In the face of this government's actions I often feel a flood of emotion and then a numbing. It makes it hard to think, to be thoughtful, to have clarity. Others' clear words are necessary for me to get out of my fog. I am thankful to have access to the.ink and Substack in general. Tomorrow I will be at my local protest spot, standing tall and sure.
As I recall the dept. of homeland security was created after 9/11. I remember being very uncomfortable with it's creation. My fears have been realized. Noem is ruthless democracy killer dog killer. Homeland security needs to be dismantled when we hopefully get our democracy back.
The Trump administration is waging a war against the Constitution and the citizenry of the United States. They are solidifying the power of the Executive Branch; what they did to Senator Padilla was a direct assault on Article 1 of the constitution. It becomes clearer each day that they will not cease in this effort. The Courts are slowing them down but not stopping them. It’s up to us to dissent, yet it is hard to stay motivated and to not give into fear, but we must make every effort to continue to fight. I will be part of the No Kings protest in Dallas. I call and write members of Congress regularly and I attend town halls. These conversations, all the essays, the interviews, the many committed commentators, combined with community events keep me engaged. I am sure this is true for many others. Please let us not lose hope!
After 40 years of turning our heads in denial, the srew continues to turn. The FBI physically assaults a Senator in the biggest state in the country, and federal troops are sent in to quell a civic matter comprising one square mile. This is what we, the citizens, have allowed to happen. People may die tomorrow in protest of what they have allowed to happen. The screw will continue to turn in the face of death & protest. Long after I had given up hope that Congress would save us, I had an illusion that the Generals would be our bedrock. They seemed to have taken their oath to the Constitution as more than just words recited. Now that seems to be another faulty judgment on my part. They say that if we can put 12 million people in the streets tomorrow, it will create change. I live in a city of 1 million people; that spells 35,000. The Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex has a population of 8 million plus. That spells 280,000 in the streets. Each citizen has a choice to make tomorrow. It seems like such a small choice, but it will define the American citizen. It will reveal our character.
Several things frighten them about California. Not only are we a very large and VERY successful State, but we are NOT a white majority and not a conservative majority (by party affiliation)! NO one ethnicity has a majority here, but Latinos are the largest at 40%. Senator Padilla is one of that majority! Were they warned that he was planning to be there? Or were they just so sure that someone would call her out? The speed with which they took him out of the room would indicate that the 'bouncers' had their orders ...
The first thing that popped into my mind when I read about Senator Padilla was, Alexei Navalny. When he returned to Russia, I understood his feeling of 'being there' making the difference, but I thought at the time that he had signed his own death warrant. Okay, we may not be quite to that point yet, but our current regime would love it if we were. The orange despot is truly enamored and envious of military parades, and similar, which dictatorships use to keep their people aware of the 'one man' strength. He wants this parade NOT to show the world the strength of our nation or our (previous) standing in that world, but as a tribute to himself as a Special Being! Many, many of us will be out and about tomorrow to say as loudly and as visually as possible, that he is NOT special except in his own mind and except as the many $$ of the ones who wish to keep him as their puppet can make him appear.
I can't help thinking that one root of all these horrors is the panic that rich white men ('the leaders') and poor white men ('the followers') feel at the inexorable fact that our national demographics are trending toward people of color and women in positions of power (for which they are mostly--Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi excepting--well qualified, all of a sudden.) If you made a mathematical formula of the whole thing, it would have to include this as an X factor, and the smaller numerically but stronger in terms of wealth and power Y factor, the desire of the rich to stay permanently at the top of the heap. So, X + Y = autocracy. It would be fun to spin this out with more complexity, but that's beyond this math-challenged writer. Maybe someone with more chops could take a shot.
I’m not an attorney but it seems to me that a good strategy may be to start going after these folks, the lower hanging fruit, and take legal action against them. Hopefully having them realize we can play the same game as the regime by going after the folks who are vulnerable and won’t have the means to fight a legal battle . Maybe the other tRump cult followers in the regime will think twice about the actions they take.
Thank you for clarifying the confusing events that have been happening in LA and around the country. Please keep us informed as to what citizens can do to stop this unlawful government that is trying to create fear in society.
When Noem & other MAGA propagandists lie about roughing up & handcuffing a U.S. Senator for asking a question in a secured room full of reporters... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQc_7rsE1CI
LA business, faith & civic leaders as well as city, county & state law enforcement speak out against federalized guard & marines.
District Judge Breyer delivered a sharp rebuke to President Trump’s effort to deploy troops on the streets of an American city: “His actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution”
In the face of this government's actions I often feel a flood of emotion and then a numbing. It makes it hard to think, to be thoughtful, to have clarity. Others' clear words are necessary for me to get out of my fog. I am thankful to have access to the.ink and Substack in general. Tomorrow I will be at my local protest spot, standing tall and sure.
As I recall the dept. of homeland security was created after 9/11. I remember being very uncomfortable with it's creation. My fears have been realized. Noem is ruthless democracy killer dog killer. Homeland security needs to be dismantled when we hopefully get our democracy back.
