The Republican Party is so weak and scared. And since Trump pardoned the j6 prisoners, who’s to say he won’t call on them to threaten any Republican congressman who doesn’t capitulate? Yes the average American is tough, but not the average Republican Congress!
Fear. It’s what fascism runs on. The J6 criminals are an American SS / Gestapo. You can toss in the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers into that mix as well.
I really believe that most GOP-ers in Congress currently DO NOT want what the Orange Dumpster is selling. However, they don’t want their homes ransacked, their families / loved ones threatened or beaten or to be strung up ( looking at you Mike Pence ) by the above mentioned J6 criminals. These goons don’t have democracy in their eyes. It’s anger and being uniformed. A deadly cocktail.
American fascism looks different than 1930’s European fascism. But, if it walks like a duck……...
The thing I can’t seem to wrap my head around is the idea that while the country continues to be under attack, a Coup to be exact, there are those in positions of power and authority who can take real tangible deliberate actions on there own that are not. Actions not limited to what we know about by following this newsletter.
All while there is reporting confirming the following perspective:
“We are on the edge of a dark precipice where the rule of law doesn't exist, at least at the federal level. I mean we're talking about Psychopaths here, we're talking about sociopaths here, we're talking about people with no morals no conscience no nothing. Why are they going to obey a
court order? And that to me is the scariest aspect of all this. Where’s the stopping point? It’s hard not to reach the conclusion that there is none.” ~ George Conway, Attorney
In the wake of this I can’t understand why they’re not deploying DESPERATE FUCKING MESSURES!
Awesome essay. But… where is the power center coming from in the Democratic Party? Schumer and Jeffries? Maybe they will have the balls to shut down the government. I hope so. But it’s increasingly more likely they will fold when their constituents push back because of the crashing economy.
Instead, I think the power center is with the blue state governors who need to create safe havens for our federal tax dollars. I would like to see an all-out tax revolt, where we can escrow our tax payments until this shit stops.
Couple that with an economic boycott and you’ll see big business get off their asses to push back on the assault on our democratic principles.
Steve: you have a big microphone. You have visibility and you have friends. Push my idea forward and let’s get this going.
While I was writing my comment -- I refreshed and see you said what I am thinking. Here is my post:
I live in a blue state. I am getting together documents to file federal income tax in April. I already paid my quarterlies for 2024 and will not be receiving a refund this year. I am sickened to think that even a percentage of a penny of my tax money has contributed to the federal government headed by trump. I object to paying the contracts of elon musk, the stipends of his baby-boy goons, the salaries and expenses of trump's cabinet of incompetents and arsonists, the traitorous fascist lackeys on SCOTUS, and the GOP clowns in the congress and senate. They think nothing of threatening to withhold disaster aid from blue states. Who do they think pays their goddamned salaries? WE DO. This morning I googled civil disobedience -- tax resistance. Is it time to consider this option, or would it be a counterproductive move? I have never considered such a thing before, and worry about the legal consequences, both personally and broader fallout on society. Steve is calling for dems to force a government shut down as a bargaining strategy to stop trump-musk plans defunding vital programs. Maybe this could be amplified by democrats across the country threatening a federal tax boycott en masse. Too impractical and naive? Sincerely asking.
I spoke with my accountant about ways to do this and all of them involve risk. Penalties, possible audits, misdemeanor charges for not filing taxes at all. But if millions do this through a mechanism set up by blue state governors, then what could the irs or federal officials actually do? Withhold $$ from blue states? They’re gonna do that anyway. It’ll take them forever to prosecute all of us, and by then maybe we will have won a victory and the money can be released by the state. Wishful thinking perhaps
I made my four calls to reps and the AG this morning. I was able to get through to all of my congressional representative's offices. Last week, they were so jammed, you couldn't even leave a voicemail. PLEASE keep calling your Senators, members of Congress, and Attorney General. Do not let up~ it is so easy to do. Use https://5calls.org/ Thank you.
