted coup. I get both depressed and uplifted by your reports but as one of "we the people" I will continue to protest, call and shout out - whenever and where ever I can. Keep on keeping us informed and educated. We will overcome!
Hi, all. I have received dozens of copies of the alleged Facebook post by Liz Cheney. It is now available on The Daily Kos, here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/4/16/2316904/-We-Want-Action-Not-Words
Without meaning to dismiss or diminish the substance of the emailed text, I want to issue a note of caution:
I suggest that if you share the post, you do so through the Daily Kos link above, rather than by spreading a text file of unknown and apparently deceptive origin via email.
What could go wrong? You could be inadvertently spreading a computer virus. Many of the forwarded emails with the "Liz Cheney" Facebook post began with, " I received this Facebook post from my cousin," but with no Facebook link. That is the first sign of a possibly problematic viral email.
Wow! Finally a call to war from someone who has been in Congress and knows the possibilities. It felt so good to hear someone call out Democrats for daring to ask for money while they do nothing. I'm not talking about Adam Schiff! He is daring and unafraid of personal attacks from the orange idiot or his minions. Where the hell is Hakeem Jeffries? I can tell you where he is: hiding under his desk for fear of being targeted by Trump! (I totally understand Nancy Pelosi's non-involvement in any resistance, but Hakeem Jeffries should not be the Democratic leader of the House if he is cowering under his desk.)
I take your note of caution, Robert. But what a message. Whoever wrote it has good ideas (I hope!) Of course, I don't know many of those organizations the author mentions that Democrats should engage in their efforts to stop this coup. Please share any future information you receive about this alleged article. Thank you!!!
Have we already forgotten that Jeffries successfully delivered the House Democratic caucus’s NO votes on the MAGA Continuing Resolution only to have his considerable efforts dashed by the Senate Democrats? How does that get interpreted as hiding? He did what we were demanding of him.
Jeffries isn't hiding that I have seen this week. Are you reading news from Earth II?
That post did get me to go look at The Hague's website. Pretty cool. I didn't know that website existed. It made me feel good to See Putin snd Netanayhu on there!
It would be poetry if law firms that have refused to pay tribute to Trump in the form of pro bono hours, agreed to represent, pro bono, one or more of the universities under fire.
I'd love to see some poetic justice!
Law firms that pay tribute to trump are devoting *contra* bono hours to his causes.
So sorry the Apple update event interrupted and interfered so greatly. Multiple arghs!!! Thank you for the clarity, your talent, of each issue you cover here. Love the description of what seems to work best with demonstrations and protests, building strength and momentum over time. And non-violence is more effective! Gearing up for Saturday! Love reading in the comments about solo people showing up to demonstrate on street corners. I saw a woman yesterday across from Stanford Stadium on a corner popular for demonstrations, most recently, pro-Palestinian with lots of flags and posters. This sole woman held a large poster between her hands, but I was too far away to see what it said. I will be watchful to support whoever is out there, anywhere. “We’re in this together,” as Joyce Vance uses to close her post each evening. And we are!
This is a surprisingly powerful call for strategy from … a Liz Cheney *impersonator [*edit: source is Dr. Pru Lee. I feel points are still strong and striking a chord with audiences]. I recommend reading plan, rather than pre judging the messenger. I think it contains several aspects worth adopting. I was impressed by something I mentioned in the last days: get the ICC involved with investigating cases with member states (especially after leaks or "deals" with foreign adversaries):
https://facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0uRjja8tdaEzJLCM2AsfWtGS7ryLxC7y3pdjkZfQYiBc6xypi3vP73ZmfAifs11U8l&id=100067334225294
This is the intro. The substantial strategy points follow [too long to quote, all in link]:
Dear Democratic Party,
I need more from you.
You keep sending emails begging for $15,
while we’re watching fascism consolidate power in real time.
This administration is not simply “a different ideology.”
It is a coordinated, authoritarian machine — with the Supreme Court, the House, the Senate, and the executive pen all under its control.
