And so we have a coup, as predicted. As a criminal lawyer, my sense of it is that a record -- as detailed as possible -- needs to be made. It won't be easy but, in the hope that the day comes, years from now, when the Executive Branch is run in a sane and legal manner, we'll need to know who did what and precisely what they did. Those in a position to know and preserve this information should be encouraged to do so, asap.
Also, where are all of our other academics? Most politicians can be expected to cower out of craven self-protection, but what about all of those academics in Ivy League ivory towers who have spent careers studying American democracy or teaching it at law school? Why are the only academic voices we're hearing the courageous, persistent ones of Tim Snyder and Heather Cox Richardson? Is the great American academic brain trust just going to let American democracy slip away without a public word?
Don't overlook New York University's Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat, who has been doing an excellent job of commenting and offering guidance on the coup on her Lucid substack and elsewhere. But where are Harvard's Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt and others? This needs to be an all hands on deck battle for our democracy.
I have a better question. How much of that 290 million was spent on Facebook news feed ads targeted to the swing state in key purple districts "persuadables"?
What is a "persuadable" you ask?
"Its about the newsfeed stupid" ( not calling anyone stupid, just a reference to Bill Clinton defeating Bush)
The Great Hack, Netflix
Zucked by Roger McNamee
Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zubloff
Al Franken Podcast discusses election influence from Cambridge Analytica/ Brexit to the run-up to 2024, data mining, etc
But Dr. Snyder and other serious and smart influencers (hate to use that word but he does have standing) are the way to go to educating Americans about State Capture so they understand what Musk is doing and how bad it is and how much worse it will become.
I can answer that one... if you haven't seen video of Vance's rants on how he plans to destroy the universities, do. Guessing it won't be too long before Musk and Vance team up to push Trump out - they don't really need him anymore, though he IS fantastic at distracting everyone (ie, Gaza, Greenland). Greenland is really about grabbing the huge mineral trove waiting under the water as the Arctic ice melts - currently rights are legally only with Denmark, Russia - sort of - and, wait for it....Canada. No idea what Panama's about beyond general bullying.
Every now and then I muse on how it is that Yale has given us Tim Snyder and Rev. Barber but also Vance and Vivek. And why is Vivek out? For objecting to the tech steal? Or maybe just for saying Americans are stupid and uncultured - pretty much true.
We’re all stupid and uncultured in our own way. We should never forget that. But we also have to be humble (which, of course is a paradox: knowing we are stupid and uncultured should keep us from feeling too superior to anyone else, but our own stupidity militates against that.)
Stupidity is not the absence of intelligence! It is actually the emotionally driven misuse of it. The more cultured and intelligent we are, the stupidity we are capable of. Trump’s stupidity is different from ours just as ours is different from those who applaud or ignore the peril of someone like Trump and how he is the pawn of people like Musk, Putin, and Netanyahu.
Another aspect of the humility we all should try to foster in ourselves is that while our stupidity must be acknowledged, we cannot indulge ourselves in wallowing too much in regret or self pity. That is a way of breeding hopelessness and contempt—which only fuels fascism.
Who is the Ivan Ilyn of Silicon Valley? ( Just listen to the NYT intview with VC Marc Andreeseen to see how radicalization works). Prepare to be creeped out.
I am in the process of reading his "Dark Enlightenment" essay, thanks for the post. The concept of a "Dark Enlightenment" makes no sense to me. As if to add to the weirdness is this recent article in WaPo about a Thiel VC couple engaged in puritan cosplay--an IVF C/S momma who yearns for "a death in childbirth."
His diplomas are worthless at this point. Granted, he is smarter and savvier than the orange one, but he is just as evil and lacking in morals. Peter Thiel has been grooming Vance since they met at a talk when Vance was at Yale. A plan has been in the works for a long time.
Yes - I forgot where I heard this Arctic scientist of some thirty years work - maybe the BBC? - explain that. Canada owns the rights off Ellesmere Island and Denmark owns the rights off Greenland, of course. I remember it being 200 miles, but that sounds like a lot. Anyway, they've both filed legal documents to assure those rights and I think Russia has as well, though he said the Russian claim is a bit murky. The Fentanyl Czar in Canada is hilarious, of course, though just the sort of thing Trump likes to hear. The troops had already been committed in December.
Trump is determined to get these rights, and actually it may save aid to Ukraine since Zelensky suggested Ukraine's rich store of minerals might be exchanged for Trump agreeing to deliver what's already been funded by Congress - so we're back to the very thing Trump got impeached for, but with the victim's collaboration.
At least we know Trump is a keen believer in climate change.
Morning to you, Barry, and to all my fellow Snyder-whiplash crew!!
I tip my hat (albeit I don't usually wear one) to Prof. Snyder yet again, for coalescing in prose what we all had germinating in our minds but were too incredulous to actually say aloud---The Coup has commenced.
I too am an attorney, and wonder if perhaps some enterprising and brave group of US Attorneys, probably in blue states, could commence to draw up arrest warrants for Musk and his critical X crew. As his blatantly illegal actions are at present seemingly solely federal crimes, the various State AGs offices would not have jurisdiction to prosecute. And while newly confirmed Pam "What Trump University?" Bondi would obviously put the kibosh on any such actions upon her learning of same, even the commencement of actions would be beneficial. We might have to suffer a cascade of "I'm Spartacus" type of US Attorneys falling on their swords of resignation or termination to get through it, but it may very well be necessary
States have standing to sue in federal court, correct? Could a state attorney general bring a federal suit arguing that the federal government (or Trump administration, Elon Musk, or whatever works, I guess) has unconstitutionally infringed on the Fourth Amendment rights of citizens of the state of________? (unreasonable search and seizure of their person, home, papers, and belongings)
Is personal data considered “papers” and/or “belongings”? Elon has seized stuff we used to keep solely in paper form and/or that people now make and keep paper copies of “just in case”; it seems reasonable that data fits the fourth amendment criteria.
Could a state claim legitimate standing with the claim that: Their citizens are fearful of the state of their personal information in light of the seizure by Musk, et al. Because of that, the state of ________now faces “the loss of public trust, increased administrative burdens to handle complaints and potential identity theft cases, potential legal liabilities, economic disruption due to fraud, and damage to the state's reputation; ultimately impacting their ability to effectively provide services to citizens and could lead to increased security measures being implemented across state government systems imposing massive costs.” (from Google AI overview)
Perhaps this could legally force the issue of defining Elon Musk as a government official or a private citizen?
The academics living in 'ivory towers' are not able to see, hear, or live in the 'real' world. All is theoretical to them and, in their minds, they are safe.
I think we can say the same for our Dems in Congress save for a few; Gillibrand is an example of demonstrating what may be their narcissistic belief they should just stay the course. She defended what they are doing on Brian Lehrer's show yesterday. Defended voting for the nominees because she wants to be able to work with them. She's in denial, Congress will be irrelevant in a few months at this rate.
Al has done a phenomenal job with his Podcast since his departure. To me, he has way redeemed himself and then some. Hopefully, the party learned something about real politick and forgiveness/reconciliation.
Actually, the US Congress has been irrelevant for quite some time. As has the Supreme Court of the United States of America. Whose portrait now hangs on the wall in the Oval Office? Andrew Jackson. When informed of a Supreme Court decision which was contrary to his wishes, Jackson thundered "Let Them enforce it". That picture screams a message at American society today. That message is why Jackson’s image now hangs in the Oval Office.