So which Democrat is going to deliver that tough message to Drumpf and crewe? For a start- anyone but freakin' Schumer! Jeffries, Murphy? How about Angus King (Ind.)? I thought he was pretty impressive in the well the other day. Don't know how long the courts had hold up the damn. Wonder how quickly Bondi as consigliere will take this up to SCOTUS? I've got more questions than answers, but one thing for sure, time is of the essence..
The transcendent national interest of the United Stated of America is defending freedom and democracy from all enemies, foreign and domestic. And “Degenerate” Donald, VP JD, and the dregs of society in their administration are “Public Enemy Number One,” as far as I am concerned. and pose an immediate and existential threat to that national interest.
And while I am not an attorney, it would seem to me that Trump breaking the law by defying current federal atateand a long standing Supreme Court precedent by making it impossible for poor people in Africa to get the food and medicine they need to survive is something akin to murder. And should also quality for impeachment because it runs afoul of. It definitely is morally, in my judgement.
Hence, Congressional Democrats should heed Steve’s advice and not agree to any budget deal with Republicans until all of the law breaking and constitution trashing stops and there is an enforcement mechanism in place to ensure that the Trump administration is complying with that lying is their only MO. “No retreat, no surrender!”
Trump bitching about the cost of GLP-1 drugs when he just prohibited Medicare from negotiating drug prices shows his massive incoherence--Dementia Don in action
It must be noted that Elon did NOT create Tesla or SpaceX.....Daddy gave him money and he bought Tesla and the other one was a government research project firm that E bought. Similar MO's to D...always buying existing entities.. I'm light on details I know.
I agree with everything except this: we've already lost the country. We are no longer able to *stop* Trump/Musk, but we can *reject* them in favor of something else. The rules & laws no longer work when only one side follows or applies them. The rule/law breakers know this, so they have no fear of resistance. From a cost/benefit perspective, why should we continue in the pursuit of saving something that gives us nothing?
Evidence of just how outspoken Trump's Nazis have become. Somebody, please. We need to take drastic action. They must be stopped:
"Darren Beattie, the State Department’s acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs — a senior role that represents American foreign policy to the world — has repeatedly voiced support for mass sterilization of “low-IQ trash.”
“Population control? If only!” he wrote in May 2024. “Higher quality humans are subsidizing the fertility of lower quality humans.” In 2023, Beattie questioned why abortion is legal and “well within Overton window of public discourse,” but the “idea of offering feral populations financial incentives for voluntary sterilization is completely taboo.”
Later that year, he responded to a video of people in an Atlanta neighborhood by calling for a sterilization program. He also said far-right conspiracy theories that a grand population-control scheme is already happening aren’t accurate because “all I see is trash multiplying.”
Another Darren Beattie quote (he once wrote speeches for Trump): “It's not politically correct to say, but low-IQ, low-impulse control populations lack higher reasoning and moral faculties---they require strict corporal punishment and threat of violence to function properly within a society. Instead of anarcho-tyranny, we need Singapore for the dumb and violent, and Sweden for the more elevated.”
More quotes from this raging Nazi in our Dept. of State can be found @:
I seem to recall that the Republican caucus met to vote on whether Jim Jordan should be Speaker of the House (2022?). He lost that vote but there was some talk that some representatives in that caucus received death threats if they didn't vote for him. Does anyone remember that? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I’m sure GOP electeds are afraid but if they think it’s bad now they should think about how much worse it will get for them if they continue to empower Trump. Remember Saddam executing his top lieutenants randomly to keep the rest in line? Or how many oligarchs mysteriously fall out of windows in Russia. Being loyal to a tyrant is no protection from him harming you. GOP leaders also benefit from rule of law even if they’re too stupid to see that right now.
Steve - What do you see Trump's/Musk's America will be like if they succeed? What do you think it will look like to us? Where are we going? Will there still be stop lights? Will our supermarkets be full of food - even if expensive? Will universities still get grants for scientific research? Will state governments still get cost-sharing federal grants? What do these toads want? Or maybe more importantly, what will we get if they win?