And you?
You’re still asking for decorum and donations. WTF.
That won’t save us.
I don’t want to hear another polite floor speech.
I want strategy.
I want fire.
I want action so bold it shifts the damn news cycle — not fits inside one.
Every time I see something from the DNC, it’s asking me for funds.
Surprise. Those of us who donate don’t want to keep sending money just to watch you stand frozen as the Constitution goes up in flames — shaking your heads and saying, “Well, there’s not much we can do. He has the majority.”
I call bullshit.
If you don’t know how to think outside the box…
If you don’t know how to strategize…
If you don’t know how to fight fire with fire…
what the hell are we giving you money for?
Some of us have two or three advanced degrees.
Some of us have military training.
Some of us know what coordinated resistance looks like — and this ain’t it.
Yes, the tours around the country? Nice.
The speeches? Nice.
The clever congressional clapbacks? Nice.
That was great for giving hope.
Now we need action.
You have to stop acting like this is a normal presidency that will just time out in four years.
We’re not even at Day 90, and look at the chaos.
Look at the disappearances.
Look at the erosion of the judiciary, the press, and our rights.
If you do not stop this, we will not make it 1,460 days.
So here’s what I need from you — right now:
⸻
Dan, the ICC certainly has no jurisdiction to get involved in the NLRB case. The US is no member state of the ICC and treasonous activities by state actors wouldn't fall under the scope of crimes to be prosecuted under the ICC statute.
Having said that, El Salvador is a member state of the ICC. So the abduction case of Mr. Garcia might fall under their jurisdiction of investigating crimes against humanity. After all you have the government of a member state actively supporting the regime of another state (member of the ICC or not) whisking a legal resident away across international borders, holding him illegally and under inhumane conditions. Article 12(2)(a) of the Rome Statute might apply.
Thank you for the clarification, Stefan. Yes, I was just listening to something last night regarding the El Salvador case being eligible for ICC scrutiny. I also wondered what happens when a case like the NLRB breach occurs, where a foreign actor is quickly identified (in this case, Russian address funneling protected citizen data). I also found it telling that U.S. immediately withdrew support for ICC after inauguration (or attempted such). I know that's not a member status, but still ignominious.
I'm glad to know this, Stefan! Keep writing!
This is hardball and just what we need. I hope it inspires many people to act up.
To make "good trouble," NC!
Wow- thanks for alerting me to this . This introduction is exactly how I feel about the Dems right now. Not another penny until I see evidence of cohones! Which LC has big ones! Now to read her plan.
It’s a great list but frightening how widely it is mis-attributed.
Yes, it's a strange phenomenon. I've chosen to leave it up for now because both here, and more widely, it is really striking a chord with readers. I think people are hungering for strong, urgent and thorough strategy now. I do not endorse this kind of copyright abuse or post-truth culture jamming (it's not clear if somebody else stole Pru Lee's post and mis attributed to Cheney, or if she did herself; assuming likely the former). But it is sadly likely the algorithms would not have gained traction like they did without cloaking as Cheney (who could investigate for copyright abuse).
Thank you for this info. I'm in favor of the article, in spite of copyright issues, because the suggestions are good -as far as I know. I'm not an insider who understands all of the references!
It certainly has struck a chord with me. I read it and realized afterward that it sorted out so much of what has been in my own head since he "won" the election. So much to think about and to do and so little time. But the logic is in starting with the little peeps on the bottom and working upward. Bringing attention to their misdeeds and lies. Pam Bondi; Marco Rubio; Russ Vought, that ugly bitch that does the press conferences and has not said one word of truth since day one - those people are a good start. I will delight in watching those smug assholes lose all of their power, glory, and fame. So far, we have seen over and over the adage of Rick Wilson #ETTD come to fruition. Think My Pillow guy; DeSantis; Giuliani; all those loyalists/lawyers that were charged for planning Jan.6. Even with pardons, they are disgraced and worthless. Without all the loyalists to protect him, the felon will fall immediately. Fortunately for us, they don't have the luxury of unbridled immunity while they break the law over and over again. Their leader is making them break the law routinely. I am thinking even all of the pardons he could do won't help them with multiple charges. In the meantime, we the people can commit to continuing the protests; contacting our members of congress to let them know what WE want from them. This article really pumped me up because I think we CAN be successful in making change along with our leaders.