Sadly, the supreme court has not been irrelevant. They are corrupt, unethical by all ordinary standards, and they decline to follow the Constitution, the law or precedent. Amazing the rulings a panel of judges can come up with when, totally without shame, they are willing to make it up out of whole cloth to fit their Christianist ideology.
One of the things I've been thinking about over the last year or so is inviting ordinary people who have direct experience of dictatorship to speak to various groups, or invited to speak in podcasts. Last year when I was on Twitter/X I met a woman from Chile who lived through the Pinochet dictatorship. She wondered why Americans couldn't see what she so clearly saw. She wrote that it's so easy to get into a dictatorship, but very hard to get out of one. We exchanged a few posts. It's interesting that sometimes those looking in from the outside can see things more clearly than those who are on the inside. Americans would benefit from listening to ordinary people talking about their experiences in a dictatorship, especially what day-to-day life is like. There will be cultural differences, yes, but there are patterns that are common to all.
The question, of course, is how to reach the people who are most in need of hearing from people outside the US. And there is the chest-thumping attitude that many Americans have towards non-Americans--that they have nothing of value to offer us. I'm afraid I'm at a loss to address that problem.
Talking of learning from the experiences of other people: Americans should look to the example of Poland in 1989, when intellectuals like Jerzy Giedroyc and Juliusz Mieroszewski collaborated with Solidarity to bring an end to Soviet rule in Poland. To get Poland into the EU and NATO as fast as possible, Giedroyc and Mieroszewski took a pragmatic approach; by allying themselves with the working class, and promising Ukraine, Lithuania, and Belarus' that Poland no longer had imperialist aims and importantly, by being unwavering in their consistency, they succeeded.
There ARE intellectuals in the US who would be open to this.
That's what I've been saying for years: Listen to them without speaking a word, for as long as they want to speak. When it's over you may not say, "OK, we're done here. We can now get back to whatever we were doing." You must instead listen to them without speaking, again and again, without interrupting, except to ask them good-faith questions.
But I've been following right-wingers for decades. I know how they think, how they operate. I've been following their propaganda; sometimes I feel like I need a shower after a long session, other times like I'm losing my mind. They've been filled with propaganda for so many years, their minds are so polluted with the poison of racism and white victimhood, that they can't see past it. They live, like one of Nietzsche's cows, chewing their cud, in an eternal present, unable to think through the consequences of their own ideas.
So we must be pragmatic. I don't like it either, but we don't have any time to waste.
How does one teach a cow to think? Particularly if the cow's brain is stuck in the eternal present? Eternal Present. What an interesting concept. I may have to consider that concept. Thank you.
Nobody is “safe.” But some of us are more insulated. (And some of us are more oblivious.) What’s needed are ways for us to keep our balance with long term strategic thinking and support of key institutions while also doing as much as we can to support (and perhaps) protect the most vulnerable whether it be trans kids in Alabama or Palestinians in Gaza. None of us can do it all. Few of us can accomplish anything meaningful on our own.
Make a record???? First thanks for acknowledging real leadership. But second, you are giving up in Advance. You are a lawyer, DO SOMETHING. Criminal CHarges, whatever to stop that A-hole Musk. Why isn't anyone shooting the criminal as he commits crimes. I guess I just don't get it. WHERE IS THE POPO?
Barry, you wrote "... the day comes, years from now, when the Executive Branch is run in a sane and legal manner...". But at the moment the majority of voters CHOSE that the Executive Branch is run in a INsane and ILlegal manner. The question is whether the "sane and legal" will EVER return, if people only more or less passively wait until this SOMEHOW happens.
This goes to the root question - how did the rule-of-law system originally came into existence? Was it that the King and all the barons woke up some day, all with the same thought "let's meat at this Runnymede place in peace and good will to formalize and codify our relationship", this thought appearing unprompted by any pressures?
We have to ride out the consequences, but it may be heartening to remember that only about a third of eligible voters actually came out for Trump/Vance. Over a third did not bother to go to the polls. There are also large swaths of 2024 Trump voters who are persuadable — if only because they voted for Biden in 2020. (This is only a tiny fraction of the challenge ahead, but some whatnots are easier to turn around than others. Of course, we also need to support or encourage those who do support the work needed to keep election processes secure.)
Thank you, Mr Panzica, for this reminder. This is a vitally important reminder in our effort to both resist the destruction and our reconstruction efforts in the current environment.
The actual supportive functioning of our constitutional system depends largely on popular participation and, inclusively, respect for a rule of law that protects and obliges everyone. Voters who were 'silent', and voters who oppose, together, constitute our best allies in constituting a better and more effective resistance to restore constitutional governance and civil society institutions.
The common interests expressed by this large majority can be given political meaning and legislative form. This is where readers of this substack and related other substack authors can invite a more inclusive dialogue in order to tangibly bring legislative objectives along with specific, consciously pursued constitutional outcomes into focus and in explicit enough forms to serve as legislative agenda items and reason to oppose Trump et al.
Thank you, Ms Laman, there is the human history to explain this.
A useful presentation for us Americans is:
America’s Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By, by Akhil Reed Amar of Yale University [currently providing additional information at
I am replying to Piotr Szafranski, who questioned the origin of the rule of law, asking if the king and the barons just woke up some day and decided there should be a different organization of government. I was about to mention the American Revolution and the Founders, but then decided Piotr was a satirist.
Yes. Or else merely to delete 600-800 years of the history of Iceland, England, France, the Netherlands and then (very latterly) the 18th century framers of the United States and its Constitution and basis in Common Law. Nobody did it just because they woke up one morning and thought it might be a nice idea.
Thank you, Barry, for asking "where are all of our other academics?"
The Powell memo took them out, systematically, beginning with Lewis Powell having written and sent it to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce August 23, 1971.
New, far-right foundations such as Heritage and ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), along with an expanded Hoover Institution organized to silence academe. And to have the monied classes and those of commerce rule the U.S. These business interests so hated the activism of the campuses through the 1960s.
You can read about part of this in Sheldon Whitehouse's "The Scheme" (though his emphasis there is on how the far right (and its Federalist Society) later took over the judiciary.
What are we, the people, supposed to do? This is the question I ask myself everyday. We are all so dispersed and our engagement disconnected from each other. Other than the substacks we are following for actual information how are we to impact a way to halt this coup. There have been warnings given about the possible danger of large protests that could give the orange Fuhrer an excuse to call martial law….What can I do to stop Musk? What can I do to get my democrats in my city, state, country to stop what is happening? Call their offices?!!! The feeling is futility and Dr. Snyder has warned us against that reaction.
I am very much afraid that creating this record of lawlessness so that we can trust Merrick Garland to outline it for John Roberts and then ask "Whadda ya think?" seems futile.
An immediate formation of a People's Cabinet by the DNC is one important idea. Substack+Bluesky worked in tandem with such a thing would be one effective real-time communication tool to develop resistance events in quick fashion. Go here to see some ideas: https://dougshortridge.substack.com/p/peoples-cabinet-sandbox-1. There are three separate posts; each have information worth considering, Sandbox #1, Holding, and Formation.
Send Indivisible’s Procedural Warfare Handbook to your representatives, with and order that they put their boots on and act more like soldiers than senators.