Contact your friends in purple or red states and urge them to reach out to their Senators. Some GOP Senators might be swayed if enough people speak out.
RFK Jr’s confirmation hearing to lead the Federal health agencies is coming soon. It’s not just his anti-vax stance, but he has no science background. During his hearing, he showed that he didn’t even have a basic understanding of the CDC, FDA, Medicare, or Medicaid. It was embarrassing.
Call your Senators, even Democrats! We cannot be sure that our Democratic Senators will vote against these reckless nominees. Some elected Democrats are caving already. You would be shocked if you looked at the list of “Yes” votes for many who have been confirmed. N.J. Senator Cory Booker voted to confirm Scott Bessent to lead Treasury. Bessent promptly gave Elon Musk permission to access Treasury records and payment systems. Thanks, Cory!
Google your Senators’ names to find their phone numbers. Their DC office voice mail boxes may be full, so call their local office. You probably won’t reach a human. When you leave a message, tell them you want a response, and give your phone number or email address. I’ve heard that emailing Congresspeople thru their websites is pointless. (For one thing, you’ll have to choose a category, and “Cabinet Nominees” is not among them.)
Make a separate phone call each time you contact your Congresspeople. Each constituent opinion is noted individually and tallied. Our Senators want to be re-elected, so your opinion matters.
Soon you’ll be calling to speak against Kash Patel, who would be terrifying as head of the FBI.
BTW, Democracy Forward - https://democracyforward.org/ - is largely responsible for the Trump Administration’s having rescinded the federal spending freeze. Other groups needing our support are Public Citizen - https://www.citizen.org/ - and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - https://www.citizensforethics.org/ - These groups are suing the Trump administration virtually every day.
Join me in donating to keep these fearless advocates and lawyers working to save our democracy. Even if you’re too discouraged to read the details, pls. donate if you can afford to.
The Republican Party is so weak and scared. And since Trump pardoned the j6 prisoners, who’s to say he won’t call on them to threaten any Republican congressman who doesn’t capitulate? Yes the average American is tough, but not the average Republican Congress!
Agreed.
Fear. It’s what fascism runs on. The J6 criminals are an American SS / Gestapo. You can toss in the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers into that mix as well.
I really believe that most GOP-ers in Congress currently DO NOT want what the Orange Dumpster is selling. However, they don’t want their homes ransacked, their families / loved ones threatened or beaten or to be strung up ( looking at you Mike Pence ) by the above mentioned J6 criminals. These goons don’t have democracy in their eyes. It’s anger and being uniformed. A deadly cocktail.
American fascism looks different than 1930’s European fascism. But, if it walks like a duck……...
The thing I can’t seem to wrap my head around is the idea that while the country continues to be under attack, a Coup to be exact, there are those in positions of power and authority who can take real tangible deliberate actions on there own that are not. Actions not limited to what we know about by following this newsletter.
All while there is reporting confirming the following perspective:
“We are on the edge of a dark precipice where the rule of law doesn't exist, at least at the federal level. I mean we're talking about Psychopaths here, we're talking about sociopaths here, we're talking about people with no morals no conscience no nothing. Why are they going to obey a
court order? And that to me is the scariest aspect of all this. Where’s the stopping point? It’s hard not to reach the conclusion that there is none.” ~ George Conway, Attorney
In the wake of this I can’t understand why they’re not deploying DESPERATE FUCKING MESSURES!
🎯👍👍
Awesome essay. But… where is the power center coming from in the Democratic Party? Schumer and Jeffries? Maybe they will have the balls to shut down the government. I hope so. But it’s increasingly more likely they will fold when their constituents push back because of the crashing economy.
Instead, I think the power center is with the blue state governors who need to create safe havens for our federal tax dollars. I would like to see an all-out tax revolt, where we can escrow our tax payments until this shit stops.
Couple that with an economic boycott and you’ll see big business get off their asses to push back on the assault on our democratic principles.
Steve: you have a big microphone. You have visibility and you have friends. Push my idea forward and let’s get this going.