Thank you for this, Deb. If that post helps to mobilize people who read it, it's served its purpose.
I agree that everything he touches will eventually rot, and keeping up pressure will hopefully hasten the process. And pardons only go so far. They do not cover anything state related, either. Giuliani was a fool to target the Georgia election workers, for example. He was totally exposed and failed miserably.
I don’t think this is Liz Cheney. I was skeptical and found it on Daily Kos. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/4/16/2316904/-We-Want-Action-Not-Words
This might be the original source. Thanks for alerting me.
I still think the points are valid and strong, though attribution is important too:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1FUKc3eLXx/?mibextid=WC7FNe
"Hi I am the author of this post, Dr. Pru Lee. Feel free to disseminate and cite me."
Ahhh...can't access FB without an account, which I quit six years ago.
It doesn't read like Liz Cheney, does it? It is now troubling to hear the amount of doubt there is regarding this. Hopefully, we'll get more clarity as the day(s) go on!
There is already clarity regarding the original source in this thread (Pru Lee). I do agree it does not sound like Cheney. I left it because it seems to really resonate with many, far beyond this forum. Thanks for your sharp observation.
I could not find any reliable source that cited his letter as being written by Liz Cheney.
I think you are correct! I was also skeptical and found it on Daily Kos. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/4/16/2316904/-We-Want-Action-Not-Words
https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2025/04/fact-check-liz-cheney-democrats-letter.html
Please see above attribution. Dr. Pru Lee is the source.
Hi Dan. I do read the Wapo and the NYT, but
Hi Dan. I do read the Wapo and the NYT, but
I had to google ICC. DON'T ASSUME OTHERS KNOW THE ACRONYMS YOU KNOW!!!
If I were to use the acronym, ICE, it might mean "internal combustion engine."
If I write AEM, it might refer to the journal, Applied and Environmental Microbiology. I know that instantly, but you probably don't.
It would take you seconds to write "International Criminal Court" instead of ICC, saving multiple readers the time and aggravation of having to google ICC.
Acronyms do to the flow of prose what a dead cow does to the flow of a stream.
I beg your pardon. Are you referring to the common usage of the original poster, the imposter, or me? And why all caps to call out what is common currency both in American English, and internationally? The tribunal that special prosecutor Jack Smith worked for prior to being assigned to the Mar a Lago case? Must I also spell out European Union to substitute for EU, because you make an inflammatory demand?
Sorry, but my background is in university writing and literature. We would not teach students to use anything other than the common usage in plain writing. That is ICC. That is why the original post circulated the term.
Avoid acronyms that are not in common parlance. I'm a well educated graduate of UC Berkeley, and well read (both books and periodicals), and this is the first time I've ever seen ICC. EU is common parlance. ICC is not.
Sorry about the all caps.
Thanks, David. I know you have a fine education and that you are well-read. I wouldn't contest that. We may have to agree to disagree here, with a caveat.
ICC is common parlance. If you read even the Wiki entry, the text body continually refers to ICC. If you go back in WaPo, Foreign Policy, NYT etc, it will be referred to as ICC. Jack Smith's prior position in the Hague was commonly referred to as ICC during reportage on the Mar a Lago case.
However, your not knowing the term may be its relatively recent introduction: the ICC was officially constituted circa 1998. Therefore, the term didn't circulate prior to then because the bodies that performed its functions were organized differently. So maybe it is a generational linguistic shift.