Same-“homeland” always seemed reminiscent of fascist regimes
The Trump administration is waging a war against the Constitution and the citizenry of the United States. They are solidifying the power of the Executive Branch; what they did to Senator Padilla was a direct assault on Article 1 of the constitution. It becomes clearer each day that they will not cease in this effort. The Courts are slowing them down but not stopping them. It’s up to us to dissent, yet it is hard to stay motivated and to not give into fear, but we must make every effort to continue to fight. I will be part of the No Kings protest in Dallas. I call and write members of Congress regularly and I attend town halls. These conversations, all the essays, the interviews, the many committed commentators, combined with community events keep me engaged. I am sure this is true for many others. Please let us not lose hope!
After 40 years of turning our heads in denial, the srew continues to turn. The FBI physically assaults a Senator in the biggest state in the country, and federal troops are sent in to quell a civic matter comprising one square mile. This is what we, the citizens, have allowed to happen. People may die tomorrow in protest of what they have allowed to happen. The screw will continue to turn in the face of death & protest. Long after I had given up hope that Congress would save us, I had an illusion that the Generals would be our bedrock. They seemed to have taken their oath to the Constitution as more than just words recited. Now that seems to be another faulty judgment on my part. They say that if we can put 12 million people in the streets tomorrow, it will create change. I live in a city of 1 million people; that spells 35,000. The Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex has a population of 8 million plus. That spells 280,000 in the streets. Each citizen has a choice to make tomorrow. It seems like such a small choice, but it will define the American citizen. It will reveal our character.
Several things frighten them about California. Not only are we a very large and VERY successful State, but we are NOT a white majority and not a conservative majority (by party affiliation)! NO one ethnicity has a majority here, but Latinos are the largest at 40%. Senator Padilla is one of that majority! Were they warned that he was planning to be there? Or were they just so sure that someone would call her out? The speed with which they took him out of the room would indicate that the 'bouncers' had their orders ...
Ive read that as well , and that there is a hearing June 17 th
Yeah, stay issued, hearing on Tuesday
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca9.4e2731d4-cbd8-4803-a59f-a1d0c6023daf/gov.uscourts.ca9.4e2731d4-cbd8-4803-a59f-a1d0c6023daf.10.0_1.pdf
That court order was overturned by a MAGA judge, wasn’t it?
The appeals court overturned the ruling so the National Guard will continue for the time being to be under the aegis of the Trump administration.
The first thing that popped into my mind when I read about Senator Padilla was, Alexei Navalny. When he returned to Russia, I understood his feeling of 'being there' making the difference, but I thought at the time that he had signed his own death warrant. Okay, we may not be quite to that point yet, but our current regime would love it if we were. The orange despot is truly enamored and envious of military parades, and similar, which dictatorships use to keep their people aware of the 'one man' strength. He wants this parade NOT to show the world the strength of our nation or our (previous) standing in that world, but as a tribute to himself as a Special Being! Many, many of us will be out and about tomorrow to say as loudly and as visually as possible, that he is NOT special except in his own mind and except as the many $$ of the ones who wish to keep him as their puppet can make him appear.
I can't help thinking that one root of all these horrors is the panic that rich white men ('the leaders') and poor white men ('the followers') feel at the inexorable fact that our national demographics are trending toward people of color and women in positions of power (for which they are mostly--Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi excepting--well qualified, all of a sudden.) If you made a mathematical formula of the whole thing, it would have to include this as an X factor, and the smaller numerically but stronger in terms of wealth and power Y factor, the desire of the rich to stay permanently at the top of the heap. So, X + Y = autocracy. It would be fun to spin this out with more complexity, but that's beyond this math-challenged writer. Maybe someone with more chops could take a shot.
Here is what I wrote on my Indivisible Training last night.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/indivisible-training-recommendations?r=f0qfn
https://substack.com/@anatosaurus/note/c-125638928?r=1ll6q5&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action Everyone seeing this please distribute widely. Let’s get it circulating
I’m not an attorney but it seems to me that a good strategy may be to start going after these folks, the lower hanging fruit, and take legal action against them. Hopefully having them realize we can play the same game as the regime by going after the folks who are vulnerable and won’t have the means to fight a legal battle . Maybe the other tRump cult followers in the regime will think twice about the actions they take.
Thank you for clarifying the confusing events that have been happening in LA and around the country. Please keep us informed as to what citizens can do to stop this unlawful government that is trying to create fear in society.
When Noem & other MAGA propagandists lie about roughing up & handcuffing a U.S. Senator for asking a question in a secured room full of reporters... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQc_7rsE1CI
LA business, faith & civic leaders as well as city, county & state law enforcement speak out against federalized guard & marines.
District Judge Breyer delivered a sharp rebuke to President Trump’s effort to deploy troops on the streets of an American city: “His actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution”
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/12/us/la-protests-trump-marines-ice?smid=url-share