While I was writing my comment -- I refreshed and see you said what I am thinking. Here is my post:
I live in a blue state. I am getting together documents to file federal income tax in April. I already paid my quarterlies for 2024 and will not be receiving a refund this year. I am sickened to think that even a percentage of a penny of my tax money has contributed to the federal government headed by trump. I object to paying the contracts of elon musk, the stipends of his baby-boy goons, the salaries and expenses of trump's cabinet of incompetents and arsonists, the traitorous fascist lackeys on SCOTUS, and the GOP clowns in the congress and senate. They think nothing of threatening to withhold disaster aid from blue states. Who do they think pays their goddamned salaries? WE DO. This morning I googled civil disobedience -- tax resistance. Is it time to consider this option, or would it be a counterproductive move? I have never considered such a thing before, and worry about the legal consequences, both personally and broader fallout on society. Steve is calling for dems to force a government shut down as a bargaining strategy to stop trump-musk plans defunding vital programs. Maybe this could be amplified by democrats across the country threatening a federal tax boycott en masse. Too impractical and naive? Sincerely asking.
I spoke with my accountant about ways to do this and all of them involve risk. Penalties, possible audits, misdemeanor charges for not filing taxes at all. But if millions do this through a mechanism set up by blue state governors, then what could the irs or federal officials actually do? Withhold $$ from blue states? They’re gonna do that anyway. It’ll take them forever to prosecute all of us, and by then maybe we will have won a victory and the money can be released by the state. Wishful thinking perhaps
Doesn't Trump want to eliminate the IRS?
To change the subject just a wee bit -
I made my four calls to reps and the AG this morning. I was able to get through to all of my congressional representative's offices. Last week, they were so jammed, you couldn't even leave a voicemail. PLEASE keep calling your Senators, members of Congress, and Attorney General. Do not let up~ it is so easy to do. Use https://5calls.org/ Thank you.
So which Democrat is going to deliver that tough message to Drumpf and crewe? For a start- anyone but freakin' Schumer! Jeffries, Murphy? How about Angus King (Ind.)? I thought he was pretty impressive in the well the other day. Don't know how long the courts had hold up the damn. Wonder how quickly Bondi as consigliere will take this up to SCOTUS? I've got more questions than answers, but one thing for sure, time is of the essence..
The transcendent national interest of the United Stated of America is defending freedom and democracy from all enemies, foreign and domestic. And “Degenerate” Donald, VP JD, and the dregs of society in their administration are “Public Enemy Number One,” as far as I am concerned. and pose an immediate and existential threat to that national interest.
And while I am not an attorney, it would seem to me that Trump breaking the law by defying current federal atateand a long standing Supreme Court precedent by making it impossible for poor people in Africa to get the food and medicine they need to survive is something akin to murder. And should also quality for impeachment because it runs afoul of. It definitely is morally, in my judgement.
Hence, Congressional Democrats should heed Steve’s advice and not agree to any budget deal with Republicans until all of the law breaking and constitution trashing stops and there is an enforcement mechanism in place to ensure that the Trump administration is complying with that lying is their only MO. “No retreat, no surrender!”
Trump bitching about the cost of GLP-1 drugs when he just prohibited Medicare from negotiating drug prices shows his massive incoherence--Dementia Don in action
Agreed: Enough or shut it down!! Democrats, must stand up to this!
Hope the Congressional Dems will heed this message.
It must be noted that Elon did NOT create Tesla or SpaceX.....Daddy gave him money and he bought Tesla and the other one was a government research project firm that E bought. Similar MO's to D...always buying existing entities.. I'm light on details I know.
I agree with everything except this: we've already lost the country. We are no longer able to *stop* Trump/Musk, but we can *reject* them in favor of something else. The rules & laws no longer work when only one side follows or applies them. The rule/law breakers know this, so they have no fear of resistance. From a cost/benefit perspective, why should we continue in the pursuit of saving something that gives us nothing?