Dan, I'm sure it doesn't help me that the ICC was only constituted around 1998. But I think part of my problem is that it's a subject where I pay little attention. Even when it was likely a concern of a friend who is the sister of a close friend of mine, when one of the leaders of part of the former Yugoslavia was being prosecuted, I ***tried*** to pay attention to the proceedings, but ended up really not paying attention, because I just wasn't much interested. Here's something about her role that I googled, having forgotten the details:
Ellen Elias-Bursac was a translator and reviser for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), where she worked on the trials of individuals accused of war crimes. Specifically, she was involved in the Radovan Karadžić trial, focusing on translation and interpretation issues that arose during the proceedings.
Can you validate that Cheney wrote this? There are many questioning that she wrote this.
She did not write it, see above for link to writer, it was posted on the Liz Cheney/Adam Kinzinger Facebook page and then mis-attributed to her. It's powerful and clear which is why many, like me, thought it was written by LC but a quick search of all her platforms confirms she did not write it. However, it does seem to reflect many points and calls for action that we all would like to see happen!
Thanks for going to the extra effort to put this together, Robert, despite Apple showing MAGA tendencies! :-) I appreciate the help in understanding how the various legal processes are playing out. I did not realize Newsom's lawsuit was a way to get the Tariff of Abomination in front of the Supreme Court and give Roberts and his conservative colleagues another chance to redeem themselves. I do not understand Marco Rubio's willingness to sell his soul for what will ultimately end in some ugly termination of him by Trump, after an extended period of humiliation and complicity in the destruction of his own career for no worthwhile purpose.
Regarding Rubio, as I said about a family member who was doing some uncharacteristic and awful things, you can’t rationalize the irrational.
Like Rick Wilson wrote:"everything Trump touches dies"
I love the brilliance of Rick's insight! It's like F=MA or whatever. But...then I think...Damn! He's touching all of us now! So now I have to convince myself there's an escape hatch for the people who oppose him. :-)
Snark here. Perhaps Marco’s soul wasn’t worth much to begin with. Cheap sale.
Via HCR: "Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark reposted a clip of then-senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) on the Fox News Channel when a right-wing group falsely alleged the IRS was targeting them. "This is about whether we have functional constitutional government in this country,” Vance told host Laura Ingraham. “If the IRS can go after you because of what you think or what you believe or what you do, we'd no longer live in a free country.“
Let's replay JD Vance's statements across the land. And let's think hard about the harm being done our country by the band of brothers circling the Oval Office.
Thank you. Devastating indictment.
Dear Attorney Hubble - your optimism is thoroughly researched and greatly heartening...just reading the topic "the center begins to hold" is uplifting. Thank you
This is long but insightful and goes with Robert's imploring that we must resist. It's the only way. Reposting from a friend's FB post:
Peter Birkenhead on Trump’s approval rating: why it does not fluctuate (much) from its stagnant 47%, no matter what; why it doesn’t matter to those of us interested in saving our democracy; and what does matter:
▫️As of today, Donald Trump’s supposedly “tanking” approval rating stands at 47%. Which is pretty much where it’s been for the past eleven years. Yes, there have been minor upticks and downturns of a few points here and there. Yes, a majority of Americans disapprove of the tariffs. Yes, a majority think the economy is heading in the wrong direction. And yes, a majority disapprove of the job Trump is doing.
That’s not new. Trump’s popularity has almost never been above 50%, except for very brief periods of time. He’s never needed it to be. His power derives not from the size but the durability of his popular support, and there’s rarely been an approval rating as stubbornly durable as his.
Especially given the hundreds — thousands — of incidents over the past decade that would have sunk the careers of, say, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, or Hillary Clinton.
Think of it. All the corruption, the scandal, the pain and death and misery. All the insults to human decency and injuries to democratic ideals.
And his numbers are still pretty much where they were when it all started.
I am uninterested in whatever minor variation will follow yesterday’s vile display in the Oval Office, or tomorrow’s outrage, or next week’s. They will mean nothing.
