Fight Back, Feel Better

 

The whole point of the Trump/ Musk assault on American democratic institutions in the weeks since January 20 has been to overwhelm their opponents, to create a sense of inevitability and momentum while they illegally and un-Constitutionally remake the government into an authoritarian state to benefit the oligarchs and Christofascists. And they have allies -- exhaustion and disillusionment.  We understand;  we had to take a lengthy break after the election ourselves.  But we found that, once we recharged, we personally felt better doing something rather than nothing, no matter how insignificant a contribution to the resistance we might make.  

If you're already engaged in resisting the assault on our democratic institutions in whatever fashion suits you, you're a true patriot.  But whether you are or aren't ready to engage just yet, we can relay some ideas on what we can all do to fight back in this moment, to stop or slow the momentum of the Trump/ Musk coup, and to exert the agency of the nearly 75 million of us who didn't vote for a fascist, authoritarian takeover.  The pushback on the Trump/ Musk tariffs on our neighbors may have forestalled a ruinous trade war, Trump's latest harebrained idea to "take over Gaza" is even getting resistance from some of his cowering minions, and resistance to the Musk tech tot government computer break-ins is mounting.  Always keep in mind, we're resisting incompetents here, who are getting more and more unpopular as their sabotage continues.

Former Labor Department Secretary Robert Reich had a practical set of 10 recommendations for resisting the Trump/ Musk fascism.  Here are a few of them (more at the link):

Protect the decent and hardworking members of your communities who are undocumented or whose parents are undocumented

... One of Trump’s new executive orders allows Ice to arrest undocumented immigrants at or near schools, places of worship, healthcare sites, shelters and relief centers – thereby deterring them from sending their kids to school or getting help they need.

If you trust your mayor or city manager, check in with their offices to see what they are doing to protect vulnerable families in your community. Join others in voluntary efforts to keep Ice away from schools, hospitals and shelters.

Organize and mobilize your community to support it as a sanctuary city, and to support your state as a sanctuary state. Trump’s justice department is already launching investigations of cities and states that go against federal immigration orders, laying the groundwork for legal challenges to local laws and forcing compliance with the executive branch. Your voice and organizing could be helpful in fighting back...

Protect LGBTQ+ members of your community

Trump may make life far more difficult for those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and of other expansive identities through executive orders, changes in laws, alterations in civil rights laws or changes in how such laws are enforced.

His election and his rhetoric might also unleash hatefulness by bigoted people in your community.

I urge you to work with others in being vigilant against prejudice and bigotry, wherever it might break out. When you see or hear it, call it out. Join with others to stop it. If you trust your local city officials, get them involved. If you trust your local police, alert them as well.

Participate or organize boycotts of companies that are enabling the Trump regime, starting with Elon Musk’s X and Tesla, and any companies that advertise on X or on Fox News

Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of consumer boycotts. Corporations invest heavily in their brand names and the goodwill associated with them. Loud, boisterous, attention-getting boycotts can harm brand names and reduce the prices of corporations’ shares of stock.

To the extent you are able, fund groups that are litigating against Trump

Much of the action over the next months and years will be in the federal courts. The groups initiating legislation that I know and trust include the American Civil Liberties Union, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Defense Fund and Common Cause.

Push for progressive measures in your community and state

Local and state governments have significant power. Join groups that are moving your city or state forward, in contrast to regressive moves at the federal level. Lobby, instigate, organize and fundraise for progressive legislators. Support progressive leaders.

Keep the faith. Do not give up on America

Remember, Trump won the popular vote by only one and a half points. By any historical measure, this was a squeaker. In the House, the Republicans’ five-seat lead is the smallest since the Great Depression. In the Senate, Republicans lost half of 2024’s competitive Senate races, including in four states Trump won.

America has deep problems, to be sure. Which is why we can’t give up on it – or give up the fights for social justice, equal political rights, equal opportunity and the rule of law. The forces of Trumpian repression and neofascism would like nothing better than for us to give up. Then they’d win it all. But we cannot allow them to.

We will never give up.