Everyone should remember that the fascists WANT to provoke chaos and violence. That is their chosen battlefield where they believe they have the advantage — and if they control the military and the police, it’s hard to see how they are wrong. We need to stay balanced. (Some people may choose — or be forced — to make horrific sacrifices, but sacrifices are always symbolic in ways that transcend the fate of the victim/“hero”) The priorities should be reinforcing election procedures, supporting legal advocacy (ACLU and Ralph Nader groups come to mind), reinforcing Civil Society (not even necessarily political groups but where persuadable people can mingle to do “good”), local media (Check out WMNF in TAMPA online) and protecting the most vulnerable (AFSC, the Poor People’s Campaign, etc
It’s the most vulnerable who suffer first in environments profuse with chaos and violence.
From this urgent article by Lawfare ME: “Finally, descriptions of state capture must speak directly to its victims: the American people. “If we are guilty of underdescribing state capture in the media, it is perhaps a guilt that lies in our failure to draw a blunt connection between political jargon and real human beings,” the South African political analyst Eusebius McKaiser wrote in 2017. “We need simpler and more visceral depictions of the meaning of corruption and the opportunities it costs, including the grandest scale of corruption, which is all that state capture picks out.”
So, when a shuttered health clinic in Virginia results in the death of a rural patient, or nursing home residents being set out on sidewalks because the home has no access to its funding, these things need to be made visible and told to the American people.
Yesterday, thousands of individuals rallied outside the Treasury Department to voice their outrage against Elon Musk being handed the keys to the Executive Branch. Jen Rubin speaks with Ezra Levin, the co-founder of the organization that planned the event, about the demands of the people.
Ezra Levin is the co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, a grassroots organization made up of thousands of group leaders and more than a million members taking regular, iterative, and increasingly complex actions to resist the GOPs agenda, elect local champions, and fight for progressive policies."
Parliamentary gridlock. It’s what Mitch McConnell was so good at and what Tommy Tuberville did so well went in the minority. I am a star believer in nonviolent protest.
Once Elon is inside the Treasury Department or any other agency for that matter, what prevents him from putting lock codes on computer systems with access limited to him and his digital warriors?
I fear people are not thinking that once those orders are given, they will be ignored. The courts cannot stop Trump/Musk. They will not obey. That is the cold, hard truth.
From what I've read (Wired, etc.) the Treasury and others' codes have been rewritten and are in Musk's control.
I respectfully disagree. The courts have thus far, done their job and fulfilled their constitutional duties. The real question is, once the political pushback finally proceeds apace, and the Trump/Musk coup leaders still keep at it, what will the higher courts do? Specifically, if any of these cases get to the Supremes, we can rest unassured that Justices Alito and Thomas are ready votes to sustain the coup. What will Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett do??
I truly pray that you are right. It feels like a bulldozer has been taken to this country, and I don't see how anyone or any organization can move quickly enough to stop it.
"I don't see how anyone or any organization can move quickly enough to stop it." kdsherpa
Read the Declaration of Independence. We did that once. We can do it again. The sooner the better; while the enemy is still in a state of chaos and the king is halucinating.
Those three gave us a little bit of hope before. At the time, I thought that was nothing more than a ploy to make the public think all is not lost. Excuse my pessimism. I hope I’m wrong.
I'm more worried about the back doors and trojan horses he and his gang of incels has installed on the systems. These will allow him to do untold damage even if the courts stop the overt actions.
Dear Dr. Snyder. I've heard questions by many who wonder when the Democratic leadership to take measures to stop the coup - it is time we start using this term. The response from the Democratic leadership that I've heard is we are taking them to court. The question in my mind is whether this is the same court system that granted Trump/Musk virtual immunity, slow walked the prosecutions of Trump, and has delayed judiciary actions until he is out of office.
It's time to smell the coffee and stop sniffing the roses. We are in a crisis. Waiting for actions by other institutions have failed and even accommodated the instigators we are facing. Take it upon yourself to initiate action. Boycott. Strike. Mobilize. Listen. And above all, accept the struggle.
There have been reports of immediate plans to bring lawsuits to friendly judges in friendly circuit court jurisdictions, just the way the right "judge-shops." These courts can stop illegal actions and then delay judgments. as has been done to us, and slow down the steal. Outside of mass demonstrations, mass strikes and civil disobedience, that seems to be the primary thing the Democrats can now. Note that at least two senators plan to place holds on all of Trump's lower level nominees in the Senate until certain conditions are met - this will greatly slow down the whole process of confirmations, preventing even greater mischief.
“I assumed that we would be prepared to meet the moment, and I was wrong,” Shannon Watts, the founder of the gun-control group Moms Demand Action, told me. “It’s like they’ve shown up to a knife fight with a cheese stick.”
It's so frustrating. There are a lot of lawsuits going on right now, but the court system works so slowly. Meanwhile, seniors in my rural county in TN who depend on their already small social security check have no idea what is in store for them. They voted for Trump, and they trust him. They love Elon! I heard some old men rhapsodizing about Elon in the post office the other day. They think he's cool and smart. When he takes away their monthly check, they will probably justify it somehow. In my experience it takes a long time for Republican voters to turn against their leaders.
The institutions of civil society (volunteerism) offer plenty of opportunities for gentle persuasion while often offering other opportunities to protect the most vulnerable (or at least assuage the harm that has been done to them. Any one of us can only do so much. But if we all do a little (and then a little more) change can be brought about
Why does your comment bring to mind the “Arsenic and Old Lace” crazy uncle who thought he was TR? (Oops, he didn’t imagine he was charging up San Juan Hill. He thought he was digging the Panama Canal! But what was he actually digging?).
But I’m sure you’re not advocating physical violence. Resistance will not succeed with guns (not when Trump controls the military and police), but money and lawyers will be essential (though not enough).
I'm just one little old lady, with a cat. But I'm a mother & a grandmother of a beautiful college freshman at one of our great universities here in California. I want a free life for my daughter & family.
So as an individual I can only do so much but I call my representative EVERY day. They know my name. I give them my run down of what is so abominable from the day before. They need that data. They need numbers when the representative goes by before Congress to address the crimes being committed. They need the data & I'm giving my few data points every day. They need the numbers to support the fight.
You can help, call your congressman & senators, make your voices heard. Right now this may be all that we can do until a more cohesive opposition can be formed. But it's something you can do NOW & tomorrow & the day after that & the day after that.
Like I said I'm a little old lady so I like snail mail as well as email. I write letters to not only my Senators & representatives but to those outside my state. We pay their salaries with our taxes we can & should tell them what we think. So do it. Take the time you would spend sitting here responding to this critical post & the information there in & contact your elected officials. It's our responsibility to be involved with our government & even if we go down & that has not yet been determined, we can at least say, "We tried!"
You might also call your regional FBI office & tell them that you support the FBI. That you are against what is happening. Sure, you can't do anything about it but you can tell the men & women that put their lives on the line for us that WE CARE! Moral is an important part of any job & if calling the FBI & saying good job helps it's the least we can do!
This morning a good friend who had been part of a long-standing email exchange between friends and former career civil servants asked that his name be removed from a thread discussing the events of the past few days in Washington—the technology coup being carried out by Elon Musk and his operatives.
Now, most of us on this exchange are retired—have been for years (in my case more than 20).
But this friend still has a job supporting key government programs and his spouse is an active-duty career civil servant.
This morning a good friend who had been part of a long-standing email exchange between friends and former career civil servants asked that his name be removed from a thread discussing the events of the past few days in Washington—the technology coup being carried out by Elon Musk and his operatives.