What Trump supporters (as a whole, as a voting bloc, PLEASE don’t tell me about your MAGA cousin who’s having second thoughts) are thinking means nothing. The only thing that matters is what Trump’s opponents are thinking. What we’re thinking.
I remember making posts like this during Trump’s first term, and wondering exactly what I’m wondering right now.
Which is very much not, “What will it take for his supporters to turn away from him,” but rather, “What will it take for his opponents to realize his supporters won’t turn away from him?”
Because the answer to that question is crucial. It will shape everything that happens over the next few weeks and months.
If, as I suspect, a sizable number of us are sitting at home today thinking that Trump’s open defiance of a Supreme Court ruling, refusal to return an innocent, legal resident of the US from a gulag in El Salvador, and declaration that he wants to send American citizens to the same prison without due process, will somehow harm his approval rating, that does not bode well for our side.
Nothing will harm his approval rating.
Sure it might — might — go down a few points in the next few days. It won’t mean a thing. Give it a few weeks.
To believe otherwise is to not understand the story of the Trump era. The story of the Trump era isn’t “A bad man came along and duped a bunch of well-meaning, gullible people.” Donald Trump didn’t conjure his supporters from the ether with his magic MAGA wand. His supporters conjured him.
They wanted him. Badly. They’d been looking, searching, begging, screaming for someone like him, pushing every Republican candidate further and further to the right with every election cycle, demanding loudly that they “take a tougher” line on this, and “not give an inch” on that, that they “tell it like it is,” and “say what everyone is thinking,” for years. For decades.
They werent duped.
They are never going to see the light. (Of course a few will, here and there. But not in meaningful numbers.) There will be no scales falling from eyes, no epiphanies, no death bed conversions. Not among the bedrock base, which has not budged an inch in ten years.
They waved signs that said, MASS DEPORTATIONS NOW at their third Trump convention.
They weren’t duped.
The only duping that’s gone on is the self-duping many of us have been guilty of for many years. It’s a very human, very understandable, thing to do. To think better of your fellow human beings than perhaps they do themselves. To believe that, with enough patience, empathy, education and reason they are bound to see the error of their ways.
That belief is a dangerous one in this moment. It manifests in political choices that are bound to not only fail, but help the bad guys continue doing bad things.
It doesn’t matter if a few thousand Trump supporters see the error of their ways. It doesn’t matter if this or that Republican politician is momentarily seized by courage or conscience and speaks up about his or her disappointment in the president. The overwhelming majority of Trump supporters will remain Trump supporters NO MATTER WHAT.
Did you ever think you’d see Republican voters support a candidate who was openly subservient to Russia? Did you ever think you’d see them support a flagrant, serial adulterer and drug user? A denigrator of the military? A draft dodger? A New Yorker?
In 2014 Republicans raged at President Obama for supposedly not working hard enough to stop the Ebola epidemic. Six years later they followed Trump’s lead and physically threatened people working to stop an epidemic.
Nothing will shake them.
Well, almost nothing.
There is one thing, one thing Donald Trump could do to lose significant support. And no, it is not making his supporters “feel the pain.” It is not making them poor. These are people who are openly welcoming an imminent recession.
No, the one and only thing Donald Trump could do to tank his approval rating would be to stand in front of a camera and say, “Black and Latino people are as fully human as any white man or woman. They are possessed of the same inalienable rights, and deserving of the full enjoyment of those rights and the opportunities they promise, opportunities they have for too long been denied.”
Now THAT would be a deal breaker.
Because that’s the deal. They give him everything, he gives them fewer Black actors on their TV’s, fewer Black managers at their offices, fewer Latino pilots on their planes, fewer Spanish names on the backs of their team’s uniforms.
He breaks THAT deal, and all bets are off.
So we need to get it straight. We cannot see this struggle as a debate, as a project of persuasion. If some MAGA supporters are persuaded along the way, great! I say welcome them with open arms. And never, ever stop fighting hard to make their lives better. All of their lives.