Former federal prosecutor Brendan Ballou says protests are more powerful that they might imagine, especially when targeted at career government officials:

... [T]he first Trump administration was often pressured into dropping unpopular policies. Faced with external — and based on my own experience, I suspect internal — opposition, the administration abandoned various plans to deport migrants who were gravely ill, to fine others hundreds of thousands of dollars, and to revoke visas for many international students. The first Trump administration gave up on efforts that received relatively little attention — a plan to close or privatize centers to train firefighters, for instance — as well as those that received a great deal, such as the president’s scheme to halt military aid to Ukraine. Under pressure, the administration even gave up on signature policies: In the face of overwhelming public opposition, for example, the president disavowed his policy of separating migrant children from their parents, even before a court order required him to do so.

What these examples show is that resistance can work. But my own experience suggests such resistance works best if it’s targeted well. It’s largely ineffective for protesters to focus their energy on the government’s top decision-makers, such as the president and his political appointees. On most issues, these people have made up their minds. Protest won’t sway them, and may in fact tempt their antidemocratic instincts. But virtually every government policy must be developed and implemented by people far below those appointees. These people — who swear an independent oath to protect the Constitution — can be affected by public influence, and as public servants, should be. Activism can help them understand issues, and empower them to speak up against illegal or unjust policies. That’s true, even as Trump tries to purge the federal government of anyone who won’t be completely loyal to him.  [snip]

...[T]he new administration has had mixed success purging its perceived opponents, and some offices have thus far been able to resist illegal mass firings. Second, while court orders to stop such illegal firings might not mean much to someone like Elon Musk, they can mean a lot to the lawyers who can be disbarred — or the lackeys who can be jailed — for ignoring them. Third, to the extent the administration wants to do more than simply cut the size of government — an issue that, notably, does not seem to particularly interest the president — it will need to rely on existing officials to carry out its agenda. From deportations to trade wars to prosecutions of perceived enemies, the president’s plans will rely on federal employees, and these employees can be powerful. 

We close with Reich's final prescription, which we heartily endorse:

Finding room in life for joy, fun and laughter. We cannot let Trump and his darkness take over. Just as it’s important not to give up the fight, it’s critically important to take care of ourselves. If we obsess about Trump and fall down the rabbit hole of outrage, worry and anxiety, we won’t be able to keep fighting.

Take care of yourselves and others.  It's going to be a long, difficult road ahead.

Dust Up Over Biden Classified Docs Report

Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor and current Professor of Public Policy at the University of California-Berkeley, commented on yesterday's report by Special Counsel Robert Hur on President Biden's mishandling of classified documents, and Hur's seemingly gratuitous comment that Biden's memory was poor. What apparently triggered Biden's anger specifically was Hur's comment that Biden had trouble remembering the date when his son Beau passed away. Reich's observations:

1) Special counsel Hur has no professional background or experience diagnosing age-related memory loss. In fact, he has no medical background at all. His conclusion that Biden has a “poor memory” is entirely subjective, based on Hur’s own guess about how a jury would respond to Biden.

2) Some memory loss naturally comes with aging, and both Biden (age 81) and his likely Republican opponent, Donald Trump (age 77) have demonstrated memory loss as well as confusion. (Trump recently confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi, for example.)

3) For the purposes of electing the next president, the relevant question isn’t a candidate’s memory. It’s his knowledge, temperament, and judgment. We have no reason to doubt these attributes in Biden. He has been the adult in the room. But the likely Republican nominee notably lacks all these qualities. To the contrary, Trump has consistently and repeatedly demonstrated willful ignorance, a sociopathic temperament, and the judgment of a five-year-old. Trump has been indicted on 91 criminal counts.

4) Hur is a former Trump Justice Department official. I don’t know about you, but I can’t help wonder why Hur thought it useful to predict that a jury would likely find Biden to be an “elderly man with a poor memory” — unless, perhaps, Hur thought it politically useful. Could it possibly be that Hur — whom Trump appointed to the Justice Department, who was a top adviser to Trump’s then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and whom Trump then nominated to be U.S. attorney for Maryland — might have known he would set off a political bombshell? How could he not have known?

5) The two cases — Trump retaining classified documents and Biden retaining them — are utterly different. Trump refused to turn over documents that had been subpoenaed and undertook other efforts to thwart investigators. Biden, on the other hand, did not willfully retain papers; he cooperated with investigators the moment the documents were found.  (our emphasis)

In retrospect, it would have been better for the White House to issue a statement that captured the points Biden wanted to make and leave it at that, rather that face a howling press corps last night as he did, which seemed to make matters worse. In those situations, the howling press corps has the advantage. Live and learn.