Now, most of us on this exchange are retired—have been for years (in my case more than 20).
But this friend still has a job supporting key government programs and his spouse is an active-duty career civil servant.
Of all the things that have happened in just the past two weeks, that one post was like a gut-punch. To say that it saddened me deeply doesn’t even begin to convey my reaction.
I knew why my friend had opted out. I knew why his spouse had said, just a few days earlier, that she was going to “take a break” from our discussions: the threat to them personally is more direct and immediate than what the rest of us, fortunate enough to be retired, face (at the moment).
And yet I suspect the rest of us are now all thinking that being retired, being years (or decades) out of our Agency careers, does not make us immune—personally, individually—from the potential consequences of this unfolding crisis. By which I mean that any one of us could find ourselves targeted for retribution or retaliation by virtue of what we have said or done publicly or (so we thought) “privately” in spaces like this, and since all of us, as former career civil servants were (and always will be) branded as members of “the Deep State.” Whether that happens, we’re all still going to be dealing with the broader consequences of the coup that is underway and, I have to say, by most measures I can think of, succeeding.
I wish, oh god how I wish, I could plead guilty to the charge of “first-degree alarmism.” But given the developments of the past few days and the unlikely prospect that the “DOGE” saboteurs now basically controlling key Treasury, OPM, GAO, and other systems will be stopped before it’s too late, I can’t. I won’t.
In this context, that one line message, “Hi all, please remove me from this,” was one that struck me with more terror.
I'm sorry to read about this but it's understandable. The only problem is that eventually for all of us, the jack booted thugs of the trump militias could be at our doors no matter what precautions we take.
I think this episode gets at something really important. Yes, a coup is underway. But to most American voters who are not caught up in it firsthand and who don’t see tanks in the street, the idea of a coup may seem preposterous, or at least abstract and vague.
Dr. Snyder always talks about how language can be used to resist tyranny.
As such, why don’t we start calling this what it is: a state-sponsored massive cancel campaign to terrorize anyone who has done or said things that Trump or Musk doesn’t like, and punish them with immediate firing, loss of livelihood and possible arrest.
There was so much outcry (and in my opinion overreaction) whenever the left canceled someone for something they said, but this is so much worse. Whole swaths of people are getting fired for doing their jobs. Many are terrified to open their mouths for fear that they’ll be the next target of the Mump Speech Police.
This is mass cancellation (and persecution) of law-abiding citizens by the government, period.
Yes, it is that, Susan. But it seems to me that the breach of the U.S. Treasury (!!!) can be understood by more people as something that could affect them. MAGA people don’t care if “deep staters” lose their jobs, or they will applaud.
A takeover of the agency that sends tax refunds, Social Security checks, Medicare payments, payments to businesses with government contracts is a COUP.
During the pandemic, retired doctors rallied to help out. Your post reminds me that there are plenty of retiree organizations and that retirees often have resources (if only time) that can energize old organizations — and build new ones.
As Heather Cox Richardson argues in her most recent conversation with Joanne B. Freeman, we are in a pre-constitution moment since the norms of the constitution have just been smashed. And the way Patriots rallied each other in that pre-constitution moment was to hold Townhall meetings… We need physical gathering spaces held by elected Dems to rally resistance.
Going to head to Hartford today. I feel like I can’t say anything unless I also show up. Listening to The Habit of Freedom right now thank you. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CXZbdQpVSAk&pp=ygUOdGltb3RoeSBzbnlkZXI%3D. This conversation is inspiring. Going to listen to it while I drive. Thank you Tim
I am at a loss to understand why these actions are called on days and at times when people are working. I am grateful for those who are able to join, but what a demonstration of privilege.
I woke up this morning thinking “We’ve been coup-ed”—-and in answer I get the notification “Of course it’s a coup” — I live in Tennessee, in Andy Ogles district 🤦♀️, I’m overwhelmed and befuddled.
The coup has been a slow-rolling one. It began with St. Ronnie Raygun and his merry band of thieves. Maybe Tricky Dick's southern strategy was a foreshadowing. The Louis Powell memo laid down the premise of the coup. We have ignored the signs for decades. I fear it is too late to stop this coup unless we have a revolution. But the armed forces are now under the command of the bad guys.
And so we have a coup, as predicted. As a criminal lawyer, my sense of it is that a record -- as detailed as possible -- needs to be made. It won't be easy but, in the hope that the day comes, years from now, when the Executive Branch is run in a sane and legal manner, we'll need to know who did what and precisely what they did. Those in a position to know and preserve this information should be encouraged to do so, asap.
Also, where are all of our other academics? Most politicians can be expected to cower out of craven self-protection, but what about all of those academics in Ivy League ivory towers who have spent careers studying American democracy or teaching it at law school? Why are the only academic voices we're hearing the courageous, persistent ones of Tim Snyder and Heather Cox Richardson? Is the great American academic brain trust just going to let American democracy slip away without a public word?
Don't overlook New York University's Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat, who has been doing an excellent job of commenting and offering guidance on the coup on her Lucid substack and elsewhere. But where are Harvard's Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt and others? This needs to be an all hands on deck battle for our democracy.
She is brilliant and relevant. But how many MAGAs and Undecideds and Disengaged Democrats read substack?
I have a better question. How much of that 290 million was spent on Facebook news feed ads targeted to the swing state in key purple districts "persuadables"?
What is a "persuadable" you ask?
"Its about the newsfeed stupid" ( not calling anyone stupid, just a reference to Bill Clinton defeating Bush)
The Great Hack, Netflix
Zucked by Roger McNamee
Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zubloff
Al Franken Podcast discusses election influence from Cambridge Analytica/ Brexit to the run-up to 2024, data mining, etc
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shoshana-zuboff-roger-mcnamee-on-surveillance-capitalism/id1462195742?i=1000600365133
Have we reached a point where Meta can persuade people NOT to vote? Gauging the 2024 metrics, it appears so.
Why does that matter?
I guess it doesn’t matter if we want to continue preaching to the choir.
But Dr. Snyder and other serious and smart influencers (hate to use that word but he does have standing) are the way to go to educating Americans about State Capture so they understand what Musk is doing and how bad it is and how much worse it will become.
She is one of the few, stellar exceptions to the cloistered thinkers in the the ivory towers.
I can answer that one... if you haven't seen video of Vance's rants on how he plans to destroy the universities, do. Guessing it won't be too long before Musk and Vance team up to push Trump out - they don't really need him anymore, though he IS fantastic at distracting everyone (ie, Gaza, Greenland). Greenland is really about grabbing the huge mineral trove waiting under the water as the Arctic ice melts - currently rights are legally only with Denmark, Russia - sort of - and, wait for it....Canada. No idea what Panama's about beyond general bullying.
Every now and then I muse on how it is that Yale has given us Tim Snyder and Rev. Barber but also Vance and Vivek. And why is Vivek out? For objecting to the tech steal? Or maybe just for saying Americans are stupid and uncultured - pretty much true.
Panama because two Trump hotel companies there were audited by the Panamanian government in 2019 for tax evasion.
The Trump business model.
We’re all stupid and uncultured in our own way. We should never forget that. But we also have to be humble (which, of course is a paradox: knowing we are stupid and uncultured should keep us from feeling too superior to anyone else, but our own stupidity militates against that.)
