These silly DOGE actions, by a "secret cadre" of immature tech bro children, makes the United States of America look like 340 million stupid assholes. Our reputation in the World is shit. Once the greatest nation in history, we are now a laughingstock everywhere.
International Big Swinging Dick, Master of the Universe, King Elon the First, is a joke. And the Congressional GOP and Dems are acting like frightened acolytes at the feet of Autocrat Satan. When they should be shutting this shit down.
His next move may be to fire them all. If he can shut off funding for any government agency he doesn't like, he can shut off funding for the entire Legislative Branch. And they will slink away with a whimper. Really sad times.
Failure of convictions and impeachment9s0 of Trump 1.0 - late teens early 20’s
SCOTUS verdict that POTUS has immunity for 99.9 of their actions - 20’s
THIS is how we got to where we are today. The trickle up economics ( corporations are people after all ) have benefitted the 1% in an astonishing manner. Their windfalls are extraordinary. The rest of us are fighting for scraps.
The greed, power and profits are not enough for the 1%. They want control of the controls aka the govt. That’s what is going on with Musk and his band of incelluars. The “ fraud and waste “ they “ find “ will end up in their own pockets. They have no interest in improving our govt. They only want to take what they can get and burn the rest to the ground.
I agree with the seriousness that Steve has pointed out and you reiterate, I never thought I’d say Shut it down! It must be stopped for the long run. We lose in short term no doubt but how else to stop this rolling death of democracy. I noted Steve said three weeks ago he djt raised his hand no mention of the Bible with his hand that he knows not a word of Christianity which is the big push of late.
One only needs to look back to Trump 1.0 when he spoke of a Bible reading as “ Corinthians two “.
This is yet another ruse to lure the angry and uninformed to their ( and ours ) demise. How anyone with at least two functioning brain cells can’t see a con when it’s presented directly in front of them is astounding.
If you’re a Christian and are following the teachings of Christianity how does one explain supporting Trump? Perhaps this group should be less Christian and more Christ like instead.
Elon and Donny and JD should read this. And pay heed.
President Harry Truman on the Constitution
"The longer I live, the more I am impressed with the significance of our American Constitution. I want you to read it and think about it. It's a plan, but not a strait jacket, flexible and short. Read it one hundred times, and you'll always find something new.
In many countries men swear to be loyal to the king, or to a nation, or to a flag, or to something else. We swear to uphold and defend a document, a document that sets up our living government. That’s the reason why it is such a sacred document."
Hi Steven. Is it possible for someone to execute a website that lists where and when rallies/demonstrations/protests are taking place in their neighborhoods? Perhaps a “centrally based listing” website (i.e. Act Blue)? I attended the rally in front of the US Treasure Dept last week which I had only heard about by watching Rachel Maddow’s show. For us to actively participate, we need some sort of RESOURCE that will inform WHERE AND WHEN rallies are being held! When the public knows and shows, the politicians follow, and then things get done!
This post needs to be sent to all Democratic members of Congress. Is that possible? Many of them seem to be inert, but there must be strength that can pick up the ball. What about Chris Murphy for Minority Leader? Many citizens will rise up and follow if we have good leadership.
Murphy is the ONLY one who has spoken out and forcibly since the beginning. Schumer needs to get out of the way and go find the hammock he clearly prefers.
In these troubled times, Sen. Chris Murphy's honesty and bravery give me hope. We should all contact our senators to request he be made minority leader. I will, though my senators are Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
What is the deal with the protests? No news coverage!! What about Trump being booed at game yesterday. I don't think they showed that or did I miss it.
Listened to an enlightening conversation on you tube between Kara Swisher and Ezra Klein. When she describes Musk, you'd swear she was describing Trump. Exact same personality profile, so doubly scary.
Eggs were $7.39 a dozen today at my local market. Thought that was a day one priority?
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on Friday, February 7, 2025, ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to:
reinstate 500 USAID workers
stop putting 2,200 USAID workers on administrative leave, and
stop recalling 1,400 USAID workers from overseas posts.
Nichols also pointed out that Trump’s own legal representatives could not and would not offer (risking perjury in court) a single piece of evidence to back up Trump’s USAID “corruption and fraud” claims.
Suffering extreme but typical “diarrhée verbale”, Trump has gurgling blowouts when “fermer la bouche” is indicated. Trump made up these accusations.