Evidence of just how outspoken Trump's Nazis have become. Somebody, please. We need to take drastic action. They must be stopped:
"Darren Beattie, the State Department’s acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs — a senior role that represents American foreign policy to the world — has repeatedly voiced support for mass sterilization of “low-IQ trash.”
“Population control? If only!” he wrote in May 2024. “Higher quality humans are subsidizing the fertility of lower quality humans.” In 2023, Beattie questioned why abortion is legal and “well within Overton window of public discourse,” but the “idea of offering feral populations financial incentives for voluntary sterilization is completely taboo.”
Later that year, he responded to a video of people in an Atlanta neighborhood by calling for a sterilization program. He also said far-right conspiracy theories that a grand population-control scheme is already happening aren’t accurate because “all I see is trash multiplying.”
https://www.notus.org/whitehouse/trump-state-department-darren-beattie-feral
Another Darren Beattie quote (he once wrote speeches for Trump): “It's not politically correct to say, but low-IQ, low-impulse control populations lack higher reasoning and moral faculties---they require strict corporal punishment and threat of violence to function properly within a society. Instead of anarcho-tyranny, we need Singapore for the dumb and violent, and Sweden for the more elevated.”
More quotes from this raging Nazi in our Dept. of State can be found @:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/darren-beattie-trump-state-department-b2696297.html
I seem to recall that the Republican caucus met to vote on whether Jim Jordan should be Speaker of the House (2022?). He lost that vote but there was some talk that some representatives in that caucus received death threats if they didn't vote for him. Does anyone remember that? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I’m sure GOP electeds are afraid but if they think it’s bad now they should think about how much worse it will get for them if they continue to empower Trump. Remember Saddam executing his top lieutenants randomly to keep the rest in line? Or how many oligarchs mysteriously fall out of windows in Russia. Being loyal to a tyrant is no protection from him harming you. GOP leaders also benefit from rule of law even if they’re too stupid to see that right now.
Steve - What do you see Trump's/Musk's America will be like if they succeed? What do you think it will look like to us? Where are we going? Will there still be stop lights? Will our supermarkets be full of food - even if expensive? Will universities still get grants for scientific research? Will state governments still get cost-sharing federal grants? What do these toads want? Or maybe more importantly, what will we get if they win?
Contact your friends in purple or red states and urge them to reach out to their Senators. Some GOP Senators might be swayed if enough people speak out.
RFK Jr’s confirmation hearing to lead the Federal health agencies is coming soon. It’s not just his anti-vax stance, but he has no science background. During his hearing, he showed that he didn’t even have a basic understanding of the CDC, FDA, Medicare, or Medicaid. It was embarrassing.
Call your Senators, even Democrats! We cannot be sure that our Democratic Senators will vote against these reckless nominees. Some elected Democrats are caving already. You would be shocked if you looked at the list of “Yes” votes for many who have been confirmed. N.J. Senator Cory Booker voted to confirm Scott Bessent to lead Treasury. Bessent promptly gave Elon Musk permission to access Treasury records and payment systems. Thanks, Cory!
Google your Senators’ names to find their phone numbers. Their DC office voice mail boxes may be full, so call their local office. You probably won’t reach a human. When you leave a message, tell them you want a response, and give your phone number or email address. I’ve heard that emailing Congresspeople thru their websites is pointless. (For one thing, you’ll have to choose a category, and “Cabinet Nominees” is not among them.)
Make a separate phone call each time you contact your Congresspeople. Each constituent opinion is noted individually and tallied. Our Senators want to be re-elected, so your opinion matters.
Soon you’ll be calling to speak against Kash Patel, who would be terrifying as head of the FBI.
BTW, Democracy Forward - https://democracyforward.org/ - is largely responsible for the Trump Administration’s having rescinded the federal spending freeze. Other groups needing our support are Public Citizen - https://www.citizen.org/ - and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - https://www.citizensforethics.org/ - These groups are suing the Trump administration virtually every day.
Join me in donating to keep these fearless advocates and lawyers working to save our democracy. Even if you’re too discouraged to read the details, pls. donate if you can afford to.
PLEASE RE-STACK THIS!