Stupidity is not the absence of intelligence! It is actually the emotionally driven misuse of it. The more cultured and intelligent we are, the stupidity we are capable of. Trump’s stupidity is different from ours just as ours is different from those who applaud or ignore the peril of someone like Trump and how he is the pawn of people like Musk, Putin, and Netanyahu.
Another aspect of the humility we all should try to foster in ourselves is that while our stupidity must be acknowledged, we cannot indulge ourselves in wallowing too much in regret or self pity. That is a way of breeding hopelessness and contempt—which only fuels fascism.
Who is the Ivan Ilyn of Silicon Valley? ( Just listen to the NYT intview with VC Marc Andreeseen to see how radicalization works). Prepare to be creeped out.
Curtis Yarvin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Yarvin
Marc Andreeseen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZKS8sF8_Ic
I am in the process of reading his "Dark Enlightenment" essay, thanks for the post. The concept of a "Dark Enlightenment" makes no sense to me. As if to add to the weirdness is this recent article in WaPo about a Thiel VC couple engaged in puritan cosplay--an IVF C/S momma who yearns for "a death in childbirth."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/of-interest/2025/02/01/malcolm-and-simone-collins-pronatalism/
And why did Elon’s Grandpa leave Canada for South Africa? Cuz he was a white supremest fascist just like Donnie’s Grandfather and father.
https://open.substack.com/pub/jimstewartson/p/technate-of-america-musks-game-of?r=44kjm&utm_medium=ios
Thank you for this, Fran! I have read that Vance claims universities are evil, but never watched the rants.
I wonder if Trump heard that Canada has mineral leases (or whatever they should be called) and that is one of the reasons he wants to punish Canada.
Vance should return his undergraduate and law school diplomas. They certainly aren’t being used anyway.
His diplomas are worthless at this point. Granted, he is smarter and savvier than the orange one, but he is just as evil and lacking in morals. Peter Thiel has been grooming Vance since they met at a talk when Vance was at Yale. A plan has been in the works for a long time.
Yes - I forgot where I heard this Arctic scientist of some thirty years work - maybe the BBC? - explain that. Canada owns the rights off Ellesmere Island and Denmark owns the rights off Greenland, of course. I remember it being 200 miles, but that sounds like a lot. Anyway, they've both filed legal documents to assure those rights and I think Russia has as well, though he said the Russian claim is a bit murky. The Fentanyl Czar in Canada is hilarious, of course, though just the sort of thing Trump likes to hear. The troops had already been committed in December.
Trump is determined to get these rights, and actually it may save aid to Ukraine since Zelensky suggested Ukraine's rich store of minerals might be exchanged for Trump agreeing to deliver what's already been funded by Congress - so we're back to the very thing Trump got impeached for, but with the victim's collaboration.
At least we know Trump is a keen believer in climate change.
For being brown and praising the brown H1-B immigrant.
Morning to you, Barry, and to all my fellow Snyder-whiplash crew!!
I tip my hat (albeit I don't usually wear one) to Prof. Snyder yet again, for coalescing in prose what we all had germinating in our minds but were too incredulous to actually say aloud---The Coup has commenced.
I too am an attorney, and wonder if perhaps some enterprising and brave group of US Attorneys, probably in blue states, could commence to draw up arrest warrants for Musk and his critical X crew. As his blatantly illegal actions are at present seemingly solely federal crimes, the various State AGs offices would not have jurisdiction to prosecute. And while newly confirmed Pam "What Trump University?" Bondi would obviously put the kibosh on any such actions upon her learning of same, even the commencement of actions would be beneficial. We might have to suffer a cascade of "I'm Spartacus" type of US Attorneys falling on their swords of resignation or termination to get through it, but it may very well be necessary
States have standing to sue in federal court, correct? Could a state attorney general bring a federal suit arguing that the federal government (or Trump administration, Elon Musk, or whatever works, I guess) has unconstitutionally infringed on the Fourth Amendment rights of citizens of the state of________? (unreasonable search and seizure of their person, home, papers, and belongings)
Is personal data considered “papers” and/or “belongings”? Elon has seized stuff we used to keep solely in paper form and/or that people now make and keep paper copies of “just in case”; it seems reasonable that data fits the fourth amendment criteria.
Could a state claim legitimate standing with the claim that: Their citizens are fearful of the state of their personal information in light of the seizure by Musk, et al. Because of that, the state of ________now faces “the loss of public trust, increased administrative burdens to handle complaints and potential identity theft cases, potential legal liabilities, economic disruption due to fraud, and damage to the state's reputation; ultimately impacting their ability to effectively provide services to citizens and could lead to increased security measures being implemented across state government systems imposing massive costs.” (from Google AI overview)
Perhaps this could legally force the issue of defining Elon Musk as a government official or a private citizen?
The academics living in 'ivory towers' are not able to see, hear, or live in the 'real' world. All is theoretical to them and, in their minds, they are safe.
I think we can say the same for our Dems in Congress save for a few; Gillibrand is an example of demonstrating what may be their narcissistic belief they should just stay the course. She defended what they are doing on Brian Lehrer's show yesterday. Defended voting for the nominees because she wants to be able to work with them. She's in denial, Congress will be irrelevant in a few months at this rate.
Gillibrand has been wrong since she pushed Al Franken out. I for one can’t stand her.
Al has done a phenomenal job with his Podcast since his departure. To me, he has way redeemed himself and then some. Hopefully, the party learned something about real politick and forgiveness/reconciliation.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-al-franken-podcast/id1462195742
Once again, the Dems shot themselves in the foot. I thought him presidential material!
Me neither. I am very angry at Gillibrand & Schumer for that.
Actually, the US Congress has been irrelevant for quite some time. As has the Supreme Court of the United States of America. Whose portrait now hangs on the wall in the Oval Office? Andrew Jackson. When informed of a Supreme Court decision which was contrary to his wishes, Jackson thundered "Let Them enforce it". That picture screams a message at American society today. That message is why Jackson’s image now hangs in the Oval Office.
Sadly, the supreme court has not been irrelevant. They are corrupt, unethical by all ordinary standards, and they decline to follow the Constitution, the law or precedent. Amazing the rulings a panel of judges can come up with when, totally without shame, they are willing to make it up out of whole cloth to fit their Christianist ideology.
One of the things I've been thinking about over the last year or so is inviting ordinary people who have direct experience of dictatorship to speak to various groups, or invited to speak in podcasts. Last year when I was on Twitter/X I met a woman from Chile who lived through the Pinochet dictatorship. She wondered why Americans couldn't see what she so clearly saw. She wrote that it's so easy to get into a dictatorship, but very hard to get out of one. We exchanged a few posts. It's interesting that sometimes those looking in from the outside can see things more clearly than those who are on the inside. Americans would benefit from listening to ordinary people talking about their experiences in a dictatorship, especially what day-to-day life is like. There will be cultural differences, yes, but there are patterns that are common to all.
The question, of course, is how to reach the people who are most in need of hearing from people outside the US. And there is the chest-thumping attitude that many Americans have towards non-Americans--that they have nothing of value to offer us. I'm afraid I'm at a loss to address that problem.
Talking of learning from the experiences of other people: Americans should look to the example of Poland in 1989, when intellectuals like Jerzy Giedroyc and Juliusz Mieroszewski collaborated with Solidarity to bring an end to Soviet rule in Poland. To get Poland into the EU and NATO as fast as possible, Giedroyc and Mieroszewski took a pragmatic approach; by allying themselves with the working class, and promising Ukraine, Lithuania, and Belarus' that Poland no longer had imperialist aims and importantly, by being unwavering in their consistency, they succeeded.