Reading comments here and in response to several of Steve's other recent Substack posts, I am struck by how muddied the notion of "opposition" to Trump and Musk is in this hour. Trump already has succeeded in throwing so much crap at the wall, and breaking so many norms and laws, that well-intentioned and well-positioned Dems are stuck, have been caught flat-footed, and are not trying to get "ahead" of Trump and Musk as much as looking for a reliable backstop to the damage the evil-doers are intent on inflicting on every aspect of a functioning democratic government every single day. Relying on the courts to hold the line is not sufficient. The courts enforce laws. They will restrain actions that flout laws, but they do so only temporarily and preliminarily. To obtain a preliminary injunction, the plaintiff must show there is an actual legal controversy and they have a likelihood of success on the merits of the dispute they have alleged. In other words, relying on the courts right now is putting a finger in the dike. It should freeze the status quo, but only if the restrained party actually obeys the court's restraining order/injunction. Trump's stock-in-trade is flouting the law -- he will not respect court orders. He will leave his opponents wringing their hands because they are playing according to accepted rules and he simply is not. There can be no organized opposition until Dem leaders in every quarter get sufficient perspective and vision to recognize and understand the scope and stakes of battles they are now called upon to fight. All of us who lived through the self-serving machinations of Nixon and deliberate dismantling of governmental programs by Reagan know better than to expect a singular "man of the hour" figure to emerge to save the day. A charismatic figure could draw people into a common sense of purpose, but already there are too many facets to the Trump/Musk chaos to expect any single individual to stop the damage. We are dealing with people who are hell-bent on dismantling government, in part by simply ignoring the Constitution and statutes. They long ago figured out that Congressional Dems would wallow in norms of "regular order" and would not allow themselves to ignore rules in order to engage on something like a level playing field with people who came to the front better armed and better prepared, fully convinced that Dems will always arrive flat-footed and self-defeating. That is precisely what Dems have to rise above -- their own inability to imagine the worst outcomes. Dems now must conceive of and implement the kind of multi-pronged, strategic and daring opposition that was unthinkable in the recent past. If a Congressional opposition leader is needed to justify moving Shumer and Jeffries to the sidelines, he/she will emerge as the enormity of the challenge to elected Dems lights a fire under them, but the charismatic "man of the hour" for public opposition may be a different kind of figure entirely.
And so it has come. By good fortune I was born in the greatest country and as a Boomer the best time, missing wars (too young for Vietnam), depressions, and revolutions. I feel that we now face a serious threat to our precious democracy. Steve has been in the vanguard of identifying the threat and has correctly stated what will be necessary to right the ship.
Besides upstanding lawyers and law-abiding honorable (present and former) judges, here's a growing list of Profiles in Courage men, women, and advocacy groups who refuse to be cowed or kneel to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:
I'll begin with Missouri's own Jess[ica] (à la John Lewis's "get in good trouble") Piper, then, in no particular order, Heather Cox Richardson, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Steve Brodner, Brian Tyler Cohen, Jessica Craven, Annne Applebaum, Lucian Truscott IV, AOC, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Ben Meiseilas, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Ann Telnaes,͏ ͏Will Bunch, Jake Tapper, Third Act, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, Democracy Docket, ACLU et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Piper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity." FIGHT BACK!
I will not blame any democratic senators for shutting this thing down, is it all we have ?, i dont know , but its the boogeyman solution, i am willing to endure years of pain to solve this problem , (deliberate understatement ).
Yea, they think it gonna backfire on them, but what is the alternative , time to be hero’s boys, (and girls), what i really want to say is “old men”. They want to save their butt , save their seat!! It ant gonna worth anything if they give an inch , this is code red , the sooner they get this , march 14-15, the better, because after that , the jig will be up.
You propose a bold step for a dire situation.
How about you and Chris Murphy team up for a daily update? Begin to centralize the message.
Thanks for all you do, Steve!
YESSSSSS!!!!
These silly DOGE actions, by a "secret cadre" of immature tech bro children, makes the United States of America look like 340 million stupid assholes. Our reputation in the World is shit. Once the greatest nation in history, we are now a laughingstock everywhere.
International Big Swinging Dick, Master of the Universe, King Elon the First, is a joke. And the Congressional GOP and Dems are acting like frightened acolytes at the feet of Autocrat Satan. When they should be shutting this shit down.
His next move may be to fire them all. If he can shut off funding for any government agency he doesn't like, he can shut off funding for the entire Legislative Branch. And they will slink away with a whimper. Really sad times.