But progress is going to come when we, not they, see the light. Before the left can meaningfully slow the MAGA rampage it needs to come to terms with the fact that the enemy isn’t Trump, but the people who put him in the White House.
That is a very hard thing for a lot of us on the left to accept about our countrymen. But this struggle is more analogous to a civil war than it is to a heightened disagreement between poltical parties. We won’t win it by persuading the enemy, but by overwhelming him.
Our energies should be channeled towards each other. Galvanizing, motivating, and enabling each other. Creating and sustaining solidarity. We can get a hundred first-time protestors out in the streets, or first-time voters to the polls, for the same investment it takes to turn one MAGA supporter toward the light.
Our hope doesn’t lie in Trump’s poll numbers going down. It lies in our commitment to keeping students from being disappeared and government workers from being fired and cancer research labs from being defunded and democracy from being destroyed.
Our hope doesn’t lie with them, it lies with us.▫️
~Peter Birkenhead
Thanks for this trenchant comment that finally speaks to the real cause of the mess we’re in. HCR wrote a book “How the South Won the Civil War.”. That war is still alive and disruptive. And now again threatens the foundation of our democracy, with a secret war cry “Aryans uber alles!”. Never forget!
Thanks for sharing this sobering but unfortunately all too appropriate observation. It should be pinned to the top of the comments thread.
I agree with NC Heikin‘s post. Trying to change Trumpsters‘ minds is wasted effort.
However, the post omits one important population group – those who have not voted. It is a sizeable group. If Democrats or Republicans could reach a significant fraction of the current non-voters, it could swing elections. Democrats should understand the non-voters and bring them into the fold.
I agree with you. I cannot believe the entrenched devotion of the cult to a man so unworthy of devotion. As I've said before in these comments, I am a psychotherapist for over 25 years. The cult is emotionally enmeshed with the idea of Donald; their identities and sense of self is merged with the idea of Donald. It is a cult and yes, racism is part of the cult group think and also the drive for violence and even premeditated murder is for the glory of the emotionally enmeshed cult. The cult is enhancing and aggrandizing to the sense of self. There is a substantial cult following here in the town I live in. It is bizarre. One woman is a council women. She says she is a proud MAGA counsel woman and she knows what a real man is from the nature of his well, genitalia (not the words she used) and her husband is a real man as she knows the nature of his well...genitalia....so it is her duty to protect all the children in town from those who are trans and the libtards (??) are just whatever insult she feels like spewing that day. Her state of mind is weird and she is mentally ill as she has merged with the cult. This is just one of her weirdo pronouncements. So, no, the cult is not persuadable. Anyway, I hope America can recover from this but I am not hopeful, I think this MAGA is here to haunt us, like the Confederacy. But then, I remember that... what was it..30% of Germans supported Hitler and there are still German Nazis, so there is that to remember. So we press on to save our democracy.
Ellen here---WOW! yes I've come to that understanding also and truly it is an ugly truth about our fellow Americans that we wish wasn't the case. But it is and it's time we all face the fact that we won't change MAGa minds but need to carry on with all we have to save this precious Democracy in spite of them. Thank you for that well written and thoughtful analysis,,,Best to everyone for Saturday. It is all up to us. Be safe
A video just released by The Bulwark discusses tRump’s fall in today’s YouGov poll: 42% favorable vs. 52% unfavorable.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/new-poll-is-a-disaster-for-trump
So by this poll, tRump is 10 points “underwater”, which makes me feel somewhat better than polling at just 4 or 5 points underwater at 47% favorable.
We’ve got a long ways to go before the GOP congressional rats will flee the sinking tRump ship, but The Bulwark crew have been watching the orange menace for a long time and they expressed optimism at the trend.
Thank you, Robert. This is a bit of light in an otherwise very dark tunnel. Your work is greatly appreciated.
Excellent and encouraging summary of the positive resistance building to trump’s lawlessness. More influential democrats need to speak up. It’s mind boggling to witness the acquiescence of the repubs in Congress and his administration.