There ARE intellectuals in the US who would be open to this.
Maybe more white people could listen to the experiences of people of color in the U.S.?
That's what I've been saying for years: Listen to them without speaking a word, for as long as they want to speak. When it's over you may not say, "OK, we're done here. We can now get back to whatever we were doing." You must instead listen to them without speaking, again and again, without interrupting, except to ask them good-faith questions.
But I've been following right-wingers for decades. I know how they think, how they operate. I've been following their propaganda; sometimes I feel like I need a shower after a long session, other times like I'm losing my mind. They've been filled with propaganda for so many years, their minds are so polluted with the poison of racism and white victimhood, that they can't see past it. They live, like one of Nietzsche's cows, chewing their cud, in an eternal present, unable to think through the consequences of their own ideas.
So we must be pragmatic. I don't like it either, but we don't have any time to waste.
How does one teach a cow to think? Particularly if the cow's brain is stuck in the eternal present? Eternal Present. What an interesting concept. I may have to consider that concept. Thank you.
Race Matters, By Bell Hooks
Things that Make White People Uncomfortable, Michael Bennett
People who endured both Fulgencio Bautista and Fidel Castro? A little closer to the United States, but still the same deal.
Nobody is “safe.” But some of us are more insulated. (And some of us are more oblivious.) What’s needed are ways for us to keep our balance with long term strategic thinking and support of key institutions while also doing as much as we can to support (and perhaps) protect the most vulnerable whether it be trans kids in Alabama or Palestinians in Gaza. None of us can do it all. Few of us can accomplish anything meaningful on our own.
Together, we are safe. We have the numbers.
"Practice corporeal politics and Protect institutions"
Not if "we" don't get down to it!
I spent many years teaching at a university. I would call the environment one of great removal.
That is not an accurate statement.
Make a record???? First thanks for acknowledging real leadership. But second, you are giving up in Advance. You are a lawyer, DO SOMETHING. Criminal CHarges, whatever to stop that A-hole Musk. Why isn't anyone shooting the criminal as he commits crimes. I guess I just don't get it. WHERE IS THE POPO?
Don't forget Robert Reich, who has a program to make American citizens aware of what is happening.
Barry, you wrote "... the day comes, years from now, when the Executive Branch is run in a sane and legal manner...". But at the moment the majority of voters CHOSE that the Executive Branch is run in a INsane and ILlegal manner. The question is whether the "sane and legal" will EVER return, if people only more or less passively wait until this SOMEHOW happens.
This goes to the root question - how did the rule-of-law system originally came into existence? Was it that the King and all the barons woke up some day, all with the same thought "let's meat at this Runnymede place in peace and good will to formalize and codify our relationship", this thought appearing unprompted by any pressures?
We have to ride out the consequences, but it may be heartening to remember that only about a third of eligible voters actually came out for Trump/Vance. Over a third did not bother to go to the polls. There are also large swaths of 2024 Trump voters who are persuadable — if only because they voted for Biden in 2020. (This is only a tiny fraction of the challenge ahead, but some whatnots are easier to turn around than others. Of course, we also need to support or encourage those who do support the work needed to keep election processes secure.)
Thank you, Mr Panzica, for this reminder. This is a vitally important reminder in our effort to both resist the destruction and our reconstruction efforts in the current environment.
The actual supportive functioning of our constitutional system depends largely on popular participation and, inclusively, respect for a rule of law that protects and obliges everyone. Voters who were 'silent', and voters who oppose, together, constitute our best allies in constituting a better and more effective resistance to restore constitutional governance and civil society institutions.
The common interests expressed by this large majority can be given political meaning and legislative form. This is where readers of this substack and related other substack authors can invite a more inclusive dialogue in order to tangibly bring legislative objectives along with specific, consciously pursued constitutional outcomes into focus and in explicit enough forms to serve as legislative agenda items and reason to oppose Trump et al.
“This goes to the root question - how did the rule-of-law system originally came into existence? Was it that the King …”
You’re trying your hand at satire, yes?
Thank you, Ms Laman, there is the human history to explain this.
A useful presentation for us Americans is:
America’s Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By, by Akhil Reed Amar of Yale University [currently providing additional information at
https://akhilamar.com/
I am replying to Piotr Szafranski, who questioned the origin of the rule of law, asking if the king and the barons just woke up some day and decided there should be a different organization of government. I was about to mention the American Revolution and the Founders, but then decided Piotr was a satirist.
Yes. Or else merely to delete 600-800 years of the history of Iceland, England, France, the Netherlands and then (very latterly) the 18th century framers of the United States and its Constitution and basis in Common Law. Nobody did it just because they woke up one morning and thought it might be a nice idea.
Thank you, Barry, for asking "where are all of our other academics?"
The Powell memo took them out, systematically, beginning with Lewis Powell having written and sent it to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce August 23, 1971.
New, far-right foundations such as Heritage and ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), along with an expanded Hoover Institution organized to silence academe. And to have the monied classes and those of commerce rule the U.S. These business interests so hated the activism of the campuses through the 1960s.
You can read about part of this in Sheldon Whitehouse's "The Scheme" (though his emphasis there is on how the far right (and its Federalist Society) later took over the judiciary.
What are we, the people, supposed to do? This is the question I ask myself everyday. We are all so dispersed and our engagement disconnected from each other. Other than the substacks we are following for actual information how are we to impact a way to halt this coup. There have been warnings given about the possible danger of large protests that could give the orange Fuhrer an excuse to call martial law….What can I do to stop Musk? What can I do to get my democrats in my city, state, country to stop what is happening? Call their offices?!!! The feeling is futility and Dr. Snyder has warned us against that reaction.
I am very much afraid that creating this record of lawlessness so that we can trust Merrick Garland to outline it for John Roberts and then ask "Whadda ya think?" seems futile.
Marianne Williamson should have gotten attention. She calls for the world we want to be in.
i'm not slipping but i am limited in my possible moves, being 74 and partially disabled. there is little i can do physically.
Indeed, I have been saying this on every Substack I can.
1. The coup has mostly succeeded.
2. We are at war.
3. We must fight back in every strategic, disruptive, and useful away.
Indivisible is a start.https://indivisible.org/ That's how we get to those "elected officials" not themselves cowardly or corrupt.
An immediate formation of a People's Cabinet by the DNC is one important idea. Substack+Bluesky worked in tandem with such a thing would be one effective real-time communication tool to develop resistance events in quick fashion. Go here to see some ideas: https://dougshortridge.substack.com/p/peoples-cabinet-sandbox-1. There are three separate posts; each have information worth considering, Sandbox #1, Holding, and Formation.
Send Indivisible’s Procedural Warfare Handbook to your representatives, with and order that they put their boots on and act more like soldiers than senators.
What is that? Procedural warfare! Where is SWAT? Shoot the fuckers if they resist.
Everyone should remember that the fascists WANT to provoke chaos and violence. That is their chosen battlefield where they believe they have the advantage — and if they control the military and the police, it’s hard to see how they are wrong. We need to stay balanced. (Some people may choose — or be forced — to make horrific sacrifices, but sacrifices are always symbolic in ways that transcend the fate of the victim/“hero”) The priorities should be reinforcing election procedures, supporting legal advocacy (ACLU and Ralph Nader groups come to mind), reinforcing Civil Society (not even necessarily political groups but where persuadable people can mingle to do “good”), local media (Check out WMNF in TAMPA online) and protecting the most vulnerable (AFSC, the Poor People’s Campaign, etc
It’s the most vulnerable who suffer first in environments profuse with chaos and violence.