(photo: Biden at last night's press conference. AP Photo / Evan Vucci)

 

Monday Reading

 

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op eds.

Robert Reich writes about what will be Mango Mussolini's vilest legacy:

Most of the 74,222,957 Americans who voted to re-elect Donald Trump – 46.8%of the votes cast in the 2020 presidential election – don’t hold Trump accountable for what he’s done to America.

Their acceptance of Trump’s behavior will be his vilest legacy. [snip]

Trump has brought impunity to the highest office in the land, wielding a wrecking ball to the most precious windowpane of all – American democracy.

The message? A president can obstruct special counsels’ investigations of his wrongdoing, push foreign officials to dig up dirt on political rivals, fire inspectors general who find corruption, order the entire executive branch to refuse congressional subpoenas, flood the Internet with fake information about his opponents, refuse to release his tax returns, accuse the press of being “fake media” and “enemies of the people”, and make money off his presidency.

And he can get away with it. Almost half of the electorate will even vote for his reelection.

A president can also lie about the results of an election without a shred of evidence – and yet, according to polls, be believed by the vast majority of those who voted for him.

74 million.   It's still hard to imagine we occupy the same space with so many damaged, dimwitted, despicable people who believed such a damaged, dimwitted, despicable person should be elected and then re- elected after the damage he wrought.

Greg Sargent has reason for optimism that the course of events from now until November 20 will be less turbulent than many of us fear:

Given how much is in chaos right now, it’s easy to get spooked into thinking we are facing a final month of extreme turbulence. But, in the interests of making the holidays a bit more restful, I’d like to suggest another scenario: Much of what we’re seeing now gets resolved without much fuss, and President Trump leaves the White House quietly.

Relatively, anyway.

Two big things right now seem to threaten maximum disruption ahead. The first is Trump’s effort to throw the $900 billion economic rescue package into chaos, which could cause a government shutdown and delay badly needed assistance from getting to the American people, at a moment of worsening economic calamity.

The second is Trump’s apparent belief that he can still somehow steal the election or, as he has mused to advisers, possibly declare martial law.

Well, we just saw Mango Mussolini capitulate on the first thing, so score one for "restful."  On the second, Sargent describes the fruitlessness of all the fantasy scenarios of an overturned election.  Good read for keeping calm and carrying on.

S.V. Date exposes the income transfer grift Mango Mussolini has been pulling on his gullible cult:

President Donald Trump’s donors — the vast majority of whom are working-class supporters and retirees contributing just a few dollars a month — put $10.5 million into the erstwhile billionaire’s own personal businesses over the course of his presidency, a HuffPost analysis found.

Some $8.5 million came from the Trump campaign and related entities that Trump controls directly. Another $2 million came from other Republican candidates and committees.

Through a trust that he controls, Trump owns the hotels, golf courses and buildings that received the money, with every penny of profit flowing to him personally.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the... holy shit!

Religious orders are supposed to provide spiritual guidance to those who join. But some of the women who entered Sisters Minor of Mary Immaculate (SMMI) say they faced physical and emotional abuse. [snip]

“I witnessed other girls just being yelled at on a constant basis by Theresa Kovacs,” said Rose, who joined SMMI in 1995. (Three interviewees asked to only be identified by their first names.) According to Rose, a sister named Georgiana often got the brunt of Kovacs’ anger.

“It would be a torrent of the nastiest stuff you could ever say to a human being, she would say to me,” said Georgiana. “It was meant to keep people in line.” [snip]

According to [former SMMI nun Patricia] Budd, they even had their food restricted.

“Basically your food is pretty much less and less,” she said. “And so, that’s pretty much like what a cult is — and break you down. That’s the whole thing. Always to break you down.”

If there's any part of the Church that's not ultimately cult- like, we'd like to know (not really).

Once again we close by recommending a visit to Infidel 753's link round- up for a comprehensive list of links to thought- provoking, humorous and otherwise "interesting stuff" he's carefully curated over the past week.  And speaking of worthy posts, check out the Jon Swift 2020 Roundup of the best blogger posts of the year.  You'll find Infidel and some of our other favorite bloggers recognized there.

Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op- eds.