Dear Robert Hubbell, thank you for your time and energy to rewrite today's newsletter!
It is filled with the building essentials of HOPE.
Every day we are back to the phenomenon of torture by awakening with a groan to look at social media and worry "what fresh hell did he post about overnight?" (Please, someone take his phone away and given him a tranquilizer to sleep!) It's a danger to the national (and world) mental health status.
Cheers to everyone standing up in opposition and shining LIGHT on the TRUTH
- that most of what the wannabe king/dictator is doing is illegal, anti-Constitutional, and harming virtually everyone and the planet itself.
In the end, djt is only a showman, not a businessman. He doesn't want the JOB of a president, he only wants the power and fame, to accomplish his greed. I so hope the American public will cancel this sequel to the TV series, it's all performative.
Re: "Separately, the IRS announced Wednesday evening that it will seek to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status following Trump’s public suggestion that the IRS do so to punish Harvard, an action expressly prohibited by statute. We should add the use of the IRS for political purposes to the list of impeachment articles to be issued in the 120th Congress, when Democrats regain control of the House."
Unfortunately we don't have time to wait until the mid-term elections of November next year - considering what kind of havoc that man has already wreaked in 3 months.
I continue to be astonished that the Media also gives Trump a pass on his colossal mismanagement and dereliction of duty in the Covid situation. The biggest drop in the stock market before the Trump Tariff
You can configure macOS to allow you control of updates. Go to System Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates (click the information i in a circle) and uncheck Install macOS updates and Install application updates from the App Store. You can then update on your own schedule and avoid the interruption. You can leave the other settings (Download new updates & Install Security Responses) if you want to. Note: I believe these settings are reset to the Apple default when a new update is installed, so you may have to reset them afterwards.
I am a songwriter for the Resistance. I drafted this lyric this morning. It was too delicious to pass up.-David
2025 Little Marco-DRAFT
Little Marco and his cronies are filled with glee
Willfully flaunting the judiciary
The Venezuelans they took to deport
Never got their day in court
They stalled the court with a late report
Moving the judge to a damning retort
The men described as a notorious gang
Their deportation flights took off slam-bang
After clearing American airspace they said
The court was powerless, the case was dead
The men half-naked posing with Kristi Noem
Like animals in a cage, who cares? Ho-hum
Well it was, “Oopsie too late,” yes “Oopsie too late” [Chorus]
Said Little Marco, describing their fate
Well it was “Oopsie too late,” yes, “Oopsie too late”
Little Marco’s little message of hate
Well it was, “Oopsie too late,” yes “Oopsie too late”
Said Little Marco, describing their fate
Well it was “Oopsie too late,” yes, “Oopsie too late”
Little Marco’s little message of hate
The government claimed “state secrets” were involved
In their gleefully hatched little scheme
Important foreign policy was at stake
This was Little Marco’s wet dream
Sotomayer said citizens could be treated the same
To Homeland Security’s illicit and damnable shame
To CECOT prison in El Salvador
Little Marco plans to send a lot more
©2025 David Morrill Williams (aka Dave Williams)
💙 your song,David! I hope it “plays” in S.Florida where Little Marco lives.
There are over 300,000 here who many lose their TPS status.Many are home health aides and school staff.
https://www.wlrn.org/immigration/2025-04-10/florida-is-home-to-about-341-000-immigrants-from-venezuela-and-haiti-they-may-soon-lose-residency
Thank you so much, Kathy. I am really looking to get my songs "out there." If you know of any musicians who might be interested, please send them my way. Onward with the fight!
Thank you for this song David. Marco has sold his soul to the devil for sure.
Thank you, Helen. If you know of any musicians who might be interested please send them my way.
-David
Just wanted to thank you for your every day analysis that helps break down the chaos that our country is experiencing during this horrific attempted coup. I get both depressed and uplifted by your reports but as one of "we the people" I will continue to protest, call and shout out - whenever and where ever I can. Keep on keeping us informed and educated. We will overcome!