Just go to indivisible’s website and search for: Explainer: how senate Democrats can delay defy Trump‘s agenda with procedural hardball
Procedural Warfare is Indivisible’s guide on how to create parliamentary
https://indivisible.org/sites/default/files/resources/indivisible_on_offense_a_practical_guide_to_the_new_democratic_house.pdf
Is this what you're referring to?
I'm not finding anything under the title you've given. LINK, PLEASE!
"What Is 'State Capture'? A Warning for Americans."
by Tyler McBrien, managing editor of Lawfare:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/opinion/elon-musk-donald-trump-government.html
From this urgent article by Lawfare ME: “Finally, descriptions of state capture must speak directly to its victims: the American people. “If we are guilty of underdescribing state capture in the media, it is perhaps a guilt that lies in our failure to draw a blunt connection between political jargon and real human beings,” the South African political analyst Eusebius McKaiser wrote in 2017. “We need simpler and more visceral depictions of the meaning of corruption and the opportunities it costs, including the grandest scale of corruption, which is all that state capture picks out.”
So, when a shuttered health clinic in Virginia results in the death of a rural patient, or nursing home residents being set out on sidewalks because the home has no access to its funding, these things need to be made visible and told to the American people.
💯
Indivisible set up the rally!
Rally against Musk Urges Senate to Act
Jennifer Rubin
and Ezra Levin
Feb 05, 2025
Yesterday, thousands of individuals rallied outside the Treasury Department to voice their outrage against Elon Musk being handed the keys to the Executive Branch. Jen Rubin speaks with Ezra Levin, the co-founder of the organization that planned the event, about the demands of the people.
Ezra Levin is the co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, a grassroots organization made up of thousands of group leaders and more than a million members taking regular, iterative, and increasingly complex actions to resist the GOPs agenda, elect local champions, and fight for progressive policies."
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/rally-against-musk-urges-senate-to?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Parliamentary gridlock. It’s what Mitch McConnell was so good at and what Tommy Tuberville did so well went in the minority. I am a star believer in nonviolent protest.
It doesn't help that Big Media is sugarcoating all these crimes with fuzzy language and euphemisms.
When they even bother mentioning it.
Too tied up with tariffs, which I am beginning to think are nothing more than a smokescreen.
“Turn Gaza into a Mar a Lago” is an even bigger smokescreen.
How about the reverse...
When I go into a bank and rob it...SWAT is waiting when I come out. Where the F**k are the POPO?
The "justice" system is controlled by the perpetrators. Who is going to help us, Kash Patel?
I guess we need our own Popo then. Such a weird thought. 🤯
Another weird thought: Not only are there co-presidents, but both are criminals.
Once Elon is inside the Treasury Department or any other agency for that matter, what prevents him from putting lock codes on computer systems with access limited to him and his digital warriors?
not much except restraining orders via lawsuits. Has to happen imeediately.
I fear people are not thinking that once those orders are given, they will be ignored. The courts cannot stop Trump/Musk. They will not obey. That is the cold, hard truth.
From what I've read (Wired, etc.) the Treasury and others' codes have been rewritten and are in Musk's control.
"The courts cannot stop Trump/Musk. They will not obey. That is the cold, hard truth." Anyone who thinks otherwise is living in la-la land.
I respectfully disagree. The courts have thus far, done their job and fulfilled their constitutional duties. The real question is, once the political pushback finally proceeds apace, and the Trump/Musk coup leaders still keep at it, what will the higher courts do? Specifically, if any of these cases get to the Supremes, we can rest unassured that Justices Alito and Thomas are ready votes to sustain the coup. What will Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett do??
I truly pray that you are right. It feels like a bulldozer has been taken to this country, and I don't see how anyone or any organization can move quickly enough to stop it.
"I don't see how anyone or any organization can move quickly enough to stop it." kdsherpa
Read the Declaration of Independence. We did that once. We can do it again. The sooner the better; while the enemy is still in a state of chaos and the king is halucinating.
Those three gave us a little bit of hope before. At the time, I thought that was nothing more than a ploy to make the public think all is not lost. Excuse my pessimism. I hope I’m wrong.
I'm more worried about the back doors and trojan horses he and his gang of incels has installed on the systems. These will allow him to do untold damage even if the courts stop the overt actions.
I'm going to guess the answer is "No One" but don't pay attention to me what I know about tech would fit in a thimble.
Where is the POPO with the guns. Quick to shoot black/brown dudes in their cars, but not Elon? What is this BS.
I thought he already had/is doing so.
Dear Dr. Snyder. I've heard questions by many who wonder when the Democratic leadership to take measures to stop the coup - it is time we start using this term. The response from the Democratic leadership that I've heard is we are taking them to court. The question in my mind is whether this is the same court system that granted Trump/Musk virtual immunity, slow walked the prosecutions of Trump, and has delayed judiciary actions until he is out of office.
It's time to smell the coffee and stop sniffing the roses. We are in a crisis. Waiting for actions by other institutions have failed and even accommodated the instigators we are facing. Take it upon yourself to initiate action. Boycott. Strike. Mobilize. Listen. And above all, accept the struggle.
There have been reports of immediate plans to bring lawsuits to friendly judges in friendly circuit court jurisdictions, just the way the right "judge-shops." These courts can stop illegal actions and then delay judgments. as has been done to us, and slow down the steal. Outside of mass demonstrations, mass strikes and civil disobedience, that seems to be the primary thing the Democrats can now. Note that at least two senators plan to place holds on all of Trump's lower level nominees in the Senate until certain conditions are met - this will greatly slow down the whole process of confirmations, preventing even greater mischief.
One of the anchors or guests on MSNBC advised the Dems in Congress to ask themselves “what would Mitch McConnell do” and do that.
“I assumed that we would be prepared to meet the moment, and I was wrong,” Shannon Watts, the founder of the gun-control group Moms Demand Action, told me. “It’s like they’ve shown up to a knife fight with a cheese stick.”
– Elaine Godfrey,
"Democrats Wonder Where Their Leaders Are,"
The Atlantic
It's so frustrating. There are a lot of lawsuits going on right now, but the court system works so slowly. Meanwhile, seniors in my rural county in TN who depend on their already small social security check have no idea what is in store for them. They voted for Trump, and they trust him. They love Elon! I heard some old men rhapsodizing about Elon in the post office the other day. They think he's cool and smart. When he takes away their monthly check, they will probably justify it somehow. In my experience it takes a long time for Republican voters to turn against their leaders.
If a court orders a cease and desist order, who believe they will follow it? Isn't our democracy dead at that point unless we take it back by force?
Violence and force are what fuels fascism.
He’ll blame it on Biden!
The institutions of civil society (volunteerism) offer plenty of opportunities for gentle persuasion while often offering other opportunities to protect the most vulnerable (or at least assuage the harm that has been done to them. Any one of us can only do so much. But if we all do a little (and then a little more) change can be brought about
This is the Hill. We need to take it back. Full stop.