Graham - Leach - Bliley act - late 90’s
Citizens United v. FEC - Early oughts
Social media and “ smart “ phones - Early oughts
Mc Cutchenson United v. FEC - 10’s
SCOTUS noms by Trump 1.0 - late teens
Failure of convictions and impeachment9s0 of Trump 1.0 - late teens early 20’s
SCOTUS verdict that POTUS has immunity for 99.9 of their actions - 20’s
THIS is how we got to where we are today. The trickle up economics ( corporations are people after all ) have benefitted the 1% in an astonishing manner. Their windfalls are extraordinary. The rest of us are fighting for scraps.
The greed, power and profits are not enough for the 1%. They want control of the controls aka the govt. That’s what is going on with Musk and his band of incelluars. The “ fraud and waste “ they “ find “ will end up in their own pockets. They have no interest in improving our govt. They only want to take what they can get and burn the rest to the ground.
I agree with the seriousness that Steve has pointed out and you reiterate, I never thought I’d say Shut it down! It must be stopped for the long run. We lose in short term no doubt but how else to stop this rolling death of democracy. I noted Steve said three weeks ago he djt raised his hand no mention of the Bible with his hand that he knows not a word of Christianity which is the big push of late.
One only needs to look back to Trump 1.0 when he spoke of a Bible reading as “ Corinthians two “.
This is yet another ruse to lure the angry and uninformed to their ( and ours ) demise. How anyone with at least two functioning brain cells can’t see a con when it’s presented directly in front of them is astounding.
If you’re a Christian and are following the teachings of Christianity how does one explain supporting Trump? Perhaps this group should be less Christian and more Christ like instead.
Time to put the nerds back in their lockers.
Elon and Donny and JD should read this. And pay heed.
President Harry Truman on the Constitution
"The longer I live, the more I am impressed with the significance of our American Constitution. I want you to read it and think about it. It's a plan, but not a strait jacket, flexible and short. Read it one hundred times, and you'll always find something new.
In many countries men swear to be loyal to the king, or to a nation, or to a flag, or to something else. We swear to uphold and defend a document, a document that sets up our living government. That’s the reason why it is such a sacred document."
Hi Steven. Is it possible for someone to execute a website that lists where and when rallies/demonstrations/protests are taking place in their neighborhoods? Perhaps a “centrally based listing” website (i.e. Act Blue)? I attended the rally in front of the US Treasure Dept last week which I had only heard about by watching Rachel Maddow’s show. For us to actively participate, we need some sort of RESOURCE that will inform WHERE AND WHEN rallies are being held! When the public knows and shows, the politicians follow, and then things get done!
Try Indivisible. Incredible org that's been doing push back for some time. Chapters everywhere. Google them . https://indivisible.org/
This post needs to be sent to all Democratic members of Congress. Is that possible? Many of them seem to be inert, but there must be strength that can pick up the ball. What about Chris Murphy for Minority Leader? Many citizens will rise up and follow if we have good leadership.
Murphy is the ONLY one who has spoken out and forcibly since the beginning. Schumer needs to get out of the way and go find the hammock he clearly prefers.
I agree with you. We must do whatever it takes to get Musksputin out of this and need to access the damage he has done!
In these troubled times, Sen. Chris Murphy's honesty and bravery give me hope. We should all contact our senators to request he be made minority leader. I will, though my senators are Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
What is the deal with the protests? No news coverage!! What about Trump being booed at game yesterday. I don't think they showed that or did I miss it.
Listened to an enlightening conversation on you tube between Kara Swisher and Ezra Klein. When she describes Musk, you'd swear she was describing Trump. Exact same personality profile, so doubly scary.
Eggs were $7.39 a dozen today at my local market. Thought that was a day one priority?
Costco was still $10 for a 24-pack a couple days ago, though it was only around $5 a few months ago.
I don't have a membership at Costco, but thanks for the info.
To be fair, I would add Elizabeth Warren to those senators that are speaking out and not taking this urgent situation lying down.
Please follow sen chris murphy on youtube or instagram.
He had a very informational post on sunday.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on Friday, February 7, 2025, ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to:
reinstate 500 USAID workers
stop putting 2,200 USAID workers on administrative leave, and
stop recalling 1,400 USAID workers from overseas posts.