Digby writes about the "civility" scolds in the media who aren't getting what the public shaming is all about:

The news media has been rightfully up in arms about the president of the United States participating in a cover-up of the murder of a journalist and Washington Post columnist. And they've been equally critical of President Trump's comments last week at a rally in Montana, where he applauded a GOP congressman for body-slamming a reporter because he asked a question. Likewise, the media has understandably protested the Secret Service telling an accredited journalist that he was not allowed to ask Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner questions on an airplane. 

This is, after all, a country with a Bill of Rights that protects freedom of the press. All right thinking people are supportive of their position on these issues. Between all that and the constant demeaning of the media by the president, it's clear that this administration is using the power of the government and the president's bully pulpit to threaten the press, and not just in a metaphorical sense. All of the above examples demonstrate a threat of physical violence. [snip]

This past weekend, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was yelled at in a Louisville restaurant while sitting with his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. A man approached their table and angrily told they should leave the country. When other patrons spoke up and told him to leave them alone he shouted, "They're coming for Social Security!" (This happens to be true. McConnell told CNBC just last week that the only solution for the massive deficit caused by his massive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy is to cut "entitlements.") [snip] 

Of all the people in our public life to get angry about this, the last you'd expect would be members of the media, who are being demonized by the president and these very same politicians. But some of them are quite upset and have taken to social media to scold citizens for addressing their leaders in this way...

It's a safe prediction that our "free press" will be the last to understand the danger of passivity in the face of aggressive Republican efforts to neuter democracy in this country.

Robert Reich on the truth about the "Trump economy":

Too often, discussions about “the economy” focus on overall statistics about growth, the stock market, and unemployment. 

But most Americans don’t live in that economy. They live in a personal economy that has more to do with wages, job security, commutes to and from work, and the costs of housing, healthcare, drugs, education, and home insurance. 

These are the things that hit closest home. They comprise the typical American’s standard of living. 

Instead of an “economic boom,” most Americans are experiencing declines in all these dimensions of their lives.

Kate Briquelet takes a detailed look at Trump thorn Michael Avenatti's finances (spoiler alert: shades of Trump!):

Civil court filings paint a picture of Avenatti as a hard-charging attorney who enjoyed the luxe life—jetting around the world to race cars with a Saudi prince and treating his wife and their friends to luxury villas in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Yet he and his companies owed hundreds of thousands in unpaid taxes and in compensation to one former colleague, who claims Avenatti stiffed him out of millions in law-firm profits. 

A review of court documents reveals that Avenatti, his former law firm Eagan Avenatti, and his former company Global Baristas, the majority owner of the Seattle-based Tully’s coffee chain, have owed millions in unpaid federal and state taxes in Washington and California, as well as hundreds of thousands in past-due rent to landlords. 

The Democratic Party doesn't need this guy now or in 2020.

Alex Steffen writes about the carbon lobby's doomed battle to stave off action on climate change:

The clean economy will eventually put the dirty economy out of business—but just how soon is the crux of the climate fight. 

The carbon lobby’s agenda is not to win—few investors seriously think fossil fuels are in for boom times ahead—but to lose slowly, to stall for time, to maintain the appearance of unshakable ubiquity (and thus profitability). 

Looking at the building global political momentum on climate, the growing competitiveness of the new economy, and the rising financial risks facing fossil fuel companies, we begin to see just how vital the Trump administration and the GOP Congress are to slowing action on climate. They (and Russia) are working as essentially the only strong counterforce to rapidly accelerating climate action. They are the core constituency for predatory delay. 

The prescription of electing Democratic majorities in Congress this year would help, but we need to have a real President who won't stymie actions that such a Congress would pass.

As always, we close with our recommendation to check out Infidel 753's excellent link round- up for a wide- ranging selection of interesting topics, oddities and amusements.

Tweet of the Day

Rom says unemp shld be 4%. I was Sec of Lab last time it was 4%. We got there by raising taxes on rich and investing in ed and infrstructre.

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) May 5, 2012

Robert Reich on "Bitterness"

This right-on blog by former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich on the silly flapdoodle revolving around Sen. Obama's remarks about bitterness in small-town America, says it all about the cynical spinmeisters and the numbnuts in the media who've jumped on this like it was the next Rev. Jeremiah Wright clown car leaving town.