Why does your comment bring to mind the “Arsenic and Old Lace” crazy uncle who thought he was TR? (Oops, he didn’t imagine he was charging up San Juan Hill. He thought he was digging the Panama Canal! But what was he actually digging?).
But I’m sure you’re not advocating physical violence. Resistance will not succeed with guns (not when Trump controls the military and police), but money and lawyers will be essential (though not enough).
I'm just one little old lady, with a cat. But I'm a mother & a grandmother of a beautiful college freshman at one of our great universities here in California. I want a free life for my daughter & family.
So as an individual I can only do so much but I call my representative EVERY day. They know my name. I give them my run down of what is so abominable from the day before. They need that data. They need numbers when the representative goes by before Congress to address the crimes being committed. They need the data & I'm giving my few data points every day. They need the numbers to support the fight.
You can help, call your congressman & senators, make your voices heard. Right now this may be all that we can do until a more cohesive opposition can be formed. But it's something you can do NOW & tomorrow & the day after that & the day after that.
Like I said I'm a little old lady so I like snail mail as well as email. I write letters to not only my Senators & representatives but to those outside my state. We pay their salaries with our taxes we can & should tell them what we think. So do it. Take the time you would spend sitting here responding to this critical post & the information there in & contact your elected officials. It's our responsibility to be involved with our government & even if we go down & that has not yet been determined, we can at least say, "We tried!"
You might also call your regional FBI office & tell them that you support the FBI. That you are against what is happening. Sure, you can't do anything about it but you can tell the men & women that put their lives on the line for us that WE CARE! Moral is an important part of any job & if calling the FBI & saying good job helps it's the least we can do!
This morning a good friend who had been part of a long-standing email exchange between friends and former career civil servants asked that his name be removed from a thread discussing the events of the past few days in Washington—the technology coup being carried out by Elon Musk and his operatives.
Now, most of us on this exchange are retired—have been for years (in my case more than 20).
But this friend still has a job supporting key government programs and his spouse is an active-duty career civil servant.
This morning a good friend who had been part of a long-standing email exchange between friends and former career civil servants asked that his name be removed from a thread discussing the events of the past few days in Washington—the technology coup being carried out by Elon Musk and his operatives.
Now, most of us on this exchange are retired—have been for years (in my case more than 20).
But this friend still has a job supporting key government programs and his spouse is an active-duty career civil servant.
Of all the things that have happened in just the past two weeks, that one post was like a gut-punch. To say that it saddened me deeply doesn’t even begin to convey my reaction.
I knew why my friend had opted out. I knew why his spouse had said, just a few days earlier, that she was going to “take a break” from our discussions: the threat to them personally is more direct and immediate than what the rest of us, fortunate enough to be retired, face (at the moment).
And yet I suspect the rest of us are now all thinking that being retired, being years (or decades) out of our Agency careers, does not make us immune—personally, individually—from the potential consequences of this unfolding crisis. By which I mean that any one of us could find ourselves targeted for retribution or retaliation by virtue of what we have said or done publicly or (so we thought) “privately” in spaces like this, and since all of us, as former career civil servants were (and always will be) branded as members of “the Deep State.” Whether that happens, we’re all still going to be dealing with the broader consequences of the coup that is underway and, I have to say, by most measures I can think of, succeeding.
I wish, oh god how I wish, I could plead guilty to the charge of “first-degree alarmism.” But given the developments of the past few days and the unlikely prospect that the “DOGE” saboteurs now basically controlling key Treasury, OPM, GAO, and other systems will be stopped before it’s too late, I can’t. I won’t.
In this context, that one line message, “Hi all, please remove me from this,” was one that struck me with more terror.
I'm sorry to read about this but it's understandable. The only problem is that eventually for all of us, the jack booted thugs of the trump militias could be at our doors no matter what precautions we take.
Give up in advance??
I think this episode gets at something really important. Yes, a coup is underway. But to most American voters who are not caught up in it firsthand and who don’t see tanks in the street, the idea of a coup may seem preposterous, or at least abstract and vague.
Dr. Snyder always talks about how language can be used to resist tyranny.
As such, why don’t we start calling this what it is: a state-sponsored massive cancel campaign to terrorize anyone who has done or said things that Trump or Musk doesn’t like, and punish them with immediate firing, loss of livelihood and possible arrest.
There was so much outcry (and in my opinion overreaction) whenever the left canceled someone for something they said, but this is so much worse. Whole swaths of people are getting fired for doing their jobs. Many are terrified to open their mouths for fear that they’ll be the next target of the Mump Speech Police.
This is mass cancellation (and persecution) of law-abiding citizens by the government, period.
Yes, it is that, Susan. But it seems to me that the breach of the U.S. Treasury (!!!) can be understood by more people as something that could affect them. MAGA people don’t care if “deep staters” lose their jobs, or they will applaud.
A takeover of the agency that sends tax refunds, Social Security checks, Medicare payments, payments to businesses with government contracts is a COUP.
During the pandemic, retired doctors rallied to help out. Your post reminds me that there are plenty of retiree organizations and that retirees often have resources (if only time) that can energize old organizations — and build new ones.
When are our elected officials going to put a stop to this?😰😰😰😰😰
Ask republcians
Sorry. Not giving Democrats a pass either - starting with my Congressman - Dan Goldman (New York).
Boy do I wish I had run against Gillibrand. What a sugar coated weak disaster.
Where is SWAT!!!!
As Heather Cox Richardson argues in her most recent conversation with Joanne B. Freeman, we are in a pre-constitution moment since the norms of the constitution have just been smashed. And the way Patriots rallied each other in that pre-constitution moment was to hold Townhall meetings… We need physical gathering spaces held by elected Dems to rally resistance.
Exactly right, this virtual “connecting” is ludicrous.
This is a really good idea.
Going to head to Hartford today. I feel like I can’t say anything unless I also show up. Listening to The Habit of Freedom right now thank you. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CXZbdQpVSAk&pp=ygUOdGltb3RoeSBzbnlkZXI%3D. This conversation is inspiring. Going to listen to it while I drive. Thank you Tim
I am at a loss to understand why these actions are called on days and at times when people are working. I am grateful for those who are able to join, but what a demonstration of privilege.
Thank you for what you are doing. Safe travels.
send in the capitol police!!!
Yes, or the D.C. police. Whoever has jurisdiction.
Or do a SWAT attack. “We got a call about a burglary in progress.”
with big guns... Shoot the F***ks as they go home to their Cyberpad.
The sequel is always worse 🫣 #Trump 2.0
Kick Elon and his college dropouts to the curb, America! 🦅
I woke up this morning thinking “We’ve been coup-ed”—-and in answer I get the notification “Of course it’s a coup” — I live in Tennessee, in Andy Ogles district 🤦♀️, I’m overwhelmed and befuddled.
The coup has been a slow-rolling one. It began with St. Ronnie Raygun and his merry band of thieves. Maybe Tricky Dick's southern strategy was a foreshadowing. The Louis Powell memo laid down the premise of the coup. We have ignored the signs for decades. I fear it is too late to stop this coup unless we have a revolution. But the armed forces are now under the command of the bad guys.
The groundwork has clearly been in place for a long time….
We’ll all feel paralyzed to the extent we feel alone. But we are not. We have resources even if they are only time and presence.
What Musk is doing is not in the presidents purview, Judge Roberts.
Arrest Apartheid Clyde and jail him. The court can do that.
The orange cocksplat can pardon him.
And we're fucked.