Nichols also pointed out that Trump’s own legal representatives could not and would not offer (risking perjury in court) a single piece of evidence to back up Trump’s USAID “corruption and fraud” claims.
Suffering extreme but typical “diarrhée verbale”, Trump has gurgling blowouts when “fermer la bouche” is indicated. Trump made up these accusations.
We will recover by following a known course of action. We will grow in numbers by gathering up the reformers within their party. We will grow numbers, diversity, and socioeconomic stratas. https://open.substack.com/pub/hotbuttons/p/krewe-kleptos-parade-route-psycho?r=3m1bs&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Steve will you please run for office!
Yes!!!!!!
Reading comments here and in response to several of Steve's other recent Substack posts, I am struck by how muddied the notion of "opposition" to Trump and Musk is in this hour. Trump already has succeeded in throwing so much crap at the wall, and breaking so many norms and laws, that well-intentioned and well-positioned Dems are stuck, have been caught flat-footed, and are not trying to get "ahead" of Trump and Musk as much as looking for a reliable backstop to the damage the evil-doers are intent on inflicting on every aspect of a functioning democratic government every single day. Relying on the courts to hold the line is not sufficient. The courts enforce laws. They will restrain actions that flout laws, but they do so only temporarily and preliminarily. To obtain a preliminary injunction, the plaintiff must show there is an actual legal controversy and they have a likelihood of success on the merits of the dispute they have alleged. In other words, relying on the courts right now is putting a finger in the dike. It should freeze the status quo, but only if the restrained party actually obeys the court's restraining order/injunction. Trump's stock-in-trade is flouting the law -- he will not respect court orders. He will leave his opponents wringing their hands because they are playing according to accepted rules and he simply is not. There can be no organized opposition until Dem leaders in every quarter get sufficient perspective and vision to recognize and understand the scope and stakes of battles they are now called upon to fight. All of us who lived through the self-serving machinations of Nixon and deliberate dismantling of governmental programs by Reagan know better than to expect a singular "man of the hour" figure to emerge to save the day. A charismatic figure could draw people into a common sense of purpose, but already there are too many facets to the Trump/Musk chaos to expect any single individual to stop the damage. We are dealing with people who are hell-bent on dismantling government, in part by simply ignoring the Constitution and statutes. They long ago figured out that Congressional Dems would wallow in norms of "regular order" and would not allow themselves to ignore rules in order to engage on something like a level playing field with people who came to the front better armed and better prepared, fully convinced that Dems will always arrive flat-footed and self-defeating. That is precisely what Dems have to rise above -- their own inability to imagine the worst outcomes. Dems now must conceive of and implement the kind of multi-pronged, strategic and daring opposition that was unthinkable in the recent past. If a Congressional opposition leader is needed to justify moving Shumer and Jeffries to the sidelines, he/she will emerge as the enormity of the challenge to elected Dems lights a fire under them, but the charismatic "man of the hour" for public opposition may be a different kind of figure entirely.
Please Don’t wait for a savior , this is gonna be a self-rescue, we are the resistance!!
And so it has come. By good fortune I was born in the greatest country and as a Boomer the best time, missing wars (too young for Vietnam), depressions, and revolutions. I feel that we now face a serious threat to our precious democracy. Steve has been in the vanguard of identifying the threat and has correctly stated what will be necessary to right the ship.
Besides upstanding lawyers and law-abiding honorable (present and former) judges, here's a growing list of Profiles in Courage men, women, and advocacy groups who refuse to be cowed or kneel to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:
I'll begin with Missouri's own Jess[ica] (à la John Lewis's "get in good trouble") Piper, then, in no particular order, Heather Cox Richardson, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Steve Brodner, Brian Tyler Cohen, Jessica Craven, Annne Applebaum, Lucian Truscott IV, AOC, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Ben Meiseilas, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Ann Telnaes,͏ ͏Will Bunch, Jake Tapper, Third Act, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, Democracy Docket, ACLU et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Piper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity." FIGHT BACK!
I will not blame any democratic senators for shutting this thing down, is it all we have ?, i dont know , but its the boogeyman solution, i am willing to endure years of pain to solve this problem , (deliberate understatement ).
Yea, they think it gonna backfire on them, but what is the alternative , time to be hero’s boys, (and girls), what i really want to say is “old men”. They want to save their butt , save their seat!! It ant gonna worth anything if they give an inch , this is code red , the sooner they get this , march 14-15, the better, because after that , the jig will be up.